What did you do today? - 2020 version

[Souschef]

Gonna be a busy day ...

Our electrical supplier ... PG&E ... is alerting us that due to “severe weather” they are likely to shut down our power grid tomorrow. So I looked up the forecast and it’s going to be 65 degrees here with wind gusts up to 14 mph. That’s PG&E’s version of severe weather!

Today will be gassing up and testing the generator, pulling out the candles and buying fresh batteries. Have to get propane tanks refilled too.

We are in the same boat with SoCal Edison. I have the shutdown map, plus I get alerts on my phone.
We have a generator, extension cords, battery operated lights, and two propane tanks.

 

[pacergal]

Sunny but cool day, so we are getting our outside Christmas lights up today.
Supposed to be rainy all week starting Tuesday.

Last of the Christmas shopping done, mostly on line, did go into one small children's educational store, but only 2 others there at the same time.
I think I am ready for the Christmas season now!

 

[Nemo2]

Went out and picked up some provisions.

Now, what I want to know is, when this is all over and masks are no longer required - how the hell are we going to recognize anybody?

 

[Chuckanut]

Picked up a nice gift for my the lady friend at a local small business.

 

[KCGeezer]

Went and visited my brother in the rehab place after his recent surgery. He’s in a ground floor room so I stood outside and he opened the window a bit to talk. Got him to laugh a little which was my main goal.

 

[MichaelB]

I assembled a new Weber grill. It’s a nice grill, I like it, but have to admit the engineers at Weber didn’t do such a good job designing the assembly process or writing it down. They also made a very nice app to show the assembly process, only it doesn’t follow the same steps / sequence as the document. Engineers.

 

[aja8888]

I assembled a new Weber grill. It’s a nice grill, I like it, but have to admit the engineers at Weber didn’t do such a good job designing the assembly process or writing it down. They also made a very nice app to show the assembly process, only it doesn’t follow the same steps / sequence as the document. Engineers.

Not all us engineers were working in China for Weber writing manuals.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

Woke up, drank coffee, ate...drank coffee, ate...took a nap...woke up, drank coffee, ate.

Switching to wine now...

Love the retirement schedule!

 

[MichaelB]

Not all us engineers were working in China for Weber writing manuals.

From Weber’s website

Today, we stay true to our Midwestern roots by continuing to manufacture grills in Huntley, Illinois, using only the best U.S. and globally sourced components. All of our grills are designed and engineered by a team at our Chicago headquarters, and every day our wide assortment of grills roll off the manufacturing lines at our plant in Huntley, Illinois.

I’m quite familiar with user and assembly guides made in Asia, as well as confused engineering. In Weber’s case, the design and documentation is good old American know how.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

Went out and picked up some provisions.

Now, what I want to know is, when this is all over and masks are no longer required - how the hell are we going to recognize anybody?

You mean, you recognize people in masks? People wave at me in the grocery store and I have no CLUE who they are. I just wave back.

 

[KCGeezer]

I did that before masks.

 

[Music Lover]

Our electrical supplier ... PG&E ... is alerting us that due to “severe weather” they are likely to shut down our power grid tomorrow. So I looked up the forecast and it’s going to be 65 degrees here with wind gusts up to 14 mph. That’s PG&E’s version of severe weather!

That's my version of nice golf weather

 

[aja8888]

From Weber’s website

I’m quite familiar with user and assembly guides made in Asia, as well as confused engineering. In Weber’s case, the design and documentation is good old American know how.

Thanks for clarifying this. I bought a Weber E-310 32,000 BTU 3 burner grill when we moved into our current home a few years ago. I don't recall having too much difficulty assembling the grill but do recall the paper manual was not as "refined" as it could have been. It really looked unprofessional for such a highly rated grill seller.

Although the grill has performed very well, my biggest gripes with the grill have to do with the quality, as the push button igniter quit about a year or so after normal use and the plastic wheels disintegrated last year. The grill is kept outside under a cover and I really didn't expect the plastic wheels to deteriorate as quickly as they did.

