I received an email from my wife saying that JayMI had called to say we have a leak in our bathroom and water was coming down from the vent.
Leak? There is not a cloud in the sky. This is a day after the first major winter storm left its calling card on the local mountains.
I sensed a more serious problem.
Last night the temperature hovered near the freezing point, and this morning the temperature dropped to 25°. There was frost everywhere.
Karma. Phone rings. It is my FIL. "There is water everywhere on the back patio. Water is coming from the solar panels and it is leaking in your bathroom."
Emergency procedures activated. Find the shutoff switch near the water heater.
I told my boss I had to leave to take care of what the heck was going on. My wife tells me my BroIL is enroute to the scene. I call him and tell him my ETA will be 40 minutes.
I arrive at our house around 2:40 p.m. to find my BroIL there already.
Water is coming from everywhere.
I looked into the waterheater area. There is a shutoff valve for incoming water. Nothing from or to the solar panels. Now, is a find time to find out this?
Contingency plans. I'll be damned if I am taking a cold shower tonight.
I shut off the main. We climb on the roof to investigate.
The water had frozen in one of the pipes leading to one of the solar panels. The expansion of the ice split the copper tubing. The gash was an inch long. Of course, when the ice melted the water started squirting out.
We assess what repairs need to be done. We climb back down and head off to the hardware store. I purchase copper tubing and connectors, flux, solder, foam and insulation.
Our repair took less than an hour. Soldered the joints and wrapped insulation around the exposed areas to both panels, and secured them with duct tape. We were done just around sundown. Good thing...it was getting a little nippy and fast.
The joys of home ownership. Obstacles and challenges. Each a learning experience.
The shower sure felt good tonight. Of course, we had to delay our showertime to allow the water heater to get up to full-strength. Thank goodness for our spa...
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..
