Your hurricane Zeta made it’s way here during the weekend. Extreemly windy, a warm14C (57F) and raining horisontally right now.
Some of my firewood covering tins escaped. Trying to tie things down. Everything is soaking wet 
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They’re actually not good for compost as I understand it.
And They make lots of tar in the gasifier I think.
The hulls are good to make alcohol tincture for parasites, worms, ring worm, and for tooth-strengthening mix, etc.
Hard to shell and pick, but they taste great if you have the time to do it.
Used to be able to sell them in bulk in TN, but don’t know now.
Been fighting COVID for many weeks. Finally seems to be going away for good. Nasty stuff when it sticks. Looks like I missed about 2000 posts. I’ll probably never get caught up. Tropical storm hit us the other day and forced us to get the woodgas power station up and going. Now we have only to light a WK and connect a pipe to it. Crank it up and flip some switches and breakers and the whole campus is juiced up. Using an old chicken house backup. It’s nice to get one of the really old projects off the list. Now to make it “convenient” to clean and operate…
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Hard to kill the powerstroke.
Wow, you guys and your cold weather…
Frozen diesel fuel?
I do think we had a light frost this morning though. Have to dig the sweet potatoes I guess.
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I love that power stroke…so much more fun then the IDIs. I doubt I will get back to it this season. It’s moving into gasoline season here. Diesels need too much life support in an off grid environment. My Chevy 292 six just needs a half dead battery and the choke pulled, and away we go.
Even those fuelies start better then the diesels. Although, there two exceptions here. The Yanmar LM6 and the Detroit Diesel 453. Both will go when its really cold out.
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I find the deutz air cooled diesel motors with the air pre heaters start easy in the winter too. We had a Same tractor with one of those back in the 80s and 90s it always started down cold without block heaters. That was one of the reasons I bought the pasquali I guess I will find out this winter if all air cooled diesel engines are like that or not…
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Well November rains started this morning.
The jet stream waggled more into it’s normal winter postions.
Sun was good while it lasted these last 10 days.
My fault actually.
Wife started up yards mowing for a pre-winter trim. I finished up in the riders headlights and by the true light of the moon.
We joke a lot here that excessive mowing, and vehicles washing will make it rain.
Ha! And I do have in each individual vehicle a brand specific manufactures hat.
No. No. Can’t actually make a difference.
The hat wearing makes a difference in my impatience responses to each vehicle’s particular hiccups.
That all vehicle seem to have.
Occupations for me it was important to have hat loyalty.
Wanna’ change hats? Change the employer first.
Regards
Steve Unruh
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Darn van started right up after I drained the fuel filter housing. I discovered a blown donut, so she’s down for a bit.
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Had a fire at the paper mill during the night shift. A brand new (3 days in use) 14 ton Linde Li-Ion forklift caught fire. Me and my four workmates were taking a break when the automatic fire alarm tripped. We manged to get out past the forklift parking in a matter of seconds. When the fire departement arrived a few minutes later there was zero visibility in the entire warehouse.
When finally released from duty at 7:30 am I was relieved to be able to light up and DOW back home.
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I can’t like that a fork lift cought on fire. But I am glad you are safe.
When those lithium ion batteries fail it is spectacular I guess would be the word. That fork lift will be bursting into flames for the next few days. Richard Hammad crashed a sports car with lithium ion batteries and it was on the order of days they quoted on the grand tour before that car fire was really over.
Be safe and be glad the paper mill didn’t get burned down.
I really like electric cars but I keep hoping the solid state batteries take over the market so we don’t have the fire risk associated with lithium ion. I will admit gas engines have also cause their fair share of fires.
I just think the current one solution fits all mindset with respect to lithium is dangerous. Those old lead batteries work great in a fork lift.
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Glad you are safe JO !!
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Thanks guys, for your concern.
