Cruisers Forum
Main Forum => Tips and Tricks => Topic started by: Ron Dittmer on October 24, 2015, 12:42:22 pm
-
Hi All,
I checked off this one on my maintenance list.
Like many of us (maybe all of us), our shower head has this chrome button to turn the water on and off at the head. Ours got harder to work with each passing year. This past trip was unacceptable so it was time to take action. Actually I waited far too long to take action. I should have done this four years ago.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/602/22447801011_86a5e607df_c.jpg)
Here it is taken apart. To disassemble it, grab the ends of the chrome stem and unscrew it from itself. One end comes off as a fancy slot-less screw. Afterward I had trouble removing the stem from the handle for there was so much resistance. I ended up screwing in a much longer screw, then applied pressure on that screw to push the stem through. As it turned out the stem was so hard to remove because one of the "O" rings kept getting hung up on a plastic hole inside the handle. Once removed, I learned I damaged that "O" ring which left a tiny rubber chunk inside. I removed that debris, cleaned up everything, lubricated everything with a thin layer of Vasoline, replaced the damaged "O" ring, reassembled, and now the button works as smooth as butter.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/585/22423420402_64d857c3ef_c.jpg)
-
Is there a way to clean the shower head itself? I'm not getting water out of all the holes.
Janey (needs more water pressure)
-
Generally, soaking it in CLR or similar does the job.
- Mike
-
You can clean the head by soaking it in white vinger. Just spray the side switch with WD40 silicone and push it back a forth several times. Much easier than Ron's way.
2o2
-
Tom, you are correct about that being much easier, but using Vasoline is the official lubricant for potable water, and I assume we all appreciate potable water to take a shower with.
In all honesty, Tom's method exposes the human body to so little questionable chemicals, I would think that is fine.
-
I have the white plastic shower hose off as well, going to home improvement centers with it to find a more flexible one. I am thinking about one of those plastic braided type like we once had at home for the kitchen sprayer. Has anyone found a better one? Maybe ours is getting stiffer over the years. It tends to fight me, and because of it, it gets loose down by the faucet.
-
Generally, soaking it in CLR or similar does the job.
- Mike
Yep!
CLR, Lime Away, and Zep all work well at cleaning those little holes, and also any red/brown rust stains. Just soak the head in a jar, then run water through it. It is safe to use for it rinses completely away. People use it to clean their coffee makers.
-
Ron
We replaced our shower hose a couple of years ago. Works great and is very flexible with no rust.
It is the stainless steel hose on this site:
http://www.rvpartscountry.com/RvShowerHeadsHoses
Perhaps something on this site might meet your needs.
Barry
-
Thanks for the link Barry. It looks like what I am looking for.
I like to get away from the office for lunch so I'll still pay a visit to a few stores. I do wonder if the Made For RV stuff is different. It will make for some lunch time fun.
I also want to swap all the white painted screws just above the shower pan with stainless ones with pan heads to get rid of those sharp edge heads.
-
Ron,
We replaced the screws in the shower awhile back. See my post http://forum.phoenixusarv.com/index.php/topic,1876.msg14578/topicseen.html#msg14578
-
Ron,
We replaced the screws in the shower awhile back. See my post http://forum.phoenixusarv.com/index.php/topic,1876.msg14578/topicseen.html#msg14578
Somehow I missed that one or it simply flew out of my head. Thanks for sharing that. It will be easier with your given sizes. I like your "silicone dab" suggestion too.
Are the two long ones for the corners? I count 13 plus 2 for the corners in our 2350.
-
Ron,
We replaced our shower hose with an Oxygenics Body Spa - Powerful RV Shower Technology model that you can see on this page:
http://www.coilnwrap.com
It works great and I like the design of the handle as it can be manipulated easily with my soapy hands while in the shower.
--Bruce
-
We also replaced ours with the Oxygenics and agree with Bruce about the handle design.
- Mike
-
We bought the Oxygenics and have it under the bed waiting for us to motivate into fix-it mode. We are so bad at this stuff, we dread it. The shower works with muscle on that button so we put it off. I get jealous reading some of the posts you all put up here. You are so good at fixing things. It's winter now and we tucked our baby away so the shower head will have to wait for spring.
-
Tom, you are correct about that being much easier, but using Vasoline is the official lubricant for potable water, and I assume we all appreciate potable water to take a shower with.
In all honesty, Tom's method exposes the human body to so little questionable chemicals, I would think that is fine.
