Edward, front and center

[Captain]

We need a bee robbin' update!
Did you get your ass ate up?

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[Big Muddy]

Well, I had to leave them alone for a few days, while doing other chores....but, I dropped by to check on them after lunch, today....evidently, most of them re-located, as only about a 100 were still buzzing around the hive.

The big rain had really ruined the hive, and it was soured beyond any use....I took the front end loader forks, and carefully tried to remove the hive, but it just fell apart....weather has turned back hot, and they were pizzed at me, but thankfully they were attacking the tractor hood, where the heat and vibrations from the engine was their target....didn't get a single sting, but sure hate losing all that honey.

These are the remaining two piles of the broken hive:

b1.jpg

b2.jpg

[Captain]

Well that sucks. Sorry you did not get any of the honey. Hope those little boogers find a new home and can make the winter! You NEED them on the farm!

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[Captain]

How's the early corn looking out your way?
I went about 10 rows deep in the field yesterday and got two ears. They are running 16 rows with north of 42 kernels per row. MUCH better than last year. The farmer has just over 12,000 acres planted (not all of it early corn) but this early corn will be picked in two weeks around here. He recently built the largest grain dryer east of the Mississippi on his place so he can get a head start. Looked like corn was gonna be off this year but I think it's taken a bounce in the last few days.

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[Big Muddy]

Yep, corn crops are awesome down this way, too.

Too bad the market has gone down the sheeiter.

[Thumper]

WTF? I ain't no farmer ... but I thought ethanol was causing a shortage and making the price of corn sky-rocket. What's up with that Willis?

[Big Muddy]

That's old market news, Thump, from last year when the corn market price was about $7 dollars a bushel....that ethanol bubble has busted....several ethanol plants have already closed down here....they used up(or pocketed) the start-up federal grant money, and closed their doors.

General consensus was it cost more to produce a gallon of ethanol gasoline, than a gallon of conventional non-ethanol gasoline.

My opinion is ethanol gasoline sucks monkey nuts, anyday'umway.

[Captain]

Yep it was just a flash in the pan for companies to legally scoop up federal money to start up, burn through it and shut down.

Corn is down from last years 7 bucks to somewhere around 3.50 now.
I have not heard the current price (today) but I hear it's gonna take a bump up this week?

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[Thumper]

Well, where is all the ethanol coming from? I know of TWO stations here in town that have non-ethanol gas available. There may be more, I just don't really look for them. If basically all gas stations are pumping ethanol, it has to be coming from somewhere.

Admittedly, I don't follow the market and don't know squat about it .... but the corn has to come from SOMEWHERE ... right? Was all the hoopla just an "artificial" shortage to drive corn prices up?

[Fido]

Our country is going tooo be able to produce our own petroleum needs in the next few years. The activity in my county right now is unreal, white pick-up tricks all over. Our state is issuing 50 new well permits every month, newspaper is full of help wanted adds.

[Captain]

South America and Brazil have long growing seasons and can run two crops a year. We can only produce one crop a year of corn. They flooded the market when it got to 7 dollars. That's the reason it's down south of 4 bucks now.

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[Big Muddy]

That's odd, Thump, nearly every station down here has ethanol-free pumps....Walmart is one of the few that doesn't have it in my area.

I guess we just demand it more, here, because of all the problems related to using it.

Ethanol-free cost a few cents more, but that's all I use in everything I own, except my F150....it's designed to run on even that 80/20 crap....and, besides, I lease it, so........

And, corn isn't the only commodity market victim....us farm folks are taking a kick in the gonads, this year, but I guarantee you consumers won't see a price decrease in the stores.

Soybeans -- Sept.'14-$10.50....Sept.'13-$15.00.
Wheat -- Sept. '14-$5.20....Sept. '13-$6.80.

[Thumper]

I've used nothing but ethanol since they came out with the stuff. I've heard all the nightmares, but have not personally experienced any of them. I don't want to start an argument here because I know everyone blames ethanol for every ill under the sun when it comes to gas engines, BUT ... my last trip on my 4-wheeler was in the summer of 2007. I ONLY used it once or twice a year ... Ohio in November for deer season and occasionally when I'd go bear hunting in Canada ... otherwise it sat in my hot shed unused. The summer of 2007 was my last hunting trip as the economy tanked and I closed my business at the end of that year (skipped deer season due to the turmoil). I then started my truck driving career and then got sick, so I never so much as started the 4-wheeler for over 5-6 years. I finally decided I should sell it last year. Since I was selling it to my mechanic buddy at the Toyota dealer, I wasn't worried about it and told him he'd need to go through the fuel system before it would run. Before he came over to pick it up, I aired up the tires so I could roll it out of the shed. I then hooked up some jumper cables just to make sure the starter would turn it over ... and the damn thing started right up! I 'bout shit! It smoked a bit, so I topped off the tank with fresh fuel (more ethanol) and it ran like a champ! He showed up, we drove it up the ramps and loaded it into his truck. He said he never had to touch a thing on it other than to replace the battery. 'Course it was a HONDA, so that may have had a lot to do with it.

Just last week I had a tree fall in my yard and a neighbor showed up with his chain saw to help cut it up. While he was here I went into the garage and got my chainsaw that had been sitting in there unused for probably 7-8 years and gave it to him. He brought it over the next day and it was running perfectly. He said the fuel line was deteriorated and split/leaking (heck, it was probably 20 years old), so he replaced it, added fresh fuel and she cranked right up. I told him the saw was his in exchange for helping me out with the tree.

I still have my two pressure washers, a weed eater, a string trimmer, gas hedge clippers, a gas blower and who knows what else in the garage and none have been started in years ... but I assume it'll be the same story as the chainsaw ... just a bit of cleaning up and they'll run.

Again ... I KNOW ethanol is hated around this joint and is blamed for every ill known to man ... but I personally haven't had a bit of a problem with it ... at least no more than I ever had with non-ethanol fuels. Just sayin'. Ok, that said, now I'll listen to all the nightmares that demon ethanol has caused everyone here.

Ya' know sumpin'? I remember all this same exact crap-talk when unleaded fuel came out in the early 70's. That stuff ruined EVERYTHING that was gas powered.

[Niner]

We have several stations around town that have AN ethenol-free pump. And it is a lot more than just a few cents more per gallon.

I fill up my 5gal cans there, and use it in all of my small engines. Everything from the weedeater to the golf cart.


Thump, you are just one lucky SOB is all I can figgure.
I would have said the same thing(s) as you about ethenol gas...until I had to have the carb on my old Honda 300 fourtrax rebuilt. My buddy who rebuilt it said there was all manner of crud in there from the contaminants (water) absorbed by the ethenol gas. MAYBE it was so hot out in your shed thay all of the gas evaporated out of the carb before it could do any damage????

Of course.....I seem to remember you saying that the hot-water heater in your house is something like 20 years old too. You are an anomoly.

[Thumper]

Sorry Muddy, I posted the above while you were posting. I haven't had a boat in years, but any boat I had, I ran ethanol in. BUT ... I've never had a NEW boat, so don't know about the warranties, etc. That may be why the non-ethanol stuff is so popular with the boating crowd down here. I assumed it had something to do with octane ratings. I'm just not picky I guess ... if the pump says "gasoline" on the front ... it's all gasoline to me. Octane is the only variable I ever paid attention to ... my Corvettes both took premium.

Which, BTW ... is a whole 'nuther argument. I have a buddy who will not allow a drop of ANYTHING to go into his fuel tank but premium fuel. I've told him a bazillion times 'til I'm blue in the face, he's wasting TONS of money. If a car will run on regular, you can throw all the octane in the world at it and it will NOT run any better. It's just money out the tail pipe. No way he'll ever believe that. He even insists on his wife putting it in her frigging PT Cruiser!

[Big Muddy]

Ethanol gasoline sucks....run it in a boat motor without any Sta-Bil or SeaFoam added, and see what happens, after about a year of use.

