Good morning!!!!

[KilroyJC]

PECO on our side of River, PSEG on NJ side. I worked for a small supplier of parts and measuring equipment (Schlumberger) into the power production industry, mostly turbine parts.
Because my boss was an old GE turbine engineer. Called on a number of PSEG plants, do not fondly remember Edison NJ. My eyes would always be red and itchy after several hours in that area.
That whole area around Newark airport and the Turnpike, the cogen plant, all adds up to some nasty air pollution.
High voltage lines cross the Delaware in many areas, so yes, the grid I guess includes PSEG.

always liked machinery. And power plants have some seriously cool machines. Being near a running turbine in a steam plant is fun.
Being near a kerosene fired gas turbine, basically a giant version of our home generators, using what PSEG at least used to use Pratt & Whitney
jet turbines hooked up to a generator. Noisy, very noisy. And the exhaust was yellowish brown. No emissions. Reminded me of a B-52, very dirty airplane.
maybe now they have all been retrofitted with emissions controls. Hopefully. These are peaking units, the very last ones to come on.

still makes me feel a little eerie looking at Limerick cooling towers, out in the middle of an increasingly populated area.
but nuclear, or fusion, is our future. I don't think we can build enough solar panels or windmills fast enough. And they all, ultimately, look ugly.
C'mon fusion. Clean energy first.

but until then, let's make what we have works. Let's not imitate California...

I reminded my sister's husband to go check oil level in their whole house gen. Those two are not mechanical at all, arty.
But he did my avatar so he is forever in my debt. My sister has been getting my mechanical advice for a long time.
She knows I research stuff. Spent a lot of time with them spec'ing out their Generac 22kw gen. Which has been running a lot in the last few days in Muir Beach CA.

View attachment 778352

Someone spent some time in the land of my birth I grew up with the smells of the PSE&G gen plant in Jersey City - you could always tell when the controls needed service. . . That fine coating of great, and the distinctive smell of potash in the air. . .

 

[shetland sheepdog]

21 and clear here in srn NH. Sunny, with a high near 38. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph, forecast for today.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Good Morning!!!! 48F @ 4:15AM. Windy with scattered thunderstorms this morning, then variable clouds during the afternoon with still a chance of showers. High 56F. SSE winds at 25 to 35 mph, decreasing to 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Higher wind gusts possible.
The wind woke me up at 2:30AM, hammering away at 48MPH. The screen on the sliding glass door is squeaking and groaning, I hope it doesn't blow off.

So far at least, the power has remained on. Surprising with all the reports of downed trees taking it out all over the county. A car even took out a power pole, dropping lines crossing CA99 in Chico, closing that main freeway earlier this morning. No telling when they'll get it back open.

I don't watch the outage map page PG&E publishes, Drew, except when there's an actual outage. What I do watch is their PSPS (Public Safety Power Shutoff) page, but only during fire season. And it has a tab on it for the outage map. The outage map is quite colorful this morning, no wonder with the strong wind we're getting. And "they" are forecasting even stronger winds for tonight into tomorrow. Yikes!

Motivated by yesterday's forecast, I moved the bead blaster, BBQ, and parts cleaner to the front porch. Took most of the day using the forks on the tractor, jacking each piece up onto blocks to get the forks under them, then jacking them back down on the other end. I also found that the plastic wheels on the mobile bases were broken on some of them, probably made brittle by sun exposure. So I'll need to track down replacements, somehow. There's still some clutter left on the back patio, and if it stops raining long enough today I'll get that moved to a more sheltered location. But not the front porch; it looks trashy enough already.

The new location does have some big advantages, though. The BBQ is a lot closer to the kitchen, and the parts washer is closer to the garage.

The neighbor I'm helping with the mirror brackets came down just as I was finishing up. Said he was making sure I was OK as I hadn't answered his text or voicemail. I'm not one to check either one when I get busy, but I thought it was a nice gesture on his part.

I also got a call from the insurance adjustor, wanting to discuss her estimate of the damage. I guess I'll get back to her on Monday, but I'd prefer to see what she came up with in writing before agreeing to anything.

Thawed out some BBQ ribs I made last fall for dinner, then took a nap. Got up just long enough to go to bed, plumb tuckered out. Not likely to get much more sleep this morning with all the racket the wind is making.

With a little luck I'll get my buddy's mirror mounts done today, then some cleanup on the back porch. Not sure what else will come up, but pretty sure there will be something.

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend...

 

[KilroyJC]

Good Morning!

God has given us another chance to get it right (or at least not screw up too badly).

41f all night, rain since about 3AM, today’s plan isgrocery shopping after church and depending on if/when the rain stops working more on StarLink antenna mast.

Christmas inflatables thoroughly drenched, so they have to stay out a few more days. All the ornaments are down, tree/lights and larger decos still need to be boxed And stored.

tree is going to go into the loft in the shed up at the wood lot instead of clogging my space in the shed at home this year - I had to maneuver around it all last year!!!

Have a healthy safe and blessed Sunday everyone!

 

[riptides]

Great job locating MR Cool. Hopefully you can locate the outside unit so you don't have to coil up the line set

Unfortunately, no. Appears I will have a coil. Will have to get creative on hiding. Maybe a sun deck right outside the house is in order.

 

[m7040]

Someone spent some time in the land of my birth I grew up with the smells of the PSE&G gen plant in Jersey City - you could always tell when the controls needed service. . . That fine coating of great, and the distinctive smell of potash in the air. . .

