difflock

The brother was recently reminsicing about inadvertently running our Kazz engined strimmer on straight petrol until it seized. Refilled with 2stroke mix after it cooled and all was fine, it survived many more years use after this misuse too. But that would have been back in the days of a 25:1 mix.

No, I burned my own diesel, in my own vehicle, in my own time. A not insignificent difference ca!

1/2 hr lunch, and a "couple" of loads. Gents, I worked for a Council for far too many years, and witnessed those who routinely ripped the arse out of it, in Council hours. The most I ever did was borrow a trailer, at the weekend, until I bought my own, and the borrowed use, but not misuse, of a masonary saw. Tough.

"Typical" Council worker, using Council vehicle and fuel for private purposes, and of course, in Council time, naturally.

The risk o me getting addicted to cleaning is, I fear, remarkedly low. EDIT I forgot to say how absolutely totally unbelieviably black and sticky that shit is . And with the whiteboard van paintwork as an impromptu canvas . . ., never mind my fingers . . .😳

So having brought a Polish mechanic up from Dublin to look at the leaking IP, he reckons it is leaking from the "bung" which screws in to the head of the pump, and he can replace this "O" ring type seal without removing the IP from the engine. But, the amount of black gunk inside the intake manifold and associated pipework(coming from the EGR?) A crust about a 1/2" thick. So, What chemical to steep in to remove this gunk,? P.S. I will ask in the motor factors tomorrow. Cheers, Mth

Just back home. Pics.

Her next respray will be black, to serve as my hearse, I am however intending to get a quare wheen o years oot the white livery before that eventuality mind!

A few random pics off the phone, hopefully. LFC! No1 Son has polluted my phone with HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of images from his recent Spanish sojourn. Via WhatsApp. Ah canny find feck all. Gerrr! P.S. Note the puddle of soaked in diesel below her in the centre front pic.

Must go on the phone and post some pics, but another fecking last haugh in the pot embuggerance, the fecking IP sneakily shit itsel while the engine was sitting all lonely and wile easy accessible on the floor, but did NOT manifest until all was lovingly rebuilt and the engine re-started, like starting the very first kick . . . BUT diesel pissing out the back of the IP. BUGGER! And no bloody local mechanic is interested in taking the pump off to get it rebuilt, which rebuilding I have already checked can easily be done by a local specialist. So another month lost. BUT There is a G-Wagen owning mechanic coming up from Dublin on Sunday to look at her, the 461 Van, with a view to removing the IP. Said mechanic happens to own a rather rare** 461 "Pur" G-Wagen wot I was lusting over, but thats another much more interesting love story! **Like with seperate 12V and 24V systems with 3 batteries, and 5 doors but no rear seats ever fitted, this from the factory, plus the OM642 V6 diesel and auto gearbox. Pics of the 461 as soon as I get her home this week. Honest!

Pure happenstance, but yesterday I was in a large house(circa 5000 sq ft) self built in about 1996, where all the internal joinery, including a magnificent cut string freestanding staircase, and bespoke doors throughout, was in oak from a local joinery bloke that had bought in and milled the tree himself, plus a new oak longcase clock built around the works of the remains of a longcase* clock from a local shop in Magherafelt, with the name of the shop proudly displayed on the face. The front door is about 4' wide! All most impressive. And not a blemish, crack, warpage or misalignment to be seen some 27 years later, plus the stairs are all still as tight as a drum.. *No idea what happened the origonal case, perhaps eaten by woodworm? I would have loved to take pics, but better manners prevailed!

