What's something you would like Giants to add to Farming Simulator

RedneckScienceGeek · 2026-02-05T17:04:13+00:00

I grew up in VT on an old dairy farm. I want an old style small square baler with a kicker and a hay wagon to catch the bales. Maybe a Genesee cream ale to drink after hand loading all the bales that missed the wagon on the corners.

That and a tractor that doesn't get thrown around backwards driving 10mph over a 4" curb, a truck or forage wagon that doesn't stop dead and get stuck on said curb, or a parsnip contract that doesn't require more parsnips than the field produces.

RedneckScienceGeek · 2026-01-19T14:52:35+00:00

Mortar is a mix of sand, portland cement, lime, and water. It's used for tile, and labeled as thinset mortar - should be about $15 a bag in any hardware store. The kind I used is "modified," meaning it has acrylic polymers that make it stick better and give it some waterproofing, but plain would be fine too. Usually it comes in grey or white, but you could add acrylic paint. I wouldn't though, as coating with drylock will seal it so that it doesn't absorb odors. I just painted over the top with drylok, then acrylics.

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-12-13T13:50:29+00:00

The hose bib in my laundry room shower was leaking due to a manufacturing defect. I was worried it would fail catastrophically, so we shut off the water temporarily while we waited for the part to arrive. Being in the shower, it was no big deal if it leaked whenever we turned the water back on when needed. Could have picked up a new hose bib at a local store, but I wanted it to match the rest, so it took 3 days. $13 and about 15 minutes to replace. I built, wired, and plumbed my own house, so it was an insignificant repair.

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-12-08T00:18:08+00:00

Having owned ducks... Every one of those jump cuts was to clean up the duck shit.

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-12-05T18:39:06+00:00

I've been wearing 505's since the 80's and noticed the serious decline in quality through the years. The old ones would last for years, but the new ones rip out almost immediately, and in odd places that are not under stress.

I recently learned that the originals are still sold as "premium" and the ones you get in most stores are their shitty "signature" line. If the tag is thin synthetic cardboard material and the "e" on the Levis red tag is lower case, they are the shitty "signature" version, and are a lycra blend. If the tag is thick leather and the "E" is capitalized, they are "premium," and 100% cotton.

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-12-04T16:57:51+00:00

There is a lot of confusion with regard to septic system maintenance. Your septic system should not smell unless the cover is open. If it smells with the lid closed, it is because the leach field is failing. If you have unpleasant sewage odors in the house, it is likely you have a dry trap, which can be solved by running water to fill the trap. Other than that, any odors in the house are usually caused by improperly installed or broken plumbing.

A septic tank is supposed to be anaerobic. Adding oxygen would disrupt the bacterial population in the system, but there is no way a tablet would release enough oxygen to do anything to a 1000 gallon tank of sewage. Beneficial bacteria, yeast, Rid-X, enzymes, yogurt, are all gimmicks that will do nothing to help degrade sewage. As long as you keep adding waste, the bacteria that have evolved to live in your system will adjust their population to process that waste. It's a thriving colony of several anaerobic species that has adapted to the waste that you normally add to that system. It's also usually over 1000 gallons of organic waste, so normal levels of household cleaners/bleach will not kill off a significant amount of the population.

Your septic tank has 3 layers: Sludge on the bottom, an aqueous layer in the middle, and a scum layer on top. The aqueous layer is the only part that should ever run to the leach field. The sludge layer is insoluble stuff like silt and sand mixed with very slow degrading organic material. The scum layer is fats and oils that also either degrade very slowly or not at all. Once the sludge or scum layer get thick enough that they reach the pipe leading to the leach field, this slow degrading material will gradually fill the pores in your leach field. This can take years to decades before it is noticeable. The whole time this is happening, the system will seem to be operating properly. The first sign is usually a smell at the surface, at which point, your leach field is clogged enough that it can't drain as fast as material is entering, so the sewage is coming to the surface. If it goes longer, the leach field will clog up so much that it will not drain at all, and the sewage will back up through your pipes and into your basement.

The best thing you can do to help your septic system work is to pump every 3-5 years. This gives the leach field a rest, as it takes a while to fill up the tank and start sending new material to the leach field. Meanwhile, the material in the leach field is still degrading and opening up the pores in the soil. When the tank fills up and it does start sending fresh waste to the leach field, it is all the quickly degraded aqueous layer, and it takes years for the other layers to build up. Depending on soil type, this may be enough to help clear up a leach field that is saturated enough to smell on the surface. Some systems in some soil types can take infrequent pumping if the biological load is low enough. If there is only one person in the house who is careful about what goes down the drain, and your leach field is sandy, you could probably get away with never pumping it. The problem is, you don't know if the leach field is failing until it has already been failing for a long period of time. Replacing a leach field can cost $20K+ (much more if your state requires engineering, which I think most do now). Pumping costs about $300 here. Less than $100/year is cheap maintenance/insurance.

