What was your prep for today?

[Poppy]

These quick connect air hose couplings are handy dandy connectors.

I had my plumber install one between the shut off valve and the outside faucets of my house, so I can connect my compressor to blow out the lines so I don't have a freezing issue. Like the pros blow out underground sprinkler systems.

I also cut the hose of my hand pump garden sprayer, and put a quick disconnect in it.

This way, I can connect the sprayer, (Filled with RV antifreeze) to the air purge connection to the outside faucets. Then I can pump the antifreeze into the line.

I calculated for a 40 foot run of half inch pipe, it would take about 52 ounces of fluid.
pi = 3.14
r squared = .25 x .25 inches
1 foot = 12 inches
3.14*.25*.25*12 = 2.355 cubic inches per foot of run

1 inch cubed = 0.554 liquid ounces

2.355 * 0.554 = 1.30 ounces per foot of run.

40 * 1.30 = 52 ounces.

 

[idleprocess]

Monthly generator test. Since there's no HVAC whatsoever running I just switched on pretty much all the 120V circuits save for the garbage disposal and washer then flipped on ECO.

Think I'll experiment with shutting one unit off in about 30 minutes and seeing how the system behaves; I don't expect much more than for the other unit to throttle up.

EDIT: The system behaves as expected. It runs the furnace + fan without complaint and a single generator shutting under moderate load did not trip the other generator. Short of knowing to listen for the sound, it wasn't very loud on the other side of the fence and all but indistinguishable from background halfway to the street.

 

[Poppy]

I recall that sound was a particular concern for you. I am happy to hear that they are particularly quiet. Just a reminder... there is a particular video that demonstrates how directing the sound towards the ground with a piece of sheet rock, plywood, or door, makes a significant reduction of sound.

I still haven't tested either of my two units under a real life situation test. It just seems that each time I want to do it, my daughter is out of the house, and her computer is always ON, often with files open.

Come to think of it, she'll be out of the house a good part of the day tomorrow, maybe I can get her to shut it down. I'm really interested to see how well my smaller unit will do.

LOL... with all your attention to detail, I hope that you get a chance to use it in real life!

 

[idleprocess]

Texas folks:

Hearing some rumblings that the legislature, ERCOT, and the PUC's actions to address the failings of last winter amount to little more than press releases trumpeting ... vague plans to do better ... and that an assessment of the grid suggests that big chunks of critical infrastructure are in danger of failing again.

Strongly suggest preparation should such an event happen again, given apparent widespread inaction in the aftermath. It's far too late for the absurdity of a whole-house generator (instantly backordered as of ~10 February), but the likes of portable generators, warm-weather gear, winterization materials for your house, and shelf-stable sustenance are easily obtained.

 

[Owen]

After testing the idea of using strictly powdered drink mixes(pre-workout, Carb-Ion, whey protein) on an overnight backpacking trip, yesterday and the day before, this evening's prep was buying FOOD for next week's road trip😒

I have to say that I felt great and performed just fine, but that stuff did nothing to curb my appetite.
Started hungry, and stayed hungry the whole time.
I met some guy with a huge black lab while hiking out yesterday, and was having "dog is a fine meal" flashbacks from that movie The Patriot!

Was planning a more extensive road trip in the East, as my job finally shut down(which I've expected for 5yrs), and I won't be going back to work just yet.
I found myself unable to get excited about that plan, though.
Found out very recently that the shuttles aren't running at Zion NP from 11/29-12/22, and then this "memory" popped up on Facebook(twist my arm, why dontcha!!)...

..so just like that, I'm prepping for yet another Utah trip.
I used to call Zion my "home away from home"(don't even take a map), but have been avoiding SW UT for ~7yrs due to the increased visitation the area has seen, so it's long overdue.
NOW, I'm excited!🙃

 

[aznsx]

<<<Zion>>>

Ask me any time on any day where I'd rather be, and it's always the same one word answer. I too haven't been in far too long, but I hope we both get there again soon!!

