That is EXACTLY what it is.

 

Hi everyone.

The Walmart disaster is done for the week. In fact I might get to skip next week, as Mom is leaving Sunday morning for a week and I'm only going to be home a couple days before I leave for Daytona.

Norm you should have gotten us a picture of the jungle ditch before and after. Maybe one of you tangled up in all the vines calling for help.

So Chris you went to a fight and a hockey game broke out. I can't get a good store pizza around here, so when we want pizza we just get Pizza Hut. I sure miss going up to my favorite pizza. I need to check to see if MIdway airport has one in its food court. I could fly up for lunch, and right back and not leave the airport.

Cloudy today but not too cold. Gonna do laundry and do some rearranging in the house. Fun. Hope everyone is well.

 

Wasn't jungle ditch a Steve Miller song? Or maybe it was Morris Day and the Time?

 

Mike - Agree on Walmart - it's always a disaster & the reason why if I want to go to Walmart I go at midnight. Pizza would be a great reason to grab a flight ATL>MDW>ATL for lunch.

 

Thinking of 'Jungle Love' (perhaps)?

 

If I recall, Troy Bilt, and a few others were bought up by MTI many years ago, which might explain the lower quality. They were a good piece of equipment at one time. Bought an E-Go leaf blower, should have a full charge on it by now, so i better get my butt out in the yard to see how well it works.

 

Mike - I thought of it but didn't want to unnecessarily steer this thread into my personal trials & tribulations. Maybe I will venture a picture at some point - plenty of runaway ditch remains. I'd say I'm 2/3 complete on it. When this carburetor arrives (today) hopefully I'll feel like installing it today (if this one is the correct one).

 

John - You've inspired me. I believe I'll use Steve's 'Jungle Love' as my theme song working on my ditch. I always enjoyed Steve. From Milwaukee he attended Univ of Wisconsin (Madison) and was a classmate of Boz Skaggs (whom I've always enjoyed, as well).

 

I have a Troy-Bilt lawn (concrete) edger I bought in 2004. MTD bought Troy-Bilt in 2001. My lawn edger is working very well to this day. Dad owned several Troy-Bilt pieces of equipment. He loved his Troy-Bilt roto-tiller.

 

I always thought it funny that there were two very different songs called Jungle Love at the same time.

 

Agree...how exactly did that work?

 

There is nothing going to happen on that ditch today - absolutely nothing. I've been outdoors 2-3 times. The misting rain has subsided, but it's dreary, ugly, depressing & cold (48°F) w/ a 17mph breeze. The only reason I'll head back outdoors is to retrieve the new carburetor from the mailbox alongside the roadway. I'm not even planning to install it today - screw it. The one item which would make it a nice day for me is to call in after 6PM for my Jury Summons phone call & have them state I don't have to report tomorrow or any day the remainder of the week.

 

Norm today sounds to me like a loverly day to put a drip torch to the ditch

 

Jim - You are absolutely 100% correct. There are several reasons that approach is not feasible for this ditch: I'm inside city limits (you know where this is heading), the ditch is surrounded by long leaf pine (loves a nice hot flame even when wet), the ditch truly is a "jungle" - imagine 8' to 10' tall in brush & greenbrier.

 

I received the splined carburetor adjusting tool yesterday and was able to tune the chain saw engine. Previously it wouldn’t idle, just die when I let off the throttle. A slight turn of the low screw (maybe 1/4 turn?) and a couple turns of the idle screw and the engine runs well. For the first time in years it idles and doesn’t die. WooHoo!

 

Me? Id fire it up and after a while call the fire department. I have some acquaintances that would toss an old tire in for good measure

 

Kenneth - Exactly. The carb on my Huskie 445 uses Full 21 spline adjustment screws for L & H. It varies by manufacturer & year...some are 7 spline or otherwise. I first set all screws (L, H & throttle) to 1 1/4 turns CCW. Most often the chainsaw will either start or won't start. If it won't start I bump the idle out another 1/4 turn until it starts. Then adjust the L side followed by the H side. Glad you have a fine working machine. Such a treat when the idle correctly & you can RAPIDLY ramp up the RPMs. Unfortunately, I'm in this mess because I over-tightened the idle screw and broke off the metal base attached to the carburetor. Doh!

 

This is the exact method I use on chainsaws.

 

Mom's brothers (my uncles) did the same w/ their old big tractor tires. Of course, the nearest neighbor was over one mile away and the nearest fire department was over 15-20 miles away.

 

New carb arrived @ 4:11PM. From what I've examined/reviewed thus far, not only is the carburetor the correct carb, but it appears the quality is better than the OEM carb & less than half the price of OEM. Additionally, I think they already set the L, H & idle screws.

 

Norm, thanks for catching my mis cue, MTD, not my MTI. My Troy Bilt mower works very well (Honda powered), and I doubt that I will ever need to replace it. The Toro Recycler that i bought back in 1991 did a better job of mulching & sucking up leaves. But this is a good mower. The new leaf blower works very well.

 

I grew up hating the Pecker Wrecker (Black & Decker) line of tools/equipment as compared to other name brand equipment I thought was more high quality i.e. Porter-Cable, Dewalt, Milwaukee, etc. Following up on this Troy-Bilt MTD conversation guess what? The Pecker Wrecker now owns MTD (100% of MTD) as of August 17, 2021. They even have an agreement w/ Dewalt. The Pecker Wrecker has been capitalizing on the power tool market (which includes also Craftsman).

 

Jury Summons Update

I do not have to report for Jury duty tomorrow. However, I have to call again after 5:00PM tomorrow for further instructions. I'm assigned to Superior Criminal Court.

