busy, busy, busy

Yesterday I went to town and picked up a reducer and some stove pipe for our wood stove. We had bought a new heat reclaimer since the fan in the old one died a couple of (3-4yrs.) ago. Now, a friend -Dale- and I have to get it installed.

Read the rest real slow and one sentence at a time! Otherwise you will think I'm nuts and not making any sense at all . . . but I really am. Picture two people almost dancing around a wood stove - not for fun, but frustration in not knowing where to place ourselves to get the best 'grip' on smooth stove pipe! Aarrgghh!!!!!!!!

Hmmm, well yes, we do! It was very easy to tear the old one out . . . but we had evidently forgotten that when we pulled the old one out, to see how to get the new one in, getting it back together was a royal pain! It is impossible to put stuff together that measures EXACTLY the same when one is suppose to go inside the other! The stove outlet is 6" o.d (outside diameter) the reducer is 6" o.d., hmmm - what is wrong with this picture you ask? the two don't want to slip nicely together..... Dale made a collar that would slip outside on the stove and outside on the reducer . . HEY it works! Then the reclaimer slips inside the reducer. OK that worked!

Now for the stove pipe itself . . . I wanted 2 - 4 foot pieces. The store doesn't carry that so I got 4 - 2 foot pieces. So far so good. AGAIN - the stove pipe measures 8" o.d. - the top of the reclaimer measures 8" o.d. and to further complicate matters, the chimney pipe is just shy of 8" i.d. (inside diameter) Doesn't work! We have to go back and use the old stove pipe that will slip inside the chimney. Fine! We had to turn one of the sections around so that the crimped end will go inside the reclaimer. Now the other end of that section won't fit into the section that goes up the chimney. Can you read FRUSTRATION? We MAKE it fit! In the mean time, I'm on a kitchen step stool holding a 30 pound reclaimer up above my shoulders - can we say arms hurt?

Then we have to move the stove in exact alignment underneath the reclaimer/stove pipe . . .wood stoves are not featherweight items! Dale is holding the reclaimer/stove pipe, is wife and I are moving the stove around to get it right. RIGHT ! ! ! It took some time, but we got it!

Finally we get it all together with some screws in the holes to keep the smoke from filling the house. Looks like some sort of spaceship, but I don't care! There is nothing that will make me take that thing apart EVER again! And when/if it ever needs to be replaced - I will let the pros do it! Saving money and loosing your sanity is not worth it. Take my word for it!

Besides, now I have to take the 4 - 2 foot sections back to the store . . . if they don't ask, I won't tell much about the frustration, just that the sections wouldn't work.

. . . and then there is today:

After we got home from our 8-day camping/hunting trip I was absolutely beat! I emptied the camper of food and clothes, but did not dump the poo poo tank. Lazy me. I did it today - I HATE that job, but some body has to do it. It needs to be dumped after every trip. Period. No two ways about it. I have looked at the camper for over a week now thinking about it every day. I did it today. Uugghh!!!!! We still need to blow out the water lines so there is no water to freeze. After that, it needs to air dry inside the tank, so the little hose bib size opening cover needs to be left loose . . . don't leave it off or you will have 'things' nesting in the opening . . . like mud daubers (bad news!) The lines will be blown out with an air compressor later today or tomorrow. Tomorrow I will go clean the mess I left inside the camper toilet room because I used the same gloves (very sooty gloves) I wore yesterday.

If I survive this weekend I might be able to craft next week. Oooooo, what I wouldn't give for a nice craft room . . . another story at a later date . . .

Thanks for letting me vent today, I really, really needed it!

The 50-50-90 rule:
Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong!

Have a great weekend. (((hugs)))