labor day weekend

[hiker]

dad came up from south dakota for a visit....
cranked up his 1916 engine he rebuilt 35 years ago--tossed on a motor conversion for a llttle fun....
my dad is 94--same as the engine.....
great weekend..................http://www.youtube.co-1916-m/watch?v=R9oncW82c24

[hiker]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9oncW82c24

[bj]

   Hiker: at 94, your dad looks better than a lot of people half his age.  Did he do the restore on the engine?  Nice job anyway,
no mystery puffs of smoke.
   If it's not too bold, give your Dad a handshake from this flatlander for me.

[wooferhound]

Is that a Gas Burner ?

[hiker]

hey bj..
yes he did restore that engine-35 years ago. down in oregon...he started a old engine club down there-branch 9- 
he put on a lot of shows every year--that old engine in the vid  was the first  one he started and the last one to be shut down..it would run all day--he restored over a 100 old engines of all makes and sizes--plus a few old tractors as well...
a few years ago a friend of his was driving to alaska so he had him drop off the 1916 engine for me.......
and yes woofer it is a gas burner.........
  http://edgeta.com/hofbw.htm

[Ungrounded Lightning Rod]

Glad to see both of 'em still ticking along.

My dad's gonna be 94 this year, too.  I spent some of my labor day weekend doing a little upgrading on the water system of the travel trailer my wife and I will be taking to Michigan and back when we go visit him.

(Added a little pressurized-bladder pressure tank to smooth out the water pressure when using the stored water and pump, and a "minibidet" hand-sprayer attachment for the potty, which GREATLY reduces the amount of paper that has to be flushed out of the blackwater holding tank.  B-) )

Ob Electrical:  The power converter on this puppy is "smart" - drops the float voltage when the appliances have been off for a while to avoid boiling off the batteries, and goes through a couple short equalization cycle a couple times a day.  I've got two T105 6V batteries that have been floating on it for about 9 months and no sign of water loss.  (The power converter on the previous trailer would have boiled 'em down to the plates by now.)

No R.E. for the trailer yet - haven't even mounted the keep-charged-in-storage panel from the last one.  (While traveling it charges from the tow vehicle.  But I intend to do a portable mill and/or some panels for multi-day camping-in-one-spot.  Just like I intended to do for the previous one but never found a round-TUIT.  B-b )

[12AX7]

Hiker..

Your video was a treat to watch.   If my did was still around, I'd record every damn thing he had to say.   and if he didn't have anything to say...  I'd be non-stop with questions.

Treasure your time with him!

ax7

[hiker]

U.L.R.

hows your dad doing health wise?..my dad has had his share of health problems..managed to overcome them..his feet still act up when he travels..had to take him to the veterans hospital for a couple of days..they fixed him right up..[thanks guys]
 havent done any real camping  with my rv this year--broke the record for rain this summer[what summer]--every day nothin but rain!
strange thing --when my dad came up we had three days of sun--brought the sun up with him.. :}
first summer i never flew the mill on my rv.......
well good luck with your trip-and have a good visit with the old man as well.............
 ps: if you take your dad on a trip ile bet he would prefer bung paper over a hand sprayer.......... ;}

12ax7..
 oh yeah...we have tons of vids and picts...he will talk your ear off--i just turn around and listen with the other one.... :}

[bj]

   Hiker: the link was a nice read, thanks.

[Ungrounded Lightning Rod]

U.L.R.

hows your dad doing health wise?

To hear him talk on the phone he's doing pretty well - but is starting to worry that he'll time out pretty soon.  (Several in our family died about 93 - including his dad, who fell down the basement stairs about then.)  He has good health care.  (He used to be a hospital administrator and lives within ambulance range of a major university medical center.)  He still swims (in pools) regularly.  His main problem is macular degeneration - he's lost enough central vision that he can't drive anymore.

Mom I'm more worried about:  Parkinson's and high blood pressure.

havent done any real camping  with my rv this year--broke the record for rain this summer[what summer]--every day nothin but rain!

Any more of this "global warming" and we'll all freeze to death.  B-b

ps: if you take your dad on a trip ile bet he would prefer bung paper over a hand sprayer.......... ;}

Sprayer is to keep the wife happy.  It's not a complete replacement for paper.  The idea is to use a little paper to wipe, then use the sprayer to clean, then a bit more paper to dry, rather than using a BUNCH of paper to wipe and wipe and wipe and never really get QUITE clean.

Adding these to the bathrooms at the town house DRASTICALLY cut the paper consumption (and plunging of the "Gore tiny flush" toilets).  (Given the cost of T.P. these days that's a big deal.)

We've now found a model we trust to install at the vacation/retirement place with the septic tank.  (It has a chrome-plated brass "enable only when washing" cutoff valve in the T that installs at the pigtail/tank joint,  So we don't have to worry about the flexible hose failing and wrecking the place when we're out of Dodge.)  That should extend the septic pumpout interval to practically forever by letting the bugs keep up with the paper we do use.