Did something dumb today.

[aigheadish]

I don't know if I mentioned this elsewhere here or not but I'm currently (since around June 2020) taking a part of my house that was covered by roof but not enclosed and turning it into a workshop. We got concrete poured, framing and walls up and the wife is handling electricity. 

Within the past month or so I've rearranged things in the garage and moved my major tools into the workshop area and finally a few weeks ago I could start using it as a workshop while finishing a few minor things up. Unfortunately the shop isn't big enough and we only had power outlets in places where, to use my planer, I had to plug it in with the cord stretched out, hanging above the floor by about a foot and a half. As it's still all a work in progress and I was working on a project there was a fair amount of junk here and there but I was doing pretty well to step over the cord. I probably made it 30 times with no trouble. Then once with trouble. I got caught on it and basically jumped, knee first, onto the concrete floor, causing a very minor fracture in my right kneecap and hitting my chest on a plastic tool box on my way to falling to the ground. 

I got very lucky in that I didn't need surgery and now 3 and a half weeks later I'm feeling ok. 

A reminder to keep your walkways clear. My lovely wife came out about 5 minutes later and started straightening things out. We'll see if I learned a lesson. I also may have had some beverages that lead to this accident...

[WV Sawmiller]

   I guess it was dumb - it was annoying and frustrating. Last night about 9:00 p.m. we had a power outage. I guess a big tree fell on the main line down the road somewhere. Our back-up genset fired up 10 seconds later and switched power to the genset for about 30 seconds then went off. I found a dim headlight and went out and opened the cover. I noticed an "Underspeed warning". I tried resetting the machine and pulled out the 7.5 amp blade fuse and checked it which really was dumb - if it was blown the warning light would not have displayed. Anyway I fat fingered and dropped the fuse into the genset and according to Murphey's Law it never fell through. We looked high and low but could not find it. After diligent searching my wife found a box of 10 amp fuses. I put one of them in and restarted the genset but it would run a few seconds then shut off and displayed a "Replace air filter" light. I also found a mouse or chipmunk nest in the bottom of the machine. I removed the cover and found the air filter was a bit crumpled and bent. I put it back on and cranked the genset and it ran but still showed the warning light to replace the air filter. I went to my log barn and lo and behold I did have a spare A24 filter for the Kohler engine. I replaced it and hit the reset button and everything worked fine. We went to bed a couple of hours later and I woke up about 4:00 a.m. to find power had been restored. 

   Evidently the dented air filter and possible mouse or chipmunk nest did not allow enough air flow for the genset to come up to full speed and generate enough power to run. I don't know why it never showed up before as it had to have been there a long time. I guess the weekly "crank and run and charge the battery" function never put the machine under a load. Anyway, I'm off to our local Advance Auto to get a couple of assorted blade fuse spares and replace the 10A with a 7.5A fuse. I will tape a spare there in the cover somewhere and I'll pick up another air filter.

[Old Greenhorn]

When you get back into it in the daylight, let me know if you find any pieces of my lighter.

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

  Your lighter story reminded me of the time I parked our company P/U outside the "Catfish Air" parking lot in Iraq in the heat of the summer. When I got back I smelled what I thought was soap or something and there pieces of colored plastic all over the truck. I later found one of the maids had left a can of air freshener on the back of the back seat and it got hot enough inside the cab the can had exploded.

[ljohnsaw]

I will tape a spare there in the cover somewhere and I'll pick up another air filter.

Chances are good that when you go to need that fuse, the tape will have dried up and the fuse fell in somewhere bad.  How about one of those magnetic hide-a-key boxes (for cars)?

[offrink]

If it’s a Kohler engine that means it’s most likely a generac and they have plastic or aluminum boxes. Magnet won’t work. Good idea to keep a spare in a box in the housing though!

[SawyerTed]

A reminder to keep your walkways clear. My lovely wife came out about 5 minutes later and started straightening things out. We'll see if I learned a lesson. I also may have had some beverages that lead to this accident...

Yes housekeeping, eliminating trip hazards and PPE are basics of safety, unfortunately we all get reminders from time to time.

Glad you are on the mend and hope you you recover fully!

[WV Sawmiller]

@offrink  & @ljohnsaw ,

  I like the idea but modified it slightly and just used one of my 2 for 99 cent HF magnets to just hold the box the extra fuses came in in place on the tray on the left side under the cover after I replaced the 10A fuse we used as a temporary get-by last night. While lots of the genset (Yes its a Generac) may be aluminum that tray is steel and they seem securely fastened there. I love those little magnets. If you have a bunch of tiny screws or washers or such just toss one in the pigeonhole in your toolbox where you keep them and they keep everything secure. 

[aigheadish]

I'm reading through this whole thread, so far I think I'm 25 pages deep and haven't seen this issue come up otherwise yet, so I'll share, though this was a while ago...

I'm relatively new to owning enough land that I needed a chainsaw. I was borrowing the FILs small Stihl for a bit, with a 16" bar, but it was hard to start for me a lot of times, and too small to deal with some of the big trees we have.

