What are you doing today? [Part II]

[BrianF]

I spent the afternoon organizing my work area. I have waited long enough and tired of working on things with my tools in a heap on a pallet. Still need some peg board and a tool chest.

 

[Reprise]

Spent (parts of) the last two days wiring in my hardwired surge protector (EMS) and my upgraded power converter into the trailer. Got ready for the 'big test' yesterday, and... no 110v power.

Went home, made a steak and drank a couple of beers, and I had my 'eureka!' moment this morning.

My 'test' involved a generator to provide the 110 power. I had forgotten that most (?) portable generators use a floating ground. Since RVs are built (to code) with no bonded ground, and the generator doesn't have one... the EMS now kicks in and 'protects' the coach from getting power, as it thinks there's an open ground (because technically, there is). When connecting to 'shore power', that system provides the ground and everything works. But I'm 'boondocking', so no shore power.

The solution is as easy as building a neutral <-> ground bonding (or, 'Edison' plug) and plugging it into a second 110v outlet on the generator; it then provides the ground for the system, and the EMS allows the power into the coach. So I'll pick up a plug at the HW store this morning and make one up.

The kicker to all of this was that when I was looking for the adapter cord for the generator yesterday, thinking... "too bad I don't have that bonding plug I made a few years back" (for this very thing, when I installed the EMS in the other trailer). But I was thinking about it as an adapter plug (which it can't do), rather than a bonding plug.
Sure enough, a quick google search this morning made the light bulb (above my head) turn on.

Was kicking myself yesterday thinking that I goofed up the wiring, when all I needed to do was remember that I had solved this problem before (but back in 2018). I just couldn't put it all together until I stepped back from the problem (which happens so often when I'm doing repairs on the vehicles, as well). So today will be a good day. Still in the state park close to home, but, hey... look at all the gas I saved not driving downstate!

 

[Mooseman]

Got home after work and since I received replacement thermistors for my pool salt chlorine generator yesterday, went at it after dinner. I was still wearing my pants from work and I burned a nice hole in them when I dropped the soldering iron on them . Soldered it and cleaned the contacts and connectors. Runs perfectly again. That thermistor does get really hot! It's just to the right of the two green LEDs.



Remember kids, don't wear polyester while doing anything involving heat or fire.

 

[Sparky]

Yesterday the father-in-law brought some stuff over and we started tearing up the yard along the front walk to the door and the front of the house to turn the mess into a flower bed and bring some life back to the front of the house. You might remember the house sat empty for 6 years before we moved in 4 years ago, so for at least 10 years there's been next to nothing done up front except get mowed. We had plans to do something sooner, but, 3 kids ages 4 and under keeps one busy. Anyway...

It isn't done, but it is in process, and simply having a clean line of churned up dirt instead of messy yard "grass" (crabgrass, weeds, and the occasional real grass) looks so much better already.

Oh, for some reason there was an ugly white sewer pipe cleanout sticking up out of the ground right in front of the house. Bonkers. Was planning on digging it up, and burying it, because why is that even there? Found out the cap wasn't even glued on right, and it fell off when I kicked it with my foot. Oops. Well, that may explain the random whiff of sewer gas I could never "find." Dug it up but ran out of time to get it cut shorter and the cap glued lower.

 

[Matt]

Finished painting the house on Saturday.

This week it's 12 cubic yards of mulch being spread. I think I got too much but we'll use it. Hoping to have it finished today because I have Connor spreading it while I shovel and run the barrow.

Got the new pool "liner" installed but found the butterfly gasket for the skimmer was shot, so waiting on a new one to be delivered.

 

[Matt]

Finished painting the house on Saturday.

This week it's 12 cubic yards of mulch being spread. I think I got too much but we'll use it. Hoping to have it finished today because I have Connor spreading it while I shovel and run the barrow.

Got the new pool "liner" installed but found the butterfly gasket for the skimmer was shot, so waiting on a new one to be delivered.

And done, but I only needed 10 yards, even going really thick in some areas. My neighbour is going to take the 2 left over for $50 (I'll be out $20), but it will be off my driveway.

