Gas Trimmer Problems

I worked on a friend's gas trimmer today. What I thought would be a short tune-up turned into a five-hour job. Not knowing what issues there might be, I started with the fuel tank on the machine. I pulled off the cap and looked inside. Hmm, that might be the problem:

Hydronic Heating System Zone Valve Repair - Micro Switch

Last week I realized a Caleffi  Z-One zone control valve for our main in-floor hot water heat wasn't functioning correctly, so I'd pulled the valve control box off the valve and when I tested its internal micro switch, I found that it wasn't working reliably. The micro switch is responsible for turning on the recirculating pump on the heating system after the zone valve opens. Without the pump coming on, there would be no heated water flowing through the pipes to heat this zone. I ordered a new switch online (takes a week to get it).

Gibson Model D Muffler Relocation

The muffler location, rather, the output direction of the muffler, is not ideal on the Petter AC1Z diesel engine on my Gibson D. Exhaust seems to blow back to the operator (me) fairly regularly. The muffler, as seen in the photo below, is forward of the air cleaner and shoots the exhaust out to the left and back a bit, so some exhaust drifts straight back.

Gibson Model D New Paint

I thought I'd throw a quick coat of paint on the new Gibson. It came to me with a coating of primer. It came from the factory in gray with red wheels, so I was going to stick to factory colors as much as possible. Here's a before shot: