As previously confessed, I am more and more a pussy….. and, NOT having showers is simply unacceptable to me.  I pout and whine.  Worse than a pea under the mattress, it is.  And so it was with uncharacteristic focus and hard work I went at this shortcoming in my life and, tho it took days, if not weeks, we are now able to get hot, wet, wonderful showers again.

There is a God!

Nothing is easy, tho.  New pump, altering pipe lengths, replacing parts, finding new fasteners….the task is not a simple re and re.  It is a re and re and re and take a tea break.  Then go re and re some more the next day.  Sheesh.

But, well, a broken system is an opportunity to improve it and so we did a bit.  (Note-to-self: we still need a new project.  I will build a water shed and insulate the hell out out it – in better weather, of course).

But Sal got the current extra-dirty work as her assignment.  As I replaced the pump (and re-set the pressure switch which is different than every other pressure switch on the planet!), Sal cleaned the smaller tank.  That was an unpleasant chore.  First, we pumped out most of the water that was still at the bottom (and all sludgy).  Then Sal climbed inside.  Once inside, she began to scrub the bottom so that the sump pump, as it continued to suck out the contents, would catch the sludge and get it out, too.  Amazingly, this technique worked and our smaller tank is now clean.

Imagery: Peter Pumpkineater and his wife.

Sal, on the other hand, took the immediate first shower after.  And the second.

Despite mewling like a kitten/pussy, I stayed dirty and finished up with a few things before taking shower #3, 4 and 5.  And hour later, I was contemplating #6 and #7….just for the sheer pleasure of it.

For the record and those who are curious, the system broke because the heat tape failed.  I had the entire length of ‘system’ heat-taped, from the cistern to the house, over 100 feet and several different separate tapes.  All was left still intact except for the pump on which I had two separate heat tapes.  And yet, the pump had clearly split from ice expansion.

I cursed the pump and all the people associated with it.  But, as it turns out, it was not entirely the pump’s fault.  When I got everything apart I wanted to know what happened and so I put the heat tapes in the freezer and turned them on.  They WON’T actually go on unless the built-in thermo-switch recognizes freezing temperature (thus the odd use of the freezer).  Lo and behold, my tapes went stupid and recognized nothing.  Twenty minutes left in the freezer did NOT turn them on.  That means that they were NOT working when the pump froze.  Plugged in, lights indicating ‘on’ and yet….NOT on.

$450 and a helluva lot of work.  Well, mystery solved anyway.  AND me, Sal and the smaller tank are now extra clean!

Now….to find that damn pea!