John,
I have burned wood for over 70 years, tried all types of products to keep the chimney clean. I have used for many years a product made by Rutland, called chimney creosote clean, and am very satisfied with it. I use it every other day, and so far it has prevented a build up of creosote in the chimney.
It comes in a plastic tub, and has a small cup like scoop enclosed. The first time in the fall when I start the stove I throw in four scoops, and then one scoop every other day or so---
My brick chimney is lined with a slurry of volcanic pumace, mica, and refractory cement as a binder. Mid winter, when there is snow on the roof, I will induce a chimney fire, and burn the sucker out, much safer than climbing onto a second story roof.
If you burn wood you should have a box of table salt handy to the stove. Should you get a chimney fire you don't want---open the draft, front and back, scatter the salt over the fire in the fire box, and let it burn for 3-4 minutes. ( I have a 1pound box of Mortons handy-dump the entire box.) The burning salt creates a gas that will smother the fire in the chimney.
Another way is to throw a 10-12 ounce can of keroseine on the kindeling, and let it run with both drafts wide open for 5-10 minutes. This will burn out any build up from the day before. Make sure there are no live coals in the fire box before you do this--
The worst wood to burn is green alder--dried, it makes a quick, hot fire, we call it biscuit wood, as it will heat up a cook stove quickly to cook on/in.
Don't throw water down a chimney to put out a fire--you will put the fire out, but in the process you will end up replacing the chimney, the tile/bricks/blocks, will crack in the process.
herrinchoker
Eveing Diners!
Flo, give the gang and I a and Dirk a dog treat.
Over all today was a good day!
1 Stop for gas and found a $20.00 bill laying on the floor. So someone had a bad day, just hope it was not there last cash for the month.
2 Had a odd but good sale today. Guy bought 4 queen sets and a king set for him self! Sale was for $3355.00 before tax. Spiff was modest at only $53.00 but my needs are modest so I was happy.
Ed I had reset the PRR Shark Nos B Unit to address #2000 like the A unit, so it is not to many slot 3's on the Digitrax system. I think it is more of a mechanical (spell check) binding problem at this point. But I am guessing.
Trains are running well so I am happy.
Later, Ken and Dirk says Woof, Woof, Beep, Beep.
I hate Rust
York1Chip, I don't know how you survive without the air. We are only in the 90s, and our air is running all day.
It's only for this summer--if we hadn't just done the roof.
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
BATMANMy Daughter is now 18, how time flys. She still lives in the puppy box when we got'em.
When my youngest left home at 18, several years ago now... her first job was at a doggy-day-care working in the puppy room.
Can you imagine... she was able to pay her bills by playing with puppies all day long.
Now, even though she and her fiance have become wildly successful, she still misses those days when she REALLY loved her job.
Some pictures of the new vanity. This is such a step up from the old 1980s partical board nightmare we had in the bathroom before.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Ya but, Barbies tend to get stuck in your teeth no matter how long you cook them and require a lot of flossing.
My Daughter is now 18, how time flys. She still lives in the puppy box when we got'em.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
BATMAN I suspect she will be home most of the time regardless and especially when the puppies hit the ground. They cook for nine weeks.
Won't they be overdone? You can cook a Barbie in a lot less time.
The new vanity finalkly arrived at 6:30 PM. The driver said it was in the front of the truck and loaded so the pallet jack could not get beneath the pallet. He had to get everything else off thwe truck first, then have the pallet turned so he could move it with the jack.
All is well that ends well.
I just unboxed it. It arrived with no damage, and it is beautiful!
BATMAN Heartland Division CB&Q Ed ... Your caboose looks great. Telling someone their caboose looks great on a public forum is not really politically correct anymore.
Heartland Division CB&Q Ed ... Your caboose looks great.
Telling someone their caboose looks great on a public forum is not really politically correct anymore.
Not to worry. Everything comes out okay in the end.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Afternoon all, it is another stunning day on the Coast with temps in the 30s today.
Heartland Division CB&QEd ... Your caboose looks great.
Went and got a few yards of soil in the truck this morning and have it all unloaded waiting to be used. I then gave the truck its yearly bath with the pressure washer set@3000lbs and she is shiny again. I will put the top back on the truck as we will be moving my Daughter back to Victoria for University in two weeks. All her courses are now online but she already rented a place so she wants to go over anyway. I suspect she will be home most of the time regardless and especially when the puppies hit the ground. They cook for nine weeks.
