Fireballsocal

I read somewhere that synthetic oil won't burn, it just boils. Can anyone confirm?

Working in the automotive field, I can tell you that manufacturers are moving away from owner serviceable components. The idea is that the engine never has to be opened up for its life aside from oil changes. We were told that a good 10 years ago. And it was a boast at the time. 

In a pinch, strands of incandescent lights hung in the tree can prevent damage. 

15 minutes ago, Bobalos said:

thanks @Fireballsocal.  this shed is FULL of "stuff".  I will really need to empty it before I can figure out how big a problem I got going.  there is no dirt around it, save for what is under the brick walk way & the slab. 

as a general rule, how often should a house be tented?

is there a "maint" for termites where they spray around the property and/or in the attic or something??? 

 

I'm not an expert or even all that knowledgeable so I'll defer to people with more experience for expert advice. For my opinion, I don't think you ever need to tent a house unless you have a very large problem. One that can't be dealt with by the homeowner using commercially available products. My parents house, built in 77 has never been tented. My old house, built in '87 and sold in 2021 had never been tented despite having 3 separate small occurrences of termites,  all in different areas of the house. As far as maintenance, I would be leary of any maintenance costs that don't come with a no termite guarantee. If the company offers a guarantee, read it carefully to see what it covers. 

This isn't rocket science at this point. Grab some termite spray like spectracide or another well known brand at home depot or off amazon. Drill a 1/8" hole into the wood where you see evidence of termites at a downward angle so the spray fills the hole and absorbs into the wood. Drill a few holes under and above the area you see the termite holes. Spray and fill the holes with the spray once every couple of days till you stop seeing evidence of termites. I've had multiple instances of termites in my old house and was able to make them disappear quickly each time using this method. 

  If this is a large infestation or you are unable to make the termites disappear, then it's time for some of the other suggestions but for a small infestation, you can easily handle it yourself. 

13 hours ago, Sandkist said:

Reseeding after the brush fires to prevent erosion?

That's what I'm guessing. I don't think those Daisies are native though I see them all over at this time of year. 

5 hours ago, Blue horse said:

 

I remember Toyota having a problem with the accelerator sticking in 2010 I believe it was. They recalled the cars for a throttle position sensor and the problem seemed to go away. If it happens to me I think I would do the switch to the first position and not to the lock and throw it in neutral, then hope for the best outcome. 

To my knowledge, no one ever found out what the problem was besides 2 sets of floor mats stacked on the car that the CHP officer and his family were killed in. Toyota even hired Nasa. 

I was a big fan of redwings for a very long time but the company has changed. It's a shame with all of those franchise stores relying on a quality boot. There are very few made in the USA (Important to me) models and when I took the boots in to have a sole that had come completely off repaired, they wanted to charge me. I told em I was gonna toss them instead. 

  My next set will  be Whites but at $600, I wouldn't recommend em for your son. 

7 hours ago, wapawekka said:

Normal tract. 10,000 sq ft lot total w/ less than a quarter of that grass. 

My electric lawn equipment was great with one caveat at the end. 

  This house was a 12K sq/ft lot. The weedwacker was the most powerful 2 line trimmer that makita made at the time. Lithium batteries and brushless motors are the key. The trimmer handled grass, even wet grass with no problems and during the Spring when weeds started coming up, the trimmer had no issues besides running through the two 5 amp/hour batteries before the yard was finished. I would buy another no question. 

  I also have both small and large makita battery blowers, hedge trimmer, and chainsaw. They are just really good tools and the convenience of cordless and batteries that I already own are a no brainer. Highly recommend. 

  The mower was a different story due to the lead acid battery. It was a black and decker with self propel function. Power was a little low but I could manage. The convenience of pushing a button and throwing a bale to mow was perfect. I could only get about 3 years out of the battery though before it dies completely. At $135, I ended up selling it and buying a honda gas mower with no regrets. I think I would try a lithium powered brushless mower now but would stay away from a brand that required their own proprietary mower battery. 

Normal tract home or quarter acre or bigger?