Ron, the next time you in a hardware or plumbing store, ask them for some plumbers grease. Most likely you will get a silicone grease from them. My plumber uses it our house filters and water neutralizer seals. Also doctors and dentist all use silicone gloves now a days. I would think that silicone is safe for use in a shower. Maybe even better than the old, used for many years, Vasoline.
-
Ron
Yes, the longer screws were for the corners but the screw count and size I provided was for a 2551 with a corner shower. The 2350 has a different style shower and the screw count and size might be different.
Barry
-
A good soaking in white vinegar will also clear away the minerals that block the shower head holes or anyplace else you have mineral build-up.
We also quickly replaced the shower head, but with a model that has an on/off sliding thumb switch and bigger head. Our sweet ride is tucked away for the winter so don't know the brand but it works much easier than the push-through button worked even when new. Whenever we use the outside shower which we did not change, we celebrate we changed the inside one. Ron your must have really strong fingers to have lived with the original for 4 years.
-
Ron wrote: I have the white plastic shower hose off as well, going to home improvement centers with it to find a more flexible one. I am thinking about one of those plastic braided type like we once had at home for the kitchen sprayer.
That is exactly what we use, including the spray head. A simple, very flexible kitchen sink sprayer. When you release the trigger, it is OFF and you don't drip water. That is important when boondocking and you may be getting water from a distance and trying to get as many days possible out of your tanks. A whole bunch of Class B folks (the land from whence we came) have used these for years because they shut completely off when you release the trigger and Class Bs generally have small tanks. Disadvantage is you cannot adjust the shower spray and it comes out forcefully, which is fine for a lot of us.
Paul
-
I found at our local home improvement center, a 59" (the original is 59"-60") replacement hose for $5.95 so I bought it. It is not as flexible as the expensive systems have, but better than our original solid white plastic one. I think the original simply got stiffer with age. I was tempted to buy a better shower system, but this was just too easy and so cheap a solution. And Irene totally agreed with me.
Like Barry-Sue had done, I also bought stainless hardware for around the shower pan. Some of the original #6 screws did not bite well at all so I bought the next diameter larger, #8s. They fit the same holes and bite in perfectly and so that little project is now done.
While in the shower, I also noticed the caulk on one corner wall and along one edge of the pan needed attention so I rubbed it off (yes it simply rubbed off as it was spread extremely thin), cleaned it up, and laid a new bead of white silicone caulk, the same caulk I used on the cracked Dicor on the roof around the vents up there, explained in another T&T thread.
I am on a role checking off my list and lovin it. I now have time for it for I got laid off last Tuesday from Motorola Solutions after 38 years there. It really was perfect timing. I got a nice severance package which I considered to be a very nice parting gift. I am a free man now like most of you are so these little projects are play time for me.
-
Congratulations on getting your freedom. :)(:
Is irene free?
My wife got her freedom a couple of years ago and I have been free for the last eight years. Those were some hard years waiting for her to be free also.
Boy, it is way better than working for a living.
-
Ron & Irene--Best of luck in this next stage of living life as it comes along. I have nothing but faith and confidence that you will not only find your next direction, you will make it happen, and with the same confidence and meticulous flair you exhibit in caring for your PC!
-
Well I thank you both for your kind words over my retirement. And to answer Tom's question. Irene has been at home patiently awaiting for this moment, right along with me.
-
Ron
Congratulations. Retirement is a summer vacation that never ends. Enjoy!
Barry and Sue
-
Ron
Congratulations. Retirement is a summer vacation that never ends. Enjoy!
Barry and Sue
Thank You!
-
From reading your posts I gather this advice may not apply to you, but one can never be sure.
AVOID death by chair! It is so easy to settle into a routine of sitting and thinking, or reading, or watching TV. Sure, retirement means slowing down but that comfy chair will pull you in and suck the life out of you.
I know you are active in your church and community so that will help... but leads to more advice: learn to say no. If you don't, you'll wind up with a full time job that you don't get paid for. Now is a good time to make that "Bucket List" for each of you and get to it.
It will take time to adapt but I think you're going to love being retired. I was beyond ready but John was not. He was happy at his desk and in his chair. Within two months on the road, he was totally into it. So, congratulations, relax and enjoy!
H
-
From reading your posts I gather this advice may not apply to you, but one can never be sure.
AVOID death by chair! It is so easy to settle into a routine of sitting and thinking, or reading, or watching TV. Sure, retirement means slowing down but that comfy chair will pull you in and suck the life out of you.
I know you are active in your church and community so that will help... but leads to more advice: learn to say no. If you don't, you'll wind up with a full time job that you don't get paid for. Now is a good time to make that "Bucket List" for each of you and get to it.
