Although I got a lot done this week, including some long-winded columns both here and on the Peoplenomics site, the two greatest accomplishments in making for a better spring were getting our income taxes done and repairing the lawnmower.
“Wait? The NEW Mower?“
Yeah, buddy. The NEW mower. Which we bought from Lowes, and which has needed a surprising amount of “dialing in” to make things right.
First, there was an issue with the wheel nuts. I assumed they would be all nice, tight, and ready for rockin. Not so much. Well, an inconvenience, but yeah…
Then there was the mower deck, which was not installed right (adjustments) so off came rear wheels and the mower deck was leveled. Again, not Lowes’ fault. Just really silly George trusting people to “pre-flight equipment.” Parenthetically, one reason Elaine and I never had airplane issues is there was NEVER an occasion when I trusted ANYONE else to preflight the machine and I never trusted hangar talk for weather. Talk to a flight briefer or don’t go.
So, during Season One, Episodes 1-19, of Clip Job, the mower did a good job, but was cranky when came to starting. Change or oil, bedded down for the fall and didn’t think about it until the lawn started into green-up this week.
Damn thing wouldn’t Start.
Are Kohler 7000 Engines Good?
Oh, hell, yeah. I love ’em all, and the Kohler is a dandy.
EXCEPT, to quote the physics lady on YT, “There’s just one problem…”
Which is they need to be properly adjusted at the customer end. Crankity-crankity-crankity…no joy.
So, we begin by opening up the hood of the mower:
Sure, it would have been tempting to toss a screwdriver into the carb section after first removing the air filter which is under the tabs above. But, MTD which makes the mowers (private branding) for everyone, seems like, really has mower design down to a fine art.
It’s easy as pie to remove the “hood” as you can see here:
Steps are: Open the hood all the way so it comes to rest.
Then (*while pulling up on the front of the hood (a hand grip is found there) you slowly return the hood like you’re going to close it. A few inches back, the hood will suddenly lift off. It’s like magic.
You don’t even have to remove the headlight wiring – because it’s exactly long enough to remove the hood and place it on the ground.
This will leave you with a clear view of the front of the engine, like so: Plenty of room to work:
Shocking how dirty the filter can get! At least go through the motions of knocking off the big loose stuff.
Now, let’s get down to the carb area where the problem is:
What happens on the K7000 series, if the (did someone yell Bozo!) whoever put the throttle cable in place did not position it far enough to the left.
If it’s not “left enough” (and I’m sure being a republican sort of guy this is one of the few times when more left is good). If too far right, the cable will not push the choke flapper all the way up. Resulting in (replay) Crankity-crankity-crankity…no joy.
The solution is to grab a T25 Torx head for your x-driver (where x=screwdriver, impact, or 1/4 inch socket with adapter) and move said cable to the left about 3/4 of an inch.
The shiny part is where the clamp used to hit.
For the shopping impaired, if you took my advice and got your wife a tool kit of HER OWN, you can even find T25 Torx in them, or the basically same-thing star drive.
Reassembly is simple: Make sure the locks on the air filter cover are snapped on right.
Carefully lift the hood up and rock it back into position, making sure you don’t wreck the headlight wiring in the process. But, seriously, who uses headlights for mowing?
This gets me to an interesting point, though. We have three projects slated for this spring which involve the big tractor (Kubota, made in Georgia, not Japan) and it’s a dandy beast once we got $1,200 worth of hydrostatic warranty work done which went south during its first year.
It needs a battery replacement, and while I’m at it, a hunk of 2″ x 3″ square tube steel arrived which will make a dandy step.
When you’re 74, and you try to get up 22-inches to the tractor deck in one step, there’s a certain amount of overstretch that may be good in some gym class, but not here, not now. I want a step at 12-inches. 11-would be even nicer.
And, dear God, have you priced 51-R batteries lately? Holy shit! “I’m a little tea pot” time, friend. “Bend me over and pour me out…” Or, was it “tip?” Whatever.
