Still Morning

Shifting Gears

While The Fuzz and His Sweetie were camping at the lake the subject of boats naturally came up.  And while it's never been a subject of this blog, The Fuzz has been contemplating trying to put one together.

And while he has never considered his skills anything like expert, he was confident that he could knock together something out of plywood that would float.

So he has been studying various websites, books and plans.

Of course while he had been making various preparations and gathering tools with this in mind, he had never quite gotten to the point of actually cutting a board.

This would certainly end up as a long term project.

And at The Fuzz's age he had to ask the question-

"Is the point the actual building, or getting out on the water?"

And as much as he admires fine craftsmanship in the boatyard, and those wonderful traditional wooden boats; he reluctantly had to admit that at this point, what he really wanted was to be floating again.

"Again..."
The Fuzz actually did grow up on a lake back in the Old Country.  And it seems he has never really gotten that out of his system as it were.
So once they were back home he went on into town to visit the local Marine Dealer/Pawn Shop.
That sounds like quite a combination and of course it is.

But all that aside, they just so happened to have on the lot almost exactly what he had grown up with.
So now he was torn with the decision, to hold out and go with a classic somewhere, or just cave in for this "Grumpier Old Men" style aluminum skiff.

The skiff won.  

Pumps Pipes and All That Kind of Stuff 2

To continue this story:

When we left Our Fuzz he was a bit frustrated with how this job was going.  It had been a long time in the works and was still not working out.

The problem didn't seem to be in the brand new pump.  But why wouldn't it prime and pump?

The problem had to be in the well.  Perhaps the foot valve was messed up somehow.

This would mean pulling the pipe out of the well.  And this was easier said than done.

Some years ago The Fuzz had ran a new pipe from the pump under the house to the well, and of course buried it.  It should not have to be completely dug up for this.  But it was glued together and out of reach in the well.

So The Fuzz dug beside the well and exposed the pipe.

Since it was all PCV pipe glued together he cut the pipe as close as he could to the well.

Then he used a rod with a hook bent on it to loop a rope around the pipe, and then hooked it with the rod.  Everything went okay until he tried to pull the now disconnected pipe up and out of the well.  The "L" shaped piece at the top was too long to fit up through the casing.

(The Fuzz had actually been hanging inside the well when he put it together originally- which he had no desire to repeat.)

But he persisted hoping that 1¼ inch pipe would bend just enough so he could pull it up.

Then it snapped off. 

Fortunately he was pulling on the side piece, and the rope was still tied to the long piece so he lost neither one.

At this point he and His Sweetie lowered a weight down there to check the depth and find out how long to cut the new pipe.  And it was found that there was quite a bit of silt/sediment in the bottom.  So much that the old foot valve had been covered with it.

So at least they had found that problem.

Since the new pipe would have to have a little shorter side piece (to fit through the casing) this metal pipe it passes through would have to be shortened- or replaced.

The Fuzz was able to find a shorter one in his scrap pile.

With His Sweetie's help they managed to lower the new pipe into the well and get it through the hole on the side.  It was connected, and now it was time to try the pump again.

And this time it worked...

Briefly!

Everything was going fine with pressure building up and all, but then suddenly all was lost.

On investigation, The Fuzz found that the fitting he had used to connect the 2 pieces of pipe in the hole had given way and the hole was full of water!

He had had some question about that thing but figured it was worth a try.  But apparently that was all it was worth.

So he bailed out the hole and went back to the Home Improvement Store (again) for some couplings to just glue it all together again.  Sometimes it's best to just keep things simple.

And so he had this.

 And this.

Another job well done.

 

Pumps Pipes and All That Kind of Stuff

It has been mentioned that there was a plumbing situation over at the Old Place.  And it had been that way for a long time.

It was not completely a P-Factor thing, but it must be admitted that the P-Factor did figure into it.

Just a brief refresher here.

Way back in February, it was discovered that the well pump had failed.  But of course with the Topsail Trip coming up there was no point in worrying about it then.  After all, the place is only used occasionally, and has a good back-up system-

A bucket and rope!

But the problem needed to be addressed.

So the Fuzz began planning.  It really shouldn't be difficult.  He would just order a new pump and fix a couple of other small issues while he was at it.

A new pump was ordered.  But whilst researching this online, he came across something interesting.

"There are certain types of bacteria called “anaerobic bacteria” that can grow where air does not touch the water. If your well has this kind of bacteria in it, the bacteria can start to grow once it gets inside the bladder since that water is not touching air. This bacteria is usually harmless..."

"... There are only two real solutions here: 1) Install a “contact tank” with a chlorine dosing system. This type of system injects a small amount of chlorine into the water as it comes into the house. The chlorine kills off the bacteria so it can’t grow in your tank.  2) Switch back to the older technology of an air-over-water standard tank. In that kind of tank the air touches the water and this anaerobic bacteria cannot grow."

Well, there had been "stinky" water over there for some years.  In fact, The Fuzz and His Sweetie had been bringing good well water from the woods for drinking.

