My hero...

Some days, more than others, I find that I really, really appreciate my Dad. Today was a day that he proved his status of 'My Hero' without a doubt!

On our last job of the day (at 6:15-ish) we rocked up to a job where the fellow, Scott, said he was having difficulty with his Eco System (code for: septic!)

We duly went inside and investigated the wiring at the switchboard, and at the indicator light and then trudged outside to the septic and had a sticky beak behind the powerpoint. (oddly the previous electrician had not put a connector on the Earth...) but the actual problem was that the silly twit had no idea how to set a float switch...and on this particular septic there were two! BOTH were set incorrectly which resulted in the pump (once it kicked in) continued to pump, even when the tank was completely empty - it is VERY bad for a pump to run dry! Usually it will burn out and you either have to get it re-wound (expensive) or toss it and buy a new one (equally expensive!)

The only problem with a float switch is that you have to get in there with it, to re-set it! ICK!!!!!
The additional problem was that the opening for these particular septics are quite small...as in tiny!!

This would usually be my job - THANK GOODNESS FOR BEING PREGNANT!!! :D

Dad made a few jokes about how I'd have to go down because the opening was too small for him, and Scott thought it should be my job as the apprentice (fool!), but thankfully Dad was only joking (I think!) and soon made the decent himself.

...exactly HOW he managed to squeeze through that tiny opening, and past the pump pipes (which also served to decrease the opening size) is completely beyond me, but I am SO grateful he did!!!!!

As he cut off the existing cable ties and passed them to me, and I reached out (thoughtlessly) with my bare hand...ICK!!!!!

After gathering several of them, and feeling decidedly ill, I hurried to the truck under the pretense of getting a plastic bag to put them in...and promptly dry-heaved for ages! YUCK!

Before we'd even finished testing the unit, I'd already washed my hands several times with water from the truck. Then we went to the nearest toilets so I could wash my hands THREE times!!! Im still grossed out by it! But my Dad is definately my hero!! :)

Another yucky occurrance from today involved me and a stove. As I pulled the back panel off the stove to disconnect it, I was the lucky discoverer of not one, or two, but FOUR dead mice that had been fried by the terminals!! *dry-heaving again* And two of them had their little paws around the cables and wouldnt let go! It took a great deal of tickling with my screwdriver to get them to let go. Then, when we moved the stove away from its original spot, two additional dead mice fell out of it! Gross!!!!