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About 20 years ago I installed my own septic system. Where I live, Island County WA, standard gravity septic systems had to be of the infiltrator type when I installed my system. I check my system now and then by looking into inspection pipes that stick out of the infiltrators. The inside looks...

A while back my wife convinced me to buy a Ninja brand Woodfire oven. I found a new one in an unopened box on ebay at ca substantial discount. We love it. I make thin crust pizzas. I use Bobby Flay's pizza dough recipe. I use bread flour. After the dough has risen I punch it down and then divide...

Yeah, I love my Yanmar YM2310. My son does too. A truly great machine and a beast for its size. Eric

When I was a kid I would get sick from poison oak if I was down wind from it. No exaggeration. And I would get it bad. My eyes would swell up so much I couldn't see. My mom would wrap towels around my arms to soak up the fluid that wold weep from the rash. And don't even get me started on what...

When I posted my original question I in no way would have thought it would have become a thread with 151 posts. But I did learn a lot. Folks posted stuff and I went online to further learn about what they posted and now have a much better understanding of the differences of diesel and gasoline...

My son turned me on to this product. It is a fiberglass type tape saturated with a water setting resin. I don't know if the woven fibers are fiberglass or Kevlar or whatever. I have bought the stuff at Ace hardware. To use you open the package, soak the tape in water, and then wrap around the...

Shortly after I bought the tractor I changed the oil and filter and fuel filter. It has been on my list to change the hydraulic fluid too but since the tractor works great I keep putting it off. I guess I will change the hydraulic fluid now that the weather is warming up. And clean the filter...

My son noticed this too. If the tractor is stopped then when the clutch is let out the tractor will start to move in the opposite direction of where the shifter is. Just slightly. So if the tractor is in reverse when letting out the clutch the tractor will move forward, just a bit. And when in...

Why? Eric

Can't you get your dogs to help? Maybe get a sled. They look pretty buff. Eric

Does the plot thicken as the grease thickens? Sorry for the lame joke. Eric

How much do you need to lift? I mean weight. And how often? Eric

I have a Yanmar YM2310 which apparently has 27 horsepower and 23 HP at the PTO. I almost never use all the power available. My tractor is a beast. I am amazed at the work it will do. I have a 5 foot Yanmar tiller, a box blade, and post hole digger with a 9 inch auger. It has a front end loader...

Yeah, bottoming pipe taps are common in machine shops. Oftentimes there is not enough material to use a regular pipe tap so either a bottoming tap is used or a regular tap is used and then a bottoming tap is used to get full threads. With CNC machines so common now pipe threads are milled...

I live in western WA state. We have ants called "Thatch Ants". These ants are black and large. They build hills out of pine needles and the like and can be very tall and big around. Like 4 feet tall and 4 feet in diameter. They are usually no problem for homes, crops, and trees. We had 3...

I'm wondering why your water is so high in chlorides and if another well might be able to draw water from another aquifer. Your water is kinda scary to me. Are well logs available for you to see in your area so maybe you could decide if the risk of drilling another well is worth it? Maybe you...

I'm gonna try to get pictures of the multi-colored hives I posted about. So you all can see what I'm talking about. Eric

I needed to put a stout handrail up the center of the steps to my house. I bought some wrought handrail stock from Everett Steel that they stock. I made the uprights from 1.25" square tubing. I welded feet on the tubing and set the tubing on my stair steps. I snapped a line across the tops of...

I can't recommend a paddle but I do recommend getting either an electric trolling motor or a small outboard. I say this because I insisted, when going out crabbing by Whidbey Island in a boat that had an outboard I considered to be of dubiouus running condition, that we bring along my little 3...

I'm not a bee keeper but I have a question about hives. As I drive up the highway on Whidbey I pass a place that has a bunch of hives stacked up. The typical almost square hives. Anyway, the hives are painted in various bright colors, almost as if someone was just trying to have some colorful...

I had my pelvis broken in front and in back when I got hit by a truck. It does really hurt. Because I was in shock so bad the EMTs couldn't give me any pain killers, my blood pressure being so low. So it was about three hours before my first dose of morphine. I can totally sympathize. Especially...

It seems odd to me that a typical cap start induction motor would have a duty cycle well below 100%. In my machine shop I had several cap start motors that would run all day and never overheat. The only thing that failed in cap start motors would be the bearings and the mechanical start switch...

I'm happy that Mr S is on the road to recovery, I know what it is like to break a bunch of stuff all at once and almost die. I don't understand though why he mentioned "ethnic workers" leaving trash around. It seems to me that American born workers are just as sloppy as "ethnic" workers. Just...

I got super weepy during my two year prostate cancer treatment. I was given Lupron as part of the drug regimen and I got hot flashes like my wife. Now, about 8 years after treatment stopped I still get more weepy than before. Eric

For folks who may be worried about capacitor voltage ratings, because they can be confusing, the voltage rating of a capacitor can be higher than specified but never lower. Capacitors can be rated at a DC voltage or an AC voltage. The capacitor will usually have printed on it that it is rated at...

