splatts 3Speak Podcast: Recent Episodes
Splatts
Listen and watch the latest videos from splatts. Hosted by 3Speak.tv. The free speech video platform on the HIVE blockchain.
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/ogqfwigizc
It had been a long time since Mama Splatts and I went on a good hike at Harris Park. Its about 1/2-40 minute drive from here into Oregon. A handful of years ago the North Fork of the Walla Walla River flooded. I knew it screwed up the hiking trail but no idea how bad. Well let’s just say the road to drive in washed out about 1/2 mile to where you park and the restrooms are. In order to get to the trail we hade so walk on a narrow edge of jagged rocks right next to a raging section of the river. No wonder there was nobody around. LOL
Of course we could leave Tony and Elmer behind. These two little fellas always love a good adventure hike.
Not sure exactly how long this trail is but we did about a 5 mile round trip. In the past we have done much longer but with lack of people the trail is getting a little over grown and we started seeing bear turds. The constant human traffic on the trail kept the bears and cougars away. We decided it was a long enough hike and headed back. Plus I wasn’t in the mood to fight no cougars. I’m packing the 45 next time 😉
Hope you enjoy the views from the North Fork Walla Walla River Uploaded using 3Speak Mobile App
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/spjyjhrfjw
Took my son to the All Wheels Weekend Car show in Dayton, Washington. You can’t go there without checking out the lawn mower drag races!! I was laughing the whole time! These lawn mowers haul ass!!
They said the record was 70mph in 100 feet. That is quick!!
A husband and wife were racing each other. Before each time they raced, they blew each other a kiss. How cool!!
Hope you all enjoy a little redneck fun!! Uploaded using 3Speak Mobile App
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/xetyxdulhk
Yo Hivers!! Sorry to leave you all hanging with Project Subi… Good news is the project is complete and the car is running like a champ. My Son loves it and is already having some teenage fun with it.
I’m considering doing another Subaru engine swap in the future. I see a lot of them with blown up engines for real cheap. Instead I picked up another car from my brother. A 2006 Mazda 3 with a 40k mile engine for $500. My silly brother had the engine put in then he never drove it. I put some tires, shocks, brake pads and brake rotors on it and it’s been running like a champ. Then she started acting up a bit. I’m beginning to wonder if this was a good idea. I’m pretty sure they are simple fixes so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Just a little update since I have been gone a while. Stay Blessed Hivers!! Uploaded using 3Speak Mobile App
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/iiaocqqprm
Welcome back to Project Subi!! A Father & Son engine swap project on a 2006 Subaru Outback.
I tore one engine apart and my son tore the other apart. Parts from the old engine need to go on the new and there is a lot of cleanup. I found out one thing… my Son and I are really good at making a mess.
We really wanted to know what happened to the old engine. It was knocking really back and would barely stay running. Welp… after pulling the heads off we found the issue. Chunks missing from the top of the 2 pistons on one side of the engine. CRAZY!! I wonder what caused that??
The new engine is getting a little overhaul before we put it in the car. Headgaskets are the main thing on these Subarus. I went with the Six Star head gaskets because I heard they are the best ones. Timing belt and pulleys, waterpump, spark plugs & wires, valve cover gaskets and intake and exhaust gaskets are getting done too.
With a new clutch and flywheel, this 60k mile engine should last my Son a long time.
Stay tuned to project Subi when we attempt to put all the pieces back together and get this engine in the car. Fingers crossed… that it starts up and runs. :wink:wink
music from Apple iMovie
Monkey Machine
by
Oliver David Bernet
and
Roman Vinuesa
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/oycphxvjrv
Project Subi is starting to get serious
It must have been a rough ride across the US for this newer 60k mile engine. A couple broken sensors, plugs, but a broken valve cover and camshaft cap plate left me without a smile on my face.
The newer engine is going to get a good once over. The new clutch came in along with head gaskets, head bolts, waterpump, and timing kit. The rest of the parts should be in early next week.
Stay tuned to Project Subi as we make an absolute mess tearing these engines apart.
music from Apple iMovie
Darkslide
by
BT
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/hoqzuoohcw
A few days ago we had some wire break and hit the ground in 2 separate places. After getting the wire pulled back up and reconnected we noticed a few insulators had been tracking. This means that the insulators were failing and the electricity was starting to burn the wood pole.
So while I was replacing the insulators my coworker decided to get a little workout in. Plus keep warm. That breeze coming off the Columbia River was a bit nippy!!
