Some one here ask about heavy slag build up when plasma cutting, here is a very well done video on the subject. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kfgijWaqXY
8 Likes
Mostly a medical scam yes. Like so many… cholesterol, saturated fats, salt… the food piramid is also preety much upside down etc.
In my ripe old age of 30 l got my first medical checkup invitation a few days back. Got bloodwork resaults via phone. Everything is spot on according to their normatives, except my cholesterol is elevated. They wanted to investigate more (get some more €) but when l asked for details turns out only the LD cholesterol, “the good” one, is elevated. Told them its ok and that l will stick to my prooven diet of mostly meat, vegetables and legumes.
Oh, they also werent happy to hear l only eat 2 meals a day usualy and that the main meal is in the evening. Shuld eat 5 meals and a light dinner. Get that insuline rushing all the time, and in a few decades they get a nother diabetic to finance them.
16 Likes
White coat syndrome…… sounds like berries and cherries syndrome, if I had a blood pressure reading while dealing with road pirates I’m sure it would appear I’m having a heart attack to a trained medical professional
13 Likes
Cheap parts need more maintenance #wheelbearing
10 Likes
I leave it up to Tom to comment
6 Likes
I have a question. I have several 12v jump starters and wouldn’t be without one now but I have a snowblower that has a 120V starter and apparently I’m to wimpy to pull start it. Conked out when I was using it the other day and luckily the 550W power station I have was just able to feed it enough juice to turn it over. Is there a way to make or buy a small transformer that would take the battery clamps on the jump starter and drop the voltage down into a regular three prong cord end? Had to drag the power station on a sled. Jump starter can fit in a jacket pocket.
4 Likes
I think what you want is an inverter. Whether the jump starter will stay above the minimum voltage for an inverter, I’m not sure. Do you have specs for the jump starter that list voltage for a required current?
4 Likes
Look at the max draw specs for the starter and get an inverter, if I was going to guess it would guess around 10a or around 1200w. Even with a transformer it needs to be pulsed. Otherwise, you are looking at like the thread ‘electric chainsaw question’. Or finding a 12v starter for the engine. or going to garage sales and looking for 300ft of extension cord. or possibly a new snowblower.
since the blonde banker is in charge and seems to be interested in her duties, I would suggest having her watch this video of a proper 12v snowblower. Then offer some corrections of people that make youtube video’s.
3 Likes
This is the jump starter I mainly use Kent.
I will start my 5.3 Chevy with no problems even with a dead battery.
This would be the starter for that snowblower.
As far as I can find it’s got a 500W draw with is why my 550W power station groaned a little to start it. This looks like the cheapest on I found.
3 Likes
I didn’t understand about the 12V snowblower with that video Sean. I have a quarter mile of road to clear and then another quarter mile that the neighbor usually clears with his MF with a cab and front mount blower. When he’s gone which is often, I have to do the whole thing. 26in snowblower takes four trips back and forth to get the job done. I’m getting a little old to do that walking behind that thing. Whats worse is the road is all hills. I will be doing something different next year but there’s a lot of snow left in my future this year.
7 Likes
The tractor starts with 12v, and I think it has a heated cab option. I know you have a lot of snow to clear, a lot more then us for sure. Plus, the quick attach implements, especially the mower deck, and the front loader options for changing blades is a back saver. It is designed to drive over the deck, and then the forks can pick up the mower to change the blades. Plus a front end loader is a back saver as well.
3 Likes
According to the NOCO website, the jump starter has a 24 watt-hour battery. If you take them at their word, 1000 amps at 12 volts is 12,000 watts, 12 kw. Divide and convert to seconds, and I think you’re good for 7.2 seconds of starting at 1000 amps. Sucking that much power from a little battery, a second or two is all you might expect. Probably you don’t need 1000 amps (and almost certainly won’t have 12 volts if you try) , so say 600 watts. That’s 50 amps, or really about 55 for a 90% efficient inverter, which is about right for a simple one. Now you might be good for a minute or so. The big question is still, will the battery stay above 10.5 volts, or whatever the low-battery cut-off voltage of the inverter is.
I don’t know.
Do you feel lucky?
Do you happen to have a car battery tester? or know someone who does?
edit: warning, loading down a jump starter with too high a current for too long can smoke it. Not guessing here 
If you can find a battery tester (carbon pile), checking the jump starter at 50 or 60 amps is probably okay if you work fast and check the voltage as quickly as you can.
5 Likes
Yeah exactly.
In Shops the REAL daily used jump starters are big and heavy and are on wheels. Because the expectation is they might have to be used 3-4 times by multiple guys every single morning. And used on a been brought in cranky vehicle that needs minutes of cranking. Or has a clapped out worn starter you m-a-y only get on last starting out of after tapping carefully/knowingly with a hammer just to get in shop out of the snow or rain.
