What have done towards your prep?

[Straight Shooter]

The 90 ft row of logs is now reduced to 35 ft ......it’s all I have done these past weeks .....am I pissed ...you bet , but satisfaction over rules , I have also reorganised the sheds like LS ...this has resulted in another three cords stacked under cover ! .....we are now in lockdown here in Wales , I did try for a delivery of more timber to start on the ( solar panel shed ) ....no chance mate ! I was told ! We are flat out ! ......just as well really .....logging , splitting , stacking will continue on ......thing is now Where to stack ? Out in the open and cover the top.

Other stuff that cannot wait , bottle up the blackberry gin and the four gallons of wine.

[Lightspeed]

Am I correct in calculating a Cord of split timber as 4ft x8ft x 4ft?

[Lightspeed]

2hours chopping logs for kindling yesterday after work.

Very satisfying, and I still have all of my fingers...

[Lightspeed]

In evening backup radio power supply fun and games. of three buck converters delivered from China only two functioned correctly.

Maybe I've just been unfortunate, but it seems that Chinese gear is becoming less and less reliable.....and sometimes just damned dangerous.

Last month I received two super duper 1kw 48v Switched Mode Power Supplies for my generator Inveter project. These supplies have a board mounted switch for 110v or 240v input voltage selection. Lucky I opened the cases to ensure 240v was selected, as a quick glance at the components and construction revealed that the units were not 48v but 1Kw 12v units... That's 83 amps output as opposed to the 20a I had provided for. Not only would the inverter not worked and possibly been damaged, the feed cable would have severely overheated and become a major fire hazard!.. Just in case components were wrongly marked, I checked output voltage and sure enough 12v was being delivered.

[Straight Shooter]

Yes LS you are correct a cord is 4ft x 8ft x 4ft ..........and don’t I know it !

[Mortblanc]

American pickups in their full size persuasion have, as a standard feature, a bed that is 4 feet wide, 8 feet long and two feet deep.

You fill that sucker up level and you have a rick. Pile it up to the top pf the cab and you have a rick and a half. Two level loads make a cord. You instantly know how much you have when you fill the truck.

Japanese trucks were more difficult to estimate with their oddly sized, nonstandard beds. They were not even standard by metric units. Usually piled to the top of the cab they were about a rick, but you never could be certain until you measured that first load.

[Lightspeed]

I love these ancient measures. Cords and Ricks, sound very quaint to my ear.

Being a thoroughly indoctrinated European, I assimilate cubic meters are most easily these days.

Whatever measure we apply, SS has built up what is more easily described as a shitload!

[Lightspeed]

3am this morning I was awoken by our dog telling me something was amiss....

It turned out to be the dishwasher bleeping an alert for zero water-pressure, yet again.

12 hours later mains water is still out, and we're running on the back-up tank and pressure switched booster pump. Change-over to backup is now well rehearsed and takes just a couple of minutes.

I have still not gotten around to devising a pressure switched alarm to tell me when mains pressure is restored, so have to make regular trips to the outside tap to test the state of play..... maybe next year ;-)

[Straight Shooter]

Had a break from the splitter today .......so bottled up four bottles of blackberry gin , eighteen bottles of damson wine and six bottles of blackberry wine.....then off for the last shop ....to beat the rush before the total welsh lockdown that starts Friday at 6 o’clock pm (tomorrow) not that we needed that much at all ...just two bags half full ....dried more chilli ( that’s the end of it ) ......wild child wants the frozen home grown fruits turned into wine or preserves to free up some room in the garage freezer so I will crack on tomorrow , more wine I think , I will finish the day off raising all the potatoes before the frost starts , the swedes and leeks can remain for a while yet ......going to plant some onion sets ......the Christmas potatoes are looking good ! The poly tunnel needs clearing and a good clean ready for overwintering so plenty to do ....not forgetting home maintenance along with gardening tools and plant ..........then there’s the still to get going ..........oh yes ......that will be coming on stream shortly...I spect I will become a bootleg legend in my own mind ......in no time at all.

[Lightspeed]

Weekend was a busy one:

Replaced filters on 3m model 6000 respirators. I was surprised to find biological filters still available at my local hardware store last week, so grabbed 3 sets and a spare 6000 model mask at the same time. They are relatively expensive, but get continuous use here most of the year, so a worthwhile investment. What price good health eh? https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/1830...tation.pdf

Wood Shed: Repaired asbestos roof. Cleared rain gutters. ( Respirator used against dust of course!)

House: Scythed and cut back all vegetation on bank behind house, and cleared drainage channels. This is to reduce wind blown snow build up and to ensure that whatever snow does accumulate, that it melts into concrete drainage channel, rather than saturating walls and foundations.

Heating: bagged up 200Kg of coal, and transported it to the boiler room. Empied ash, and cleaned boiler tubes on furnace (weekly task now, until late spring next year). Respirator used again here every time. Stripped down and cleaned chain saw. Looks like I'll need a new chain soon. I have one in reserve, but will need to purchase another before winter sets in.

Coms: Repaired Shortwave antenna feed ( dry joint), rigged up DPST knife switch for Lightning protection grounding. Played some more with the Chinese buck converter and succeeded in getting it working as originally hoped.

Transport: Fitted winter wheels to car, replaced washer fluid. Checked all other fluids and brake pads for winter. Part cleared garage to make room for poor old Landy, which I managed to break earlier in the year, and now needs repairing, Probably a head-off job, but maybe just a hose if I'm lucky. Either way it'll be heavy, knuckle skinning work :-(