My Grande Journey

[Raven Koenes]

Even the Moose looks depressed lol.

Me too, I just got done doing a ton of snow removal. It's heavy and wet. It seems winter has taken custody of spring, and we don't even get visitation rights.

 

[Esox]

Me too, I just got done doing a ton of snow removal. It's heavy and wet. It seems winter has taken custody of spring, and we don't even get visitation rights.

Pick up a good condition used Toro 6 1/2HP 2 stroke blower. Those things will throw wet cement 30 feet and do twice the work in half the time of a 10 1/2HP 2 stage 4 stroke. They're the MMOC of the snowblower world lol. The newer Toro 4 strokes would be the Fatips of the snowblower world haha.

 

[Raven Koenes]

Pick up a good condition used Toro 6 1/2HP 2 stroke blower. Those things will throw wet cement 30 feet and do twice the work in half the time of a 10 1/2HP 2 stage 4 stroke. They're the MMOC of the snowblower world lol. The newer Toro 4 strokes would be the Fatips of the snowblower world haha.

I'm using an old John Deer TRS 32. It's old, they don't make them anymore, and is held together by rubber bands and duct tape (kidding). Our mechanic has done wonders keeping it together. Today the chute kept getting clogged with snow ice. I'd get to the end of my run and let up on the throttle and keep the auger shaped blade spinning to keep ice from building up in the chute. Half the time it would clog and freeze, and I'd have to stop and knock the ice clear with a broom handle from the chute. This is a picture like the one I have at work:

 

[Esox]

I'm using an old John Deer TRS 32. It's old, they don't make them anymore, and is held together by rubber bands and duct tape (kidding). Our mechanic has done wonders keeping it together. Today the chute kept getting clogged with snow ice. I'd get to the end of my run and let up on the throttle and keep the auger shaped blade spinning to keep ice from building up in the chute. Half the time it would clog and freeze, and I'd have to stop and knock the ice clear with a broom handle from the chute. This is a picture like the one I have at work:
View attachment 982594

Yep thats a heavy old beast lol.

I use a John Deere single stage 2 stroke 5HP, like the one below, at home. I cant remember which model it is.

It will only throw wet cement about 20 feet and is held together, literally, with zip ties lol.

We used Toro 2 strokes doing commercial snow removal for 5 years. They work really well and they're fast. The 2 strokes with steel chutes never clogged but the plastic chutes can. All they ever needed was a scraper bar and paddles every year, but seeing commercial use they'd see several hundred hours of operation in a single season.

The newer Toro 4 strokes work pretty well now. The first generation 4 strokes had chute design issues and would even plug up throwing 12"s of powder so we changed back to the old 2 strokes for that season.

Its funny. I go out in the winter here when we have a foot or so of fresh snow and do my walks and driveway, plow in at the street, the neighbors next door and the woman across the street. I started at the same time as the guy 4 doors up who uses a 12HP newer machine and I'm done all of mine before hes finished his driveway and front sidewalk.

I had a brand new Craftsman 10.5HP 2 stage with chains on the tires (they help a lot) and it worked well but it was damn slow. I sold it and have used small light 2 strokes ever since.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Gotta bump a thread talking about snow shoveling machines because it will make my air conditioner work better just thinking about winter.

Not that I've ever shoveled snow.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Esox]

Not that I've ever shoveled snow.

Not that I've ever shoveled snow.

I cannot comprehend that statement lol.



I have thought about calling an end to this thread, the MMOC easily kicks the crickets out of every other razor I have but ending here would be premature.

The AC format is in my future, eventually.

Survivors of rare wolf attack in Banff recount how animal tried to drag man from tent in middle of night

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I have seen snow. I've even been in a serious blizzard in the Dakotas. I was very fortunate to survive that blizzard and did only because someone rescued me when I was stranded in a broken truck. So, it's not like I don't have a concept of what you guys call winter. It was, in the blizzard, thirty five below. Not fun.

I've lived where it snowed a fair amount but not like it does in the areas where snow shovels are mandated by the environment. I don't think I've ever seen a snow shovel.

I cannot comprehend that statement (either) lol.

I saved you the trouble, Mike.

The AC format is in my future, eventually.

Yeah, yeah. Heard it before. Think they've quit making them and you can't find one? Or, be smart and wait for a SS Hawk or maybe a nice General. There's not a lot of difference but I'll give the slight edge to the SS DLC Hawk (but they are not making them unless something's changed and I've missed it).

Isn't there an aluminum Hawk? ATT? Etc?

The wolf story is worth reading. Very scary, but also very heart warming. Good people.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Raven Koenes]

Well it this all reminded me to go start up my John Deer. I put fuel stabilizer in last Spring. I'm good to go it started right up. Our monsoon in Colorado seems to be lasting longer than usual. I'm preparing for a long wet winter. Thanks for the reminder Jim. Oh, the wolf story seems interesting as well. I'll read it later.

 

[Esox]

Just say NO to snow! Ya'll trying to bring an early winter?

I might, maybe, buy a Hawk on my next order to Connaught, since I can get blades for it at the same time. Outside of that I've been watching a WTB ad in the B/S/T for an SS Hawk and there have been no sellers. Perhaps, someone that has one might be wiling to part with it...
____________

In other news...

At just about midnight last night as I was nodding off on the couch an explosion I cant even describe went off. I rolled off the couch and looked out the window. I could see the flames reflecting off the houses across the street from me.

Watch the drone footage in the video.

'Could it have been worse? Absolutely': Seven injured in Old East Village explosion

Thats the next block over from me and 2 doors up. I felt the shock wave. The fireball lit the sky for blocks. It lit up both Emco and Kelloggs that are 4 blocks away. The police and FD were on scene when it exploded. I cant believe no one was killed.

