55F this morning, 87F later today. Sunny skies and light wind once the sun is up.
Yesterday at about 11AM the Davis Vantage Vue weather station stopped reporting outside temperature and humidity, and a call to tech support has me getting the thing boxed up for shipment back for repairs. It's only been in service a bit more than a year, long enough to burn through the warranty but far short of the failure rate implied by the vaunted Davis reputation for reliability or high initial cost. The repair will cost $100, more than a third of the price of the unit. From the way the tech spoke, the failure is of a circuit board inside the unit, and is not at all uncommon.
Don, sounds like you used all the tricks to get the tractor out of trouble. It sure is a lot easier getting them stuck than un-stuck, isn't it? I've had plans since the last time my tractor got stuck to mount receiver hitches both front and back to accommodate an old Warn winch, but there always seem to be more pressing jobs to attend to. I suppose it'll take another round of sticking and unsticking to get that job done! Nice pic of the new snake boots, but the beer was too far out of reach to enjoy. Maybe it was a dead soldier, replaced by a fresh cold one in your other hand?:laughing:
Hope you folks with A/C problems get them resolved quickly and inexpensively. Regardless of the cause of global warming, it is happening, and the resulting temperature swings are making life for both A/C and heating equipment more demanding. A young person could do a lot worse these days than train for a career in HVAC installation and service.
David, congrats on the dry plumbing:thumbsup: Don't envy you wrestling with itchy insulation today though
vtsnowedin, I saw on the news last night that a new study has tied sunblock to skin cancer, so maybe rednecks are safer after all? :shocked:
Larro, it sounds like your storms are making firewood for you, but hope the water doesn't get any higher!
Nice job of grading there, RS, though the sight of that landscape rake makes my back hurt
Made it to the steel yard yesterday. The bar stock I needed comes in 20' lengths, too long to fit in the 8' bed of the truck without bending or cutting. They'll cut it for you, but not for free. Initially I threw a hack saw in the back, but then remembered the power inverter I'd never used. Got it out before I left and hooked it up to a porta-band saw for a test. Worked just fine, and with the help of a milk crate as a work stand, worked fine at the steel yard, too. I did get some odd looks from the cordage coming out from under the hood of the Ford, but it's a trick I'll make more use of in the future, I'm sure.
Also picked up some grease for the FEL and will get that taken care of today. It'll be nice to get the loader back on line, as I'll need it to lift the dump body off the RTV so I can get it painted later this week. Also found a new denim shirt to keep the sparks off while welding. The thin cotton one it replaces had several large burn spots in it that did more collecting of sparks than deflecting. The new shirt also uses snaps instead of buttons, much easier to work with when wearing gloves. Also leaned that MIG wire is almost three dollars a pound these days, but Harbor Freight's prices for the Chinese stuff aren't enough better to get me to give up on Lincoln or Hobart.
There's mowing to do today, as the weed whacking yesterday got the plant level low enough for the push mower to get through. The RTV looked like it was hauling haystacks as it carted off the cuttings. But first the hummers are reminding me with their little squeaks that their feeders need filled, and I need to get going before it gets too hot and dry to run the mowers anyway.
Happy Hump Day everyone!
