Aug 19 - puttering

It's raining now.  I should have gone for a bike ride yesterday but started puttering around and that's how the day went.

I managed to remove the trim around the gearshift and idrive on the X5 but not that front tray that holds the cigarette lighter / aux power socket.  I've got a couple of posts out on a forum to which someone might respond.  We'll see.


Most of the rest of my puttering was in the garage, hanging ladders, tidying up.  Oh yes, there was something sort-of major -- I trimmed the tops of the five spruce trees at the cottage edge of the driveway.  That took some time and effort.  All the trimmings are still in the driveway awaiting a trip to somewhere.  There's one piece that would have made someone a nice Christmas tree ... too small for us.

Bonnie stopped over with the mail, just a magazine, and chatted with Sandy for a while.  Sandy took it easy for most of the day. 

I've got to go into Arnstein with those wheels, perhaps I'll do that this morning but first I have to make a decision on whether to simply buy another complete.

I did do some more generator research, actually a lot more generator research.  The trouble with propane, it seems, is that when it gets REALLY cold, the vapour pressure drops too low to run the motor.  Theoretically it's the same with the house -- furnace, in particular -- but the furnace, stove etc. are simply burners and can run with lower gas pressures.  One fellow to whom I was talking actually asked if my furnace would even run last Christmas as the temperature got close to -40F/C (C and F are the same at -40).

Doing some digging, it seems that the solution is to find a generator that runs on liquid propane vs vapour.  They do exist, with a warming / vapourizing chamber.  Apparently, but I haven't checked, there's also a liquid feed off my tank.  Gasoline is also burned as a vapour in an engine, fuel pumps / injectors or carburetor jets doing their thing.  Anyway, one fellow pointed me at commercial-grade generators that a) will run indoors (so could be in the garage) and b) have a liquid feed.  All I've found so far is generators that would be great for a building, not a house, i.e. much too large.

There is another alternative -- simply ignore the possibility that it might be so cold during a power outage that I'd run into a problem.  The reality is that most power outages occur due to wind and/or ice and when it's very cold, e.g. -40, it's also very still.  I still have the gas generator but guess what, if it's -40 it won't start.  I suppose that I could drain the gas and put it inside the house (I do this for the power washer) or at least inside the barn or garage, where the temperature is moderated by residual ground heat. 

Anyway, I'll have to make a decision and move onward or I'll run out of time for this season, which isn't really a big deal.

Yes, I spent a lot of time on generators and topping trees yesterday.  The rest of the time was simply puttering.

We had perch -- thanks to the Carol and Alister -- rice and beans.  

Judging from the Doppler, the rain over the area is moving through, but slowly.  If it's too slow, I won't be able to get out on the bike.  We'll see.

Time for breakfast for me and Abby.  Onward.