So, about Craigslist and a problem with a seller?

CoastRange57 · Jul 23, 2017

Wow..people have problems with Flakeslist transactions ?? Shocking.

Jamie6.5 · Jul 23, 2017

The Heretic said:
Bear in mind, that unless you have an inverter on the genset, you must run the engine at a set RPM - usually 3600 RPM. You cannot (without an inverter) run it at a lower RPM unless the power unit is wired to run at a lower RPM (many diesel gensets run at 1800 RPM). Just sitting there at 3600 RPM, whether there is a load or not, will consume fuel.

Just to be clear, only the generator needs to turn 3600 RPM, not necessarily the engine. An engine with an abundance of power can be overdriven through pulleys or gears to produce 3600 RPM at the input shaft of the generator unit, while the engine itself turns at a much lower, and therefore more efficient RPM.
There's no need to turn the engine 3600, when it's capable of producing 12-15 HP at 1200 RPM.

The Heretic · Jul 23, 2017

Jamie6.5 said:
Just to be clear, only the generator needs to turn 3600 RPM, not necessarily the engine. An engine with an abundance of power can be overdriven through pulleys or gears to produce 3600 RPM at the input shaft of the generator unit, while the engine itself turns at a much lower, and therefore more efficient RPM.
There's no need to turn the engine 3600, when it's capable of producing 12-15 HP at 1200 RPM.

True - but most gensets are direct drive with no gearing. Now a PTO is a different beast, usually geared to be a certain RPM at a certain engine RPM.

Also, most genset engines are governed to keep a precise RPM regardless of load because you need that to get the 60 cycles, although some loads don't care that much about the cycles.

The nice thing about a genset with an inverter is that the engine can slow down and speed up for the load. I have a 5.5/6.5 KW construction genset, but I intend to get a 2 KW 'suitcase' genset to power my freezer in the shop and for other times when it would be more appropriate than hauling my heavy genset - like if I need power tools out in my woods. Also, as a backup and a loaner (everybody on my road has a genset, two places have automatic backups that kick in when the power goes out).

Jamie6.5 · Jul 23, 2017

The Heretic said:
True - but most gensets are direct drive with no gearing. Now a PTO is a different beast, usually geared to be a certain RPM at a certain engine RPM.

And if it were me, that would be the way I'd set it up on a 75hp Jeep 4-banger.
My pop's service truck way back in the day had a gen-set unit under the hood, that he salvaged off an old Onan IIRC. He over-drove it via pulleys at 3:1, and had a locking hand throttle to set the 413 V-8 at 1200 RPM.
It worked great for years, and was relatively economical and surprisingly quiet. He actually mounted it on a bracket he built, with an AC clutch on the generator shaft. Turning it on was just a flick of the switch.

jbett98 · Jul 23, 2017

The Heretic · Jul 23, 2017

Yeah, I have two 2 wheel tractors (Grillo and BCS) that have PTO drives, and I can buy a generator for them that is driven by the PTO. But the generator is as expensive as a purpose built genset and they do not have governors on them.

I also have a diesel truck and I think the transmission can have a PTO installed on it - but that comes with it's own set of problems.

I prefer to leave my tractors and vehicles free from being stationary for special uses, I usually need them for work instead of powering a generator.

Certaindeaf · Jul 23, 2017

Jamie6.5 said:
Just to be clear, only the generator needs to turn 3600 RPM, not necessarily the engine. An engine with an abundance of power can be overdriven through pulleys or gears to produce 3600 RPM at the input shaft of the generator unit, while the engine itself turns at a much lower, and therefore more efficient RPM.
There's no need to turn the engine 3600, when it's capable of producing 12-15 HP at 1200 RPM.

I wouldn't mind getting a little Chinese diesel to run all kinda crap off of.. this guy runs table saws, corn mills, generators etc with his.

Jamie6.5 · Jul 23, 2017

Certaindeaf said:
I wouldn't mind getting a little Chinese diesel to run all kinda crap off of.. this guy runs table saws, corn mills, generators etc with his.

Yeah, don't ever pass up a chance to pick up a good-running small engine in the 8-20hp range. They're handy for all kinds of things, and often times can be had at yard/barn/garage sales for really cheap.
I've kicked myself for passing on a couple I should have grabbed over the years.

dejure · Jul 25, 2017

The legal measure for firewood in Washington is the cord or a fraction of a cord. Sellers may not legitimately use terms such as "truckload," "face cord," "rack" or "pile." These terms have no legal definition and cannot, therefore, be used as a measure for the amount of firewood being sold. Only packaged wood, such as kindling or a very small bundle of firewood, may be sold by the cubic foot or a fraction of a cubic foot.

A cord is 128 cubic feet. To be sure you have a cord, stack the wood neatly by placing the wood in a line or a row, with individual pieces touching and parallel to each other. Make sure the wood is compact and has as few gaps as possible. Finally, measure the stack. If the width times the height times the length equals 128 cubic feet, you have a cord of firewood. If there is a problem, contact the seller immediately and before you burn any wood.

The wood should be stacked with the pieces parallel to each other. While wood stacked in a crisscross or log cabin fashion is secure and will stand freely, it does not meet the legal definition. Most likely the stack will contain less wood than one that is stacked by the legal parallel method.