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/hcxlmmmawd
While transporting a spray rig to another field, a hydraulic hose burst causing the long spray arm to fall down. The farmer found out the hard way when the spray arm smashed into a power pole tearing it down and cause some serious damage to the spray rig. This also caused a power outage that effected over a dozen people.
After clearing the destroyed pole out of the way, we dug a new hole with the Line Truck. Then I hopped into the bucket to hold the conductors out of the way to make setting the new pole a routine task.
While up in the air I can’t help but have a look around… Harvested wheat fields as far as the eye can see.
Enjoy…
music from iMovie free to use
8 bit elevator by Alvin Risk
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/qfbdxtcubd
About a year ago this long 3,200 foot stretch of underground had a bad spot in it. Fast forward to a couple weeks ago an I show up and 2 of rhe 3 fuses are blown. Welp, time to isolate the transformers and test the cable using a 1 amp fuse.
As you can see I’m using an extendable hotstick to do this from the ground. Some of these explosions can get pretty violent. I’ve heard of the fuse holder exploding and a chunk of fiberglass got stuck in a guys hand…. Not Fun!!
That first fuse blew so I know it’s got a bad spot in it. And wouldn’t you know it… the other one blew too. Looks like we have a fun evening ahead of us locating a bad spot and repairing it.
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/pxvkonmbyz
Looking to the west, it was a wall of black clouds headed my direction. I got a call of a pole on fire and I was headed directly into the storm. “Well, this should be fun…” Slowing down on the highway to 50mph with the windshield wipers full speed and I still could hardly see due to the amount of rain falling. Lightning flashes in every direction. “Gee, this keeps getting better!”
The only direction I got regarding the burning pole was that it was north of the highway off of Woodward Canyon Rd… That section of powerline wonders through the hills a long ways!! Couldn’t they be a little more specific?!?
No reports of anyone being out of power, just flickering and blinking lights due to the lightning. Hopefully this so called pole fire was put out with the massive amount of rain that poured down.
Then I found it!! As I came around a sweeping turn there was debris spread across the road. Shards of the power pole 5,6,7 feet long laying across the road. So much for a pole fire!! This frikken pole exploded!! It took a quarter of the pole off all the way to the ground and split the top in half!! WOW!! There were pieces of the pole over 100 feet away. they weren’t small pieces either. They were about 3-4 feet long. CRAZY!!
The next pole down the line had a wooden brace that was blown apart pretty good. Nothing to get too excited about. But the second pole down had the top blown out too!! Down in a hole off the road about 300 feet. This pole will be fun to change out, down a steep hill and the ground is super soft and muddy.
During this storm we actually didn’t do to bad. Just lost a couple poles in the area. Further north a crew was running a line out and found 4 insulators that had been blown apart, 4 spans of wire broke and fell on the ground, and 3 cut-outs (porcelain fuse holders) that were also blown apart. Considering the amount of lightning we had… I expected things to be a lot worse.
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/fhtgwkmbvp
Rumor has it, that you should drain your water heater and flush it once a year or every other year. This gets rid of all the sediment that settles in the bottom of the water heater. Too much sediment can cause premature failure of the water heater and they aren’t very cheap to replace.
I’ve been thinking about draining mine for a a few years but I’ve just never done it. The whole, “I will do it later” thing really gets me sometimes.
With my garage basically gutted to make room for my Son’s Subaru project, I decided to finally do it.
*Turn off Cold water supply
*Set thermostat to “Pilot” (natural gas water heater)
*open a faucet in the house
*open the pressure relief valve
*connect a hose and open valve to drain
It took about 1/2 hour to drain and I didn’t find much sediment. So I closed the hose valve, the faucet, and the pressure relief valve and filled the tank up. Then I drained it again. Doing this stirred up all the sediment on the bottom of the tank. That was frikken nasty!! I did this 2 more times before the water I drained out didn’t have any visual sediment in the jug. Granted there may have been some but I couldn’t see it with my naked eye.
I had the hose in the gutter at the street and I was amazed at how much sediment was piling up around the hose. I was blown away at how much sediment was sitting in the bottom of my hot water heater. NASTY!!!
So yeah, a friendly reminder to drain that bad boy once in a while.
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/escbvoydnd
I took this video the morning on the 4th of July and I am now just getting around to posting it…
The year before last I chopped my Marion blackberry bush down to nothing. Last year was just a growing season for it and this year… well that’s a different story. This thing is so absolutely loaded down with berries it’s insane!! I probably should have added wires between my posts and made a trellis for them but that didn’t happen. I will make sure to do it for next year that’s for sure.
