Sunday, January 17, 2010

Week of Jan. 11 to Jan. 17

Monday, January 11, 2010

            It is in the teens this morning with a few scattered clouds as the sun is coming over the mountain. The sun doesn’t shine on the shed until 11:30, so that’s when I plan to go out and tackle the temporary repairs and get the right side wheel on.

            I worked on the Argo all day and just finished at 4:30 PM. I used 2x4s to make heavier temporary rub blocks and positioned them under the drive chains to take up the slack. I put the repaired wheel on the right side and managed to refasten the snow track. They never go on the same way twice, and just when I think I have found an easy way to do it, something else goes wrong. This time, after letting the air out of the front and rear tire so the track could be pulled together, the rear tire got pinched between the two ends of the track and I had to start over again.

            I put Slime in all of the tires, aired them up and took it for a test drive. The improved rub blocks seem to work okay, but I wouldn’t trust them for more than one trip down and back, which I’ll make tomorrow.

            I played with Zack one last time and then fed him and the cats. I am having my daily V-8 drink with apple cider vinegar and watching the fire come to life. It was a good day to work outside and if I had more days like yesterday and today, I’d get more done outside. The high temperature for today was 48 degrees but there was a slight breeze later in the day. I had been working in my T-shirt but as the sun ducked behind some clouds, I had to put my sweatshirt back on. All in all, it was comfortable for working outside.



Tuesday, January 12, 2010

            The morning started out mild with a clear sky and the sun cresting Greenhorn Mountain at 11:30. I spent the morning as usual and then got ready to head to town.

            Zack and I left at noon; heading for Marysville, hoping the temporary fixes on the drive chains hold.

            It is now tomorrow and I am just getting back to writing about the trip to town. We made it to Marysville without any issues and the temporary rub blocks held and worked as well as expected. A check of the UPS tracking site showed that my parts had been delivered at 6:37 last night. UPS policy is that if you pay for next day delivery, they promise to deliver the item no later than 7 PM the next day, but because you must pay extra for Saturday deliveries and my order went out Friday afternoon, the parts wouldn’t arrive until Monday. Under these circumstances, I won’t pay extra again as the parts probably would have arrived on Tuesday anyway.

            Zack and I headed to town in the Jeep, needing to run a couple of errands and pick up the house batteries. I also had an appointment, via telephone, with Social Security to sign up for Medicare, Part B. I collected my mail, stopped at Ace Hardware for a couple of items and then waited outside of the storage and transfer office for the Social Security phone appointment.

            The call came through at the exact time and I answered all of the questions so the person could electronically file my application. Why I couldn’t have done the same thing online, I don’t know, but in about 10 minutes, we were finished.

            I proceeded to the office and signed for the batteries and when the forklift operator brought them out to the Jeep, I was surprised to see that they were on a smaller pallet than my previous delivery of the same sized four batteries. The entire pallet fit in the back of the Jeep and after a quick stop at Costco to purchase their least expensive digital point and shoot camera, we headed for Marysville. My expensive new SLR camera has become totally unreliable and I have to send it in for repairs under warranty, so I wanted a simple camera to use until it is returned.

            Upon arriving back at the Argo, I had to determine how I would transfer the heavy batteries (158 lbs. each), and how many, into the Argo. My friend Guy had just returned from town and came to help me and we managed, with much effort, to slide the batteries, one by one, from the back of the Jeep into the back of the Argo. By placing a couple of 2x6 boards across the rear seats, we were able to get all four of them in. I wasn’t positive that the Argo would pull that much weight, plus Zack and myself up to the Divide, but wanted to try so I wouldn’t have to make an additional trip back to Marysville.

Batteries in the back of the Argo. You can see the fourth one on the floor under the ones on the boards.




            I loaded the remainder of items and the repair parts for the Argo and we took off for home. While the going was slow due to the weight, the Argo pulled us up to the crest of the Divide without a problem. My temporary rub blocks both broke on the way, but enough stayed in position to prevent damage to the chain from rubbing on the frame.

            The trip down the other side to the cabin was easier and we arrived home at dark. I unloaded the small items and left the batteries for unloading another time. Zack got in one last playtime before I fed the crew, built a fire and sat down to read my mail and relax before a shower and dinner.



Wednesday, January 13, 2010

            The day is clear and as the sun began warming things up, the snow on the roof began melting and dripping onto the deck. By noon, it was 45 degrees outside and calm.

            I had my morning coffee and routine, then changed into my work clothes and went out to figure exactly what I need to do to fit four more batteries into my system.

            The day didn’t go as I had planned, as it was one of those days when nothing seems to go right. I had laid awake the night before, imagining how I could arrange all eight batteries to fit in the existing battery box. I believed that by placing them on their ends all eight would fit, but it didn’t work out. Being AGM type batteries, they don’t have any water in them and can be positioned in any direction, so I figured that if all of them were on their ends, they would fit, but without removing two layers of insulation board, they were too tall for the enclosure.

            I ended up building a two-foot extension platform in front of the battery box and will temporarily put a cover of some type on it, until I can build a more permanent enclosure this summer. This means that they will be exposed to the elements, but these batteries can survive to forty below zero, so I don’t think it will affect them too much.

            I ran out of daylight before I could connect them to the current set, but will do that tomorrow. One last play period with Zack and then I fed all the critters, built a fire, had my V-8, showered and then ate some dinner before calling it a night.



