Month: March 2017

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This last Saturday morning I cleaned and rebuilt the carburetor on the chipper. Using a new battery I had purchased, I crossed my fingers and turned the engine over. As you can see, the repair work was successful and the chipper came to life. Yes! (Video clip is 2:41, not long.)

The items I chipped were a few small branches that had fallen out of trees in the neighborhood during spring wind storms, plus the trunk of our past Christmas tree. I was very pleased that everything worked the way it should!

There are a couple more small items to take scare of — a battery hold-down kit and a hook for one of the safety chains need to be acquired — but for all practical purposes the chipper is ready to go to The Lot and begin helping with the clean-up. I don’t expect that to happen until May, depending on weather. Nights at The Lot are still consistently below freezing.

Colorado requires all trailers to have a license plate. It turns out Texas doesn’t have this requirement for trailers under 4,000 pounds, so I didn’t get a title or registration at purchase, just a Bill of Sale. To get a Colorado title and plate I’ll need to schedule a “certified VIN inspection” with the State Patrol, which includes more paperwork (and fees). Combining that with my Bill of Sale, I will need to go to the DMV and apply for a title, registration, and license plate. I will need to supply the DMV with the rig’s weight, a number I found in the service manual (1,680 pounds.) The weight will figure into the cost of getting the license plate as Colorado charges more as the trailer weight goes up. And, of course, to legally pull the chipper to the inspection place I will need to go to the DMV and get a 3-day temp permit. They don’t make the process easy…

Around the house, I am digging up dandelions and have mowed parts of the lawn. Our tulips are beginning to bloom and a recent small rain has helped “green up” grass and trees. Spring has arrived.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

(The chipper sure is loud.)

Happy Trails.

Almost, that is. Some repairs are needed.

This post may not be of interest to most people, but I had been looking for a chipper for several months and I am going to outline how I came to get this particular rig.

An on-line auction was based out of Canyon, TX which is about 12 miles south of Amarillo, TX. I had seen this chipper in the auction catalog. On the day of the live auction I bid; my winning bid was $2,000.00 but with internet buyer’s fees and taxes the total came to $2,455.25, plus there would be the cost of getting the chipper home.

Auction house in Canyon, TX

I drove to Canyon on Sunday and stayed overnight, planning to tow the chipper home on Monday. Monday morning I arrived at the auction site office, took care of the paperwork, then went to their lot to hook up to the chipper. That is when the difficulties began.

Hooked up to chipper. Note almost flat tire on chipper

One of the tires was flat and would not hold air after it was inflated. Luckily there was a tire store on the other side of the interstate from the auction house. I was able to – slowly – drive over to the shop and get a used tire mounted…another $33.00 and a delay in getting on the road home.

Getting tire replaced

The trip home was uneventful but long, 11 hours of driving. I arrived late Monday evening. (I had arranged to take Monday and Tuesday off as vacation days.)

Tuesday I began making repairs. First, the ball coupler, part of the hitch, had been incorrectly assembled – it was a replacement for the original – and this had made hook-up difficult. I was able to reassemble the coupler correctly. Then on to the next project – the trailer jack.

The handle had been bent making its operation very difficult. I was able to remove the handle and straighten it out with the help of my shop vise and a hammer. Jack mechanism was cleaned and lubricated and the jack now works very well.

Then on to the lights. I had used my magnetic light kit to provide tail, running, turn, and brake lights on the way home but I wanted the original lights to work as they were intended. Repairs were made to the wiring harness and now all the original lights work OK.

Having downloaded a service manual from PowerTek, the manufacturer of the chipper, I went though the maintenance check list and did a preliminary examination of all the working parts, including the chipper blades, or knives as they are known. All components look to be in good condition.

The chipper was missing a battery so I used jumper cables and the Ford F-150 truck to provide battery power. The chipper engine fired but would not keep running. I removed the carburetor top plate and quickly came to the conclusion a carb cleaning and rebuild would be needed. Parts are on order (two separate kits, one for the carb, one for the choke) and I hope to complete the rebuild next weekend. Combined total for the two parts kits came to about $85.00 with shipping.

So now I have my chipper…if I can rebuild the carb and get the engine running! I still need a battery but will hold off buying one until I have the engine repairs completed. I hope to report, in my next post, that the rig is ready to go to work.

The chipper, a Power Tek model 727, is still in production. A link to the Power Tek chipper page is here. The rig has the specifications I was looking for, and I really hope it proves to be of value when we again resume the clean up of The Lot later this spring.

Chipper at home. (Yes, it will get some paint.)

ATV News: Yesterday, Saturday, I went on my first ATV club ride of the year. Twenty-two machines met just west of De Beque and we put in an all-day, 69 mile ride. That doesn’t sound like a lot of miles but trust me, this is a long ATV trip! (Particularly riding in the dust thrown up by 22 ATVs.)  Small white flowers are in bloom and it won’t be long until full spring arrives on the high desert.