Solution 1 was definitely out.

Solution 2 looked good.  That had been the original type tank, and there was no stinky water then.

And it had been replaced with the new type!

But it seems that the Home Improvement Store no longer sells the old school tanks - even though they carry pumps from the same manufacturer.

(like the one purchased by The Fuzz!)

However The Fuzz was able to order the tank from someone out here in the country.

Of course this meant a bit more delay.

Which turned into even more when the company sent the wrong stuff!

But it finally came, and all the stuff made it over to the house.

The old pump and tank were cut loose.

And the new ones were moved in...

And put together.

All the pipes and wiring were hooked back up.

Then it was time to fire the thing up.

Alas.

The Fuzz wasted a lot of time trying to get that thing primed and pumping.  Finally, he gave up.

To be continued...

Sawtooth Water

Getting back to The Fuzz's recent camping experiences...

When we left Our Fuzz, all were settled in for the night.  And that was fine.  But in the previous post, you might have noticed a footnote (*) regarding the source of water for this camp...

The Little River.

The Fuzz had been told that campsite #1 was the "closest" to the water.  It turned out that while this was technically true, it was insignificant.

At that end of the campground, there was a trail noted by a sign indicating "Water".

So The thirsty Fuzz strapped on his canteen and headed down the trail.

It seems that in this case, the proverb about "leading a horse to water- but not making him drink" didn't apply.

Here you couldn't even lead him to it!

The Fuzz followed the trail down for a good ways...

Until he came to this.

Ok

So let's follow this one for a while.

Next was...

This!

Down and down...

On we go.

This time no sign was needed, as one could finally hear the water.

Really, it was a nice little water hole.

The water ran over a vein of bedrock...

Clear and cold.

The Fuzz filled up his gallon canteen and water/wine skin.

And since it was a hot day and he was tired and quite alone...

Got in himself.

Then it was back up the hill again to camp.

One thing he could say was, at this camp you sure won't waste any water!

Settling In

Well it's been a while now that The Fuzz has been home from the beach.  And he and His Sweetie are starting to get settled in again.

There was a bit of work waiting for them-

A couple of yards to mow, wood to find and cut and that old car to get moved.

Looks like the next project on The Fuzz's list is getting a new pump put in at the Old Place.

It may be remembered from back in February, that he had discovered a problem with the water over there.

(Well, strictly speaking, not with the water per se, but the delivery system.)
And while it is possible to get water "old school" with a bucket and rope, this is not the preferred method anymore.

So as of now, a new pump is on order from the local Home Improvement Store.

 

And just for fun...

While The Fuzz and His Sweetie were over at the "Gasland" the other day getting some fuel for the mower-

They saw this...

Guess you can get all kinds of gas there.

Not Pumped

It has probably been mentioned here before that The Fuzz and His Sweetie have a routine of taking turns at spending one night a week back over at the Old Place.

They find that it is conducive to maintaining their sanity since The Fuzz's retirement.

This week it was The Fuzz's turn.

When he got there, he made a quick test of the kitchen sink.  The water came on fine -

But then slowly lost pressure and quit.

Needless to say, this was not a good thing.

While he could not hear the pump (which is under the kitchen) running, he did hear a hum somewhere down there.

It was time to take a look.

It was kinda dark down there.

But Our Fuzz had no trouble detecting the source of the sound.

The motor was not turning.

So was the problem the motor - or pump?

Either way, the thing was broke!

Here's a better look.

These things don't last forever of course.

Some years ago, The Fuzz had replaced the pump.  And to be honest about it, he did not get the High-Dollar-Top-Of-The-Line one.

(He's kinda cheap like that)

And then, a couple of years ago, he had to replace the tank.

(Which is why it is all shiny and new looking)

Well, it looks like it's time for another new pump!

But that project will have to wait for now.

So for the time being, it's back to the old Bucket & Rope!

Looking Back Some More

The Fuzz has already reviewed some of the projects of last year.

Let's just say it was an unusually busy year for The Fuzz and His Sweetie.

Besides the projects, there was a bit of travel-

Quite a bit!

In April The Fuzz figured it had warmed up enough to get the old Motorcycle out for a bit of touring.
He spent some time out on the coast and then rode up into 

Virginia to visit his sister

.
He did have to deal with a bit of rain, but all in all it was a pretty good trip.

Then it was time for The Fuzz and His Sweetie to hit the road to visit family in Oklahoma & Texas.
But since they were going that far, they decided on a round-a-bout route so they could take in some of the sights along the way.
The first stop was Cheaha State Park in Alabama.

That was pretty nice, although the facilities could have used a bit of 

maintenance

.
Next- still in Alabama- they headed for the Gulf Coast and Gulf State Park.

It was quite a change from the mountains-

And a bit interesting!

Then they headed west toward the Luisiana 

Bayous

.