I’ve had this apricot tree since it was a sapling about 6 inches tall. I found it under a giant apricot tree at a customers house about 8 years ago. Since then it’s lived it’s life in a half wine barrel. Last year it tried to produce some apricots but they just fell off. So early in the spring I planted it in the yard. I guess that made the tree happy enough to produce a good amount of fruit. It probably has close to 50 apricots on it and it’s only 6 feet tall. Those poor little branches can barely hold the weight. LOL.
There isn’t much in the Splatts garden but hopefully next year we will get our butts in gear and grow some more fruits and veggies.
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/zocxttvxow
The Splatts Family recently got our adrenaline fix by hopping on a few rollercoasters at California’s Great America Amusement park located in Santa Clara, CA. We had an absolute blast!!
Since they don’t allow cellphones on the rides I couldn’t get a first person point or view video. I wonder if they would have let me if I brought the GoPro?? Well too late for that now. So I got a little videos from outside.
Basically in the middle of the park is a rollercoaster called the RailBlazer. This was the most popular among the Splatts Family. One person per car made this ride feel so much faster than the others. When the ride would take you on turns through the tunnels you couldn’t help but duck your head to the side thinking you were going to hit. There wasn’t a boring part to this ride. Just as you came out of a turn, you were heading for another drop, spiral, or loop.
I’m working on a post about the whole trip to California’s Great America but decided to put together a little video about our favorite ride.
Thanks for watching!!
music: B Big
Alvin Risk & Team Ezy
Apple’s IMovie
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/goyismrmvr
While we are down in San Jose, CA for my son’s Dr appointment, we might as well hit up the beach for a quick afternoon trip. There were only a handful of people there which may be due to it being really windy. Shortly after we arrived everyone left…
People put in a lot of work building wijd blocking structures out of drift wood. They had little benches to sit on and relax and listen to the waves.
We found a cool tunnel in the rocks to hide from the wind and eat a little snack.
The higher than normal winds brought some surfers and kite surfers to the beach. Those kite surfers were really fun to watch but DANG!!! that’s gotta be cold!!!
After a couple hours of wondering around getting sand blasted, we had enough. The wind got really annoying. Despite the wind, this was a pretty cool beach spot that we would surely come to again.
Hope you enjoy the video
music ~ Illuminations by Michael Lockwood
Apple IMovie
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/duwbjlswft
I was opening the big double gate on the side of the house so I could dump some rock to spread around the pool. Then I noticed all these things on the end of the gate… WTH are those???!!!
I quickly ran and grabbed Mama-Splatts and we sat there and watched as these baby Praying Mantis kept crawling out of the egg nest or whatever you call it. They were fighting each other trying to get out.
I’ve seen thousands of these Praying Mantis eggs sack deleos but I have never encountered this!!
ENJOY!!
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/dplxvkugbl
Little Elmer holds his own pretty good against the long-legged spaz Tony. These two pups are too frikken funny to watch wrestle and chase each other around.
Elmer has a pretty good striking technique. Get in and get out. Stay away from Tony’s long legs. Half the time Tony ties himself in a knot trying to get Elmer.
Just a daily occurrence at the Splatts house…
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/skqsikjcap
I swear you leave something out for 20 minutes and these little turds will attack!! Nevermind all the bones and toys laying around… let’s chew on the cord for the vacuum. LOL
Who Looks guilty, Tony (left) Elmer (Right)?
I’m thinking Tony has a good poker face but Elmer looks a little suspicious…
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/uiyuimwgfd
I was finishing up changing all the old induction lights to LEDs in the shop yard, when I caught some lightning off in the distance. I better hurry up and get out of the air before that lightning gets any closer.
These little storm clouds had been moving in and out throughout the day. it would be bright and sunny, then rain for a minute or two. Looking towards the Blue Mountains, the weather looks pretty nice. That big black cloud coming in from the South/West doesn’t look like it’s gonna bring too pleasant.
I hope you enjoyed a quick view of the Walla Walla valley from a Lineman’s perspective.
music is from iMovie - M’Crib by Mark Hadley
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/wwhskdbirl
I meant to post a full tutorial on how to change this water pump out but ya…. I get going on a project and often times forget to eat. I get in the zone, you know what I mean?
Well this little short video should give you an idea as to why a mechanic shop wanted to charge $2,500 to change this water pump. it seems a little excessive to me since it only took me 5 hours to do it and it’s the first time I have ever worked on a water pump for a Volkswagen. Plus I’m doing it in my driveway.