My Tahoe boat, even came with specific instructions in owner's manual to NOT use ethanol fuel, unless absolutely necessary....and, only 90/10, at that....if I use 80/20, the warranty is void.

[Thumper]

Yeah, we may have more here than I'm aware of Niner ... I just don't look for them because I don't use the stuff. The two stations I'm aware of are places I drive by all the time and they have huge signs proclaiming they have it available, so there's no way to miss it. I'm sure if I searched, I'd find more.

By the way, the guy I gave my chainsaw to uses nothing but non-ethanol in all of his small engines (mower, chainsaw, etc). I'm sure we have more available here than I'm aware of because of all the boats and the boating crowd eats that stuff up ... especially those with airboats.

[BarryBobPosthole]

When we go up north every year its almost impossible to find gas without it in it. Its never caused me a problem. People gotta blame something I guess.

Did y'all know that bees aren't native to North America? It floored me when I first found that out.

BKB

[Thumper]

When we go up north every year its almost impossible to find gas without it in it. Its never caused me a problem. People gotta blame something I guess.

Did y'all know that bees aren't native to North America? It floored me when I first found that out. BKB

Now that's a typical Good Hunting segue if I ever saw one!

[Niner]

BBP, I did not know that until about a month or so ago when my "bee buddy" told me about how they were brought over from Europe. I DID know that Brown Trout are non-native.

I think one of the biggest problems with the ethenol gas comes from letting it sit around. Perhaps that's the problem....and that's how the water gets in it. Like I opined above....MAYBE the difference there in south FL is the year-round high heat.

OF course, I DO remember a time in Florida (Jacksonville area) back in the late 70's when it seemed like every time I'd gas up my motrorcycle (didn't own a car at the time) it would have water the gas. About once a week I'd have to pull the foat bowls off of the carb(s) and dump out the water. Foruately the bikes I was running then were BMWs and Harleys, and the carbs were pretty easy to get to, and put back on.....the job only took about 30 mins or so.

[BarryBobPosthole]

Sea Foam will fix it right up!

I lived in Florida when the independent fuel haulers went on strike in the late 70's. Anyone remember that? The scabs who hauled fuel were getting concrete blocks dropped on the from overpasses. I think a few people were killed and quite a few got hurt. They had National Guardsmen riding in the cabs with them to try to prevent it.
Was a crazy time.

Also, does anyone remember the ads in the old JC Whitney catalogues selling water vapor injectors that were supposed to increase gas mileage and power AND let you run you car on water? Crazy shit.

BKB

[Niner]

I remember an old biker's trick...back in the day... to remove carbon build up was to take off the air cleaner, rev up the engine, and use a spritzer bottle to spray water into the carb. Supposedly, the water would turn to steam in the cylinder, and "burn off" the built-up carbon and stuff in there. Prolly sortof like using Sea Foam nowadays.

[Big Muddy]

Yep, Niner, if ethanol gas sits for any length of time, the alcohol collects moisture, and it, also, slowly deteriorates any rubber or plastic seals, fittings, hoses, etc.....everything I got, just seems to run better on non-ethanol....'course, ya'll know I'm a SeaFoam man, too, so..............

[BarryBobPosthole]

Niner, I think the science behind it is that water expands quite a bit when it turns to steam and that increases the compression in the top of the cylinder. I imagine that make it burn a little hotter and cleaner (and better).

BKB

[Big Muddy]

Typical GH thread....from honey bees to corn to brown trout to ethanol in the blink of an eye.

[Thumper]

Yep Niner ... I remember back in the 60's ... we used to sell a water injector option at the Caddy dealer. I don't know if it actually did anything or if it was one of those "snake oil" thingies we sold and installed just to make a buck ... but some customers swore by them. They weren't much more than a Mason jar bolted on the firewall and ya' had to keep it filled with water. A vacuum hose went from the jar to the carb/manifold (don't remember). I searched and found a pic of one on the net:

waterinjector.jpg