In the garden, and RAIN!!!!
POSTED BY: SIGNYM
UPDATED: Thursday, December 25, 2025 04:27
VIEWED: 1005090
PAGE 317 of 1154
Snow being called for again. So we shall see.
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Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
"I learned that you CAN'T leave lead-acid batteries sit uncharged as you will do permanent damage and reduce their performance." THANKS for this bit of info! I can't imagine what the process is that causes damage, but I always wondered why - if you let a car - with a perfectly good battery - sit for a couple of months, the battery was dead. I thought it was something to do with the specific battery. But it sounds like a generic thing.
This isn't just specific to lead-acid batteries either.
I can't recall off the top of my head, but all four of my power tool batteries went bad after a few years of not using them at all. I know I watched a video of what causes that, but I don't remember the details. I believe some sort of crystallization process occurs that gunks up the system.
I had very limited success by trying out two different methods for "jump starting" these batteries, but I don't think it actually works very well for the long haul.
The first is putting two working batteries together in series, attaching to one of the leads of the bad battery and then continuously tapping the other wire on the other lead and creating a spark. Believe it or not, this will actually cause the battery to take a charge... at least temporarily.
The other way is to put the battery in the charger and then just plug and unplug the charger into the wall again and again and again until the Red light doesn't come on and the Green flashing light letting you know it is charging comes on.
I believe both of these methods really just work on the same principal.
Although I was able to get more life out of these technically dead batteries, they were never the same. Barely held a charge and it wasn't long until they just stopped charging and you had to do it again.
I probably should just throw out the DeWalt set of power tools I have since I'm never going to pay for new batteries for them, but I haven't because they don't take up all that much room and one day I would like to order new cells after testing all of the old ones and seeing how many I would need to replace. I could probably get both of the batteries working again for about $12 to $15 bucks if I ever get around to it. Not a bad deal considering the set was around $300 10 years ago and would probably cost me around $450 to buy it today.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
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So despite a recent flare-up of incredible nasal stuffiness which is keeping me from sleeping I'm still chugging thru the day, only with naps. Finally went to get my blood tested to see if I've developed allergies to STILL MORE foods and saw ENT surgeon who Rxd oral steroids and another nasal spray (some sort of spray anti-allergen).
The weeds that looked "burned" yesterday from Natria look more burned today. The weeds that got sprayed with Roundup late Sunday look just as green and sprightly as before. I know they need to be actively growing and I had sprayed them late, but one sunny day later they look like I just watered them with a sprinkler. I think I'm going to wait until after this upcoming rainstorm and re-spray on the first sunny day, and see whether that does any good.
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
You idiots have been oppressing the entire sexual spectrum as long as you have existed. I can't wait for the day your kind is dead - WISHIMAY
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AVE has an explanation about how lead-acid batteries stop working. I'll see if I can find it. But if anyone has sensitive ears don't tune in, the guy swears like a sailor.
Here it is
I had to mentally correct a few mistakes that he made (epsom salts aren't magnesium sulfite, it's magnesium sulate. I'll re-listen and note any other errors that need correcting)
SIX, I think you might find AvE a hoot in general. Hubby and I have tried figuring out what he DOES for a living. A far as I can figure, he's an international trouble-shooter for big industries (mining, refining etc.)
He almost always signs off with "Keeo your dick in a vise" which has the same cadence as Tom Luongo's "Keep your stick on the ice". The connection, I think, is a Canadian comedy show, the Red Green Show.
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
You idiots have been oppressing the entire sexual spectrum as long as you have existed. I can't wait for the day your kind is dead - WISHIMAY
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Thanks for the update on the weed killer, Signy. You brought back to mind - Roundup needs to be sprayed on actively growing plants on green surfaces where it can be adsorbed. That makes trying to kill Bermuda grass in its encased, mostly brown runner-form really difficult.
And THANKS for the link on the batteries!
And yes, we did have more Santa Anas, and there now is another multi-thousand acres fire up in Santa Barbara somewhat west and north of here. "Cave fire swells to 4,100 acres overnight, threatening homes in Santa Barbara County"
But the rain forecast is still solid for rain starting tomorrow and through Thanksgiving, tapering off Friday.
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Hey Jack - I hope you're in this thread today. I'll be busy let's say through Friday, so Friday-night/Saturday-morn might be a good time for the experiment. I propose searching on the phrase (let's see ... something politically loaded) - trump impeachment progress - with no quotes. Is Sat 1AM your CENTRAL(?) time good? (in the span friday night through saturday morn). And you post the link you get to your search and I'll post the link I get to mine ... here? I think whatever browser we normally use is best, since one of the things about google is that it's reputed to alter its search results based on user history. If so, I have to say there's nothing for expanding your knowledge like getting an answer to your question that feeds your own prejudices and knowledge right back to you in a nice closed-loop!
Can Signy, Brenda and JSF join if they care to?
