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In the past, when I lived in a high(er) car theft area, friends had LoJack, and a few had their vehicles stolen. I remember that every one of them complained about the cops not getting after the vehicles, and only recovering them when the vehicles were abandoned (at which point many were trashed...

Speaking of dropouts/lags in service, I have been getting the "Slow Ethernet LAN link" status for awhile, coupled with short dropouts. Starlink sent me replacements for the router, Ethernet adapter and cable. After I installed the parts it was about the same, with frequent sub-second dropouts...

@EddieWalker I think a LoJack dealer needs to sell/install it. I think that the downside might be just how important local law enforcement might rate a rural tractor theft in your area. Personally, I'd go with one of the many GPS trackers. Good luck with your various projects. All the best...

I figure to do concrete pours once. If it cracks on me, or has some other defect, I know myself and it would annoy me every time I walked past it. I use chairs or dobies when using mesh as well. The sweet spot for steel reinforcement is about a third of the way up the slab, regardless of...

There were reports from Canada, Australia and New Zealand. So, pretty big. Nothing in the space weather channels, so it looks like something Starlink did internally, or someone did to Starlink internally... Glad to have it back. All the best, Peter

Yes, well the answer is that they don't generally do a good job as there is no way to control the rebar height accurately. Lots of testing has shown that it just doesn't reproducibly get the rebar into optimal position. I cringe every time I see someone do it. Using dobies, or chairs, or...

Wouldn't that bee ideal for planking?...

My question is why are you using rebar? To make up for poor soil, or poor base rock? (I would find a way to get the base compacted out of good material. Much cheaper than the amount of rebar and concrete needed.) To hold the pieces together when they crack? (I would...

Versions of them are out west, too. They are amongst the best pollinators in our area. All the best, Peter

FWIW: Starlink roam would appear to be available in your area now, convertible to regular Starlink whenever it rolls out. As @Fixastuff points out, Starlink satellites aren't geostationary, and every user not in the US helps reduce the cost for the US service. It is a win-win. I am not saying...

The geology here is complicated, so the aggregate depends a great deal on the source (crushed rock vs river rock), and whether the parent rock is granite, quartz, or sedimentary. Locally, only 3/8 pea gravel is well washed (triple) and relatively dust free. Other washed grades are a single...

That's pretty common here, and required by most of the local fire codes, with the minor change that the tanks are above ground due to the general lack of sustained subzero temperatures. Even with animals, we can go weeks off our tanks. We have our plumbed such that the well water flows through...

Starlink has been a gift, after twenty plus years of deteriorating DSL. While it used to be frustrating that there were alternatives that were "close" and they never quite made it here. We were close to pulling the trigger on a tower for microwave and cell service until the final site...

Getting the ducts properly sealed (not with duck/duct tape! It is illegal to use on ducts here because it degrades so quickly. Here you have to use mastic, or specialty foils.) and insulated will do a great deal toward getting the heat/cold where you need it when you need it. If I could get...

I think that you have done your homework and that you will be happier with the more expensive option as it gets you variable speed compressor, which means quieter, as well as more efficient. All the best, Peter

@ArlyA Thanks for the great photos. Your canines are a riot. All the best, Peter

That's one of those "it depends", and that means the particular VFD, its settings, the wiring, what kind of power supply to the VFD you have, whether there are reactors on the input / output, and the particular motor. "It depends..." I would do a 10' run to a VFD, but I would find another way...

The reason a rotary phase converter would work with any/all of your machines is that it is making a fixed frequency into whatever load it faces. A VFD responds to the motor/load characteristics to try to provide the requested frequency/motor speed. While you can unbox a VFD set the...

Put up more bat houses and bird boxes? FWIW: Our insect issues went down after we quit using pesticides because insectivores moved in. Plus, we get to watch the bluebirds up close. All the best, Peter

I think that the "cheap" solution is to find a way with a back blade to make it easy to clean out your ditches, and refill the arena with sand as needed. If you can prevent the arena from having flowing water, you will eliminate washout. So, I would suggest a better berm around the perimeter to...

I'm a fan of VFDs, but they aren't the easiest items to get up and running sometimes. I think that some VFDs are easier to program than others, and some have the ability to store several different profiles. Often times buying a cheap VFD gets you a manual that is tough to decipher and has errors...

Try to see if you can get used fryer oil, otherwise whatever is cheapest. Oftentimes fryer or soybean oil at Costco is cheaper. If you (and/or @fishfrank) can improve the drainage around the shed, that would certainly help. Putting a water barrier, and drains would be ideal, but I recognize...

You could get a used iPad on eBay for less than $50, or an older iPhone or iPod, with no cell plan. Plus you would have a tablet. Or use Tiles. Or both. (Most effective) I would do a fair bit to keep joyriders off. They can do a lot of damage to the tractor and themselves through ignorance and...

My impression is that thieves tend to be lazy, so if the theft looks long and complicated, they will move on. The flip side is that if someone really wants it, you would need to bring it home. With the "Lockpick Lawyer" on youtube and battery operated chain cutters readily available, I tend to...

