Recent content by chemman

Over the last year or so, external hard drives have almost doubled in price! A year ago I was able to purchase a 20 TB external hard drive for around $300. Now, the same size Seagate hard drive sells for around $600 on Amazon. Be ready for sticker shock!

Do not assume anything. Just because you had spark a month ago does not mean you will have it today.

Do your have spark?

Whatever brand that was on the shelf in the automotive aisle at the Skaggs Drug Store my dad worked at. It would have been sometime in 1972 (after I turned 15) and was for a 1967 Ford Galaxy 500 with the 390 engine. As far as oil, it was most likely Pennzoil 10w40 because it was on sale for a...

Spray it with some Knock'er Loose or other penetrating fluid, let it sit for a few minutes then tap the head of the bolt with a hammer, apply some more Knock'er Loose, and repeat with the wait and hammer.

GFCI outlets which have inductive loads plugged into them can have nuisance trips due to high inrush currents or transient surges when the compressor engages. You should be able to put a regular 15 amp outlet in it's place and be free of the nuisance trips.

I stopped buying Rayovac batteries a couple of years ago due to over 50% of them leaking before I even got a chance to use them. They are not worth the money.

As long as I can get parts for my self-propelled 1996 Toro Super Recycler, I'll repair it. Fortunately the deck is in good shape and the 5.5 hp B&S Quantum engine does not burn any oil.

Remember, Diagnostic Test Codes tell you there is a problem with a system or a circuit. They do not tell you that a part is defective. Diagnose the problem and then repair what is broken. It could be as simple as a broken wire or a bad ground.

I would also recommend checking your fuel pressure. Our 1992 Olds 88 would die and then later restart and not die again for varying periods of time (3 days to 18 months). Turned out to be a bad ground connection for the fuel pump on the fuel level sending unit which held the fuel pump...

I have had better luck using a combination of both 2-4D (the old Ortho Weed-B-Gon formulation) and Triclopyr (Ortho Brush-B-Gon). It's a tough weed to successfully get rid of and in my experience it takes several treatments with the 2 herbicides a few weeks apart. Be careful not to spray this...

One other thing. Many jurisdictions require that when "updating" electrical work in a bedroom (which includes replacing outlets), that the circuit(s) be protected by an Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter of some sort (either an AFCI outlet or AFCI circuit breaker). I have seen online in many...

You may also need a letter from the individual's primary care physician that the individual is no longer competent to make decisions. This is in addition to having a Power of Attorney, and removes any doubt when it comes to one needing to invoke the Power of Attorney. I went through this with...

NAPA has the 32 ounce Techron Complete on sale for $12.99. Best price per ounce when compared to the BOGO offers.

I started using Turbo Tax years ago after I compared what it cost vs using a tax preparation service I had been with for over 15 years. For the first two years of using Turbo Tax I also used the tax preparation service and compared not only the questions both asked me (virtually the same...