Time passes and stuff happens

Months slip away like water.
So let me bring you up to date. I'm off on another work trip to California, it seems like I live here part time. Last week we were made our yearly spring trip to camp. This year's big project was to move the outhouse. The old outhouse hole was full. I don't remember what year I dug that hole, I'm guessing 2005. 9 years isn't bad for a hole I dug by hand while the outhouse was tipped forward. We probably should have made some sort of a box when we dug that hole to keep the dirt around the hole from collapsing in, you live and learn. This year we rented an excavator to do the digging. We built a box 4 feet tall by 4 feet wide by 32 inches deep out of OSB scraps and 2x4s, then dug a hole to fit the box. Finally I built a frame of 4x4s to slide the outhouse onto. The sliding went pretty poorly when the outhouse hung up on a concrete block as I slid it. I should have stopped at that point and jacked up that corner with the wagon jack to get the block out but instead I ended up wrestling it around with the excavator. Later on I had to spend a bunch of time jacking the outhouse up to get the 4x4s back into the right place. The other mistake I made was not spiking the 4x4s together, mostly because it didn't occur to me to buy spikes...

The next day we used the excavator to dig a test hole in a place Dad thought there might be some gravel. Off to the side of one field is a hill that appears to be degraded shale or slate which breaks up pretty good with the excavator. We dug some up and used the wagon to haul it to fill some wet spots in the road. Angie ran the excavator while I made runs with the Cub Cadet. I had the much harder job, the excavator can fill the little wagon no problem to the point where the Cub Cadet can just barely handle the weight. Then the dirt would be stuck in the wagon. Since it was a little wet when I'd dump it'd stick in the bed and I'd have to shovel it out.

To make this work we need either a real dump truck or a bigger dump wagon we haul either with the truck or the Farmall Super M.

Speaking of the Super M it got all new wiring this trip. We'd known the wiring harness was in tough shape for awhile and when the tractor wouldn't start at all we knew it was time. We finally did get it running by wiggling some wires but it wouldn't run well and couldn't pull any kind of engine speed. Fortunately we'd already ordered a wiring harness. The harness included the main wires from the generator to the switch and voltage regulator and from the switch to the coil but didn't include the lights or some other incidentals, we made those other wires ourselves so now every wire on the tractor is new except for one battery cable. That got the machine running and I used it to plow and disc the garden. I tried to shoot some video of my rollover plow but I haven't reviewed it yet to see if its any good.
While the tractor now runs its probably time to do a 12 volt conversion on it. 6 volt batteries are expensive and seem to be prone to failure. A small 12 volt battery would cost half what we pay for a 6 volt, it'd probably last twice as long and in a pinch we would be able to jump start the tractor off the truck. Having 12v electrics on the tractor would also allow for an inexpensive electric ignition conversion. Thats not a big requirement I've never really had any trouble with the points but it would make for a better running engine with increased reliability down the road.
I almost forgot, while we were doing all this work I put in new spark plugs too.
After all that effort the tractor started nice as you please although it did crank slow from the bad battery. When we left I put the battery on the desulfator, we'll see if a few months of that maybe helps salvage the battery. I doubt it and I see that a 12 volt conversion kit runs about $150. I may end up just doing that in the fall.

I'd bought some asparagus to plant at home but the package of roots I'd bought was way more than we could use around our house so I bought the rest to plant at camp. Asparagus is cool for camp since it comes up in the spring and requires relatively little maintenance the rest of the year. I planted a 14 foot trench worth which should provide us with about all the asparagus we can eat. The trenching was hard work and in retrospect I should have used the excavator.

Buster liked the trench though, he came up to inspect and immediately flopped down in it. I'd guess the bottom of the trench was cool and it was a hot day, especially for a black dog.

Finally we planted our yearly camp garden which feeds the wildlife. We've seen a big increase in the deer population around our farm over the last couple years and I'd like to think this garden has something to do with that so I keep doing it. This year we planted mostly turnips but some kale, squash, cucumber and whatever other old seeds we had at our house. Angie also bought some sunflower seeds which she put around the edge of the plot.

