u/echis — reddlx

moisture found on exterior wall during bathroom remodel

I'm in the process of demoing an old shower/tub combo and installing a shower. I noticed some moisture behind my vapor barrier on the exterior wall of of the room. It wasn't a lot, and it didn't seem to have soaked through the insulation that I removed to troubleshoot. Is it possible it was just humid air coming from outside meeting the conditioned air of my house? My house is 100+ years old so drafty walls wouldn't be much of a surprise. (We also just ended about a month of near daily rain). The space that was damp is in front of an old window frame that the previous owners covered with a piece of plywood, then insulated over.

my gut reaction is to tear off the exterior wood siding of that section of wall and re-side it, but if I don't need to I'd rather save the expense. This remodel is already way behind the schedule I gave my partner two years ago...

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u/echis — 10 days ago

▲ 8 r/fidgettoys

cheapish magnetic fidget

I feel like I'm going crazy. Been trying to find a magnetic slider that is reasonably priced (I understand reasonable is subjective, but I'm poor). All I can seem to find is supercheap amazon/ebay stuff that has questionable quality, or unobtanium forged stuff from the same types of stores that made EDC expensive bullshit. I have stimmags, but the magnets aren't strong enough and keep falling. I've gotten accupuncture rings, but they're too small for my fingers and cut off bloodflow after a bit. I've gotten magnetic silicone cylinders, but they really require two hands, and i need a fidget that's one handed. Maybe I'm too picky, but is there a magnetic slider/spinner/fidget that's relatively quiet, strong enough not to fall apart easily, and less than $30? Sorry for the rant, but I've been googling for the past hour and can only seem to find the cheap crap, and overly expensive ones for $100+

apologies for the tone, but I just lost my 2nd set of stimmags and am quite frustrated with myself. I tend to pick at skin and cuticles, and get very self conscious when they bleed in public. Is there a cheapish magnetic fidget that doesn't break the bank when i inevitably lose it?

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u/echis — 2 months ago

▲ 31 r/askHVAC

I'm pretty sure my AC's capacitor went bad, is it normal to have two of them taped together?

I know I have an older unit, and the previous homeowner was a bit of a hack. Can I replace the two with a 50? do I need both? I'm a former electrician apprentice, so I'm pretty handy, but I know nothing about hvac.

I tested capacitance and the larger one reads zeroes, but the smaller reads 5.45

edit: Thanks for the advice y'all. I didn't have luck finding either the dual 45/7.5, or just the 45+5, so hopefully the one I ordered from amazon overnight does the trick.

also, looked up my air conditioner model number and got https://www.manualslib.com/manual/700346/Carrier-38txa.html#manual if it's helpful

u/echis — 4 months ago

▲ 2 r/arboriculture

Can I safely prune oak in the summertime?

Central Iowa, USA. I have a well established oak tree in my side yard. I planted a garden this spring, and have realized that my oak has a handful of branches that block my earlier morning sun. I'd like to prune them back (not taking the entire limb, just the last 5-6ft), but I've read that pruning should be done closer to winter. My parents lost a 100+ year old oak to blight, and although we never knew the cause, there was a spring where my dad did some heavy pruning, which was the year before the blight kicked in. I really don't want to risk losing my tree, but my garden would do a lot better with a few more hours of sunlight each day.

TLDR: can i trim 5ish feet off the end of a couple branches to try to get more light to my garden, or is it too risky, and I should wait until this winter?

Edit: thanks for the advice. I'll wait to prune until winter.

u/echis — 4 months ago