It will take time to adapt but I think you're going to love being retired. I was beyond ready but John was not. He was happy at his desk and in his chair. Within two months on the road, he was totally into it. So, congratulations, relax and enjoy!
H
I am right there with you.
I love short term projects, whether at home, helping family, church, neighbors, community, whatever. But I don't want to be a crutch either with "Don't bother because Ron will come in and save the day" kind of thinking. But I have said "No, I can't do that" way too many times in my life. I really want to say "Count me in" much more often. I would like to attend events like these Phoenix Cruiser annual outings for example.
My church is a mega church which holds their Global Leadership Summit (https://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/about_rsp.asp) in August, an event that packs our main 7100 seat auditorium with over-flow in our smaller auditorium. The event is broadcast around the country, and later around the world with over 200,000 in attendance. I am asked to help of which I have done on rare occasion because I have to take time off work. Now I can join my wife and be counted on to help pull off that event every year. Christmas services go for an entire week prior to Christmas Day. I can step it up during those times as well. I enjoy helping in spurts. You get the idea.
I can see I will continue to be a busy guy and that is how I enjoy life. Since being at home for less than a week, I have already lost a few pounds from not sitting in a cubicle for 40 hours a week, tapping into vending machine junk food twice a day.
Please don't worry about me.
-
Hey Ron, I promise not to "worry about you." Sounds like you have it together in many ways. Not all of us have or had the luxury of getting to retirement at an early age, but you may have to run to catch up with us! I just picked up this thread today, so I am late in adding my congratulations. Always enjoy your posts here and on other sites. Now you will have more time to send us even more. Enjoy!!!!
Richard
-
Want to add our congratulations on your retirement. I know you will have many new adventures to share with us. We are thoroughly enjoying our time. Also I want to say how much we enjoy your helpful information on the forum. All of the folks on here are great.
-
Want to add our congratulations on your retirement. I know you will have many new adventures to share with us. We are thoroughly enjoying our time. Also I want to say how much we enjoy your helpful information on the forum. All of the folks on here are great.
tymote
-
Ron, we have been gone for a week in our 2350 enjoying the fall weather and I am just now reading these posts. You wrote:
I now have time for it for I got laid off last Tuesday from Motorola Solutions after 38 years there. It really was perfect timing. I got a nice severance package which I considered to be a very nice parting gift. I am a free man now like most of you are so these little projects are play time for me.
Let me just add my congratulations to those of others posted on this forum. Although I must admit I occasionally miss the action of my former life, I feel blessed to no longer be a participant in the daily work scene. Like me, you seem to have a lot of interests and things to bring joy to your life. I am familiar with your church and the leadership it has brought to church life in reorienting much of America. What a great opportunity to stay involved and active! Somewhere along the way, we tend to let life become our work instead of a resource to increase the joy of our life. It is a much different corporate world than you entered almost forty years ago. I am so glad to be able to get up every day and do pretty well what I want to do without the burden of having to constantly respond to the demands of the workplace.
For some, this transition is easy and for some it is not so easy. I have learned enough about you from your postings to know it will be a blessing to your life to have more of the most fleeting commodity on this planet: time.
Congratulations and enjoy the journey! Lots of places out there in this country and time to experience, not just see them, is a gift.
Paul
-
Thank you so much Paul.
-
Ron, I too wish you best in retirement. Reading your posts for years now, I’m not much worried about you making good use of it. I didn’t exactly retire – I “got” retired at age 53 when my company was sold and moved from Ohio to Texas. I did some consulting work for two years when I could start receiving my pension at age 55. Unlike some other officers, I exercised and kept my stock options rather than cashing them in. So we bought a bigger motorhome and travelled, travelled, travelled. Guess I could have found a lesser job and kept working, but now I wouldn’t have changed a thing.
Like it says at end of all my posts, “I remember very few of the things that I’ve spent money to buy, but I remember all of the places that I’ve spent money to see.”
-
GoPhoenix,
I think your statement is very good for everyone to keep in mind when doing life.
Thank you for your kindness over the many years here on the PC forum. And thank for you for your encouragement. I do hope to manage my retirement in a very useful manner, both for us with our household, the people around us, and also the really big picture if you get what I mean.
Ron
-
Ron,
I share the sentiments and good wishes for you and Irene as expressed by the other forum members. We just returned from a nine day RV trip two hours ago. Now you two can enjoys those shorter trips from time to time and not have to wait for vacation to travel.
Hal often says, "I don't know how I had time to work with all the fun things that fill our days."
Enjoy the wonderful times ahead.
Gail