We planted by broadcasting seeds which we then disced in with the Cub Cadet. I'd tried plowing with the Cub Cadet but the so was unusually strong, last year we didn't get good coverage with the oats we'd planted so the grass took right over again. The plow I've got is also a little over large for the Cub Cadet and we're probably under weighted so it just had a hard time. The Super M just walks away with the 2 bottom plow I've got and it only takes a few passes to clear this area. Our neighbor Grant came by with an old spring tooth harrow which made short work of cleaning up the furrows. In past years its taken me hours to plow and disc the plot, working with the bigger tractor certainly made things easier.

Ranger Brakes

When Ford designed the brakes on my 2003 Ford Ranger they made the rears so that as they near the end point they get really grabby. When I say grabby I mean you're easing the brake pedal down, the truck starts to slow and then the rear brakes lock right up. When the drum is removed the old friction material falls out. Clearly the friction material isn't bonded all that well to the shoe and its got to be a design issue because all 3 sets of shoes we've replaced have been the same.

I hate working on drum brakes so I usually farm that one out. Disc brakes are no big whoop so I usually do them myself. Shops usually charge you a flat fee for front brakes and they make out because generally there are no hold ups.

So I headed to my local Car Quest and bought new rotors and pads. I was surprised to find that the Ranger spec's ceramic pads from the factory. I thought I was doing an upgrade when I used Akebono pads back in 2009. I'm not super impressed with how long those pads lasted but considering the kind of places I've taken the Ranger to since then I guess I shouldn't be too upset.

Usually the hardest part of this job is getting the calipers to push back so you can fit the new pads in place of the old worn ones. I didn't expect that to be a big problem here as I'd replaced the calipers in 2011 and I was right. Surprisingly the big problem on this trip was the passenger side brake rotor which just wouldn't come off the truck.

This is a strange problem since the rotor isn't held on by anything but the wheel, usually with the wheel removed they fall right off or at most need a tap with a hammer. This one seems to have rusted to the hub and no amount of pounding or heating with the torch was getting me anywhere so out came the grinder.

This is a sticky job since I need to cut enough to loosen the bond to the hub but not cut up the hub or the studs that hold the wheel on. I ended up making slits between each of the wheel studs as deep as I dared and then going around the outside of the hub to release it from the rotor. I figured at that point if I really had to I could jam a wedge between what was left of the rotor and the hub. Luck was with me and as I tapped the outer part of the rotor with a hammer the inner finally gave up and let go.

I'm not sure what finally made it let go, a combination of heat and pounding I guess.

The stuck rotor cost me about 2 hours, I could have done the whole job in that time as the other side only took me around an hour. Normally for me the biggest part of the job is collecting tools and getting the vehicle jacked up so I can get underneath it...

As always I felt extremely satisfied when I went for a test ride and the brakes felt perfect. The WearEver pads I put in came with instructions to take the vehicle to 30mph and then stop in a controlled manner, drive for 30 seconds and repeat 30 times. I did my best but thats a lot of start and stop. With luck I did enough break in that these brakes will last a good long time.

Yoga pants frustration

I'm sure some of you will be surprised that I'm into yoga. If I'm honest I'm not THAT into yoga but from time to time I'll get the mat out and move around some. It helps my back immensely.
I'm also sure that some of you will be surprised that I'd like to start jogging. I've talked about wanting to lose weight in the past and frankly I've hit a wall. I beat the 210 pound barrier but the 205 pound wall is one I've been struggling with for 6 months now. I can get slightly under it but not for long. This is an important line for me because I remember getting my first hunting license at age 13 and I already weighed 205. In retrospect I was quite porky at 13 but I was nearly full grown at that point, I don't think my inseam has changed since then.

So anyway for Christmas I asked Angie for a pair of yoga pants. I haven't done any yoga in the house all winter since it was too cold to do it in shorts. The pair she got me are nice but they're long, like you can't see my feet at all when I wear them. Today I was thinking I'd like to get going on the jogging thing. I read an article last night about the 20X training plan and while I certainly don't want to work out like a navy seal I realize that if I'm ever going to get under 200 pounds I need to move a lot more and I need to burn a lot more calories when I'm moving which means I need to move faster.

