Rather than focus on the electrical stuff this weekend, the family and I took a couple of days off on a church retreat to a place called Cedar Ridge in Vernonia, Oregon. I'll about that today and give you a break from the near-constant bus-content.
Unusual Weather
Our weather this spring has been a-typical: unseasonably cold with lots of rain. If you aren't in the Pacific NorthWest, and you haven't been watching the weather for this area, we have had record-setting monthly rain falls since March. This made for epic spring skiing at the area resorts, but misery in the valley. Our average daily temperatures have been up to 10*F below average as well. Usually, the month of May is highlighted with multiple full-sun days with temps in the upper 70's to low 80's. In recent years, May has become a dry month, giving us a respite from the spring rains before June hits. This year, I don't think we got above 75* once all month and had measurable rain almost every day. Usually, our June is a rough re-entry into rain before July arrives to dry us out. This year, we didn't get the break, and tempers are starting to show it. All the more reason to get out of town and have some fun (albeit wet).
Cedar Ridge
This camp is located just outside Vernonia on Bridge Rd above Rock Creek. The creek runs along the western border, and the site is a long rolling hillside that probably drops close to 500 feet in elevation top to bottom. They house many sports camps and Outdoor School events over a typical year, as well as spiritual retreats (including yoga camps). Unlike many other similar locations, Cedar Ridge only houses one group at a time, which makes for a much deeper community-building opportunity.
It should be noted that Cedar Ridge is the best maintained camp I've ever been to. Usually, you'll go to one of these types of places and something will be closed for repairs or the cabins have leaks or some toilet doesn't flush right, etc. I couldn't find anything like that. In fact, it became kind of a game trying to find something broken. With all the rain we've had and the steep pitch of the hillside, you would think there would be muddy ruts all over the place. Nope. Not one. In fact, the ground was practically dry between showers. Pretty amazing.
When our church has these family camps, it is a very casual affair. Folks arrive as their schedules allow on Saturday and we have our first meal at dinner. Dinner is followed by a campfire. Sunday morning, we have a brief service after breakfast, and then its off to play. With all the sports camp facilities and open outdoors, it isn't hard to find something that fits your taste. My kids usually spend nearly all of their time at the creek-side skipping stones and wading to "the islands"or exploring the forest. This year my wife led a yoga class, and I visited with friends while the boys ran around. The afternoon was dominated by the 300-foot water-slide / slip 'n' slide.
Out of respect to my fellow parishioners, I won't publish any of the pictures, but it is fun, fast and the adults usually outlast the kids. By the end, there were about 20 die-hard sliders, including maybe 5 kids. Way fun. After sliding, the kids grouped at the heated outdoor pool or joined my wife and I in a service project of pulling weeds in the labyrinth. Before dinner, we had a hillside happy hour, and after dinner we put on a no-talent show (my wife sang beautifully and I bumbled my way through a skit). Monday morning, a new group was arriving, so we enjoyed a breakfast, cleaned up and checked out. The kids, of course, needed one last visit to the creek.
I have heard that Cedar Ridge is up for sale, and that the current owners spend so much time out of the country now that they can't give it the attention they would like. This makes me sad. I sincerely hope they are able to find a buyer who really understands how unique and special Cedar Ridge really is. Our church group starts planning in February and the level of anticipation starts growing immediately. We've only been going there for a couple of years, but the level of participation and enjoyment far exceeds our prior location.
That's all I have for today. I will be getting the rest of the pop-top stuff this afternoon with my friend Gr8fulEd. My wife and I spent Monday afternoon clearing the garage, so I'll blab about that and our inevitable sale items next time.
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Cold Weather and the Dreaded Weber
The Pacific NorthWest has been experiencing its last throes of Winter these last few weeks. Ever since Puxatawney Phil didn't see his shadow, it seems like the weather gods have decided to prove him wrong: there will be more winter. Here in the Pacific NorthWest, we've had "wintery mix" which means rain, freezing rain, sleet, hail and snow shifting from one to the other throughout the day. Did I mention gusting wind? Oi. It makes driving a little more exciting, but traffic a real bear.
When the air gets this cold, it takes a long time for Hapy to warm up. When I first bought Hapy, he was missing a number of pieces that helped to keep him warm - making his warmup never complete in winter. I'll go into those part identification and installation adventures another day. Even after finding and installing all those parts, though, the non-stock Weber Progressive 32/36 carburator would not perform well in the cold. If the air temp fell below 50F degrees, he would buck and toss like when I first learned how to drive a clutch. If you're having the same experience, I'd suggest you try this:
First, find a snorkelled air cleaner that fits the top of the Weber 32/36. I bought a "Sprint" air cleaner from Pierce Manifolds for $15. This fits perfectly on top, and bolts down with the filister bolts you use on the chrome air cleaner the Weber came with. This will allow you to control warm and cold air entering the carb.
But where does the warm air come from? Look at the right side of the firewall when looking in through the access hatch (top or rear). Is there a steel elbow that points up that's maybe 2 inches across? No? Is there a square hole with 2 bolt holes on either side of it? Yes? Ok, you're missing 2 key pieces of tin for getting the warm air into your carb. Now, if you have a fuel injection (FI) firewall, you may not have either of these items, so you may have more tin to replace. Honestly, if you have to go that far, you may want to consider returning to FI. Anyway, the pieces are on this diagram, numbers 42 and 43. Number 42 is the elbow on the inside of the firewall and #43 is a longer elbow that bends around the fuel pump (if you have a mechanical fuel pump) and to the firewall. I got these 2 pieces from my man Ken at theBusCo.