Yea, I my Google-Fu failed me as well, which is why I asked. Given the chemistry of the polymerization, I would be surprised if it exists as a PEX A + PEX B, as it would require something like blending some peroxide and some silanes to polymerize it with post extrusion steaming. Because of the...

If you do use chain, have a look at how to use chain safely. Catastrophic chain failures tend to be associated lots of injuries. Personally, I would look at some of the newer plastic (HDPE) cables that are very tough and strong; I just would not use them as the choker. All the best, Peter

Congratulations! That's some tree, regardless. I hope that it works out. All the best, Peter

Do you have a reference for PEX AB? Thanks! Peter

My guess is that your box contains PEX A, based on the fittings that you describe. AFAIK, there is no such thing as PEX AB, other than a Swedish company of that name. Your label doesn't actually say "PEX AB", just a part number that begins "AB". PEX A/B/C are similar, but not identical. PEX A...

Assuming that these are mostly oaks, I would second @JJT's suggestion of going for 5/4 planks rather than 2bys. If you are planning on furniture making, I would do some 21st, but only some. Make sure you paint the ends to reduce splitting and checking! Whether a 15' board is more valuable to you...

Yes. Did you log into the router? If you did, you might try turn the router off for a few minutes and then plugging it, if it hasn't come back on line by now. All the best, Peter

Nice to see the bees and the gorgeous hives! What's around the legs of the hive stand? All the best, Peter

Yikes. That's a lot of surge. My grandparents place was like that. Bulbs would blow just because you were sitting in a chair close to them during a storm. I would be throwing the main disconnect for thunderstorms, but then again, I don't mind candles or kerosene lamps. All the best, Peter

Yes, old vacuum tube power supplies were more tolerant of voltage irregularities; they had to be. Still, I remember changing tubes that got blown by thunderstorms, but it was definitely a slightly user serviceable part, unlike an integrated circuit... Have you tried putting the TVs on a surge...

Gosh, I guess I have a different view on hydrogen. I can see a future for it industrially, but making it safe for the average homeowner is a ways out I think, and likely to stay that way. I think that the energy costs in storage and the complexity of transporting it reduces its viability as a...

Nice!

I think that there are some specific issues with garages and the upper limits on temperature alarms. Many household versions will trip at temperaturs encountered in an unconditioned garage. @3930dave You might also look over at Mike Holts forum; e.g...

Yes, lots of great data there. You also can get information on whether the ping drop is between the router and Dishy, or Dishy and the ground station. All the best, Peter

Once you have hot metal that exceeds the flash point of the fuel, directing fire extinguishers under the car won't do anything much, especially if the extinguisher is a dry powder type. A few years back, we were standing around a small flammable liquid fire (unplanned) that we had managed to...

Unless you have fire hydrants, lots of water, the will and the training to hose the EVs down, yes, I think the advisable response is to evacuate. Here is an older video on a training; The current Tesla recommendation is along the lines of "let it burn, and cool off the adjacent areas as...

Nice! @Fixastuff, fiber should have much lower latency (ping) and higher average speeds than Starlink. I would look at who is going to manage the fiber, and see what sort of performance they are delivering for current customers. (+1 on everything @BigBlue1 mentions.) All the best, Peter

Have you gone around to check/ clean the connectors and connections on the battery cables, and alternator wiring? Corrosion can give the alternator a higher voltage than what you see at the battery, which might explain the issue. What is the output voltage from the alternator when the tractor is...

I'm glad that 12.5V works for your tractor, but if it is an accurate voltage, that isn't using the full capacity of your battery. At rest, 12.5V is around 70% capacity. From: https://www.scubaengineer.com/documents/lead_acid_battery_charging_graphs.pdf (Which has other great graphs) Normally...

You might look at some other sites dealing with EVs; e.g. mikeholt.com teslamotorsclub.com There are numerous discussions on both about EV regulations, fires, the evolving nature of the regulations. Some data scattered through it. You might also look at UL 9540A Test Method, and the associated...

FWIW: We have cows and horses and used to have fly issues, so we had fly traps and insect sprays. Still lots of flies. So, we quit using pesticides and the next year it was about the same, but thereafter we had very few flies as other predators moved in and ratcheted the fly population down. We...

I totally agree that diesel is much less volatile, but I have seen too many fuel oil furnaces with oil soaked surroundings to get the warm and fuzzies about relying on just the low volatility... Going the other way, I can remember camping up your way on a cold, snowy morning and the gasoline...

That sounds like a great plan. Our local brand inspector was incredibly helpful to us, and it sounds like you have found "the guy" to help you out with yours. Good luck. All the best, Peter

Gosh, if I owned just one Tesla model S plaid, I could be in that 1000HP category. Tesla model S, plaid, 1020HP, 960ft-lbs of torque. Supposedly, it hits peak HP at 80mph, and keeps it to 200mph. Nearly linear torque from 0mph up. My wife test drove a co-worker's model S once. She came home...

I try hard never to leave chargers attached to batteries in any enclosed space ever. There are too many ways for that to go wrong. With ICE vehicles there have been more than a few years to work out the hazards, but fires still happen. In earlier times, there used to be restrictions on how many...