Then, because Oilman2 has some snazzy lights on his 4-wheeling F6, picked up some Chinesium LED light bars which will enable me to do REAL tractoring at night (and ruin astronomy in the Southwest in the process from all the loom being created). Can’t make an omelet without breaking a few photons, now, can we?
7 Tips for Small Engine Bliss
Living in a rural (read: gas power equipment) world for 2o-years now has taught this old (tree) farmer a thing, or three:
- Use fresh gas only. Date the cans with a label. Even ethanol-free is crap at five months. 9-months with extender maybe a year…
- Go to Wal-Mart (Murphy’s ethanol-free gas, Blue handle) only for your power equipment. The “canned gas” from big box stores is great, too. You absolutely want nothing to do with ethanol.
- Use a stablizer: PrideD, StaBil, Starton – like religion, everyone has a favorite but the powerful and wise choose one.
- Clean spark plugs once a year or more often.
- Get “easy start” plugs from Amazon. Champion makes an EZ Start for many small engines (check fitment).
- If you have a gas shut-off (like on our generator), close the gas with the engine still running to use up what’s in the carb. Reduces odds of varnish build up and stale gas.
- Clean air filters and fresh oil extend engine life. Adjusting belts and sharpening blades is a bit of work, but a better finished product is the result. Kevlar mower belts are worth the money.
If a gas engine doesn’t start on 3-4 pulls, the engine needs attention or the operator needs to read the manual. Youtube is the best small engine info source on Earth. You can do this, with peer coaching.
On the Project List
Computer Front: Got a KVM (4K@60Hz) ordered so I can flip between the Linux machine and the Win64 machine in the office.
Radial Saw Resto: More parts came in and expecting the step-down casters in the coming week. Then it will be time to get serious about assembling and writing up that one.
Guest room ceiling: This has taken a back seat because I hate drywall work. There are (sick) people who actually enjoy it. (Just like there are people who voted for Biden, I suppose.)
Continuing Ed: Discovered while driving Elaine’s car back on a grocery run that the CD “Secrets to Perfect Landings” was still in the player rack. I keep eyeing a new drone for antenna placement. Want 3-axis, nv, 2 KM video. Free would be nice, too… Urge to buy another airplane was suppressed. Barely.
Antennas: A Jackite 31-foot fiberglass pole showed up for antenna projects. It will push a (not too heavy) antenna (like a dipole) up in the air. May have to finish the east deck replacement one of these days so I can put it on the far side of the house. It was just over a hundred bucks including shipping. Planning to launch the W5GI “Mystery Antenna” from this one. A lot depends on the drone lift line altitude. Over 50 feet in the tree and no pole will be needed.
(With ham HF antennas, height is not critical daytime. But for a big signal at night and for DX, altitude is everything.
Garden Projects: Don’t ask. More schedule than there is George to go around lately. Watering is the main focus now with most plants in or about to go in.
Foodie Check: Sunday is baking day, sometimes. We consider it “important science” to figure out which will be better for baking: The pizza stone or the baking steel. However, for Pappy’s Cuban Bread (recipe as .PDF is here PappyUreCubanBread), no stone is used. Heat rise of a cold oven is important. So are a couple of pie tins of water. Will adapt to the steam oven eventually.
May have to leave a camera by the stove so the paramedics can see what lead to my “unexplained” weight gain prior to their being called…
OK, serious time again. Have a great day and live every day like it’s going to be your last. Eventually, you’re bound to be right,
George@Ure.net
Good day to watch…
The Lawnmower Man: Collectors Edition (1992) – Official Trailer (HD)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzwPuJklv4w
I switched to seafoam as a stabilizer for gasoline, stabil wasn’t working and left the carburetor full of gunk. No problem since I switched to Seafoam, except they keep raising the price.
“Have a great day and live every day like it’s going to be your last.”
That’s good advice George! Might be sooner than we think!
Stu has added to his March 17th update, with lots of details about Trump’s role in the scheme of things.
Could be an interesting week.
Trump arrested?
Civil War?
