I didn't actually slit my wrists, us 'Jenninsies' are made of sterner stuff! Instead, I got out my trusty camera. This is a very interesting picture of a drip forming....(no, it really isn't!)
Click twice on the picture to get a better look. This is one of the unforeseen consequences of sorting out our water problems; i.e. more water problems!
Never mind, as the Muslims say; Al hamdulillah, which roughly translates (or so I believe) as thank God for everything, whatever he sends. I'd promised myself that I'd get the livingroom A/C working as well, so the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Freda again, a multi-talented girl if ever there was one) and I counted up our money and off I went. The switch for the A/C was 30le, I was hoping to get a bit discount from that, which would leave me a little bit for other bits and bobs. The shop was shut! I trudged home with some water, which wouldn't do the same job.
Of course, I tried again later, only to find that another of the brothers who run the electrical shop wouldn't budge from 35le. As I only had 33.50le, this was obviously a non-starter and I left the premises in disgust! Hey ho! There's another (newer) electrical supply shop on my way back home, so I tried there. No English here at all, but fortunately I'd written down the details of the existing switch on a scrap of paper, and so eventually found one...........for 31le. I was as happy as a sandboy! Reinvigorated by this minor success; I tripped off down to the plumbers merchants again, could the leaky valve be replaced for 2.50le?
Sometimes I really wonder about my sanity. A valve the same as my defunct one was 10le, but that was Egyptian, and the better quality Italian one was 15le. It might as well have been 1000! I showed the man what I had, and told him that I would return when I had some more cash. At this, he pressed the Italian job into my hand, indicating by sign, and the odd attempt at English, that I could pay him on Monday.
I suddenly felt like Bob the Builder again. Can we fix it??????
As soon as I got home I tackled the leaky valve. As it's on the feed into the hot tank; I had a constant trickle of near boiling water to contend with as I wrapped the threads with Teflon (P.T.F.E.) tape. It was soon done though, even though I smashed to pieces a plastic step while standing on it to better gain access to the valve etc. I'm sure that less than 16 stone shouldn't have done that! Anyway, the job was OK, and I was even more enthused and raring to go. It was coming up to midnight.
Being very colour blind doesn't endear one to the mysteries of electricity, however, since Egyptian electricity satisfies itself with only two wires, I'm not afraid to have a go at it (within reason!) on occasion. When our good friend Mr Ramadan (the local electrician with the unspeakable habits) fitted up the wiring and switch for the A/C in the bedroom, he had said that a completely separate cable and trip switch would be required for the other (livingroom) one. Now, me being of a cynical nature, I wondered if that was really the case, or was Mr R. just trying to weedle a few more quid out of me?
While we were at home in Windy Nook, I found an old, slightly rusty, Vernier caliper! I also got some new spectacles made by the excellent Mr Hadwin. (Why is he telling us this?) I was now equipped to measure the actual wire inside the cable! (See?) The cable attached to the A/C unit had wire that measured one and a quarter millimetres, whereas the wire that Mr R. had run from the trip switches, was two and a half millimetres. Even someone who once got a mark of three out of a hundred for arithmetic can calculate that that is twice the size, and go on to suspect that it would be OK to run the two A/C's off it. While measuring the thickness of the wires, a mini-disaster struck! I found that the cable attached to the A/C unit had THREE cores. After a moment or two of initial panic, I just removed the cover from the live switch and got my apprentice (that's right, Freda again!) to check on the colours. Mafeesh mushkellar! (Remember? "No problem".)
After getting confirmation from Uncle Roy (without whose kindness and generosity we wouldn't even be here) that the 2.5mm cable and 32 Amp trip etc. should be adequate, an orgy of cutting and drilling, hammering and screwing ensued until at about 02.30 when it was finally time to have both of our rooms air conditioned! First the bedroom one......OK, then the new one.....OK, but it was blowing warm!!!! The stupid thing took about 15 minutes or so to sort itself out, but when it did; it was magic! It had the livingroom like a fridge in no time at all. (They must be reflections on the wall, sorry.)
I left them both switched on for a couple of hours, while I had a look around the forums and Freda did her Sleeping Beauty impression. I checked the wiring for heat, and found that the main cable from the tripswitch was a bit warm, nowhere near hot, you understand, but it felt warm to touch. I'll keep an eye on it.
Now, after clearing away all the tools and rubbish etc. it'll be another meshrabiya cover for the outside! No rest for the wicked, I'm afraid.
Have a nice day!
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