At Home In The Woods

[brin]

Scooter,
The lease does allow for inspections. A friend of mine sprays his rentals for insects every month just so he can inspect the property. I plan to do the same.
Obed

Obed , after 30+ years owning and managing rental houses and other properties I finally sold the last one - 1 yr. ago...Now when my phone rings night or day my heart does not flutter anymore....

My best unsolicited advice is take plenty of time to rent this house, your first one, you might miss a few months rent but what is that compared to the damage many tenants can and will do...? Carefully choose the folks you are going to rent to and you will be so glad you did...Best of Luck in your endeavors.

 

[Coyote machine]

Obed , after 30+ years owning and managing rental houses and other properties I finally sold the last one - 1 yr. ago...Now when my phone rings night or day my heart does not flutter anymore....

My best unsolicited advice is take plenty of time to rent this house, your first one, you might miss a few months rent but what is that compared to the damage many tenants can and will do...? Carefully choose the folks you are going to rent to and you will be so glad you did...Best of Luck in your endeavors.

What was said ^^^^^^ And if one thinks about it most renters today take an attitude of you owe them something just because they're (hopefully) paying you rent.:confused2: It's crazy but IMHO that's about SOP these days. If you can find decent renters who don't trash your place you're extremely fortunate, so don't settle for first breather with a month's rent in hand. Once in, hard and costly to get them out!

 

[Obed]

Obed , after 30+ years owning and managing rental houses and other properties I finally sold the last one - 1 yr. ago...Now when my phone rings night or day my heart does not flutter anymore....

My best unsolicited advice is take plenty of time to rent this house, your first one, you might miss a few months rent but what is that compared to the damage many tenants can and will do...? Carefully choose the folks you are going to rent to and you will be so glad you did...Best of Luck in your endeavors.

Bob,
Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely follow it. While in the process of renting it, I'm trying to figure out how efficiently and effectively interact with the potential renters. It seems that a lot of people want to look at the house on Saturdays. However. I hate having my Saturdays hijacked by people who may or may not actually show. So far I haven't had any no-shows but have had last minute cancellations. It's aggravating planning an evening for showing the house, then getting a last minute cancellation and having the whole evening shot.
Obed

 

[Obed]

What was said ^^^^^^ And if one thinks about it most renters today take an attitude of you owe them something just because they're (hopefully) paying you rent.:confused2: It's crazy but IMHO that's about SOP these days. If you can find decent renters who don't trash your place you're extremely fortunate, so don't settle for first breather with a month's rent in hand. Once in, hard and costly to get them out!

Yes, I've heard lots of horror stories.
Obed

 

[Obed]

Today I decided to sharpen my Kubuta mower blades.



I didn't have a wrench big enough for the bolt head so I used a pipe wrench. I couldn't break loose the bolt. I even banged on the wrench handle with a hammer to no effect.



So I got out my torch. I'd heard you could break bolts loose with heat. I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I put some heat on the head of the bolt and tried banging on the wrench again with a hammer. Nothing happened. There's probably a technique to heating the bolts which I don't know.



Then I put the mower deck in my car and took it to a nearby mechanic. Unfortunately, the mechanic didn't have a 30 mm socket and could not help me.

I remembered that last time I was trying to remove a rusty bolt, you guys told me that I need an impact wrench. So I went to the box store and got this 300 ft-lb impact wrench. The box store didn't have sockets big enough. So I went to Andvanced Auto and bought a 30 mm socket $9.



I hooked the wrench to my little air compressor and charged to compressor to 100 psi. Unfortunately, when I tried to remove the bolt with the impact wrench, the bolt still didn't budge.



So I went back to the box store and exchanged the 300 ft-lb wrench for a 500 ft-lb wrench. When I got home, I couldn't find my 30 mm socket. I occurred to me that I might have left the new 30 mm socket on the wrench I had returned to the box store. I called the store, asked them to look in the box. Sure enough, my 30 mm socket was in their box. It's a 20 minute drive each way to the box store. It was now 5 PM. I had made that drive twice already today. Time to quit for today. Tomorrow I'll go get my 30 mm socket and try again.

At least today was a beautiful day to be outside - even if I accomplished nothing.

