Good Morning!!!! 81F @ 8:30AM. Abundant sunshine. High near 95F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph.
I just don't get it. Today the temperature is predicted to be only five degrees cooler than yesterday, with similar humidity and wind, and the Red Flag Warning is down and the power company sez they're turning the juice back on sometime before noon. I'm beginning to wonder if this whole Public Safety Power Shutoff business is a revenge game aimed at all the ratepayers that filed claims against PG&E. The zone I'm in is one of the last to be restored, along with Paradise and other small towns that were hit hard by the Camp Fire. Just a few minutes ago, a helicopter flying at treetop level buzzed the house, following the power line up from the lake. But another one did the same thing last night about sundown, and the power remained off. :confused2::confused2::confused2:
The big difference between you and your co-defensible space makers, Don, and the PG&E board members, is you and your buddies work to improve the safety of your neighborhoods, and out of the goodness of your hearts. The board members have shown by their actions that they act out of greed, with little regard for the safety of their communities. That said, I can't blame you for staying inside in the A/C on a hot fall afternoon.
Looks like tomorrow, high temps will drop by nearly twenty degrees from today, going down more into the weekend and remaining there for the next ten days. And there's rain in the forecast for Sunday and Monday, but not much. I need to widen the terrace for the larger propane tank, and set the grade where the solar panels will go, so the cooler temperatures are very welcome.
In my misadventure with the generator yesterday, I tried using a multi-meter set on AC to determine if the generator was putting out 240 volts. But when I measured between the two terminals that were supposed to have the 240 volts on them, I only got about 7 volts. Yet each of those terminals measured 120 volts with respect to the neutral terminal. I've seen this before with the 240 volt service to the house, and am curious as to why that is. Anybody good at electricity and can 'splain it?
Ran the generator about eight hours yesterday and still had gas in the tank when I refilled it last night. And that only took a couple of gallons. The generator has an economy setting that throttles the RPMs back when it's lightly loaded, then speeds things up again when more demands are put on it. But it doesn't respond fast enough if a large load, like an air conditioner, kicks on, and the generator will quit. Another quirk I learned of yesterday is that even with the A/C breaker off, the fan on the furnace will still come on if the thermostat is in A/C mode and the temp is higher than the set point. So the A/C breaker only controls the A/C compressor, and not the rest of the furnace.
I did manage to get a little work done on the van yesterday. The glue I used to make up the sound deadener sandwich didn't work too well between the foam layer and the mass loaded vinyl. That's not a problem on horizontal surfaces, but on the sides of the foot well, the MLV is coming loose. So yesterday I pulled it apart, cleaned the surfaces with lacquer thinner, and used Barge Cement to stick them back together. If that turns out to work, and I won't know for another month or so, I'll make up some more layups for doing the side walls in the back.
I also swapped out the pads on the new electronic hearing protectors yesterday. The new ones have gel in them, and they conform to my head better and are both quieter and more comfortable.:cool2:
The rubber tubing I ordered for the red bike's crankcase breather came yesterday, so I can get a start on that as soon as the power comes back on. Or if I get impatient, I'll switch the generator out of economy mode and run the TIG welder that way. It's what I would do if I was off the grid, and if things keep going the way they've been, I just might be some day.
Hang in there, gang, Friday's comin'!:thumbsup:
