rachels.haven
Herd Master
That sounds great! Do they get bitter?
Bruce's Journal
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Bruce
Herd Master
Nope! A 12" Suyo is a great cucumber.
Baymule
Herd Master
You could play zucchini baseball with those! Use them as the bats and a tomato for the ball. LOL
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Bruce
Herd Master
I better do that inside the chickens' area so they can pick up the tomato splats
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- #3,325
Bruce
Herd Master
OK, got the tractor back. Though they didn't consider it a warranty repair Mahindra kicked in $550 plus they didn't charge the dealer for shipping the parts. And the dealer sold me the parts at no markup. $780 out of my pocket. Money but a LOT better than it could have been.
Mahindra suggested to the dealer that they get paint pens and mark the bolts on all tires when they prep a machine. So they've ordered paint pens but did put some (I guess less durable) paint marks on the bolts and rims so I can visually see if any move. You can bet I'll be looking at those every time I run the tractor from now on.
The service/parts guy said "tattletales" are even better than paint but they are expensive. He described what they looked like and said truckers use them. The bolt goes through them so they can't be put on when the tire is mounted. I happened to notice a semi today that had them. Teardrop shaped things that all pointed to the next bolt clockwise. If any move it would be really obvious that the point of the teardrop wasn't pointing where it should.
In other news, though I'm sure most won't really care since I think I'm about the only one with interest in decreasing my "carbon footprint", we bought DW a Leaf 2 weeks ago. All electric so no more twice a week and bad weather stops at the gas station, no more mid winter oil changes
Her commute is 70 miles 6 days a week, the car's range is 215 miles.
She kept her 2006 Prius with nearly 250K miles "so we would have a spare" (good if DD2 racks up her car AGAIN I guess) and she'll be driving that once a week just to keep it in running shape. All in all, I think a used truck would be a more useful "use when needed, ie rarely" vehicle. Of course the Prius isn't worth much, I'd surely want something a bit newer and with not nearly so many miles and that would cost more money.
At our electric rate of $0.18/kWh, the Leaf costs $.044/mile to run NOW, it will be more when the temps drop. That cost is about equivalent to her 2006 Prius when gas is $2.20/gallon. Now we need more solar panels
She did say that fudge buying might take a hit since the store that sells the fudge doesn't have "pay at the pump" so she has to go in. Once inside the fudge drags her over to its counter I bet she still stops in sometimes.
Mahindra suggested to the dealer that they get paint pens and mark the bolts on all tires when they prep a machine. So they've ordered paint pens but did put some (I guess less durable) paint marks on the bolts and rims so I can visually see if any move. You can bet I'll be looking at those every time I run the tractor from now on.
The service/parts guy said "tattletales" are even better than paint but they are expensive. He described what they looked like and said truckers use them. The bolt goes through them so they can't be put on when the tire is mounted. I happened to notice a semi today that had them. Teardrop shaped things that all pointed to the next bolt clockwise. If any move it would be really obvious that the point of the teardrop wasn't pointing where it should.
In other news, though I'm sure most won't really care since I think I'm about the only one with interest in decreasing my "carbon footprint", we bought DW a Leaf 2 weeks ago. All electric so no more twice a week and bad weather stops at the gas station, no more mid winter oil changes
Her commute is 70 miles 6 days a week, the car's range is 215 miles. She kept her 2006 Prius with nearly 250K miles "so we would have a spare" (good if DD2 racks up her car AGAIN I guess) and she'll be driving that once a week just to keep it in running shape. All in all, I think a used truck would be a more useful "use when needed, ie rarely" vehicle. Of course the Prius isn't worth much, I'd surely want something a bit newer and with not nearly so many miles and that would cost more money.
At our electric rate of $0.18/kWh, the Leaf costs $.044/mile to run NOW, it will be more when the temps drop. That cost is about equivalent to her 2006 Prius when gas is $2.20/gallon. Now we need more solar panels
She did say that fudge buying might take a hit since the store that sells the fudge doesn't have "pay at the pump" so she has to go in. Once inside the fudge drags her over to its counter
I bet she still stops in sometimes.
Senile_Texas_Aggie
Herd Master
Yay for getting the tractor back! I am glad that Mahindra and the dealer gave a bit of a price break! I have never heard of the indicators that truckers use to see if the lug nuts have loosened. I may need to check into those. Will you be able to resume processing your firewood now and get caught up?