 

[Poppy]

After testing the idea of using strictly powdered drink mixes(pre-workout, Carb-Ion, whey protein) on an overnight backpacking trip, yesterday and the day before, this evening's prep was buying FOOD for next week's road trip😒

I have to say that I felt great and performed just fine, but that stuff did nothing to curb my appetite.
Started hungry, and stayed hungry the whole time.
I met some guy with a huge black lab while hiking out yesterday, and was having "dog is a fine meal" flashbacks from that movie The Patriot!

LOL... I have a bag or two of powdered milk, and a couple quarts of parmalot stored. I hope I never have to resort to using them.

I made a chicken casserole the other night, I'd bet that you would have traded your hiking stick for some.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Just recently we stocked up on raw, unsalted sunflower seeds and roasted, unsalted cashews (Trader Joe's) to go along with whole grain crackers; pretty shelf-stable and will stick to your ribs for quite a while, wherever one is. Added some jerky to our supply a month ago...

We have an amazing friend who likes to help people and gets around. He was given a case of MRE but is vegetarian, so we got it. Very interesting. Two of the 12 entrees were non-meat. Looks like 13 years old. About 2/3rds consumed now. No shortage of preservatives and packaging. Some of it was nasty (chocolate, raisins, creepy aftertaste powdered drinks) but the vanilla pudding was a synthetic marvel.

 

[Owen]

Ask me any time on any day where I'd rather be, and it's always the same one word answer. I too haven't been in far too long, but I hope we both get there again soon!!

That place had me from day one. ~2008, I became acquainted with a photographer who lived in Las Vegas, and put up amazing photos from SW UT that I commented about wanting to see. That winter, she told me she was making a road trip the first week in March, and that I was welcome to join her. She gave me a tour of Vegas, the Hoover Dam, Red Rock, Zion, and Bryce.
I called my parents after we'd gone up on Angels Landing, and had it to ourselves in the snow, and told my mother "I am in love." She was like "What? You just met that woman!"🤣
"Oh...she's pretty great, too, but I'm in love with Zion!"

So began my love affair with UT. I went backpacking in other places out West like the Sierras and Rockies, but trips to Utah were a constant.
The week after my dad retired in 2012, it was my turn to give a guided tour, and I took him to Red Rock, Valley of Fire, Zion, and Bryce. Aside from one quickie overnighter while he rested up, I spent the whole time keeping him occupied with dayhikes(he even surprised me by doing Observation Point).
My parents had questioned why I kept going back to Utah, and the night after we left Zion, my dad looked at me, and said "Now I understand."
"Understand what?"
"Why you keep coming back here!"

 

[Owen]

Zion is out, Canyonlands is in.
Much as I'd love to go back to Zion, I found myself *planning the specific pictures I would take*, because I'm so familiar with everything there that I can close my eyes and practically envision every minute of my favorite hikes, and what I'll be seeing.
Meanwhile, Canyonlands has an entire section I'm unfamiliar with, more adverse conditions, and several days' worth of new-to-me area to explore both on and off trail. THAT sounds more like an adventure!😃
If things work out, I might be able to swing by Arches NP for sunset at Delicate Arch(have to go through Moab, anyway) on my way out, too!

That meant more prep, though-getting out the wetsocks and bear canister, and prioritizing sun protection.
If I was fired up before, the excitement level is through the roof, now!

 

[Owen]

btw, I got a nasty reminder about being too reliant on technology today, as my phone decided to freak out for a while(?).
My routes are so straightforward that I really can't get off course too much, but a physical map with locations of offtrail features marked on it will be a big help in finding them should the phone's navigational app decide to stop working.

 

[Poppy]

Two years ago, the transmission of my snow blower froze/rusted. I had to disassemble some of it, oil it up, and use some hammer persuasion. Apparently I oiled too many things, including a friction wheel, and disc. Last year I replaced the carburetor. When I used the machine, the wheels didn't have the gription they should have, and something was wrong with throttle control.

Today, I was happy to have a beautiful day to work on it. A youtube video taught me how to adjust the governor, and I noted that the governor return spring didn't have enough umph to overcome a sticky throttle.

Some carb cleaner, followed by PBblaster, and governor adjustment and she starts first pull.
I also opened up the transmission housing, and sprayed the friction wheel, and plate with some fan belt dressing/treatment. I think it is working perfectly... snow time will tell.

