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Old 06-05-2018, 07:58 AM   #2221
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I would not place a 25 inch TV in the 'big' category anymore... I have a 65, a 45 and DW has a 35 on the wall in her room to watch instead of her laptop screen...
omg....lol...Whenever I hook up one of my smaller TV's ( 20 inch diagonal) I think it's fine for about a day, then I want the 'big' TV back. Don't want anything bigger than 25 inch though.
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Old 06-05-2018, 08:18 AM   #2222
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Neighbors Oak tree crocked and keeled over and took out about 15 foot of fence, 10 foot of gutter, and cracked some sheathing under the singles.

In the process of sawing up, clean up, and insurance adjustment.

heh heh heh - fence was forty years old so DW found a hog wire and wood design on the internet to replace.
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Old 06-05-2018, 07:43 PM   #2223
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I started replacing the faucet and drains in our bathrooms with ones that have higher spouts. Our old builder grade ones are so short we can't fill the dog's bowl with water and then get them out from under the spout without dumping out half the water. Taking off the old faucet and putting the new one on took about 45 minutes. No big deal. But taking the old drain out was immensely difficult. Just had to unscrew a nut from under the pedestal sink, but the original plumber had cross threaded it. Luckily I have a small channel lock, since there was no room for anything bigger. But lying on my back and twisting up under the pedestal it took me over an hour and a half just to muscle that nut off. PITA, but typical for a plumbing job. There's always some issue. Anyway, I got it finished, and it looks great. Tomorrow I'm going to try to knock off the other 5. Only one more pedestal, so hopefully it will go more easily.
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Old 06-06-2018, 10:13 AM   #2224
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But taking the old drain out was immensely difficult. Just had to unscrew a nut from under the pedestal sink, but the original plumber had cross threaded it. Luckily I have a small channel lock, since there was no room for anything bigger. But lying on my back and twisting up under the pedestal it took me over an hour and a half just to muscle that nut off. PITA, but typical for a plumbing job.
You have more patience than I do. I would have used either a small angle grinder, or a Dremel tool if the space was tight, and ground a slot or two in the nut and have it off in about 5 minutes.
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Old 06-06-2018, 01:34 PM   #2225
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You have more patience than I do. I would have used either a small angle grinder, or a Dremel tool if the space was tight, and ground a slot or two in the nut and have it off in about 5 minutes.
I'm in our third home without access to most of my tools. Otherwise I'd be right there with you.
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Old 06-06-2018, 02:00 PM   #2226
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I'm in our third home without access to most of my tools. Otherwise I'd be right there with you.
What!? That's a perfect excuse reason to buy MORE tools! Plus the ever-popular rationalization "I saved $XX on the plumber visit, this (angle grinder, wrench, Dremel tool knock-off, etc) only cost 1/3 of that, and I'll be able to use it forever!" (if I can find it when I need it)
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Old 06-06-2018, 06:36 PM   #2227
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There's a special wrench for reaching up under the sink to install or uninstall a faucet.
When there wasn't enough room for that to work, I used a crowfoot flare nut wrench with a long extension & ratchet. Harbor Freight #93137
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Old 06-06-2018, 07:56 PM   #2228
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Fixed the electric eye's of my garage door which got out of alignment by a smidgeon, thus keeping the door from going all the way down. Save a $100 service call, but did not have to buy new tools. Oh well....
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Old 06-09-2018, 01:12 AM   #2229
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My fuel pump failed in my car. I spread the repair out over several days. The pump is inside the gas tank. I had to get the gas out of the tank to reduce the weight when removing it. I couldn't siphon it out. I finally used a inline 12 volt fuel pump attached to the fuel line at the engine. Borrowed the pump from a friend that's a bigger gear head than I am. The hardest thing was getting the dead car into the garage and on the lift. Once on the lift I found our local wildlife had chewed up the wiring near the gas tank. Didn't need a fuel pump. Didn't need to drop the tank. Spliced 3 wires and all works again. Cost about 50 cents.
Its happened again. Gas gauge not working, low coolant warning. Same repair under the car and 2 wires under the hood for the coolant lever switch. This time the car still ran so I could drive it on the lift. Spliced 4 wires. Sprayed some animal repellent stuff on everything.

Also found a chewed open evap system hose on another car.