Hand helds that can work for a couple of minutes are 30-40 pounds. I/we used these for plug-in powering vehicles for vehicle battery changing outs; and cable terminal ends cleaning and/or replacing from corrosions.
Save all of the windows; power doors; sun/moon roofs; power seats memory positional sets to not then have for-sure customer complaints.
Still . . . work fast. And I was having to replace out the internal sealed lead acid batt in mine at least annually.
A cutie brick jumper is considered a gotcha’ joke. Not even in the class of a temperary spare wheel&tire labeled Max 55mph for 50 miles. Nope a cutie brick jumper is that one use can-of-inflater they give you to one-time maybe give you 15-20 psi instead of any back up spare tire.
TomH. A spare Group 31 in a wheeled barrow and a set of heavy gauge jumper cables will be your works always friend. Even at been setting half charged.
Steve Unruh
4 Likes
I’m sure you guys are right but you will have to pull that pocket sized jumpstarter out of my cold dead hands along with that rifle. 
Snowblower takes about three grunts to start. The one time it conked out this winter I was down two hills and about an eighth mile from the house. Had to walk home. Get the power station. pull it with a sled. Start the snowblower. Finish the work. and then go back and pull the sled home. I’d prefer the smaller take it with me option. In five years of use that’s the first time the snowblower quit on me but now it’s surging some so something wonky with the jets. If we get a warm up I’ll look at it. For now it’s working with a little choke on. I think this is the first real snowy winter we have had in about 4 years. We are right around 100 inches so far but of course it’s been real cold so that’s measured as fluffy snow. Probably a quarter more volume than our normal blend. I’m missing that global warming. I’m real glad I don’t live someplace like Minnesota. Our worst is their normal. Actually we have only had one night at 0F. In land they have had sub-zero teens. Our normal winter temps are mid to high 20’s. If the lake effect snow bands don’t hit us not that hard of a climate. This year we seem to be getting just about every one. I"ll probably buy that cheap inverter I posted and see what I can make from it.
10 Likes
I don’t want to rub it in (or maybe I do 
) but we’ve had a relativly mild winter so far. Only a couple spread out weeks before Christmas with temps down to -17C or 0F. Hovering around melting point most of the time. I like it when the cold arctic cap is tilting your way
Snow compacted down to only 4-6 inches and roofs are clean. I think I cleared snow only 3 or 4 times this winter. Conditions are icy though.
Today Sunday was nice and sunny, so I went to church (the woods). Free as a bird and not a single soal in sight. Knocked down a few dead standing spruces and delimbed them. Produced some sweat, but came back home feeling well rested.
We rarely get weather reports from the southern states. I read they experienced pretty low temps recently, but we’ve had no first hand reports (hint).
9 Likes
Changed a front wheelbearing on our Škoda today, checked the new bearing for grease and it was pretty minimal. Only a couple of years ago I changed the same one and now it was vibrating and actually squeaking.
It is one of those with a double bearing in it and I don’t know if they are open inbetween plus there is no way getting to the outer one but I filled the inner one with grease and hope when it warms up it will share some with its neighbour. I hope for the best, at least it won’t be worse
Also I took the old one apart, red with rust…
Thanks Marcus for the tip, I wouldn’t have dreamed that someone would sell fairly ungreased bearings. I guess that’s how gullable I am.
10 Likes
Hey TomH I did just a quick scan of The Small Engine Warehouse replacement electrical starters. In 12VDC; 115VAC; 220VAC.
$61. to $171. Interesting they are all listed as Made-in-Canada, or the USofA.
I have one I’ll never use B&S take off engine snow blower with your 115VAC starter. To use I’d have to change out the starter.
If I was you I’d put my money into starter changing over to a 12VDC starter versus a you may-smoke-it made-in-China minimal sized inverter. Overload smoke it and it will be worthless for other needful uses.
You’d said you had a portable suitcase inverter generator. A WEN. Ever try starting your snow blower directly from it? These units seem very overload protected.
S.U.
9 Likes
I absolutely will check that out Steve. I’d much prefer having a 12V starter. The conk out this year was the first time it ever shut down on it’s own. I’m certain that the Wen will start it, no problem and I could, if necessary, throw it in the back of the truck but then I still have to deal with the truck afterward. The 12V is the best option. I won’t be wrestling this snowblower up these hills next year.
5 Likes
I hope that inverter works well for you. Use the heaviest wire you can from the jump starter to the inverter. It might work clamp to clamp. Just don’t try to get more than 200 watts through that cigarette lighter adapter.
5 Likes
Hello JO .
Last week we had some of the coldest temps in about 10 years . There were 2-3 days that the temps stayed below the freezing mark.
My wood burner work truck really enjoyed those temps but Wayne DID NOT.
15 Likes