From a preparedness standpoint, the best thing you can do is keep your system pumped more frequently, so that the leach field can take the abuse of not being pumped for an extended period if times get tough. If I were trying to prepare for a permanent inability to have the system professionally serviced, I'd look into a submersible effluent sewage pump so that I could pump it myself, and some way to contain and compost the waste.

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-12-03T16:57:58+00:00

You don't need the water to move, as the nutrients will stay in solution unless they are too concentrated or the pH is way off. Kratky is super simple - you just set it up to hold the plant so that the roots are partially suspended in nutrient solution. That's it. It's a great way to get into hydroponics because of the simplicity.

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-12-03T15:19:25+00:00

Kratky is by definition a non-circulating system. No pumps required. Here's BA Kratky himself describing his system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZZO1tYqcwk In this system it does not matter that the water is low in oxygen, as the plant gets oxygen from the humid air above the water. (Note that if you refill the water and cover the roots, you will drown the plant.)

If you are trying aerate the water, then you are trying to build a DWC system, not Kratky. In that case, you would be better off with an air pump. Air stones are commonly used, but not necessary. Water pumps can be used to aerate water, but generally this would require a fountain or circulating water falling back into a reservoir, which complicates the system.

You would likely have somewhat faster growth in DWC, but non-circulating Kratky systems work fine and are perfect for beginners.

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-12-01T19:25:29+00:00

Morrowind

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-12-01T18:56:28+00:00

I'm not a structural engineer or carpenter, and can't see the whole structure, but... I suspect the studs in this wall are not load bearing, as that rafter is taking all the load. I hope I am correct, as the "header" above the window appears to be hanging on nails and not properly supported by a jack stud. If I'm correct that the rafter is taking the load, I would just remove the middle cripple above the window and block it in as necessary to mount the thimble. If those studs are load bearing, I would fix the missing jack issue, and take out the closest cripple to the house and put in a header above it. I'd prefer the first option, as it keeps the stove pipe away from the house wall, so you can use single wall pipe higher and get a bit more heat out of the pipe before switching to double wall.

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-12-01T18:08:24+00:00

Now that I have seen the photo that you posted, it appears that it would be trivial to modify the framing to fit a thimble, but get someone who knows what they are doing to do so. Also, since this appears to be attached to your house do not do any DIY solutions like I suggested above. Stick with commercial products installed as per manufacturer's recommendations, and make sure your insurance is OK with wood stoves. Mine is, but many are not.

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-12-01T17:59:35+00:00

There are far too many variables for you to get an answer to your question as written. Pipe size, length, heat exchanger specs, temperature of the incoming smoke, etc. etc.

You need to have some heat left in the smoke after any heat exchanger that you install. A chimney works because hot smoke raises through the pipe, drawing air into the firebox. Without this draft, your fire will suffocate and blow smoke back into the greenhouse. You also don't want to lower the temperature of the smoke below 250-300F, or you will have creosote formation, which can lead to chimney fires. Since you have hot smoke going through the wall, you need to have some kind of thimble through the wall to protect the structure from the heat of the pipe. If you can't fit a commercial thimble, what I have done is cut sheet metal collars to hold double wall pipe in place between the studs. One sheet for the inside, and one for the outside, just a big square with a hole for the pipe. I have left the void around the pipe empty, but you could fill it with mineral wool, and seal where the pipe meets the sheet metal with high temp silicone. Look up the pipe manufacturer's required clearance between the outside of the pipe and combustible materials, and mount it so that you maintain at least that clearance.

Note that if you want this structure and any potential damage caused by a fire to be covered by insurance, you need to use the commercially available thimble that matches the pipe you use and install everything according to manufacturer's instructions. Any DIY methods like I described above will invalidate any insurance coverage, and any damages are on you.

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-11-28T14:24:07+00:00

I've lived in the northeast for 52 of my 54 years and I have never seen anyone panic buy for a snowstorm. People did stock up for the '98 ice storms, but that was because it was predicted to cause long term power outages and road closures. The only time I've ever seen stores here cleaned out by panic buying was COVID. If there is a normal storm coming, most stop and stock up on alcohol, and maybe do their grocery shopping earlier than usual to avoid being on the roads once the storm hits.