One important thing to remember is to set the engine timing before removing the timing belt. Yes, the water pump is back behind all the timing components… brilliant!!!
Happy Wrenchin’
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/xexbkidkfe
Up in the Air with my Boy, Cheezit getting this new wire pulled in and dead ended. This is the last stretch along the highway that was in desperate need of a wire upgrade and new poles. The old wire is a #4 copper, which is slightly smaller than a pencil. The new wire we are installing is 397 ACSR (Aluminum Conductor Steel Reinforced) which is about the size of a Man’s thumb.
On one end we have a 4-drum rope puller and the other end is the new wire reels. We connect the old wire to the ropes and use an old wire reel to wind up the old wire and pull in the ropes. Then we connect the ropes to the new wire and pull in that nice shiny aluminum wire.
Prior to any pulling of ropes or wire we have to go to all the poles in the middle and put the old wire in rollers. Strap the rollers to the crossarms, untie the wire from the insulator, and place the wire in the roller then the pulling begins.
Sometimes we pull in the new wire with the old but this old copper wire couldn’t be trusted to hold together. Especially when pulling in the much heavier new conductor.
I hope you enjoyed the view
~ music is from IMovie - Game Day by Pyrmds ~
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/igcitbkmlm
Springtime is here and around these parts the Tom are out strutting their stuff.
“Hey Ladies… You like what you see?”
Hens, casually walk away…
Despite that nasty head they got, their feathers are awesome!! But that dang nasty wrinkly, bumpy, bald head… what a weird animal.
I just can’t help myself when I see them. If I have a spot to pull over, I will watch them for a minute. Then mess with them a bit by honking the horn or clapping, any kind of noise. Then the group of Toms will always stick their necks out and gobble. Makes me chuckle everytima. lol.
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/hckkvmiakv
I have no idea how this thing magically came apart. Well Ok, this rig is 22 years old and has 255,000 miles. Maybe it wiggled its way apart over the years and miles. I’ll go with that.
Mama Splatts mentioned to me that she went to clean the rear window and the washer fluid shot out inside the truck. I initially thought, “Oh, Great!! This better be an easy fix!!”
I finally got around to check out what was going on with this washer fluid leak. With my fingers crossed I popped off several interior molding pieces to track down the leak. Normally I bust these interior molding clips off like crazy. Surprisingly I didn’t break a single one this go around. NICE!!
Super happy that it was an easy fix and that Mama Splatts stopped using the rear window washer fluid when she noticed it. That could have totally ruined the rear portion of the headliner in this monster. The headliner is all one piece!! How in God’s Green Earth did they get that thing in there??!!
Well one minor repair fixed and now onto the next one!!
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/vdqwqeycbc
One of the Big Farming Companies that we provide electric service to on the Snake River was ready to energize their rebuilt river pumping station. These 4 brand new pumps produce around 4,500 horse power. I couldn’t see the horse power rating on the pump but another Lineman told me it was around 4,500. They did a great job cleaning things up and this pump station looks really nice compared to the old one. Complete with a new control house even… NICE!!
As I drove down the hill toward the river pumping station I noticed a massive flock of snow geese floating on the river. Looked like a dang Iceburg out there. Getting down closer to the river, those bajillion snow geese were making quite a racket.
As we waited for the electricians to do their final checks before energized I had to have a little look around. Then all of the sudden the sound from the snow geese increased 100 times more loud. Echoing across the water. I had to catch some video of this!! What an amazing site!! I can’t believe that non of these snow geese smash into each other. I mean there has got to be at least a few drunk uncles wondering around the flock?? right??
it was insane how loud it was when they all lifted off. You know the sound when you take a hand full of small rocks and throw them in the water? Imagine that if you will but 1,000 times louder. Thats what it sounded like as they all began to splash land in the water. What an amazing site too see and hear.
It wasn’t but 10 minutes later and they all lifted off again. Me being me, I had to run over and watch it again. I just can’t help myself. lol. My Dad and Brothers are big waterfowl hunters. I sent this to them and my one brother replies… “Shoot’em!!!” LOL. If you were able to shoot them and were close enough it would be hard to get less than 5 in one shot. LOL.
After all the snow geese commotion, I checked out the older side of the river pumping station. They rebuilt this a few years back and I think those main pipes are 40 inch diameter pipes. Then the pipes from both sides of the pump station come together into a big 60 or 70 inch pipe that takes the water up ther hill a couple miles to a booster station. That booster station has another 7,200 horse power that pushes the water to all the fields. It’s amazing how much stuff the farmers grow on this land. Sandy, sagebrush covered land can produce an amazing amount of crops if you got the horse power to get the water there.