 

[flyboy2610]

The toilet in the upstairs bathroom developed a leak between the tank and the bowl. I replaced the hardware and gaskets. No joy. I suspect a hairline crack in the tank.
Replaced it with a 1-piece unit. Won't have to worry about a tank to bowl leak! I bought this one:

Glacier Bay Power Flush 12 inch Rough In One-Piece 1.28 GPF Single Flush Elongated Toilet in White Seat Included N2451E - The Home Depot

Bring an outstanding look to your bathroom by choosing this Glacier Bay Power Flush 2-Piece Single Flush Elongated Toilet in White, Seat Included .

www.homedepot.com

It's a vacuum assist flush toilet.
Supposedly they work pretty well. Seems to work well so far!
Discovered that the flange for the toilet is slightly below floor level, maybe 1/8". Ran to the hardware store for an extra thick wax ring. Got the toilet mounted and went to reconnect the supply hose. The fitting on this toilet is in a slightly different location in the tank than the last one was, so the supply hose was too short by about 1-1/2"! Back to the hardware store.
Got everything connected and working. No more leaks!

 

[BrianF]

Flyboy, I went through the same thing. I buy one piece toilets now, I'm more than done trying to seal and re-seal tank to bowls. As for the wax ring, I soak in warm water and then work it over and raise it up to cover any gaps.

Today was a day off so the truck and trailer went in the shop so I could inspect, repack the trailer bearings, then adjust the brakes and clean the grounds.

Had the usual symptoms of slowly weakening brakes. The initial adjustment was of little value so I knew the grounds needed a clean. Well it all went well, everything was in great shape. Bearings and seals were mint and the brakes were solid. Everything works much better now.

Then did up ribs and steak. I had cleaned and decreased the Traeger the other day so it worked like a homeless man for a sandwich.

 

[flyboy2610]

The toilet in the upstairs bathroom developed a leak between the tank and the bowl. I replaced the hardware and gaskets. No joy. I suspect a hairline crack in the tank.
Replaced it with a 1-piece unit. Won't have to worry about a tank to bowl leak! I bought this one:

Glacier Bay Power Flush 12 inch Rough In One-Piece 1.28 GPF Single Flush Elongated Toilet in White Seat Included N2451E - The Home Depot

Bring an outstanding look to your bathroom by choosing this Glacier Bay Power Flush 2-Piece Single Flush Elongated Toilet in White, Seat Included .

www.homedepot.com

It's a vacuum assist flush toilet.
Supposedly they work pretty well. Seems to work well so far!
Discovered that the flange for the toilet is slightly below floor level, maybe 1/8". Ran to the hardware store for an extra thick wax ring. Got the toilet mounted and went to reconnect the supply hose. The fitting on this toilet is in a slightly different location in the tank than the last one was, so the supply hose was too short by about 1-1/2"! Back to the hardware store.
Got everything connected and working. No more leaks!

This came up in my YouTube recommendations. It appears I made a good choice. They used the 2 piece unit, I have the 1 piece unit.
Who knew that 38 minutes of flushing toilets could be so entertaining?

 

[BrianF]

It was bloody hot today so I worked on my trailer inside. One of the wall mats had been torn down by some dumb horse pawing. So that was glued and riveted back on.

Then I cleaned up the skid steer quick tach again. I rather tear it down and clean it more often then let it jam up again. I used some liquid electrical tape on some exposed wire right at the motor. Then a quick clean of the engine and cooling stack before I put it to work cleaning shit and wasted hay up in one pasture. This was an area where numerous horses were wintered, which left an enormous amount of buildup. 6 loads in and I think I'm half done. Could be worse, the skid steer has decent ac.

 

[xavierny25]

@Mooseman Speaking of pools I was up and running in late April. I even got and installed an electric water heater since Im running on solar now I figured Id take advantage. We got in a few different times but then I noticed a hair line crack by the skimmer. Last year when I looked at this it just seemed like surface rust and I thought I had some time to work on it. Guess I blew my chance then to take care of it. I did some searching on the web and came across a patch that would help me save a few bucks by not having to replace the pool wall. Which of course means a new liner and everything that comes with doing all that.
Turns out I totally opened up a can of worms here.

Draimed all 7000k + gallons of water.

After a whole lot of wire wheeling ,rust reform and enamel paint here's where I am.

I'm waiting on paint to fully cure so I can put this area back and hope that the skimmer lines up again. If that all works out I'll do the other half at this point there's no stopping to get this fixed/patched as best I can.