Carl_NH suggested that a spare capacitor should be kept on hand. I heartily agree with this. I have a spare cap for my well. My neighbor didn't have a spare cap handy when his setup quit working. On a Sunday. You would think that on an island where practically everybody is on a well the hardware...

We have a Deere lawn tractor with the electric clutch. My wife complained that turning on the mower would kill the engine. It turned out that the problem was the key position. I don't remember exactly which way the key needed to be turned but after the tractor was started I think she bumped the...

Wherever here is. Eric

The first houses are OK but I really like the last house. It's kinda ratty looking but I love the way it looks. Eric

Years ago, shortly after I bought my property, My neighbor and I bought a Ford 9N tractor together. It was a 1939 model, so first year of production. In my ignorance of tractors I thought it was a late 50s or early 60s made machine. It was in very good shape and it came with a 5 foot Bush Hog...

Years ago I looked into how glass panes were made. Before float glass was invented. There were various methods employed. One method involved glass blowers making really large discs and after the glass was cooled and annealed the discs were cut into rectangles. This glass was pretty consistent in...

Yep, fall hazard. As one who has fallen down stairs more than once I totally agree. Broke three ribs recently falling down the basement stairs. Eric

Yeah, fussy stuff. I loved pressed tin ceilings. My wife nixed that idea for the main room with the vaulted ceilings. I love bead board too. That idea also got nixed but it may still happen. You are correct though, not all old houses are full of fussy stuff. Still, even they can have character...

Yes, this is a great forum. I was telling my brother about it, how so many folks post about a problem they are having and how often one or more solutions are suggested. And so many times the problem is fixed. Eric

I love the look of old houses. Century old or older. I love the worn wood floors. The attention to detail. So when we were going to need a house about 20 years ago I looked into buying an old house and having it moved to our land. For very many reasons, good reasons, I abandoned this idea...

Your swimming pool is giving you a clue. Your water needs to be able to settle and could probably benefit from aerating. Years ago I had a friend whose house was on a well. Their tap water was quite good and I commented about this. I was shown a big water tank where the water settled and they...

Gotta love them old Yanmars! Eric

After 2 years of chemo and hormone treatment plus radiation for stage 4 prostate cancer survivor I can relate. Eric

Good for you. I'm glad your stuff doesn't leak. And I'm sure you regularly unmake and remake those NPT connections. Nevertheless it doesn't change the facts stated in my post. Because they are facts. Eric

Please be sure to let us all know if it works. Eric

I'll have to try cleaning my spark arrestor. I don't think it is clogged enough to cause hard starting but if it is partially clogged it could certainly affect the power and rpm from the saw. FYI, the easy start model has a wind up feature for starting. So to start you pull slowly on the starter...

I was looking for book 5. I already have the tiller manual, the 42 page one. Thanks to you. Cheers, Eric

In my experience of over 40 years of machining, much of that making hydraulic parts that used various types of fittings, NPT threads are used for situations where the fitting is usually only to be assembled once, and when high pressure is involved NPT fittings were rarely used and when used they...

I went to the YTOG and logged in but was unable to find the pdf mentioned above. What am I doing wrong? Thanks, Eric

I have the same saw that's about the same age. It too got harder to start. I finally tried Seafoam in the tank. I had little hope but it fixed the hard starting problem. After a couple weeks it started to get hard to start again and I used more Seafoam and the second use seems to have fixed the...

My neighbor and I made a harrow out of some sections of stainless steel conveyor belt. The result was similar to a chain link fence harrow. It works great for smoothing the gravel drives and for smoothing the ground prior to planting grass seed. I think you will be happy with a chain link fence...

Well if you're gonna just string outlets from the ceiling then I suggest that you do what others have suggested and hang reels from the ceiling. Way less hassle than trying to use twist locks and each reel will have a bunch of cord already wound up and ready to go. just reach up, grab the cord...

You should really try to find one that is a gear reduction starter. They will spin your engine over faster, which makes for easier starts. Eric

How much were we importing from islands populated solely by animals, no humans at all? In fact even among the countries and land masses that actually have humans living there tariffs were still imposed on some that had no exports to the USA. As near as I can tell only Russia and North Korea were...

I dunno if this will help in your situation since you are talking about cords hanging from the ceiling but what I did in my shop was to run wireway along the walls. This wireway comes in 4 inch square by 5 feet long sections. It has a cover that runs the length of the wireway. To add circuits...

