Above 1200 Sq/FT The Salvage Garage

[Strouty]

Success!

 

[bimmer1980]

Awesome!!!! That was a fast turnaround on this project!

 

[Strouty]

Not totally, fuel filter started leaking, had to go with the GF and her car back to get spare filter and wrench, hopefully I can fix it, looks like seal got pinched funny.

 

[Strouty]

Well, it wasn’t the filter, it was the fitting at the top, next to the filter. Apparently I never tightened it at all, just finger tight. I think I saved it for last as it was the easiest to get to, so much for doing my job. I think I should be fired.

 

[racer-john]

No, we'll keep you on, there's a lot of work to be finished. Lol

 

[xtremek]

Nope, no firing. But you do have to wear a 3/8" stubby wrench on a string around your neck today and cut your pay in half for this pay period.

 

[Strouty]

How do I cut zero in half, does that mean I owe?

 

[Strouty]

Tested Bev one last time, no leaks, everything is shiny from the diesel fuel cleaning, but nothing is wet.

Off to finish the routing coax for the job we started on Wednesday, it is about 40 right now, so will be a very nice day! I should even be able to get some pictures of my boot, although this tower is pretty short, so not too exciting.

 

[F451]

Saw an interesting documentary on Nat Geo that reminded me of your towers and climbing. It's called "Paris to Pittsburgh" about how some local communities are dealing with climate change and turning to green energy solutions. Politics aside, part of the documentary talks about the large amount of wind farms in Iowa and the Iowa Lakes Community College's wind energy program.

They claim their the grads from their associates degree program in wind energy are earning between $50k-90k starting salaries and they are placing 100% of their grads in wind energy jobs.

They showed the young people climbing their towers, reminded me of your towers. But the wind towers you get to be inside for the climb and looks like you only access the outside through a hatch. Still, a pretty cool way to make a living.

A link to an article about the college's program if anyone is interested: http://www.esthervilledailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/534525/From-Paris-to-Pittsburgh-Iowa-Lakes-featured-in-upcoming-documentary.html?nav=5003

And good job on the continued organizing, removing, working, etc. I'm still decluttering after a move last spring and its good to see others going at it too. -Ed

 

[Strouty]

Thanks for the link Ed, wind energy is a huge thing, those turbines are massive, most of the blades are as big as some of the towers I work on. There had to be a bunch of revisions for safety procedures due to the nature of those structures. On a regular tower you are only allowed a 6’ free fall before your safety must engage, wind has a 12’ max. If you fell 12’ on most towers, you would be having a bad day with an antenna stuck through your body.

 

[xtremek]

Glad Bev is running good. Only 26 more vehicle to fix? Boy do I know that feeling. Glad everything on her is working properly.

 

[Strouty]

Me too!

Just spent money I shouldn't have on eBay, damn 15% off coupons get me every time. At least I bought things that were needed, not toys this time. Got all the gauges for Clark, then bought some aluminum stock to make the custom bottom brackets for the safety climb systems, these are for the two towers I was at today. I still have to weld a few tabs on them, but that is relatively painless compared to making them out of steel and getting it galvanized. Also grabbed some drawer liner for the Lista cabinets.

 

[Kev442]

Now I know what you did with the ambulance body and gin pole.

 

[Strouty]

That is one weird setup.

I was going to try and bring home my blue desk top that I made, but it still leaches blue dye if you get it wet. I figured at this point I have nothing to lose, so I dumped so waterlox on it and we will see what happens. It didn’t pull out the blue while spreading it and it doesn’t look like it has made it look yellow, maybe there is hope?

If this doesn’t work, I am sanding it down and just having it plain old wood color.



It is pretty nice out today, yesterday was nice, but there was a bit of wind, so it was cold on the tower.



We were connecting all the antennas into one coax, it is part of a larger system.

 

[Orionrising]

bare ground? havent seen that in a month and a half up this way.

 

[Strouty]

Winter ***** with bare ground, all I do is regrade the road with the plow.

 

[xtremek]

Winter ***** with bare ground, all I do is regrade the road with the plow.

Preach it Brother! I'm not a fan of mud, unless I'm wheelin' in it, and I don't have anything to wheel with anymore.

I hope the desktop turns out for you, it looks really cool.

And how high were you today?

 

[Strouty]

I wasn't up today, that was from yesterday, we were almost 70' up, LOL.

I started tearing into the plow light harness and I think I figured out that I don't like fisher's wiring harness. The stupid isolation module that does the automatic swap from truck light to the plow lights seems to have a bad relay, except I have three and they all seem to have the same bad relay. I have tested the lights and know that the bulbs are good, the wires have continuity and resistance is low, so I do not think it is wires, should be able to mess with it some more this week. I am trying to upgrade plugs and wiring so that I don't have to spend over $500 on fisher's replacement parts.

 

[xtremek]

Are they just standard relays?

 

[Strouty]

It looks like it, but it is all on a circuit board, so I have to figure out what relay is the bad one, then decide how I am going to fix it. It is the low beam relay and I guess that makes sense, you use the low beams the most and with the burb, the daytime running lights shock it when you first plug it in. There are many relays inside the box, so it may use multiple relays for the lights. I am not really touching it today, tomorrow I will be digging into it.