An old friend of ours built a beautiful house on the ocean and burned logs that washed up on the beach in front of the house. The fireplace and chimney were huge and made out of river rock. Every year after Christmas when the tree was taken down he or me or someone would get up on the roof and lower a rope down the chimney and the Christmas tree would get tied to the end of the rope and we would then pull the tree up through the chimney leaving the chimney very clean.
A neighbours chimney caught fire once and man that thing was a blow torch. I grabbed my ladder, got up on the roof and the whole house was shaking from the fire. I emptied my extinguisher down the chimney and it was out when the fire dept arrived.
My Canuckle heads lost to St.Louis in OT last night but they play game four tonight so hopefully, they will get the win and go ahead 3 games to 1 in the best of seven.
I only sleep four or five hours a night now and was up at 0430hrs this morning. I never nap but do find myself getting tired in the early evening now which is frustrating because if I go to bed at say 2200hrs I would be awake by 2 or 3, GRRRRR.
Time to get busy.
All the best to all.
GO CANUCKS GO!
howmusDo you think a shorter window would fit???
Loved it!
MisterBeasleyI wish they could give a shorter window.
Do you think a shorter window would fit???
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
I have to get up early tomorrow. I'm getting my windshield replaced, and the repairman is scheduled to be here between 8 and 5. Really? They are not far away, and I wish they could give a shorter window.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
SeeYou190I am out of bed before 11:00 for the first time in many weeks because the new vanity will be delivered between 9:00 and 2:00 today.
Well... almost noon, no vanity yet.
I could have slept in.
Good morning ..... Coffee and a donut, please.
Ed ... Your caboose looks great.
CN Charlie .... 19" radius may be a bit tight for that locomotive.
Does anyone have more Mexican RR photos to share ?
Good morning.
Ed, you've done a great job on the caboose. I'll bet everyone loves it.
Chip, I don't know how you survive without the air. We are only in the 90s, and our air is running all day. My wife thinks 73° is too hot.
Kevin, you're opposite of me. I retired, and now I get up earlier. I'm out of bed and walking the trail by 6:00 a.m. without an alarm clock.
Charlie, I clean our fireplace chimney every year, but it's getting harder as I get older. We have a fire every night through the winter. Since it's a fireplace, it doesn't heat much, but the atmosphere of watching TV with the fire going is great.
Years ago I bought a brush that fits the chimney and I got a set of fiberglass poles that screw together. The easy part is the cleaning. The hard part is getting on the roof and getting in position to use the brush. I don't like heights.
I've seen those chimney cleaning logs, but I've never used one. Let me know how it goes -- that may be my answer as I get too old to get up there.
Another day of layout work. It's rough being retired.
York1 John
Good monday morning.
The headache Friday finally subsided after a good nap. Good naps usually work.
KEN the mole smoke bombs were poison smoke not just smoke. I don't know if they make them any more. They used to have a kit to pipe your lawn mower exhaust into a mole run and they woule die that way. Then there are traps like Kevin showed.
Sorry to hear about everyone's kitties , ducks and chickens.
Ray Glad you are still here and it was not a H.A.
I did not much over the weekend, I was able to get a 1931 Atwater Kent radio to speak. Someone had tried to repair it a long long time ago and it was a horrible wiring mess. But It speaks now!
That is all for now. I need to edit my radio repair video for the youtubes.
Good morning everyone.
I am out of bed before 11:00 for the first time in many weeks because the new vanity will be delivered between 9:00 and 2:00 today.
It has been so long since I woke up to an alarm without enough sleep. I do not like this feeling.
Thank you, Kevin.
As you know with your remodel projects, finding the right materials and methods can take some time to work out. Once I had that sorted out things went along pretty well
Regards, Ed
gmpullmanWe're about 95% done on the caboose siding job. We'll probably put a second coat of paint on before cold weather sets-in. Then it's time for a big decal job
Ed: The caboose looks great! You did very good work on it.
Thank you to everyone for your kind thoughts about Otis. Three of our four other cats stay close to home even if they do go outside for a while. Wilson stays within sight of me when ever we are out. Otis used to like to stay at the caboose. The end platform is sheltered and he liked to hang out there.
