Good morning!!!!

[txdon]

Good. morning! 67˚F mostly clear skies heading to the upper 80s.

On this Web page is a pic of River Ranch Park that we are cedarciding. in the middle between the two metal roofs is half of the 24 RV lots in a circular drive. That is where we are taking out the cedars that are choking out the oak trees.

A decade in the making: River Ranch County Park to open in 2023

The 1,354-acre River Ranch County Park will provide opportunities to camp, picnic, hike, bike, ride horses and access the south fork of the San Gabriel River.

communityimpact.com

Mom needs her yard mail box moved closer to where I originally wanted to put it close to the sidewalk so she does not have to take her walker in the grass. Also got her a new coffee maker (hers stoped working,) and I fixed her clock. I also check out the new assisted living building close to me and it is very nice, but I doubt she is ready to move but just getting all her options lined up.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

On my Prius, there is no starter motor per se, it starts the engine with
a motor generator that is always connected. It uses the high voltage battery that is charged by regenerative braking, using energy that would normally be converted to heat as it wears out the brake components. My last one had 150k miles when I changed the front brake pads, and even then, it was because they were off to change wheel bearings, they were still serviceable. The rotors were never changed, I traded it in with 275k and it didn’t burn a drop of oil. So technology can work, if it’s properly implemented, but that is a big IF. And in the case of the Prius it was not done to satisfy a government mandate, but rather to explore a new market.

Prius is a unique situation. they cost more on the front end and their long term issue is battery replacement costs. But yes, extremely reliable.

In those days the auto makers just added on pollution stuff instead of a redesign of the total engine system. Had a new 1979 Impala that was completely weighed down with power robbing equipment. I did the same thing took it all off put on headers and dual exhaust and retuned the engine. Performed a lot better. Also change the carb to a Carter 4 barrel performance carb

Yes, it was a bad time and way to "patch" issues that were legislated.

 

[Popgadget]

Every other cordless tool I have uses the same DeWalt batteries, which seem to last much longer, so can replace with a new trimmer and battery for about the same price...just worried that the DeWalt 20V won't have the torque that the Echo 58V has. DeWalt makes 60V series tools, too, but then takes different batts and charger.

I wrestle with this myself. I am heavily invested in the Makita 18v LXT tools and batteries, so I went with their hedge trimmer and string trimmer that use a single battery, and both work great and the batteries outlast my attention span for them. When I used the string trimmer on a couple thousand feet of fence line it took numerous battery swaps, but for most uses, one battery is more than enough. The chainsaw and pole saw are both 36v, but just use two batteries rather than a different proprietary one. For the 18v Milwaukee fence stapler I just got, I use an adapter to let me use the Makita batteries.
I

 

[Popgadget]

Prius is a unique situation. they cost more on the front end and their long term issue is battery replacement costs. But yes, extremely reliable.

Agreed, and in full disclosure I did replace the hybrid battery at 160k. I did it myself, and the battery from Rock Auto was $1200, so for the 12 years and 275k miles I got out of it, the maintenance costs were still low.

That’s why it got traded in on another one…..

My point was really that technology isn’t bad, mandates are!

 

[m7040]

Good morning, 53 going to 72 today

Not sure what I will get into today. No shortage of things to do

Love the Thomas bear

That River Ranch is huge

 

[daugen]

In those days the auto makers just added on pollution stuff instead of a redesign of the total engine system. Had a new 1979 Impala that was completely weighed down with power robbing equipment. I did the same thing took it all off put on headers and dual exhaust and retuned the engine. Performed a lot better. Also change the carb to a Carter 4 barrel performance carb

do you have annual car emissions checks there?
many old cars smell terrible when you follow behind them on the street, as well as being out of tune for sitting so long.

most of us remember the first gen Japanese catalytic converters. What a horrible smell they made, rotten egg smell.
Get behind an early Camry with an open window. Or not.

