All,

I spent this weekend working on the plumbing at the cottage. I have included before and after pictures.

The cottage operational procedures for the first to arrive is:

1) check the pressure on the gauge on the black pump beside the Beach House, (For reference to see if any pressure was lost)

2) plug in the pump, it may run for a few seconds but not for long. If it keeps running for more than a minute unplug it. Call me.

3) Go around to the other side of the cabin to the 3 taps and turn on the 2 red taps, unscrew them all the way then turn back a half turn (Saves the seals over the long run).

4) Go inside the beach house and test that water is running

5) flip on the water heater breaker (Only if someone is going to be staying in the cabin)

6) go over to the rustic cabin and check that water is running

7) Turn on the water heater breaker at the panel

8) Check that the Septic pump in plugged in (On the outside of the cabin to the left of the back deck)

I fixed 3 pipe joins that separated over the winter on the Beach house and while I was under the cabin fixing them a 4^th broke open, Consider the work this weekend a “Cottage Patch Job” because the Beach house is poor shape. Each soldering joint that broke was poorly done in the first place, it all needs to be ripped out and redone, they have hot water going from the middle of the cottage over to the bathroom on the far side and then up and all the way back over to the kitchen sink. Sure, they probably did it so they could easily drain it for the winter (Not that we drained it anyways) But the hot water should be rerouted to a direct line and insulated to save some energy. Saturday I fixed all the leaks and replaced the leaky taps primed the water and had everything working before the hockey game started. After the game I though I should just check on the water system and discovered that the pump was running non-stop and wasn’t keeping pressure (I.e. no water being pumped in) I unplugged it and went to bed. I figured it was the stop valve in the lake since I had rebuilt it from spare parts form the rundown shed. Water had flowed back to the lake and the pump isn’t built to suck water up the pipe. I bought a new one in Sundridge the next day along with some other parts.

I installed a water filter on the water system as seen in the pictures; we should probably rinse the filter monthly and replace it at the beginning of each season. It’s rated for Odor, Chlorine and smell removal not for killing bacteria, not that I think Horn Lake has a problem. (I was getting thirsty while I was priming the pump so I just drank from the cup I was using instead of pouring it in the pump.(I’m still alive))

I went and bought a new water pressure tank at Home Hardware on sale for $119 it’s about 5 times the size of the one I replaced and should keep pressure better. I toyed with the idea of swapping the slightly larger pressure tank from the all season cottage with it, but figured it wasn’t worth the trouble, partially because it’s wired to the house differently and I’d need to swap power connections as well as the tank. I replaced everything I could on the pump system because the inside of all the iron works was caked in rust. Speaking of rust. You might remember that Mom was mentioning that the water was sand colored while she was up there recently. If you turn on the cold water, in the all season cottage it’s nice and clear, if you turn on the hot water, all rusty colored. I don’t need a plumbing license to determine that our hot water tank is the cause. I’d like to replace it this weekend. (It was mentioned in the home inspection that it would need replacement sooner than later, well,,,, it’s due) If not this weekend then I’ll at least drain the tank and fill it up again to see if it solves the problem temporarily. There isn’t anyone scheduled to use that cabin before July anyways.

I have installed a new kitchen tap in the Beach house and still need to install them in the other two cabins, those cabins have water shut off’s under the sink so replacing them at anytime doesn’t require the water to be shut off at the source. Besides I was running out of time and wanted to focus on getting the main pump and intake setup.

There are still some showers or taps with the hot and cold reversed, I know the shower in the rustic cabin is one of them and will fix them all eventually. I have another filter to install in the all season cabin and an ultra violet water filter to install under the sink. I’d like to control it with a switch so we can preserve the life of the bulb (About $100 to replace rated for 2000 hours) I’m sure we could get used to turning on the filter, running the water for 1 minute, filling the drinking water containers and turning it off. (Only the cold water in the kitchen sink would be sterile) Other than needing “hot water pipe insulation” everywhere I think that about covers it.