While AMU may be a reasonable way, I would draft into the lease that the grazing is to be completed by the time the grass dries, which is your fire reduction goal. We worked with several different graziers before decided to do it ourselves. However, that means for us having to feed some hay to...

That's great! Our generator isn't on the list, so for us, it is either/or. There is a suburban home around here that the owner installed a bunch of solar, and a Tesla megapack, for less than the proposed cost to go a relatively short distance (200'?)...

Powerwalls can be off grid, as can their big brother, Megapacks. Tesla has a short list of approved generators for off grid use. https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/powerwall-2-interface-with-a-generator.95291/page-10#post-4954917 Any off grid solution is going to require more maintenance...

@jkk04 I like mine, too! I've had one for something like twenty years, so I think that they have been around for awhile... Having three clamps means you can pull more than the twenty four or so inches internal to the clamps, and can tighten quite a bite of wire at one go, before walking down...

Contact FedEx and get them to start a trace. That will expedite either the delivery, or the declaration that the package is missing. I would not have waited this long...

I like your idea of a poor ground. It seems consistent with the sequence of events and would simply explain the issue. I would run a new ground wire off the seat ground to somewhere on the frame. All the best, Peter

I'm kind of surprised that the compression release doesn't make much difference. I find the effect of getting oil up into the engine and getting the rpm's up significant for most engines that have compression release. I hope that you can get a look at your thermostart to see how it is doing...

FWIW....I suspect that the "sitting over the Winter" blowby might be just steam coming out of the oil when the oil is warm/hot, from water condensation into the oil. I have a non-Yanmar diesel that shows the same behavior, and doesn't steam or have gases if it has been running recently. All...

Turning a thermostart on for 30-45 seconds seems long to me. Hoye tractor suggests 10-15 seconds. https://www.hoyetractor.com/thermostart.htm Have you looked to verify how fast your thermostart starts flaming? You want the thermostart to burn enough diesel to warm the manifold enough to feed...

Have you tried changing the fuel filter removing all the old fuel, replacing it with fresh fuel, and running some SeaFoam through the system? You don't list where you are, but given the time of year, I wonder if your new to you tractor has old summer diesel in it, which will make for harder...

Thanks! I was having trouble imagining how to make the taper in an expeditious manner. Looks great! All the best, Peter

How do you make those sidebars efficiently? All the best, Peter

That's what I use it for all the time. The prior owners on the ranch here put in pipes and electrical without reference to surface objects, e.g. not 2' out from a fence, or straight from a faucet. I've learned to get out the pressure washer and have a look-see before doing much underground...

Does putting a tube in help with the low ply tires at low pressure? I.e. would it debead and then put the tire back on? (no personal experience) All the best, Peter

Well, that's annoying. You seem to be pretty adept/expert at computers and networking, but in the interests of potentially debugging Starlink issues, can I ask some dumb questions? Have you looked at your Advanced Debug data, (Settings, Advanced, "Debug Data") for things like; Dish data...

We see similar behavior here, and the local coyotes will often shadow us like wingmen for anything that we startle. Ours do share; we often see mom or dad bringing food back for the kits. All the best, Peter

For my $0.02, if he hasn't tried running an Ethernet cable from the fiber modem to a switch and then a cable p, or two, to his computer(s) for the zoom calls, and streaming, I think that he should. That would rule out a bunch of things, and should be step one. I have no particular reason to...

FWIW: I prefer ring shank nails if there is any reason to think that holding strength is an issue, also available in stainless for coastal applications. I'm with @Rockbadchild that following the manufacturer instructions is small compared to what is at stake. All the best, Peter

I have one, and have used it a half dozen times. You need a 2' 2x6" as a base as well, or it sinks into the soil, and it often takes a couple of lifts to get most posts out. I keep it around for locations where I can't use a chain and the FEL, and I can't budge the T-post by hand, so it gets...

As is often the case, the devil is in the details. With things like fiber, it is a good idea to ask about Service Level Agreements (SLA). Whether you can get an SLA with details will vary by location and state. If your provider has one, it will define what constitutes things like speed and...

Not to nitpick, but in the interests of troubleshooting, I would phrase white smoke as uncombusted / unburnt fuel, and black smoke as too rich/ over fueled. (Which is, you are right, unburnt, but from a different cause.) I also agree that a dry leakage line has nothing to do with @Anthony2010's...

(For PT owners who aren't familiar with @thepumpguysc, he is a well known injector and pump rebuilder. I recommend his prior posts as being very informative.) All the best, Peter

Very helpful advice! All the best, Peter

If I am close enough for snake shot, I just use a shovel, so I guess that makes me a lousy shot, or handy with a shovel. I had a friend who routinely grabbed the rattlesnakes by the tail, and had this way of snapping his wrist to snap the rattlesnake like a whip that always broken its neck. He...

Cats! We like to keep a pair around. They keep the pressure up on rodents and lizards, so there is no incentive for rattlesnakes to come in. We had one cat that loved to hunt rattlesnakes, and then play with them. She was a wonderful Maine Coon cat that would follow us around doing chores to...

