Good morning!!!!

[daugen]

Drew what brand battery is that and do they hold up well?

Waitley, and I have zero idea. Last battery was from Chen wha something or other electric company; this one has a
name of sorts, and a big web page.

pure hail mary pass on this, because first I don't think Makita makes one that big and for sure it would be twice as expensive it they did.
This seems nicely made and since the first off brand battery worked, another Amazon decently rated product, I went for the big boy.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07B4WFT86?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Like I did with the first off brand, I watched it carefully while it charged, kept it away from flammables and felt the case to see if it was getting hot.
Only warm.
I read the reviews, somebody had one burst into flames on the first use. Definitely not a charge and forget until it's been charged about three times and you are
sure it isn't going to melt down and burn your house down.

Popgadget, how long have oem Makita batteries worked for you/what year do they fail?
I can't remember throwing one out...
No question Japanese QC and inherent quality better due to higher engineering standards. But who knows if they backdoor them to Makita. Lot of Asian companies have parts/products made in
China. Looks like the price went up since I ordered it.

 

[Popgadget]

yes, it comes with a grapple. And Top n tilt. And 5 rear remotes.

hmm, Popgadget already has that. Some of you will be expensive.

Only top and 3 rear remotes. No tilt, but I do have a 3rd function on the loader, so that’s sort of a 4th remote….

 

[Popgadget]

Popgadget, how long have oem Makita batteries worked for you/what year do they fail?
I can't remember throwing one out...
No question Japanese QC and inherent quality better due to higher engineering standards. L

I don’t know. I still have my first one and it’s still serviceable. Only 3ah, but that was the biggest they had when the LXT tools were introduced at least 15 years ago. So I can say the last more than 15 years if used and cared for properly. I’m up to 15 of them, most are 5ah. I’m not sure that knock off replacements offer any real economy based on my experience.

I do like the Makita tools, but if I were to start over, I would likely go Milwaukee. But that wasn’t a viable option when I made the switch to the Makita LXT tools around 2006.

 

[daugen]

yes, if it's half the price but lasts only a third as long, cost per year is way more

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Good Morning.
It’s 75 and a low overcast, dew point is 74, so it’s another sticky one. Got .02” of rain overnight, might get a bit more today.

After the boys left yesterday, I went to lunch with son and grandson, and puttered around the shop sorting out PA gear and loading it into the truck. Took the trials bike for a ride, hadn’t done that in a while.

Not much scheduled for today, I’m going to do the manual J heat load calculations for a friend so that he can get his building permit, hopefully he has collected all the data that I need, a lot of it isn’t on the typical plans.

Still no need to mow, but some rain could change that in a hurry. Forecast for the week is dry and upper 90’s though. Always a chance of an afternoon thunderstorm though.

Looks like a blueberry muffin for breakfast and then on with the day.

It's great that youz guyz can help out a fellow member. Thank you!

Montesa riding sounds fun to me!

Good Morning!!!! 75F @ 6:15AM. Sunny. High 106F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.
The 10-day holds a straight run of 100F+ temps for highs and no rain. Ugh.

Nice ride over the long weekend, no mechanical issues but one of the boots I was wearing lost its zipper. Almost no traffic on the roads, and we made a nice day ride to Sierraville for a Mexican lunch. The other half of the burrito made a tasty breakfast the next day. We only had a dozen or so participants, so I think the weather kept some from making the trip. Highs at the campsite were in the mid 90s, but cooled into the low 60s at night for good sleeping. The keg of double bock beer helped, as did a sort walk to one of the lakes for a dip. I was home before noon yesterday, unpacked and sorted through the mail and email. Ready to start the new week, but not sure where to begin. Hope everyone gets off to a good start.

View attachment 754773

I'm glad you have been getting a lot of riding in lately. I sure miss it. It makes me wonder if I'll ever get to do much riding again....

 

[Popgadget]

Montesa riding sounds fun to me!

