Embarressing Moments

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Something happened today that embarrassed me. I thought it might be fun and refreshing to document those moments here. Just remember that IFI is a family friendly G rated forum, so nothing that would violate the TOS like politics, religion, no cussin, fussin, etc.

 

Now an embarrassing moment.

Our weather forecast is for much colder weather starting tonight. Temperatures will drop to well below freezing with thunderstorms and the possibility of snow sleet or freezing rain. OK I like to be prepared so I went out to test the standby generator. The last time it was tested was 8/13/22 and it ran fine. I went through my start up procedure, check the fuel tank level, check the crankcase oil level, turn fuel shutoff valve on, turn the on/off switch to on, pull the choke on. Pat the generator on the fuel tank and say good generator please start. Then pull the starter cord and pull the cord about ten times, stop to catch my breath. 

 

Alright this doesn't look good it usually starts by now. Next step check the air filter to make sure it isn't clogged up with critter nests, clean as new. Tried another ten or so pulls, still nothing stop to catch my breath. Time to RTFM (read the field manual) it gives the same starting procedure, I have always used. It shows where the ignition switch is, the fuel shutoff valve is, where the choke lever is but does not say which way to turn the fuel valve. I go back out to the generator and use starting fluid, a short squirt and it started, ran a few seconds and shut off. Definitely a fuel problem. While trying to decide what to do next, I spotted a white with red lettering label under the lip of the 5 gal fuel tank with which way to turn the valve lever for on & off. Off is horizontal and on vertical. I had set the lever to off. I turned it to on and put the air filter back together. One pull and it started, running like a champ. I did the test with just the generator running for 15 min. then switched from commercial power to generator power and ran it for an additional 15 min powering the whole house. I switched back to commercial power and shut the generator down, making sure to turn the fuel lever off, pat the fuel tank and say good generator.    

Semper Paratus

[Glenn]

Then all else fails, read the instructions. (grin)

[George N. M.]

I think we have all had those "is it plugged in?" "Is it turned on?" "is it out of gas?" moments.  You slap your forehead say an adult word and hope that you rmember to do it right the first time the next time you need that thing but know that it is probably 50-50 that you will.

BRW, how large is your generator?  And how thirsty is it?  We've been thinking about a backup generator, particularly to keep the furnace running in the winter but I haven't decided how large a generator would be optimum and how much fuel to keep on hand.  Also, can you talk about what you need to do to interface with the commercial power and how not to fry anything when the commercial power comes back on.

Thanks,

George

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Our generator is 6.5 KW 6500 watts Generac brand big enough to power most everything in our house, which is not all electric. Our stove and water heater and downstairs wall furnace are propane, the furnace only uses a fan to distribute the air and the generator handles it.  It will power the downstairs heater, well pump, refrigerator, freezer, all the lights, TV and computers. It will not run the upstairs wall electric heater which draws something like 3000 watts or in the summer the air conditioner without turning most everything else off. I did a survey of everything to see how many watts the whole house would need and came up with 15KW which priced the generator out of our range. This generator is also portable.

To hook it up to the house power feed, it takes a transfer box to disconnect the commercial power so the generator will not feed power back into the commercial lines. Ours is manual where I start the generator and when it's running well, I switch it over to generator. That is required by the power company for the protection of personnel working on the lines restoring power. When the power is restored, all I have to do is flip the lever back to the commercial side which disconnects the generator. They make an automatic transfer box that does that switching back & forth from Gen and comm lines but it is very expensive.

I usually keep 20 gallons of gas on hand for all the lawn equipment my old Jeep and generator. The generator will run about 8 hours on 5 gallons of gas. It has a 5 gallon tank.

I just thought if everything is running, the 1200WT microwave will draw the generator down so we don't use the microwave on generator without switching other stuff off.

[George N. M.]

Thanks, that is about in line with what I have already learned and adds to the knowledge I'll need if we decide to go in that direction.  Fortunately, we have underground electric lines in our neighborhood which are less vulnerable to things like wind damage.  However, something can happen further upstream.  We have had outages for up to 8-10 hours.  Fortunately, it was not during seriously cold weather.

G.

[BillyBones]

Something i have learned about shut off valves, when they are in line with the line  it usually means open, crossing the line  is closed. Embarrassingly i did not learn that until i was almost 50, after years of working on cars and small engines. 

[lary]

 

  This just proves your human.  Irondragon you might have  couple years on me, but I cut way back on carbohydrates several months ago and am amazed at how the brain fog and aches and pains have subsided.

[Scott NC]

  I suppose I could write a book on this subject.  It's a good thing I can laugh myself..... 

[Frosty]

Witnessed or private embarrassingnesses?

Out of gas clueless. We were drilling a bridge location on a creak in Anchorage and the crew cab wouldn't start. Fuel gage said there was half a tank so I called the light duty shop. The mechanic switched to the main fuel tank and started the engine. The truck was on the auxiliary fuel tank and I KNEW the gauge only worked on the main tank. <sigh>

How about the rivet that won't fit so I drift the hole out a little and the rivet rattles. Don't keep more than one size rivet at the anvil! I've done this kind of thing so many times it's gotten so I only remember the lesson and not the mistake itself.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

[The Jeff]

Had a similar incident with my generator, had put a new plug in it and it wouldn't start so I had our small engine guy at work check it.

