Recent content by GeneralEclectic

Glass-reinforced polysulfone would probably last darn near as long as steel. It's hard as rock (try machining it) and has an elastic modulus on the same order as steel. Plus, it'll never corrode no matter how much you neglect your engine. Won't creep either. I'd be okay with it in my small lawn...

DISCOUNT DOUBLECHECK!!!

This discussion has been around as long as there has been a choice between auto and manual transmissions. Unfortunately the answer is that there IS NO ONE ANSWER because there are too many variables. The two biggest in my opinion are 1) the skill of the driver of the manual transmission (and...

Let me cast my vote with the "do not buy without involving her" contingent. Unless you are wealthy and $40,000 is pocket change to you, that kind of "gift" is too personal and permanent to choose for someone else if they're going to be stuck with it. There are WAY too many things that someone...

I'm posting this here sort of by default, since it's one of those "falls-in-the-cracks" kinds of questions that doesn't fit anywhere obvious. So if the mods want to move it, be my guest. Anyway... here's the problem: I ran across a new, unopened 64oz bottle of charcoal lighter fluid. I no...

Originally Posted By: JimPghPA The outside AC unit has the following specks: Goodman Manufacturing Co. Well, there's the first part of the problem. Goodman is (I don't mean to be insulting) the bottom of the line. Builder's specials made of generic components. That kind of thing. They're...

I just can not understand why anyone puts stuff like this in their car. Especially the junk that people put in the gas tank, and even more so a product that was "designed in the 20's" (or whatever their advertising says) considering the potential for damage to oxygen sensors and catalysts. I...

Originally Posted By: Pablo That must be a new thing. The attitude on BITOG used to be that your torque wrenches should be used for all threaded fasteners, calibrated at least annually, preferably every six months, traceable to NIST and that you certainly could not trust a torque tool in the as...

Sorry, there are just too many exogenous variables for you to ascribe the difference in these data sets to a single cause. It's just not statistically valid. There's nothing wrong with how you collected your measurements, it's just that there are too many other factors that interfere with...

Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek It's amazing how you can detect 0.5 MPG difference. You can't detect .5MPG difference. There's so much "noise" in tank-to-tank mileage calculations and effects of intervening variables such as traffic conditions, temperature, driver habits, etc. etc. etc...

Originally Posted By: mgm13 I mix 2oz Techron with 3oz MMO and use as an add with each fillup. Been at this for over a year and both cars run fine. Does anybody have comment on this? I put only gas in all four of my cars and they all run great. Seems to me all that other stuff is a waste of...

Tractor Supply has Ingersoll Rand branded 20W-40 weight full synthetic that, according to their compressor expert, is specifically formulated for that application. It's not cheap, but everything I've used it in, including a pressure washer pump that sees quite a bit of use, seems to work fine...

The Sawafuji generator in the ES6500 has an aluminum casting on the non-engine end to support the rotor shaft bearing and the exciter/regulator. But it's always good advice to follow temperature/load limits from the manufacturer, if they bother to make that information available. I just...

You know, there are so many "safety features" on recent vintage mowers that are designed to shut down the motor, that any time it acts up, you can no longer assume that the cause of the problem is on the motor itself. On my new mower there are interlocks on the blade engagement, brake, reverse...

The manual for my Honda ES6500 spends all of one sentence discussing power rating. 6000VA continuous, 6500VA 30-minute intermittent. That's VA, not watts. They make no mention of maximum current except for the main breaker which is 30A. That puts a tight limit on power factor close to full load...