If the tariffs are purely for economic reasons why has Russia not been hit with any tariffs? Especially since so many really tiny economies, even economies with no people at all, have been hit with tariffs. Eric

My YM2310 needed another new solenoid. The last solenoid started to fail within 6 months. For about 1.5 times the cost I bought a gear reduction starter. On the advice of bmaverick I bought a gear reduction starter. That starter spins the engine much faster than the stock starter. I love it. Eric

Based on an email I received from my investment advisor this morning I'm pretty sure we will see a significant rise in tractors and tractor parts. I'm sure folks who need new tractors are going to suffer. Eric

You're correct, I shoulda said you should have short signature. Period. Eric

I live on Whidbey Island, which is north of Seattle by about 40 miles. Two years ago we had 27 trees come down in a wind storm. Not much rain but lotsa wind. Mostly alders. This last winter we had 8 trees come down, one was a big hemlock. So we have a bunch of stuff to clean up. Just more fire...

You could do as you suggest but the repair would not last long and would probably ruin the ring gear. Gears of the type in question are not only hardened but have a very specific shape. This shape allows the gears to roll together while maintaining the proper contact required to transmit the...

You don't need to apologize for your english language skills, at least you are trying. If you just ignore 5030 your life will be easier. Eric

I can think of a couple of ways to do what you want. How many tractors does this need to be done to? Motion detection may not be that easy just because of how the motion detection device must be located and mounted. Detecting a brake on condition shouldn't be that hard to do and interfacing with...

Why not tell him how? Eric

There are oil less rotary vane pumps that pull a pretty good vacuum and can tolerate a lot of water. I just looked on eBay and say one for 75 bucks and another for 50 bucks. I guess you need to figure out how much air and vapor you need to move to decide on how big of a pump you need. Remember...

Yeah, that's why micro torr means almost nothing to me in practical terms. But I'm not doing vapor deposition, I'm just vacuum sealing bags of soup, chicken broth, roasted chicken, sausages and the like. But I know better and still boiled soup in the sealer. Eric

Years ago I made some vacuum chambers for one of my customers. They were two feet in diameter and were prototypes. They were going t o be pumped down to some micro torr vacuum. They had an acrylic lid. They asked for a lid that was 1.5 inches thick. I did the calcs on deflection of the material...

I love my chamber vacuum sealer but ran into a little problem today that I shoulda known better about. I was sealing some broccoli soup and it was warm. Not hot, just warm. Too warm as it turned out. As the pressure dropped the soup started to boil and it boiled so vigorously that it boiled out...

I, like so many here, am older and really appreciate brighter headlights. But I have my lights adjusted on my truck, a Tundra, so that they point low. My other cars don't have the extremely bright lights. And I am always trying to dim my lights well before I see the car. It is almost always...

Frankly I am glad that burn barrels are no longer allowed where I live. The reason being is that everybody that I know that has a burn barrel burns plastic. And I am really sick of smelling burning plastic. I know, not everybody burns plastic in their burn barrel. But everybody by me that has a...

I have 2 old Lincoln machines, an SP125+ and an SP100 something or other. These machines are basically identical. I have never had feed problems with these old machines. And even though they are both older than 20 years they still perform perfectly. I also have a Miller machine, a 300 amp beast...

1400 bucks for a replacement engine seems like a good deal. There would be shipping of course unless you could pick it up yourself. You tractor in good running condition would be worth more than 3 grand. Just look online to see. Eric

I don't understand how coolant could get into the transmission. My YM2310 has a clutch between the engine and transmission. If coolant was leaking out of the block I cannot see how it could get into the transmission. Anyway, coolant getting into the engine oil could be a blown head gasket, a...

That's really tough. Pets often become part of the family, we love them and they show true affection, love, towards us. I really feel for you. Eric

I know some guys who repair cars for a living. They have both kinds but use the ratchet the most. The ratchet is not strong enough much of the time to break a bolt or nut loose but that can be done easily by hand. Then the ratchet quickly removes the bolt or nut. The big advantage of the ratchet...

I like the hacksaw idea. Because the pipe is probably rusted in place, and because rust expands which makes things tight, slightly collapsing with a punch is a good idea. The broken pipe doesn't need to be saved, it just needs removal. Eric

You could also just use a file to file through the wall of the pipe until threads start to show. There is a tool made for removing pipe nipples that most good hardware stores sell. This tool has splines and a splined wheel that has a hole drilled off center. When inserted into a pipe and turned...

From the pictures it looks like the oil was never changed, so the block oil passages may be all gummed up and clogged. It also looks like you need new connecting rods because the bearings have worn all the way through and damaged the connecting rods. The crankshaft also probably needs work. But...

How can you tell that the head has starting fluid damage? I didn't know you can tell by just looking at it. What exactly should someone look for when looking for starting fluid damage? As an aside, info like this is just another reason why I like TBN in general and bmaverick in particular. Eric

I had to get rid of a bunch of broken glass at my place. The previous owner had been using some of the land as a junk yard. I did get a bunch of glass containing dirt out of my hair by digging a 6 foot, at least, deep hole with my backhoe and dumping the glass laden dirt there. I figure at 6...

Yeah, you have it right about dual shield. I use it sometimes but only when I need to really lay down a lot of metal. And I wouldn't even use it if I hadn't been given a brand new 30 pound spool. I think it's 30 pounds, it's huge and heavy. I use it in my big Miller, which is a 300 amp beast...