World War?
Financial collapse?
Nuclear explosions?
I fear you may be right JC. I have this mental image of DJT being perp walked in handcuffs and leg irons down Madison Avenue in NYC. Not sure the MAGA folks would take this well.
I personally don’t believe that the violent actions of BLM and Antifa will evolve with the arrest of president Trump.. but what will be spun by those in power is similar to the night of glass.. the gradual isolation, segregation, impoverishment, and incarceration of the Jewish community and the persecution of other perceived enemies of the state that happened to the jewish community between 1933 and 1939? We all know what they want.. it was even told to everyone what the plan that they had was..
as with BLM and Antifa we seen the start with the claims that if your white your a supremist.. back in the nineties.. there was a push to show that any middle class white person that owned a gun was an enemy of the state.. today we still see the push to remove guns from the publics hands. the if you see something say something.. only one way.. then to dumb down our children and subject them to glorification for violence via multi media .take the adult presence from the home…
In Germany it started with a tax.. and moved on from there.. it will be the same way in the USA.. anyone willing to question the powers that be will be labeled as a tyrannical coup d’état.
With the terrorist actions of blm and antifa against their own communities a few years ago it.. was labeled as justifiable violence.. yet a demonstration even though it had members of the powers that be and terrorist organizations as the ones to push the violent part of the agenda.. even in security footage is shows the capital security giving a tour to show them where the locked doors and open doors were at yet the exposing of that was criticized as hateful for fox news to release it and measures were taken to make sure that it was all taken down… the ones that joined in were labeled as enemies.. barbed wire walls were built around the capital..
From where I sit President trump will be jailed …I actually fear that there is such hatred that he will eliminated as a threat by any means necessary..
They say, if you put 100 black ants and 100 red ants in a jar, it’s no big deal. They just walk around and get along … until you shake the jar. Then all hell breaks loose in the jar.
As for me and my family, we will be avoiding crowds and watching at a reasonable distance … we’ll be staying home and baking cookies.
What kind of cookies…
I already avoid crowds.. and where’s the recipe..
Trump really is dumber than a rock, or the other side of a very BAD – read EVIL coin…take a pick…does not matta which – final outcome is cloudy at best, so recommend picking both .
DEATH to Humanity JC…”they” hate Us Humans .
All hear for the good citizens to understand, just how malevolent the house of redshield w/ eagle&lion really is. lion symbolizes domain/mastery over the beasts, eagle=enlils’ symbol (lord of the air) domain/mastery over “Adams”/Humans.
Know the Sanskrit word for deceit/to deceive ? -think/sounds like foul qi..https://substack.com/redirect/3a7df032-c455-4dea-b0b8-a99a779e1168?j=eyJ1IjoiMWtrNHlkIn0.fVVcJH6f1r_zprDxpYe9yhWMCY9me-zumT3TyeeDR9A
Got moar popcorn, 2 watch the “cockroaches” scurry as the Light starts 2 shine n the dark places and souls once again?
GotZ 2 have a 3rd. .
I talked to them the other day. lol. I ain’t afraid. on occasion I speak directly to them. on a little known platform. lol
nothing will happen. there is a calm about things right now.
the last 3 Bank failures was sound check before the show.
you have to see that. sell a bunch of bank stocks, hand put bonuses, fail the bank, have the treasurey not just the US but the EU and the Fed step in, have the president call in a backstop. which isn’t even in his job description watch the sheep flee their money at light speed to the larger banks. you ever watch sound check? or dress rehearsal?
have the media do a bit on arresting Trump and everyone forgets last weeks sound check.
lol.
the best thing you can hope for in the coming big show is to be one of the Elect. or chosen ones. because they make it through the 7 year tribulation. the rest don’t. the only reason the time is cut short is on account of the Elect or chosen ones.
like those who survived the flood. they were the Elect last time. the chosen ones. no hair on them was harmed. they were pre-designed and pre-destined survivors. everyone else? didn’t make it.
