Why I didn't ride yesterday

And it was such a beautiful day, too. I suppose you know what someone means when they say "nature calls." That sort of happened to me. Or us, you might say. Our septic system called in sick.

Several weeks ago I noticed a tripped circuit breaker in the panel. I couldn't find anything that wasn't working, so I flipped it back on. It stayed there, so I figured it had something to do with all the construction. Sparing you all the unsavory details (or really savory, depending on how you look at it), we discovered that it seemed to be the circuit breaker for the effluent pump in our septic system. Thursday we proved it. The breaker had tripped again, and Martin (the best neighbor in the world) and I put an ammeter on the circuit and discovered that the 1/3 hp motor was drawing 12 amps, four times what's normal. A seriously unhappy motor. And our system needs that motor—the drainage field is higher than the septic tanks.

A little research told me that replacement cost is about $1200 to have it done. Martin suggested that I could do it myself for under $500. Turned out to be $450.

So that's what I did yesterday instead of ride my bike through the delicate breezes of DE. Believe me, the breezes from that tank were not delicate. It was a fairly routine swap-out for anyone who has done it before, who can handle a Large channel lock wrench, has all the parts on hand, and knows wiring and plumbing. And doesn't mind a little odor. It took all day, some significant help from Martin (did I mention that he's the best neighbor in the world?) and I still have a little wiring to do, but with an extension cord run out there for now, the system functions nicely.

Here's a photo of the old pump. The thing must weigh a hundred pounds. I had to hose it off from above while it was down there, use a telephoto lens to take a picture of the label, and photoshop the picture a bit to determine the model number so we would know what pump to get without actually climbing down into the sludge.That mission accomplished, Martin picked up a pump the next morning, and I got to work as soon as everyone else left for the lake.

And here's a sad picture of my bike waiting out today's rain. It was too rainy to sit out there and work on the wiring, so I cleaned and vacuumed the house. Since I'm batching it, I'll tell her I had to clean things up to remove all signs of the beer party. Think she'll believe me? Besides, fixing septic systems is what batching husbands do, right?