Like the absence of any fat baastards in Belsen, which is my standard riposte to those who claim "its their metabolism", as an excuse for being obese. Dry firewood=Calories in = heat out or stored fat. No iffs or butts. I can only therefore imagine this stove is being lit from stone cold, and takes time to warm up, and guessing being a Jotul, heavy section cast iron and firebrick, ergo an effective heat sink/store. Based on the image provided of a roaring fire burning merrily in the grate, the heat generated is going somewhere or being stored somewhere. Or the room is shocking draughty. Or somthing. And our 5kW stove heats about 750 sq ft to 25+ deg with ease, despite only moderate levels of insulation and draughts from various sources. But lit each morning about 06:00 and burns till about 21:00

I re-visited the subject(aka our son) recently and again suggested simply keeping the grass cut, even talking him through the economics of paying a local bloke to keep it cut for a weekly sub, against the not insignificent capital costs of hardsurfacing and wall building etc etc. Nope! Not happening!

Whoop Whoop Whoop! Ivy alert!

My uncle, one John Bloomfield, had, needless to say grown up with "proper" loose tea. When his wife at some point switched to tea bags, John insisted on carefully ripping the teabags open to make "proper" tea. Which did not really work due to the fines cunningly concealed within the teabags. What did that Yorkshire man say "Theres nowt so odd as folk".

I was thinking of this post this morning, as I was lying in bed with the weak Sunlight breaking in through the East facing window, which rays of light beautifully illuminated the thousands, millions of dancing motes of dust circulating above our bed. And I was thinking, hmmmmm . . . humanity evolved to survive and indeed thrive in such shitty dusty natural environments. Then I went out for a cycle and tasted the diesel/kero exhaust fumes from passing cars. And I was thinking, hmmmm, you know what, that shit is probably not good for my body. Cheers, Mth

I wonder how they are going to account for the vast number of pallets burned on the 12th bonfires?

Well, hi Sur, ussens over here in NI might be safe enough, unless we are so unlucky as for the politicians to agree to get Stormont up and running again. Mind you this also means we are still stuck with the post 1997 car drivers unable to tow a trailer greater than 750Kg

I kinda suspect that those so stridently complaining and protesting about the hazards of wood smoke, probably use aerosol body sprays, plug in air freshners, never mind a percentage of them vaping or smoking cannabis. Or perhaps so overuse bleaches, harsh cleaning chemicals and antibiotics on their over-sterile dwellings, themselves and their children, that their immune systems are fornicated. But they choose to blame some unrelated outside influence. Bit like black mould always being the landlords fault, not ever, ever anything to do with the tenants unhealthy habits or slovenly behavouirs.

This thread delightfully demonstrates what this forum is really about, helpful advice when needed. Thank you Jase, and indeed David.

Paul, in so far as this 63 year old horticultural ignoramous is concerned, tis proper Ivy, growing on the ground, and up through the hedge as well. Or visa versa.

I suggested pink granite over membrane, I suspect he is thinking of pavoirs/flags or some other brush/blow clean surface, cos there are mature trees along the street that shed leaves. Hopefully sommat not too soulless, but if he will not keep the grass and hedges cut, it will be tidier for the neighbours. Btw. His sister is a super keen gardener and her place is "on it's edge". From being a shit hole when she bought it. Muddy42, I had figured/gueßed/hoped Glyphosphate should work. Cheers, Marcus

For the sons place in Belfast. He wishes to put down low maintenance surfacing and wants the ground Ivy killed first. Something to discourage the Privet stumps from the hedge I just removed, from resprouting before he gets a digger in to dig founds for the replacement wall would also be nice. I just removed the hedge at ground level before birds started nesting(not that I found a single nest of any sort) Cheers all Mth

Oliver Walston, a very large scale arable farmer, in Cambridgeshire I seem to recall, was once tempted to invest in a flock of sheep, properly, on a commercial basis, complete with shepard, way back, say some 45 year ago, because, "there was money in sheep!". Anyway, after about 3 years he "divested" and summed up his experience thus; "I should have listened to the local retired shepard who told me, "Mr. Walston, a ewes only ambition in life is to die"" Which actually agreeded with the contemporary rueful observation of a local mechanic with a few inherited acres, who being tempted into owning sheep cos of the money to be made, said, yes, there was money in sheep, mostly his money . . .

This grammar nazi bes wile dyslexic like, Sur!