Effin' new gas
JayC
snowblower. I also brought one of my fat bastard buddies and my ATV.
After dumping the tractor off, we did a little 20-up tooling around on
the property. Other than a single accidental tree-climbing ending up
upsidedown incident (my ATV will literally climb a tree - by accident
- who knew...), it was uneventful, except I had a terrible time
keeping the machine running - it kept stalling at idle. I finally had
to tweak the idle to get a little needle-action to eliminate the
stalling issue. I hadn't run it for a couple of months, and I guess
the pilot jet had started to crud up thanks to the shitty ethanol we
get to run. Stabil seems to helps, but you evidently still only get a
couple of months. Now I have to spend more time that I don't have
tearing the carb down again before the plowing season begins...
I told you that story so I could tell you this one:
On Sunday, I was in my garage rebuilding a pile of Kirbys - my wife
came down wondering if we had a powered blower of some kind for her to
blast the leaves off of the yard. My parents gave me a gas powered
blower/vac/mulcher shortly after we bought the house - it was a ~20cc
two-stroke, and that was back in '91 or so. I used the machine once,
hated it, and stuck it on a shelf. There is was, still sitting on a
(different) shelf 18 years later.
There was a little bit of gas residue in the tank, which I
accidentally dumped onto the garage floor - it looked and felt like a
mix of motor oil and/or old diesel, and stank. I sprayed off the
machine with carb cleaner, shot a healthy dose into the gas tank and
flushed it out, then filled it up with fresh pre-mix. All of the fuel
goes through a clear primer bulb, and I pumped the bulb, what filled
it was completely black - evidently the fuel tube had 18 year old
premix in it too - ick. I gave the pull-cord a couple of yanks, and
it actually made a slight burble after a couple. I knew then that I
could get it running eventually, but I figured that I'd have to keep
yanking the cord until the black goop was out of the fuel system (or
the rope broke, whichever came first). Two yanks later, the damn
thing barfed and snorted to life. I hit the gas and after a brief
sputter, it revved up to WFO - I looked in the primer bulb and, I'll
be damned, it was running on the 18 year old black goop. Hells
bells. A minute later, the bulb cleared and had filled with the new
gas, and the machine was off to work blowing leaves for the rest of
the afternoon.
If that same machine was originally filled with modern fuel, and it
sat for only a year, much less 18, I would've had to throw it into a
dumpster 'cause it would've been completely ruined.
I think more hell needs to be raised. The big oil companies are
selling a product that destroys equipment, and the US govt is
mandating the ingredients that cause the bulk of the damage. I have
no choice but to buy that product - although I can buy ANOTHER product
to mix with the first product that 'might' prevent the first product
from destroying my equipment, although there is no official statement
or warning labels stating additional storage dangers. There are Rico
Statute laws being broken here.
JayC
HardWorkingDog
<1fa7b84a-0e36-42fd...@j35g2000vbl.googlegroups.com>,
JayC <j...@sysmatrix.net> wrote:
> The big oil companies are
> selling a product that destroys equipment, and the US govt is
> mandating the ingredients that cause the bulk of the damage. I have
> no choice but to buy that product - although I can buy ANOTHER product
> to mix with the first product that 'might' prevent the first product
> from destroying my equipment, although there is no official statement
> or warning labels stating additional storage dangers. There are Rico
> Statute laws being broken here.
Not only that, but OUR taxes are being used to support this criminal
activity, the resulting corn fuel is LESS efficient to burn, and food
crops are being wasted.
btw, ever wonder about the fuel content used in the EPA mileage rating
tests...I suspect they use no-ethanol fuel, but I can't really confirm
that. All I could find in a few minutes searching was this:
> The EPA has a specialized company manufacture small batches of consistent
> fuel, which is 93 octane (cars running 50-state certifications get a slightly
> different, 91-octane �California� blend). http://www.caranddriver.com/features/09q3/the_truth_about_epa_city_highway_mpg_estimates-feature/plug-in_hybrids_and_gas-guzzlers_page_4
--
Charles
'99 YZ250
JayC
> tests...I suspect they use no-ethanol fuel, but I can't really confirm
> that. All I could find in a few minutes searching was this:
Don't know either - but I DO know that the "winter" gas (low
emissions, theoretically) just came out a few weeks ago, because my
Tundra gas mileage dropped from 325 mi/tank to 285 mi/tank. How a 15%
increase in fuel usage equates to better emissions, I'll never know.
Winter gas also seems to degrade faster and make more of a mess than
summer gas - ask anybody who stores a snowmobile over the summer w/o
draining the carbs.
JayC
HardWorkingDog
<0a373a27-2162-4575...@r5g2000yqb.googlegroups.com>,
JayC <j...@sysmatrix.net> wrote:
> Don't know either - but I DO know that the "winter" gas (low
> emissions, theoretically) just came out a few weeks ago, because my
> Tundra gas mileage dropped from 325 mi/tank to 285 mi/tank. How a 15%
> increase in fuel usage equates to better emissions, I'll never know.
ahh, the law of unintended consequences hard at wark.
I just got a notice from my garbage company. Turns out that the
"bioplastic" utensils and dishes made from corn products are not
recyclable--they can't be put in with regular recyclable plastic,
can't be put in yard waste bins that are composted--so they must be
thrown out with the evil landfill garbage.
But boy, do all the greenweenies feel good about using bioplastic for
their fastfood lunches.
--
Charles
'99 YZ250
fran...123
"HardWorkingDog" <har...@mush.man> wrote in message
news:harvey-53E413....@individual.net...
It is my understanding that only two additives to make the gas burn cleaner
have been approved. There may have been others in the last year or so but
just two in the article I remember. They are mtbe and ethanol. If the
gasoline refiners use mtbe they face the possibility of lawsuits due to the
mtbe and groundwater. They have been sued when there wasn't enough ethanol
to treat all of the gasoline necessary. Perhaps the lobbyists for the gas
refiners wrote the law but this is the reality as I understand it.
I personally think using corn to make ethanol for fuel purposes isn't all it
is cracked up to be. Maybe it was Jay who called it turning diesel into
gasoline additive. But you have to make fertilizer and there is erosion to
factor into the equation. However I have watched on cspan either a senator
or a rep from a corn belt state talk and I have to admit he has a point.
The protein from the corn (cow corn not people corn) is not consumed in the
ethanol making process and goes into livestock feed. The carbohydrate is
what is used to produce the ethanol. I don't really know how to figure this
into my opinion but the guy talked way more sensibly than the others who
want to treat leased federal lands for oil and gas production just like they
treat federal leases for timber, if you can't get x production per acre get
out. And then there are the folks who think ethanol will soon come from
switch grass.
Fran
sturd
> And then there are the folks who think ethanol will soon come from
> switch grass.
Interesting article in Scientific American in July 2009 about
grassoline.
Go fast. Take chances.
Mike S.
john
off of food trash and converting it to fuel....
they ended up bankrupt in a short period of time
and faced major epa violations.... apparently rotting
food doesn't burn all that well and makes bad
sewage stuff.
interesting note my windmill self destructed over the
weekend, I think a few stress points need to be beefed up
"sturd" <mikestur...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:a82c5c5d-f348-42e7...@a32g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
sturd
> interesting note my windmill self destructed over the
> weekend, I think a few stress points need to be beefed up
Get smaller ones and put them on opposite sides of a bigger
obstruction:
http://www.csuohio.edu/class/com/clevelandstater/Archives/Vol%2011/Issue%202/front4.html
When I was at CSU a few days ago, data from these small windmills
and a larger freestanding windmill were being displayed on a panel in
the
EE lab. The big windmill was generating 1/2 the power of the small
ones, with the same swept area, because the wind was only 3-4 mph
and not really enough.
Got a water tower?
Dean H
>
> > interesting note my windmill self destructed over the
> > weekend, I think a few stress points need to be beefed up
>
> Get smaller ones and put them on opposite sides of a bigger
>
> When I was at CSU a few days ago, data from these small windmills
> and a larger freestanding windmill were being displayed on a panel in
> the
> EE lab. The big windmill was generating 1/2 the power of the small
> ones, with the same swept area, because the wind was only 3-4 mph
> and not really enough.
>
> Got a water tower?
Hmmmmm, my latest SketchUp dreams are tower-like, and I've been poking
around a little for windmills to run up top. The idea of small
multiples makes sense but poses an aesthetic problem.
I'm tempted to build my own even though I'm a terard when it comes to
electricals.
Wind makes much more sense to me than solar.
When do you really, really want electricity for survival? Not when the
sun is shining. No, you want it in crappy weather which is not sunny
and is often windy.
Imagine a power grid with Seasonal Affective Disorder.
*************
Back to the topic of unintended consequences... I just stumbled upon
this quote yesterday while reading "What Do *You* Care What Other
People Think?" (yes, the quotes are part of the title):
"The real question of government versus private enterprise is argued
on too philosophical and abstract a basis. Theoretically, planning may
be good. But nobody has ever figured out the cause of government
stupidity - and until they do (and find the cure), all ideal plans
will fall into quicksand." -Richard P. Feynman
JayC
> sturd and john blustered:
>
>
>
> > > interesting note my windmill self destructed over the
> > > weekend, I think a few stress points need to be beefed up
>
> > Get smaller ones and put them on opposite sides of a bigger
> > obstruction:http://www.csuohio.edu/class/com/clevelandstater/Archives/Vol%2011/Is...