Thursday, January 14, 2010

            So far, this New Year hasn’t been too kind to me. With the Argo problems and dealing with the batteries, I find myself facing difficulties I’d rather not have in my life. Although NWS was only predicting a 20% chance of snow today, the wind is blowing at a steady 7.4 with gusts to 20 mph and errant snowflakes passing by horizontally. This isn’t the type of weather I enjoy being outside in, so I may wait to see if the prediction of mostly sunny skies tomorrow is true.

            The weather didn’t improve, and in fact got worse with more snow and wind, staying right at freezing, so I worked on projects inside all afternoon. With clear calm skies tomorrow, and temperatures expected to be in the low 40s, I’ll finish connecting the new batteries and maybe have time to start working on the Argo.

            Although Zack is still considered a young dog, being 4 ½ years old in human years, he seems to be suffering from either arthritis or acute muscle fatigue. Playing in the deep snow, he over uses muscles he may not use on a daily basis, and this is causing him to be stiff in the evenings and into the next day. This morning he can barely walk to go outside for his usual morning call. I have checked his nails and feet, massaged his muscles and while he doesn’t complain, I know he must be in pain and sore, so I made him stay inside and take it easy today. Not playing at least once or twice is more painful to him than suffering through his stiffness, but I think he needs to rest and heal rather than play.

            The remainder of the day and evening went pretty much as usual and I hope the weather will cooperate tomorrow. Eew, I just checked Weather Underground and while it is for the Marysville area, a thousand feet lower than me, they are predicting partly cloudy and warmer, but they are also predicting winds of 15 to 25 mph and gusts to 50 mph. Not the type of weather I am hoping for.



Friday, January 15, 2010

            The sky is clear and it is 32 degrees this morning with winds around 5 mph. The wind died down last night and didn’t start again until around 10:30 this morning.

            Because the house batteries are on the east side of the cabin and the wind is coming from the southwest, I can work on connecting the new batteries with some protection from the weather.

            At 32 degrees and windy, the wind chill factor stayed around 28 degrees, which was bearable, except when I needed to remove my gloves to handle the nuts and bolts attaching the cables. I shut the inverter off, disconnected every cable, and removed all of them. Because I now have eight 12-volt batteries, I can connect them differently than I previously had, so I started from scratch.

            I had some difficulty getting four of cables connected as they were about a quarter of an inch to short. I had to bend one end and make sure the batteries were as close together as possible. I finally got all of the cables in place and tightened, then I tested to make sure they were producing 24-volts as a group, which they were, before I reconnected the cables to the inverter. I connected my wind generator and then temporarily covered the batteries to give them some protection from the weather.

This is the new set up with all eight batteries connected and functioning.





            All of this took longer than one would expect, but that’s pretty much par for the course around here. It was 4 PM by the time I finished and was satisfied with my results. I played with Zack and then fed him and the cats, started a fire and heated up some of my seafood chowder for dinner.



Saturday, January 16, 2010

            It is overcast and due to the warmer temperature of 35 degrees and rising, it looks like it might rain. NWS is still predicting 20% chance of snow for today and tonight, so we shall see.

            After my usual morning routine, I changed and went to work on the Argo. Without going into a lot of detail, I can say that this is no easy job. Just to remove one of the chains and give me access to install the new tension block takes a couple of hours. The manual says to jack up the Argo so the wheels can be rotated, but in order to rotate the wheels, I would have to remove the snow track, yet again. I tried to avoid that, was lucky enough to find that the retaining clip holding the rear chain together was accessible, so I removed the chain and installed one of the new tension devices and a new rub block.

            Attempting to put the chain back together is another story. After numerous attempts to gain the necessary slack that would allow me to pull and fasten the chain together, the day grew short (along with my temper) and began getting much colder, with snow starting to fall. I decided to give up for today and hope for better weather tomorrow to finish it.

            Playtime with Zack in the snow and then I fed him and the cats, stirred the fire and sat down to warm up before taking my shower and eating dinner.



Sunday, January 17, 2010

            The morning is looking much better as the sky is clear and the sun is coming up over the mountain. With the low of 11 degrees at 4:30 this morning, it has warmed to 40 degrees by 11 AM.

            I had my coffee and a bite to eat and then went to work on the Argo.

            Back online at 6 PM, after having worked on the Argo all afternoon. The weather cooperated and I worked in my T-shirt until a few clouds blocked it around 4 PM. I have played with Zack and fed him and the cats and they are now napping in front of the fire.

            Work on the Argo isn’t finished and didn’t go as well as I had hoped. After jacking up the right side, I managed to reattach the rear chain and then remove the front chain and replace the tensioner and block, but I discovered the frame member that supports the tensioner had a broken weld on the inside, causing the tensioner to drop down at an angle. This is probably why both tensioners broke in the first place.

            No matter how I tried, I couldn’t raise it enough to get something under it. After working on it for some time, I finally realized that I might be able to get a logging wedge driven under it. This tensioner is directly under the driver’s seat and gas tank; so doing a proper repair at this time is not possible. This summer, I’ll haul the Argo to a shop in the back of the truck, and get the brace welded. For now, I hope this will work and last through this winter.

            I didn’t finish today as the spring clip that locks the chain pieces together broke. I took one off one of my old chains and worked for almost half an hour trying to get it to lock before I discovered that the front chains have a different size link by about 1/16th of an inch. I was running out of daylight and it was getting colder, so I put things away for today and came in.

            After stoking the fire, I used my Dremel tool to grind the spring clip and allow it to fit and it should hold, at least until I can get a new replacement clip. I might just be able to get the Argo in running order so I can keep my chiropractor

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