Mike what rout will you be taking? I am assuming that you won’t be taking 80/90. I go east every spring and have been taking that route but really dislike it. would rather spend another half day and avoid the tolls and the GUT as my daughter and I refer to it.
Jim, I drive back roads to Rockford, IL and go around the south loop and take Interstate 39 south to LaSalle and then Interstate 80 to the east for about 30 miles and get off at Morris. Then I follow the Kankakee River to Kankakee and then pick up 114 (I think) which turns into 10 in Indiana and then I just stay on 10 to Argos … It’s a peaceful drive … I would imagine that you would have to buzz to Madison on 94 and then 90 and loop around the east side and then head to Rockford … There is a short stretch of toll road in Illinois (of course) … I’d stay as far away from Chicago as you can. There is no reason to go through there. It won’t save any time and the stress will kill you. I was just in Chicago a few weeks ago … I don’t know what roads are under construction this year in Wisconsin so can’t suggest any other route than the interstates … I think you are 5 or 6 hours north of me and it is a good 6 hours or so to Argos from here. Might be 7 but I don’t care … Mike
I just talked to my mom {93} out east who I was going to see for mothers day and stop at Argos on my return trip. and she busy to see me until after Argos so it looks like I’m leaving here for Argos and going east from there. Gives me more time before I go but cuts me short on the Memorial Day weekend end where i’m already spread to thin. Oh well! I always plan my trips to pass thru Chicago in the middle of the night ang there is still all the traffic I want to deal with. Probably over half of them intoxiacated…
Mike ,Got your message the other morning. Will get back at you. Been hitting it hard trying to get ready to leave for a week. At this time I’m thinking I will take you up on your offer and tag along with you on the slow road, I’ll have to take a look at a map. Talk with you soon.
Jim, I’m not looking for actual company on the trip. My truck will be packed and I enjoy my solitude when I have any. I did that with Meshke 2 years ago. If I want to take a nap, I stop and take a nap.
You are, however welcome to show up here on Thursday and pass out in this trailer house that I’m typing from. Just bring a sleeping bag and pillow. There is a good (clean) bed here. The toilet works but there is no hot water so if you are addicted to showers it will be a cold one. There are nice showers at Argos.
I may go elsewhere after Argos. I rarely get away from here. I’d recommend you do the big road for a while and bug down 27 into 61 to Boscobel on the River and then to Fennimore and then here. I don’t have my maps here. Usually when I go your way I head to Mount Horeb and take P to Lodi and then grab the 4 lane system there and make up for miles in time but truth is I don’t remember and don’t have the map as it is 700 feet from here in the truck. Forgive me … Mike
Mike,I was just thinking of taking your rout from your place. argos is the side show for my trip, I’m leaving from there and going to the east coast.I looked at te map and am thinking I may not make it your way after all. I got thinking a bout driving my conversion van rather than the Park Ave. It gets half the MPG so the extra 5 hours on the road will add up.I never use this thing except for road trips and forgot I even had it till it sprouted from the snowbank a couple weeks back. Made me think my first gasifier needs to be on a trailer just to make this truck affordable to drive. It is a 88 with only 34,8xx miles because it only gets 15mpg with a tailwind. See you in Argos,I’ll be the one that looks like he could be your brother [hair and beard] See you soon
Jim My beard is shorter right now … I’d recommend you head to Madison, then South through Rockford to LaSalle then east on 80 and then get off at Morris and enjoy the last stretch. on 94 you can just set the cruise and take a nap … NOT … No reason to do Chicago unless you want Chinese there or the such or need to pick someone up at the airport :o). I think the tolls are around 10 bucks or so. There is NO real 4 lane stuff for me except from Rockford to LaSalle and Morris … I worked in the hills all day today and I’m ready to pass out … I also got nailed with Lyme again the other day … I’ll be dealing with that on the trip … I was sick with that at the first Argos get together … It was in the 90’s there that year but in the 70’s last year … Who knows ??? Mike … Doxy time again …
Hey Mike, I forgot to ask you at Argos about your new cordless chainsaw. How about a report on it? What brand is it? What size bar and chain? Does it hold a charge long enough to do any work with it?