>
> > When I was at CSU a few days ago, data from these small windmills
> > and a larger freestanding windmill were being displayed on a panel in
> > the
> > EE lab. The big windmill was generating 1/2 the power of the small
> > ones, with the same swept area, because the wind was only 3-4 mph
> > and not really enough.
>
> > Got a water tower?
>
> Hmmmmm, my latest SketchUp dreams are tower-like, and I've been poking
> around a little for windmills to run up top. The idea of small
> multiples makes sense but poses an aesthetic problem.
>
> I'm tempted to build my own even though I'm a terard when it comes to
> electricals.
Good luck with that. Sounds fun - you can get a small unit for ~$600,
though to power a full-time house, you'll need about 100 times the
power.
http://www.ehow.com/way_5391367_diy-windmill-power-generator.html
> Wind makes much more sense to me than solar.
Depends where you are - the northeast is fairly shitty for both.
> When do you really, really want electricity for survival? Not when the
> sun is shining. No, you want it in crappy weather which is not sunny
> and is often windy.
That's why they invented batteries.
My latest IC design:
http://www.powersystemsdesign.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=290&Itemid=84
JayC
sturd
> Get smaller ones and put them on opposite sides of a bigger
> obstruction:http://www.csuohio.edu/class/com/clevelandstater/Archives/Vol%2011/Is...
Better pic the alumni association sent a link to:
\http://www.csuohio.edu/engineering/wind/
The data page doesn't seem to be working, when it did it showed
the power from the test setup versus a standard (big, single)
fan.
Dean H
> > > Got a water tower?
>
> > Hmmmmm, my latest SketchUp dreams are tower-like, and I've been poking
> > around a little for windmills to run up top. The idea of small
> > multiples makes sense but poses an aesthetic problem.
>
> > I'm tempted to build my own even though I'm a terard when it comes to
> > electricals.
>
> Good luck with that. Sounds fun - you can get a small unit for ~$600,
> though to power a full-time house, you'll need about 100 times the
> power.http://www.ehow.com/way_5391367_diy-windmill-power-generator.html
Supplemental is just fine. Lay there on a windy night with all the
lights off,listening to the meter spinnign abckwards until the fridge
kicks on.
> > Wind makes much more sense to me than solar.
>
> Depends where you are - the northeast is fairly shitty for both.
Yep. But I've got wind aplenty here. We are one of three towns in the
state that has to build for 100MPH winds, and I'm maybe 900 feet from
open water.
>
> > When do you really, really want electricity for survival? Not when the
> > sun is shining. No, you want it in crappy weather which is not sunny
> > and is often windy.
>
> That's why they invented batteries.
Man, those batteries have been the sticking point for years. I mean I
guess a big ol'stack o' lead/acid batteries are fine for home power. I
was thinking electric cars and such when I thought the hurdle still
lies ahead.
>
> My latest IC design:http://www.powersystemsdesign.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=a...
Um... yeah. like I said ... terarded in that way...
but I will study that. There's no excuse except I haven't tried hard
enough to understand that shizzle (so I might sizzle). I need a good
book on that stuff...
no excuse...
but enough negative self-talk!
Now, do you mean you designed that squiggly in and out diagramatical
schematic whatchamacallit?
>
> JayC
john
I have about 20 buck in the controller,
I wish I knew that before I did this....
what I did was monitor the volts and
have it blink green when it's low
steady green when it charged
red & green when it's over charged and
that triggers a dump load to a relay...
the load right now is some flood lights,
but I hope to find a more useful dump
load like a 12 volt water heater element
the windmill is a cute little GM alternator
rewound tighter & denser with neo magnets
so that it doesn't require a line voltage to
excite the coils... I figured I was pushing
30+ amps into the towmotor battery
when the nut backed off the shaft & things
flew apart <LOL> this was a proto type and I
didn't have a chance to properly meter it
before it came down for "adjustments"
I put ~ 200-300 buck into the project and
so I figure a buck a watt is cheaper than solar
cells at this juncture. I have a stirling engine
prototype that looks promising but the real
deal would have to be huge to produce any
real power, and once you get pistons the size
of 55 gallon drums friction plays an ever
increasing roll.
john
going greenie, well geenback$ anyhow..
________________________
"JayC" <j...@sysmatrix.net> wrote in message news:786d6702-da54-4002-8295-
JayC
> schematic whatchamacallit?
No, I designed what is inside the mysterious black box in the middle
of the squiggly in and out diagramatical schematic whatchamacallit.
JayC
XR650L_Dave
Oh, you mean the thing that holds the magic smoke...
Dave
Mike Baxter
Magic smoke indeed!
Mike Baxter
IdaSpode
wrote:
>>> JayC
>>Dave
>Magic smoke indeed!
Ya know, it use to take more smoke to make devices function correctly.
When it leaked out, there was quite a bit to be seen. These days, even
the tiniest puff and your device is pretty much DOA...