Jesus did say, pray it doesn’t come in the winter. it’s better if it’s the summer.
right now they are analyzing the sound check and seeing what issues arise durring it and making adjustments. so for now it’s the calm time. the doors are closed and they are moving security personal to every check point. camer testing. reviewing and all that.
this is the big production. the big show. getting line up all set and lighting on point and the timing and tempo of who’s on stage with whome and all coriography of the dancers etc and their costume changes etc lined up and in order adjusted is in the calm before the first act takes the stage. in-between each act there is a rearrangement of the next act behind the curtain, different props and all that moved into position.
we just did sound check. that is all.
I think the absolute best solution to any lawn mower issues is to live on a sail boat.
I’m not trying to be rude, just direct. You had previously said the apocalypse was off until 2222. You’re talking the apocalypse talk today. What has changed?
a few years ago. maybe a bit longer I had a luciferian tell me, “if I was Satan? I’d kill you!”
the thing is. I’m still here and he is now dead.
no matter what the show in tales. I won’t die until it’s my time to die. something always interferes with me dying. at times I don’t like it either.
but I’m here and best make thr most of it.
anyways. hope you all have an amazing day.
fyi: the redshield guys aren’t running the show. LOL.
the Vatican is the spiritual or HR department.
DC is the military complex or department.
the IMF and World bank is payroll department. the Fed and governments are a subset of the payroll department.
the oil industry is the production department.
the ones running the show, remain anonymous. the are hidden from the known. you wouldn’t know who they were and if you did. you wouldn’t mention their names. those who know their names. wouldn’t mention their names.
there is a few accounts of then at buildiberg meetings. accounts of a few gentlemen walking into a private meeting and even the Saudi prince and the US Fed took a knee at their arrival. but nobody else knows who they are. and that is by design.
i trust THE DUDE and don’t worry too much about that stuff. everything always works out.
“the ones running the show, remain anonymous. the are hidden from the known. you wouldn’t know who they were and if you did. you wouldn’t mention their names. those who know their names. wouldn’t mention their names.
there is a few accounts of then at buildiberg meetings.”
think about that for a moment…those running the show..always show up for their satanic rituals and group meetings where they plot and plan…
the only thing secret is the list of attending members.. ( except Soros..he must have noticed that if someone went after the plotters and planners during their satanic rituals. then by not attending.. he would be the supreme leader)
Re: Fore!
Andy,
Apparently polling of the great unknowns has divined that Bilderberg could be scheduled for May or June this year. Bill and Warren have The Masters happening over at Augusta early next month. I can’t imagine the other Members being too chuffed if they can’t get together and wear their Green Jackets. With a newly redesigned 13th, the Dynamic Duo will surely want to check out hang time around Amen Corner. Rest assured that the defending 2022 Masters winner from Texas is ordering up bbq steak for Members. I don’t know if Kubota is the official lawn mower at Augusta.
https://youtu.be/IK72uf59qyE
https://youtu.be/pGXOOYzb9HY
This is an excellent video with the Canadian Prepper interviewing economist Lynette Vang of ITM Trading. She clearly explains the present financial hocus-pocus and recommends prepping.
The scariest part of this one LOOB is that it is being delivered to us by a man-created life-like nondescript robot. The day is coming when rather than being man created life like nondescript, it will be an AI created real life authoritative person we know with perfect lip/voice synchronicity.
War of The Worlds in video?
I have used ethanol in my engines for over 25 years with no problems. I do put a stabilizer in my small engines that sit over winter such as lawn mover, weed eater, pole saw etc. I live in a rural area in Iowa and it is difficult to find any gas that doesn’t have ethanol in it.
Having said that I don’t like how it is subsidized and mandated to be used. I don’t like subsidies for anything.
I landscaped around the house with weed mat and rock. I use the 6′ drag mower on what passes for a lawn, which is a bit of common Bermuda, Dallas grass, and mixed natives. If it needs to be watered, it shouldn’t be here. I spot spray the Johnson grass. I have a couple of mowers I haven’t started in a decade or more. Maybe I should get an electric for odd corners.