Off to Amazon to search for yoga pants and its just as Angie explained, shorter yoga pants seem to be in short supply. I can find shorts and pants so long they'll get under my heels but nothing in between, with one exception. The exception is skin tight and frankly guys my size either don't want to be seen in something skin tight or SHOULDN'T be seen in something skin tight...

So there are my choices, mid thigh or dragging on the floor. I don't understand this, how can I do yoga if every time I try to put my foot down I have to pull the pants out from under my feet? Don't people get frustrated with this? Does nobody else do yoga in a house thats too cold for shorts?

First world problems right?

AGM goodness

Some months ago Fred picked up an AGM lantern for me. I forget the price but it came with a Coleman 220 which I thought was an F but looks to be an E transition, its got an F collar and vent but is stamped E. More on that later, I'm not really a fan of the 220, I think the 228 has a better look, I wanted the pair for the AGM.

Looking at Terry Marsh's site: http://tgmarsh.faculty.noctrl.edu/ under early AGM I found the 4614 which AGM made for Sears in the early '30s. Dates are tough on AGMs since they aren't stamped. Anyhow I'd been off lanterns for the winter but lately have been getting back. I've got a couple Colemans I've been working on that were giving me a rough time so I decided to give the AGM a little attention. Its got an integral pump/gas cap arrangement with the typical hard/cracked gasket and dried out pump leather. The leather softened right up in neats-foot oil and I've got some o-rings to replace the gasket. With the pump working the lantern held pressure and flowed air through what looks to be a Coleman R55 generator. It also came with the filthiest Coleman rising sun globe I've ever seen. After quite a bit of work with some Simple Green the globe is nice. It doesn't belong on this lantern since you can't access the generator or light the thing with it in place. I've contacted Fred Kuntz about a proper mica chimney.

Anyway since the lantern held pressure I figured it was worth trying to fire up. With fuel in place and some mantles tied on it fired up with little trouble, I had to crank the cleaning knob a bunch but it was otherwise pretty straight forward.

The thing was it didn't burn right, it'd get real dim, almost go out even, then brighten back up. It seemed like if it was dim and I fiddled with the knob it'd brighten back up again sometimes but sometimes it wouldn't. Overall I knew something was up.

Taking the lantern apart was surprisingly easy, its very similar to a Coleman 220 which of course shouldn't be a big surprise. Even the valve came out easily, considering how clean the tank is that wasn't a real surprise. The lantern was very dirty, I think it must have sat in somebody's wood shop for awhile, it had a lot of sawdust in it.

With the valve out I was presented with the standard AGM bottom end with what appeared to be a dirty screen. Many AGM lanterns have a fine screen on the bottom of the fuel pickup, usually the assembly comes off with a twist. To my surprise when I twisted this one the whole tube twisted.

That explains the poor running, there must have been a crack in the tube and I was occasionally getting a slug of air instead of fuel. I bet if I'd played with it for awhile I'd have found that the lantern ran better on low pressure than high.

The fix is actually pretty easy, I cut apart a Coleman fuel/air tube from a 200A (the bad one from my original 200A) and found that the tube slid nicely over the AGM tube. I cut out the bad part of the tube out which meant cutting off the end and then cutting the bad part back. Before I did that I measured the length of the tube so I could get it back together the same. I don't want the pickup pushing on the bottom of the fount.
Then I reassembled it all with JB Weld. In initially I tried to solder but I couldn't get a consistent solder joint while keeping everything in alignment.

Foam meat trays make excellent frames for something like this since its easy to adjust and get everything in proper alignment. You can see the transition from the very thin AGM tube to the thicker Coleman. Also if you look closely you can see the nub of the AGM air tube, it looks like this should be an instant light lantern.

The downside of JB weld is that it takes a long time to dry, I had to put the end on, then let that dry overnight, then put the tube on and let that dry overnight. Later today I'll polish up the AGM fount, then put it all back together and give it a shot.

You CAN direct to Vegas!

