Misc ramblings...

sissy

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gosh just came in bad lightening and thunder here and see Oklahoma City in trouble now with tornado
 
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Well, I am happy for getting my guestimate into the ball park ... I really hope that 3/4 fish JW counted finds the rest of itself ... Must be rough for 119 fish calling him shorty or worse;-(
 
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Well, hubby has been running a few weeks behind schedule (booked) but this morning is finally the day he is starting the pond install for a client:)

First, I have to say he was either lazy, or admit he was showing good multi tasking skills (you choose) ... This isnt how one generally moves a track machine, but needed to bring two machines, and didnt want to make two trips ...





So I get my things done this morning and go to the jobsite, start taking pond pictures, and see the Site Supervisor taking a dip in the existing pond .,, He knew I wasnt too pleased that he was slacking, so came to the edge to climb out ...



Then the lazy guy just sat there ... I swear, good help is so hard to find ...



Finally figured out he was waiting for lunch ... umm, hello, that isnt in my job description, but in the best interests of time management on the jobsite, decided we'd better feed him, or nothing would get done ..,







He made it clear that he intended to take a long lunch break ... just unacceptable, so told hubby he needed to have a "chat" with him, that I was leaving.

Anyways, I didnt get to the site til they had already made a mess, so no "before" pictures.

It has already been disturbed on the left end (future waterfall is going to take up a good deal of this area) but it's a no brainer why they were not happy with this pond. Besides small, it wasnt set up well, and without spending money, cant keep the crap out of it (liner was cut LOWER than grade in most areas) ... Ideally, the fish should have been moved this morning, but holding off til Friday, as the guys cant go there tomorrow (client has a meeting at the house, and not enough room for all the cars, and equipment). I didnt think to measure the size of the existing pond, but for size reference, the fish are just a mix of longfinned GF maybe 6-8" in size. Shooting from the hip, I am guessing it to be about 600 gallons. Replacing it with a 20x20 liner, set up for the type of plants the client wants to have.



Outline cut and starting the dig ... Where you see the crumpled up liner, is the left edge of the existing mud puddle. With the waterfall going there, they'll have the view from the deck, and sounds they wanted in the first place:)



Another shot that shows most of the backyard (they have more yard behind the fence) ... not much room to work:-(

 

HTH

Howard
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First, I have to say he was either lazy, or admit he was showing good multi tasking skills (you choose) ... This isnt how one generally moves a track machine, but needed to bring two machines, and didnt want to make two trips
Nothing lazy about it. Makes perfect sense.

I just finished hauling the last load of wet pond bottom goo with go-puts and the cart. What is left will be left to dry. The wetter dump spots behind the shop look like huge cow pies. Maybe dyno-dung :)

My SO went to Guymon yesterday. While she was there I had her pickup 5 gallons of 91 Octane no ethanol gas. It made a difference in the way go-puts runs. It sounds much smoother then it did on the 87 octane pump gas.
 
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HTH said:
Nothing lazy about it. Makes perfect sense.
He has done this many times, but usually, the jobsites are a bit of a ride if he is doing this. Most of those cases, he had a vehicle on the trailer to commute with. This job site is maybe 2 miles from here, 3 tops. He just came home for a few minutes to drop the rig and backhoe (still has the 277 on site), and took the liner, underlayment, etc ... Guess he is planning a late night. He's going to attempt to get the liner in. Looks like we have rain coming in for tomorrow and Friday (sigh) ... The last thing a sandy hole needs is rain.

HTH said:
I just finished hauling the last load of wet pond bottom goo with go-puts and the cart.
Even with the help of the machine, that project has been a lot of work.

HTH said:
What is left will be left to dry. The wetter dump spots behind the shop look like huge cow pies. Maybe dyno-dung :)
Wondering if it would make some good planting media (maybe mix some sand in if it is heavy with clay). Must be a lot of nutrients in there ...

HTH said:
My SO went to Guymon yesterday. While she was there I had her pickup 5 gallons of 91 Octane no ethanol gas. It made a difference in the way go-puts runs. It sounds much smoother then it did on the 87 octane pump gas.
I think every engine is a different "breed of animal" ... We have two Expeditions .. the one with the 4.6 gets the best mileage with the cheap crap ... the one with the 5.4 knocks, sputters, pings and gets terrible gas mileage, if we dont use at least mid grade.
 

HTH

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Agreed on the engines. Our 5.4 in the town car seems to run on most anything. My wife fills it gets what she feeds it.

Been doing a bit of reading on the various forums. Seems the engines on the older mowers were never intended to run on a Ethanol mix. Esp ones with a non adjustable carb they run too lean.