Along my driveway were some small Oak trees the previous homeowner planted (to the dismay of my neighbor, who I'm pretty sure proceeded to spray round-up on them). Well, I told him, since they weren't really growing well, that I was going to cut them down. He was happy to help so he brought out his Husqvarna 455 Rancher, fired it up nicely and we cut down the trees and cut the stumps flush with the ground so I could mow. It looked and ran like a pretty nice saw so I went out and spent about $500 bucks for one. 

I got some good use out of the saw until I got to a point where it seemed like it lost all compression or something one day when I went to start it. Welp, boo. I took it to the repair shop down the way and got a call later saying that it was all seized up due to lack of proper oil mix. So I forgot, upon filling a gas can, to add 2-cycle oil... 

So, 2 brand new $500 saws in less than a year. Now, I buy the pre-mix (at crazy added expense) because I don't trust myself to do it right... 

[thecfarm]

Too late now, but I have a can marked chainsaw and I always put the oil in first. Than the gas. Been doing it for years this way, more than 40. Now I hope I won't be on here in a few months to say I burned up my less than a year old Husky 450.   But the mix I use makes the gas blue. I look for the blue!!! I even put the oil mix bottle on the shelf of the OWB to warm it up so it flows better too. I let it drain for at least a ½ hour too. Fussy old man I am.

[firefighter ontheside]

 @aigheadish by all means feel free to post something a second time on this thread or even a third time.  I started this thread when I foolishly knocked my blade off my saw while returning the head.  I had no idea it would evolve into this place where we all feel compelled to share our blunders.  Here at the FD its a constant struggle to keep guys from putting the wrong fluids into the wrong spot.  Gasoline into the fire truck fuel.  Diesel into the gasoline pick up trucks.  I've solved that by changing all the fuel nozzles to the larger size, but that won't stop folks from putting gas into the diesels.  As you found out, it only becomes a problem when you realize it way too late.  Usually guys will realize it as they are doing it.  In older days we had saws with different fuel/oil ratios, but at least now its all 50:1.  We have switched to tru fuel for all of our small engines so we have no more mixing to do.  We still carry 2 cycle oil in case we need to make some in a pinch.

[doc henderson]

I have an old aquarium stand I got up in Albany.  I put a piece of Masonite where the aquarium sat on top.  it has a low shelf brace.  it is thin metal but very sturdy.  I use the top to work on my saws and change chains, clean up, and refuel.  I have another board that fits it with a 8 inch hole cut in it and use it for when I work on vertical shaft small engines.  My gas and bar oil sit underneath on the small shelf.  Have used it for 30 years now.  I have a spout with an on off valve on the bar oil, and the push button style 2.5 gallon gas can.  I have a 5 gallon new push button can that I get av gas (high octane, no ethanol, a bit of lead)in to refill and mix up saw gas.

[WV Sawmiller]

@aigheadish , That is a very common problem. My policy here is all of my small (1-2.5 gallon capacity) fuel cans/plastic jugs are strictly for mixed gas and oil and my 5-6 gallon cans are for unmixed fuel. Everything on my place runs on 50:1 mixture so I add the oil before I add gas to the smaller can. On my place if its in a small can it is always mixed, no question. If in a large can, it is unmixed, no question.

I do the same thing with my Johnson Outboard motor for my boat. I keep 2- 6 gallon tanks and run one completely dry then switch tanks. Before I refill the fuel can/tank I add a pint of 2 cycle oil which gives me my 50:1 mix (Or close enough for guvment work). The 6 gallon tanks are very easy to use for this purpose because of this mixing feature.

[aigheadish]

I had a decent run of bringing the gas cans back from the station and immediately putting the oil in them, and yeah they are marked 50:1 but I guess I forgot on one trip... I like the idea of pouring the oil first and the blue stuff! Nothing a $500 mistake can't cure!

[trapper]

I keep my saw skrench on my can of mixed gas with a caribener and string.  use same mix in all my 2cycle engines.

[aigheadish]

(Image hidden from quote, click to view.)
 
Well then the Orange had to help the Green out!!  

Phew, finally caught up after reading this whole thread! Thanks for the lessons gang!

@Magicman the idea of lifting that little green guy into the sky is brilliant! I embraced the PITA of dropping my mower deck to change a belt in my gravel driveway and it was pretty miserable. It looks like a great plan (with the mandatory bracing) to disconnect the deck and leave it on the ground while lifting the whole mower into the sky, with the backhoe, so I can mess around underneath it!

[aigheadish]

Also, a public service announcement... 

My something dumb was to assume that Harbor Freight had a good deal going on 5 gallon fuel cans. I bought three of them yesterday, just prior to going to Menards, where I found the exact same cans for half the cost.

[SawyerTed]

HF deals aren’t always. 

[WV Sawmiller]

Also, a public service announcement...

My something dumb was to assume that Harbor Freight had a good deal going on 5 gallon fuel cans. I bought three of them yesterday, just prior to going to Menards, where I found the exact same cans for half the cost.

   If you had not already filled them you could always take them back. 

[aigheadish]

Sadly, WV, I'm much too stubborn for that, even though the HF was literally next door. I did buy another kerosene can at Menard's. 

My God I hate all the spouts on these things.