 

I have always been dismissed when they find out I’m an engineer and work on facts instead of emotions.

 

I have managed to avoid it so far in life.

 

I love that one. Yeah, my last time where I was actually assigned to a jury, they quickly dismissed me when they couldn't fathom what a biomolecular engineer was about let alone pronounce it. While in the USAF (California) in the 1970s I was elected jury foreman on a case of wrongful death by a drunken driver. I thought for sure it was going to be a hands down guilty case but one self righteous person found it hard to believe we could find ANYONE guilty of ANYTHING if they were drunk to begin with. I wanted to bitch slap this person into the next universe. After two additional hours of deliberation we finally managed to convince this person of a guilty verdict.

 

Good evening guys,

I have a Troy-Bilt self-propelled walk behind with the Honda engine that's 13-years old. It's been a gem, and starts first pull every time. I've replaced a couple cables and both rear wheels but it keeps chugging along.

Norm - Glad your carb got there and that it looks like the correct one and a high quality one. Glad you don't have to drag in tomorrow for jury duty.

Spent most of the afternoon helping my wife pick up furniture, and carry up furniture from the basement she had sold and was being picked up today. She has been on a roll as far as sales lately. The Wolverines won yesterday and are still undefeated, and the Lions won again today so I'm a happy camper!

Hope everyone has a great week!

 

Chris - Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Was Harbaugh able to coach the game from the sidelines? I remember he was booted for some theft scheme and didn't he file an appeal with a judge?

 

Norm,
on one occasion I was asked if being a victim of a previous crime would have any influence on the case at hand. I gave them my Tennyson perspective that “I am a part of all I have met” and they dismissed me.

 

Kenneth - What a fantastic answer.

 

Harbaugh was already on the plane on the way to Penn State when the NCAA laid down their sentence that Harbaugh was suspended for 3 games and could not be on the sidelines for 3 games, which amounts to the rest of the season. He had to watch the game on TV from the Team's hotel.

From my understanding, the suspension is due to one or more Michigan representatives stealing signs through in person scouting at an opponents practice facility. Although I have not seen or heard about any proof that Harbaugh directed, or even had direct knowledge of these actions, I guess the NCAA felt the need to punish Harbaugh because he is the leader and face of the program. Michigan has filed an injunction to get the suspension lifted, but it hasn't been ruled on yet.

 

I did a few hours with the yard vacuum. Learned a few things.
1. If it will fit down the chipper feed and is wood, it will eat it. Branches that joint and angle kind of suck as they have to be broken to fit, but the chipper is my favorite part of this thing.
2. The bag fills up FAST.
3. Walking CCW around the yard allows me to blow the mulched leaves, and the ones within 3 feet of my left, inwards, when using the snoot. This allows for 3x the ground coverage.
4. Accumulating big piles of leaves needs the bag. It also plugs it up like a night of Government Cheese. The front wheels can adjust height. All the way up is good for piles. 1 off all the way down is good for doing point 3.
5. It has a 5.8 HP Briggs and Stratton, 980cc I think. This is about 3x the *** of my pushmower, and 1/3 the *** of my rider mower. Once I adjusted the wheels right, it seems to not clog any more. It's definitely consumer grade, but, once I learn what it can and can't do, I think it will work.

Goal is to get most leaves, enough to allow an easy final mow on the mower here about Thanksgiving. This cleans up everything. I really do like how well it cleans up crap around my fence.

Now to bolt together the next issue of Thunder & Lightning.

 

Is that a typo with an extra zero at the end?

 

5.8 HP would be the equivalent of ~190cc

Evidently John has the turbocharger version w/ the optional Nitro tank.

 

CSV 060 24A-060711

 

Sorry, not a typo, just I wrote the wrong information. It is a 190. Was not thinking.

I wish it were a liter engine. Would not be able to lift it.

 

Good morning everyone.

Well it's been over an hour since we started and I have yet to get a wheel. The lead was late and brought donuts, so I guess everyone is eating and not working. Eh, I'm still getting paid.

Say what you will about Black & Decker. I've had a good life because of them. My Dad was a traveling salesmen for B&D, ending up as the senior sales rep for the midwest and west. All cut short of course but he had some good life insurance that took care of us. I have a host of Black & Decker tools, all older than I am. These are metal. I hated my electric mower when I was a kid but boy I'd give my eye teeth for one now. I didn't think Black & Decker owned anyone, they themselves are owned by Stanley.

Norm I do believe you've blasted Allan right out of the water.

Chris hope the young one's doctor appointment goes well today.

Jamesbo it's time for another Dillard House outing. It will be around Christmas.

I really, really need to find some alternate means of getting to work. I like driving my truck but it's killing me on gas. Now, it has a 34 gallon tank so I can drive quite a ways on it, but then when I go to fill up it costs me about a hundred bucks. And that's every week. Sheesh.

Okay time to light a fire. Hope everyone has a good week.

 

Mike - Thanks for the well wishes for Keegan, much appreciated! I hope you can find a cheaper alternative than driving your truck everyday.

 

Drip torches might be an improvement to roofing torches for ditch burning.

 

Norm, surprised to hear that B&D owns MTD. I learned in a business class 25 years ago that DeWalt was B&D's commercial line. Chris, I'm pretty sure that it was the Big 10 that suspended Harbaugh, not the NCAA. Teams have been stealing signs for a long time. Seems to be a vendetta against him for some reason. The Lions game was an exciting one. My thought was who ever had the ball last would win, and that's what happened.