In a Deutz white smoke is unburned fuel, unless you have oil spraying from a hydraulic hose. Have you smelled the black liquid on the tire to see if it is diesel or oil? It can be hard to see pinhole leaks in hydraulic lines. I hear that leather gloves and a piece of cardboard to see the oil...

Amazing singing. Thanks for sharing.

In case anyone wants it, here is the load table for the R14 Titan tire (aka Goodyear) For two wheel, low speed use, it looks like the minimum pressure would be at least 30psi. The stock Carlisle Trac Chiefs have basically the same load rating at 45psi, (3,500, vs 3510 above)...

Thanks for the R14 tip. I will keep looking; the fact it is a Goodyear should (!) make it easier to find. Do you have the R14s on your 1430? If so, do you notice any difference in performance? Soft ground? Amount of mud trapped in the tread...? All the best, Peter

I would send them more / updated information. Gently stir the pot. It can take awhile. I hear that they have a few software releases that are causing trouble for some people. Eventually, they looked at mine a couple of times and had me pull the Ethernet adapter and then decided that the cable...

I would say that I am reaching out for practical wisdom. I don't know myself. Tractor tires, I know very little about. In the past, we always did like for like replacement. I know from off road vehicle experience the importance of airing down on soft ground like sand or mud, and I know the...

So my tires are getting old, starting to crack, and have the wounds to show a life well lived. Replacement tire thoughts? Anyone have a good source for the 6ply skid steer tires that Power-Trac uses? I'm not finding it in stock. The original tires on my 1445 are 10-16.5, 6ply Carlisle Trac...

Lucky you! That sounds like an awesome experience.

Can you explain in a little more detail what kind of "compatibility are you looking for? That they stack? That the top lock locks the bottom? That they bolt together? Thanks, Peter

@orez Nice! @marrt You might also look into a large chain wrench, aka chain tongs, or chain pipe tongs. You can get 30-36" versions on Amazon for about $100, but read the fine print, as many aren't really that big. https://www.amazon.com/Mophorn-36inch-Wrench-Capacity-Plumbing/dp/B07WGNDGYF (I...

Yes, actually the heating was on prior to the snowfall, so that didn't help us. When I went out to check on things, I could see water dripping off Dishy, but the heating wasn't enough to keep up, and we ended up losing the Starlink satellite signal completely. (3/4"(?) of wet snow) I ended up...

We have helped out on various back country search and rescue / retrievals out here, so I tend to notice stories like that one; most don't have great endings, especially after the length of time that they were stranded. I also have spent time in @Jstpssng's neck of the woods, so I have some...

@WoodChuckDad The advanced speed test option comes up if you click on "Statistics" then scroll down to "Throughput", and click "Speed Test" there, allow it to run the full speed test, and then, finally, a new option appears at the bottom of the screen after you run the basic speed test that is...

Yes, I was glad to see the positive outcome on this. I did wonder how close it was to you @Jstpssng, and whether you might end up finding them in the course of your travels. All the best, Peter

There is a new firmware release rolling out. I wonder if it is important as it downloaded it and rebooted in the middle of the afternoon. We have been having snow, and snow squalls that seem to get ahead of Dishy's heating function. All the best, Peter

I have noticed that repeated running of the speed test tends to improve the reported speed. Whether it is some "auto-speed reduction" algorithm, or real, I don't know. I do know that the advanced speed test "router to internet" section is the one that I pay attention to. All the best, Peter

Great idea, but I will try it when the access to the antenna is a little safer. Wet roof, snow, mud...

+1 on a 4' pipe wrench, with cheater bar. The seals are on there tight. My past attempts to use something like duck tape didn't reduce the apprentice marks much, but as many cylinders don't have holes for pin wrenches, there isn't really an alternative. All the best, Peter

It was gorgeous, though I am going to be cleaning up and chipping for quite awhile. The snow fall was very localized. A neighbor five hundred feet lower had an inch. He is just above a section of road that is cambered toward a 300' high drop off, and no guard rail for most of it. That section of...

🤣 Thanks for the smile. I can relate. Big time, but I am sworn to secrecy. The Starlink router is on another release. Starlink had me pull the ethernet adapter, and in I the first four hours, I don't see a difference. There are some recent posts about corrosion within the proprietary connectors...

@zzvyb6 I did fiddle with the system a bit to orient it in a way to better flush out any air in the system, but I wasn't able to change the behavior. I think that the cylinder volume for these post drivers is larger than the volume of the hose to the valve, so normal use flushes air very...

In thinking about this, I think Starlink seems to imply that Dishy is 100.64.0.1, but I think that address is actually hosted at a ground station somewhere, which would explain the ping delay and packet losses. Dishy got behind on the auto snow melt function this morning and we lost signal for...

We had one of those gorgeous, deadly, silent snowstorms last night. Rain turning into frozen rain, turning into snow. 800' below us, they had an inch. We had 4-6" overnight and another four or so since dawn. The trees around the area have been shedding limbs like crazy, many in the 6-8" range...

