John Weiland

......Interesting!  Update to add that a different hydrant that they sell uses either the same or similar pivot connector that *DOES* have a set screw.  If the same dimensions as the one I have , I hope to order one and give it a try before going to a machine shop.  Would be good to beta-test the idea on a pre-made version.

Thanks, Douglas!  I was mostly hoping to find someone who might say "Use caution when using X, Y, or Z metals if doing such a fabrication attempt for A, B, C reasons" or even "No...you have it all wrong the way a Woodward is adjusted!...".  I know I can get brass blocks and bars either online or locally and will likley try to have a local machine shop shape a few pieces and drill and tap threads so I can give it a shot. Even if it's softer than steel, I like the idea of the brass being relatively corrosion resistant. Nice thing is that I don't have to abandon the curren.t configuration if my attempts fail.  The longer term solution at some point will be to dig up the hydrant and replace it with a new one, but I don't mind experimenting wiht some fixes in the meantime.  Thanks again....and other comments welcome as well if something comes to mind!

Josh Dagle wrote:Is there anyone shearing up near the Grand Rapids, MN area? I have 5 sheep that need shearing 3 babydoll, one Finn and two finn/babydoll cross 1 or lambs.

Josh,   Although she lives a fair hoof from where you are, you might get good info on shearers in the region from Joanie Ellison....she's been at sheep breeding outside of Pelican Rapids for decades and apparently is still at it! >>> https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1923889621475973

I've known shearers to travel within a 100 mile radius for work, although I don't know how common that is today unless there are more sheep to make it worth the trip.  Joanie has an email contact in the link below.  Good luck!

https://www.joanjarvisellison.com/the-meet-ups

This post will refer back to the thread in which a water hydrant head was repaired at Wheaton Labs:   https://permies.com/t/276448/Extracting-Headless-Bolt  

The entry photo on that thread is pasted below to start the discussion and questions.  That hydrant is a Woodford and uses a set screw to enable the operating handle to raise and lower the rod that allows water to flow when open and not flow when shut off.  The set screw allows adjustment of the rod (yes??...no??) along with what appear to be other adjustment points.

Our hydrants are Merrill, from the 'Anyflow' models.  Photos accompany to illustrate the difference in the mechanisms between Woodford and Merrill.  The Merrill uses a sliding pivot connector (not threaded) over the rod, the latter generously threaded at the end.  The pivot connector is sandwiched by two adjusting nuts so that you can adjust both up and down to find the 'sweet spot' on water flow and water shut-off. Panel 1 shows this pivot connection with and without the draw straps:  Two metal draw-straps engage with the pivot connector at one end of the straps and with the handle lift points at the other end of the straps.  Thus, lift the handle and the straps pull on the connector to raise the rod for water flow as shown in Panel 2.

The problem can be seen when all is intact:  The adjustment nuts are not very accessible (the top nut not at all!).  So adjustment of flow is a PITA!  You must dismantle the whole head set-up with each small turn of an adjustment nut and reassemble just to see if you met with success.  Very laborious!  Was wondering from those with experience if it would be possible to drill and tap threads through the pivot connector so that it could accept a set screw and operate more like a Woodford and similar hydrants...?  Note that the 'Parts' photo shows the pivot connector being silver in color and that the same on my hydrant is corroded from exposure to the elements.  Would it be better to find the same or similar part in brass or an alloy that was rust/corrosion free?  Would there be a set screw with similar corrosion-free properties when screwed into the pivot connector?  Success here would save me a lot of time and may be of use to many other hydrant users.  Thanks!

Don't know if this will qualify as 'toxic gick', but I use Dawn dishwashing liquid.  Mind you, this is for a scorched single use situation vs, say, my popcorn pan which has years of built up, heat-sealed grease on the surface that will stump future achaeologists as to its significance... lol.   For me, the best use of Dawn is in nearly pure form, adding only a touch of water to the cleaning.  After first removing the loose bits, now lather up the pan with Dawn plus just enough water to make a sludgy paste.  Let sit overnight, then use a scouring pad to remove as much as you can.  May have to do an encore to get the stubborn bits, but this has worked to clean many a pan that I thought would not be recovered.  Good luck!

A bit different out of necessity.... :-)

We have very free ranging.....and free nesting....chickens.  We do our best to monitor egg laying, but as you might suspect, often lose track of egg ages.  So we end up with buckets of eggs of different ages and stages.  To ensure that I'm not hard-boiling undesirable eggs, I will coat a shallow heat-resistant bowl with a film of coconut oil or margarine, then crack and observe each egg going into the bowl for quality.  Once I have enough for hard cooking, the bowl is placed in a steaming rack in a large shallow skillet.  About 1/2 -3/4 inches of water is placed in the skillet and covered with a lid.  The stove top is set for medium high and once steam is escaping from the lid, turned down to medium for 12 - 15 min.   Eggs are essentially steam poached to a hard state and once cooled diced up en masse and added to potato salad, egg, salad, etc.  Clean up is a bit easier with the oiled bowl.

Old thread and I don't know if there is a newer version??....    Does anyone know if there is a silver, insulating material that would roll up and down nicely like those wicker or bamboo window blinds do?  I was thinking of getting blinds that already have the hardware and the blind, but would attach the silver material to the blind for reflecting summer sun after the fact.  What has worked best for you in this regard?  Thanks!

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:.....Didn't touch the squash, carrots or beets.

Interesting.....I don't worry about flea beetles on our copious procution of Swiss chard which would dovetail with your beet observation.  Although we do get flea beetle on our potatoes, damage has never been enough to be of concern.  I cringe at the thought of taking young beautiful chard leaves that could be eaten and laying them down between our potato rows.  It may be a year to ask neighbors with overload of rhubarb if they would be willing to send the tops my way after making all of that pie filling and jam!

PS;  It's been around 35C this week.....please don't send that forecasted frost our way for this coming weekend..!? ;-)

Wish I had some answers for you as we are fast approaching 'the season'.  I think you could just place the leaves along the rows without worrying too much about them blocking rainfall to the roots of your potatoes....there will be enough gaps I wager in your layer to let that happen.  Would be interesting to hear of your results.  Do you have to combat potato beetle as well or just the flea beetles?

Maybe some useful info here?.... >>> https://eorganic.org/node/12461

Just wanted to ask a quick question on the subject of carb design and cleaning.  With the 'bad' gas issue already noted, I must admit some (happy) astonishment at how little I've had to baby the Honda/Knock-offs in this regard vs. my Briggs and snowblower Tecumseh's.  The one Briggs that I still use is a 3.5 hp 'classic' push mower for which I need to replace the diaphram pump each year.  I'm actually surprised that it's still running after 15 years of use.  The Honda GX160 on my semi-trash pump, the Subaru on my backhoe, and the 'Predator' (Harbor Freight) on my rototiller have needed minimal cleaning efforts on my part by comparison.  Are these Japanese and knock-off engines using a similar carb in all cases?  Why do they not seem to foul as much?  In all cases, I use a fuel stabilizer for storage or just close the fuel line at the end of a season and let the engine stall out after using up the gas remaining in the carb.  Thanks!....