 

[dstig1]

Sure you're turning it the right way? Just sayin... BTDT

There are a combination of techniques that work for stuck bolts.

1. Penetrating oil, and let it soak for a while
2. Heat, and lots of it. This can break loose rust, especially once it starts cooling back down
3. Impact tools. Sometimes you have to spend a lot of time banging away with the impact to loosen really frozen fasteners. You need a compressor that can keep up, or give it time to recover. I once spent 45 min on and off to get a crank bolt loose from a Honda civic...
4. Breaker bar. With pipe extension as required. Sometimes lots of leverage and a slow push does better than an impact. Sometimes not.

The more direct you are, the better - no socket extensions or universal joints, if at all possible as they add flex to the system and soak up energy. Sometimes unavoidable, but something to be aware of.

As for your renters not showing up for appointments on saturdays, this is life with rentals. If you are finding that too much hassle, you may want to rethink being a landlord, as you will get hassled a lot more once they move in...

 

[Larro Darro]

If you use it very, very carefully, a long cheater bar will move just about anything. If not used carefully it will also break just about anything. Did you tighten the bolt? If so, what did you use?

Larro

Edit: The same thing was posted while I was typing. I second making sure of the thread direction. Once you break one, your problems are just starting.

 

[Obed]

Sure you're turning it the right way? Just sayin... BTDT

Dave, yes, I thought about that up front. I wasn't sure which way to turn the bolt. I was wondering if the mower bolts might be left-hand threaded? So I watched some YouTube videos in order to verify the direction. All the videos showed people turning the bolts counter-clockwise to remove them. So that's the way I turned them.

Did you tighten the bolt? If so, what did you use?

Larro,
The last time the blades were removed for sharpening, it was done by a mower mechanic to whom I took the mower. I suspect he used a strong impact wrench to tighten the bolts.

Obed

 

[Obed]

3. Impact tools. Sometimes you have to spend a lot of time banging away with the impact to loosen really frozen fasteners. You need a compressor that can keep up, or give it time to recover. I once spent 45 min on and off to get a crank bolt loose from a Honda civic.

Dave,
My compressor will not keep up. I had to give it lots of time to recover before trying again. I can't say I want to take 45 minutes to break this bolt loose.

I noticed an air leak sound from the Husky impact wrench after I hooked it to the hose. Is that normal for impact wrenches? Or is Husky just a cheap brand from the box store. After I removed the wrench from the hose, the air leak sound stopped.

Obed

 

[dstig1]

It is probably the quick connect fitting on the hose that is leaking. Cheapo fitting or bad o-ring. When you disconnect it the oring does not do anything as it only seals to the fitting on the tool. Small leak - probably not worth it. Bigger leak, just replace the fitting. Make sure the male fitting on the tool is smooth and doesn't have any major dings on it, as that could be the source and could damage the o-ring.

And of course, it is quite obvious...you need a bigger compressor! "Honey?.... The guys on TBN said..." :devil: But seriously, if you don't have enough air delivery, a bigger wrench won't help as it will have the same air limitations. Bigger compressor, or more storage volume (extra tanks ganged together) plus a decent sized hose - no 1/4" air nailer hoses for this. 3/8" for sure. Impact wrenches need some decent air for any use beyond simple lug nuts. Doesn't mean you need a 50A/240V 80gal 2-stage compressor, but the more the better. A pancake compressor made for air nailers just wont' work. Trust me. I've tried it... What do you have?

Get a 1/2" drive breaker bar and a pipe that will fit over it. Easy does it as you can break stuff this way and get hurt. 2-3' pipe is usually plenty, but you can always choke up on a longer pipe. The bigger problem with a long pipe is enough room to swing it. Probably not a big issue on a mower deck like that, but often is for car work. Plus you need to secure everything from moving on you - the deck and blades. You will need to wedge it against something solid or clamp to a sturdy table.

BTW if you don't have a MAPP gas torch, that is another good thing to get. They are real cheap and a lot hotter than propane. It is basically a regular propane torch, just designed and rated for the different gas. For serious fun you need an oxy/fuel torch I would grab a MAPP torch and bottle when you head back to the store tomorrow. And a can of PB blaster too. These are good things to have on hand for the long haul, as you seem to want to do more things yourself these days.