I had left the plug wire loose after changing it.

[ThomasPowers]

Fellow showed up at the scrapyard with 3 good looking small generators. I talked my wife into buying the duel fuel propane gas one as we have a propane cookstove in the kitchen and she was wanting to be sure we could keep my insulin cool in the summer when the power goes out.  US$100 with a guy in line wanting to buy all of them right behind me...

Now to get the electrician involved to get it hooked up *exactly* as required.    They get fussy out here about having "hot" cold lines...

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Major embarrassing whole day not just a moment. We were coming back from breakfast and the grocery store and I asked Debi if we should go up our north end of the driveway to see how it did in all the storms lately. She said it's up to you. I made the executive decision to take it. Whats the worst that can happen, maybe have to move some dead limbs. 

The north drive is 3/4 of a mile long. It goes up the hill with 3 sharp turns on it. Here we go up and around the first turn, looks ok, may need a little grading with the tractor. Up a long stretch to the second turn. That section was in good shape. Started up from there which is curved so you can't see up to the third turn. About half way up there was 2 very large trees down and blocking the whole drive. OK have to back up the whole way down to the first turn because the drive is so narrow there is no place to turn around. Everything was going good until just before the first turn where there is a wide spot to turn around. I got a little too far to the left and the front wheel dropped off the edge. No problem it's four wheel drive, I'll just pull forward and get it back on the road.

Here is the embarrassing part. Instead of pulling back up the rear wheel also slid off into the ditch. The car was resting on some little trees on the left. Time to call the wrecker. He got there really quick and $218.00 later we were back on the road and on the way up the county road to our south end of the driveway. Lucky no damage to the body, that a little buffing compound and elbow grease to remove the marks of the tree left. The under carriage was ok also, can't say the same of my pride. Debi was really cool about it.

[Scott NC]

  I think I once related on the forum how I slid down a steep ditch on a rainey night into a plowed field that had recently been spread with hog manure.  I tried driving my way out and it got worse and worse.  I eventualy burned the clutch out.  Then it got even worse.

[M.J.Lampert]

one thing I love about these situations is that hindsight is always 20/20 and laughter is the best medication

[Scott NC]

  Kinda hard to do with the more major blunders and fiascos, but you gotta turn that frown upside down.... 

[Frosty]

Tell us about them Scott, we'll medicate you with laughter!     

Frosty The Lucky.

[M.J.Lampert]

how about the time i was asked to fill the oil tank on a truck, little did I know that this one was under the cylinder not like the other trucks that had it on the passenger side. so half a bucket of hydraulic fluid went into the diesel tank...

[Scott NC]

  It's amusing how these things happen out of the clear blue sky.  A couple of days ago I went to the farm store for some special rawhide chews for our dog and something happened right in front of a bunch of people that made me turn beet red, I am sure.  I couldn't get out of there fast enough.....  Half an hour later I forgot all about it.  I can't share the details here.  Not because I'm embarrassed or anything, just the nature of the incident.  I will say it involved rawhide chews....

[Scott NC]

  "Every creative act involves a leap into the void. The leap has to occur at the right moment and yet the time for the leap is never prescribed. In the midst of a leap, there are no guarantees. To leap can often cause acute embarrassment. Embarrassment is a partner in the creative act—a key collaborator."

Anne Bogart

Edited April 15, 2023 by Scott NC
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[M3F]

At a family function once, at an Aunt's house, I saw a box on the counter with what I thought were some kind of snack. Turns out I was eating the dog treats. Oh everyone had a good laugh at that one. 

[Frosty]

Mother asked the family doctor about me eating Milk Bones and he told her lots of kids do they're a lot better than candy so don't discourage me. I must say modern dog treats don't taste all that good at all, I miss my old Milk Bones. <sigh>

Frosty The Lucky.

[George N. M.]

M3F, I did a similar thing once when flying from Denver to Buffalo, NY to visit the in laws.  At one of the places on the concourse I bought a package of cookies as snacks for the flight.  They were kind of bland and not very sweet.  When we got to NY and I was unpacking I looked at the packaging and realized they were dog treats.  OK but wouldn't buy again.

GNM

[The Jeff]

Apparently I'm not the only one who has eaten dog treats. 

I once feel asleep at the tax office and only realized it when I snored myself awake.

While sitting in room full of people.

[JHCC]

Before my sleep apnea was diagnosed, I was constantly fighting sleep deprivation and would occasionally nod off (including, scarily, at stop signs).  One time, I dozed off during a staff meeting at work, but my brain was apparently sufficiently awake that when my supervisor asked me a question designed to catch me out and possibly embarrass me in front of the team, I woke up and answered with clarity and without hesitation. 

Perhaps it’s notable that he doesn’t work there anymore. 

[The Jeff]

When I still delivered appliances, we were coming back from another county and the guy I was with had already fallen asleep.

I stopped at a red light less five minutes from our store and I fell asleep too. I only noticed after the truck in front of us had moved about 20-30 feet.

I've dozed off driving a few times it is pretty scary.