Fire & Rain...

While I do play this James Taylor song, this post isn't about that.

We discovered a leak in our tankless water heater yesterday.  A call to the manufacturer (who has been able to help us over the phone in the past), and we discovered that company has been bought out by AO Smith... our model water heater has been discontinued.  I replaced it once 7 years ago, with a commercial unit that had the same footprint and connections.  It has been flawless since then.  The guy from customer service recommended a replacement model they make, and Joan went to work searching the internet.  I crawled under the countertop and behind the stove to see if there was anything I could do with it.

Fortunately, the leak is minor and slow.  Joan found the replacement unit recommended at a Lowe's about 45 minutes from us.  We decided a road trip was in order this morning.

As we were leaving our island, we could see black smoke and flames in the distance, towards South Padre Island.  At first we thought it might be a boat on the water between our island and SPI - as we drove over our swing bridge, we could see it was on SPI.  Pulling up some local news, Joan found that a condo complex is on fire...

It looks like the entire condo building is involved.  Sad.

We headed towards Harlingen, with a plan to stop and Lowe's and pick up breakfast at Chick-fil-A.  The sky got darker as we headed east.  By the time we got to the Expressway, it was sprinkling.  About 2 miles from Lowe's, the black sky opened up with a deluge...

That was with the wipers full on.  We devised a plan: Joan had placed the order for the water heater on-line, so it would be waiting for us at Customer Service... no need for us both to go into the store.  Since I was driving, I dropped her right at the door to minimize getting soaked; she would call when she was done, and I would pull up right at that same door.  The plan worked.

This was the heaviest pounding rain I have seen in a long time, and increasingly gusty winds.  I asked if Chick-fil-A was still the plan... "You can do what you want, but I would rather go straight home.  I will make you breakfast."

I read this a while back: If a woman says to you, "Do whatever you want," do NOT do whatever you want.  It's a trap.  I heeded those words of wisdom, and pointed the car towards home.  Traffic was slowed to about 30 miles per hour on the Expressway, with most people running their emergency flashers.  The flashers are distracting - the visibility was maybe 100 feet and with the wipers on full, you could just see the white lines on the road on either side of you.  Fugly.

Joan checked her radar app and said the weather should improve after we made our turn to go east.  It didn't.  If anything, it was worse.  Some cars had pulled to the side of the road, I chose to keep moving - it makes you less of a "target" for the bad drivers here.  Emergency vehicles passed us, I'm guessing on their way to the fire on SPI... other than that, almost no one went around us as we continued our trek home.  Checking again on radar: "It should be better by the time you get to Los Fresnos."  Nope.  "It should really let up by the time we get to Port Isabel."  Still nope.  Crossing the bridge onto our island...

That is looking from the passenger side of the car - that dark stuff at the bottom is the Intracoastal Waterway.

The last bit of road to our house looks like night...

It was 9:29.  It took us about twice as long to get home as it did to get to Lowe's.  We sat in the car for a moment before heading to the house.  It was still pounding.  Out on our deck, one of our roll down sun shades had blown out of the brackets.  This wind (gusting to 60mph) wasn't forecast.  We rolled up the other 3 sun shades.  I looked out over the deck to check the boat: it was sitting fine.  Glad I put the cover on it last night.

Once inside, Joan asked what I wanted for breakfast... I said, "Four little breaded chicken sandwiches in freshly baked buns, with a bit of honey drizzled on it."  It made her laugh.  Good after that occasionally tense drive home.

In the words of sweet baby James: I've seen fire and I've seen rain.

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I called Pete to tell him we had the water heater "in our hands."  We all determined it was a very close fit to the one it replaces, and the water inlet and outlet lines actually line up.  The electrical was different, and I knew it was going to be beyond my pay grade to change the wiring and remove 40 amp breakers and replace them with 60 amp.

Pete spent a good three hours working on it.  We will keep a close eye on it for a day or three to make sure there are no leaks.  This new unit has an LED temperature gauge on the front, even though it is tucked away under a countertop and behind the stove.  It is one of those things that you don't think about checking, because it is out of sight.  It is a good thing the replaced unit gave us an audio warning... it was literally, a few drips.  Drips that could turn into ugly water damage if it hadn't been caught right away.

I joked with Pete: I told him I am never doing any photography for him again, because every time I do, something happens with the house that we have to call him... 24 hours later, this time.  On the bright side, we have unlimited hot water that appears to be leak-free.  On the even brighter side, Joan got to hear Pete grunting as he maneuvered his arms and legs into the tight space... and a groan each time he stood up... now she knows it isn't just me.

The downside: Rufus scolded me after Pete left - Pete is allergic to cats and we put Rufus in our bedroom while Pete was working.  Oh, he had his food and potty easily accessible, he is just not used to being on the other side of a closed door.  Sometimes when I am recording, I will shut the door to my music room, but he is generally in there with me.  This was a door that kept him from being near his people, and he didn't like it one bit.

I explained to him how we need a functioning water heater to clean his food dishes... he pondered that for a moment, then said, "Yeah, but you don't ever lock me in a different room!  How am I going to know when you need to pet me if I can't see you??

He's a good boy.  ;-)