Broke my heart when they virtually outlawed MSMA for Johnson grass. Now you can only buy it in 55 gallon drums for farmers and have a permit for it. Best J.G. killer there ever was. Now I look for it in all the garage and estate sales, which has kept me stocked, but that won’t last forever.
https://www.amazon.com/Drexel-MSMA-Plus-HERBICIDE-Gallon/dp/B07S5XZTHT
Thanks. It used to be on the shelf as straight MSMA, though. It may be a component in current grass killers on the shelf now but I haven’t looked as I snagged several bottles of it over the past few years at the garage and estate sales as I mentioned.
The thing about MSMA is it killed cactus like crazy. I tried it in areas I knew the livestock wouldn’t be getting into since cactus is a major fall-back food source in doughty times for the goats and cattle. Every other cactus killer they promote to ranchers that I’ve seen usually takes a year for a good kill. This turned it pink and then dead as a door nail within a week. Seems as if I did mix it with a broad leaf killer, too, but it’s been several years since I tried it.
In the description on Amazon it says “Please note it is no longer listed for use in residential or commercial lawns” so that’s why you don’t see it in the usual “civilian” supply stores. Of course, the danged stuff worked so lets get rid of it. It killed J.G. at the cemetery we take care of now and then. The residents there didn’t seem to mind at all.
Drexel lists it on their website as a current product. No time to give you pretty links right now — the sun is shining and it’s above freezing, for the first time in nearly two weeks, so…
I fully understand! Thumbs up!
Just like you said
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD1AKSbuLAI
..a question?
Seems my earlier reading of stu on trumps assassination
Suggested that he and his son were killed….
…but he was resurrected….
….anyone recall more from that post?
…….just wondering……
Thanks to Stu and best of luck….to all
Oldkenbenobe,
I don’t recall anything like that in Stu’s work.
There is a lot here about Trump, and it is an open post, no password required.
https://theageofdesolation.com/nostradamus/2023/03/17/when-it-all-comes-crashing-down/
Thanks George, good reminder that grass still grows, with or without the next bank failure and the rigged stock markets.
Personally I have used gas I have stored for 4-5 yrs with zero problems. I used Stabil ….. I store m gas in a fairly stable environment …… no extreme temps, maybe that helps … not sure. Maybe dumb luck too … lol
be safe, be prepare …. will be a wild week
Top ‘o the morning all,
I’m from multi generations of machinists and the fam. bus. made product for Wheelhorse before Torro “merger” and after. Take good care of that Kohler engine your Georgeness. They are wicked expensive to replace (I sent one of our 3 tractors to be parted out vs buy the replacement engine).
ATL: wicked lake effect which whipped up faster than Meteos could account for but rocked our spring. Back to white. Day 28 of -0- solar gain on planned panel roof. Pffft. Passive solar is knocking down furnace tho.
Working like a slave on the (Honey) to-do list before a massive plumbing, painting, flooring project. I need a beer or a cocktail. Tough call. Might be both?
72 intense hours direct ahead. Be watchful. Be nimble. Be careful.
Egor
Sugerir a Beergarita – Salud!
If a tractor is good, and you have the time, repowering it with any convenient engine is sometimes worth the effort – especially if it’s occasional use only.
Keeping the engine clean and dumping the gas in the tank for wintering over is sound advise but I can’t do without a can of ether starting spray on the shelf to wake the engines up in the Spring. I’m wondering how the tiller is going to act since it hasn’t run in a decade or so. I’ve frequently given the pull string a long pull whenever I’m in the garage to make sure it hasn’t seized up. One granddaughter wants a garden to grow some things this Spring so how could I say “No”? Gathered up some old railroad ties that have been laying around the ranch for decades to border the soil and put them in the sunniest spot in the back yard where the goats can’t get to it. Needless to say this kid’s my favorite. Loves helping on the ranch and is a solid, gun-toting, conservative Republican when we can wrench the phone out of her hands.