my understanding is that everything is fuel injected now. Not sure you can buy a mainstream vehicle without fuel injection.
I'm sure the new regulations proposed have cars both cleaner and more efficient.
Bigger more expensive catalytic converters, those thieves will just smile in delight

Toyota has a hybrid mid sized suv that gets at least 35 mpg. They have smaller hybrid suvs that do even better than that.
the tech is out there.
making mandatory CAFE number near 50 mpg sure makes good headlines.
must be an awful lot of exemptions to that rule.
EV is not the answer to everything.
Maybe they should pay more attention to road and bridge safety.
Car regs are pretty strict now thanks to California.
Europe is another factor, what the EU decides on.
Seems like Europe and Scandinavia in particular have committed to EV.

something tells me there will soon be a generation that does not know how to hum along
She's real fine my 409

 

[kenmbz]

Morning all, 48 going up to 71, Partly cloudy
Got a few hours of weed whacking done along the road and the driveway. 3 x 8AH batteries are now enough to do the 1800feet or so combined. So keeping these areas maintained is now a one day thing vs. the 3 days it used to take.

Still playing catch up with mowing.
Need to go check on the pool.
Tomatoes not happy with colder weather.

Wife has been having eye surgery, seems to be going well and hope it stays that way.

I have a bunch of whetstones and for bigger blades I have a puck, and some good files. I must have a few hundred knives as I used to collect them.
My father left behind our DIY grinder, miss having that and the hand belt sander. Flap disks work, just need to go slow to not heat the mower blades too much.

Sodamo - that is some setup for $150 !

Kyle - most of these laws worked well to start lowering emissions, the rest seems to just be a way for car companies to sell more cars. Companies don't like when their car/appliance lasts too long.

Wagtail - if the wires are close enough in AC, they will cancel the magnetic field. Separate the wires enough and get a degaussing coil, So as long as wire reel is made well, no (or minimal) field will be present.

Son has a few concerts this weekend and wife has to work, so I will be doing chauffeur duty.

Well, back to the day job,
Ken

 

[m7040]

do you have annual car emissions checks there?
many old cars smell terrible when you follow behind them on the street, as well as being out of tune for sitting so long.

most of us remember the first gen Japanese catalytic converters. What a horrible smell they made, rotten egg smell.
Get behind an early Camry with an open window. Or not.

my understanding is that everything is fuel injected now. Not sure you can buy a mainstream vehicle without fuel injection.
I'm sure the new regulations proposed have cars both cleaner and more efficient.
Bigger more expensive catalytic converters, those thieves will just smile in delight

Toyota has a hybrid mid sized suv that gets at least 35 mpg. They have smaller hybrid suvs that do even better than that.
the tech is out there.
making mandatory CAFE number near 50 mpg sure makes good headlines.
must be an awful lot of exemptions to that rule.
EV is not the answer to everything.
Maybe they should pay more attention to road and bridge safety.
Car regs are pretty strict now thanks to California.
Europe is another factor, what the EU decides on.
Seems like Europe and Scandinavia in particular have committed to EV.

something tells me there will soon be a generation that does not know how to hum along
She's real fine my 409

restored it for testing

 

[check]

Good morning. Been mighty cold at night these last few days (with two nights below zero).

Long time no post - getting the rental property for the usuals crop of summer renters.

Our 8' x 10' dock ramp floated away a couple of weeks ago. Searched the lake high and low but no luck, so had a new one made that I am picking up today. Then - someone found the old one - it has floated 3 miles down the lake. Too late to cancel the new one, so now we are going to have 2. Fortunately, we also have and extra floater, so we can attached the old ramp to that one. We are discussing where to use it.

First renters coming today - rain expected this evening and tomorrow day, but test of long weekend should be good for them. But, there is currently a total fire ban on outdoor fires - bummer for them, as the fire pit is a big attraction!

Here are a few pics. First, the new Cedar floor that we just put in on the shower. Then, some pics of the new exterior paint job.

Have a good day everyone!

 

[pennwalk]

Thanks Kyle. Great way to start the day.

Chris