There is a welding process called dual shield that uses a flux cored wire along with shielding gas. It is used for putting down lots of metal fast. For regular flux core wire adding shielding gas won't help at all. To get better penetration just pre-heat the work. Get yourself a propane weed...

Hey All, Can a pine needle rake, the type that connects to the 3 point hitch, be used on grass? Will it chew up the grass? Thanks, Eric

As an owner of a Case 580CK and a Yanmar YM2310 I can say for sure that the little Yanmar is too small for an initial tractor and that the Case is a great machine that would be very good for developing a home site. Maybe not the best for putting in a 1/2 mile long driveway though. For that maybe...

Yeah, I have one and use it from time to time. The toothed side is great for tenderizing a chunk of beef for chicken fried steak, or anything else that uses cubed steak, which is very hard to find in stores these days. The flat side is great for flattening chicken breasts prior to making...

I tried that. The real problem was the aluminum was getting so hot. I needed it to be cooler to prevent it from getting so soft. You are right about the clamping, didn't help. If it had been steel I don't think there would have been a problem. Eric

I needed to make two aluminum door frames for our greenhouse. I have a machine shop so I milled the corners to exact 45 degree angles. The material is 3/16 thick angle with 1.5 inch legs. After milling the material I beveled the corners on the back side for good weld penetration. I left about...

How much retort canning have you done? I have done lots of canning in jars and cans but the whole retort thing is new to me. What guidelines do you use for pressure and time and for what meats. I was thinking about using the 4.6 mil bags. I have not seen the 3 mil retort bags. They might better...

About a decade ago I bought a Dirty Hand Tools brand splitter and it has split so much wood I can't even count. My son and I both use it so it gets double duty. I think mine is a twenty ton machine. Some of the higher tonnage machines use the same pump as the lower tonnage machines and because...

Yeah, you can sack liquids. I have done it with my sealer and it works great. Just fill the bag with the liquid, lay the opening across the sealer bar, close the lid and press start. I have even filled bags with water and sealed them. Easy as pie. Eric

I don't remember the brand name but here is a link to the machine: Manual Operation Sealer Equipped for #1, #2, & #2 1/2 Cans They are expensive but I got mine in a thrift store for 30 bucks. The sealer I bought is a Vevor DZ 260 and I paid about $250.00 delivered. I don't know yet if it will...

Anybody doing this? After I got my chamber vacuum sealer I wondered if I could vacuum seal stuff and then pressure can it. It turns out that I can. It is called Retort Canning and has been around commercially since the mid 1960s. Currently I can stuff in jars and steel cans. I like the cans for...

Speaking as someone who has used both I think a proximity switch is best in your situation. It will be much more tolerant of water and mud. Proximity switches are also much more tolerant when it comes to mounting because the detection range is so large. The typical lever microswitch needs much...

I understand your reticence to use gas, especially if you can't just exchange a cylinder. Though I am surprised that you can't exchange cylinders, I haven't heard of any welding gas supplier in the last 30 years that doesn't just exchange cylinders. Anyway, I too have the ferry toll and long...

I found some Ford wheel weights that almost fit my YM2310. I made some spacers and they fit perfectly. But when I get new tires I'm gonna be adding some sort of fluid weight to the rears. I have tubes in the rears on my Ford 9N and they are full of water and calcium chloride. I really like the...

Folks, what I'm looking for is convenience. We go through maybe 3 gallons per week of water cooler water. Maybe 4 gallons. So any RO unit I get wouldn't be generating much waste water. And I can fill the water bottles in the same room where the water cooler is. So they don't need to get lugged...

I posted that link as an example. Looking online I see several similar units. I will need reviews and also need to see about spare filters. I wasn't thinking about spares really until you posted that the replacement cartridges are out of stock. Thanks for that. Eric

So in other word just lie to my wife. No dice. Plus, the sink tap doesn't deliver refrigerated or heated water. We have good tasting water, I have the well tested regularly and the water remains good, so I drink the tap water all the time. But the water cooler doesn't tolerate hard water well...

The units I have been looking at have some sort of flushing business going on that is automatic. Apparently this is to prevent exactly the situation you describe. I know the theory of RO water purification and how the stuff that doesn't make it through the RO membrane gets concentrated and must...

So after reading about removing hardness from water I learned (again!) that a filter isn't going to remove dissolved calcium. I could use a water softener but that is not a viable option for myself and my wife. We don't want to trade sodium for calcium. The upshot is that I need a reverse...

I looked online for your tractor, the one you have listed in your profile, and the only tractor I could find was a two wheel tractor. This makes me think you are asking about a different tractor because you mention front wheels. Furthermore, looking at the specs for the tractor in you profile...

I apologize for not reading your original post again before making my post. I don't know anything about wet brakes but do know a bit about wet clutches and oil viscosity and heat. When a thick oil is forced to move, for example when it is stirred by brake discs, it will heat up more that if a...