When staying late/early this morning to give the arriving cluster of bosses an update on the situation, the fire departement informed us a bit of what to expect. The forklift apperently caught fire due to an external electrical short - not the battery itself. However, because of the hot fire and a possible current overload, the forklift was towed away to an open area north of the mill and temps are being monitored. Apperently a process of battery “meltdown” can start in hours, days or even weeks and the offgasing is extreemly poisonous.
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Started in the forest today, thought of JO, who can crawl into the mill and have a good time when the sun is shining.
By the way, this fan from Biltema is very good, goes twice as fast to get the heat up.
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Coffee, sandwich and sunshine in the woods…looks terrible 
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Well i did it. My fault. If it snows here now. Put the winter studded tires on two of the three vehicles today.
I thought I had a no-rain weather window. Almost.
40F. rain finishing up. Cold rain.
Freeze tonight for morning glare pavements ice.
We do a lot of this skim ice, in and out; November, Dec, Jan, February here.
Most of my family and friends pray a lot to not have driving ice. Stay down in the Urban valley floor.
Not me. Studded ice tires and just keep driving.
But then most of my family and friends pray a lot for few, and short , grid power outages too.
Wood heat is good. Quiet. And intense. Work? Sure. Outside in the open air “gym” working.
Back up electrical generators good too. Bit’o work there of course.
Ha! Be jacuzzi tub soaking my sore back tonight. These 18", 17" and 16" wheels and tires seem to get heavier every season. Oh, where, or where, did my 13", 14" wheels and tires go!? Oh where, oh where can they be!? ( back in the 20th century)
Steve unruh
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Your lucky you can use studded tires. The outlawed them here I think back in the early seventies. Tear up the roads too much. I do not like the looks of the newer tires with the 20 or more inch wheels. Look like a car on motorcycle wheels. What looks good to me is a set of 35’s bolted to a Dana 70.
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Luck yes I know TomH.
Not so lucky are the bridges, guardrails and all steel and concreate infrastructure destroyed by using massive amounts of road salts.
Let along destroying prematurely billions of dollars of private layed out, in salt destroyed vehicles.
Step by step now for the last 5 years salt use is creeping in here locally. I had to kick break loose the wheels off of the Camry from rust locked on. Last Springs salt use after mandatory studs-off date.
Funny-not all of these mandated “improvements”.
The Japanese tax laws taxing low years “aged” vehicles off of the roads to, “maintain the youngest fleet age with the newest, best working emissions systems”.
The Germans Greens laws that all vehicles sold new had to have end of life recycling cost matrices, and that calculated cost added into the new car price. So German manufactures to keep these costs affordable transitioned to using just 3-5 easiest recyclable plastics. You can follow this in the sudden trend for German cars to interior plastics fall apart. Shows up in the breaking window regulators (VW!) and jamming power seats BMW & Audi!).
The state south of me insists on no-self service gasoline. Safety they say. B.S. Minimum wage jobs making. State mandated. Top down social engineering…
Your salts? Unions and Industry lobbing? That is Japans issues. Germany? Pretty obvious.
Here Oregon and Washington’s States salts use is pure plain and simple catering to those who will not individually accept the responsibly to winter tire up.
Demand that the Governments do something for them.
I did try a set of the world-class best stud-less Nokian winter tires. Just O.K. Not effective on this morning snot transition ice. Slip slid not road follow, turn. Or stop sign stop. For the next 2-3 days.
Yeah. Yeah. Every purchased studded tire replacement I expect to be the last available.
Ha! Ha! Until then . . . . .click on, roll past the ditched cars. Carrying a snap tow strap to maybe pop some folks out.
Finnish Nokian Northman 7’s ( made in Russia) are great. Their sideways diamond studs are the quietest studded tires I’ve ever used.
S.U.
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Yes, salt and studded tires. Pros and cons. One of the most debated subjects, apart from the weather itself, during winter.
I always argue slowing down is a much cheaper/easier/better way of ashiving safety. If you do happen to slide into something/someone the bang won’t be as loud. Too slippery? Stay home = 100% safety.
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Haha, very relative. If I compare that to my father’s opinion and your DOW… No explanation needed
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