Actually it’s a Fantic. Same vintage, early 80’s.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Good evening. High was 94° today, after 93° yesterday. Too warm for any major work outside.

I was told of some bad news..... one of my paramedic partners was killed yesterday. The county rescue helicopter crashed, killing the entire crew of 4. All were married and had kids. My buddy Matt was only 44 and was one of the best medics and partners that I have ever worked with. When I made captain, he promoted to lieutenant. He was also an educator and we shared the same passion of EMS. He will be missed.

The only info that we have now is that they went on a mission looking for some kayakers, then went and did some water drops on the wildfire just north of here. I remembered seeing the copter go overhead earlier in the day. They apparently refueled at an airport up north, and were heading back to the base in Albuquerque when they went down. The cause is still under investigation.

Hits close to home. When you spend more time during waking hours with your partner than you spend with your actual family, your partners also become 'family'. It is a brotherhood and sisterhood that understand the difficulty and emotional distress that is part of the job.

May he rest in peace. He is a hero.

 

[RoyJackson]

Really sorry about your friend, LS, as well as all others on the aircraft. True heroes all...

Been raining pretty steady for a couple hours now...nice soaker. It could last all night, as far as I'm concerned.
Pup is stretched across the width of the bed. Margeaux been my wife's dog...she (Margeaux) has bonded with both wife and stepdaughter...tolerates me (except when she wants petted). Since the girls have been in Florida, the pup has really bonded with me. Maybe it's because I feed her.
Still, a very very protective dog...

 

[Wagtail]

Good (Tuesday) morning. Another cold (for Tassie) overnight Low of -0.4C which made for a light frost this A.M. It's partly cloudy with a light breeze and heading for a High of 9.0C.

Not much planned for today other than my usual chores although I have noticed a branch from a wattle tree that yesterday's wind has brought down over a fence. It hasn't broken any of the strands so it's not urgent. Perhaps tomorrow arvo after I return from my weekly 'into town' trip for mail and groceries... the PO alerted me to a 'pick up' so it looks like another wine delivery has arrived.

Take care all.

 

[rswyan]

75F and "Fair" @ 21:00, heading down to a low of around 66F in the overnight. High hit 86.4F here today.

Spent 7 (productive) hours up in the up in the shop working on the B2910.

While they were productive, it was not necessarily "efficient" ...

After cleaning off some of the hardware needed for reassembly, we spent the majority of the time getting the front u-joint yoke on the front driveshaft aligned and slid onto the spline of the rear driveshaft.

It was a total bear to do, considering that the plastic cover largely obscures both parts and can't be slid out of the way, the area you're working in is extremely tight, the yoke has to be at the proper position (both angle and rotation), and you're doing it on your back, underneath the tractor.

Plus for me, repeated cramping of my hands and legs were involved ... which was not much fun.

Ultimately, the parts yielded to my will though and went together.

The Woman assisted by providing an extra set of hands, providing tools so I didn't have to get up off the floor, and running out for some fine dining, courtesy of Mickey D's.

Beyond that, I got the drain plug and sealing washer for the clutch housing installed and torqued down.

The two bolts for the carrier bearing hanger installed hand tight.

And the clamp for the plastic cover for the front u-joint assembly installed finger tight.

I did also manage to remember to put in a new blade in my foldable Milwaukee razor knife while I was up there which I've been wanting to do for a while.

By the time I crawled out from underneath the tractor for the last time it was after 20:00.

Rest of it should go together fairly easily, but there's still about a days worth of work still to do.

And that doesn't include the fab work and welding to repair the underside of the floor/deck of the operators station.

Tomorrow should be a good day to finish it up as they are calling for high temps in the 90's.

Did see the momma deer out down by the apple tree with her fawns right after I got up there, and it appears there are three:

​

Recent planting work and screened compost additions done on that new planting bed:

​

(Looking forward to having the B2910 operational again, hand loading the dump cart is starting to get a little old)

And the mulching on the flower bed:

​

Hope everyone has a decent evening ...