1 hp Meat Grinder - Cabelas - Switch Failure

Model 08-2201, 750 watts, 120 vac power, capacitor 60 microfarad - 250vac

The issue was that the FWD - Off - REV switch disintegrated leaving questions on how to wire. Per the parts list the switch had a part number of 08-3039. The capacitor part number is 08-2240. The motor is likely made by Weston. 

I was surprised at how poor the documentation was on how to rewire this replacement switch and motor. The grinder was dropped off by a friend who had ordered the proper new switch but was confused on how to rewire. 

I took the jumpers off the new ZH-HC-3 (08-3039) rotary switch and measured and recorded the continuity in the switch in the different positions. I then measured the resistance of motors two coils. 

I jumpered power right to the motor to get it to run clockwise and counterclockwise. I also measured the amperage to both windings while running without a load. It appears both coils remain energized at all times and the capacitor causes a phase lag or lead depending on which direction the leads are hooked up. 

Checking the switch operation and aligning the coils with the switch I was able to determine the proper wiring. 

Following is a schematic showing the results. All seems to work as designed.  

Grinder Repair

 Repaired a grinder today after receiving the new parts. I think it is as good as new. The housing to the gearbox had failed. The new part has more metal which makes it much stronger. $14 total cost.

Fujitsu mini-split heat pumps pivoting cover fails to open

Our 8 year old Fujitsu mini-split heat pumps pivoting cover fails to open when turned on. (Model ASU15R1S2)  We were able to hold the cover up with a notebook in our case and still use the unit, fortunately. I located help from YouTube a video which explained this common problem and how to repair. The video is short and rather clear. See - (209) Cheap DIY fix for Fujitsu Mini-Split A/C unit - Cover won't move - YouTube  - Hopefully it is still online.  All was good in the video it really helps but when it says to remove the 5 screws, I think just removing the two on the outside holding the steel rod might be enough and maybe the screw next to the cracked gill gear. Then those clips that are hard to align in the video do not even come loose. I did it with all 5 screws removed but the clips did not pop out at all. Much easier. With the video explanation the job was rather easy. 

Propped up cover.
 

Cover removed

Slightly left of center the plastic gear is cracked where it surrounds the metal shaft. 

New plastic gear now installed.

Works as designed once again.

 The new part ordered from -  https://www.fujitsu-general.com  ($9.79 including shipping.)

Who wants a 7 foot long electric fence ground rod abandoned in their pasture?

(This is the same type rod used for home electrical grounds. Electric fences operate best with 3 of these rods in the ground installed 10 feet apart.)

Removal was surprisingly hard! First I used a narrow spade to remove the grass turf around the rod. The top of the ground rod was about 2 inches under the grass surface. Then I used a post hole digger and dug about 4 feet down alongside the rod. (I have rather easy digging soil with lots of sand.) Then I used a 4” x 4”x 10’ piece of lumber to pry with and attached a rope around the rod and around the lumber to pry the rod up. No success at the beginning. I then used a 12 ton bottle jack to raise the rod. Well things went sideways at first and the bottle jack ended upside down 4 foot down in the hole. That was well below arms length. My post hole digger was not wide enough to clamp onto the bottom of the jack so that failed. I tried a big magnet on a rope but the jack was wedged in the hole too tightly. I then enlarged the hole with mostly the post hole digger and using a triangle shaped hoe was able to get the jack to pivot horizontally and then I caught the jack handle with the hoe and removed the jack from the hole. 

I made the jack more secure and tied a rope to the handle in case it fell in the hole again. Fortunately this time the jack was able to apply enough force to remove the rod which eventually became easier to pull out of the ground.  Whew. 

Round rod on left of hole

The Bottle Jack is upside down 4 foot down with a sprinkle of dirt on top. 

The recovered bottle jack

Jacking rod out of the ground

Removed ground rod leaning against cabin. 

Maytag Clothes Dryer stops with fault "PF"

 Our Maytag Clothes Dryer stops with fault "PF" after about 20 minutes.

(Model MED9600SQ0)

On line it said this "PF" fault is a Power Failure fault.

I checked the wall breaker and then read the voltage at the wall socket which read 244 vac which is good. When I inspected the power cable plug I found lots of contamination on the plug.

I used a Dremel tool to wire brush of the brass prongs until they were bright and shinny. The dryer now is running fine but will need some time to verify the fix. This may be the original dryer cable from 1978. I will consider a new cable. But I recognize new is not always better. 

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Now for the rest of the story 2 months later. The dryer stopped again as before. The power cord plug is again discolored with a blackish material. The wall outlet look fine from the outside but I removed it anyway and found it was really overheated and burnt. I replaced both the outlet and the dryer power cord. (The old cord was very old but still looked in good shape.)

Original outlet looked fine on face.

Very burnt outlet. 

2013 Prius C passenger tail light assembly rebuild

 I notice dust inside our tail light assembly which caused cosmetic issues. It just looks bad. So I removed the two securing bolts and gently pried the assembly loose. Then disconnected the three or four plugs and also removed the one Phillip's screw holding the stop light led package and removed that package. 

I then washed the whole plastic tail light assembly pouring warm water from the faucet into the openings that the light plugs were attached and even added some soap. I then shook the assembly to wash out all the dust and then ran lots of water to clear out the soap. I did notice there was separation of the outside plastic from the inner grey plastic all along the seam of the assembly. I dried the inside using a small fan to blow across the assembly all night. 

To fix the seam I used clear shoe-goo. I then reassembled all which now looks almost new. 

Thinking back I remember water building up inside the tail light assembly so I had drilled a couple little 1/16 inch holes to drain the water. The water did drain but the real problem was the plastic seam had failed. Maybe now it is fixed? eBay or/and Amazon had a tail light assembly for about $85 then add shipping and tax. They also had one for $256. 

The shoe-goo can be seen along the long horizontal seam.

Our new Katahdin Sheep

 Jim's Katahdin Sheep Poulsbo / Kingston | Facebook

Hopefully the above link will take you to our sheep facebook page.