>Mike Baxter
DJ
Dean H
> >>> No, I designed what is inside the mysterious black box in the middle
> >>> of the squiggly in and out diagramatical schematic whatchamacallit.
> >>> JayC
> >>Oh, you mean the thing that holds the magic smoke...
> >>Dave
> >Magic smoke indeed!
>
> Ya know, it use to take more smoke to make devices function correctly.
> When it leaked out, there was quite a bit to be seen. These days, even
> the tiniest puff and your device is pretty much DOA...
>
> >Mike Baxter
>
> DJ
That's 'cause there's no seeds.
JayC
> Now I have to spend more time that I don't have
> tearing the carb down again before the plowing season begins...
Thanks to the remnants of Ida, the Saturday that I so desperately
needed to spend getting my tractor mobilized was a complete washout,
so I spent the better part of the day tearing my ATV down and doing a
carb cleaning and general service. I changed the oil just for good
measure, and even changed out the front and rear differential
fluid...I don't think I've even heard of anybody who actually changed
that stuff before. Turns out my ATV has 600 miles and 190 hours on it
- at least 85% of both done plowing my driveway. I also spent some
time beating the front bash plate back into a shape that sort-of
resembles what it is supposed to be (pulled a pretty big chunk of wood
out of there too) with a ball-pein hammer. I painted it gloss black
before reinstalling it, so it looks badass. It's ready to plow.
OTOH, I think my wife was completely unreasonable when she yelled at
me for baking the first coat of bash plate paint in the oven. I've
been thinking of painting one of my older Kirbys candy-apple
red...that would be sa-weet...and I'm gonna bake that fucker too.
I also re-winterized my XR80 (drained/cleaned fuel system, oil
change), since my 16 y/o son left it undone, and is obviously
incapable of doing it (only been telling him to do it for the last two
months). I saved him the washing task though, being that it's cold
outside. So now I can go into winter with everything in my garage
being once again right with the universe, with all of my machines
fully serviced and set up to sit pretty much indefinitely (other than
the XR80 being dirty, of course). Felt good to spend a day in the
garage turning wrenches though - haven't done that for a while.
I did finally get to the tractor loading task yesterday in the drizzly
mist - spent all day, but failed. M'f'in backhoe sticks out too far
to clear the ground, no matter what I try. I even built auxiliary
ramps to lift the back end to get clearance, which would've worked,
but then the 'hoe frame hit the ramps. Dammit - I have to get that
thing mobile before next weekend, so back to the drawing board.
JayC
Dean H
> I did finally get to the tractor loading task yesterday in the drizzly
> mist - spent all day, but failed. M'f'in backhoe sticks out too far
> to clear the ground, no matter what I try. I even built auxiliary
> ramps to lift the back end to get clearance, which would've worked,
> but then the 'hoe frame hit the ramps. Dammit - I have to get that
> thing mobile before next weekend, so back to the drawing board.
>
> JayC
How difficult is it to drop the bucket off of the hoe? Would that give
you enough room?
JayC
> you enough room?
No difference - it's the frame the hits. I lift the bucket for
loading anyway.
See what I mean? (this is my tractor...really, I promise):
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3266/3141615496_d90ef51483_b.jpg
Ignore the collapsed tent-building... you'll note the 'hoe frame
hanging out back ~3'. Problem is, the front and back wheels are ~6'
apart, so 2 feet up in the front = 1 foot down in the back...and the
back starts at ~6" off the ground. The end result is the 'hoe frame
hits with the front wheels halfway up the ramp. PITA.
JayC
Tim H
Use the 'hoe to dig a shallow pit to back the trailer into so the
ramps don't have to slant so much. It'd even make it easier to load
you bikes into a truck or trailer if you decided to ride of them
sometime.
HTH.
Tim H
JayC
> ramps don't have to slant so much. It'd even make it easier to load
> you bikes into a truck or trailer if you decided to ride of them
> sometime.
> HTH.
Well, the pit idea would work on one end...doesn't help on the other.
I actually have a spot in my yard that's fairly perfect for hill-
assist loading - unfortunately, the access to that spot is blocked by
yet ANOTHER trailer...and THAT f'n thing has been sitting there
since...well, see for yourself.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3378/3191524016_ce2d52d34d.jpg
JayC
Wudsracer
***************************************************************
**************************************************************
What's all that funny looking white stuff covering everything in your
photos?
Wudsracer/Jim Cook
Smackover Racing
'06 Gas Gas DE300
'82 Husqvarna XC250
Team LAGNAF
I am Tosk
babb...@Lucy.com says...
That's what we call HELL around here!!!
sturd
> What's all that funny looking white stuff covering everything in your
> photos?
It's frozen water but better, unless you count frozen
ponds. We get to play in it a few months a year.
Keeps us strong and committed.
Wimps need not apply.