To start the weekend off, when I got home on Friday, I noticed that my humidifier had tripped the GFCI again. This is the third time, but it only does it when it runs dry. I don't think there is any electrical risk here though. And for those curious, the stool that is in the middle of the kitchen is the one I need to fix and yes my kitchen is a mess.
Saturday was a snow day. I got the tractor pulled out. It turned over slowly, but I guess it hasn't run since September I think? I am not sure I have run it since I got back, most of the outdoor work was all excavator since my trip. I tried to bring it up the hill to put the three point snowblower on it. It didn't make it. I will have to put the chains on it this year it looks like.
I did get the driveway cleared though with the bucket and grading blade. I found a way that works better with the bucket, I think the last time I cleared with it I just had the bucket at the wrong angle. It still won't clear feet of snow, but if you angle the bucket so that the front is a few inches off the ground, but the back is on the ground (the kind of angle you carry material at), it compacts what it doesn't push (which isn't good and will make ice), but it pushes everything above that point. I just simply didn't try to clear it all the way down, and will trust the tractor and truck to drive over whatever it doesn't clear. The grading blade I just ran backwards, but that isn't new, that is how I have always used it for snow (except in the tiny home where I used it to dig down to the concrete up at the slab). This will work for now until we get a big storm or I can get my other stuff working again.
One thing I noticed when I was clearing the driveway. It really really looked like someone had put a box on the steps down here. I checked it out, but it was just mother nature playing tricks on me.
I took a look at the pushmower, and tried to start it (which failed). I knew I had almost run it out of gas, but I don't recall it running out last time I used it. I opened up the gas tank though and it was bone dry.
So I just folded it up and tucked it into the corner of the carport. I can clean the carb on it in the spring if I have to.
Next up was the snowblower. I did remember to walk to the parts store at lunch on Friday and pick up the oil for the snowblower. Other then the oil draining super slowly since it was cold, the oil that came out was still transparent. Other than being a year old, it really didn't need an oil change. I couldn't find my drain pan (likely in the back yard since I was at one point planning to change the fluids in the excavator, that ought to look interesting come spring...), but with it running so slow, I just put the jug underneath it directly.
Then I went to fire it up, and lo and behold the engine has apparently seized. I never turned it over when I first brought it down since I didn't want to run it with old possibly separated oil (I typically use the cheapest O'Reilly has to offer). Even the electric start wouldn't budge it. Ugh. I might play with it a bit to see if I can loosen it up, but otherwise it might be time to look at replacements.
At that point I was pretty frustrated, so I went and took it out on my old humidifier. It was getting dark anyways, despite only being 3:30PM . It had a bunch of scale and stuff on it, and frankly cheap humidifiers don't have a good track record of surviving an offseason of non-use. I did get it working though. It puts out a lot more moisture than my new one.
Sunday was actually fairly nice, but I didn't do much. I looked at snowblowers on Craigslist, but this is the worst time of year to try to find one (right after the first major snowfall). Pretty much everything under $500 on Craigslist is either a complete unknown (ran three years ago and hasn't been touched kind of deal), needs work, is really small, or looks really rough. Odds of finding a unit that would survive the winter did not look promising. I also briefly looked at new ones. It is a shame electric ones are so expensive, I really am sick and tired of gas engines that never work when you need them to; I have had to repair fuel issues on my push mower each of the last two years (I bought it three years ago), and the lawn tractors that seemingly blow up every couple of years and eat batteries every year, and the weed whacker that hasn't run in three years now, and my brand new friggin' chipper that wouldn't start in the fall, my generator that I haven't been able to start in a couple of years, and so on.
I just really wish it wouldn't cost an arm and a leg to switch to electric. But considering I would need an extra set (or 2) of batteries because of how long my driveway is, it really doesn't make sense. Even if I went with a single stage unit that is comparable in cost to a two stage gas (a single stage electric will throw further than a single stage gas), those still struggle with deep snow and don't have drive, you have to do all the pushing, plus it would be a pretty significant size downgrade (my current useless unit is 28" wide, the e-go single stage ones are only 21"). While most of those are less of an issue than it sounds since it isn't intended to be the primary (I spent 2 grand on a tractor snowblower to be the primary if I could get to it), they are still considerations. It is worth keeping in mind the first couple winters I used a far less capable machine to do all the clearing, the 5HP 24" unit I got from Greg that wouldn't clear more than 12-18" at a time because it would bog and stall, so it is doable. Of course in those days clearing my driveway was a 6 hour venture. Would I really be willing to sign up for that again should something happen to the tractor?
Then there is the whole "how much longer will I be here" question. I did briefly look at used U-Haul trucks, and I could afford one next year to start the converting... They are a less than ideal situation though, so the looking was more grumbling than actual action.
That said, this makes getting the snowblower on the tractor really important since my backup plan is seized up; the tractor bucket and blade would be rather painful to clear a 18" snowfall with, and this is supposed to be a mild but very wet winter. For the immediate future though, the real question is whether the storm coming tonight is rain (as forecasted, but meteorologists are batting 0% so far this winter) or whether it is snow. I might find out quickly how the new plowing method works with a foot of snow.
Before Winter:
- Back yard drainage.
Close up tiny home. Seal up plumbing.- Clean off driveway at top.
Smooth driveway enough to not catch the snowblower.- Winterize equipment
Unlikely to happen at this point until next year:
- Build shelving for second room
- Insulate the water lines
- Take scrap metal to Buffum. Clean up trash.
- Storm doors
- Gravel the driveway
- Side yard drainage
- Eliminate cap.
Winter Projects:
- Design deck
- Install whole house filter.
- Access panel upgrades in master closet
- Cut trails, or at least mark paths.
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