Coffee 3-3-2012

Our power company has a map of outages, generated by the new 'smart meters'. During the last three outages the same identical geograpical locations lost power.
. I think there is a bunch of transformers, poles or wires that are in serious need of repair or replacement.. I just can't see why the same group homes lose power every time the wind gusts over 40 mph.

Anyway, power is back on, the internet is back up and running, the dog is finally bored with 'tug-of-war' and is snoring on the rug..
A decent end to a lousey day.

Greg

LsFarm wrote: I just can't see why the same group homes lose power every time the wind gusts over 40 mph

Maybe it's possible that those areas need not only better tree trimming, but some wire adjustments. A lineman told me the line crews can tell where a wire is too slack when a line fuse blows and they find no damage. If the wires are slack enough to touch each other when whipping in the wind they'll cause blackouts until tightened.

Last year I measured my Mr Coffee coffee maker. I was curious how much power it used to make and also how much it used to keep the coffee warm. The answer is 750 watts.... for both! While keeping the coffee warm it simply has a fairly quick cycle of the 750. I did not time it to see how long it stays on during the warm cycle.

Looks like I missed the coffee again. Almost time to start Sunday's pot...

LsFarm wrote:Next I go in and fire up the coffee pot.. and you should have heard the generator when the coffepot heater kicked on !! I don't know what the wattage is for this thing, but It's significant.

I had a similar experience with a Crockpot...it put the generator right on its knees! Our latest coffeepot has a well insulated carafe, so once the coffee is brewed there is no electrical load; the coffee stays hot for hours.

LsFarm wrote:it's a fine mesh cylinder/filter in a sediment bowl.. and it's full of slimy crud, the filter is solid.. I peel the 1/8" thick layer or snot off the screen, blow it out with brake clean and air. and replace.. the engine starts and runs. but not much better.. HMM I thought this tractor had only one filter.. so off comes the engine shroud, and there it is, another, larger sediment bowl, this one with a pleated paper filter.. it really doesn't look that bad, but when I start spraying it down with brake-kleen, I see I'm washing off a layer of crud..

Do you have a bulk diesel tank for your equipment? Full-flow filter on the bulk tank? You may have a microbial problem in the tank, or perhaps the fuel is just breaking down and the filters plugged with "asphaltene" compounds. This is a real problem with today's crap fuel (especially if it sits around for a few months). Fleetguard (Cummins) has introduced their own additive to help combat the issue, and of course there are other fuel stabilizers that help. Some quick reading:

http://fuelschool.blogspot.com/2009/02/ ... lters.html

http://deliveryskipper.com/tech/fuel/index.html