 

[Car-Guy]

Me, too. I don't do estimated payments and my dividends and capital gains always have me owing too much. So, I'll make an IRA withdrawal and have them withhold 100%.

That's exactly how I've done it for the last few years... Once I figure it out (in a few weeks) I'll pull what I owe from an IRA before year end, and withhold it all (or most it)

 

[Music Lover]

Thanks for clarifying this. I bought a Weber E-310 32,000 BTU 3 burner grill when we moved into our current home a few years ago. I don't recall having too much difficulty assembling the grill but do recall the paper manual was not as "refined" as it could have been. It really looked unprofessional for such a highly rated grill seller.

Although the grill has performed very well, my biggest gripes with the grill have to do with the quality, as the push button igniter quit about a year or so after normal use and the plastic wheels disintegrated last year. The grill is kept outside under a cover and I really didn't expect the plastic wheels to deteriorate as quickly as they did.

That's strange from a well known and supposed high quality manufacturer. The plastic wheels on my $150 no-name barbeque are still good after 15 years and I leave it outside all winter (-30). The igniter still works too, however the metal shields above the burners are starting to corrode.

 

[Car-Guy]

Oh, and today we bought our Christmas tree. $75 for a 6' tree... Last year it was $50 for the same size tree. I'm sure glad there hasn't been much inflation this year..

 

[aja8888]

That's strange from a well known and supposed high quality manufacturer. The plastic wheels on my $150 no-name barbeque are still good after 15 years and I leave it outside all winter (-30). The igniter still works too, however the metal shields above the burners are starting to corrode.

Maybe I got a bad one. I bought the replacement igniter and wheel set from Amazon as they were less costly than from Weber. Weber makes good products, but our hot Texas environment could have done a number on the plastic wheels.

 

[street]

Went to the ranch and did some work there. I have setup a camera aiming towards an eagles nest. I haven't got any worthy pictures yet, but hope to as winter and spring comes around I will.

I also sledded up a large flat rock, I have been admiring for some years. It would make a nice headstone (lol) for me or would be a perfect rock for a engraving home address etc. for the front yard.

 

[Walt34]

While DW was out I pulled the anode rod from the water heater to check it. The previous water heater only lasted six years and the $1,200 replacement cost (installed) got my attention so I want to stay current on the maintenance with this one. I flush it every other month, a 15-minute job, and keep a log on the water heater. At this point the water heater is one year and one month old.

Being the first time for me doing this I took my time and the whole thing took a bit over an hour. Turn off the water supply to the water heater, turn the gas to the "vacation" setting, open the upstairs hot water valves, and open the utility room hot water valve to let as much drain as will by gravity. Then hook up the battery powered water pump with a couple of hoses from the water heater to the sink and empty about ten gallons (roughly measured with a bucket) from the water heater to get the water level well below the top of the tank.

This is where the investment in that Milwaukee 1/2" impact wrench and a set of impact sockets paid off, in loosening the anode so I could get it out. The factories use trained gorillas to install those so they won't leak and I'd seen youtube videos of people using two guys to hold the tank while a third turns the wrench, or lashing the tank to the wall to keep it from turning while they struggle to loosen the anode bolt, using three-foot cheater bars, hammering the wrench, and all the rest. The impact wrench took about 15 seconds. Oh, and for those who see the videos warning against using an impact wrench for fear of cracking the "glass lining" of the tank, the manufacturer (A.O. Smith) specifically recommends using an impact wrench.

The rod was in pretty good shape, although covered with calcium. I took that outside and with a wire wheel on the angle grinder got the worst of it off. Used a bit of pipe joint compound on the threads, and reinstalled with a torque wrench to 90 ft./lbs. The book says between 60 and 120 so I split the difference. Made a note of it on the log and will check again it in about 18 months. Oh, and 90 ft./lbs. was just about the point where the water heater itself began to turn.

