Long and Busy Days...
Where to start?
I got two more customers taken care of the last couple of days: The engine for the cement company actually went out on the 27th of July, but I didn't get the paperwork finished for the billing until yesterday; The second one was a lawn-mower that I still have to figure out how I'm going to bill it. The customer said that it quit working, and that they couldn't start it again, yet the machine was only three weeks old, so it was definitely going to be a warranty repair. When I got the machine back here to the shop, I couldn't get it going either, and it seemed as if I could hear a clanking sound from the engine when I tried to start it. In the process of trying to start it, I had put fresh premium fuel into the empty tank (customer said they had emptied it) but it didn't seem to help. Then Trixstir and I had to go to Swift Current for the birth of the baby, and the machine sat.
I finally got around to it again on Tuesday (the 3rd) and hauled it up onto the workbench. I removed the spark-plug, and clamped down the safety-brake so that I could easily crank the engine to listen for that clanking sound I thought I had heard. I didn't hear any clanking, and when I tested for a spark I got a good strong result. I removed the air-cleaner, and was able to peer down the throat of the carburetor; I pressed the primer bulb, and I saw a jet of fuel shoot into the carburetor. Hmmmm.... It seemed to be getting spark and fuel, at least from the primer, so I put it all back together, set it on the floor, primed the engine and yanked the starter-cord. The engine coughed once and then roared to life! As far as I can gather, there might have been a slight clog in the fuel intake, and sitting in premium fuel dissolved it. Now, the customer says that the gas they were using was fresh, but it's possible they were just saying that so that they don't look like idiots. They're on vacation until Monday, but once they get back I'll have to tell them to get rid of the fuel they were using, replace it with fresh premium fuel, and that should be that. Again, the question is, "How do I bill this?" I think I might have to just tell them I can't bill B&S for a warranty repair when there was no actual repair, and that stale gas isn't covered under warranty anyway, even if they believed that the fuel was fresh.
I can't believe how fast the last three weeks have shot by! I look around, and it seems like I've barely accomplished anything; Things have definitely been done, and a lot of them, but there's just so much that needs doing that it doesn't look like much of anything has happened. It's almost a full-time job here just to keep the grass mowed! Today I've got to haul a bunch of garbage to the dump, cut more grass behind the house, and somehow saw off several large branches from the tree next to the house, as they're rubbing against the house and that can only lead to bad problems! I wish I could afford to hire some handymen to come deal with a lot of this stuff, but that's not going to be happening either. I start at John Deere on Monday, so that will cut even further into my available time, but at least that will start bringing in a pay-cheque again.
Didn't get much sleep last night; Marian was fussing all night, and around 4am the wind picked up. The bathroom window was open, and the wind was causing the door to open just a little, then blow shut again; Not enough to latch it, but just enough to bang it against the latch. I put up with that for about 20 minutes before getting up to find out what the %$!* was making all that racket. It wasn't that loud, but it was just enough to wake you up, and/or keep you awake because it would bang the door about every 30 seconds or so. At least it was an easy thing to fix; Just close the window. :P
I managed to get another couple of hours of fretful sleep in, but I could still hear the tree branches rubbing on the house, so between that and the nagging thoughts of everything else that needs to be done, I forced myself to get up and get things started. It's going to be another busy day, and the weekend isn't looking any more relaxing either.