What did you do today? 2018 version

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Drove from Santa Fe to Colorado Springs today. Got in some hiking this afternoon at Cheyenne Nat'l Park. Just enough to work up a sweat. Drinking a cold one right now. ;)
 
Painted my dining room. I have spent the last 5 months laboriously hand scraping 161 years' worth of paint from the trim. There were eleven separate layers of paint, and with five doors, two windows, a fireplace, baseboards and a radiator, that's a lot of paint to scrape. After scraping, filling and sanding, it's time to put on the new paint. Today, I got the ceiling done and one coat on all the trim. I'll put another coat on the trim tomorrow, followed by painting the body of the walls later this week.
 
bjorn2bwild said:
I have not encountered this gel/slime buildup in the coolant problem before, so am wondering what happens when the stuff is heated to operating temperature? Does it liquefy and therefore present no real problem?
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It doesn’t appear to. I’ve had it up to temp and taken the cap off as soon as I could. The coolant is still pretty hot and the slime seems pretty much unaffected. Interesting enough, I lost power (right now) and ran it for a couple hours. It doesn’t over heat. Maybe it’s just not bad enough to cause trouble. That means maybe I’ll just put some fresh coolant in it (been running water since the flushes) and call it good. Maybe the slime will break down over time with clean coolant and periodic heat from running it. Still going to get someone out here, but very reluctant to spend significant money to correct this, especially if it’s not causing over heating.

Oh, the question was asked about how big the unit is. It’s 25kw (25 thousand watts).
 
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Roasted a bunch of home grown tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers, then made a wonderful pasta salad with them!
 
We walked around the National Forest behind our house. The loop we choose was 4.2 miles and we'd walked it last year. It's a couple of hours of sometimes tricky walking.

Awesome day, it was 74°F when we left at 10:30. We really didn't stop for more than a quick breather or water. Took 2.25 hours to finish the route. We walked behind our house on a trail and then off to some other flat places. It's hard for me to distinguish the difference in altitude around here. Mapmywalk said we changed altitude by 400' during the walk. DW says her legs hurt. [emoji12]
I'm asking if she wants to go do it again in a couple days. 20180819_110623.jpeg20180819_113935.jpeg
 
Mowed the yard the other day and the muffler on the riding mower broke where the exhaust pipe from the engine block connects to it. Had to finish with the push mower, but that gave me a good workout. Went to the local Toro service center and was told the parts person "extended her vacation by a week" (should cross-post to the Pet Peeve of the Day thread). Told them I would order on Amazon, which I did. I try to support local businesses, but sometimes it's hard. But the manufacturer doesn't guarantee this failure mode won't happen again, and blames it on poor installation techniques. The Intertubes blames it on faulty design. But the only other choice is a whole new mower.

Read online that this is a common problem with this engine so I feel lucky it lasted ten years. People complain that the bolts holding the exhaust pipe on tend to seize, so I loosened them today to verify I didn't need to deal with that problem, too. Now I'm waiting for the part to arrive, which will be at least a week.
 
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GalaxyBoy said:
Mowed the yard the other day and the muffler on the riding mower broke where the exhaust pipe from the engine block connects to it. Had to finish with the push mower, but that gave me a good workout. Went to the local Toro service dealer and was told "she extended her vacation by a week" (should cross-post to the Pet Peeve of the Day thread). Told them I would order on Amazon, which I did. I try to support local businesses, but sometimes it's hard. But the manufacturer doesn't guarantee this failure mode won't happen again, and blames it on poor installation techniques. The Intertubes blames it on faulty design. But the only other choice is a whole new mower.

Read online that this is a common problem with this engine so I feel lucky it lasted ten years. People complain that the bolts holding the exhaust pipe on tend to seize, so I loosened them today to verify I didn't need to deal with that problem, too. Now I'm waiting for the part to arrive, which will be at least a week.
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Sorry you are going through such a hassle with your rider mower!

I am so lucky to be able to afford a lawn guy due to an overfunded retirement; I do appreciate the luxuries it has allowed. I put out $35 the night before, and then sleep late in the air conditioning while my lawn guy gets the job done out there in the New Orleans summertime heat. Hasn't always been that way, and I did have to mow until I was getting older.
 
Jerry1 said:
It doesn’t appear to. I’ve had it up to temp and taken the cap off as soon as I could. The coolant is still pretty hot and the slime seems pretty much unaffected. Interesting enough, I lost power (right now) and ran it for a couple hours. It doesn’t over heat. Maybe it’s just not bad enough to cause trouble. That means maybe I’ll just put some fresh coolant in it (been running water since the flushes) and call it good. Maybe the slime will break down over time with clean coolant and periodic heat from running it. Still going to get someone out here, but very reluctant to spend significant money to correct this, especially if it’s not causing over heating.

Oh, the question was asked about how big the unit is. It’s 25kw (25 thousand watts).
Click to expand...

25kw, now thats a generator.
When I worked on Diesel engines we would add Cascade dishwasher detergent into the coolant system run engine for an hour or two, flush with fresh water, repeat 2 or 3 times as needed. Gelled coolant or oil contamination, never failed to work.
 
W2R said:
I am so lucky to be able to afford a lawn guy due to an overfunded retirement; I do appreciate the luxuries it has allowed.
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Actually, if/when the mower dies I will probably do the same. Truth be told, I'm overfunded, too, now that DF passed and left me more money than I expected (none of which I counted on receiving). When I was not retired yet and traveling a lot, I had a guy cut the lawn for me at quite a reasonable price. Hmmm....
 