Warm brakes sounds like they are dragging. Get the front wheel off of the ground and see if they turn easily. If they don't then try adjusting the brakes. Eric

I use cylindrical proximity switches in my shop. I have found that they can be easily damaged sometimes. But looking on Amazon I found these switches: Amazon.com They look more robust than the typical cylindrical ones I see for the same price and they even come with mounting hardware. They can...

I forgot to say that the problem occurs on my Samsung Android tablet. Thanks for the PC advice though. I did clear the cache on the tablet, and it was no help. Eric

Thanks, I'll try that. Eric

I keep getting these Whirlpool ads that take up the whole page. The ads say to scroll for content but the ads won't scroll. I have tried to take a screen shot but the ads don't show in the screen shots. So I took a picture with my phone and have attached. Eric

Near my house some folks brought in a few small pigs to clear the land, about 1 acre. Those small pigs cleared it to just mud. I dunno what kind of pigs they were, they were dark, almost black, and weighed probably no more than 50 pounds. The pigs are gone now and the totally denuded land now...

It sounds to me like you have paint making the thing stick. Since you said it is power coated. So at least some kind of paint. If the coupling detent has indeed not been able to engage then if it was mine I would use some sort of paint solvent mixed with some sort of oil to help loosen the...

All I know is that the solenoid I replaced was made with the rolled crimp of the solenoid case and the new replacement also had the rolled crimp. I bought the replacement solenoid from either Fredricks or Hoye, But I think it was Fredricks. In any case, both solenoids had the roll crimped case...

I would rather have kept using the original starter but couldn't get a decent solenoid. Eric

My tractor does not have a rear remote and I don't plan to get one. It seems like I just need a two way valve to extend or retract the top link cylinder and then tee the discharge into the power beyond line coming from my loader valve. Eric

Just so everybody knows, the starter I bought from the eBay seller worked perfectly. I am a little upset that the solenoid that I bought to replace the original one that went bad cost me 70 bucks and a whole new gear reduction starter with solenoid was only about 20 bucks more. The original...

This is why, among other reasons, that I use MIG when I can and use flux core only when it is best for the job, such as when I am welding outside in windy conditions. Eric

I grew up in California and the oak trees are so different from the oak trees that grow straight east of CA. Live oaks and valley oaks and other oaks that grew and still grow where I lived never grew straight and tall. They were all twisted. As a kid I wondered how anything could be made from...

If I was to buy one of these could I just plumb a valve to the power beyond port in my loader valve? And then does this valve that I just plumbed in drain into the sump, like the loader valve? As an aside, even though I don't have one of these Vevor cylinders I do have a Vevor submersible well...

Instead ask how much it is to replace those trees. Same maturity, same height, in the ground. If my neighbor burned and killed several of my trees through negligence I would insist they be replaced with live trees equivalent to the trees killed. Logged trees aren't worth near what live trees in...

Though I haven't done so myself I have seen folks use the carbon arc for brazing. I have made carbon arc torches. They put out copious amounts of UV and are loud. They buzz. The heat is hard to aim, unlike the flame from a torch. But yes, the torch can be used for brazing and heating stuff. Give...

The coolers work fine. They just don't like hard water.

I have for over 40 years looked into living off grid and I appreciate folks like you who post about their systems and how they have solved problems. There is no way I would go off grid now but I still like learning about how different folks do so. I did dig all the trenches on my property for...

Maybe he did. Then he can replace the cover which would be a good thing. I'm not trying to criticize the guy, I'm just trying to save someone some grief. Animals fall down holes and die. So do people. Or get stuck and need to be rescued. Like I said, I covered a well because I didn't want to...

Did you read my post? Eric

That's a cool well but it really should be covered. Unless you want to fill it in. Myself, I would just cover it. I did that at my place. We have a shallow well, 21 feet deep, that was dug back in 1937. When I think of all the hard work that went into digging a hole 4 feet in diameter and 21...

The hardness. I guess. Clogs stuff up. So I need to filter out the calcium. I guess. Eric

We have a couple water coolers and my wife thinks they need filtered water so I have been buying and hauling home 5 gallon bottles of filtered water. Today I tried 2 places to get the filtered water and the machines were not working. GRRR. Anyway, I am sick of buying water when our water is...

Here on the south end of Whidbey Island the glacial till formation is 3000 feet thick. So the bedrock is way down below. And you never know when you will hit water because of the mixed up nature of the glacial till. You also never know what kind of stuff will be in the water. It may be stinky...

I don't know anything about the placement of acetylene tanks on running boards but do know about the excessive draw from acetylene cylinders. Acetylene cylinders are filled with a substance that resembles plaster of paris. This substance is porous and saturated with acetone. Then acetylene is...

Also, because of the way he piston top was hammered, the top ring groove may have been compressed, which would prevent the top ring from expanding freely in its groove. There is no way I would try to use that piston again unless another was not available. And if not available then I would make...