We visited two lookout points, one over the Colorado River and the other over a wide canyon. The trip gave me the opportunity to introduce myself to many more club members and see local country I hadn’t visited before. Below is a photo of me taken at one of the frequent rest stops. I am in the blaze yellow vest.

Jerry with ATV group on Saturday, March 18 riding in Wild Horse Mesa

Over the spring I hope to attend more of these group ATV rides. Most are held on weekends.  Over the summer I plan to be at The Lot which will limit the number of rides I will be able to attend  but until then I’ll make the rides I can.

Later today I get to tackle the job of replacing the hood over the stove. Oh Joy! Then off to do grocery shopping.

Last weekend we took the winter mulch off the 5 flower beds. Neighborhood apple trees are in bloom and our lilac bushes are sprouting green leaves. Spring is certainly on the horizon.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

First the purchase, then the parts.  The regular “machine routine,” always expensive.

Happy Trails.

During these quiet days of transition between not-quite-winter and not-quite-spring, smaller elements make up the bulk of our daily activities. Here is a run-down on a few small happenings in our life this past week.

Work: I am still without an assistant. The one guy who made it past the in-person and group interview (oral boards) washed out in the background check. The search continues but I don’t have high hopes of finding a qualified candidate anytime soon.

House: The front door lockset decided to quit on us and would no longer keep the door closed. (The plunger that goes between the door and the door frame quit working.) This required a replacement lockset be installed, not a big deal at about $35.00 with extra keys, but we had to prop the door closed with a rock (wrapped in an old towel) for a day until I could buy and install a new lockset. Four keys are required; one for each of us, one as a hidden spare in case we lock ourselves out, and one for the neighbor who takes care of the dogs (lets them out for exercise) when we are both at work.

Pam has taken to buying a few fresh flowers and putting them in our main bathroom, which keeps them out of the way of the cats and dogs. The bouquet has a great aroma and reminds her that spring is just around the corner.

Bathroom bouquet

House Hunt: Not much new. We haven’t visited a property in several weeks and not much on the market is appealing. The search continues. FYI: The total fixer-upper Pam identified in Cascade (mentioned last post) has an offer on it, probably by some Colorado Springs “flipper” who can afford the renovation.  (Whew – dodged a bullet there. Pam had that look in her eye on the Cascade property.)

Recreation: I have been out with my ATV riding locally in Wild Horse Mesa. The roads have dried out quite a bit in recent weeks so are no longer just muddy trails.

ATV ride, Feb. 25 in Wild Horse Mesa

It’s good to be able to get outside for a few hours; weather for the next few days indicates below freezing at night but into the 40s and 50s during the day. Tulip leaves are popping up near our fence line and grass is beginning to green out so spring will be here shortly, I hope! We did have snow during the week, enough to justify getting out the John Deere lawn tractor and using the snow blade to clear the driveway and sidewalks; I expect more snow yet before spring truly arrives, not time to take off the snow blade just yet.

On a sad note, a co-worker who had the office across from me and with whom I had worked for the last 3+ years died suddenly Monday of a heart attack. He was 67 and his wife had just retired on February 9th. Ken was a good friend and I will miss him around the workplace. Reflecting on Ken’s passing has strengthened my resolve to retire and not work until I die. Not sure how that is going to be managed just yet!

Not all creatures are feeling any stress, though:

Bru relaxes (totally) on the couch

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Five Cents Worth:

Must be getting closer to spring in this backwater – the whiff of fresh skunk is on the air of a morning. M-mm-mm.

Regarding retirement, I am pondering Plan B, since Plan A (Colorado retirement house) in now 1.5 years along and not going anywhere.  If you know me at all, you know I am all about Plan B (and C, D, E … if needed).

Plan B – If Fields and I use the [considerable] down payment we have saved and apply it toward a few things (like paying off the Sanderling property, refinancing the De Beque house, replacing the aging Honda), our monthly payments would be reduced to a point where I could probably semi-retire within a year.  Yes! Very attractive. But then we would be trapped into staying in the De Beque property into retirement.  No! Not attractive.

Plan C – We have discussed on-and-off the viability of finding a winter retirement spot in Oregon.  The winters are milder there, and I have a desire to be able to travel to the ocean occasionally.  Felicity has mentioned wanting to buy a tiny house in Oregon – but – is having difficulty finding a place to park it (near public transportation). This plan could possibly address both needs.  (Oregon, by the way, is pretty much the tiny house manufacturing center on the planet.)

Such is my dilemma.  Of the options presenting themselves, which way to go? Stay tuned.

Happy Trails.