We live in a pretty rural area, no main roads around but, yes, the predators are getting worse. Fox kill the ducks and chickens. Tonight we heard the coyotes loud and clear. They have a bizarre and haunting sound and the atmospheric conditions tonight sounded like they were only a hundred yards away, maybe closer. Hard to say but there must have been close to a dozen of them.
cudakenReset the decoder and gave the PRR Shark B unit a try. Moves, stops, moves, stops. Will try another reset, but I have the feeling it is going on a another trip.
IIRC, you use Digitrax, Ken? That sounds like you have more than one throttle using address 3. You need to purge your "slots" or at least dispatch address 3.
NYC_91908_8-20 by Edmund, on Flickr
We're about 95% done on the caboose siding job. We'll probably put a second coat of paint on before cold weather sets-in. Then it's time for a big decal job
BATMANChip, my Dad left Winnipeg because of the cold, have you thought of Oregon or Northern California? Seems like a waste of life waiting on the weather.
Well, as I told my friends from back east. In PA, I spent 4.2 months of the year indoors because of the cold. Here,--if we have monsoons we spend a month and a half indoors. Turns out if we don't have monsoons, we spend 3 months indoors. All that is tollerable if the AC is working, whch is a new development.
Afternoon all, it was the hottest day of the year as we had a system come up from Texas, it was 35c. I did a lot of yard work taking breaks to watch the hockey action. I was just in the pool for a couple of hours to cool down and now have a rum and Pepsi in hand waiting for dinner.
Charlie, I gave up a lot of time to look after my parents for a few years as my Dad had Muscular Dystrophy, looking back I have no regrets as they supported everything I did in life. I still miss them as I had a great relationship with them.
Chip, my Dad left Winnipeg because of the cold, have you thought of Oregon or Northern California? Seems like a waste of life waiting on the weather.
The Canucks are on in an hour for game three and I will enjoy watching them dispatch the St. Louis Blues. Welcome aboard TF.
Well, the dinner gong is gonging.
GO CANUCKS GO!!!!!!!!!
Go get'em boys!
Good Evening,
Sunny but only 70F right now going down to a chilly 46 tonight with a strong NW wind. Certainly at least a mainsail single reef day. Do miss sailing at times. It was my passion for 30 years.
I plan on testing the brass pacific when it comes to see if it will do 19" radius. If so I'll probably get a sound decoder installed. If not, well that will be a decision. Also may sell my BLI Mikado besides the Pacific. I'm feeling really guilty about all the money I've spent on these brass locos especially the CP Hudson. Mind you it is really a work of art.
We should get the chimney swept but my wife won't have any workmen in the house as long as there is covid out there. I may try one of those creosote busting firelogs. The chimney is metal and straight so there shouldn't be a lot of creosote. I doubt we had used it 6 times last year. I'll shine a flashlight up it to see if I can tell if there is much buildup.
Thinking a lot about the mid 70s lately. I went home to Rainy River to help my parents with their store after my Dad had a serious stroke. I ran it for 3 years before we sold it. Not a good use of my education but I felt I had to help out especially my mother who was basically left 'holding the bag' after Dad's stroke. I did get back on track afterwards and had a long career in finance.
I was wondering today about Dad's Morris Oxford that he drove during most of the '50s. I actually found a Youtube about a fellow in England driving one that was the same colour as Dad's. It had a 4 speed on the column. It felt like I was a kid again with the video from the passenger seat driving along. That car was slow. It had a 1500cc engine with a whopping 41 H.P. No wonder Dad loved the '58 Meteor with the 361 c.inch engine.
Well tonight is the next installment of Endevour on PBS. Great series.
CN Charlie
Eveing Diners
Flo, give the gang and I on Kevins Dime and Dirk will have a dog treat.
Visited my 68 Raod Runner today. It was good to see her again after 6 years. Needs a hep of work, right caliper is locked up so no rolling her out. Pretty much excpted that, it was tight 10 years ago. Paint has went to heck, which is not that big of deal to me. Just to bad I don't still have a body shop to work in any more. I think the last paint job was around 2005.
BLI Quality Control? Reset the decoder and gave the PRR Shark B unit a try. Moves, stops, moves, stops. Will try another reset, but I have the feeling it is going on a another trip.
Later, Ken and Dirk says Beep, Beep Daddy.
I don't feel like doin" nothin'
Just got back from taking my son to work. 115 degrees. Traffic backed up as far as you can see. We get traffic when people go to Sedona for the weekend. Phenonix is 10 degrees hotter than it is here. Do the math: x-115=10. They all leave on Sunday afternoon to go home. What takes 1 1/2 hours at 80 mph, well, takes a bit longer.