 

[xavierny25]

Just some updated progress from yesterday.
It's coming along and I'm glad I decided to go all the way around and check the wall cause look what I came across. Total opposite side of where the skimmer is. I'll rince and repeat as I did the other side. I'm hoping to have water back in it by the end of the week.

 

[Sparky]

Caught a village worker on camera digging a hole in my yard. No idea why. No note, no knock, nothing. Called them and left a message asking why they were digging my yard up.

If there is a good reason (utility repair, water line location, etc) that's fine, but just have the courtesy to tell me what you're up to on my property.

 

[Sparky]

Got a call back from the guy yesterday. He apologized about not letting me know about what they were doing. Apparently when the houses here were being built they buried manhole covers in yards and stuff instead of having them flush so they could be accessed. Doesn't surprise me, they did other stupid code violation things when these houses were built. So they were locating the manhole so they can raise the cover up to ground level. Kinda sucks because the manhole cover is going to be a little ugly in the yard, but at least it is over towards the side and not in the main part.

Funny thing, we had talked about chopping down the tree nearby and replanting another tree a bit further from the house, but we hadn't gotten there yet. Good thing because that manhole location is really close to where I had considered replanting a tree!

 

[Mooseman]

After fighting with my TCL 20 Pro 5G for almost a year, bought myself a new Google Pixel 7 Pro. Much better phone! The TCL had so many software issues that it was unusable. The GPS would drop out randomly and Android Auto would disconnect regularly. And updates are few and far between. So far, the Pixel has been flawless except when I try to send a text message via voice, it does it in French and screws up. Probably a setting somewhere.

 

[Blckshdw]

It's about that time of year again. With some of the recent rains, the weeds are starting to think they own the place. The mower is gonna get rolled into regular rotation real soon.

I had an idea to DIY a temporary irrigation system, using the huge retention pond in the back yard as my water source. Problem is there's a ton of thick brush that runs along the edge of the water for most of my property. Where my outbuilding has a short deck built off of it, I always see the water below, and the outlet from the storm drainage pumping station is right in that corner as well.



Got out the pole saw, and started bushwhacking. Slowly worked my way in, and tried not to fall as I went down the embankment. Guestimate, the ground started to level off probably about 5 feet below the deck level. Got to some water fairly quickly, and the ground got really soft. In some spots I could pull the brush out by hand and get some of the roots. After getting access to a decent spot of water, I performed a highly scientific measurement. I used a stick and poked it into the mud Probably have maybe 6" of standing water, and a whole ton of goopy muck below that. Like I said, scientific...



At this point I realized this wasn't going to be a simple project, if I decided to move forward with it. The muck would need to be dredged so I'd have enough open water to suspend a lake filter below the surface but above the bottom. The water level doesn't go any higher than it is, as there's a drainage canal on the opposite side that relieves the overflow. But when we're in the dry season, that level is gonna drop, and I don't know by how much. That's when I would use it the most.

For perspective, here's a wider shot, where you can see some of the water in the distance. There's easily a good 50 feet between dry land and open water. I thought maybe if I could get a decent sized auger down there, create a makeshift well, maybe drive a section of PVC pipe into the muck to make room for the lake filter, but with the steep bank, there's no way to get any equipment into position.



Not sure what direction I'll go from here. I could go further out on the property, there are areas along the water where the brush isn't as overgrown, and would be easier to clear, but then we're talking hundreds of extra feet of piping. My original idea was to get more rain barrels and connect them to my gutter system, but of course in the dry season, that water supply is gonna eventually run out. It's probably a sign, given the insurance situation around here, keep that money in the bank, let the weeds do their thing, and just keep em mowed like the last few years

 

[Mooseman]

Checked the brakes on a neighbour's Mazda. The fronts were shot so he'll order the parts and I'll likely do them next weekend. The rears were fairly new, however, they were getting rust jacked as they were lubed on the topside of the shims, not under them to prevent rust (an Eric O. tip) and the sliders were a little stiff. Cleaned those up, re-lubed everything and they were good to go.

