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The Case Of The Galloping Genny: Generator Woes

1/7/2016

10 Comments

 
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     Last night I heard the generator's steady rumble falter and then change. I called my dad on the VHF handheld radio that we use to communicate to alert him. By the time he came back to me, the power began to surge and I turned off all my electronics. The generator's sound was a broken gallop now and the lights dulled and brightened rhythmically.
     My dad braved the blustery cold north wind and dark night with only a flashlight, to turn off the generator, which is situated on a float tied to their floathouse and only reachable by a narrow plank that stretches over some very cold water. He shut off the dying, galloping genny for the night. He called me when he got back inside and guessed the problem was dirty fuel, but he didn't plan on taking care of the problem until daylight.
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     This morning we checked out the damage. My dad strained some of the fuel in the tank through an absorbant pad and a thick residue was discovered. He diagnosed algae, a problem with older fuel, which this was. Fortunately, he has an algae-eating additive whiche he now put in the genny's fuel tank.
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     He cleaned the filter and put it back in place after a brief struggle--generators are not the easiest things to work on. My dad often asks for the use of my smaller hands to work in tight engine corners, but he managed this time on his own.
     Next he bled the fuel lines to flush out the bad fuel and get rid of any air in the line.
     He had to refill the tank, but first sloshed a winter additive into the summer weight diesel.
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     Once he'd mixed it he poured it into the tank and tried starting the generator. To our relief it fired right up. Which is not always--or even usually--the case.
     Over the years we have had many generator related adventures and nightmares. Everyone is responsible for their own electricity out here, but my dad is often called by locals to help figure out a generator or electrical problem because he has some kind of affinity--not passed on to his oldest daughter--for engines in general and generators in particular.
     Because I have done a lot of wintertime housesitting out here in the bush, I have been exposed to a broad array of temperamental engines, each with their own eccentricities to cope with. I've often been on the radio with my dad as he talked me through various procedures to get a generator running again.
     But those rants--I mean stories--will have to wait until I have a more reliable signal....
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10 Comments
hiker
1/7/2016 03:51:28 pm

I really find your life style interesting. I had no idea algae would grow in gas. I love looking at the pics that you share.

Reply
ADOW
1/7/2016 04:49:55 pm

Thanks, hiker, you keep me writing this blog and posting pictures. I appreciate your loyalty. :-)

Reply
Irene
1/9/2016 05:51:50 pm

Hi Tara, Do you live there by yourself? Just tell me it's NOMB if I get too nosy! How far away does your Dad live? Do bears ever come to visit? Do you have a dog or cat? And PLEASE tell me, because curiosity is killing this old cat, what DOA stands for? Not the one we all associate with it, right? That board with the "steps" in it looks really slippery. Is that some sort of mildew on it? Keep the stories and pictures coming! Love them! Irene

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ADOW
1/9/2016 06:42:48 pm

I do live by myself with a Maine Coon that adopted me. :-) My parents live in the same tidal inlet in their own floathouse. We're connected by boardwalks and planks. Yes, we get bears, black and brown. DOA actually was sort of an accident, but it went well with severe health problems I was having at the time. :-) It's probably moss or algae on the walk plank--it's a rainforest that surrounds us, after all! I'll try to keep posting when my signal lets me. Thanks, Irene!

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Maria Schneider (BearMountainBooks) link
1/10/2016 10:22:08 am

Dad's ROCK!

I got your email about the caring circle and stopped over to say hello! Goodness, you live in a remote area! Kudos to you AND especially your dad for coming to the rescue!
Maria

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ADOW
1/10/2016 10:32:36 am

Thanks, Maria! My dad is pretty amazing. He's the go to guy whenever I have problems, especially with anything mechanical. Engines hate me but love him. I think he could even teach them to speak if he wanted to! :-)

Reply
Daneel Olivaw
1/10/2016 02:34:46 pm

Glad your signal problems have cleared up for the moment; I hope you'll be making up for lost time on the forums where you've been keenly missed.

In reading of your adventures in the wilderness, I'd sometimes shake my head with the realization that your lifestyle would probably kill me within one week, lifelong urban creature that I am. Why does she subject herself to such hardship and danger, I'd ask myself. But your blog makes clear that you find a breathtaking beauty in your surroundings. That's explanation enough.

Hope you are well and that your mom's surgery goes great.

Reply
ADOW
1/10/2016 03:04:50 pm

Thank you, Daneel. I am slowly but surely catching up with everything online that piled up while I was dealing with signal issues. I can't wait to get back with you guys.

I love this place the most because every time I step out the door and look around, my mind and my heart expand. Where else do you get that? Yes, you have to keep your mind on the dangers all the time, but that's good too--the brain is never idle, even when just carrying firewood or doing strictly manual labor. I like that.

Anyway, I don't think you'd die. You're imaginative, you have common sense and you're smart. But you might get very bored, possibly to death, for want of urban virtues. My sister nearly did so she packed up and moved to Florida where she is thriving in an urban setting. Each to his or her own, I say. Whatever works. :-)

Reply
Dawn
1/12/2016 09:58:56 am

Tara,
It's me Dawn, Pat Chapman's grandaughter. I love reading these. I sure miss loving in the Chuck. I talk about those stupid Alaska shows all the time and how unreal they are, we had had it real.

Reply
ADOW
1/12/2016 10:02:55 am

Dawn! How good to hear from you. We were recently talking about you and wondering how you were doing. Yes, we had an amazing childhood, didn't we? I haven't even attempted to write about our school days yet. How to capture it? We were some pretty wild bush kids. :-)

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