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Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
Hey Jack - I hope you're in this thread today. I'll be busy let's say through Friday, so Friday-night/Saturday-morn might be a good time for the experiment. I propose searching on the phrase (let's see ... something politically loaded) - trump impeachment progress - with no quotes. Is Sat 1AM your CENTRAL(?) time good? (in the span friday night through saturday morn). And you post the link you get to your search and I'll post the link I get to mine ... here? I think whatever browser we normally use is best, since one of the things about google is that it's reputed to alter its search results based on user history. If so, I have to say there's nothing for expanding your knowledge like getting an answer to your question that feeds your own prejudices and knowledge right back to you in a nice closed-loop!
Can Signy, Brenda and JSF join if they care to?
Sunds like fun! So, what are we doing? entering the same phrase into google (and other search engines) to see what comes up?
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
You idiots have been oppressing the entire sexual spectrum as long as you have existed. I can't wait for the day your kind is dead - WISHIMAY
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So, Roundup. I know it's supposed to be effective but I think I would have been better off pissing on the weeds. In addition to the sprouts I soaked about a dozen LARGE broad-leaf weeds because I assumed they would serve as a good indicator of effectivenes.
I'm not sure what went wrong. Either the bottle was very old and the chemicals passed expiry (altho there was no expiry printed on the bottle or label there was a lot of dust on the bottle) or the temperature was just too cold for the roundup to be absorbed. Altho they say the best temperature for application is between 53F and 77, and I know for sure I was in that range.
I wound up spading and raking the worst parts.
I have a heavy, dark tarp - maybe I can use it to insolate the weeds. I think I'll try that after the rain.
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
You idiots have been oppressing the entire sexual spectrum as long as you have existed. I can't wait for the day your kind is dead - WISHIMAY
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How long ago did you apply the Round Up, and did it rain at all after you applied it?
Not sure why, but some weeds are much more resistant than others to the poisons. Usually when I spray, most of them are visibly dead or dying within 2 to 3 days, but some would hold on for as much as a week.
When you buy more, you should see if you can get this stuff by you (Not sure if California disapproves of anything in it or not):
https://www.menards.com/main/outdoors/gardening/lawn-plant-care/weed-k
illers/compare-n-save-reg-grass-weed-killer-2-5-gallon/75325/p-1444451836227-c-1463608034797.htm?tid=-8994273044623935543&ipos=67
OR
https://www.amazon.com/Compare-N-Save-Concentrate-41-Percent-Glyphosat
e-1-Gallon/dp/B00ARKS3XO/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=compare+and+save+concentrate&qid=1574867225&sr=8-4
It claims to be able to create 213 gallons of poison out of a single bottle, for only $20 bucks. I'm never going to get that much out of it since I don't sit there measuring and I'm sure I pour more into the water than I need, probably by quite a bit. But it does the job as well or better than any expensive brand name weed killer I've ever used.
Just keep in mind that it will kill EVERYTHING, so don't spray it on your grass. 
Also, if you use a pump sprayer, throw out whatever old one you're using currently and buy this one:
https://www.menards.com/main/outdoors/gardening/lawn-plant-care/garden
-sprayers/roundup-reg-2-gallon-tank-sprayer/190487/p-1444426034102-c-1463608034800.htm?tid=6358323744518839516&ipos=23
OR
https://www.amazon.com/Roundup-190260-Garden-Sprayer-Gallon/dp/B002YNS
AKI/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=roundup+2+gallon+sprayer&qid=1574867610&sr=8-4
I absolutely hated spraying for weeds and insects before. I'd been using an off-brand sprayer for years that got progressively worse over time until it got completely clogged up and stopped working.
I don't know why, but when I bought a replacement I decided to spring the extra $5 and try out the Round Up sprayer and I couldn't believe how happy I was with it. This thing works at least 20 times better than the cheap one did when it was brand new. You hardly have to pump it at all to get a fire hose amount of water coming out of it instead of that piddly little stream I had resigned myself to for years. You can also adjust the head to something like 5 or 6 different positions for the desired stream effect. Spraying for weeds or bugs used to take me longer than mowing my huge lawn and required hundreds of pumps until I got this bad boy.
I even went back and bought another one. One for weeding and one for bugs. I just threw out the old ones that I was going to try to fix. No point doing that since no matter how well I fixed them they wouldn't come close to how good these things work.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
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Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
AVE has an explanation about how lead-acid batteries stop working. I'll see if I can find it. But if anyone has sensitive ears don't tune in, the guy swears like a sailor.
Here it is
I had to mentally correct a few mistakes that he made (epsom salts aren't magnesium sulfite, it's magnesium sulate. I'll re-listen and note any other errors that need correcting)
SIX, I think you might find AvE a hoot in general. Hubby and I have tried figuring out what he DOES for a living. A far as I can figure, he's an international trouble-shooter for big industries (mining, refining etc.)
He almost always signs off with "Keeo your dick in a vise" which has the same cadence as Tom Luongo's "Keep your stick on the ice". The connection, I think, is a Canadian comedy show, the Red Green Show.
-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake
You idiots have been oppressing the entire sexual spectrum as long as you have existed. I can't wait for the day your kind is dead - WISHIMAY
Oh yeah. Big fan of AvE here.
I'm very envious of the industrial lathe he has in his home shop that he got for $250 in the beer fund at work. I guess it sat around for a few years not working right. It took him a while to figure out what was wrong but now it works like a champ.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
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