Jul 22 - one up, one down

I finally managed to get that little vinyl hose stuffed into the even smaller hole in the gas tank of the weed eater but I couldn't, for the life of me, keep the thing running. I cleaned the carb several times. I did not, but I will try, using quick start to perhaps get it running longer and perhaps clear whatever is ailing it ? Perhaps the tubing is too small and it's not getting enough gas. Perhaps the filter at the end of the gas line is now so crudded up that enough gas isn't flowing ... perhaps ... but the gas sure flows when I take the carb out, so it can't be that. When I do keep it running for a few seconds, it's with the choke on, leading me to believe that it's a gas flow issue -- perhaps the carb jet, don't know. Grrr. I'm about ready to give up !

After pulling the starting cord for a while with limited success, I took a break and used the A/C recharge kit -- success ! A blast of cold air awaited me in the car ! That only took seconds, once I stopped trying to force the connector onto the wrong port and found the low pressure port of the A/C system. Much goes through your mind -- German car has different sized connectors -- salesman was all wet ... but no, it was "probable user error" as it says in the IBM manual !

Then I watched the TdF stage that I'd recorded while I ate my lunch. This was the last of the climbing stages and provided good entertainment. The race isn't decided yet, but any means. Tomorrow's individual time trial will be great to watch, or at least the last couple of riders.

It's hot out. Not as hot as yesterday, but it's hot out. The horseflies are busy if you're sweating so the key is to glow, instead :).

Sandy and Kylie are in Sudbury ... don't expect them back until late afternoon. I heard Chili this a.m. while I was working on the darn weed eater ... but when I came back down they'd left in their rental jeep that replaces the focus which is in Sudbury getting the damage repaired from Gavin hitting a deer the other day ... that's life in cottage country !

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I went back at the weed eater. Using quick start, which is basically ether, it starts the same as with the choke on, runs for a few seconds and then stops. I took the carb off a couple of more times. There is definitely not a problem with fuel flow through the new line; the screen in the carb is clean; somewhere, obviously, fuel is not flowing. Frustrated, I gave up for a time.

I should have another go at it, I guess. It's obvious that there is some problem with the carburetor, a plugged jet ? There's just so little to it ...

Did I do anything else ? Ah yes, it was spray day. I used round-up on the driveway which has quite a crop of grass and weeds and weed-b-gone on the side hill below the septic bed.

I gave Don Maurice (cottage other side of Jason) a call and he has no problem with George parking his coach at their place. In fact he was just about to come north, planning on launching his boat and doing some other cottage work this weekend. He'll be back up next weekend with a crowd. After dinner (pickerel + potatoes + asparagus), Sandy and I finished our glasses of wine in the gazebo and we heard him arrive. Of course Abby heard him first. I don't know how many are there or whether he came up alone. I'll say "hello" a little later today, since I won't be here next weekend.

Sandy came back with a car load, having emptied Costco and other grocery stores. With three of us working at moving the "crap" down to the house, it didn't take long to unload though. We need a conveyor belt !

So that was our day, or mostly my day. Today I'm expecting to go for a bike ride and I've got Mass at 4:30 this afternoon. Tune in tomorrow where I'll say exactly that, only with more words :).

Onward !