Then I wanted to return the Trailblerado back to its original mirrors since it doesn't do much towing anymore. The Silverado towing mirrors were just a nuisance now and make the TB look like Dumbo. Only issue is the driver's inside door handle bolt anchor is broken and most of the door panel clips are broken. I've got a bag full of them, just couldn't find them. I also need to order the PS lines. I did check at the dealer and they are still available however, were $150 and $300 even with my employee discount! Yeah, no thanks. I'll go with RA with $23 and $39 CAD. I'll also add oil and a filter for my next change on the Sierra, and the funny thing is the shipping cost is the same $42 with Fedex despite that extra weight. I have a feeling even the oil the dealer can't beat their price.

 

[Mooseman]

Bored sh!tless at work today. Hardly anybody coming in for service and we were fully staffed for drivers. Took maybe two vehicles from the service bay to the lot and took only two people home. However, my last drive, I drove home a guy 30 minutes away in a brand new Silvy Z71 crew with the 3.0L diesel. Very nice! The screen in absolutely gorgeous and has Google fully integrated (they finally dumped the junk Navteq maps). My only real hate is the center console shifter thingy. Better than the pushbuttons I've seen in some but still shit. If it wasn't for the higher interest rates, I might be tempted

 

[BrianF]

Yesterday I picked up a new blade engagement cable for the Swisher 44" rough cut. Took some finesse to get it in place but easy enough. Got the mower up and running like a top. I had priced out online and had quite a variance of prices but the cheapest was actually a dealer in the city. 50 bucks out the door. Couldn't complain.

Today my oldest was working with her horse so my youngest and I took the quad to clean out and set our mole traps. Got to keep them in check out here. Then onto weeding the garden. Always something fun to do....

 

[Blckshdw]

Work has been a little crazy lately. A good friend of mine was the director of customer service, but after repeated head butting with the COO, she reached her breaking point and quit with no notice. Obviously that can throw a wrench into operations. In a rush to fill the position, the COO promoted someone from another department, who used to work in CS. Problem is, they have static with 2 of the other staff members who I helped get positions there. So they are both pissed, and looking for new jobs.

On the home front, my dishwasher had started acting up. Seemed like it was stopping before finishing a full cycle. Eventually it was stopping before it even opened the detergent door. Started digging into it this evening, pulled the filter which was a little clogged and nasty. Cleaned that thoroughly, but no change. Did some online research and it was suggested to pull the pressure sensor and check it. Thank heaven for forums, cuz one guy posted a YT video that had you disconnecting the wiring, and drain hose, pulling the whole thing out to lay it on its back. But the guy who had the same problem stated due to the location, you could reach under and get to it without all the fuss.

After pulling the toe plate, the pressure sensor was right there within reach. Balled up a towel to catch the drain water, and sure enough the sensor housing had a fair amount of grease in it but wasn't clogged up, and the sensor tip had a nice glob of grease on it too. Cleaned all that up, reinstalled, and ran it. It passed the 15 minute window it had been stopping at before, and completed the cycle. That's a relief!

 

[BrianF]

Worked on some odds and ends yesterday. New air filter for the 3500. Old one wasn't loaded up bad but with some decently long towing trips coming up, it couldn't hurt.

Swapped out the fresh air intake filter on the skid steer. It constantly loads up and in dusty conditions only lasts a few hours. It's a reverse flow design, which ends up trapping the dirt and making it tough to clean out. I grabbed a bit of pre-filter material in hopes of lessening the load.

Then to top it off, the new cattle chute came in.

 

[Mooseman]

Today I got loaned out to the parts dept to deliver and pick up parts to all ends of the city. First load the truck was full and looked like I was hauling 1000 lbs but they were all body parts so, plastic. Most shops the guys were nice but some were downright rude, including a Ferd dealer. Don't blame them for being grumpy as CR just issued a DO NOT BUY on Ferd trucks.

It was a nice change of pace and I could play whatever music I wanted as the parts didn't care . Doing it again tomorrow and Monday. And as luck would have it, the shuttle drivers wound up being short and the whole day was a shit show there. Oh well.

And the truck I drove was a 2022 Sierra 1500 WT with the 2.7L turbo 4 banger. Power was good but fuel economy was garbage. It showed an all time best of 10L/100km (23.5 mpg) but the best I could muster was 14L/100km (16.8) with an average of 17L/100km city (13.8 mpg). I'm spoiled by my 3.0L Duramax!

 

[Blckshdw]

My 65" TV had developed some issues with the streaming apps. Anything that needed internet, wired or wireless, got glitchy. Confirmed by streaming successfully to my laptop and phone, then casting to the TV, and even that was glitchy. Time for an upgrade!

