Coffee 9-23-17

Good day friends & neighbors. The coffee is hot & there are two extra pots ready to pour. The annex is open so Hurricane people have a place to be safe. Geepers, what a week! It's pancakes today, and with all these evacuees, we might run low on syrup!

Thoughts and prayers for all those in the path of all the weather. What a mess for all those people. Amazingly, the death count isn't nearly as high as it could have been.

And as all that goes on..... we enjoy some of the best weather of the year! This whole month has been soooo perfect! And the week ahead looks good too. Enjoy it!

We went to the Common Ground fair in Unity Maine yesterday. Always a fun and interesting time. Funky food, weird people....we love it! They have a whole barn full of bird cages with chickens....just about every flavor known to man it would seem. I took a bunch of close up photos..... I think I'll send one a day to my chicken loving sister. Here's a few for you to see.

Hug your loved ones......and, you know.....forward we go!

Good morning people and how's things? Breakfast is good as usual and I'm sure we will be just fine with the syrup Freddy. Fall is upon us but with the temps in the upper 80's it sure doesn't feel like it!!!! Been doing work around the house the last couple of weekends and I finally got to my firewood ( no I'm not going back that it's for next camping season!!! ) I did get around to adding the LED lights to the rear of my truck( a pic to fallow after dark tonight) and I'm going to start finishing our woodwork for the house next week so I can get that wrapped up.
Ok friends have a wonderful weekend ,up coming week,and hang on tight because as Freddy says "forward we go"!!!

Mornin all. Extra syrup brought & left Freddy. Been busy doin third hay cutting this week. Other then that--NOTHIN!!! LOL Get to mow around the house --oh what fun!!! NOT LOL Enjoy the week-end people.

Great weather here as well. It is fair time in Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg is happening thru next week, where is the rain?
tsb, you only need a shower when the flies refuse to land on you.

Not much in the works today, wife wants to go dancing tonight, we’ll see. Next week we are taking a short vacation to see 3 Frank Lloyd Wright houses in western PA, most notably Fallingwater, and a little time in Ligonier as well as see Fort Ligonier.

Other than that it’s time to get ready for heating season.

Good morning. We are wrapping up 2 weeks of some of the nicest weather I can remember in September. It is supposed to be 81 today, and 86 tomorrow. I am glad I held off from lighting the EFM! Looks like next week is mostly hot & sunny also.

Today is going to be a great day - I have a fresh keg of Long Trail Ale from Vermont, and 5 lbs of bacon to smoke.

Wow, love this weather. Take it from someone who just came back from CA, this stuff is the best in the country - for now. Breakdown morning ... my 27 year old microwave (Gold star) stopped working. Luckily I unplugged it and replugged it in and bingo, good for another 27 years I hope. Then the barn Deere gator AMT 600 refused to move. Whoever designed the drive chain should hang himself. Rehung it and told the girls to drive carefully. I mean it is only 40 years old and rarely gets attention, you would think it should be good for a while. The engine is perfect. I even changed the oil on my Deere 22S, those Johnny Poppers go forever. I like old things.

OK, time to seek advice from the coal board. My CAT 955H (another 40 year old thing) desperately needs an oil change but I am to old and weak now to move the sump nut (that I put in some years ago). I guess I am to weak now. Old age is a terrible thing. I want to cheat - anybody have an idea on an oil extender that I can add to the oil.

50 acres of grass is growing like crazy. Never seen it so healthy. Now I need to
service the Dixie Chopper.

Wow Freddie, weird people in Maine. I guess those Florida transplants have arrived. It's the only explanation I can think of.

coalnewbie wrote:OK, time to seek advice from the coal board. My CAT 955H (another 40 year old thing) desperately needs an oil change but I am to old and weak now to move the sump nut (that I put in some years ago). I guess I am to weak now. Old age is a terrible thing. I want to cheat - anybody have an idea on an oil extender that I can add to the oil.

I am not sure what resources you have available, but an air impact wrench should back that drain plug right out. If you can't do that, a young friend on the breaker bar with a cheater pipe should do the job. If none of those are possible, you can change a portion of the engine oil by draining the filter housing, refilling with fresh oil, running the engine for 30 seconds or so, and then repeating the process a few times. When you have put a few gallons into the engine like this, install a new oil filter and call it good. There are oil "booster" products available, but the only ones I am aware of must be purchased in pretty large quantities - I think fresh engine oil is a better choice for you. It may also be able to pump the oil out of the sump with a drill pump or something similar, but I have never tried it.

P.S. Most diesels meet their demise from problems with the antifreeze, not the engine oil - don't let the antifreeze get nasty.

Perhaps day-old coffee, but it's nice of you to save some for me.

It CANT possibly be any worse than that rot-gut stuff they conjure up at Kwik-Fill... Any size is free as long as you buy 50 gallons of diesel, so you can't afford not to do it. However the stuff is so wicked it will knock your socks right off. But we tri-axle dumpers drink it by the gallon nonetheless.

This is some of the nicest late-summer weather that we have had for years and I am thriving on it. There has been a steady stream of coal-burners come through the yard for their fall fill-up and my dad and brother have probably done a dozen and a half home deliveries.

I hauled a load of sand yesterday and then spent the rest of the day on the EFM project...need to update that thread again soon. Was also able to take an hour last night before dark and get the Jeeps washed up again. Brittanys Grand Cherokee was looking just plain nasty and my 2-door Unlimited was getting there quickly.

Get out and enjoy the weather...we all know what is coming!

coalnewbie wrote:OK, time to seek advice from the coal board. My CAT 955H (another 40 year old thing) desperately needs an oil change but I am to old and weak now to move the sump nut (that I put in some years ago). I guess I am to weak now. Old age is a terrible thing. I want to cheat - anybody have an idea on an oil extender that I can add to the oil.

How about an oil extractor? Just suck it out the dipstick tube?

They make manual versions of this that are less expensive.

https://www.harborfreight.com/6-1-4-quarter-gallon-oil-extractor-46149.html

jpete wrote:

coalnewbie wrote:OK, time to seek advice from the coal board. My CAT 955H (another 40 year old thing) desperately needs an oil change but I am to old and weak now to move the sump nut (that I put in some years ago). I guess I am to weak now. Old age is a terrible thing. I want to cheat - anybody have an idea on an oil extender that I can add to the oil.

How about an oil extractor? Just suck it out the dipstick tube?

They make manual versions of this that are less expensive.

https://www.harborfreight.com/6-1-4-quarter-gallon-oil-extractor-46149.html

Just warm the engine up real good,the oil will pump out quicker than you will battle that drain plug loose.I pump quite a few engines in my shop for similar reasons. You also will not need to lay down on the floor to get underneath to remove the plug....major benefit for old/out of shape oil changers. (smile)

Most of the cheap oil extractors I have seen are for doing a few quarts out of a small engine or a boat. 7-8 gallons out of a Cat is a different story. I have never seen an oil plug that could not be removed, but I guess there is always a first.

If money is no object, just call the Cat man. $500 later you will be all set.

Mutter, mutter ... got the damned plug out and it is draining now. Yeah I know, it was the right thing to do. Now I am going to raid the piggy bank and buy 5 galls of oil. I could have called HO Penn and they even have a truck to come to the farm. $500 is just the deposit.

Any store brand 15w-40 will do fine.

Roll on the drums... Traveller Premium All Fleet 15W-40 Diesel Engine Oil is on sale for $7.50 and I just bought 10 galls ... thx.