Pellet heads!! What's up today?

They always had a good reputation for giving consistently good heat.

 

Today

 

Those are meant to be good. If you can swing a softwood(there's a joke in there, I'm certain of it...) try to pick some up. A lot less ash than hardwoods and high heat, but a good hardwood will still keep you warm.

 

Thanks for the advice guys. I am gonna pick up a ton on Wednesday. Can't swing the softies price ( yea there is a joke there but this is a family show lol ). Price is right and I would like to help out local guys that maybe could be an alternative to the big boxes Im sorta stuck with. Should be a good test with cold temps moving in at the end of the week.

Doggy

 

I am also going to fire up the stove. Actually, my son says he load it up for me. I am very unsteady on my feet. can't carry anything and walk. Hate falling over.

 

I cleaned out the ash pans of both stoves yesterday afternoon even though I had cleaned both abut 10 days ago. With the GS being so ashy, I don't want the ash pans overflowing in the middle of this upcoming cold spell. Oh, ans starting to switch the P43 over to a bit better pellets for this cold event - Cubex.

 

Cold event????

 

Comparatively speaking - hasn't been down in the negative double-digits yet this season. If my area in fact hits -15*, then it will be the coldest in 4-5 years.

 

Hopefully -15 isnt in the cards but its only for a day or two then the temps are back up again.

 

Sooo, found out how to replace a Harman XXV distribution blower.

The blower that my better half and her son replaced a month ago crapped out last week. This time we wet with an OEM just to be sure. The aftermarket was bought over a year ago so out of warranty but still was going to try for a refund as we bought the OEM from the same place.

When I removed the bound up blower, it freed itself and turned just fine with a slight clicking. Messed with the bearings to make sure they were seated and the squirrel cages would slightly bind and then free.

Thought I could get this one working but she made the decision to replace due to location being a PITA to get to on this stove.

I swapped the assemblies and mounted the OEM in the housing noticing the OEM was slightly bound after mounting. Luckily this is before putting the assembly into the stove.

Thats when I saw it was ever so slightly cocked on one side-I mean 1/64th of an inch if that. Loosened the mounting screws and fully seated the blower-cages spun flawlessly.

Re installed, fixed a wire going to the blower motor and all is well.

There is a strong chance that the aftermarket was not fully seated in the housing as she mentioned that when they replaced it, that was slightly binding as well. Over time, the motion and heat eventually may have bound the bearings enough to stop the cages altogether.

 

Yes....what is this thing you speak of?

 

Grab a 5 gallon plastic bucket and split up the 40lb bags
Carrying 20lb is far easier ....And the bucket is not wiggling around like the 40 lb bags.....We carry our shells upstairs in 5 gallon plastic buckets.....
Just a thought...

Be safe

 

Good thought, we do the same. We keep 4 plastic large trash cans of fuel on the deck and bring in a bucket at a time. Much easier.

 

Yeah it's been years since it's been below zero at all around here. Brought in a bunch of pellets yesterday, stacked them so I'll be using some doug firs by Thurs night. P43 will be on a constant burn Fri-Sun if the forecast holds true.

On the Lori front- docs called yesterday after they got her lab results from last Wed back (they had taken 12 vials of blood that day). Everything came back normal. The doc is leaning towards her having autoimmune hepatitis as it's about the only thing which could cause issues like she had cirrhosis of the liver w/o actually having cirrhosis of the liver. Still going to do a liver biopsy just to be sure.

Doc knows about it as she has a friend with autoimmune hepatitis and it's treated with steroids. Doesn't cure it but keeps it well under control.

sam

 

Me not a fan of steroids, watch the dosing.

 

Although not a great diagnosis, getting it figured out is half the battle so treatment can begin. If it is indeed AIH, it sounds like the treatment is fairly straightforward if things haven't progressed too far. And, I assume the medication is fairly cheap (I have a cat on prednisone, and the meds don't break the bank - I have no idea about human dosage costs though).

Best of luck to Lori and hoping meds do the trick!

 

Hopefully the steroids are generic. She takes 2 insulins (Lantis, long acting at night, Humalog quick acting with meals) and with the new federal cost limits when we filled that script last week the cost was zero vs the usual $100 .

sam

 

Looks like steroids are the treatment of choice. I would like you to consider a specialist in autoimmune disorders. It takes a very specialized MD to manage this in the long term.

 

Please pay attention to the RN. I'll talk to my friend whom I've known since 1964 and has used prednisone long term in the past she too is an RN.

 

Cats are not affected the same way by steroids they have issues with other things but not prednisone long term. Most steroids are short term me use drugs when comes to people. First they feed you steroids then poison. You need a long honey-do list, most people become wall bouncers, then they crash.