 

[86turbodsl]

Hey since you are always talking about tower work, any advise on best way to put up a Rohn 25 i picked up a few years ago? Plan is some directional antennas on it to pull in locals and maybe a camera or two. I think it's 50-60ft. I'm not a fan of climbing up that far with a ginpole and pulley setup.

And if this is enough off topic to offend anyone, i'll delete and take to PM.

 

[Strouty]

No issues with the topic.

Would it be near the shop or house?

50’ is about the most I would want to hinge, even then, I would rig a bridle of sorts to grab from the 25’ and 40’ areas. You can use the guy wires to keep it from toppling over the other way.

 

[Strouty]

Google has had this stupid design all day long, it has the letters as the candles, I figured it was for something dumb, then I hovered over it and it says Happy Birthday to me. I guess it was for something dumb, why do we celebrate anyways, should be a celebration the day after, then you can say phew, I made it past another one.

 

[xtremek]

Another year older and none the wiser?

 

[Strouty]

I am wise enough to know I should stop having birthdays, it makes me older every time.

 

[86turbodsl]

No issues with the topic.

Would it be near the shop or house?

50’ is about the most I would want to hinge, even then, I would rig a bridle of sorts to grab from the 25’ and 40’ areas. You can use the guy wires to keep it from toppling over the other way.

It's a 60ft. Near the house, but still 100ft away. I want to put it near the woodshed/generator shed.

Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

 

[Strouty]

I would make a hinge that bolts to the foundation, then use the tractor to get it as high as you can, then pull it up. You may need to make an a frame to get it to a certain point before pulling it would be effective. You need to make some judgement calls, 60’ unsupported is a lot, you may need to add some bracing to distribute the pulling forces so it doesn’t fold into a pretzel. I will say that there is probably a local guy with a small boom truck that would most likely charge $100 an hour with a four hour minimum and could do that in an hour, you could then pull the wires out, get them tensioned up and unhook him.

 

[Strouty]

Today was a slow start, no real production, just keeping things where they should be. Tomorrow is supposed to be really warm, then Friday and Saturday even warmer, but rain. I got all the snow cleaned up, so I shouldn’t have any frozen piles if the rain doesn’t melt it all.

The most productive thing I did was to get another couple bags of trash out of the basement at the new house. I think I only have two more bags, then the scrap steel and wood need to get taken care of. Upstairs I still need to pull out carpet from one room and the stairs, that should really get rid of some smells. Looks like nothing major will happen until after Christmas, maybe even the first of the year. I have plenty to do, but I would like to get started.

Need to order more parts to make my plow lights work, when I am done, I won’t need the “special” parts from Fisher anymore, that way if I have an issue in the future, it will be a cheap part that I can get at any auto parts store.

I am going to try and do a bit of shopping, my GF needs Christmas gifts and I have been slacking a bit.

 

[xtremek]

..........I am going to try and do a bit of shopping, my GF needs Christmas gifts and I have been slacking a bit.

You mean your shiney happy personality isn't enough of a gift?

 

[Strouty]

Nope, not even close. Apparently I was reminded that I was late with her birthday gift earlier this year, so I guess I am making up for it. Got almost everything in one stop, now a couple gift cards and some stocking stuffers, then the pain will be over.

 

[ttpete]

Nope, not even close. Apparently I was reminded that I was late with her birthday gift earlier this year, so I guess I am making up for it. Got almost everything in one stop, now a couple gift cards and some stocking stuffers, then the pain will be over.

Every year in February, I buy my wife 3 cards. Valentine, Birthday, and Anniversary. I'm set for the year.

 

[LaneRover]

I am wise enough to know I should stop having birthdays, it makes me older every time.

My grandfather said that birthdays are good for you! The more of them you have the longer you live! He had 94.

HAPPY belated BIRTHDAY!

 

[86turbodsl]

Happy birthday Strouty!

 

[Duker]

Oh man I did I miss the birthday cake! Happy belated Strouty!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Strouty]

I didn’t even get a birthday cake.


Having a birthday near Christmas is never any fun, especially when you are a kid and you live in a place that snows. I used to get mittens and sweaters, all my friends would have birthdays in the summer and they got bikes and cool toys to use. I have never been a big fan of snow, honestly if I didn’t have my current GF, I probably wouldn’t stay here. Unfortunately she won’t leave, not until her mother is gone. I figure by then, I probably won’t want to move, but I plan on doing more traveling.

 

[Craptain]

Happy birthday Strouty.
You might not have had the cool toys as a kid but you have some pretty cool ones now as a big kid.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

[Strouty]

Thanks guys, it was a nice day, had dinner with some family and took a lazy day for myself.

As for the toys, those are all tools, as far as my accountant knows.......

 

[86turbodsl]

My wife's birthday is on Christmas. She said she never wanted for anything. They made sure she got a bit of differentiation.

Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

 

[Craptain]

Thanks guys, it was a nice day, had dinner with some family and took a lazy day for myself.

As for the toys, those are all tools, as far as my accountant knows.......

Mine are also. He's never asked what a Captain needs a machine shop for.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

[jakemac]

Yup, December b-days ****.
Try being born on the “Day that will live in Infamy”.
I don’t blow out candles, I light one instead.

My cousin was born on St. Patrick’s Day ........ Lucky Bi**** !