Today was additional painting in the dining room. Then we went out to our garden plot and harvested a zillion tomatoes. We made marinara with the plum tomatoes. Then I canned the marinara. I also canned three pints of Sungolds whole. The okra is coming in now, so we need to figure out what to do with it.
 
Drove up Pikes Peak mountain yesterday and what did I see at the summit? Nothing.....in a cloud. Somewhat symbolic. Good views on the way up tho.
 
We went to see Crazy Rich Asians—not the deepest movie but a very good romcom. We really enjoyed it. Plus free popcorn refills—woohoo!
 
I took my little grandson to the park to play on the playground. I dare you to try to wipe the smile off my face. And the hug I got afterwards is priceless. I love retirement!!!!!:D
 
Cooked a thick cut NY strip steak on the grill for lunch. Yum.

The grocery store had chicken breasts on sale BOGO so I got two packages, put them in Ziplock freezer bags, and added a mixing of Good Seasons Italian salad dressing (it's a powder you mix with vinegar, water, and oil) in with them. Those went in the downstairs freezer for later. Later, during the three or four days it takes them to thaw they get marinated pretty good.
 
I helped a neighbor clear out some of his stuff last week and one of the things he had and was going to Toss was am EdgeStar TWR325ESS Dual Chamber Wine Cooler. One chamber was bad and he simply replaced the whole unit and I said I would take the old one and tinker with it. for those interested it is a Electronic Thermal Controlled unit. It does not use a regular compressor but has 4 x Peltier thermal semiconductor 12.5v converters, 2 for each side.

After pulling it apart, I diagnosed 2 problems. The first is that both Peltier devices on the offending side were bad. The First was completely open Circuit, the other while it worked when I applied 12v @ 5amps to it, it did not get cold enough on the business side.

The other issue is that the driver circuit board was ad also. It is simply a Power board with a switching power supply and some other stuff. As there was a complete working board on the good side, I could probe around with my meter and generally diagnose the issue, or an issue as these things can cascade, but you do not know till you fix one thing. Basically one of the main switching Transistors was bad.

So I ordered couple of Peltier devices ($4 each) and two 13007-2 HV Switching transistors ($0.90c each. Best to change both). So not all I have to do is wait till they come in and see if it works, or at least what else is wrong with the board.

Here is the Service Manual if anyone dabbles in this stuff, I was lucky as it has the PCB Driver Board Schematic in it, but no component values :(.

https://support.edgestar.com/hc/art...ar TWR325ESS Service Manual V1.0 02022018.pdf
 
Once you get the Peltier devices that fit into the original mounting spot, the rest is easy. If you know the power requirement of the Peltier TEC, you can get generic switching DC supplies to drive them.

Just_Steve said:
25kw, now thats a generator.
When I worked on Diesel engines we would add Cascade dishwasher detergent into the coolant system run engine for an hour or two, flush with fresh water, repeat 2 or 3 times as needed. Gelled coolant or oil contamination, never failed to work.
Click to expand...
Of course water and detergent is safe to experiment with. :facepalm:

By the way, a generator that big guzzles fuel. I think buying one is the easy part. Getting and storing the fuel for it is a trouble. Out of curiosity, I looked and one of that size burns about 2 gal/hr at 1/2 load. To keep one going for a week takes a serious-sized propane tank. Better keep your ground-mounted 500-gal tank topped off at all time.
 
NW-Bound said:
Once you get the Peltier devices that fit into the original mounting spot, the rest is easy. If you know the power requirement of the Peltier TEC, you can get generic switching DC supplies to drive them.
Click to expand...

Yes but the digital Temperature control and cooling system is a challenge.
 
Just_Steve said:
25kw, now thats a generator.
When I worked on Diesel engines we would add Cascade dishwasher detergent into the coolant system run engine for an hour or two, flush with fresh water, repeat 2 or 3 times as needed. Gelled coolant or oil contamination, never failed to work.
Click to expand...

I called a radiator place and they also recommended cascade. However, I've also been in touch with a dealer and Generac through the dealer. They both think with a high degree of certainty that this is a head gasket or worse, some type of head or cylinder problem. Of course, that changes the game. I'll flush it out and put some antifreeze in it while I contemplate my options.

I have half a mind to just pull the head, but it's been so long since I've worked on cars, I'm just not sure I'm up to it. Also, since it's an overhead cam, it will be a lot of work to get it put back together and get it all timed correctly.

On a slightly bright note, yes, 25kw is a very large generator. Doing some research, I don't think I need anywhere near that. I'm estimating about 16kw which would change the price from north of $8K to around $5K.

I'm likely just to get it replaced with the smaller unit and get on with my life, but it hurts given that the generator is really not that old. 500+ hours on it, installed in 2003. I'll button it up and think about it over winter.
 
We went to see "Crazy Rich Asians " . It is a chick flick . I enjoyed it but go alone . Do not drag a guy to this movie . It is a middle of the afternoon with popcorn female indulgence .
 
Jerry1 said:
............ They both think with a high degree of certainty that this is a head gasket or worse, some type of head or cylinder problem...........
Click to expand...
A simple compression test should tell you one way or the other.


What do you need to power that lead you to such a large generator? Generally unless you run a large air conditioner or a business, 7500 watts or less will do the job.
 
Put a second coat of drywall compound on a piece of damaged wall I'm fixing, ran a couple of loads of laundry, then a short bike ride with my daughter.
 
Crabby Mike said:
Hmmm, my motor home has more than that (8kW). I just did a quick check using Generac's online estimator, and they suggest 16kW for my house.
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You probably have two AC units on the motor home. Without the AC load, you could probably run it with a little 2000 watt inverter generator.


Similarly, in a house AC and electric water heaters are the power gluttons.Beyond that it doen't take much to supply emergency power.
 
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