I don't know the difference between a pounded well and a cable tool. They seem to be used interchangeably but I think they may be different. When I looked into getting my well done there were only several rotary well drillers and one cable tool well guy. The cable tool would drop from high and...

When I had my well put in way back in '96 or '97 I researched wells, how they are drilled, how they develop, etc. I called the state for advice and spoke with many people who had wells put in. In the end I had my well done with a cable tool. In my area the price per foot was the same, rotary or...

To the OP: when my wrists were crushed I was operated on and then woke up the next morning to badly swollen hands. Even though my fingers were like fat sausages they started me on physical therapy. I couldn't move my fingers so it was up to others to bend my fingers. The reason for this was...

I wouldn't want to stick a hose into my gas tank that is also around lawn clippings. It sounds like a way to get dirt in the gas tank. Maybe consider a tank made to fit in the bed of your truck that has a pump mounted. Eric

Argon has no smell. Pure CO2 can have an acidic sensation for some people, which can be perceived as kind of an odor. C25, which is 75% argon and 25% CO2 has no odor. It's not acetylene, which has a strong odor, because the cylinder and valve are wrong for acetylene. The valve threads don't look...

Just to repeat what someone else said, don't unscrew the auger while the engine is running. Don't even consider it. Too many people have been seriously injured or killed when they got caught in an auger. Turn off the engine and then back the auger out. Eric

Not only invasive and explosively flammable it is exceedingly hard to bush hog. My neighbor and I bush hogged 5 acres of scotch broom and it was like trying to mow down steel cable. Beat the crap out of the bush hog, it needed weld repair after that job. Eric

What Harry says. It is so common for the cable to frame connection to corrode that I'm starting to think it should be the first or second thing to check in a situation like yours. Especially since you said the glow plug was intermittent. Unbolt the connection, clean well, and then bolt it back...

My power is all underground once it is on my property. The poles I would have had to buy were poles running down the street and one pole on my property and one on my neighbor's. The power runs down my street on a couple poles, then on the pole on my neighbor's property, then on the pole on my...

How do you know that Bitcoin is going to appreciate in perpetuity? Eric

1/2-13 is a standard thread but there was a time when 1/2-14 was also used. During the second world war some stuff was apparently made in China for the war effort. This was of course when the USA was helping China fight against the Japanese. So stuff was made in China to USA specs because they...

So you really don't run your generator very much. I can see how that would work out in your favor. I wanted to get 3 phase power run to my place for the machine shop I was building. It would have required 5 new poles because three phase poles are taller than single phase poles where I live. I...

Are you offgrid because there are no transmission lines to your property or it is too costly to connect to them? When visiting my sister in law on Kauai I noticed how expensive gasoline and propane are. This makes me wonder about how much it costs you to run your generators. I'm just curious...

Thanks, I'll give that a try. Eric

I find that Weather Underground has the most accurate forecasts for me on the south end of Whidbey Island. But I think they got sold because the site is now really slow and even though I keep changing my station to one that is closer to me every time I use the site it changes the station to one...

Recently I had a pond dug out with an excavator. All the dirt excavated was piled around the perimeter of the pond. Now I need to move that dirt somewhere else. I do have an actual backhoe, a Case 580CK, but it is being worked on, so it didn't get used for the job. When the pond was being...

Interesting article I will only provide a link to so that I don't violate fair use. Link: Bitcoin's downward spiral gets worse as the Trump-led crypto party is over Eric (not Minnesota Eric)

When my wrists were crushed the nerves going through them were damaged. After several surgeries I was asking my doctor if maybe the circulation to my left forefinger was not up to snuff because it was always cold. He said it was nerve damage that kept the finger cold. Eric

I was kidding about the picture. I bet that takes a while to heal. You are so lucky you didn't lose your finger. Or even more. Eric

I sure am glad you didn't lose your finger. Remember though, no pictures means it didn't happen. Just kidding. Thanks for the warning, we all tend to become complacent at times and a reminder to not do so is a good thing. Eric

The stuff that was used on me is called "Surgicel", according to the paperwork from the clinic. I looked for it online but found that it was easier to buy a similar product. Surgicel is made from specially processed cellulose so I looked for other products that were made from the same stuff. I...

What does this have to do about the renaming of the Gulf Of Mexico?

Years ago we were living on the beach and a cat that had been abandoned adopted my wife and I. He was fixed but was nevertheless on his own for quite some time and was sorta feral. So one day I was petting him as he lay on the couch and apparently I was petting him the wrong way. To show his...

It was called the Gulf of Mexico before America as a nation even existed. It was first named around 1550. The name California also comes from the 1500s, possibly as early as 1510. The state of California was originally part of Mexico. The part that became the state of California was originally...

How in the heck can a person predict that? A broken valve seat that drops into the cylinder. I have never seen this happen in an engine. I'm glad you found the problem. Of course the way the piston is all beat up it will need to be replaced along with the rings. But I'm thinking that the head...

