New Wen Generator and Generator Cord Modification for Current Transformers

I got a new generator a week or so ago to replace my old faithful 325 pound 1973 Onan 5CCK 5kw behemoth. There are blog entries for the Onan if anyone wants to search for them. The new generator is a Wen DF680iX 6,800-surge / 5,100-rated watts on gasoline or 6,000-surge / 4,500-rated watts on propane. The plan is to only use propane so it has a 4,500 watt rated capacity. This is an inverter generator so it runs slower when little or no load is on it, making it fairly quiet.

Jupiter E-bike Flat Tire - Tube Repair

I suppose it was bound to happen. I got a flat tire on my bike. I don't really remember getting a flat tire on a bike in the past but I can't imagine it didn't happen. I went to Sequim with my wife a few days back (she had an appointment). I brought my e-bike to ride around while waiting and started out by riding on the Olympic Discovery Trail but there were more pedestrians than I liked so I decided to get off the trail and ride on one of the little-travelled roads. There were hardly any cars and no pedestrians, so I was happy. After 5 miles into the ride I came across a couple of dogs on the other side of the street in a fenced yard barking at me. I was looking at them and then, "thud", I ran over something. I kept going for several seconds hoping I didn't get a flat but then I started hearing that dreaded sound of air escaping. Bummer, a hole in the back tire. First thing I tried to do was keep riding slowly but that didn't work so I stopped and looked to see how far I was from the car. Three miles. That's a bit of a hike pushing a bike with a flat.

John Deere Model E - New Cart Kit

This engine is heavy enough that it is difficult to move it around unless it has wheels under it. I looked around online and came across a universal cart kit for hit and miss engines on a website called Flywheel Supply. The kit came with four 8" diameter cast iron wheels, two cast rear axle supports, a front cast axle swivel bolster, and some U-bolts.

Belco Generator - Wisconsin Engine Gots No Compression

I picked up this generator almost five years ago and got it running back then with a bunch of minor repairs like carb and fuel tank cleaning, magneto points cleaning, and unsticking the exhaust valve. As is with a lot of things I buy and get working, this generator sat for the next four years without being run. I've decided to sell it so I dragged it out of the dark corner it has been sitting in, tried to start it, but it wasn't cooperating as there was no compression. A sad state of affairs.

1943 Dodge Weapon Carrier Starter Switch Repair/Replace

I've mentioned previously the funky starter switch these old Dodge trucks have. It is a long rod in the cab of the truck that you push with your foot. That action does two things, it engages the starter pinion gear to the engine ring gear on the flywheel, and also transmits voltage to the starter motor at the far end of the rod's downward travel. The switch has to pass hundreds of amps of current to the starter motor during this operation, so the contacts in the switch are necessarily beefy. But they still wear out. This first photo shows the starter rod with a long spring wrapped around it (center of photo).

1959 Volkswagen Deluxe - A Walk Down Memory Lane

What special event happened May 4th, 1959? I hadn't yet had my second birthday when this brand spankin' new little German car, a beige 1959 Volkswagen DeLuxe,, showed up in our driveway at Lake Sammamish. This photo was taken in June of 1960 when the car was a year old so I'd be around 2-1/2 then (a neighbor girl is in the photo with us three kids). Ain't that little car a beaut (what you can see of it)?

1950 John Deere BN - Rectify Timing Issues, Small Generator Issue, and Start/Run/Slow Idle Video

It has been awhile since I mentioned my JD BN. I've put a couple of videos on Youtube about fixing the timing of this tractor.

Swatch-Omega Speedmaster MoonSwatch 1965

I restrained myself on our recent trip to Europe. I didn't buy an expensive watch. I may have in the past given in to such excessive-ness but this time I didn't. I should get at least a half of a brownie point for that. Notice though that I didn't say that I didn't buy a watch, because I did. It's a bit different than your normal watch. It is a Swatch brand quartz chronograph styled after the famous Omega Speedmaster Professional "moon watch", which is a hand-wind mechanical chronograph that was the first watch worn on the moon back in 1969. Swatch calls this the Speedmaster MoonSwatch. This first photo is not of my watch but is something I grabbed from the Swatch website (I'm sure they don't mind). My phone doesn't take photos this good.