I think those are "bee bricks", that are closed tubes for leaf cutter and mason bees, i.e. the tubes don't just go into a wall cavity. https://ccsbestpractice.org.uk/entries/bee-bricks/ I was taught that it was better to use disposable reed or paper tubes to cut down on parasites, like these...

True, but it also isn't uncommon for different manufacturers, their WiFi hardware, and their wifi drivers have different behaviors under similar network conditions. I've seen different vintage Samsung products behave differently. Ditto different versions of Android. @KilroyJC there is also the...

Two questions for all of you who are running your Starlink router in bypass mode; What are your ping times to your dish (i.e. 100.64.0.1)? What sort of packet loss do you have to Dishy? (E.g.my 4,000 second ping has a loss of 1.8%) (Why am I asking? Well, we've been having issues, and I ran a...

Starlink has been having issues with a couple of recent software updates. You might want to file a support ticket on it. In the meantime, I would gently and respectfully suggest that your wife just puts them into airplane mode with WiFi only, while around the house. It may be that Samsung is...

Nice cleats!

They have a tendency to close tickets without notifying users. I would resubmit it. All the best, Peter

Does (can?) the weather station have a fixed IP address, or does it do DHCP? All the best, Peter

You might want to talk to actual electric vehicle owners. For me, I get 40-50mpg in our most efficient gasoline vehicles. The average for most electric vehicles is 100mpge, so at least twice as far for the same energy. Cost is another winner for EVs; my gasoline vehicles cost me...

FWIW: a generic piece of WiFi advice; have you tried separating your 2.4&5GHz WiFi networks? Some slower (older/less sophisticated) devices need 2.4GHz, and some routers try to move them to 5GHz. By having a separate 2.4GHz network, the devices can just stay there. All the best, Peter

There seem to be at least one, and perhaps more than one, recent problematic updates, rolled out this month. (e.g. cc18f87c-1d30-4acc-8ba6-5e53bc8b903d.uterm.release, and perhaps a router update.) After a year of great service, we are now experiencing long pauses (interrupting video calls)...

Has anyone had an issue with the PTO solenoid not fully functioning? Or trouble with the PT post driver? I went to use my post driver two days ago, and while getting it ready, greasing, cleaning, etc., I turned on the PT (throttle a little above idle), and powered up the PTO hydraulics via the...

@civilian You might ask the fire department about whether you can put in a draft pipe in the creek for them. (DNR may have some input on that one...) Time and facilities matter during a fire. All the best, Peter

I hope that fixes it all for you! Best of luck, Peter

Different surge protectors have different designs and components. So, some will engage at lower voltages and some at higher voltages. Be careful when buying surge protectors to check the clamping voltage. Computers and other electronic items benefit from lower (3-400V) clamping voltages. Since...

I bet that hurts in a couple of ways. Ouch! That's a pretty thin jamb, lucky for your daughter's fiancé. You could glue and clamp/screw it back into some sort of alignment, but I'm with @2manyrocks that I would expect to see more substantial fastening of the door frame to the wall. I would come...

We have had them for a long time. It isn't much of an issue for us. We do electrical power intensive activities like running the clothes dryer off peak in the mornings. It spreads laundry out over a few days, but the septic is probably happier for it as well. The car is programmed for the TOU...

If your lights aren't turning on, I would check the electrical panel on the dash to make sure you are getting +12V there, and the double check that there is +12V at the light switch. If you are, even when you turn on the switch, I would double check both ends of the battery cables. Grounds often...

There is a nice detailed write up here; SkyTEM Aquifer Mapping | KQED Nice video overview; All the best, Peter

Gee, I don't know @Snobdds, you've got a turn and hill in that driveway... Gorgeous photo! Congratulation on a beautiful place, and yes, that driveway looks darn near perfect. All the best, Peter

I have French drains as well, and I am with @EddieWalker on them. Filter fabric and gravel will fill with soil and debris over time, and clog, leaving you without drainage. If you need the look of a seamless area, and are ok with ripping them out after awhile, go for it. However, @Torvy's...

Have you thought about how you want to fix the bog for the future? Culvert? French drain? Fill? All the best, Peter

Your polish is better than mine... I hope that it works. My guess is that domeny is going to have to email whoever actually runs it. I did some more digging, and that appears to be someone here (malytraktor@interia.pl, tel:+48509146333). You may want to reach out to them directly... (contact...

As I wrote above, you might just email the site administrator(?) at domeny@consultingservices.pl, and find out what the story is. Even Google has slipped up in the past. All the best, Peter

It appear to be missing a DNS link, though paid up through March 8th, 2023, but is listed as ended. Makes me wonder if someone forgot the renewal. I would check with the email address below. All the best, Peter DOMAIN NAME: malytraktor.pl 's billing period had finished created...

I'm glad the blood type diet worked for you, but randomized trials have shown otherwise as a general rule. E.g. Blood Type Is Not Associated with Changes in Cardiometabolic Outcomes in Response to a Plant-Based Dietary Intervention Peter

It might be heavier duty than the standard SCH 40 or 80 pipe, e.g. 120. Probably worth keeping, but it needs to be out of sunlight for longevity. All the best, Peter

No. Different equipment, different subscriptions. You could use the RV at home, but the subscription price is a little higher ($135/mo, instead of $110/mo). For the RV version, there are two types of hardware, a portable base station, like the home version($599), and an "in motion" version for...

I think per the Federal code on gas producing systems, like septic tanks, 40 CFR 49.4165, controls are required (33 CFR Appendix A to Part 154 - Guidelines for Detonation Flame Arresters) such as flame arrestors, that have to meet 33CFR.154.Appendix A, so I think you would be correct. 33 CFR...

Hmmm...I guess I have either bad roads, or bad luck, or both. I change a tire a couple times a year, one this week. Metal roofing type nail through the center of the tread. I love my impact wrenches as well. My hex drive cordless impact is great for getting lug nuts 90% on, so I can finish...

I've taken to wasting their time by asking politely whether they are worried about the damage that they are doing to their karma by their job. The responses range from "click" through to abuse in Hindi. One guy did that he wasn't worried, and then lost it. So, perhaps he did have concerns after...

Thanks, it puts a smile on my face just thinking about the photo! All the best, Peter

@Red Horse You may need to seek out an allergist, or a gastroenterologist, for expertise in "Mast Cell Activation Syndrome", aka MCAS. Many chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) clinics have come up to speed for Long Covid, but "speed" is definitely relative. I think everyone is trying hard to have...

Good on you for not saying "Yes". Yes, there is a site, though many of the scammers fake their caller ID, so it may not be worth much. https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=39744 All the best, Peter

@bigtiller don't leave us hanging! What is the backstory on the photo? All the best, Peter

Not far off the prices here for a well that deep. One nearby was 700', for around $100k. It is very very site dependent, and especially geology and hydrologically dependent. E.g. gabbro vs sand, accessible aquifer vs rock fractures for water. No guarantees. All the best, Peter

My sympathies. It sucks. I would focus on the vegetables myself. You might want to have a look at chronic fatigue and mast cell activation syndrome sites for ideas, as both disorders seem to have much in common with long Covid, but they aren't all of long Covid, either. Have you been at least...

I'm glad that you got it fixed! As a long time installer and user of Ethernet cables, I can attest to cables going/being bad. Sometimes, you can find a defect in the termination, but often it is not visible to the naked eye. I know that bending an Ethernet cable too sharply, even once, is...

🤣🤣 I am smiling, just sitting here, imagining all of the other times that "something happened over @RSKY's, again..." Thanks for sharing the story! All the best, Peter

Well within specifications and much better than DSL, but not exactly fiber. Happy customer here. All the best, Peter

We very rarely break 100Mbit/s; most often Starlink service is in the 25-40Mbit/s range. That's way better than our previous, and unreliable, AT&T DSL service. We are happy, though, we would certainly appreciate faster service. Our dish did recently reorient slightly from NNE to NNW, and the...

Isn't it just the screen out of a drain screen? I assumed it got "plungered" down the drain as someone was trying to loosen the clog...

Yikes is right!

Reminds me of the lost TD24 retrieval story; My father-in-law showed me where a Sherman tank had driven off the road during the battle of the Bulge, not knowing that both sides of the road were bogs, and sank in seconds. Seventy years later it was still a rectangular hole. All the best, Peter

45seconds? :eek: Details, please! Liquid oxygen? Nitrate?...😆

Reminds me of Euell Gibbons, (sp?) of pine needle and GrapeNuts fame, who used his wife's washing machine to make sumac juice. Do let us know how it turns out. I understand Home Depot stocks a wide variety of dishwashers... There is a recent paper on the potential (ill) health effects of rinse...

(y)(y)Got that right! And probably trying to conceal it from others, who probably have the expertise to get the boom truck out of there...

Wow! That's closer to a direct than I ever want to be. Yikes!

@Joel/ak (y)(y)I'm rooting for the next installment in this saga! Yes, I'd take the day off if Matt was coming, too. Remember these? I guess I have been stranded in enough places without good recovery points, that this particular recovery looks like a piece of cake, so I am amused at how long...

Sorry that you are having issues. It isn't uncommon, and I doubt that it is long cranking. The usual culprits are a leaking carburetor or a leak in the fuel pump (isn't your fuel pump vacuum driven?). I believe that you can get a leak through the diaphragm on the fuel pump to the vacuum to the...

Many pieces of heavy equipment have the same key, so keys really aren't anti-theft the way most car keys are; https://www.amazon.com/Aree-Caterpillar-Heavy-Equipment-Packs/dp/B07DHJNDG6 (Most Cat equipment) https://www.amazon.com/Heavy-Equipment-Key-Set-Construction/dp/B09WD752FY (Pretty much...

Wow! @Joel/ak You just keep the good stories and photos coming! Can I just observe that a) this is a boom truck, b) it has built in hydraulic jacks, and c) an easy way to move mass left/right/fore/aft? Sometimes I wonder about the training that is given to work crews, or how long any of them...