I hope you enjoyed the view of the Snake river and watching the Snow Geese do their thing. I know I did. What a cool site to see and experience.
Food Grows Where Water Flows
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/qvdfvqqukt
As far as power outages go in the Blue Moutains this winter, it’s been pretty quiet. Which is a good thing for our customers. A couple years ago we spent all summer cutting dead trees down around the powerlines. I would say all that work paid off big time. Even though it’s kept me down in the valley all winter. Call me crazy but I really do enjoy getting up in the mountains and battling the elements and obstacles that come when trying to find and repair power outages.
We had a couple cabins out of power the other day. I headed up there just after lunch with the side by side to see what the issues were. During the winter months these places are vacant so it’s not a huge priority. The first one was right off the road. Of course a tree fell through the service wire, tore it down, and damaged the wire. I made things safe by de-energizing the transformer and cutting the wire down in the clear. The whole service needed to be replaced, so I’m gonna need some help and material.
The next cabin in way in the hell back in the thick woods. The first couple spans are east to access until you hit a big canyon crossing. After clearing one tree off the line, I attempted to make may way down to the cabin in the side by side. The so-called driveway was badly overgrown. Cut some trees and branches out of the way, drive 15-20 feet and cut some more. The snow was around 3 feet deep and walking in it wasn’t too enjoyable. Looking at the clock in getting short on time, so I headed back to the bucket truck and loaded the side by side to head in.
The next day we brought some service wire up and got the first cabin up and going. After cutting down the rest of the tree that had caused the problem in the first place. Now we can actually see the service/meter pole. I was pretty surprised that the transformer and wire going to the meter weren’t damaged at all. That made this a pretty easy fix.
Now for the fun part… cut our way into the cabin. We had this driveway cleared out and we were able to drive our bucket trucks in there a couple summers ago. Not anymore!! I guess we better get in here this spring and do a little spring cleaning. It took us about 1 hour and a half to finally get to the other side of the canyon wire crossing. Oh look… another tree fell down and tore the wire down too. The wire was under the fallen tree and tangled up in the undergrowth and old dead trees on the ground. It was a bit of a battle getting the wire in the clear so we could pull it up without it getting hung up. Tripping over branches buried in the snow, getting hung up in the prickly vines under the snow, then stepping into a big hole and sinking up to my… ya know… yes, I took a couple hits below the belt in this battle.
That was a lot of work just to get power back to 2 cabins. We got there around 7:30am and didn’t head down the mountain until 12:30pm. At which point I was starving!!
Thanks for stopping by and watching a video edition of A Day With A Lineman… and no, that’s not my real speaking voice 😉 I just find the Snapchat voice changer funny is all and I hope you do too.
(Soundtrack is from Apple iMovie - Alvin Risk ~ Fade to You)
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/tzwkavutrv
At work we started a new way to spice up the food game for our monthly safety meetings. Each work group: Walla Walla Lineman, Burbank Lineman, Dayton Lineman, Marketing, I.T. & Internet department, and Management - take the reigns to provide food for the safety meeting. It may sound like a ton of people but there are only a total of 50 employees.
Us Walla Walla Lineman volunteered to go first. Of course we chose make breakfast burritos. Build your own that is. With a budget of $250 we went a little over.. oops. We cooked up 10 dozen eggs, 5 lbs of bacon, 5lbs of sausage, 5 lbs of diced ham, potatoes, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, cheese, sour cream, hot sauce… and some giant tortillas.
I can’t believe we tore through 10 dozen eggs!! It would be safe to say that these breakfast burritos are gonna be tough to beat in the upcoming safety meetings. Gotta set the bar high and see what the other work groups can cook up.
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/kzgdhecvsv
Ever since I picked up this popcorn maker there has always been popcorn readily available for a handful or seven… So when I got back from a week long Dr. visit with my son and looked in the popcorn machine l, I was sadly disappointed. No Frikken Popcorn!!! What is happening around this place?? I’m gone for a week and this whole place falls apart! Unbelievable…
After a week without any of this popcorn, I must have have been going through withdrawls… that crunchy salty buttery goodness… This popcorn machine makes the best popcorn. Having the warmer in the bottom keeps the popcorn warm and crunchy for days!! I think the nicely sealed door helps too. The door always helps keep the aromoma contained so the whole house doesn’t smell like buttery popcorn… which wouldn’t be a bad thing in my mind…
I guess I’m just gonna have to make some popcorn myself and get a little weird while doing it. Check out how easy it is to make popcorn better than that movie theater junk. 😉😉
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/drhbhmyqks
The Clearwater River in Idaho has some of the best Steelhead fishing around. So when my Dad booked a boat with his fishing guide friend, I wasn’t gonna turn it down. A Christmas gift to 3 of his 4 boys. 3 of us live locally and one is down in Oklahoma. We had a blast dish reeling these Steelhead in!!
