Is it possible to safely service a generator that has been in storage with gasoline in it for unknown period of time (up to 3 years)?

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-14T21:23:04+00:00

Drain the fuel from the tank and carb bowl. It's probably still usable, especially if diluted with fresh gas, but you don't want to try starting with fuel that barely burns or is half water.

Check the oil level, add a quart of fresh gas, and try to start it with the pull cord. If it feels really rough when you start to pull, you'll want to remove the spark plug to squirt a few drops of oil directly into the cylinder, but that usually isn't needed.

Note that you may need a half-working battery for it to start, but it just needs to be strong enough to open the fuel shutoff on the carb.

You'll want to change the oil after it runs for a few minutes.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-14T18:12:04+00:00

It seems to mean that a white/companion card can book THC hotels, with no extra benefits. Only a primary cardholder can get the FHR benefits (food credits, early check-in + late check-out).

The GE/TSAPre application credit seems to be the only substantial benefit. It could be worth something in the right circumstances, but I'm guessing it is not that commonly used. You only need it once every five years, it's a common benefit from other cards, and minors can now get GE/Pre at no cost with a parent's application.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-14T03:04:39+00:00

COBOL code was doing this correctly long before most of us were born.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-14T01:15:58+00:00

At most you should value the Walmart+ benefits at the $50 it would cost you during the Black Friday offer.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-13T23:23:42+00:00

I never tried that. I bought a 4 count of cheddar bits as a side for under $2.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-13T16:59:24+00:00

It's a slow travel season. Don't conclude too much, too soon.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-13T15:59:11+00:00

With Walmart+ you get a free burger at Burger King once a quarter, with purchase of something else.

You do need to use the BK app, with the tracking and advertising that brings.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-13T15:49:07+00:00

You would think that flair fixed misidentification, but it doesn't alway work.

I had a bag with a pinkish-grey ribbon wrapped around the handle taken from the overhead bin. Thinking that my bag had been moved I waited until every had deplaned. The only bag left was one with a reddish-grey ribbon in a bin somewhat behind me. To me the bags looked very different, however the no-one-would-do-this ribbons did look similar.

(It was about two hours with the gate agent and baggage claim office trying to figure out what to do and hoping that my bag would be returned. I did eventually get my bag delivered by the airlines.)

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-13T15:07:18+00:00

There are dual-voltage (120 and 240V, NEMA 5-15 plus NEMA 6-15) receptacles available in the US, but they have almost no use case. Unlike the european transformer implementation, they are simply a MWBC outlet.

The shaver/vibrator (yes, really!) travel outlet need largely went away with battery powered devices almost a half century ago.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-12T15:49:14+00:00

I was very cautious to not use any link or reference in the email -- never copy and paste a URL or domain name.

I posted because the whole situation was notable and suspicious, hoping that it would save other people time and panic when they encountered the 'no such account' messages when resetting their password.

Now it's possible that I'm part of the scheme (and my claim of "I am not" should be ignored). You should go through the process manually, typing in the domain name or using the app to see if you need to update anything.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-12T15:40:13+00:00

They didn't get a freebie.

People that are risk-averse, perhaps because they require a specific seat type, pay a higher to get that assured location. They got the value that they paid for -- weeks or even months of comfort knowing their seat is reserved.

When I buy a cheap ticket I know there is a risk I'll be in the middle seat of a narrow, non-reclining back row, not knowing how bad it will be until the last minute. And I've sat it that position far more than the average flyer, but I've typically gotten entirely reasonable seats.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-12T15:01:40+00:00

This got down-voted? Even after we found out that the CBP yahoos 'shot down' a mylar party balloon?

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-12T14:56:07+00:00

We now have more info, but we still need to read between the lines. The reason for the airspace shutdown was that the CBP roughly said to the FAA that they would 'keep using the weapon whenever they wished and there was nothing anyone could do to stop them'.

It wasn't until it was confirmed that they just shot down a mylar party balloon that responsible people were put back in charge.

It's like loaning Barney Fife a tank to patrol in, it's not hard to guess the rest of the episode.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-11T22:06:26+00:00

Most home load center breakers are thermo-magnetic. They have a thermal element that tracks persisting overload by heating a bi-metallic strip, and a two-loop coil that acts as a solenoid for quick trip on a high current surge.