I am dumping the goo next to the pile of stuff I am going to be mixing with greens to compost. I will mix it in when I get a chance. I am waiting for the camera to upload so I can chatter on a bit. The one image shows the dump area taken from inside the potting shed area that is falling down. The second is of a single dump and looks like a super sized cow pie.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:3023]
.....
[sharedmedia=gallery:images:3024]

One more. This is a road I made with the backhoe so we could drive go-puts down to the pond floor.

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:3025]


The project has been a lot of work but the important thing is that it has been doable. Health permitting there is no way I am going to let any pond get into this kind of shape.
 
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HTH said:
Been doing a bit of reading on the various forums. Seems the engines on the older mowers were never intended to run on a Ethanol mix. Esp ones with a non adjustable carb they run too lean.
This is a totally uneducated statement on my part, but I am just not convienced Eth to be a good thing at all.

HTH said:
I am dumping the goo next to the pile of stuff I am going to be mixing with greens to compost. I will mix it in when I get a chance.
The lily pond was a big undertaking, so remember not to push yourselves too hard. Get through the worst of it, and give yourself a well earned rest! Need to get on hubby's butt to take a day off ... he still isnt home, and it's almost 8 pm here ... He has another big project to start on Monday ... I dont want to tell him two more big jobs came in today, that are both referrals (ie, he wont blow off a referral, but a cold call, I could push for him to not take).

HTH said:
The second is of a single dump and looks like a super sized cow pie.
Well, if this was from a cow, I would say at least one of the four chambers of that cow's stomach is having some serious issues LOL ...

HTH said:
One more. This is a road I made with the backhoe so we could drive go-puts down to the pond floor.
That looks like it would have been an extra chore worth the effort.
 

HTH

Howard
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I have to wonder if Ethanol will go the way of the 55MPH speed limit. As I understand it we have to have some sort of oxygenation in the gas for the winter, but I think that is only form urban areas. I ran a winter or two where all we could buy was gas with MTBE in it. That stuff is noxious. I will take ethanol any day over that stuff. Yech. But I do not know why we have to use either in the summer.

We have a long way to go yet with the ponds. My wife has not been up to dividing lilies most days and the clock is ticking on the ones that are submerged. If she is not up to it I am going to have to do it starting tomorrow.

I am not in the sort of shape where lugging the 5 gallon pails of mud was easy. Took 8 to fill the trailer and I took a short sit down break after the first 4, Today should have been the end of the heavy stuff other then the left overs from the lilies.

I cut the side of the pond to make the road with the backhoe. Playing in the dirt still has some appeal

Thinking of making that huge cow pie my avatar for a while. Would be fun but I have doubts that people would see the humor. Too serious.
 

koiguy1969

GIGGETY-GIGGETY!!
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Interesting ... knew nothing about this, but dont put too much weight on the insurance policy covering "terrorism" ... as silly as it may sound, for $50 more a year, our agent added coverages to our commericial truck policy which covers vandalism AND terrorism with an automatic blanket coverage of a million dollars ... We of course wanted the vandalism coverage, but terrorism came with it ... I giggled LOL.
 

HTH

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Most people do not understand octane numbers.

The higher the octane number the less likely the gas is to self detonate or knock. High compression engines use high octane because lower octane gas would ignite too soon and cause detonation.

They also say that high octane gas has a slower more even burn. This provides power in a way that an engine can more easily harness it.

My 10 year old Briggs runs like a clock on high octane. My guess is that when I tear down the engine I will find there is carbon on the piston and head. The carbon is making the combustion chamber smaller and the air gas mixture gets compressed more then it should. The high octane lets it run smooth with the resulting higher compression.

Much of the 'extra' power from high octane comes from the fact that you get more energy from any gas if you burn it under high compression.
 
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Other than a wrench getting thrown into a mix, I have decided that I really like dealing with the Fosters and Smith website, Hubby wanted a specific UV for a client (25 watt Emperor Aquatics Smart UV) ... the local supplier didnt have it in stock, so I ordered it from F&S ... It arrrived today, or at least something did ... F&S sent the 40 watt with the silly little wiper (upgrade) instead ... Double checked my order confirmation, I ordered the right item ... double checked my bank account, was billed for the right item ... but what they sent sells for $139 more ... Too big for the client, but it IS what I wanted for the lily pond:) I dont mind saving $139:) So called the local supplier, and he just got his order in, and had the 25 watt sitting there, so told him to pull it, and I was on my way ... I figure it was a good way to start the day ... although it would NOT have been good if the local supplier didnt just have one come in ... hubby wouldnt be able to backfill all his plumbing without getting the UV in place ... the 40 watt is 15" longer, so would have required the plumbing to be redone, since he had only planned for a unit 30" long....
 

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