Laughable But Awful Instructions

I "love" 😖 the instructions that come with some equipment.  I have an battery self-propelled Ryobi mower (which I actually do love).  Nice quiet walk-behind and the batteries last pretty long.  Well, some of the lawn was covered deeply in leaves.  I usually just use the riding mower to shred them into the lawn, but I am redoing my compost bin and wanted to add the leaves to it.  

Between the 2 mowers, it looked like the electric one was easiest to attach a collection bag to, so last night I got the parts out of the shed and opened the manual.  There is a metal rod frame and a mesh cover.  The cover has some plastic attachments like slit plastic tubing to hold the bag to the frame.  The instctions were fairly simple.  

Basically, just turn the cover upside down, slide in the frame upside down, and slip the plastic attachments over the frame.   Yeah right!  If the manual was alive, it would have cackled evilly as I read that.  

It took 45 minutes of frustrating effort to do that one simple thing.  I finally had to use a screwdriver as a wedge to pry the attachment open, a plier to squeeze the tubing partly onto the frame, and that was just the first inch!  I needed a clamp to hold that in place while I did the next inch.  There were about 24" in 5 pieces.

When I finally got one section done, I had to use a rubber mallet to really complete the attachment tubing firmly.  I used some BAD WORDS...

I did get better at it on the other sections.  As with most one-time jobs, I was pretty good at it by the time I was done.  If the mesh cover was 1/8th" larger, it would have been so much easier.  I suppose Ryobi saves $1 per cover not adding that 1/8"...  And of course my time and effort is not an expense to them.

I'm sorry I didn't take pictures, but it wouldn't really have shown much of the trouble it was to attach.  Nor would it have been possible most of the time, since I needed both hands to hold everything in place while doing the work.

On the other hand, it was a fine tight attachment when completed, and I won't have to do it again.  I hope the cover lasts as long as the mower.  All that was needed was to attach the collection bag.  But it was dark by then so I decided to tackle that this morning (dreading some complicated troublesome attachment procedure).

So, this morning I took the collection bag and manual to the shed to see how bad that might be.  It went right on as simple as you please!  Lift the back cover of the mower, set the bottom front of the bag on a little ledge on the mower, lift the back slightly, and two 1" rods on the bag frame slip into 2 metal slots on the mower.  

That part was very nicely-designed!  And I will compliment the design for another reason.  There is a carrying hand on the bag frame.  It is placed perfectly.  When I lifted the filled bag off the mower, the bag tilted back slightly as to not spill any of the contents.  Someone had to have done some testing on that!

Tomorrow:  Using the mower on the leaves and getting them to the compost bin...

Fathers Day (Late), But Other Stuff

First, Happy day-late Fathers Day to all Dads out there.  Since I am not one myself (unless you count The Mews), and my own Dad is deceased,I tend to forget it most years.  I mentioned it on The Mews blog around mid-day (when I finally realized it), but didn't post here then because I was busy.

Second, the "busy" was cooking chicken thighs in the smoker.  It was a total coincidence.  Last time I used it was late October.  Well, I've been learning to use the air-fryer since then.  But I bought 10 chicken thighs Friday, drowned them in dry rub overnight Sat/Sun and started the smoker up at Noon.  Naturally, a stiff wind sprung up after I started, so I had to spend more time than usual just making sure things were safe.

And I am safe.  Hose on and ready to use, welding gloves, long tongs, bucket of water below the incoming air vent (in case a bit of charcoal falls out through it), and the skoker is visible through the kitchen window while I am doing work inside.

Lori spent most of the time inside.  She was out when I started, but she likes to jump onto the smoker (she has never experienced it being hot).  And when she made a move on the deck rails toward it, I put her inside.  Like I said "safe".

The chicken turned out well.  I've read that all the smoke you are going to get into the meat happens in the first hour.  So I give it 2 hours and then finish it at 225F.  I can safely say you will never see me on one of the outdoor cooking contests, LOL!

Third, have had 2 minor but annoying wounds recently.  Contacted the Fry Daddy Friday night while making shrimp rolls.  It hurt at the time, but seemed to stop quickly.  Next morning, I discovered a blister the size of a grape.  Right between my right thumb and forefinger, and that was an awkward spot.  I soaked a needle in mouthwash (cheap sanitation) and popped it.  Don't go all "ick".  It is just broken cell contents.  

I dried it with a tissue, dapped some Triple Ointment on it and put a large flexible band-aid on it.  The band-aids hold against water, but not soap, so I've gone through 6 of them.  I leave it exposed when I can (heals faster), but it is a spot that gets brushed often in regular daily activities.  So it is annoying.

I also found a splinter in a finger.  Not anything important in itself, but I kept picking at it.   And when I finally got it out it wouldn't stop bleeding!  That is unusual for me.  I get a shot, they put a bandaid over it and it is clean when I take it off.  I cut a minor cut (I do live a wild life, LOL!) and a wipe ends the bleeding.  So this was odd.  So I end up with bandaids on 2 places on the same hand.  

Fourth, I have 2 digital kitchen probe thermometer/timers and 2 digital non-timing thermometers.  All of a sudden, none worked!  Three of them have batteries I can replace (love those rechargeable batteries).  One has a special battery.  I hate those round one-use batteries.  One registered the house temperature as 200F.  2 wouldn't display at all, and the last has to be tapped a few times to display.

Four all at once going bad?  That is like lottery ticket odds.  And none were especially accurate before.   I tested then all a few weeks ago (using a crushed ice/water slurry and then boiling water).  One of the digital kitchen probe thermometer/timers was 4F low and the other was 4F high.  I could deal with that putting labels on each.  

The 2 digital non-timing thermometers are more problematic.  One is WAY crazy and the other keeps changing the display 4F at a time.  The way crazy one needs the special round battery; the other uses an AAA baterry.  Replacing it didn't change anything.  Actually, I suspect the cabled probes have failed.  I'll have to see if new probes are cheaper than whole new thermometers.

Fifth, I bought an electric lawn mower a few years ago.  It was awful.  It has 2 batteries and each lasts about 5 minutes for light work.  So I bought a much better one (Ryobi self-propelled).  Each of the 2 batteries last about 30 minutes (self-propel takes energy), but it was worth it.  I only used it for trimming work.

But right after the warrantee expired, I hit something that caused the blade to stop turning.  I suppose the is a shear pin in there somewhere.  I keep planning to disassemble the blade connections and look for one, and I keep not doing it.  There is always something more urgent to do.  There is a mower repair shop nearby that mentions they repair electric mowers.  I should just bring it to them and pay to get it fixed.  I really miss the self-propelled feature (forward AND reverse).

Sixth, I got the 40 meadow flower seedlings planted days ago.  They all seem to be thriving and I can't wqait to see what they grow and bloom into.  But I strained my back and knees doing it.  Limped around for 3 days.  I'm finally feeling better today, so I guess I can go out and do something else to mess myself up again.  The garden enclosure that was damaged in heavy snow last January (oddly can't recall if that was this year or the previous) keeps calling out for attention.

Seventh, speaking of the garden enclosure, the problem is that the electrical conduit pipe I inserted in the PVC pipe was bent and in a couple places, the PVC connections actually broke.  FYI, the metal pipe was for strength; the PVC was for the convenient complex connections not available for the metal.  

It was all my fault.  Several years ago, a snowfall bent them slightly.  But I was able to straighten them in place.  So I added temporary supports at all the half-points on the top.  They are at awkward places in the garden, so the plan was to put them up in early Winter.  I didn't last year (was it 2 years ago?).  And when the forecast was for 2" of snow one night, I didn't worry about it.  But we got 8"!  Everything bent.

I never remember to keep the camera in my pocket, so no pics of the bent pipes...  😞

Well, any way, I was walking the yard and looked at the bent metal pipes and decided I was never going to fix the garden enclosure if I didn't straighten the metal conduit first.  How do that was uncertain.  But I tried sticking one end on the pipe under the shed It sits on cinder blocks).  That worked a bit but not completely because the ground was too sloped for full bending.  So I carried a cinder block to the other shed and put a pipe end under the riding mower trailer hitch and over the cinder block.  That worked.

Not that the metal conduits are as straight as when I bought them, but it was close enough.  That didn't help my back much, but now all I need is a PVC 4-way connector, 3' of PVC pipe (to replace what I had to cut off), and connectors to join the new short pieces.

I am considering buying serious black iron pipe.  A bit expensive, but snow wouldn't bend that.  I'll give the electrical conduit (with additional supports) another heavy snow before I try the black iron.

Eighth, I almost forgot about shaving my head.  Meagan asked why.  Well, several reasons.  I got tired of trimming my hair myself.  And I don't like going to the barber recently.  There are always a few people who just won't wear masks.  The last visit (last Fall), there was a guy coughing and maskless and I asked him about a mask.  

He was an anti-vaxxer.  Said he was a professional "pharmacueticalist" and that zinc and Vitamin C worked fine.  I said I doubted that, in the face of all the professional research and he got angry.  So I just said "no fight here" because he was leaving.  But I kept my mask on for a while until I had to take it off so the barber could shave around my ears.

The barber is a nice guy, but he isn't going to argue with anyone.  So I haven't been back since.  And so, I decided to just eliminate the need to visit at all.  Shaved my head...

Not like I still had a lot.  I was bald on the top anyway.  Not much to lose.

That odd thing is that my baseballs hats feel odd on my scalp.  I tightened each a notch and that helped them fit better.