Monday, January 25, 2010

How not to fix your radiator

The big oil-filled electric radiator in my living room has now for a while gotten the stupid habit of ticking. It's the the timer, which I've never used, and it won't be turned off. I've read the "manual" and everything.
Finally I found the obvious solution: I'd kick it. The timer is external and fragile, so of course it's stop ticking, while it would keep heating fine.
No sooner thought than done. It produced an impressive array of sparks and such, and half my apartment went in black, including my blu-ray player, my HD TV, and my computer (in the other end of the apartment), which took four reboots to work properly again after this.
Result: now the radiator does not heat, but the timer still ticks on merrily, even though it's kicked halfway to the middle of the case.
What I've learned: study an appliance a bit more carefully before kicking it. Some of them are complex mechanisms, and you need a delicate and precise touch.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Eolake said, ". . and you need a delicate and precise touch.." Did you mean 'a delicate and precise kick'?

I got so mad once in the studio I kicked a trash can that I forgot I had just dumped a whole bunch of phone books in. Darn near broke my foot.

Al Wright said...

Eolake said, ". . and you need a delicate and precise touch.." Did you mean 'a delicate and precise kick'?

I got so mad once in the studio I kicked a trash can that I forgot I had just dumped a whole bunch of phone books in. Darn near broke my foot.

[Didn't mean to hit the 'anon' button]

Anna said...

Haha ! :-)

And now, watcha gonna do ?

Kent McManigal said...

Sounds like how I "fix" cars and computers.

Sam Pieter said...

The infamous 'technical tap' only works:
- barefoot,
- on other people's appliances, and
- when you're not mad.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Anna, well, I've ordered a new one.
Two actually, the small one in the kitchen is coming apart. That one just because it was so friggin cheap.

Anna said...

> Sam Pieter said...
The infamous 'technical tap' only works:
- barefoot,
- on other people's appliances, and
- when you're not mad.

Haha !
Poor toes...

dave nielsen said...

The infamous 'technical tap' only works:
- barefoot,
- on other people's appliances, and
- when you're not mad.


It helps to be Fonzie, too.

dave nielsen said...

Of course, he used a fist, so it's hard to say if he would have had any more luck kick something than Eolake did.

Monsieur Beep! said...

More such stories pleeeeezzze please please!!!

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

LOL, thanks Beep. I'm flattered. ... I think.

I think you'll like the story here.

But it's too expensive to act in such ways too often.

Pascal [P-04referent] said...

Al Wright signed...
". . and you need a delicate and precise touch.." Did you mean 'a delicate and precise kick'?


Not everybody's name is Chuck Norris...

Does the kick method also work for fixing buckets? ;-)

dave nielsen said...

Not everybody's name is Chuck Norris...

Chuck has to be sparing in his use of roundhouse kicks. He used one to bring the universe into existence...andother could cause the Big Crunch.

Pascal [P-04referent] said...

I thought the Big Crunch was the name for someone TRYING to do abs vaguely like Chuck Norris?

Of course, if you WERE Chuck Norris, you would just stare down the damn radiator until it melted, then undo one button of your shirt to bring a wave of tropical weather over the whole continent. Because Chuck Norris is so damn hot.

Once, Chuck Norris went to China to be the guest referee for a martial arts tournament. When he stepped off the plane, all the women within a 20 mile radius immediately fell pregnant.
This might explain why I just heard on the TV news that China is giving up its single child policy (no fib). Officially "because the whole Retirement system in China is on the verge of arithmetic collapse". But we know better!

Alternately, Chuck Norris could've gone "a-hem", and the radiator would've kowtowed frantically and granted him any three wishes he'd like... as warm-up for the more serious magic!
[Hey, why would magic be restricted to oil LAMPS, huh?]

Radiator timers don't tick in the presence of Chuck Norris. They know better than to tick "HIM" off.