The Clearwater River canyon scenery is absolutely breathtaking!! I have tons of pictures that I will put into a blog post later. I figured I would put together a little video first. Showing the scenery and bringing a few Steelhead into the boat. The weather was dang near perfect. No wind, snow, rain, and it wasn’t bone chilling freezing. Just a great day of Steelhead fishing on the Clearwater River!!
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/qvyvrkjinr
This has to be one of the most amazing encounters with a Bald Eagles I have ever witnessed. During the winter months I see them perched on trees that line the Columbia River here at home. if I have a chance, I pull over somewhere close and get out the binoculars and watch them for a few moments. I ain’t no bird watcher but the Bald Eagle is one of my favorites. Snow white head and tail, razor sharp talons and beak, along with their size and strength make them a very impressive and beautiful bird of prey.
A couple years ago I spotted one in a tree here in town. This Bald Eagle must have had enough of a blackbird’s nonsense. The black bird was in the talons of a Bald Eagle and being ripped apart by its powerful beak. Beakfuls of black feathers ripped from the blackbird and were sent off floating in the wind. This little encounter did not compare to the one this last weekend while steelhead fishing. (Post Coming Soon)
Watching out poles waiting for steelhead to bite, Tom yells, “Whoa!! that Bald Eagle just knocked that other bird out of the sky!!” Immediately we all quit watching our poles and had to watch this Bald Eagle in action. I quickly dug my phone out of my pocket and hit record. I wasn’t going to miss this!!
The Mature Bald Eagle wasn’t having any part in this Younger Bald Eagle fishing in his section of the river. The young one can be seen swimming to shore after the mid air collision. Once on the rocks, the attack didn’t stop. The Younger Bald Eagle was trying its best to defend against the attacks of the Older one. By jumping in the air, sticking it’s powerful feet toward the incoming attack. After a couple of those the Young Bald Eagle said, “The Hell with this!! I’m outta here!!”
I guess you don’t need a play by play commentary… just watch this epic video for yourself. You won’t be disappointed!!
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/mptnzjdhis
I’m unsure as to who installed this meter back in August of last year. I know it wasn’t me because I always thoroughly inspect the meter socket before installing a meter. Once I found the meter ring (a metal ring that secures the meter to the meter base) inside contacting the metal buss bars. Those bars become energized when I make the connection at the transformer. Then the sparks would start flyin! Possibly right in my face!
In this case there is suppose to be two metal tabs that slide into place with a bolt. I’m not sure if you can see the upper two connections but that is what is missing from the bottom. The two wires looked like they were once clamped into place but they sure the hell aren’t now. Since this was just a temporary service for construction purposes they most likely didn’t notice anything. The wires were in there pretty snug and making a decent connection so who knows??
Just a friendly reminder to always double and triple check things. Even if it has been signed off and inspected… People make mistakes and can miss things from time to time.
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/dpnkuyrxef
Every month we have a Safety Meeting at work. Typically in the office kitchen there is always something to curb your appetite while different topics are being discussed. Upcoming projects, current progress of other projects, the companies financial situation, future commercial customers, accidents in the industry, company accidents and incidents… many topics get discussed and that tends to make us all a little hungry.