@arto98607 That explanation makes complete sense to me. Thanks! All the best, Peter

Putting hard water through a heat exchanger is asking for trouble in my mind, as either heating or cooling will precipitate scale, reducing the efficiency of the heat exchanger, requiring maintenance to clean it, and probably fairly frequent replacements. Your climate is so mild, that I expect...

@etpm thanks for the video. It seems like there is a lot of bounce (backlash) in your system, at least compared to ones that I am used to. Has it always been that way? Your other video brought back memories! That used to be something I was tasked with reducing/driving below measurement levels...

Ah, yup. Actually, I'm just lazy. I know that you have had to clean up after electronics melted down, and I don't find the resulting hair-on-fire fire drill the least bit productive or enjoyable. So, I am willing to do a lot in advance, at my leisure, not to be under the gun for some...

@2manyrocks I will get a photo. Ours was home built sometime in the early 1900s in a line shack for cowboys working a large ranch (half a million acres-ish). Not a particularly nice one. Here is a Cadillac version (Ice block in the upper left on this one.) Usually just two galvanized boxes...

Why do you say that the ductwork needs altering? Just curious, as it doesn't seem obvious to me why. (The house needs X thousand BTUs/day, whether or not it comes from oil / gas/ heat pump, right?) All the best, Peter

😆We still have an ice box! I guess that makes us older than dirt... No idea where I could find block ice these days.

I think that these are good units, and they have the new UL1449 rating, with a protecting voltage of 400V, which is what to look for if you want to protect electronic devices. Many surge suppressors have much higher ratings of 600V or 900V. I have a whole house surge suppressor as well, but...

Seriously? Who takes a single axle heavy truck off-road? Not even tandem or triple axles...

This is exactly the issue with geothermal. Geothermal has some theoretical efficiency advantages, but isn't very much compared to modern air source heat pumps. On a ROI basis, the added cost of a geothermal installation can't come close to making up the lower upfront costs and generally high...

FWIW: US Riders will tow truck and trailer. We had them when we were hauling horses frequently. All the best, Peter

Reminds me of a story one of the neighboring ranchers told me; he was out helping another rancher in the back of beyond, when the owner saw a coyote. The owner whipped out his gun and shot at the coyote, missing by a mile. The coyote hightailed it away. My friend said as far as he knew the owner...

Given your water issues, I would start by getting the water analyzed, so you know what you have, and then you can get advice on what it needs. You might look into Hellenbrand; they make a variety of softeners and filters. It sounds like you could use something to reduce sediment (backwashing...

There is often a Venturi, aka, an inductor, inline to suck in a little air to make up for the air that is being absorbed by the water. It may need cleaning. As it gets colder, water can absorb more dissolved gasses. All the best, Peter

@truckdiagnostics I like the loop buffer tank idea! Stanford University redid their energy plant awhile back, and put in some monstrous hot and chilled water tanks. Here is a photo before the insulation went on; There are a couple of workers on floor (roof) in the lower right below for scale...

We've been dealing with the same issue. Just realized that the reason the door wasn't closing well on the fridge was a bushing on the hinge had shattered and disappeared. Last week was the dryer, in which I found a flashlight that had been there at least fifteen years... I like...

@Avenger Thanks for the good post. In the FWIW department, there is some attenuation of the ultrasound using plastic containers, more for soft plastic like polyethylene, less for hard plastic like PET. For me, using containers just seemed to take a little longer. I have used glass containers on...

Just in the FWIW/FYI category, because I find stainless steels so confusing. Some forms of stainless steel are magnetic, some are not, and some can be depending on how they are processed (work hardened / annealed). https://www.metalsupermarkets.com/is-stainless-steel-magnetic/ The following...

Just don't use a flammable liquid! Water based liquids only. If you need to use organic solvents, clean with the organics, rinse, ultrasound in your favorite detergent, and repeat as necessary. Like @Tinhack, I use what's on hand that is preferably low foam. Alconox (high pH, works great, but...

Yes, that counts as "common" in my book. I'd ask around; some of our neighbors use dogs to move cattle, but most don't. Ours aren't well enough trained at the moment to do the work (one too old, one too young). If it wasn't an orchard, I would have done it with one of our horses. We used to have...

@Jstpssng Having the gear in the other truck is definitely Murphy's Law at work. Ouch. We had a need for a tow a decade or ago, and long story short AAA refused to do anything reasonable. They would not tow to the nearest dealer (10Miles), nor to the nearest Costco (4miles), both of which had...

Hmm, herding dogs for competition, perhaps not as you want your dog to respond appropriately to the type of animal. A neighbor with a couple of herding dogs, maybe. Deer a very skittish, and it would take a very quiet set of dogs to move it slowly toward a gate. If it were me, I'd set up some...

Nice video! Just eyeballing your hydraulic control bank for the joystick, it looks to me like all three of the fittings towards the inside were hit by something and bent. Is it possible that it wasn't that the fitting was cross threaded, but rather it was bent and failed? Could that explain the...