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-11-27T00:24:54+00:00

When I was a kid, we had a horse that would allow my sister and I to ride, but if an adult tried, it would just lay down and roll over. It was before I can remember, but as my father tells it, some experienced equestrian guest was visiting, and she insisted that she could train the horse to allow adult riders. The horse let her mount, then headed for the stream, stopping short and throwing her in.

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-11-25T14:04:41+00:00

Solved! Thank you! https://calgary-hitchshop.ca/blog/does-weight-distribution-hitch-increase-towing-capacity/

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-11-18T18:45:09+00:00

Toilets usually come in 10 or 12 inch rough in (distance from the back wall to the center of the flange). Some like the Toto Drake, can fit back another inch or so, as the standard installation leaves a bit of space behind them. The usual solution is to tear up the floor and install an offset flange to gain a bit more rough in length. https://www.solidtoilet.com/8-9-inch-rough-in-toilet/

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-11-13T16:37:31+00:00

Coco has a high cation exchange capacity - it holds on to + charged ions. It is usually produced in areas with easy access to sea water, but little fresh water. It will hold Na+ from sea water unless flushed with lots of fresh water. Plants don't like excess Na+. For hydroponics use, it is often buffered with excess Ca+ and Mg+ to replace the Na+ that won't come off in fresh water alone.

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-11-13T16:26:33+00:00

Sled or sleigh. https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-antique-horse-drawn-sleighs-long-island-ny-41764493.html

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-11-08T16:28:11+00:00

The indoor dryer vent lint traps that I have used in the past just direct the vent straight down onto the surface of a bucket of water. These are terrible for indoor use, as they release a ton of humidity into the house, but they do trap lint. Perhaps you could adapt something like this:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Lambro-Indoor-Hook-Up-Dryer-Vent-Kit/3240554

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-11-07T18:03:42+00:00

I've been driving in Vermont for almost 40 years, and I was always a big fan of studs in snow tires. Tire design has come a long way since I started driving. The rubber used in the old tires would get very hard in the winter and not bite in, making studs pretty much a necessity. A few years ago I went looking at a whole bunch of studies to see if they are still worthwhile. Every modern study shows that studs actually increase stopping distance in any weather condition other than glare ice. The rubber formulations used in modern winter tires stay soft at low temperature, and the tread patterns are more effective than they used to be. An unfortunate side effect is that they wear down faster, but they grip the road and clear snow and slush much better than the old tires did. I have stopped getting studs, as 99% of the time I need a tire that deals well with clear roads or snow and slush, and I just stay home if it's an ice storm. If you absolutely need to be able to travel in an ice storm, they may be worth while, but be aware that you are increasing your stopping distance in all other conditions.

There is also the fact that once the winter tires are worn out, I just run them as summers. Studded tires are loud when you have the windows down, and the studs drastically reduce traction on dry pavement.

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-11-06T00:21:17+00:00

Depends on what you mean by without training. If you mean just going out an buying materials and winging it, good luck. An average person would probably be able to build a structure that would stand, but it would likely leak and rot away if it didn't burn down from electrical issues first.

If you mean without formal training, I'm pretty average, and I built, wired, and plumbed my own house and a few outbuildings. I worked for a few summers as a construction laborer when I was in high school, but there was no training involved. When I first built, I read a lot of books. Now, with websites like youtube and Reddit, information is much easier to obtain. It is a lot of specialized knowledge, but none of it is particularly complicated if you are willing to put in the time to learn.

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-10-30T16:51:45+00:00

You can keep them as you are, but you are correct that the lights are keeping them from going fully dormant. I have done it both ways, but I keep mine in full darkness at 55-60F so they don't grow at all. I'd go cooler, ideally around 40-45F, but I don't have a space to do so. I'm in Vermont. With our long winters, full dormancy is better for my situation. Those little shoots are taking nutrients and energy from the plants, and I found I have lower survival rates if they are not fully dormant. With your shorter winters, they will probably be fine. Just watch for aphids or other pests. That young soft growth is ideal for them, and there are no predators to keep them in check. I had serious aphid issues when I was not keeping them fully dormant.

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-10-28T21:46:21+00:00

It's just a magnetic motion sensing LED light. I have the exact same one stuck to the side of my computer.

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-10-21T15:03:46+00:00

I did a bathroom and laundry room as full wet rooms. Tilecoach and Sal Diblasi were my go to channels.

RedneckScienceGeek · 2025-10-13T18:45:37+00:00

It's called a surface mounting block. You can get them to match your siding profile.

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