Last month they announced a little foodie competition. Make your favorite “tailgate party” food and bring it in for everyone to enjoy during the safety meeting. Around here “tailgate party” food are typically dips, sweets, bbq finger food, basically side dishes or snack foods I guess. Grab a plate and try 4-5 tasty snacks, then go back for more. At the end of the safety meeting we all vote for our top 4 favorites. The winners get some pretty cool little prizes. Free pizzas from a locally owned pizza joint, gift cards, water bottles, coffee mugs…
I couldn’t help myself but to try a little of everything. Though I forgot what most of them were I remember a few. Guacamole deviled eggs, peanut butter bars with chocolate and oatmeal, smoked sausage wrapped with bacon and topped with a cream cheese mixture, buffalo chicken dip, corn chowder dip, shrimp and rock fish dip, Spicy chili cheese dip, and some killer chicken legs. What a great way to keep the company moral up and have a friendly completion to promote great employee relations. Not a bad place to work if you ask me 😉
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/qfqlcwsuyj
This view brightened up the our spirits a bit. Frigid single digit temps weren’t the way we wanted to spend Christmas Eve morning. A drunk driver hit a pole at approximately 12:30am. At the time of this video we were putting the wire back up in the air where it should’ve been. After a few more hours of working in the freezing cold, we had everyone’s power back on. That was a long cold morning…
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/slzaxhwxgk
Talk about Mega-Movers… DANG!! I’m honestly surprised they got this big power transformer down to this substation. The time has finally come to upgrade the old power transformers that power this river station on the Snake River in Washington. The old Transformers were from the 1950’s and still going strong. They powered over 30,000 horsepower worth of pumps used to irrigate the desert land to grow crops. Imagine having one of these old transformers fail during peak watering season… OUCH!!! These transformers don’t just come in over night. Our company ordered these transformers 2 years ago and they are now just getting moved into place. This is one of two river pumping stations that are getting new power transformers installed this year. It was finally time to swap them out… they did their time powering massive amounts of horsepower to water the crops. Food Grows Where Water Flows.
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/vpvxwjxezi
What a perfect day for a service call out in the middle of nowhere. Winding country roads, beautiful blue sky, and the giant wind mills pop up from behind the hills. From a distance they look fake to me for some reason. I wish I would have gotten a photo of the one missing a blade. It’s been like that for over 4 years now!!
It’s about an hour drive to get to this person’s house who was having a flickering light issue. Perfect time to crank up some tunes and cruise the country roads. If it were warmer out I would have the windows down blasting my face with fresh air… with the tunes cranked up a little higher. lol
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/einnxneppt
A little breezy but not a bad day for changing out some poles energized. We keep the main line energized and spread it out to the Hot Arms. then we set the new pole right up through the middle. Then transfer the wire up to the new pole and get rid of the old one. Installing my taller poles to give better clearance over the highway for the electric service drops and phone and internet. There is a ton of semi truck traffic on this highway. Truck loads of carrotsc, potatoes and apples just kept rolling by all day long. One farmer told me that they harvested 126 ton of carrots out of their fields this year!!! WOW, that’s impressive.
Anyway I hope you enjoy the view from a Lineman’s perspective.
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https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/rebkbnugvj
Sometimes these middle of the night outages can be a huge pain in the ass to find. Eapecially up in the mountains in the woods. The powerlines take off from the road and disappear into the forest. Armed with a flashlight we go on foot and patrol the line. Cougars, bears, wolves… you don’t worry about that. I got my trusty flash light!! FFS!! One day we will be able to pack a little something better than a flash light.
Luckily this tree was right next to the road. All me needed to do was clear the tree, bring the broken powerlines back up, and fix some broken hardware on the pole. This could have easily taken the whole pole down but we were happy it didn’t.
Just a few short videos I was able to get while clearing the tree. Plus… check out the lights on that truck!! It’s almost daylight around it. LOL.
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/vdxdcscbyv
After reading and reading, everything said I have to tear the whole dash out. So piece by piece I started taking the dash apart. Then I noticed something… remove the seats, remove the center console, remove the shifter assembly, remove one nut on the heater and A/C box. This gave just enough wiggle room to be able to get this stupid actuator out of there. Pry up on the heat and A/C box and down on the foot heater duct work. WHAT A PITA!!!
This actuator is what controls the heat to A/C on the drivers side. It clicked and popped and was stuck on heat. Hopefully I can get the new one in without too many issues… How does this thing go back together anyway?!?!?
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/imffkybnso
very odd that we didn’t get any outage calls from the rich people on the hill… maybe these are their crappy vacation homes or something??? Anyway, got a call that a green box was knocked over… yep!! one containing 14,400 volts. Thanks to our protective device it didn’t cause a fire or anything.
You know… if he wouldn’t have broken the tip, this would have been an easy, quick fix. Can’t be working with a broken tip
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/zvkbhzhdws
splatts - trim.8F6501FC-C308-42D8-BA6C-18E6839D2ED0.MOV
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/kdicbvkx
its like they took a $50 part and built the rest of the car around it.
After barely being able to change out one blend door actuator in my 2005 Lincoln Navigator, I found out there are 2 of them. This actuator controls the heat and air conditioning. It has plastic gears inside that overtime will break. So why not put them in an accessible place?? Oh, thay would be common sense.
Check out this video and you will see in better detail what it takes to change this part. I'm willing to bet that a mechanic shop would charge around $3,000. The whole stinkin' dash needs to be removed!!
