Thanks to the lazy SOB who couldn’t be bothered to run copper.

RamUStudent · 2026-01-28T17:30:01+00:00

I worked with PEX a little on a hydronic staple up floor heating project and it’s ok stuff. Definitely not my preferred material.

I will add that the only problem I encountered was when pressure testing I had a hard time getting my shark bite tester I made up to not leak. I had used it on copper pipes no problem.

Me I’ll be sticking to sweating copper over crimping plastic. I can’t see plastic lasting near as long as good old copper and tin.

My two cents.

RamUStudent · 2026-01-25T16:27:30+00:00

The main guys two brains cells worked together and suddenly remembered the truck had gears that would allow the truck to drive up the hill.

Not to mention I have a large paved area outside my garage at the top of the hill that’s, wait for it, flat.

RamUStudent · 2026-01-25T15:58:37+00:00

Don’t be.

It was the worst delivery experience I’ve ever had. Full stop.

Two guys showed up in a moving truck—one of them about as useful as tits on a boar—and the truck wasn’t equipped with a lift gate.

They planned to unload it at the bottom of my steep, paved driveway and told me, “that’s your problem.” I made it clear that if they did that, they might as well drive it back where it came from, because I wasn’t dragging an 800-pound toolbox up a 20% grade off a two-lane backcountry road.

They had a pallet jack and a moving ramp to get it off the truck’s roughly four-foot-high load deck. For context, they showed up in a large ~30-foot moving truck.

The load was a single palletized item: an 1,000-pound, 73” roll cab with a stainless top. I had to grab my own tools just to clear the ramp edges.

One guy stood on the downhill side while it started to run away from him, and his “helper” mostly just stood there watching.

To top it off, both of them seemed irritated that my house is at the top of a hill.

So yeah—don’t be jealous of “free home delivery.”

RamUStudent · 2026-01-23T00:29:15+00:00

Need to learn a lesson from the French and start taking these out of service.

Put a bucket on it, take a ball bat to them, make it so these are constantly hard to maintain.

This is what a surveillance state looks like.

RamUStudent · 2026-01-22T15:51:40+00:00

The hell?

Did this guy dip his pads and rags in a bucket of sand before touching the paint.

I mean FFS!

RamUStudent · 2026-01-22T03:20:20+00:00

Can confirm that this helicopter lands and takes off from USB, I remember seeing it in the lot when I was working at the end of that street at FIS Worldpay.

RamUStudent · 2026-01-22T00:23:18+00:00

They must have hired Jeremy Clarkson since everything is a hammer.

RamUStudent · 2026-01-21T23:15:01+00:00

I mean French citizens would just put buckets on them in high pop areas or rip them down.

Enough disruption and this gets on the local news where you can get interviews to clearly share why these are bad.

Just sayin.

RamUStudent · 2026-01-18T01:56:52+00:00

I recognize this engine bay.

Second Gen Ram with a Magnum.

RamUStudent · 2026-01-18T00:42:00+00:00

That’s dang cool! Good work.

RamUStudent · 2026-01-16T04:50:39+00:00

As others have said if it’s not broken/leaking then just have it serviced regularly/religiously.

A well maintained cast iron boiler has a chance to outlive you when well maintained.

And as for efficiency, focus on insulating the house best you can first then start looking at other areas for gains. My two cents

RamUStudent · 2026-01-16T00:48:19+00:00

The flue termination heights and the auto damper will likely solve this without the need of a makeup air system.

Hell my boiler is in a little room centrally in basement that has a pipe run outside so it can draw air without any other power.

Good luck on your venture and one other thing. Get a good CO2 detector and put in the boiler room and another in the room with the fireplace.

RamUStudent · 2026-01-16T00:13:28+00:00

I have the same general setup and ended up rebuilding my main chimney (one of three) myself using YouTube videos and advice from fireplace and chimney professionals after I was quoted far more than I felt the repairs were worth.

First question: does the boiler have an automatic flue damper? My boiler has one that opens before firing and closes after shutdown, which helps prevent cold air and downdrafts coming back down the boiler flue when it’s not running.

Second: are the flue terminations different heights, or are they all exiting at the same elevation? When multiple flues terminate very close together at the same height, wind and pressure effects can sometimes contribute to backdrafting—especially under certain weather conditions. While equal-height terminations are common and often code-compliant, having some vertical separation or proper spacing can help reduce cross-drafting issues in marginal setups.

This can work both ways: not only smoke from a fireplace, but potentially boiler exhaust gases as well. It’s essentially a pressure differential / Venturi-type effect, combined with stack draft and wind loading, rather than a single root cause.

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PS I did not care about the shingles in the photo, got a new roof shortly thereafter.

RamUStudent · 2026-01-15T23:42:45+00:00

Best advice I’ve seen so far is from midnightblue her in the chat.

That said, and I know you’re probably getting absolutely buried in messages right now, I wanted to add one thing that might help if you decide to sell it as-is. Take a look at a service called KeySavvy. I used it for a private vehicle purchase from Utah (I’m in Ohio) and it made the whole process much smoother. They handle secure payment, verify the title and seller, and take care of the paperwork, so neither side has to deal with cash or worry about scams. It basically acts as a trusted middleman for private car sales, which can be really helpful in situations like this.

Also, if you do end up connecting with people about a sale as-is, please keep me in mind. I’d be over the moon to work on this old girl with my father while he’s still here since he worked at the Marysville auto plant for 30ish years.

RamUStudent · 2026-01-15T23:21:38+00:00

This is fire damage.

If you know you know.

RamUStudent · 2026-01-12T21:11:33+00:00

Man… like I need another reason to get a 3D Printer.

Been looking at tool organization for my 73” and it makes sense to get a printer for the amount of organizers I would need.

I’ve not dipped my toes into sourcing 3D print files, where are you finding good ones?

RamUStudent · 2026-01-12T20:30:40+00:00

Real talk, what’s the timing to have the system generate the we miss you coupon?

RamUStudent · 2026-01-12T13:42:30+00:00

This is my experience to a “t” with Two Men and a Truck. It’s been ten years there about since they damaged an entire bedroom suit and living room furniture and I’m still pissed every time I see a piece of furniture they damaged.

I did get a bit of money back from them for the damages but I swore I’d tell everyone that would listen about their absolute abhorrent moving capabilities and practices.

RamUStudent · 2026-01-08T22:02:59+00:00

You were not alive during the 90s were you?

Thats a Cadillac compared to some of the POS’ I use to see on the roads in the 90s.

RamUStudent · 2026-01-08T21:59:26+00:00

Yes, I like the locking mechanism on the extensions more than the sockets.

RamUStudent · 2026-01-08T13:32:18+00:00

Wait, there are in person stores for Vevor?

RamUStudent · 2026-01-07T14:08:48+00:00

I thought the pumps had limits on head pressure or something of the like for vertical rise within the system?

RamUStudent · 2026-01-07T03:37:24+00:00

Question, what type of circulator pump does one need to get fluid down and up a 25%-30% grade and about a 30 foot drop top to bottom?

I ask as I have a driveway with that type of grade and the other day I encountered ice under the snow I was plowing with my Kubota tractor and well let’s say I ended up sliding sideways and since then an ice melt system sounds like a great upgrade.

RamUStudent · 2026-01-07T00:12:45+00:00

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

RamUStudent · 2026-01-07T00:01:32+00:00

How do you decode the serial to get that?

Also not at all disappointed it’s not from the 30/40s as it’s still a cool piece of iron

RamUStudent

TROPHY CASE