A broken piston would also result in no compression but since the piston top is not at the top of the cylinder that's probably not it. If the piston broke the top of the piston would tend to stay at the top of the cylinder. A bent push rod that doesn't move the valve might also be responsible...

I started it and never expected it to go on this long. I also learned a bunch of stuff and have a much better understanding of diesel engine operation. Eric

The OP made a timely post for me. I have long wondered how farmers make any money considering just how much they must spend on equipment alone. And today I was driving along the Skagit valley in WA state, taking the back roads for fun. During my drive I saw many farms and all the equipment they...

I think the spark you saw is telling. As careyo63 suggested I think it is a ground to frame connection. Eric

I use flux core when welding in windy conditions and welding on dirty metal. I use gas when welding inside and when I want less spatter and a better looking weld. Fortunately for me I have 2 small Lincoln wire feed welders and a beast of a machine Miller that welds better than I do. I keep flux...

Sounds like a bad connection from the battery, probably the ground cable. Check the connection by removing the cable from the frame and examining the area under the connection. I wouldn't be surprised at all if there is rust there. I have been there and done that. If my suggestion doesn't pan...

My neighbor bought a new Kioti CUT a few years ago. It sure looks like a nice machine and he came over to my place to move some dirt for me because he wanted to and my Yanmar had a little problem which has been fixed. It did a great job. I asked him what he paid and he hemmed and hawed so I let...

I paid 1800 bucks extra to get the astigmatism in my right eye corrected. The lens was supposed to keep my vision the same as my left eye. It didn't. I am now near sighted in my right eye and far sighted in my left. I paid extra so that I could keep on using cheap readers and now I need...

Yeah, me too. I'm retired and only weld stuff for myself, but I'm good at it, enjoy it, and I have lots of stuff just waiting to be welded. My eye doctor didn't seem to understand why I wanted to weld stuff. I guess he doesn't build stuff. Eric

Several months ago I had a cataract replaced in my right eye. The new lens was supposed to be the same focal length as my left eye. Well, for whatever reason it turned out to be only useful for close vision while my left eye remained focused for distance. I'm still arguing about this with my eye...

Thanks for the update and good for you! I know everybody here truly appreciates the update. And the fact that you fixed it yourself not only adds to your confidence but also helps other folks who may be considering a similar repair. The repair doesn't need to be a valve cover, just an aluminum...

Several nights ago I was slicing potatoes 1/8" thick on a mandolin slicer. Because of my inattention I managed to slice a 1/8" thick section from my little finger. It was pretty bad, I saw the fat bubbling out through the blood. I managed to remove not only the epidermis but also the dermis. I...

IK.

What happens when the syrup goes bad? Does it taste sour or just plain spoiled? Does it make you sick? I have been thinking about trying to make alder syrup and maybe tapping a couple maple trees we have. Living north of Seattle we of course don't have the trees for syrup like the northeast...

My little Stihl became hard to start and ran bad. I tried Seafoam. I didn't want to take the carb apart if I didn't need to. Anyway, the Seafoam did the trick and it now starts easily again and runs well. I did need to add Seafoam to two tank fulls because even though the first use seemed to fix...

Isn't that interesting. I have been wearing seat belts in cars for over 60 years. I have heard and read all the arguments about how wearing seat belts are less safe than not wearing them. Same deal with motorcycle helmets. But I know these arguments are hogwash. I for sure avoided a head injury...

If you were to repair that shaft today, if it was removed from the motor, the cost would be less than $600.00. I would think it that the price in Georgia would be less. Eric

I burn green wood every year after cleaning up the small branches from trees that fall or are felled. My method is to make a pile, squish it down with the FEL on my YM2310, then apply the weed burner. After the center starts to burn I turn on a small squirrel cage fan and point it into the...

I don't know the exact cost because I don't live where you do and I have been retired for a while, plus it depends on how thick the chrome plating would need to be. There are also other plating methods for building up worn shafts that don't involve chrome. But if it was my shaft I would lean...

The reason the coupling was hard to remove and didn't have much side to side play is because the coupling spun on the shaft and both the shaft and coupling have raised portions as well as depressed portions and the raised portions coincided, making removal difficult. Considering how much one of...

Mine still runs very well. A 1980 or '81 YM2310. Eric

It's a shame they want to paint over the hardwood. When we had our house built our goal was to have high quality throughout. The hope being that the house would survive for at least 100 years. So besides the skeleton of the house we had maple floors put in, all doors are solid, no hollow core...

Generally a key is not supposed to take all the load. You can, and should, cut a new keyway. Or weld up and re-cut the original keyway. But the shaft looks like the coupling spun on it. This means that any coupling is not going to fit properly on that chewed up surface. The shaft needs to be...