I have a live animal trap around here somewhere.
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Old 06-09-2018, 05:48 AM   #2230
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I cut in another roof vent on my home. Now I want to replace my front porch/steps. The brick frame work is in place just need to replace decking and planning on a half moon type landing area.

I also replaced a Hunter head from my underground sprinkler system with a Rain Bird. I had to dig down about 16 inches to do the job. Then I had a root about the size of a baseball bat I needed to cut to get the job done.

There is always something when you own a home. LOL
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Old 06-09-2018, 07:06 AM   #2231
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Decided to upgrade/replace all bathroom sink faucets in main house...3 total. The old ones were original to house (1970s), access to them is very tight and lots of corrosion that made it a tough job for DH. Had our plumber and his helper do it. Took about 2 hours. Cost was 550 pesos or $27 USD equivalent.
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Old 06-09-2018, 08:17 AM   #2232
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... Once on the lift I found our local wildlife had chewed up the wiring near the gas tank. ...

I didn't see what year this car is, but I read that some cars were using an "environmentally safe" insulation on wires, and I think it was soybean oil based, and rodents were attracted to it. Not sure if they've moved to something else now or not.



We had animals storing corn in the hood of DD's car, parked outside, near DW's fall/Halloween corn-stalk decorations. We slipped some moth balls in places under the hood. Seemed to help. But for a while her car smelled like our Grandma's closet.


The spray repellent you mentioned is probably a better bet.



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Old 06-09-2018, 10:45 AM   #2233
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I've noticed that as the ethanol gas has been killing small engine carburetors like flies, the Chinese have jumped into the carburetor business and one can buy a new carburetor for peanuts. I recently bought a carb for a Mantis rototiller complete with new fuel lines, pick up head / filter and extra primer bulbs for ten bucks. Started right up and runs great.


I spoke to a machine rental outfit, they said that one should only use premium gas in the small engine machines to avoid killing the machines prematurely.
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Old 06-09-2018, 10:50 AM   #2234
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I spoke to a machine rental outfit, they said that one should only use premium gas in the small engine machines to avoid killing the machines prematurely.
There is ethanol in premium fuel also. Probably more on a percentage basis as ethanol is used as an octane enhancer since gasoline no longer contains MTBE to raise octane rating.
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Old 06-09-2018, 12:36 PM   #2235
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I always thought ethanol reduces the miles per gallon, and that this is somehow correlated to octane rating.
Therefore I have for the past number of years been getting premium gas for my small engines. As it's hard to find pure gas these days.

Looks like I may go back to regular gas for my small engines....

https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=27&t=10

"The energy content of ethanol is about 33% less than pure gasoline. The impact of fuel ethanol on vehicle fuel economy varies depending on the amount of denaturant that is added to the ethanol. The energy content of denaturant is about equal to the energy content of pure gasoline. In general, vehicle fuel economy may decrease by about 3% when using E10 relative to gasoline that does not contain fuel ethanol. "
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Old 06-09-2018, 12:59 PM   #2236
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I always thought ethanol reduces the miles per gallon, and that this is somehow correlated to octane rating.
Therefore I have for the past number of years been getting premium gas for my small engines. As it's hard to find pure gas these days.

Looks like I may go back to regular gas for my small engines....
If you can still get real gasoline (i..e. without ethanol), I'd strongly recommend that you keep using it for your small engines. Ethanol is hydrophilic (i.e. it will take and trap moisture from the air) and that is one reason it degrades much more quickly than pure gasoline (important if the fuel is going to sit for awhile in a leaf blower, can, etc). Also, that water will help rust out small gas tanks and carb parts. Lastly, many older engines of all types have rubbers and plastics (fuel hoses, gaskets, etc) that will break down when exposed to ethanol.

Ethanol is especially problematic for boats (because they tend to be near water, because they tend to keep fuel aboard for a long time, and because they have long normal service lives, so a disproportionate number are older and don't have ethanol-safe hoses and gaskets). Marinas can be a good place to find real gasoline (unadulterated with ethanol).