Was able to find a 70" QLED with 120 hz refresh rate for a good price at Target, so after confirming the box dimensions could fit in the EXT, picked one up this morning.




Got it home and unboxed. Did the preliminary setup to make sure there were no issues, and while it was downloading updates, took down the old one.




Of course, I can never do things the simple way... I had used some 1" square tubing to build speaker mounts to bolt in with the TV mount, so the satellite speakers were on the sides and bottom of the TV. Would have been fine if I kept the same size, but with the bump, none of them were gonna fit so they needed to be reworked.



The idea was to take some 1 1/4 punched square tubing to form an upper center base, then section out the 1" tubing to slide in the larger size in a telescopic manner, and secure them with a screw from the top that really functions like a lynch pin. If I ever upgrade again, just pull the pin, slide the arms out to adjust, and put them back. Cut 1" pieces off the ends of the punched tube, to use as spacers for the lower bolts, to keep the mount brackets even.

Had some angled steel in the garage, and needed to use that to make some new vertical extensions to mount the center channel speaker lower that the old L brackets could reach. Cut those to size, notched them to allow TV angle adjustment clearance, shot them with some paint, and reused the center speaker bar. Drilled and tapped the back side so I could use a machine screw and washer through the angle steel, and not need to have a nut showing from the front.




End result looks the same as before, which was the goal. A few of my cables were short, with the changed location of the ports. Had to pull the cap from the ceiling and tug on a few of them to get some slack in order to reach the new ports. Was glad I left some slack available in the attic, and didn't have to climb up there again.

 

[Matt]

Family left for Ocean City at 6 this morning so today I'm doing a bunch of cooking to have homemade frozen meals in the freezer.

 

[Mooseman]

Yesterday, went out for breakfast and then went to the local farmer's market. Picket up a couple of T-bone steaks that were $20/lb, which is about half price compared to the grocery stores.

Then threw a couple of racks onto the smoker. I didn't have time to season them early enough to let them sweat as I had my neighbour coming for me to do a brake job on his Mazda CX-5. Let them smoke at 250f while I was doing that.



Did the brake job, no issues. They were whacked. Inner pads down to metal and rotors rusted to junk and stuck to the hubs. Used Max Advanced brake pads and coated rotors that he ordered from Amazon. Reasonably priced and reviews look good. Coating on rotors looks good just like ACDelco's. Used liberal amounts of anti-seize and brake lube. Bedded them in using the 30/30/30 method. Turned out really good and owner was happy.

Then back to the ribs. After about 3 hours, wrapped them and put them in the oven for 2 hours. I added some water and apple cider vinegar for moisture as they looked a bit dry. Then unwrapped them, sauced them with G.Hughes Sweet and Spicy sugar free, and back for an hour.



Turned out OK. Good smoke ring but a little dry and the flavour just wasn't there. Seasoning I had used was Kinder's Woodfired Garlic Seasoning that I picked up at Costco. Not impressed with it at all. I've had better results from Bulk Barn's rib rub and others I made myself.

And today, going out for breakfast and later, going out for dinner with the family for Father's day. May work on that sled that's been sitting in my garage.

Happy Father's to all the dads out there.

 

[Sparky]

Today? Just work. Was going to mow, but it looks like it is going to rain this afternoon, so much for that. Maybe I'll end up puttering around the basement later if time allows and make a little progress. Wife and I decided to put a wall up to close off the mechanicals, and eventually create a semi-finished area. That project may be done in the next decade

 

[Sparky]

Day 2 of mandatory training. Full 8 hour days. Hoping I don't get too far behind on everything else without putting a bunch of OT in that I don't really have time to put in without falling behind on stuff at home.

 

[Mooseman]

We have a new Asst GM and he's just changing everything. I get that it's a money making operation but to make the lowest paid (minimum wage) employees do more and more work is basically called slavery. At first he wanted us to wash cars all day long but that's not what I signed up for and don't have the back for it neither. He backed off knowing there would have been a mass exodus of drivers since it's not the pay holding us here. He hired two kids to do that but we'll see how long they last.

Anyway, booked Friday and Monday off and heading north with the camper and meet up with our son and his family so some time with the granddaughter. I need this...