This one: Gear Reduction Starter for Yanmar Tractor YM2210, YM2210D, YM2500, YM2610 YM3000 | eBay Eric

I sure hope you find the other one! All along I figured they would end up being in your pants pocket :) Eric

I found one on eBay, a gear reduction one, I hope it lasts. Eric

I went back and looked at my post from about 6 months ago that I had forgot about. Looked at the part numbers to see if they matched my tractor part number and none do. I did find some gear reduction starters online but they are all close to 200 bucks. Careyo63 posted an eBay link that he says...

Great idea! Eric

The solenoid is the type that mounts to the starter and does double duty. It throws the gear into the flywheel and also energizes the starter motor. And no need to apologize, you weren't shading my solenoid. I think it is junk and was so when new. Eric

Then it should be soldered too. Grind or wire brush the crack area about 3/8" on either side of the crack. Then solder. The solder should tend to flatten out at the edges. If it does then you know it is wetting the aluminum well. Eric

Unfortunately The solenoids that I have are not meant to be taken apart. The cases have the ends rolled over so the only way to take one apart is to grind off or pry open the rolled over case. GRRR. Eric

I dunno. I guess I could check Fredricks and see what their part number is and then compare to what you posted above. Thanks, Eric

My YM2310 wouldn't turn over. The solenoid would pull in, I could hear it, but the starter motor wouldn't spin. Suspecting the contacts in the solenoid were bad, and the solenoid being the type that doesn't come apart, I bought a new solenoid. Problem solved. Now, less than a year later, I'm...

I'm sorry to say but the solder didn't wet the metal very well, at least outside of the crack. Also, it looks like the crack appeared on the outside of the cover. Eric

You know, along with listing your tractor you can also list your location. Nobody is gonna hold it against you if you are in Europe or anywhere else. Eric

I like that idea, the cross rods, wish I'd thought of it. It would be fairly easy to seal where the all thread penetrates the valve cover. Good hardware stores sell rubber and fiber washers that could be used as seals along with some silicone or thread sealant. I think I would use thread...

The 250 degree temp is just so the valve cover doesn't suck all the heat away when soldering. I realize the crack isn't leaking, it just needs fixing so that the cover doesn't flex. Remember that the aluminum must get hot enough to melt the solder. Apply the flame to the valve cover, not the...

I'm gonna repeat myself and suggest aluminum solder again. Really. If you have a decent propane torch you can do it. Vee out the crack some, clean the area real well with brake cleaner, let it dry, and solder away. And also apply solder to the outside of the valve cover along the line of the...

It's all relative. I think 30 degrees F is cold. Some folks probably find it balmy. At least it starts when I want. Eric

Really? I have never heard that. My 45 year old YM2310 starts quickly at 40 degrees without using the thermostart. Below 40 I use the thermostart and it might make a little difference. But then I have been through 3 thermostarts that I bought new. The first 2 didn't work after the first use. The...

At the end of the day you are right. Even though I love the paintings I really love where I live and sometimes cannot believe I get to live here. My wife feels the same. We were looking at pictures the other day taken of our place that were about 15 years old. And it showed all the work we put...

It kinda sounds like you're not a trans fan fan. Sorry. Eric

Yeah, I get it. I go to museums and look at the art and I just don't get it. Then I see something that affects me deeply. Can't explain it. I hafta be satisfied with prints. Not just paintings either, but all kinds of art. It's weird how something can just grab you. Eric

Your problem sounds like the typical bad connection. One thing that can happen with a bad connection is when a large load is put on the connection it fails open or almost open, a very high resistance connection. So the voltage drops to zero or close to zero. Corrosion at the connection is the...

My son has an old boom truck, maybe 1960s something vintage. Telsta brand. It uses a generator to power the boom hydraulics, extension and positioning motors. In the generator manual it has directions for converting from gasoline to propane operation. The manual says to put a tee in the gasoline...

Several paintings by Claude Monet. Really. I love 'em and have so since I first saw pictures of them over 50 years ago. Eric

I don't understand how leaky piston seals can cause the cylinder to to leak down. If we take it to the extreme just imagine a cylinder without a piston. Pushing on the rod will try to compress the oil and since the oil is almost incompressible the rod won't move. And pulling on the rod will...

Nope, I just got used to it, became more experienced, and I always keep people away. Eric

Nice machine. I think you will be amazed by how much work it will do. And how much fun you will have doing it. If you ever need to install an infiltrator type septic system I can give you some pointers. I don't know how your hoe controls are configured. On my machine the swing control is from...

Over the years I have struggled with vacuum sealers. Some sort of liquid gets into the sealing area and no seal results. Or the gasket old and failed seals happen. Or the vacuum pump starts to fail and the result is low vacuum. Or the wrong bag is used and the result is, again, a failed seal. So...

The bend is pretty severe. Metal has stretched at the bends. If this was my bucket I would use a bottle jack, a thick piece of steel plate, and a torch. Place the steel plate, maybe 1/2 inch thick, or thicker, between the jack and the bucket side. Apply pressure, enough to get the metal to move...