Rejoice that you can still get real gasoline, and thank the merchants that carry it.
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Old 06-10-2018, 08:39 PM   #2237
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I finished my generator natural gas conversion. One can buy a kit, but being both cheap and stubborn, I decided to wing it. There are two main parts, a regulator that prevents gas vapor from flowing if the engine is not running and also varies the gas vapor flow according to load. The second part is a venturi that bolts between the carburetor and the air cleaner. The natural gas (or propane) is fed at low pressure into the venturi. I bought the regulator and just drilled and tapped my carburetor at the venturi point to feed the natural gas. A 12 foot hose with a quick disconnect at the meter feeds the natural gas.



The beauty of it is that I don't need to store gasoline that goes bad and I have an unlimited supply for a multi-day outage. Plus, 125,000 btu of natural gas is about $1 vs $3.50 for 125,000 btu of gasoline. The generator can still run on gasoline if necessary.


Here is a link to a commercial kit if anyone is curious. https://www.propanecarbs.com/natural-gas-kits.html
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Old 06-10-2018, 08:55 PM   #2238
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If you can still get real gasoline (i..e. without ethanol), I'd strongly recommend that you keep using it for your small engines. Ethanol is hydrophilic (i.e. it will take and trap moisture from the air) and that is one reason it degrades much more quickly than pure gasoline (important if the fuel is going to sit for awhile in a leaf blower, can, etc). Also, that water will help rust out small gas tanks and carb parts. Lastly, many older engines of all types have rubbers and plastics (fuel hoses, gaskets, etc) that will break down when exposed to ethanol.

Ethanol is especially problematic for boats (because they tend to be near water, because they tend to keep fuel aboard for a long time, and because they have long normal service lives, so a disproportionate number are older and don't have ethanol-safe hoses and gaskets). Marinas can be a good place to find real gasoline (unadulterated with ethanol).

Rejoice that you can still get real gasoline, and thank the merchants that carry it.

I am lucky enough to be able to get pure gasoline. When I couldn’t, I religiously used Sta-Bil gas additive. I also ran my small engines dry at the end of the season. Storing a small engine with ethanol gas for an off season will almost certainly cause a problem with the carburetor. If you’re inclined, you can typically open up the carb and use a very small wire to open the jet back up, but the older the carburetor is, the more likely you’ll be also replacing gaskets and valves (rebuilding the carb).
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Old 06-11-2018, 08:49 AM   #2239
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Its happened again. Gas gauge not working, low coolant warning. Same repair under the car and 2 wires under the hood for the coolant lever switch. This time the car still ran so I could drive it on the lift. Spliced 4 wires. Sprayed some animal repellent stuff on everything.

Also found a chewed open evap system hose on another car.

I have a live animal trap around here somewhere.
Arrrggghhh!! Lucky it was still drivable. I found a huge mouse nest under the air intake (plenum?) on my 88 Trans Am while checking out a bucking/hesitation problem a few months ago (still diagnosing it). Something had chewed 2 of the injector wires, but not through, just exposed the copper. Haven't found any other chewing yet, but who knows. I now leave a light on 24 hours a day, and keep the hood propped open (inside a garage) since rodents like something over them to hide them, apparently. Also plopped a whole pack of Bounce drier sheets on top of plenum, since they hate Bounce odor, supposedly. No more nests since. On the subject of recent repair, I found out my fuel pressure was only 26 psi, and spec is 39 psi. Talked to a few real mechanics and they disagree with one another about whether 26 psi is low enough to be a factor in the bucking/hesitation. I was just about ready to throw in the towel and take it to a mechanic to diagnose. But now am back on the trail, will have the awkward task of jacking up passenger side, getting under car and somehow remove wires and spark plugs to check for fouled plug caused by possible intermittently sticking fuel injector. Good luck with the rodent repellent!
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Old 06-11-2018, 09:36 AM   #2240
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After years, no decades, of frustration with string trimmers hanging up on the the trimmer string, I found the solution to this problem!

Dry lube. I started using "Blaster" dry lube on my string spool and various cam feed parts. Just spray the stuff on liberally when winding the spool. Spray the spool and all the various parts that allow the feeding. Done.

It is a miracle! Why didn't I think of this before? I don't recall the instructions on the various brands (yes I've tried at least 4 brands of trimmer) suggesting this. But, I tell you, it works.


That's a great tip. Never would've thought of that solution but I'm wondering what problems you've had. I decided to splurge on pre wound string cartridges and that solved most of my issues, but I only occasionally ever had a jammed spool. Think I'll spray that stuff all over the head and shield!
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