Don, It works fine. I am pleased so far. It is a Greenworks with a 16" blade. I cut up a pile of stuff and have never had it below 3/4 charge. My only complaints are it leaked bar oil all over till I discovered that the gasket on the fill cap wasn’t seated and bent over and also the stupid button they have on the battery is difficult to push by a guy like me that cut some of his fingertips off in other non saw related accidents … I need to do something about the safety button by the trigger. It makes a dent in my thumb where I do not need one. I had it in the truck but we all managed to stay busy enough this year that I never took it out. I slept in my coat and boots there and measured 35 degrees on the ceiling both nights … 2 years ago it was in the 90’s … Global warming my ars … The saw’s price is 299.95 most everywhere … I bought mine from Amazon and don’t have a real receipt. I plan to call them for a replacement gasket for the cap … Might as well pretend I’m a cat and do kitty yoga and lick my behind … I think it is a good saw but won’t know for a few years. It weighs the same as a gasoline saw but I don’t have to pull the cord or breathe fumes … It gets one thumb up so far … Stay well, Mike
If it lasts a few years, it’s a good saw in my book
Hi Bill, I’ve been looking for my old metal poulan I have around here somewhere. It was working just fine but I wanted to get some newer plastic / lighter ones … Now the plastic ones are probably over 20 years old and biodegrading and I bet my old Macullouchs and Sachs etc will still run fine … I have several old Homelites as well. Sue and I would cut wood every weekend but I always had to start her saw the first time and she ran the little one of course … I wish I knew which truck I stuck that old Poulan in … :o) … It might make it to the auction wagon when I croak … I do my serious cutting with a Poulan wild thing and have a small red homelite saw that still works … It’s 5 feet from me right now. I could not order a new primer button for it so it has duct tape over it now … Bill, next time you come this way, plan to spend a day and let’s take a wood drive to the Mississippi and go fishing or gamble for a couple of hours in Dubuque and we can do 3 states on wood in an afternoon … Mike
My websites were moved. I thought they (intergate) had deleted them but they have moved them from their web server to their ftp server. New picture site address is
http://ftp.intergate.com/~mlarosa/images/woodgas/?M=D
They did not notify me of the change and may change it again or delete them. If you want any of the pictures best get them soon. If I had high speed I’d snag them all with my ftp program and burn to a disk.
Mike
Thanks for the heads up MikeL
I’m loading up and laptop storing a few of my favorites of your works right now.
Unfortunately I do not have the capability to burn and send you a CD disc of your whole photo’s set.
I can think of 3-4 fellows here friends of yours who could do this for you.
Sigh. For these kinds of advanced computers stuff I have to be the old kind of friend who spends the night in jail with you.
Gonna be our first actual HOT wood drying day of the year at ~95F and lowish humidity. Back to warm rain/drizzle again in three days. This will be good actually for the aerial fireworks crazies next long weekend. I sweat for my trees.
Wood drying now for the next two months will be two steps forward, one step back, here in the PNW rainforest.
Like being on a lifeboat in the salty ocean surrounded by all of that water - thirsty.
Best Regards
Steve Unruh
MikeL: I’m a few days late but I just tried to get your stuff off of the FTP but no-joy connecting to intergate, either through my browser (which I believe has built-in FTP) or through an FTP program, That’s even after I took out the “http://” Here’s the fixed link ftp://ftp.intergate.com/~mlarosa/images/woodgas/?M=D
Any guesses? I haven’t used FTP in a few years so I’m somewhat rusty.
The programe tells me:"
Status: Resolving address of ftp.intergate.com
Status: Connecting to 216.139.64.18:21…
Error: Connection timed out
Error: Could not connect to server"
:EDIT: It’s not your folder, it’s the entire site. ftp://ftp.intergate.com is also showing down to me, both methods.
I finally had the strength and time to drag my older trailer out of the weeds. I need to grind the welds off the old gasifier off of it so I can lift it off, get rid of the condensate tank and garbage can filter and make a real cyclone. Plan to use the cooler as is but get rid of aluminum stuff and add some more plumbing … Here are 3 pic links please feel free to upload them here because I can’t … My ultimate goal is to take my studebaker for a drive before the snow flies … I actually have to cut down 5 trees to get it out now. Guess I’ve been tied up for a few years …
Keep building … Thanks, Mike
There’s some pics for ya…
Thanks Terry !!! I knocked a pinhole in that old cyclone to drain 4 inches of water out of it and almost started grinding the welds to pull the gasifier off. A lot of experimenting went on with that trailer and it has been a few thousand miles on 5 or 6 different vehicles and maybe 3 or 4 gasifiers … May the bugs not bother … Mike
I’ve pretty much tore apart my old trailer. I plan to install my new gasifier on it. I found a large mouse nest in the hay filter and chucked it (garbage can). It had clean hay in it and clean sawdust in the bottom so I must have just changed it before I parked it. Best I can figure is a mouse went into my mixing valve and ran the whole course. I’d best see what’s in the air cleaner on the studebaker. My freon tank condensate trap had a big hole it. That is 400 psi steel. All the aluminum tubing had been beat to crap by hail. It will be fun putting it back together. I had to take the large vacuum gauge apart and clean out earwigs, spiders, etc. I will seal it so this does not happen again. It’s a tough world out there. Mike
Would somebody kindly upload this picture here ? I finally got my old gasifier off the old trailer and will have to figure out how to lift the new one on it … Grin …
I didn’t get hurt cutting the old one off and setting it aside. I can’t believe what a good job I did welding it on years ago. It has been thousands of miles and nothing ever let loose like my latest trailer which is a bit too long … 4 by 4 is a good size for a trailer … 4 by 8 flexes too much …
Many Thanks, Mike
Here you go, your picture’s uploaded Mike