As for your wanting to reduce your carbon footprint, I think that is a laudable goal. I should consider doing that, and more than consider, perhaps put something into action. I had been considering putting in solar panels, but then when I ruined my previous tractor and ended up spending > $40K on a new one plus another $2500 for a new mower, then that has given me pause on spending any more money.
As for your wanting to reduce your carbon footprint, I think that is a laudable goal. I should consider doing that, and more than consider, perhaps put something into action. I had been considering putting in solar panels, but then when I ruined my previous tractor and ended up spending > $40K on a new one plus another $2500 for a new mower, then that has given me pause on spending any more money.
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Bruce
Herd Master
I hear you on the money thing. If I had known I'd be spending nearly $800 on a tractor repair I probably wouldn't have purchased the canopy for it. Sure jacks up the $$ "invested" in it this year. But I'm sure I'll appreciate it for some years.
Regarding solar, it would be of value to look at your finances, current electric costs, net metering with your power company and your annual federal tax "burden". There is still a 26% federal tax credit for solar this year (drops to 22% next year). Unlike electric/plug in vehicles, the credit not used this year (ie you don't owe that much tax) the solar credit can be extended into the following years. I don't know if your state has any solar incentives but look for that as well.
My electric bill has been $0 for nearly 5 years but they made a change a couple of years ago that I am grandfathered against. That change was that you can't use solar credits to pay other than the per kilowatt charges. Those costs on my last bill would have been almost $16. Thus it is IMPOSSIBLE for more recent installations to have a $0 monthly bill unless you are not connected to the grid at all.
Regarding solar, it would be of value to look at your finances, current electric costs, net metering with your power company and your annual federal tax "burden". There is still a 26% federal tax credit for solar this year (drops to 22% next year). Unlike electric/plug in vehicles, the credit not used this year (ie you don't owe that much tax) the solar credit can be extended into the following years. I don't know if your state has any solar incentives but look for that as well.
My electric bill has been $0 for nearly 5 years but they made a change a couple of years ago that I am grandfathered against. That change was that you can't use solar credits to pay other than the per kilowatt charges. Those costs on my last bill would have been almost $16. Thus it is IMPOSSIBLE for more recent installations to have a $0 monthly bill unless you are not connected to the grid at all.
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rachels.haven
Herd Master
Hmm, I'm pretty sure my husband wants to be you in 10 years or so in regards to carbon footprint. That is a laudable achievement.
DH wonders if your state compensates you for what you put back into the grid. Mind if I ask you on his behalf?
DH wonders if your state compensates you for what you put back into the grid. Mind if I ask you on his behalf?
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Bruce
Herd Master
Net metering is different in every state. I don't know if it is also by utility.
Green Mountain Power credits at the retail rate. Utilities in some states credit at a lower rate. That is wrong IMO since there is no cash value for the power. One shouldn't have to sell their excess power in the summer for a wholesale value then buy it back at retail in the winter. In months that we generate more than we use we get a credit for the difference but that credit expires the following year on that month so you can't save up for future power users (like a Leaf for example). Use it or lose it. I have "lost" several hundred dollars in the past.
A few years ago Nevada effectively killed residential solar by charging solar net connected accounts twice the daily "fee to be a customer" of non solar customers and paying wholesale for the power sent to the grid but retail for the power used from the grid. All the big solar companies pulled out. And what better place than sunny NV for solar panels?
Green Mountain Power credits at the retail rate. Utilities in some states credit at a lower rate. That is wrong IMO since there is no cash value for the power. One shouldn't have to sell their excess power in the summer for a wholesale value then buy it back at retail in the winter. In months that we generate more than we use we get a credit for the difference but that credit expires the following year on that month so you can't save up for future power users (like a Leaf for example). Use it or lose it. I have "lost" several hundred dollars in the past.
A few years ago Nevada effectively killed residential solar by charging solar net connected accounts twice the daily "fee to be a customer" of non solar customers and paying wholesale for the power sent to the grid but retail for the power used from the grid. All the big solar companies pulled out. And what better place than sunny NV for solar panels?
rachels.haven
Herd Master
Yeah, DH has mixed feelings on the credits since most power generation occurs at non-peak hours and is hard to store and a lot of the expense of a power co is maintaining the grid. Too bad about NV though. That's kind of sick. They don't have to buy power from them but they shouldn't discourage people from using solar, imo. I guess the power of the lobby is great.