That was a bit of a "Washout".
With all the rain, the whole world was flooded down there.  Their 

scheduled

 camp site was a tiny pad of paving, surrounded by water.
They decided to pass on that one and- with a hotel stop- started north toward 

Arkansas

 and their next campground-
Lake Ouachita State Park.

That was a nice enough place.
The Fuzz and His Sweetie got settled in okay.

There was more rain in the forecast, but they are relatively 

experienced

 campers and were quite cozy for the 1st night.

The rain itself wasn't an issue.

But the wind turned out to be!
The campground was on a high ridge, and their tent was about ready to blow away.
The Fuzz was inclined to try and stick it out, but His Sweetie had a better assessment of the situation-
The worst was still on the way!
 So they broke camp during a lull and started toward Oklahoma City.

We'll continue this tale soon.

Dry..? Not Dry..?

It has been kinda dry out here in the woods lately.

And Hot as well.

But when The Fuzz walked down to the small creek behind the trailer yesterday, he was a bit surprised to find this situation!

What happened to the water?

There were a few pools left here and there...

But No Flow!

The creek bed was still pretty wet, and when he poked his cane down into the sand, some water did seep into the hole.

But, Yikes!

In the pool pictured above, several small fish were swimming back and forth, with nowhere else to go.

After some thought, and a word with His Sweetie, The Fuzz decided to try and move at least a few of those guys up into the Garden Pond.  It is already stocked with some of those "feeder" goldfish (8 for a dollar) from the pet store.

The guys from the creek weren't any bigger than the current residents, so The Fuzz figured they might get along okay.

And as things were looking at this point...

they were

DOOMED!

Not having any sort of net, The Fuzz tried to use a bit of window screen, and a bucket to catch those little guys.

But it didn't work out very well.

As soon as he got in there, he stirred up so much muck that it was impossible to even see them, let alone catch the boogers!

So he gave it up as a lost cause.

Then...

This morning, he took a look to see how they were doing.

This time...

What the hell?

No water yesterday...

And no rain since...

But now???

Where'd this come from?

And The Fuzz's little friends seem to be doing okay without him!

Well, one can't complain about this of course,

But it does seem a bit strange,

At least to The Fuzz!

Pond Project II

The Fuzz has spent the last few days on this, and here's a few pix.

First, here is how things stand at the moment.

The pond itself is basically done.

Of course The Fuzz's Sweetie has her own plans for the landscaping around it, and what plants to put in.

But that will take a bit of time of course.

But here's a look at some of the details.

The Water flows through this shallow pool and down into the main pond...

after dropping from the upper pool, and into a narrow channel.

And how does it get into that pool?

Cool, huh?

This area has sun in the morning, and shade in the afternoon.

Really it's the perfect place for something like this.

The Fuzz and His Sweetie have already been enjoying breakfast here to the sound of running water.

But new adventures await them.

With any luck The Fuzz will be able to keep all his loyal readers posted in this next phase of those "little things of  daily life".

The Pond Project

Suffice it to say that that Adventurous Fuzz made it home to the woods, safe and sound.

But there was a job waiting there...

The New Water Feature.

This idea had been around for a while.

It was one of those things that seemed like a good idea, but never quite made it past the "good idea" phase.

When it comes down to it, Our Fuzz is not much of a self starter.

Sometimes it takes a good woman to get things moving,

and in this case, The Fuzz's Sweetie was that "Good Woman."

The 1st step was some online research.

Then a liner and pump were ordered.

With both of them digging, the hole was done surprisingly quickly, although it did get a bit complicated when the template didn't seem to match the liner.

Sand was brought up from the creek to line the bottom of the hole.

Then the liner was put in, and slowly filled while The Fuzz tried to pack sand behind it.

Once it was filled, The Fuzz began to put some of the rocks in place.

But this was not to be merely a simple pool.

The plan called for an upper pool with water cascading down to the lower, main, pool.

Here we see a rough idea of this.

How did it come out?

Well, the story will continue...

Pumps & Plumbing Stuff

It may be remembered that earlier this year, there was a plumbing situation at the Old Place.  Well that Procrastinating Fuzz finally got around to addressing this situation.

The first step was to remove the old tank from beneath the pump.

(which The Fuzz was assuming still worked)

As can  be seen, it was in pretty bad shape.

This kinda left the pump hanging.

It was time to see just what he had here.

It will be noticed that the new tank is somewhat smaller than the old one.  The Fuzz is hoping that this won't cause any problems in the operation of things.

Of course it did mean that he would have to make some adjustments in the tank supports to compensate for this.

This was done by simply adding a few blocks and bricks to bring things up to the proper level.

That Lazy Fuzz was trying to use as much of the old plumbing as possible.

And so the drain valve and pressure relief valve was retained.

But He did have to add a bushing to compensate for the different thread size.

Then the old PCV pipe was cut back, and a new piece made to fit.

And everything glued up.

There was no problem priming the pump.  But when he cut it on, he found that the pump would cycle on and off much too rapidly!

So some adjustments were made to the pressure switch.

This seemed to help.

Hopefully this will work out OK.

Here's a look at the finished job.