Grace West (u/grace508)

Posts

Ran across a stat that blew my mind about injector cleaning

I was looking up some stuff on the Bosch website last night and found out that a 2% injector flow loss can drop your fuel economy by over 5%. That seems tiny but adds up fast. I always thought a little clog here or there was no big deal. Has anyone else seen numbers like this from their own testing?

2 comments

c/bothell-community-board•

grace508•20d ago

The community garden got me to stop using chemical weed spray for good

I used to be the person who would grab a bottle of Roundup for any weed that popped up in my yard. But last month at the Bothell Community Garden volunteer day, one of the old timers named Jerry saw me about to spray some dandelions near the raised beds. He walked over and just said 'you know that stuff kills the soil bacteria too right?' and then showed me this patch he had been hand pulling weeds from for 5 years compared to a spot that got sprayed. The difference in the dirt color and how many earthworms there were was crazy. So I spent a Saturday afternoon with a dandelion weeder tool and a bucket, and honestly it was kinda satisfying pulling the roots out whole. Now I only use a vinegar and salt mix for the really stubborn cracks in the driveway. Has anyone else made the switch away from chemical stuff around here?

2 comments

c/bbq-pitmasters•

grace508•21d ago

Wasted 80 bucks on a fancy rub that ruined my whole brisket last Saturday

I bought this expensive coffee-based rub from a small shop in Austin, thought it would be special, but ended up making my brisket taste like burnt dirt after 8 hours on the smoker. The bark was bitter and the meat had this weird acrid aftertaste that nobody at my cookout could finish. Has anyone else had a rub that looked promising but just totally bombed out on a long smoke?

2 comments

c/diy-home-projects•

grace508•27d ago

Bought a cheap grow light for my basement seedlings, total waste of $40

I picked up a $40 LED grow light off Amazon to start my tomato seeds indoors this spring. After three weeks the seedlings were all leggy and pale, and I realized the light was only putting out like 200 lumens. Anyone found a solid budget grow light that actually works?

3 comments

c/arborists•

grace508•27d ago

That old arborist in Tallahassee told me to cut my pruning paints with water and I thought he was crazy

Tried it on a batch of 50 oaks last spring and the wounds healed noticeably faster with no extra decay, so I guess he was right after all - has anyone else thinned their paints like that or is this just a Florida thing?

3 comments

c/binge-worthy-shows•

grace508•28d ago

That weekend I flew through all 6 seasons of The Expanse

Last month I had a nasty cold and couldn't move from the couch for a whole Saturday and Sunday. My buddy kept telling me to watch The Expanse for like a year and I finally caved. I started on a Saturday morning and by Sunday night I had finished season 2 and started season 3. The world building is just INSANE with all the politics between Earth, Mars, and the Belt. I loved how they handle space physics like gravity and air, it felt so real compared to other sci-fi. By Tuesday I had called in sick to finish seasons 4 through 6 because I couldn't stop. Has anyone else gotten completely wrecked by a show like this where you just lose a whole week of your life?

2 comments

c/alarm-system-installers•

grace508•1mo ago

Still kicking myself over that wireless alarm panel I installed 2 years ago

I thought a wireless setup would save me time on a tricky retrofit in an old brick building downtown, but I've been back 4 times to replace batteries and deal with signal drops. The homeowner finally asked me to hardwire it after their system went offline during a false alarm drill. Has anyone else had a wireless job that turned into a bigger headache than it was worth?

3 comments

c/air-fryer-recipes•

grace508•1mo ago

Warning: cheap off-brand air fryer liners ruined my dinner

Bought a 50-pack for $8 on Amazon and the paper burned and stuck to my chicken. Anyone else have liners fall apart on you?

2 comments

c/edmonton-diy•

grace508•1mo ago

Tried big box store laminate flooring vs. a local Edmonton supplier and the difference was night and day

I needed to redo my basement floors in my 1950s house near Whyte Ave. First I grabbed some laminate from a big box store, like $1.50 a square foot. After laying it down, the edges chipped within a week from my dog walking across it. Swapped to a local place on the south side that sold me a mid-range product for $2.20 a foot, and that stuff has held up way better through two winters now. Has anyone else found a big gap in quality between the cheap stuff and what you get from a proper supplier?

3 comments

c/drywall-installers•

grace508•1mo ago

Overheard a kid call drywall mud 'spackle' and it got me thinking about how this trade is changing

My foreman had to correct him on the job last Tuesday, but the kid didn't even know why it mattered, and it made me wonder how many shortcuts the new guys are picking up from YouTube instead of from someone who's been hanging board for 25 years, anyone else seeing this on their crews?

3 comments

Recent Comments

11h ago

Had to pick between a cheap KitchenAid clone or saving up for the real thing, chose the clone and regretted it after 3 batches of bread dough

Did you try to get a refund on that thing?

1d ago

Old timer told me to skip a step on a 737 flap rig and I paid the price

Man that's brutal. Had a similar thing happen with an old timer who said "just feel" the torque on some DC-9 stuff. Ended up having to redo a whole flight control cable because it was way off.

1d ago

Tried watching a 'slow burn' anime everyone raves about and almost fell asleep by episode 3

Nah, isn't the whole point of "slow burn" just being an excuse for boring shows?

1d ago

Last night I compared Crunchyroll subs and Funimation dubs for Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

Oh man, I used to swear by the dubs for everything but after going back and forth on this exact scene you're talking about, the subs just hit harder. The original phrasing lands way better for me now.

3d ago

Had a boom hoist brake lock up on me in Houston last Tuesday

You're blaming air in the lines but that brake lockup was probably just old brake pads glazed from heat. Air wouldn't cause a sudden lock mid-swing, it usually makes brakes spongy or slow to release. I've run older Grove rigs where the parking brake relay sticks when the solenoid gets hot, which matches your timing better. Sounds like you need to check the electrics and adjust the brake linkage before bleeding anything. Bleeding air is a bandaid fix when the real problem is worn out components from age.