Getting these pieces to align without dropping the engine is a challenge, especially if you have a mechanical fuel pump, as the longer elbow needs to fit between the fuel pump and some of the engine tin. You do have a hole in the tin where the long elbow comes down, right? No? Ok, you have newer tin so you can either buy a "new" piece or cut your old one. I cut mine and I now regret it as I have to plug the hole to put FI back on. All of the pieces do fit together, and it can be done by yourself, but its much easier if you can get a friend or a willing child to hold the small elbow in place as you thread the filister bolt through and tighten it down. When its raining, and you're working in your driveway (as I was), you really appreciate hot tea afterwards... and a long shower.
After the tin is in place, and the snorkel is attached, you've finished the hard part. You need a flexible air hose to connect the small elbow near the firewall to the lower part of the snorkel. I got a standard sized one at the local GI Joes. Route the air hose under the long intake runners so its out of the way and any residual heat will warm the runners a little.
To make use of the new equipment, lift the flapper on the snorkel all the way. This will bring just the warmed air up into the carb. In Summer, lower and click-shut the flapper so only cool air enters the carb. This is important as in the Summer using only warm air can overheat your engine. Also, you get better power with cold air entering the carb, so you may want to play with where you set the flapper. You should find that by using the snorkel, you can drive your bus down into the 30F temps before you have the bucking return.
This Winter, especially these last few weeks, I have driven my bus in 35F temps uphill on the interstate. I have had to stay in the right-hand lane, but I've been able to stay on the road. Two years ago, that would not have been possible. If you're having troubles with your Weber and either can't afford to get FI ($250) or don't want the hassle of working on a FI powered engine, you can get the tin, snorkel and the hose for under $50 and a couple hours work. Just try to find a dry place to do the work.
When the air gets this cold, it takes a long time for Hapy to warm up. When I first bought Hapy, he was missing a number of pieces that helped to keep him warm - making his warmup never complete in winter. I'll go into those part identification and installation adventures another day. Even after finding and installing all those parts, though, the non-stock Weber Progressive 32/36 carburator would not perform well in the cold. If the air temp fell below 50F degrees, he would buck and toss like when I first learned how to drive a clutch. If you're having the same experience, I'd suggest you try this:
First, find a snorkelled air cleaner that fits the top of the Weber 32/36. I bought a "Sprint" air cleaner from Pierce Manifolds for $15. This fits perfectly on top, and bolts down with the filister bolts you use on the chrome air cleaner the Weber came with. This will allow you to control warm and cold air entering the carb.
But where does the warm air come from? Look at the right side of the firewall when looking in through the access hatch (top or rear). Is there a steel elbow that points up that's maybe 2 inches across? No? Is there a square hole with 2 bolt holes on either side of it? Yes? Ok, you're missing 2 key pieces of tin for getting the warm air into your carb. Now, if you have a fuel injection (FI) firewall, you may not have either of these items, so you may have more tin to replace. Honestly, if you have to go that far, you may want to consider returning to FI. Anyway, the pieces are on this diagram, numbers 42 and 43. Number 42 is the elbow on the inside of the firewall and #43 is a longer elbow that bends around the fuel pump (if you have a mechanical fuel pump) and to the firewall. I got these 2 pieces from my man Ken at theBusCo.
Getting these pieces to align without dropping the engine is a challenge, especially if you have a mechanical fuel pump, as the longer elbow needs to fit between the fuel pump and some of the engine tin. You do have a hole in the tin where the long elbow comes down, right? No? Ok, you have newer tin so you can either buy a "new" piece or cut your old one. I cut mine and I now regret it as I have to plug the hole to put FI back on. All of the pieces do fit together, and it can be done by yourself, but its much easier if you can get a friend or a willing child to hold the small elbow in place as you thread the filister bolt through and tighten it down. When its raining, and you're working in your driveway (as I was), you really appreciate hot tea afterwards... and a long shower.
After the tin is in place, and the snorkel is attached, you've finished the hard part. You need a flexible air hose to connect the small elbow near the firewall to the lower part of the snorkel. I got a standard sized one at the local GI Joes. Route the air hose under the long intake runners so its out of the way and any residual heat will warm the runners a little.
To make use of the new equipment, lift the flapper on the snorkel all the way. This will bring just the warmed air up into the carb. In Summer, lower and click-shut the flapper so only cool air enters the carb. This is important as in the Summer using only warm air can overheat your engine. Also, you get better power with cold air entering the carb, so you may want to play with where you set the flapper. You should find that by using the snorkel, you can drive your bus down into the 30F temps before you have the bucking return.
This Winter, especially these last few weeks, I have driven my bus in 35F temps uphill on the interstate. I have had to stay in the right-hand lane, but I've been able to stay on the road. Two years ago, that would not have been possible. If you're having troubles with your Weber and either can't afford to get FI ($250) or don't want the hassle of working on a FI powered engine, you can get the tin, snorkel and the hose for under $50 and a couple hours work. Just try to find a dry place to do the work.
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