I had thought the gas meters had a safety shutoff in them so if that happened the gas would shut off. I'll have to wait for the investigation before I know how it happened but damn, that'll wake ya up in a hurry.

 

[Esox]

I took a screenshot from Google Streetview. This is the house thats no longer there. You can see the gas meter the car hit beside the front steps.

 

[Esox]

They've since changed the video. Drone footage in the video below.

CTV London | Video - Breaking News Videos and Reports from London Ontario

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Oh, Mike, I'm glad you're okay, and others are. Very scary images. It is simply amazing that much more damage and loss of life did not occur. I bet it woke you up!

 

[Raven Koenes]

They've since changed the video. Drone footage in the video below.

CTV London | Video - Breaking News Videos and Reports from London Ontario

Wow! That put a hole in the ground. I'm surprised the car didn't create a spark crashing into it. Do you know if the vehicle was the owner of the house or a random car? That would suck to come home to a blackened hole where your house once stood. I bet that did make you sit up and take notice. As volatile as gas can be it simply amazes me that we use it as effectively and as safely as we do.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I live in an old house.

After I'd lived there for a few years my plumber told me he'd fixed a pipe in the basement at the very bottom of the basement stairs. He said it's a one inch gas pipe which was improperly installed such that were anyone to grab it and pull on it just a little bit the pipe would come apart. Gas would immediately flood and fill the unfinished basement until it hit the pilot light of the furnace or hot water heater.

He told me it would have then blown up the neighborhood.

At the time I had three teenage sons at home. They were fully capable of swinging on the pipe at the bottom of the stairs. Fortunately none of them decide to do so.

What kind of idiot put the pipe there and didn't properly secure it?

Well, I can answer that...

I have a small unrented rental house. There's no basement, but just a crawl space. The furnace is in the crawl space. It's a gas furnace. My plumber discovered that someone had run the main gas line for the property right through the middle of the furnace. All they had to do was route it around the furnace which would have taken a few minutes but they decided it would be safe to go right through a furnace! My plumber fixed it but couldn't believe some idiot had done such a dangerous shortcut.

There are plenty of lazy idiots.

I'm really glad you didn't get blown up, Mike.

 

[Raven Koenes]

I live in an old house.

After I'd lived there for a few years my plumber told me he'd fixed a pipe in the basement at the very bottom of the basement stairs. He said it's a one inch gas pipe which was improperly installed such that were anyone to grab it and pull on it just a little bit the pipe would come apart. Gas would immediately flood and fill the unfinished basement until it hit the pilot light of the furnace or hot water heater.

He told me it would have then blown up the neighborhood.

At the time I had three teenage sons at home. They were fully capable of swinging on the pipe at the bottom of the stairs. Fortunately none of them decide to do so.

What kind of idiot put the pipe there and didn't properly secure it?

Well, I can answer that...

I have a small unrented rental house. There's no basement, but just a crawl space. The furnace is in the crawl space. It's a gas furnace. My plumber discovered that someone had run the main gas line for the property right through the middle of the furnace. All they had to do was route it around the furnace which would have taken a few minutes but they decided it would be safe to go right through a furnace! My plumber fixed it but couldn't believe some idiot had done such a dangerous shortcut.

There are plenty of lazy idiots.

I'm really glad you didn't get blown up, Mike.

Yeah! Mike not getting blown up is an absolute good thing!

 

[Esox]

It was scary yeah, and still is. I've been told that the gas lines are suppose to have emerg shutoffs in the lines somewhere and that this is why 10 sq blocks are still closed, all west of the explosion. Virtually all houses on my street have the gas meters on the side of the houses, in the driveway. The houses around here were all built in the early 1900's but not sure when the gas lines and meters went in. It could be that because of the age of the houses and lines, when the lines went in no emerg shutoffs were in use. The gas company was going door to door yesterday and noting gas meter locations on each house.

It appears that the car, driven by a drunk and passed out driver came through the stop sign at the end of the street and hit the house and gas meter. When that happened, the gas line ruptured and started pumping directly into the basement that was cinder block and likely 8 feet deep. The ground and foundation contained the blast and it exploded upwards. In the video you can see the damage to the roof of the house 4 doors away. Thats from the roof of the house that exploded landing on it.

The driver is a 23 year old female and has been charged with DUI and 4 counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm.

Woman charged with impaired driving after car crashes into London, Ont., house causing large explosion

The house was empty at the time, the owners were away. The neighbors would have gotten them out anyway as they did the neighbors on either side as well as the driver. As is typical when theres an accident, everyone comes out to see whats going on. This is the part I cant believe. The police got the call at 10:37PM and would have been on scene in less than 2 minutes. The FD right after them. When you dial 911 here they all come, police, fire and EMS. 12 police, fire and ambulance members on scene, not to mention all the onlookers standing around when it exploded at 10:50PM. One fireman is in serious but stable condition. They showed his coat, in a taped off area at the corner of the next street over. Its a miracle no one was killed.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I'd think the neighborhood would might be brought together around this incident and potentially ongoing serious problem. Makes me wonder about our meters here and whether we have emergency shut off devices, etc.

 

[Esox]

It has been Jim. The mayor was at the community center yesterday to meet with the neighborhood. He's been pretty much useless so far though and cant even manage the snow removal lol. Politicians...

Its all speculation at this point. I have two friends that are licensed gas fitters but I havent talked to either one yet. They dont work for the company that supplies the city so they may not even have that information. You can bet it will come up though.

 

[Esox]

I just found this on Youtube.

The security cam footage is from maybe 8 blocks away. The sidewalk footage at 38 seconds is 4 blocks away. I'm a block and a half away.

 

[Raven Koenes]

That young woman's life just took a nose dive. Lucky she didn't kill anybody.