My Lincoln does not overhead--unless you are in 115 degrees and stopped and running the air condidtioning. Thankfully, we never hit the point where I turn off the AC and roll down the windows.
Right now we are supposed to be in Monsoon Season. We get half our rain from mid-July to the end of August. The temperature is in the 90's. This is the 3rd time in the last four years we didn't get our monsoons.
And here's the kicker. Our AC compressor went out in June. $6600. We had a family meeting and each of our kids bought an AC for their room. Julie and I got one for our room. Hopefully we'll replace the FAU by next May.
There are some problems with this plan. The portable AC are 8 amp, and the kids share a 15 amp breaker. They've learned to communicate. The AC is rated for 200 sq ft. We have about 225 in our bedroom with 9 ft ceilings. Working as hard as it can, it can't keep up.
My model railroad stuff is in the dining room. I have two large fans as well as the ceiling fans working and most of the time it is tollerable. I had plans of finishing my engine house today, but I just didn't have the mental energy to do what it took. I got some things done--I built-up my rip fence on my mini-table saw and was able to cut scale lumber. First thing I did was cut some scale 1x6's for trim.
But mostly where I sit. Right here. Right now. I don' feel like doin' nuthin'.
I have drywalled three bedrooms in my basement. They look OK as long as you view the walls straight-on. I won't let you look sideways at the walls with a light at the far end.
Flat or eggshell paint also helps.
Good luck. It takes time, patience, and a shop vac.
My nephew from Hobart, Indiana who has been hanging drywall as a profession for 15 years has given me all kinds of instruction and advice.
TOP OF THE PAGE... Call Bunhilda, Flo or Zoe over and give them your drink order and I will pick up the tab. Why don't we have a waitress named Stella?
I finished hanging the sheetrock and cement board in the bathroom. Now I am onto taping.
I have never taped drywall before, so this will be a another new experience for me.
It is really disappointing we could not make the bathroom 12 inches wider as planned. That would have made a huge difference.
The new vanity will be delivered on Monday. We decided on a top-of-the-line model with all Maple construction, dovetailed soft-close drawers, and a quartz countertop. This is pretty much the same as the kitchen.
Ray, I've had two ambulance rides plus a police car ride to the hospital. The last one was the result of going to an Urgent Care place where they discovered I had AFIB. Really, the ambulance wasn't necessary. The GF had brought me there and could have easily taken me to the hospital. I felt one heck of a lot worse after I got out.
I took a fall, which I don't even remember, on an icy expert slope skiing at Sunday River. The first ride was on a sled. I had a shoulder injury and a torn rotator cuff. That hurt. The ambulance was from the ski patrol base station to the hospital.
Years earlier, a hockey puck grazed my scalp just above my old-style slasher movie goalie mask. Not serious, but scalp wounds bleed like crazy. So I was standing outside the rink late at night, still oozing blood into a bloody towel. The police car pulled up, the officer got out and promptly slipped on the ice and fell. So, I looked down, still dripping blood, and asked, "Are you OK?"
Ed, I too am sorry about Otis. His picture reminds me of our Snowflake, also a Siamese. We don't let the cats out unless they are on a harness and leash. I remember growing up when everyone let their cats out, but predators were better controlled back then. We did have one cat that ran away, but some friends found him about a year later. He remembered right where we kept his food dish.
Mornin' Folks!
Thanks for your kind words! After Church on Zoom this morning I made it out the door and ran about 1 mile. Felt good, no problems...
LastspikemikeI have noticed my sensitivity to caffeine is returning as I age. The poster who recently went to hospital with possible dehydration might also have had a caffeine reaction along with it. Caffeine is a fairly good adrenal gland stimulant.
I used to have a reaction to caffeine. Caffeine used to give me PVCs. Might be still an influence on what happened, but I AIN'T giving up my jolt of morning Caffeine without a fight!!! But haven't really had a problem in the last 20 years or so. At least that I know of. The official diagnosis, BTW, was dehydration! I was told by 2 different physicians (and I already knew) that the body doesn't feel thirsty as much as we age. So that is why I have to develop a habit of making sure I stay hydrated. My fitbit monitors irregualr heartbeat and will buzz if something happens. It did last Friday several times before I figured it out!
Hope all of you are staying well and safe. I am going to out to the kitchen and have a couple glasses of water... catch you all later!