Estimate a cord by visualizing a 4 ft by 8 ft space filled with wood to a height of 4 ft (4ft X 8ft X 4ft = 128 cubic feet). Most long bed pickup trucks have beds that are close to the 4 ft by 8 ft dimension.

Washington State adopts the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Handbook 130, Uniform Laws and Regulations in the areas of legal metrology and engine fuel quality as the legal method of sale in chapter 16-662 WAC.

From our representatives web site: Firewood information

dejure · Jul 25, 2017

Just for reference, I've had folks call and ask what they could do about criminal legal problems. Several times, cops told them "t's a civil matter" and wouldn't do anything. I had the person write up a sworn complaint, or one using a declaration, give it to the cops and had the cops do a 180 and go after the individual named in the complaint.

An attorney, just like the rest of us, cannot file a criminal complaint for other than his or her self. Only prosecutors and citizens making a complaint can file them.

CoastRange57 · Jul 25, 2017

dejure said:
Just for reference, I've had folks call and ask what they could do about criminal legal problems. Several times, cops told them "t's a civil matter" and wouldn't do anything. I had the person write up a sworn complaint, or one using a declaration, give it to the cops and had the cops do a 180 and go after the individual named in the complaint.

An attorney, just like the rest of us, cannot file a criminal complaint for other than his or her self. Only prosecutors and citizens making a complaint can file them.

it is called fraud. Theft by deception or any other number of things. The cops will go after them because the shi*bags usually have warrants.

Mikej · Jul 25, 2017

Update: Saturday before last I got a hold of the guy and let him know, gently, that I was dissapointed in how this was going and he said "This week" . That would have been last week. No call no wood. I waited until Sunday morning and called, three rings and to voice mail. I called yesterday morning, voice mail. I called this morning again and got voice mail. This afternoon i called from the cell phone and he answered. I told him I wanted to know if I was NOT going to get the wood so I could get the wood elsewhere and then look into how I could get my $100.00 back from him. He said he's been busy, a friend in the hospital, doesn't deliver much wood....He apologized and said, "This week".

I've looked into a small claims suit in Clackamas County, his partner in the business and her address and phone #. What a pain. Part of this is me I guess because I don't want to burn fir. There's reputable fir guys all over the place. I need to live in a part of this fricken state that wood is easy to come by!

11Charlie · Jul 25, 2017

Mikej said:
Update: Saturday before last I got a hold of the guy and let him know, gently, that I was dissapointed in how this was going and he said "This week" . That would have been last week. No call no wood. I waited until Sunday morning and called, three rings and to voice mail. I called yesterday morning, voice mail. I called this morning again and got voice mail. This afternoon i called from the cell phone and he answered. I told him I wanted to know if I was NOT going to get the wood so I could get the wood elsewhere and then look into how I could get my $100.00 back from him. He said he's been busy, a friend in the hospital, doesn't deliver much wood....He apologized and said, "This week".

I've looked into a small claims suit in Clackamas County, his partner in the business and her address and phone #. What a pain. Part of this is me I guess because I don't want to burn fir. There's reputable fir guys all over the place. I need to live in a part of this fricken state that wood is easy to come by!

Good luck what ever you decide to do.

Cortes · Aug 2, 2017

Mikej said:
Part of this is me I guess because I don't want to burn fir. There's reputable fir guys all over the place. I need to live in a part of this fricken state that wood is easy to come by!

I get that. I don't like burning fir either, too many trips to the wood box and blows hot coals out of the fireplace. I found an excellent oak firewood guy on Craigslist. He is not busy right now and he called me to find out if I wanted to buy more wood this year. Should have kept his number. They actually kiln dry the oak and split it in a wood processor. My only complaint is that the chunks are pretty small for a fireplace, but they work excellent in my wood cookstove. OK, looked on CL and here he is <broken link removed>

Expensive but well worth it. Here's the phone number since the ad will expire:
(971) 806-5851
Highly recommended.

Mikej · Aug 2, 2017

Cortes said:
I get that. I don't like burning fir either, too many trips to the wood box and blows hot coals out of the fireplace. I found an excellent oak firewood guy on Craigslist. He is not busy right now and he called me to find out if I wanted to buy more wood this year. Should have kept his number. They actually kiln dry the oak and split it in a wood processor. My only complaint is that the chunks are pretty small for a fireplace, but they work excellent in my wood cookstove. OK, looked on CL and here he is <broken link removed>

Expensive but well worth it. Here's the phone number since the ad will expire:
(971) 806-5851
Highly recommended.

My stove is over sized for the space I heat. Oak burns way too hot for my space, and I don't like damping off the stove to keep it low and slow. Or to keep it going all night. OR, after 15 years I haven't learned how to run the stove properly? I burned a couple cord of oak when we bought the place in '01 though and that was my experience.

Hopefully an end to the fire wood ripoff.....Since my call on 7/25 when I was going to get my wood "This Week", I didn't get my wood last week! When I called this morning he answered his phone! I said "This is Mike in NE Portland". He said "When do you want the wood?"

I told him ASAP but he didn't need to bring it in the next two days, and he said he'd have the guy load it today and bring it tomorrow morning after rush hour!

Fingers crossed!