So far no leaks!

A note to folks who have never had the need to do this. I never did either until we moved here. The water is hard so we use a water softener which adds a bit of salt to the water, which makes it a bit more corrosive. In 18 years here this is our fourth water heater including the one that came with the new house. Where we lived before it was normal for a water heater to last 20+ years with no maintenance at all. Clearly things are different here and more attention needs to be paid to water heater maintenance. Hopefully keeping up with the maintenance will allow it to last a reasonable length of time.

 

[travelover]

........... and keep a log on the water heater. .......

Interesting. Does it have to be a particular type of wood to work?

 

[NW-Bound]

While DW was out I pulled the anode rod from the water heater to check it. The previous water heater only lasted six years and the $1,200 replacement cost (installed) got my attention so I want to stay current on the maintenance with this one...

A note to folks who have never had the need to do this. I never did either until we moved here. The water is hard so we use a water softener which adds a bit of salt to the water, which makes it a bit more corrosive. In 18 years here this is our fourth water heater including the one that came with the new house. Where we lived before it was normal for a water heater to last 20+ years with no maintenance at all. Clearly things are different here and more attention needs to be paid to water heater maintenance. Hopefully keeping up with the maintenance will allow it to last a reasonable length of time.

Softened water just a bit more corrosive? For me, it's a LOT more corrosive.

My water heaters used to last about 3-4 years, and I had 2 50-gal heaters to make the most of my solar water heater (the first tank was heated by solar, and its outlet fed the 2nd tank which was wired up to electric power).

Between these 2 tanks, I was kept busy replacing them. When the last water softener broke (it also did not last that long), I just used hard water and got used to it, because I read that the sodium in the soft water is not good for blood pressure. The heaters now last a long time.

 

[REWahoo]

Softened water just a bit more corrosive? For me, it's a LOT more corrosive.

Interesting.

We have extremely hard well water - measured at 75 grains per gallon where 10 grains per gallon is considered "very hard". Our water heater and every plumbing fixture would be destroyed by a thick coating of calcium within weeks without a heavy-duty softener.

Been in the house 22 years and on the third water heater. The first made it 3 years, the second 8 and the current one is almost 11 years old (fingers crossed).

Note: Our water comes from a limestone aquifer, so it is heavily laden with dissolved rock.

 

[Jerry1]

Maybe I got a bad one. I bought the replacement igniter and wheel set from Amazon as they were less costly than from Weber. Weber makes good products, but our hot Texas environment could have done a number on the plastic wheels.

You should have called Weber. I’ve always had good luck with them working with me. I bet they would have given you the wheels. They gave me half off the doors to my cabinet. I forgot to lock the wheels and it rolled off my deck, bending one of the doors. When I called them, since they couldn’t just sell me one door, the cut the price in half and sent me two new doors.

I had a smoker that I kept in the box for several years and finally sold it to a friend. Come to find that the bottom was bent. No idea how it happened and the box didn’t look bent. Called them and they sent me a new bottom. Free.

I have a couple other stories, but you get the idea. Call them.

 

[ivinsfan]

I assembled a new Weber grill. It’s a nice grill, I like it, but have to admit the engineers at Weber didn’t do such a good job designing the assembly process or writing it down. They also made a very nice app to show the assembly process, only it doesn’t follow the same steps / sequence as the document. Engineers.

Next time buy it from Home Depot..They put it together for free...

 

[steelyman]

Next time buy it from Home Depot..They put it together for free...

I bought a Weber Genesis in the late 90s and it was delivered in the box.

I decided it would make for a fun Saturday to assemble it from the instructions and bought some beer to enjoy during assembly.

By the time I was done, not sure everything was right and at that point pretty beered up, I wondered if I’d blow myself up on lighting it. Really.

I didn’t blow myself up and used it for 17 years.

[ADDED] Sold that grill for $50 the first day I listed it on Craigslist with pictures (a Weber cover, replaced once, really helped).