I did some work in the area of Port Arthur Texas and driving into the area there was this distinct smell of SO2 in the air from the refineries. People living there told me it is a comfort smell like going home to moms apple pie

 

[daugen]

quite a few nuke plants already running, most in East US, likely due to better availability of running water/rivers to provide water for steam generation.
And concentration of users of course. Now my understanding is that Canada is mostly hydroelectric. They have six nuke plants, including the Bruce plant, largest operating nuclear
plant in the world

Kilroy, you're a Jersey boy, no matter where you live now...where your neighborhood street could have been Tony Soprano's....
the music that starts the Sopranos should be played every time you drive through North Jersey. I love it.

in a very different industry, NJ title insurance, one of my biggest clients was in Jersey City. Used to worry the heck out of me getting out of there,
scared I'd get going the wrong way on one of those feeder roads into the tunnels to NYC. Ahem, only did that once.
just too many people crammed into a small area. Pretty sure Kilroy that's what made where you are now appealing.

 

[daugen]

I did some work in the area of Port Arthur Texas and driving into the area there was this distinct smell of SO2 in the air from the refineries. People living there told me it is a comfort smell like going home to moms apple pie

just like farmers saying that awful manure smell is the smell of money

 

[Popgadget]

Great job locating MR Cool. Hopefully you can locate the outside unit so you don't have to coil up the line set

To me, the biggest downside to the DIY mini splits is the fixed lengths of the pre charged line sets. Cutting and flaring tubing to the desired length makes such a better job. You do need a flaring tool that burnishes the flare, and someone would have to evacuate them after they’re connected. Harbor Freight has a vacuum pump for under $100 dollars, or you could get a local contractor to commission your install for likely the price of the specialized tools.

 

[IXLR8]

Good morning to all,
It is presently 33F under sunny skies after an overnight low of 31. Forecast high of 45 with rains moving in tonight.

Chain saw resharpened, tree cut up and mess removed.

Got the drone out and charged up but never took it out, found too many other things to do.

Liz had taken a pic of her grandson, excellent shot, spent a bunch of time getting our photo printer connected to the home network and getting the photo printed. Came out much better than we had expected.

Will need to look into a DIY MR. Cool mini split for my new shop. Has to be cheaper than the $7K I was charged for the two units in my garage/workshop.

Have a good day and be safe out there.

 

[txdon]

Hit road 8:30, home at 2PM. 1300 miles in 4 days,

Don seems weird you are planting Yaupon after hearing you and Rick clearing yaupon. Good luck with digging the hole.

That's the type of vacation you have to rest up from.

I was thinking the same thing when I bought the Yaupon, but I am getting tired of covering plants when it gets in the teens so any new plants I buy will be native plants. Just .02" rain yesterday did not delay digging the rock/clay hole for planting. It is in the ground.

Good morning! 46˚F heading to the mid 60s with north wind and the clouds clearing out this afternoon.

I did a grrrrrr yesterday. I left a bag in the Walmart bag carrousel and had to drive back 9 miles to get it. But it had a can of white FlexSeal ($15) in it. My wife insist she wants to repair her expensive favorite indoor shoes. The anti slip treads on the bottom are coming off and this will be an experiment to see if a repair is possible. The FlexSeal will be applied to the bottom of the soles. I would have just spent the money on a new pair.

 

[m7040]

To me, the biggest downside to the DIY mini splits is the fixed lengths of the pre charged line sets. Cutting and flaring tubing to the desired length makes such a better job. You do need a flaring tool that burnishes the flare, and someone would have to evacuate them after they’re connected. Harbor Freight has a vacuum pump for under $100 dollars, or you could get a local contractor to commission your install for likely the price of the specialized too

I was concerned about cheap vacuum pumps not being able to get down to low micron levels and leaving moisture in the refrigerant that reduces life expectancy. The dual stage vacuum pump I settled on takes it down to 15 microns but it cost a lot more money

 

[LouNY]

Morning to all;
A nice bright sunny day here, a bit cool at 18F but a good morning to drink coffee and watch the birds and critters;
no bird pictures well I guess turkeys are birds, so turkey and deer out the window this morning.

 

[Thomas]

11F clear sky low 30's for high.

Outside chores done E muffin time.
Pans for today...check game cams,watch some football other than that think it's going to be lazy Sunday.

Enjoy your day all.

 

[Thomas]

Glad you and Mrs. made it home safe and had good night sleep Mostly.

 

[Popgadget]

I was concerned about cheap vacuum pumps not being able to get down to low micron levels and leaving moisture in the refrigerant that reduces life expectancy. The dual stage vacuum pump I settled on takes it down to 15 microns but it cost a lot more money

It really isn’t much of an issue. The boiling point of water at 500 microns is about -12f.

 

[daugen]

in the beginning...

 

[Popgadget]

Good Morning.
It was 30 when I woke up, it’s 35 now that wife has been to the barn, and Zoe and I spent some quality time together.
It supposed to top 40 with a chance of snow tonight.

Yesterday was spent almost entirely going to Punta Gorda and back. I managed to have a head wind in both directions, that’s why I don’t buy lottery tickets.
It was a beautiful day there, 75 and a gentle breeze. Still lots of blue tarps for roofing and downed trees though.

Got home to grey skies and a damp 45.

Today, will be some chores and then taking the wife to see Ricky Skaggs at my favorite local venue this afternoon.

 

[m7040]

The contractor pricing the mini split install said the biggest issue he has seen with mini split issues is to not installing a surge protector making them fail during lightning strikes

 

[riptides]

...

Will need to look into a DIY MR. Cool mini split for my new shop. Has to be cheaper than the $7K I was charged for the two units in my garage/workshop.

...

And that was a big determination factor. I had another contractor put in a slim line unit in another building a few years ago. It was 4 times the cost of the DYI. That was years ago.

As popagaget said... I can always call out a contractor to do the lines right...meaning shortening them.
I should still be ahead... LOL.

Too cold outside for work...so another cup of coffee is in order.