New England B.S. Thread

My dad is an electrician, so I'd be all set with getting a set up to plug it in and run it whenever I needed it.

Definitely all things to consider. But not anytime soon, that's for sure... I'm sure the prices will be jacked up even more now because of what happened, not to mention there is likely not any generators to be had for miles around here.

Maybe when things go back to "normal".

 

This.

 

Newer circulators are very efficient now too. I replaced the one for my main zone with a Grundfos Alpha 2 and it draws about 1/5 the power the old one did. I'm tempted to replace the others, but I rarely use those zones so it's tough to justify.

 

Honestly, for the size you'd be looking for, I bet you could still find them. The people who panicked and ran to HD or Lowes bought the 4-8k watt generators that were sitting on the shelf for under $1,000. I doubt they were running out to buy a 12k watt behemoth for over $2k on a whim (I could be wrong though, there were a lot of people out of power for a long time so it's possible the shelves were cleared).

 

I'll definitely check into it! You never know.

 

I've only got a 4500 watt unit, but it kicks out enough juice to run both deep freezers, the fridge, boiler, water pump, and some lights. I don't usually bother dragging it out of the garage unless we've been a couple of days without power, though, since we're set up pretty well for outages; the only real difference is that we don't have running water or the electric range.

The wood stove keeps the house at 68-75 anyway. There's a hand pump rigged in the cellar that draws directly from the well, so we've still got water (and can flush the toilets!). And the Aladdin lamps keep the house almost as well-lit as electricity anyway.

 

Wow... That's a lot for a 4,500 W unit! I calculated conservatively using the max draw for each device even though they will generally run at a much lower draw. With the max draw, I can run the fridge and the boiler with the circulation pump. In reality, I could probably run much more than that as long as they don't all try to start up at the same time. I also have 3 generators sitting around at the moment so I could improvise if needed We have propane for the cook top which is nice and, of course, the gas grille.

 

Never had any problems. But, like you said, they're not running at max draw at the same time. The freezers and fridge are only at max draw at the moment their compressors kick on, and even that's only around 400 watts per unit, max. Probably closer to 200-300 per while they're running. Boiler's the same way; the most electricity draw is at startup, since it's running the igniter and the oil pump at once. Since it's not running for heat for the house, so the circulator pumps aren't running; they'd probably push it over the limit.
The biggest draw would be the electric water pump, since that's around 2000 watts while it's running.

Just wait six months and buy one from Craigslist this fall, after people are tired of spending all summer tripping over the one they bought this week.

 

Hello
I will be transporting a 24' ladder , and was wondering what the masses are using to protect the roof paint were a ladder will sit?
Pics would help but not needed.
Thanks'
Sean

 

....A rack. That way the ladder doesn't touch the roof.
You can build a basic one for about $40 of PT that fits right into the stake pockets on the bed.

Edit- Like so:

 

If I had to do it, I'd use pool noodles with t shirts tied tightly around them where the ladder contacts the cab. Just make sure whatever is actually in contact with the cab is soft enough so where it won't scratch the paint. Also, don't cinch it down so tight that it dents the cab.

 

Oh, actually, this, I forgot you have an F250 loaner with stake pockets! Hands down, that's the way to go!

 

rolled towels

 

I was thinking the blue foam that you use for canoes .

 

so I should probably buy new bushings for these guys rather than removing the ones in the current leafs even though they only have like 13k miles on them. Anybody know of a good place to buy just the leaf bushings and if they have upgraded ones i should look into? They wanted the old leafs back I was told but didn't receive a return label or anything so I'm guessing I get to keep the old ones too. In which case I would probably use the current ones through the winter then replace them after all that damn salt is gone.

 

That always annoyed me about the G2 Tacoma; no stake pockets for a DYI rack system. I mean, it's a molded bed; there's no reason they couldn't have put a set in there and made it all neat & tidy looking, without losing the tie-down rails.

 

I honestly had no use for them until recently. The tool box I put on the F250 is only temporary so I didn't want to drill into the bed. I just used some J-bolts and hooked them into the bed stake pockets instead. I do sort of miss the Tacoma bed rail system but, the Ferd has heavy tie downs in all 4 corners (which my 2007 didn't have from the factory) and the box link cleats for lighter tie downs. Realistically, that's all I'll ever need.

 

I'm cheap; having to buy a clamp-on Trac Rack for the Tacoma rather than just building one out of PT annoyed me

Edit- And constantly having to retighten the bolts holding it together annoyed me more, since the weird chalky lock-tite they put on them from the factory didn't work at all