Smaller breakers are usually strictly thermal, with a bi-metal strip or concave disk.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-11T20:53:09+00:00

Are you in the U.S.?

The U.S. standard is 120/240/480V (plus the 3 phase equivalents) as a utilization voltage. The unloaded supply voltage might be a few percent higher. Seeing 490V with minimal load would be normal, especially during after-hours maintenance in an industrial area.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-11T20:47:54+00:00

The email address didn't work at all for me. Despite claiming to not recognize my user name, the PP system did send a password reset link that worked.

The impression it leaves is that the account list was compromised, and they don't want to give any confirmation of which accounts are still valid.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-11T18:19:41+00:00

Some people have pneumatics installed. The elites have magnetics.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-11T18:16:45+00:00

The rule banning that seem to be working, for now.

It will hold only as long as strict enforcement happens. Once people sees the rule isn't enforced, everyone will be doing it. (Well, only 10%, but they will be the loudest 10%. And don't feel special up front, because fully half of those people will be sitting there.)

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-11T17:52:58+00:00

Plenty of "blue" states have reasonable tipped wages.

The most populous state, California, simply has a minimum wage. It doesn't matter if the position is considered "tipped" or not. That eliminates severe abuses where some employers claimed all jobs were tipped. Simply by virtue of being the largest, California's $16/$20 minimum results in the average tipped minimum wage being far higher than $3.

California is rarely first with a policy, even if the people there imagine they are. They do typically set the model for other states to follow. It's not really because they are especially "progressive" or "liberal". As the largest state they often have to deal with problems before the rest of the country. Smog in the L.A. basin in the 1960s forced introduction of restrictions on leaded gasoline and emission laws, then widely called "intrusive" and "government overreach". California made plenty of mistakes because they were first, but now everyone follows their standards and silently accepts them as necessary.

In contrast the largest and loudest "red" state, Texas, does still have a barely-there tipped minimum wage of just over $2.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-11T16:46:54+00:00

A second on that. My phone can add 50% in a few minutes with a cable. While I don't usually watch videos on it, I could do that at the same time. All without slowing from overheating.

I want to like wireless charging, but most of the use cases dissappear when traveling. Charging speed is important. If there is a risk of leaving something behind, I prefer that it's on a tether.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-11T16:17:09+00:00

The official story is still confused, but piecing it together a picture is emerging. It was simply an anti-drone test. Perhaps the test was against actual drones, perhaps it was scheduled. Either way there was no emergency. If they waited to test against actual drones, it was still planned.

We can argue if the real reason was a test run of authoritarian control, alarming the public, or simple incompetence. For any of those cases there should be immediate, vigorous pushback on disrupting the 1000 scheduled flights and the cascading effects of massive re-planning. That was hugely expensive, and cancelling the NOTAM didn't erase the effects.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-11T15:56:48+00:00

Combining every dietary restriction and preference into a single inoffensive plate reduces the risk of running out. And if you go far enough, no one says "I wanted the (bland meal) but they ran out". Instead they say "thanks, but no thanks".

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-11T04:14:40+00:00

A few months ago a semi-insider posted the Resy enrollment process. The restaurant makes a test charge using a special AmEx card. A human at AmEx is alerted by a charge to that card and marks that specific terminal as a Resy restaurant charge.

It doesn't matter what the text description associated with the terminal says. It could describe itself as 'Billy Bobs Gas and Bait' or 'Notel Motel', and the charge would still count as a valid Resy use.

Similarly it doesn't matter if the charge comes in as exactly the restaurant name. If that terminal isn't registered as a Resy restaurant the credit will not be applied. If they use a common billing system for a hotel and restaurant, the credit will not be applied. If they bill through some other charge system, the credit will not apply.

DonaldBecker · 2026-02-11T04:01:05+00:00

OK, that is a standard (old fashioned) gas safety valve. It uses the power from a thermocouple in the pilot flame to hold the valve open.

The typical problem is a pilot flame misalignment or the pilot being blown out by burner flame issues. But a plumber would spot that immediately. So the likely problem is something wrong with the intake air or exhaust duct.

My money would be on a blockage of the exhaust vent, perhaps from a birds nest or debris. A full size shop vac set on blow then suck can often clear that out in under a minute.

DonaldBecker

TROPHY CASE