You could splice this relay inline and use a toggle switch to activate it.

https://www.amazon.com/Stinger-SGP32-Battery-Relay-Isolator/dp/B001HBYXVS/ref=sr_1_8?crid=3OQQBD0SAEUYT&keywords=battery+contactor&qid=1676171895&sprefix=battery+contactor%2Caps%2C155&sr=8-8

2 hours ago, Phoenix7 said:

 I'm refraining from an exact description because it's a hot deal in my opinion

These 250 and 350 trucks are hard to get a good buy on right now, and this truck is everything I want in a truck, including color and interior, plus more, so I would appreciate any advice to help me make a decision.

Just be careful bud. There is no such thing as a hot deal coming from a dealership. They buy/sell vehicles for a living and aren't in the business of taking anything less than the absolute most they can squeeze out of the rig. 

2 hours ago, Phoenix7 said:

 

 

 

 

I use a ctek charger/maintainer for my truck that sits most of the time. The charge algorithm is a bit different than the other tenders. Storing for long periods at a time at 100% is bad for the battery. The ctek will dial the charge to 80% or so for storage. I hate the noco chargers. We use them at work.  

55 minutes ago, ROBERT L said:

Damn that’s looking great. That big berm has potential. 

I figured it was really the last turn before the double. He just couldn't tip off the inspectors yet. 

School. The class today is "Controlling industrial electricity 1 ". Finally a class that teaches me something that I will deal with directly. The last 3 years have been foundational classes, useless except to pad the tuition bill. 

2 hours ago, Kevin said:

i use the milwaulkee 12v. better than any manual one i have ever used.

We use an 18V model at work and it is great aside from pushing grease past the nipple. I can't wait to put the lock n lube tip on the end. 

Lock,n,lube has a great lock on fitting. ***Edited to say:Their grease guns look like high quality also. They have some innovations like a bleeder valve that doubles as a tip storage. As you bleed the tool, grease that finally primes the system is pushed back into the canister. I haven't used one but the product seems well made. 

How is your commercial warehouse leasing going? We found out one of our buildings had gone up 280% for a 3 year lease. 200K sq/ft auto parts warehouse in Ontario. Prices like that are unsustainable. This is a fortune 500 global company. 

According to yankum ropes, the stretch comes from the weave of the nylon, not a bungee type material inside. I had held off buying one thinking that the bungee type material would deteriorate quickly and I rarely use my tow strap.  I will go with yankum ropes only because I watch Matts offroad recovery alot and they are sponsored by Yankum. I would think any name brand will be a high quality product. I also second the suggestion of high quality rated name brand shackles, recovery points, and well designed accessories. There is a ton of force being applied with vehicle recovery so use good products. 

Housing will continue the slight downturn we have seen since April 2022. I think a 10-15% drop is probable by December 2023 with potential for even more. I think a 30% drop in total is probable with the potential for even more. Lots of variables though. 

Vehicle prices will drop. The used market is falling off a cliff due to interest rate raises and I think the new vehicle market will be following closely once inventory is built up. I think EVs will see a bigger decline in demand as we see more players enter the market, more shortcomings come to light (Cold weather loss of performance), and the cost of a replacement battery becomes more well known.

The economy is a wildcard. I think it will begin a decline and potentially, that decline could turn into a recession or even a depression but our Government has shown that kicking the can down the road is the likeliest option. There is still a crazy amount of money out there sloshing around. 

4 hours ago, John@Outfront said:

It was a remanufactured  motor for $5800 which sounds about right and then I asked what his rate is cause to have 5000 in labor sounded high. It’s not an I don’t want this job price as that is what they do. (Motor swaps)

If they have a large backlog, there is no downside to quoting an "I don't want to do the job" price. Put another way, turning down the job outright is bad for business but offering a higher price could result in a good payday without telling the customer no. I don't know if this is the case obviously. I've had it happen to me with contractors in the past. The consumables price increases other posters have mentioned sound like it has more to do with the cost though. Holy smokes. Gotta eat up all of that inflation and then it sounds like a huge recession will be coming. 

That might be an "I don't want the job" price but honestly, I'm not surprised by a $10K+ engine swap these days. Was your guy selling an OEM long block for that $11,500 installed? 

Stay away from the waterless urinals. They stink and are unsanitary.