Posts Tagged ‘equipment maintenance’
Not True
Just because it is written, doesn’t make it true. When it comes to marketing literature, there seems to be no art to false claims anymore. How about an asterisk? Tricky wording?
No. Just make a bold claim and bury the details on page 29 of the owner’s manual.
Zero oil? Zero maintenance!?
I love my Greenworks electric equipment, all of the multiple tools. There are way more pluses than minuses. However, what product doesn’t have something users find annoying?
In the case of my riding mower, I would be doing it a disservice if I offered it zero maintenance. The grease nipples staring at me from the front wheels beg for attention. Less visible is the level check and drain plug for gearbox oil.
If one is thorough enough to make it to page 29 of the manual, the “Lubrication” information is perfunctory at best. They offer a rough diagram pointing to the drain plug on the left side of the mower. The level check knob is clearly visible looking from the rear.
A less inclined individual, such as myself, might not make the assumption that there is a separate drain and level check flipped around on the right side which is much less visible. Thank goodness for the helpful YouTuber who pointed this out.
I have now drained and replaced the 180 ml (x2) gearbox oil (OIL!) on the zero oil, zero maintenance riding mower.
Harrumph. The thing is, I still love the machine to death.
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Feeling Happy
Woke up this morning and looked out at the sun coming up over Round Lake in Hayward, Wisconsin and realized we weren’t at home. Then, I remembered the wonderful dinner we had at the Lake Magnor Lighthouse restaurant attached to the convenience store gas station on Hwy 63 in Clayton on the way up.
Servers were fully present and projecting great energy, which enlivened the whole place. We seated ourselves in a booth with a view across the road to Lake Magnor and soaked up the atmosphere. It wasn’t our second honeymoon, but it was feeling a lot like the first one.
This was the first weekend we had coverage to be away since the occasion of our 37th anniversary, so the two of us have dashed up to a solo weekend at the lake. Easily reminiscent of our visit this month back in 1981.
When dinner was delivered, the “bottomless” real fresh-cut potato fries on Cyndie’s plate won me over instantly. This was after I had already visited the salad bar and discovered a spring mix of greens in place of the usual iceberg lettuce, plus every topping I ever wanted. More characteristic of a trendy urban restaurant than this perfectly kitschy rural diner.
Good food, great service, and two oldsters reliving their lifetime of being in love provided all the ingredients necessary for a memorable moment that lasts.
The fact that we’d cluelessly driven past the place so many times before on our travels to the lake enhanced our delight over the serendipity of finally discovering it this time.
I won’t deny that my mindset was already primed with happiness over an achievement earlier in the day that I have been waiting far too long to resolve. We got our home back-up generator serviced!
It has been over five years since installation and I have neglected it ever since, despite repeated mailings urging us to purchase an extended warranty and service contract. There was a constant mental conflict over thinking I was being negligent and they were being overly persistent.
Eventually, I contacted the installer to inquire about a preventive maintenance inspection. They no longer provide support to this product. I tried another place they referred me to, but it only offered long term warranty programs like the one the manufacturer keeps mailing to us.
I mulled over trying to figure things out on my own and changing the oil myself. That never seemed to lead to any action.
Finally, I found a new company that could service it without a long contract and would come from Minnesota to do it. However, they charged me immediately on the day I scheduled the service, and then postponed the appointment twice, both times without warning me in advance.
I was thrilled yesterday afternoon when the tech called to say he was fifteen minutes away. The firmware is updated, oil, spark plugs, and air filters changed, and specs calibrated.
With that completed, I was more than happy when we set off for this lovely weekend celebrating September in the north woods. No wonder the food tasted so good.
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Equipment Maintenance
One of my favorite tools is our ratcheting lopper for trimming tree branches and clearing trails. I have had this thing for decades, putting it through some hard use. In the last few years it has begun to show its age. The blade didn’t close all the way anymore and would leave a small skin still attached at the end of a cut.
Since we use it so often, Cyndie suggested we buy a new one and retire the one that doesn’t cut well anymore. She needed to replace her ratcheting hand pruner anyway, and something in our minds tells us it is better to buy two things as long as we are already logged in to an online store.
When I saw the price for a new one, I changed my mind immediately. I knew these were relatively expensive tools, but I had no recollection of having spent that much money on this lopper. In hindsight, given how long it has lasted and how much use we have gotten out of it over the years, that was a justifiable expense, but it is a large enough amount that I am hesitant to flippantly chuck the old one and fork out that kind of money to replace it.
I decided the old one deserved some tender loving care. I started by sharpening the cutting edge with a file. I could see there was light visible between the cutting blade and the anvil, and closer inspection revealed what looked like two set screws in the edge. This impressive machine was adjustable!
I loosened two nuts and tweaked the first set screw. Sure enough, the anvil rotated a bit. I was able to realign it so the newly sharpened cutting edge would close squarely against the anvil.
Finally, I applied a long overdue coat of lubrication to all the metal surfaces. Wow, did that make a big difference. The lopper is as good as new now, and we didn’t spend any additional money on it.
Why in the heck am I inclined to let things go too long without proper attention? It embarrasses me to admit how often I will struggle to continue using a tool that isn’t working well (dull knives, saw blades with bent teeth), without bothering to take time to do something about it.
Earlier this summer, Cyndie asked me to fix the tires on her garden cart. Those things had been neglected so bad they completely deteriorated. Both tires were shot and the tubes in them cracked and leaky. It took me a while to figure out the tire bead wouldn’t fit over this particular rim. It is a two-piece rim that is simply bolted together. Once I realized that, it was relatively easy to get it apart.
While shopping for replacements, I was told that the original tires they put on carts like this are so cheap, they leave out a chemical that would keep the rubber from coming apart. That won’t be the case with the new tires, he assured me.
I ordered Cyndie a new ratcheted hand pruner. While I was logged in, I decided to buy a new hand saw, too. My old one has been neglected beyond repair. I’m hoping to give the new one proper attention toward timely maintenance this time.
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Relative Something 