This is the end of Spring Break so a trip overnight through Fredericksburg to San Antonio and a subsequent overnight stay for all the grandkids (all girls, 2 to 13) has seriously dented my intentions for this past week. At least the goats ignore me now when I try to honk them up in the pasture so I guess they’re getting enough to eat. Damned buzzards are chowing down on the little ones, though. That bumper crop of kids is thinning out.
I think I’m going to have to give up trying to resuscitate my old Cub Cadet weed whacker with all its wonderful attachments. It’s been to the doctor and ran for a bit with the pole saw attachment after new fuel lines and gas filter were installed but went right back to dying after the engine starved out from lack of fuel. It’s about 20 years old so I guess it’s time for someone else to play with it. Can’t stand the thought of seeing it in the trash for even a moment. If I’m lucky the attachments may fit another brand as they originally came with another motor unit.
i urethane glued a 20w 18v solar panel to each of my tractors (BX1500/CK30HST). Kept connected to battery continuously , no regulator. Batteries last forever.
George,
As far as I know MTD had consolidated to one location about 25 miles from me where they make lawn mowers, etc. Just in the last year, they have sold out to Stanley-Black and Decker.
I know I sound like a broken record, but here I go again. I stopped using Stabil and went to Star Tron several years ago. No problems. Made the switch after buying a $280 dollar carburetor for an Onan generator. Carb is not available, except from an Onan dealer. On the generator I run Star Tron in gas and when storing the generator I shut the fuel valve and run it until it is dry of fuel. Saves a lot of headaches.
Good luck chasing the grass. I have already mowed my 3 times, and spring doesn’t arrive until Monday.
“And, dear God, have you priced 51-R batteries lately? Holy shit! ”
$54?
If your Kubota is made in Georgia, does that mean it, too, was made by MTD?
I like the Chinese lights. The ChiComs make excellent LEDs. However, you may notice the individual LEDs go dim or away after a short time. The ChiCom slaves are not very good at soldering grounds (kinda like Ford). I suggest you examine one light and figure out how to open it up, in case you have to, later on…
______
“Kevlar mower belts are worth the money.”
Unless you have a vintage baby Deere L&G with a belly mower, in which case the only belt is the OEM John Deere. My decks will shred a kevlar belt within a couple hours, where I’ll get 7-8 full seasons out of OEM-rubber/fabric…
“$54?”
My bad… Nigerian scam site.
Best legit prices are ~$90, carryout, + core…
Definitely not a Biden voter, and I was shocked he was even nominated! Nevertheless, I enjoy sheetrock work. It’s calming, you can listen to stuff, and you get a massive transformation in appearance quickly. When taping and compounding, the key is to always avoid sanding. Once the tape is set in and hard(below the level of the finished wall), you can get the first layer of finish compound looking decent with an 8 inch or wider blade, while staying at or below the level of the rest of the wall. Follow up with successively wider blades, while pushing harder on the surface to prevent anything projecting above the surface. The second and third finish coats should only take a few minutes to an hour to set hard. If you must, a touch with a pole or hand sanding screen will get it ready for prime, and if you wish, you can do a level 5 finish coat over the whole thing. After priming, a couple of coats of paint and it’s done.
I hate texture with a passion and will use all possible means to remove or obliterate it. Others can do as they wish with their own walls.
I finally had to learn a bit about sheet rocking when the faucet in the kitchen at the ranch house blew last Winter and sprayed the opposite wall for, maybe, 3 days or so before I walked in on it. I never thought I’d cut a decent straight line on the boards but they all came out pretty well once I scored and snapped them according to the YouTube videos. The smaller pieces that didn’t go the full length of the sheet took a bit more finesse but came out fairly well, too. No floating and taping, though. It’s a man-cave for the hunters.
I was just danged lucky I didn’t have to do the ceiling with all the old insulation and dust up there – although it would have offered me the opportunity to do some rewiring – but the old paint is coming off of those old ceiling sheets pretty regularly. I need to scrape and glue the old paint down with new paint.