Today I mostly .....

Neil Chowney · Post by **Neil Chowney** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 9:42 pm

....went gliding......

thedevinhimself · Post by **thedevinhimself** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 11:22 pm

Drove for a total of 8 hours today to get carburettor

I hope the damn thing works now!!

Hoodoo · Post by **Hoodoo** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 6:49 pm

Fitted an Easipark fresnel lense to the back window. This is after I reversed into the front of a Mercedes Benz yesterday! Going slowly back to park, I could see the roofline and a small bit of the windscreen of the Merc, but absolutely nothing of the rest of the car. Just as I thought I was close enough, and was starting to brake, I felt the crunch as the horizontal bit of my towhitch contacted the circle around the star on the grille! Got out and saw that it had nicked the plastic chrome bit, and nothing else. Good job I was barely moving!
Toyed with a sensor system, but decided that mud, likelihood of impact damage etc., and potential electric problems ruled against that. So I decided to fit the Easipark lense, similar to what I had had on my 1.6 for many years, and which proved excellent at doing what it was intended to do.
Basically, you look in the interior mirror, then through the lense stuck on the rear window, and your view is angled downwards to the area of the bumper. Past experience indicates that the headlights on most cars disappear from view when you're about 2' away from them - the ideal distance! And, it either works or it doesn't or, more accurately, it's either there or it isn't. Either way, you know as soon as you look in the mirror! No waiting for it to beep at you before you know for sure that it's working!
Halfords sell three versions, ranging from about £3 to £12, and all are good.
Funnily enough, although I left a note under the wiper of the Merc giving my phone number, apologising, and asking that they contact me, no one's been in touch!!!???
Regards,

crb247 · Post by **crb247** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 9:22 pm

Had an afternoon nap.

Hoodoo · Post by **Hoodoo** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 5:59 pm

SimonAllen wrote:we used to have one of them on the shogun, makes thngs a hell of a lot easier, probably more so when you're sitting on the wrong side of your niva eh hoodoo

Spot on! I've spent 34 years looking over my left shoulder to reverse, and the last six looking over the right shoulder, and it isn't easy! Easipark definitely makes life easier!
Been up to the Horseshoe Pass today to see the motorbikes. Quite an astonish9ing array turns up there every Sunday - from the 1920's onwards!
Also done the washing and finished the ironing!
Filled the Niva yesterday - 145 miles, (of which 45 off-road in low range with a running time of six hours), and consumption worked out at 23.9 mpg. Think I'm quite pleased with that!
Regards,

excossack · Post by **excossack** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 8:10 pm

Today i mainly fixed the shed roof and door for me ma, moved a wardrobe, showed the FiL how to burn CDs and had a BBQ.

crb247 · Post by **crb247** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 9:12 pm

Was going to install my trailer hitch and "open" muffler but it started raining

crb247 · Post by **crb247** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 4:05 am

I'm disappointed i don't see my tried and true favorite camping heat source... the propane torch.... Very scientific comparison BTW.

ahma · Post by **ahma** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 8:02 am

..and the Trangia is a 84 (!) year old design made in... you guessed: Sweden.

I bought mine when I was 13 y and a devoted nature freak (you know, birdwatching.. small bugs in ponds, preserving wetlands, No Nuclear Power.. all that..)

My Trangia got a new burner the other year, the rest is just as good as new.

Tip1: if you hav problems with soot - pour a dash of water 20 ml? in burner before lightning it.

Tip2: Invest in genuine, original Trangia burner even if the rest of the kitchen is a copy.

ahma · Post by **ahma** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 8:57 am

Correct.. both Swedish. Both are very old. Optimus was the standard kerosine kitchen for guys like Amundsen and other adventurers.

Other adveture gear from Sweden: Haglofs, Fjallraven, Silva, SAAB

ahma · Post by **ahma** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 9:20 am

On my gizmo wish list is a multfuel burner for the kitchen. Almost any fluid that burns can be used, various alcohols, diesel, oil, white spirit/kerosene (same thing, right?) yak pee and so on...

nitro_warrior · Post by **nitro_warrior** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 10:24 pm

Not a fan of Trangias. Get a gas stove they're much better, faster, and don't stink. The only good thing about Trangias is they're good when it's windy.

crb247 · Post by **crb247** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 12:36 am

I agree.. there are a varied assortment of miniature gas (various fuel) powered cookstoves.

Brunton miniature cookstoves

ahma · Post by **ahma** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 6:52 am

Guess it depends on how you carry it, how many people you are cooking for, how often you pass a gas station. A question to you propane/butan guys, compare same wheight of ethanol/methanol with the weight of propane including the can - and how much energy you get out of it.

Energy content, in other words..

(I'll have a new look a GB test...)

EDIT: That did not include propane...

crb247 · Post by **crb247** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 11:02 am

Windscreen
bottom right

I guess i'm just a gassy kind of guy

I know i know... I've never experienced any of the other designs so i am probably biased towards propane/butane appliances.

Chow