"The mind that is anxious about future events is miserable." - Lucius Annaeus Seneca
I had one day off, and managed to finish just a couple of things. I did get a few things moved along, and one new thing started. Life is busy.
I managed to chase down a bird feeder dome that had disappeared into the forest during a recent wind-storm. It had been buried in the snow and I was unable to locate it. Recently we have had warm weather, and the snow has melted off, so I thought it would be worth looking for. I located it, wedged between a couple of saplings, and re-hung it.
We've had a little battery-powered puck light in the laundry room for a while that turns on only when the room is dark *and* it detects motion. It's really handy when you need to let the dogs out in the wee hours, or when I get home in the winter and the house is dark. I installed it under an upper cabinet right next to the garage door, and it comes on as soon as you enter the house from the garage.
A week or so after replacing the three AA batteries, the light fades, and soon after that it's not much good - not even as bright as a night light. The batteries need changing every 2-3 weeks, depending on the time of year. Today I dug out an old 5v phone charger, and wired it up to the terminals. Bang! Now it's brighter than if it had new batteries, and I'll never have to mess with it again. I ran the cord through the inside of the cabinet and plugged it in to a nearby outlet.
Recently the water pump was replaced on the truck, and when I got it back, the cap for the electrical connection to the snowplow was broken. The mechanic was probably standing on the plow attachment, and then kicked the electrical plug. It's a spring-loaded cap that has a finger underneath to hold the cable in place. I've checked it out, and this job is going to be a hassle. Hard to reach, hard to disassemble, and hard to re-install. And $85 for the part.
Speaking of hard to fix, the hose fitting on the brand new water pump leaked for a while. I was about ready to take the truck back to my mechanic (who is also a good friend), but it stopped leaking. Maybe the sealant just needed to set up a little bit in the threads. Below, the top of the water pump, looking down. Definitely some dried up green stuff.
I had a little time out in the shop and did some minor tractor re-assembly. The original tear-down post is here. I reinstalled the flywheel and clutch assembly. Below: Back side of the tractor engine
Below: Flywheel bolted on.
Below: Clutch assembly installed. A view from each side of the tractor. Hopefully I got the clutch aligned well enough with the center of the flywheel to get the shaft installed. EDIT: I should probably use the shaft as an alignment tool to center the clutch plate before trying to re-assemble the two halves of the tractor!
I stupidly took on a new project that I really have no time for. I've been looking for a big air compressor for a while now, and saw one on Craigslist for a bargain-basement price. I called the guy and said I'd pay him full price and pick it up the following day. $250. New these were $795, plus sales tax.
It was a bit sketchy getting it out of the truck on my own, because it's incredibly top-heavy. I had visions of it toppling over on me and crushing my skull. I managed to get it out with no incidents and no scratches, thanks mainly to gravity. The thing is an ogre. On the pallet, it's about 6ft high. You might notice that the right inlet air filter is missing, with a nipple broken off inside the inlet.
A closer look:
The nipple was made from really shoddy sintered metal. I didn't have an EZ out that big, but I did have a wide chisel, and I tried making a slot in the nipple so that I could unscrew it. I ended up splitting the nipple in half. Below is what came out. Now I have to take that cylinder apart and see if any bits of the busted up nipple ended up inside.
The threads that this nipple screwed into are pretty boogered up. That's probably why the nipple broke off in the first place. Anyway, the threads need to be cleaned up, so I've ordered thread-chaser to re-work them, as well as replacement filters and housings for each cylinder. Below: The other cylinder (left) and the inlet filter (right). Soon both sides will have new filter assemblies.
Below, the crankcase oil sight-glass at the bottom. The plastic is blackened, and you can't see through it. Hopefully the compressor didn't get hot and burn the oil. I'll clean the crankcase out and wipe the inside of the sight-glass before refilling with oil and putting the compressor in service.
The outlet in the shop is 240 volt, 50 amp. Not gonna work. Everything I do is a lot harder than I first anticipate.
Fortunately I had bought a plug for another project that went off the rails, and hung onto it. I just need time to replace the plug on the compressor motor with this one. This plug can either be be set up to 30 amp or 50 amp service, depending on how you orient the blades.
I'm really excited about getting this big air compressor installed and plumbed, and hooked up to a nice hose reel. If I find anything more wrong with it, parts are available and not too expensive.
I mentioned that I had bought this compressor dirt cheap to a buddy. He asked if I have any air tools, so sent this picture to him. That's not even all of it. I also inherited some paint sprayers, and really really want a sand-blasting cabinet, which the little portable compressor could not run. It runs out of air pretty fast when using these tools already.
But the coolest thing I've gotten lately was this CD, because it was the only thing lately that wasn't a pain in the ass. Haha. A few YouTube music selections below the album image. Great sixties jazz.
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