 

[Poppy]

Yesterday, I brought a 2 1/2 gallon gas can to the service station to fill it up. As I gave it to the attendant, our hands touched, His was freezing cold. Looking into my trunk, I saw a five pack of those cheap cotton poly gloves with the palmar surface dipped in latex. I gave him a pair. Not great, but better than nothing.

Later I joined my Elk brothers, at the lodge, where we cut logs for firewood. One brought his tracked backhoe, with a log gripper bucket. Boy oh boy... did he know how to operate that piece of machinery. Three chain saws, made pretty quick work of all we had to do. Unfortunately, the the guy with the splitter, didn't make it, so we had to go inside, and drink beer, and watch the Jets lose in the last 29 seconds of the game.

 

[dc38]

I prep for every day to be my last with this enlightening mantra: You exist to help others exist longer.

 

[Poppy]

By time it stopped snowing this morning, we had 5 inches of snow.
Thanks to the prep work, on my snowblower, it worked beautifully!

My nephew however learned the lesson of not checking his unit while it was still warm out. He had to use a shovel today.

 

[kerneldrop]

I food prepped. Gotta eat mass to grow mass.
7 meals a day requires a lot of prep

 

[kerneldrop]

After testing the idea of using strictly powdered drink mixes(pre-workout, Carb-Ion, whey protein) on an overnight backpacking trip, yesterday and the day before, this evening's prep was buying FOOD for next week's road trip😒

I have to say that I felt great and performed just fine, but that stuff did nothing to curb my appetite.
Started hungry, and stayed hungry the whole time.

Whey digests in about 2 hours. Whey Isolate digests faster. Hydrolyzed Isolate even faster.
The mass gainers aren't bad...they'll usually fill you up the most.

Casein would be the slowest digesting of the powdered proteins. Milk is 80% casein and 20% whey. The liquid on top of cottage cheese is natural whey.

When you get past the marketing, the whey shakes are best in the evening when you just can't put down food because you've already had a whole day of eating. Or you need something sweet. I look forward to my evening shakes.

 

[Poppy]

We've been having sub-freezing temps on and off for a week now. My windshield washer spritzers stopped working. Sure enough, the fluid was partially frozen. I siphoned the liquid out of the reservoir, there was still some ice in there. I poured in about 16 ounces of 70% alcohol. Alcohol, will freeze at -2 F. So it should be a good ice melter.

By the time that I got an extension cord, and hair dryer out to the car, the alcohol had melted the ice in the reservoir, and managed to work its way up to the blocked line. Our outside temp was right at about 32 F at the time. I wanted to get some -20 F Rain-X, but it wasn't available in the two stores I checked, so I settled on -20F blue stuff.

Years ago, I had -20 blue stuff freeze on me, I hope I don't have a repeat of that.

So, my prep for the winter is to replace my washer fluid with winter grade washer fluid.

 

[Poppy]

8 - 12 inches of snow tomorrow predicted, with 30 MPH wind gusts, with 0 F wind chill temps.

Our driveway is two cars wide, so I pulled one up farther than we usually park it, and I parked the other behind it, well off of the roadway. This way with the snow blower, I can easily clear one side, and then move the cars and get the other side.

I topped off my gas tank, and an empty two gallon container, for the snowblower, and/or the generator. I now have seven gallons on hand, and the one generator has half a tank. If we have an outage around here due to this storm, it is unlikely that it will be wide spread, and should be repaired rather quickly. Still one has to be prepared.

I should be able to run 40 hours continuously with what I have on hand, before pumping fuel out of my car, so that is another 18 gallons. Our other car has an almost full tank.

 

[Poppy]

One of my preps really worked out today.
We have cable internet, and stream TV channels.
Today we got about 6 inches of snow, 8-20 F temps, and 35 MPH gusts.
Our internet went out for a few hours.
My preps included getting a amplified digital TV antennae.
We get about 40 channels with it in clear weather. Despite snowy conditions East of me, and where the signals were coming from, I still got a number of good channels.
When not watching TV because I was cooking, Pandora on my phone, and bluetoothed to my bose speaker, also worked as planned.

Since I have a generator, if we lose power and internet, we will still be comfortably entertained.

Life is good!