True, but you can get ice dams lost of ways. I think it isn't just ice dams though, it is that the dormers and other roof features act as snow barriers and accumulate extra snow on the roof adding to the snow load. Lake effect snow can be intense. Ice dams and sliding snow are another whole can...

Yikes!

@oosik sorry to hear it. We are definitely on the "live and let live" page here. I suspect that your neighbor is burning money. Like others above, we have never seen our local coyotes bother our cows. The coyotes walk around the herd. In speaking with the neighbors who do run thousands of...

@LouNY Here is the size chart; Good luck! All the best, Peter

@tallyho8 One place to look is https://www.charitynavigator.org/ I tend to look at the costs to fundraise, and cost to administer. Both should be pretty small in a well run charity in my book. A semi-local food bank gets 98%, with 96.q% of the funds going to the recipients. Charity Navigator -...

@RSKY I'm no attorney, but I think the phrase is "per stirpes". https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/perstirpes.asp Thanks for bringing it up. All the best, Peter

They are really popular around here, and I don't get it either. Having done lots of roof repairs, I know that every one of those valleys is asking for trouble, and in my experience (I'm doing a repair, after all) is that the original roofer didn't use enough flashing or underlayment to keep the...

No, wind chill just affects animals. As @Torvy posted, wind can cool a pipe faster, but wind can't cool it below the air temperature. I would point out that wearing wind proof clothing negates the effect of wind chill on humans, except for exposed areas like eyes and perhaps cheeks. Your pump...

It must be frustrating. Have you tried cleaning them, and the fuel line feeding them? (I like the punch idea, but I would be gentle so the bimetallic gizmo doesn't get compressed too hard.) Brake cleaner? Could they just be old and I need of replacement? They are mechanically very simple, so...

As I wrote, it took me years to figure out a-vi-8... Great handle.

I've been puzzling on AVIVIII's handle until the recent posts. I think it is all in how your pronounce it. I had been thinking Roman style A-6-8, or A-5-4-3. This week, after years of puzzling, I came around to just one Roman numeral. Just call me slow; I'm the one in the corner with the pointy...

Wow, love the door on the conference room! Great way to have multiple uses for the same space, but it can't have been cheap. All the best, Peter

@copytmpmzl I think that @MAX-24-Dean gives great advice. Go out and check your power meter a couple of times during the day and work out what you really use, then think about how much you would be willing to cut out. It is all in the details. I like diesel because I keep it fresh on the ranch...

There is also this one showing the thermostart in situ.

@tallyho8 I think that it is wonderful that you are thinking about this. I'm not sure that there is a universal "right" answer, but I do think there are lots of ways to make communities better, and I think you can make the "right" answer for you. I have confidence that you will make sound...

Amusing. I love the "compatible with most skid steer implements", shown with a PT QA plate bolted to a flail mower that doesn't have a skid steer mounting. It is California, so bright sun may have faded it more than is typical for other locations; even the wiring inside the engine bay is faded...

I'm impressed! I never seem to get it stretched that uniformly smooth. All the best, Peter

@oosik Did you paint that? 👍👍

How do you stretch the aluminum so beautifully? All the best, Peter

I would think about pulling a pulling tape forward when you remove that hose to pull the other back. If there are cable ties in your tunnel, it could be fun. FWIW: If you take up the floorboards, you can get to another 18" or so of the hose pile, leaving you with just the Bermuda Triangle...

:LOL: Yes, it was obvious. That's what had me wanting to scream.:eek: From my front row seat, it looked like gallons and gallons of oil. You seemed well prepared for an oil spill. It seems to me that I think about catching oil leaks later than I think that I should. Thanks again for the...

Awesome video! The ending had me on the edge of my seat, wanting to scream! Is it possible that the issue at the end of the video was actually the underlying problem? (I don't want to give the plot away until others have had a chance to see the video.) Thanks for making and sharing the video...

I don't think that there is a huge difference. Pay now, or pay later. The 1 1/4" PEX has 56% more area than 1" and has less resistance to flow, so you will pay less on the electricity to get the water to the house. Both forms of PEX will have lower resistance compared to PVC pipe of the same...

Thanks! That makes sense all around. Good luck on the rebuild. YouTube video or photos would be wonderful, as I am sure it is in my future as well.:) All the best, Peter

I would not use a lubricant containing petroleum products on plastic as a general rule as many are harmed by oils. I use the CRC silicone as well, along with PTFE dry film sprays on plastics. I use the SuperLube equivalent on metal surfaces, as it is silent on ingredients, other than VOCs<60%...

@AVIVIII Probably unrelated, but I am a little curious; what do you use the valves on your cylinders for? Is there a chance that they could have restricted the flow, making the pressure spike worse that blew the cylinder? All the best, Peter

Bummer x2. I'm surprised that the relief valve didn't bypass first. All the best, Peter

@Xfaxman Interesting, thanks!

Surgical error prevention is why it is now the standard of care in the US to indelibly mark the surgical area prior to surgery, preferably with the patient awake and confirming it. The UK is catching up on that one, as the article highlights. Medical errors are thought to account for at least...