Slow, but steady

This week I purchased the shallow well pump, but it's taken forever to get it set up and working. First I was missing Teflon tape for the threads on the fittings; now the pipe to hook to the house supply AND the wires for the power are both too short to reach. I'll gather supplies tomorrow and make a final assault on the thing then.

Today I burned the trash/brush pile by the pool, reducing a car sized pile of privet clippings, old chairs and boards to about a five gallon bucket of ash. I experimented with using kerosene in a garden sprayer to get it going and "burn off the dampness" and it worked pretty well.

I also experimented with cutting tires today. I ended up using a hole saw in my big hammer drill as the best solution for boring drainage holes in one sidewall. Now they will not collect water and next year when I grow sweet potatoes in them they won't get soggy. I bored five holes in the sidewall, wherever the "low point" would be when they're flipped over. My hole saw is one of the more heavy duty type, good on both wood and metal. Tires with thick sidewalls can take a while to bore through, but the result is worth it. A fair amount of smoke gets generated, so I was glad I could work outdoors on a breezy day. The hole saw gets coated with molten rubber, so expect that if you try this. As for how to bore through, it's a balance between pressure and speed. The harder you press, the more the drill bogs down; back off the pressure and the rpms come up, but you get a lot of smoke. Alternating pressure and rpms seemed to work ok. Also "wobbling" the drill worked, putting pressure on mostly one spot at a time of the circle you're cutting out.

Digging the "plug" of rubber out of the hole saw after every two or three holes was important. Otherwise the saw couldn't get down far enough to be effective. Pry the plug up while it's hot. Once the rubber cools it's harder to pry it up. I ended up with dozens of really neat rubber grommets of varying thicknesses. Could be good for shock mounting motors or any number of things.

My buddy Charles came by for a visit and we walked the grounds and I told/showed him what we'd accomplished so far and the plans for the future. It was a real treat to have him there for a couple hours.

Tomorrow I want to burn another brush pile in the morning while the dew is still on everything, then get the dang pump functional so I can actually get some cleaning done! :)

Did I mention that the cistern pump is now able to crank out some normal pressure? If you let it run long enough, it'll build up to 50 psi and shut off, like it's supposed to.

In looking at the kitchen layout I want, it occurs to me that we might be able to mount a hand pump from the cistern right to the kitchen sink. It'd be neat to have a hand powered water supply if the power is interuppted!

Lots to do, but to bed for now. Nite all!

Doug