A couple months ago I bemoaned the lack of direct flights to Las Vegas from  greater Boston. Today I actually booked my trip and just on a whim once again tried Bradley airport in Hartford. I like Bradley, its only 10 miles farther from my house than Boston Logan, Google says that 10 miles will take me 20 minutes but I don't believe it. Its a small regional airport, easy to get into and easy to get out of. I flew out of there to Vegas last year and I'm going to fly from there to Los Angeles in a couple days. Anyway I thought I'd checked Bradley for a direct to Vegas back in January but either I didn't check, or I didn't do a good job, or more likely our stupid travel booking system at work missed the flight. As it was I very nearly didn't spot it today but completely by accident I managed to find that holy grail, a direct flight from Boston to Las Vegas and joy of joys its at 11:30 in the morning. Many of the west coast or Vegas flights leave so dang early, they make you leave home at sparrow fart and then you can't get into your hotel room yet when you get there... This flight gets me into Vegas at something like 3pm which is a great time to take a nap.

Yes a nap, remember this is a work trip that I've taken 7 times already. I'm Las Vegas-ed out. I don't know what hi-jinks we'll be up to but I'm reasonably sure there won't be much if any time spent on the Vegas strip and nearly no time spent gambling...

A quick little chore

Had a little time tonight so I cleaned up my basement workbench. After I got all the tools put mostly away and little bits and bobs cleaned up I finally got around to a little task I've been leaving undone for too long.

Mercedes-Benz requires 60g of axle grease be installed when repacking the front wheel bearings, at least on the old cars I've got. They sell a tube with 150g of grease and you just approximate half the tube for each wheel but the tubes are expensive and there isn't a Mercedes dealer anywhere handy to me. Mobil 1 grease is considered an acceptable substitute but it comes in big tubs. Awhile ago I realized that the little containers duck sauce came in were perfect for holding 60g of axle grease. I bought a little scale on Amazon and made up a couple. I used them both last year and I've been trying to remember to refill ever since.

A mostly empty container on the scale already zero'd out. The containers both weighed 4.4g empty with just a smear of grease inside. Even after I'd used the bulk of the grease on my 190D the remains were super handy for little jobs that needed some lubrication.

60g right on the money. It takes a little fiddling to hit 60 exactly but I'm not super worried if its 59.9 or 60.1.

I've got a plastic spoon that I used to scoop the grease from the tub into the container, I use a little wooden ice cream paddle (like you ate your Hoodsie cup with when I was a kid) to scrape the grease from the spoon into the container. It takes about 3 scoops.

I labeled the lid with what it is "Wheel bearing grease" and how much there is "1 wheel 60g".

With 2 of these on hand I can deal with both front wheels on one car. The 190D in particular seems to be very sensitive and wants its wheel bearings looked after. Both the 190Ds I've had have experienced severe wheel bearing failure. I should probably make repacking the bearings part of yearly maintenance. Its a lot easier to pull 'em apart and repack when the bearing isn't shredded than when it is.

Jetta to the doctor again

After all the excitement with the Jetta a couple weeks ago I hoped we'd be in for some quiet time. Not so. All the monkeying around with the turbo oil line apparently unsettled the three way coolant pipe that lives under it causing a pretty severe coolant leak. This had me paranoid because at first I couldn't figure out where the coolant was going, just that it disappeared. I was super relieved when I realized it was dripping from the three way pipe.

Next big problem, its way too cold and snowy for me to wrestle this one in the driveway so its back to Keith at KMH motors in Lowell which is a solid 45 miles from here. Will we make it? Actually I'm going to stack the deck on this one, I ordered a tow dolly from Uhaul, we'll tow the car to Lowell and have a day out. Angie needs to buy new sneakers so we'll go up to Nashua and shop, then have lunch in our favorite Pho restaurant. Keith says he can replace the 3 way pipe and reseal the IP in one day. The IP leaking is probably what caused the issue in the first place, it drips diesel fuel onto the 3 way pipe which ruins the rubber hose. I'm not entirely sure the IP is leaking now but I want to maximize the shop time, if theres any sign its leaking or might leak in the near future I want it fixed now. In for a penny, in for a pound...