 

[Sparky]

Pay increase at work effective today, higher than expected

 

[Blckshdw]

With the recent TV upgrade, I wanted to upgrade one of my universal remotes as well. My old Logitech 650 still looked to be in good shape, but some of the buttons were rarely responsive unless I mashed them to death.

Tried another, new and highly rated universal remote, but in order to command different devices, you had to change the setting every time. Nope, I'm spoiled, sent it back. Didn't know Logitech stopped making their remotes, so any stock that's available is ridiculously overpriced. After some searching, found there's a guy up in Maine that makes conductive overlays for a number of remotes, that fixes non functional buttons.

Pulled the plug and ordered his kit for my remote last week, which arrived today. Very straightforward, the hardest part of the process was taking the remote apart. But once that was done, clean all the contact surfaces, insert the overlay, and reassemble.



At first, the remote was unresponsive, but I think the batteries I put in it were weak. I took it back apart to make sure everything was lined up, and they were (can't really mess it up) so back together again. Plugged it into the USB and updated the device list, and the buttons worked like when it was new. Medium pressure, instant response. Much better!

 

[Mooseman]

I have the same remote. A few months ago, the power button stopped working most of the time. Cleaning and so forth didn't help. I wound up gluing a piece of aluminum foil on the contact pad and that worked and still does.

Spent the weekend at Marten River Provincial Park. Drove up on Fri, back today. Had a great time with my son's family as they took a spot right next to ours with the camper we gave them when we bought this one. My wife just absolutely adores the granddaughter and she loves our dog.


Only thing was the smoke from the Quebec forest fires. You could see, smell and taste it. This is an example of what looks like fog is actually smoke. Terrible. It cleared up a bit today as we were leaving.



Driving back, we got hit with a couple of heavy downpours. Checking inside the trailer, there's water coming in through the slide-out on the floor. I think it's water getting splashed up by the tires. I had replaced broken seals last year and it hasn't helped. I might try putting a plastic fender or something above the tires to contain the water splash.

 

[azswiss]

Found some new neighbors this morning. More than 90% of swarms in this area are Africanized so I am definitely going to outsource removal.

 

[flyboy2610]

Yup, let the pro's handle that one!

 

[Sparky]

I've had some issues with my hands for months now that has caused cracking, splitting, and swelling of the skin, so I had to take my wedding ring off, It hasn't gotten better enough to be able to fit it back on, and at this point I'm not expecting it to go away anytime soon. So I ordered a cheap, larger, and hopefully temporary replacement until I can get this figured out and get my hands back to normal.

 

[Redbeard]

Sounds like Sparky ordered himself a large stoggy and using the cigar band as his wedding band.
just saying.

 

[Matt]

Our AC took a shit on the weekend, blowing cool not cold. After some Googling, I got a can of coil cleaner and attacked the condenser, inside and out, Let it dwell for 10 minutes then hosed everything out.
Turned everything back on and after a minute or two had 54° blowing out the vents in the loungeroom. .

I'll have to wait until it's more humid this weekend to see if that's fixed it. If it hasn't, it probably needs a recharge.

 

[BrianF]

Off to a horse show this week with the family. At our first stop I checked the trailer hubs for heat. Normally they are just mildly warmer than ambient, thus time I had one that was hit to the touch.

I just repacked the bearings, set preload and adjusted the brakes a couple weeks back. I know I have adequate grease and all had some end play after install. Must be a touchy brake or too much drag. There was no smoke or grease oozing out so it must be the brake. There was lots of heat on the wheel face and outer edges of the drum. At least no burnt brake smell. Mind you this was navigating through a small city so lots of brake use.

Next stop was just a rolling stop after some highway and the temp was back down. So we carried on. I'll have to pop the wheel up and have a look at the adjustment again. The brakes were not much better after this last adjustment so I may need to redo some connections. I surmise this brake is doing a majority of the work.

 

[flyboy2610]

What am I doing today?
Sittin' on my butt surfing web sites.
The plant is shut down for the week of July 4th, and I took this week off, too. So I'm getting paid for this. Kind of like our team lead does everyday.

 

[xavierny25]

Not today or yesterday but a project I did a few weeks back.

From this

To this

Pools back together and no leaks or issues.

Here's another project that's more recent.


All that to do this.

 

[TollKeeper]

Mario Kart for the win!