Friday, June 19, 2009
Installation of new front tire on VTX
I decided to save the $20 fee to have someone else mount my front tire for me by doing it myself. A stool with a hole in the seat makes a good work bench.
Remove front wheel (last picture shows the jack), take axle, and use the axle to hold the wheel from sliding off the stool.
All ready to remove the tire.
My fancy bead breaker.
Getting the first side of the tire off is usually the hardest part.
Removing the inner tube is easy!
Getting the second side off is also relatively easy.
It must have started to go wrong about here. Hardly any more pictures! Getting the new tire and inner tube on the rim was relatively easy, but I spent at least an hour trying to get the bead to set. Tried every trick I knew plus two, but finally got it to go.
Time to put the tire back on after balancing it. Should have taken pictures of that, too. Oh well. Looks kind of funny with the tire pointing strait and the forks off to the left.
Well, maybe I'll get the rest of the process documented next time. Anyway, it's nice to have a tire with some tread on it.
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Remove front wheel (last picture shows the jack), take axle, and use the axle to hold the wheel from sliding off the stool.
All ready to remove the tire.
My fancy bead breaker.
Getting the first side of the tire off is usually the hardest part.
Removing the inner tube is easy!
Getting the second side off is also relatively easy.
It must have started to go wrong about here. Hardly any more pictures! Getting the new tire and inner tube on the rim was relatively easy, but I spent at least an hour trying to get the bead to set. Tried every trick I knew plus two, but finally got it to go.
Time to put the tire back on after balancing it. Should have taken pictures of that, too. Oh well. Looks kind of funny with the tire pointing strait and the forks off to the left.
Well, maybe I'll get the rest of the process documented next time. Anyway, it's nice to have a tire with some tread on it.
1 comments
Thursday, June 11, 2009
The Wine Cooler
Some time last fall my wine cooler quit working. I bought it on the clearance rack at Lowe's for about $70 a couple of years ago. Since winter was coming I just left it in the garage because the temperatures were relatively cool. Now that the temperatures have warmed back up I decided to see if maybe just a fuse was blown. I pulled the back cover off and found the power supply board was fried -- more than just a blown fuse!
We figured out that the power supply converted 120VAC to 12VDC, and that we needed about 100 watts of power to run the cooler. John mentioned that he had multiple computer power supplies sitting around that would supply at least that much power on the 12V rail. Even though the original power supply did not have a fan cooling it, I decided to use the one from the computer power supply to hopefully keep the board cool. So, after hacking, whacking, and generally destroying a power supply and the back of the wine cooler, it looks like this.
I think the heat of the garage was too much for the little cooler, and that is why the power board burned up in the first place. Thus, we decided to relocate the cooler into the house. We decided to put it in the pantry, but there was no power outlet there. First step was to install an outlet (sort of visible behind the can of vegetable something to the right of the cooler) and then extend the shelf out.
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We figured out that the power supply converted 120VAC to 12VDC, and that we needed about 100 watts of power to run the cooler. John mentioned that he had multiple computer power supplies sitting around that would supply at least that much power on the 12V rail. Even though the original power supply did not have a fan cooling it, I decided to use the one from the computer power supply to hopefully keep the board cool. So, after hacking, whacking, and generally destroying a power supply and the back of the wine cooler, it looks like this.
I think the heat of the garage was too much for the little cooler, and that is why the power board burned up in the first place. Thus, we decided to relocate the cooler into the house. We decided to put it in the pantry, but there was no power outlet there. First step was to install an outlet (sort of visible behind the can of vegetable something to the right of the cooler) and then extend the shelf out.
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Garden Plot Story for Alanna
One day, Grandpa decided he wanted a garden in his backyard. It was almost June, and probably too late to start a garden in Texas. But Grandpa didn't mind. At least he now had a spot to dispose of the compost Grandma makes in her new bins, and the large patch of crabgrass was getting tilled. Grandpa doesn't like crabgrass.
After fixing the handle on the Holley rototiller he carefully tilled the crabgrass and the clay underneath it. While tilling he found many small rubber balls. He wonders if maybe rubber balls are tubers? They seem to grow in the grass roots in his yard.
After a few hours it was getting hot, so he tried a bigger hat and a patio shade to keep cool. However, he still managed to get a red neck and slightly over-heated. Maybe if he had stayed under the shade instead of next to it he would have kept cooler?
When the plot was tilled, the borders set in place, and Grandma's compost mixed in, Grandpa found a better way to cool off. Hooray for pools!
Now Grandpa has a garden plot, but he needs some plants for it. He thinks that if he is patient, the crabgrass will come back and grow very well in his new garden plot. What other plants might grow well in Texas in June?
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After fixing the handle on the Holley rototiller he carefully tilled the crabgrass and the clay underneath it. While tilling he found many small rubber balls. He wonders if maybe rubber balls are tubers? They seem to grow in the grass roots in his yard.
After a few hours it was getting hot, so he tried a bigger hat and a patio shade to keep cool. However, he still managed to get a red neck and slightly over-heated. Maybe if he had stayed under the shade instead of next to it he would have kept cooler?
When the plot was tilled, the borders set in place, and Grandma's compost mixed in, Grandpa found a better way to cool off. Hooray for pools!
Now Grandpa has a garden plot, but he needs some plants for it. He thinks that if he is patient, the crabgrass will come back and grow very well in his new garden plot. What other plants might grow well in Texas in June?
0 comments
