A bit of an own goal...
We've shared many of the beautiful beaches, the swimming pools, waterfalls, and the wonderful spots that we've experienced since being in Grenada.
This post is a bit different - have to balance the good and the bad.
How about changing the gasket on a leaky toilet? (spoiler alert, it still leaks)
Moving on from the toilet, how about the generator? It's been a heap of problems since we've arrived. Maybe it heard the toilet was leaking, so it decided that the head gasket wanted in on the action - for those non-mechanically inclined - green antifreeze dripping out of anywhere on the engine block itself is a bad sign:
Okay, so the toilet(s) and generator have sprung a few leaks - but not to be deterred, let's move to the next project. The marvel of modern technology - the water maker. All seemed to be in working order - but the smell of "fresh" water coming out the end was horrific. First try was to run some sterilizing chemicals through it...which I knew was a fools errand, but off we went. After utter failure, it was time for the real work of changing out the membranes that actually make the fresh water.
The membranes are secured inside tubes that have pressed on end caps. I had read that a vice was required to separate the end cap from the tube - so luckily, Yoto came equipped with just such a thing.
Perfect - let's get them apart, change the insides and re-assembly. No issue right?
Well, the water maker had heard about the toilet(s) and the generator and decided to join the party:
That's high pressure salt water spraying in a fine mist all over everything in the general area.
Time to come apart again and hunt for spare parts.
Meanwhile, Erin has had some adventures - how about removing an old TV that doesn't work?
The new TV looks a little big, but it'll work eventually.
But, back to the water maker. It's now coming apart again - let's keep our spirits up and see if we can fix the problem with our tools and ingenuity.
Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of what lead to the next picture - but I'll try to sum it up quickly. Each tube has an end cap - some of the end caps are harder than others to get off. To get the end caps off - you hold in a vice and turn/pull the end caps off.
After all the leaks, I was a bit frustrated and pulled quite hard on the tube to separate the end cap - unfortunately the tube continued it's velocity upward and into my chin.
We went to $1EC wing night tonight and met a fellow who asked about my cut. I explained the whole story to him - and he said, "sure the parts and breakdowns are pretty normal - but hitting yourself in the face over it? That's a bit of an own goal isn't it." And you know what, he's right - painful as it is - it's all part of the required entry fee to do what we're doing - and we're paying the fee. But limiting the mistakes can go a long way to lessen the impact.