Hunker Down...its coming!!!

[Jerry]

Mind if I ask where you bought your weight kit at?
__________________

There are two options for wheel weights; the "on wheel" which I have on the Gilson, and the "suitcase weights" that hang off the rear on the John Deere. Both have pros and cons. I decided to go with the suitcase weights on the JD because of the ease of use to put them on and remove them in the spring. One bar holds them in place as opposed to having to remove a few bolts per tire for the wheel weights. Since the Gilson is set up for snow removal only this is not an issue, but the JD does double-duty as my summer time lawn mower.

The JD weight bracket was purchased from eBay, $45.00 plus shipping, the weights from a local John Deere implement dealer. They gave me a discount, down to just under $52.00 per weight (15% off list) and no shipping. The bracket and weights came in at about $175.00 total. The weights are about 41 pounds each and designed for small JD garden tractors. Along with the chains they give me pretty good performance in the snow.

For the guys with generators...
I have a Generac 4000xl (4,000watt continuous, 5,500 watt surge) that I picked up (used) last fall. I've been looking around for a 6 or 10 circuit transfer switch to wire into my house system; does anyone have a brand preference? It looks like Reliance is widely available but as I have no previous experience in this area I would welcome any input.

[madmax-im]

Sorry folks i havent had enough power or internet connection up til now...to respond to you all...
Jerry...love that Gilson and your JD is cool too. Thanks for mentioning your Generac...we might persue one ourselves...
Bob...wow cant imagine 13 days without power...but there was a silver lining in there somewhere...and yeah the things we tend to take for granted can be humbling..
TC....LMAO...hope you all are alright there...how much did y'all get?
Marty...we have adopted this method of snow removal as well...a bit of of change from our days up in the great white north...
Brant...I wanna ride in the banana belt...wait...that dont sound right...LOL
2manybikes...thats interesting...i always wondered why locals referred to clearing the roads as scraping as opposed to plowing them...LOL

[XJOK2PLAY]

There are two options for wheel weights; the "on wheel" which I have on the Gilson, and the "suitcase weights" that hang off the rear on the John Deere. Both have pros and cons. I decided to go with the suitcase weights on the JD because of the ease of use to put them on and remove them in the spring. One bar holds them in place as opposed to having to remove a few bolts per tire for the wheel weights. Since the Gilson is set up for snow removal only this is not an issue, but the JD does double-duty as my summer time lawn mower.

The JD weight bracket was purchased from eBay, $45.00 plus shipping, the weights from a local John Deere implement dealer. They gave me a discount, down to just under $52.00 per weight (15% off list) and no shipping. The bracket and weights came in at about $175.00 total. The weights are about 41 pounds each and designed for small JD garden tractors. Along with the chains they give me pretty good performance in the snow.

For the guys with generators...
I have a Generac 4000xl (4,000watt continuous, 5,500 watt surge) that I picked up (used) last fall. I've been looking around for a 6 or 10 circuit transfer switch to wire into my house system; does anyone have a brand preference? It looks like Reliance is widely available but as I have no previous experience in this area I would welcome any input.

Hi Jerry,
I install transfer switches all the time for customers. I've used the Reliance 6 circuit numerous times, last one installed a few weeks ago. They're about the best bang for the buck, and are the type of switch that has 6- 3 position switches... Up for generator, middle for off, down for utility power. They come pre-wired with "Ins & Outs. You'll remove a wire from the breaker in your panel, wirenut it together with a black from the switch. The corresponding numbered red from the switch then goes on the breaker. Reliance has a legend on top of it so you can mark each of the 6 circuits you've chosen.

For that size generator, I'd stick with a 6 circuit. For an 8000 watt or bigger, you can go with a 10 circuit.

I installed a Generac 10 circuit switch I ordered off Ebay (new) back in the summer for a customer. That switch design surprisingly sucked! I won't ever use one of those again! I figured being Generac, it would be great... (love their generators.) this one actually used Seimens circuit breakers on a busbar, and required I wire all the runs back to the panel with my provided wire! Then, to make the cost even worse, if you wanted 10 circuits, you had to provide and install your own twin breakers. It comes with a 2pole 30a main, which turned out to be defective and I had to replace that, as well! Never again. Calls to CS were agonizingly painful too, but in only 6 short weeks, they did send me a replacement breaker... finally...

Reliance 6 cir's come w/o the receptacle installed in the switch. They provide it, but you pull a blank panel and install it yourself on the switch. The reason they do that, is it only comes now with a 20' power cord. If that's too short for where you place the generator, you then purchase a deep weatherproof outlet box and bubble cover, and have to pipe (extend) a 30a 250v 4 wire circuit to that location and connect it to the wires in the transfer switch. So, odds are, you won't want the recept on the switch, so they take the better route for them by not installing it.

Those switches have a tie-bar on the middle 2 breakers, easily removed with a screwdriver if you need 2 20a 120v circuits and not 1 20a 250v. Each of the 6 circuits have a pop-out line breaker, and there's dual watt meters so you can monitor the load placed on each phase of the generator.

The switch surface mounts beside your panel, and has a 3/4" greenfield prewired loop with a 90 degree connector you cut in under the bottom of the panel, (unless your panel happens to be surface mounted too, and not recessed back into the wall.)
They're good switches.
Bob

[XJOK2PLAY]

Also,
Thanks, Jerry for the info about the mower weight kits.
Appreciate it!
I need to buy a kit for my mower. The yard I mow is on a pretty steep hill, and I get tired of shifting MY weight from side to side all the time when I lose traction.

[slow mo]

well good news up here in the GWN hardly any snow at all where i live and temps are rising to well above zero ! a very warm winter for me last year at this time it was 35 below !!~!Slow Mo

[webbcraft2150]

Sooooooooo. I guess yall dont want to hear about me "suffering" thru the forecast of 84 on Sunday? Now, where my sunscreen.

[madmax-im]

What a difference a week makes... 65* today...last week below freezing and no power...

[Jerry]

Western Colorado - whole state, actually - getting hit, started last night and going until Tuesday AM. Forecast for my area is up to 11 inches of snow, most today (Monday) and tonight. I woke up to 5 - 6 inches of white stuff; the John Deere garden tractor and Troy-Bilt blower both got a workout. I'll have to clear snow again when I get home, expect another 3 - 5 inches will have accumulated by then. Denver and eastern part of the state may get a bit more than my area.

Nothing like the east coast storm but still enough to close schools and cause some travel havoc. Days like this I'm glad my Toyota RAV4 has all-wheel drive.

[motoman]

Western Colorado - whole state, actually - getting hit, started last night and going until Tuesday AM. Forecast for my area is up to 11 inches of snow, most today (Monday) and tonight. I woke up to 5 - 6 inches of white stuff; the John Deere garden tractor and Troy-Bilt blower both got a workout. I'll have to clear snow again when I get home, expect another 3 - 5 inches will have accumulated by then. Denver and eastern part of the state may get a bit more than my area.

Nothing like the east coast storm but still enough to close schools and cause some travel havoc. Days like this I'm glad my Toyota RAV4 has all-wheel drive.

3" of wetly saturated white stuff here Jerry. Just made for hard shoveling off driveway!