We have had this car for 13 years and its been a great vehicle. Just typical wear and tear items and maintence. Its got 175k miles and runs strong.
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/zhvljedl
Yes this squirrel is dead. He got electrocuted by 14,400 volts. It’s sad… yes it is. Yet us Lineman, like many others have a slightly dark sense of humor. When I looked over at the blown fuse and seen this squirrel, I started laughing. This little guy was in the perfect position for a video like this.
I let him hang out with me the whole time I was working on this pole. Changing the fused cutout, and replacing the old bird/squirrel guard that was suppose to protect this little guy.
I can’t believe just one finger held him up there the whole time. Too funny!! If you don’t find this funny… I’m sorry…
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/oywvzkuz
First time uploading a video using the 3speak iOS mobile app. This is gonna be a big game changer.
This is the aftermath of me tearing the dash apart in order to get to the HVAC blend door. It would just click and pop and I had no A/C in the car. This actuator changes from Heat to A/C.
I ended up having to cut an access hole in the metal behind the dash in order to get the last bolt out. Damn Engineers!!! Hopefully it goes in easier than it came out…. I don’t even remember how this thing goes back together….
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/igukskyo
After countless hours of back breaking work, the pool is up and running. There is still a bit of finishing touches to do but that's gonna have to wait until my lower back heals up.
I got rid of the crappy flexible tubing that came with the pool and pump. I installed 1-1/2 PVC to hell increase the flow and lessen the restriction on the pump.
my Redneck Water Heater is working great!! I cant believe im getting 120F water out of it and it's only 85F outside. I can control how fast the water goes through it which in turn changes the temp of the water coming out. The faster the water goes through the heater, the cooler the water will be coming out.
We have 100F temps just around the corner and this pool is gonna feel great!!
Thanks for watching!!
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/maksdfif
It was nice to finally get a break from all the rain that's been pouring down. All the rivers and streams around here are on the verge of overflowing. They look like the chocolate river from Willy Wonka. These raging rivers pose a threat to some of our power poles that are near them. So whenever the rivers and creeks start flowing like this we go and take a look to make sure all of our power poles are still standing.
A concerned customer called in about a leaning pole near the Touchet River. 2 years ago we had sole pretty major flooding and 4 poles along the river were in about 2 feet of water. The river's current was so fast that it actually pushed the bottoms of the poles down stream a couple feet. This time around things were a little different.
Welcome back to a video edition of A Day With A Lineman. Let's have a look and see what the river did this time around. About 20 feet of the river bank is missing. The pole used to be about 10-12 feet from the bank now its in the river about 5 feet. Our goal was to get the pole secured while we come up woth a game plan to relocate the line further away from the river.
To get a rope around the butt of the pole, we tied a branch on the end of it. Then tossed it in the water and let the river carry it around the back side of the pole. I then used one of our hotsticks to grab the rope and tie a choker knot to go around the pole. Then we anchored it to a nearby tree.
In order to relieve pressure pushing against the pole, we needed to break up the log jam. It took us over and hour to free up all the debris and send it down river. A few sections of my extendable hotstick went down river too. Laying on the bank on my stomach, I pushed this log out into the current. The attachement on the end of my hotsick got caught in the branches of the log. I tried to free it but the current was so strong it started to pull me into the water. Bye Bye Hotstick As it went travelig dow river, the log rolled and the hotstick was sticking straight up in the air. Maybe this summer the Splatts family will have to float the river and see if I can find it. LOL
The next day the crew went out and set 2 new poles and barely managed to get the washed out pole out of the river. The bank had been washed away even further. They said it was about 15 feet from the bank now. Hopefully we rebuild this section of powerline away from the river soon. Along the road wiuld be nice. :wink:wink
Thanks for checking out a video ediition of A Day With A Lineman. I hope it brought some insight into some of the challeneges we face when trying to keep your lights on.
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/vkfitpis
Brand New 2022 Dodge 5500 with a Cummins Turbo Diesel. It was suppose to replace one of the crew Bucket Trucks but tey wanted to hold out and wait for a Ford. I was the next on the list for My truck to get replaced. Sure I will take a new one. I had my old truck dialed in just the way i like it. When this one came i. the bins were arranged differently. The bins that had hooks now have shelves... it took me 2-1/2 days to get everything moved into this truck and where I wanted it.
I had a little down time so i finally got around to hiving you all a little your of my new bucket truck. These trucks are pretty decked out with all the stuff we need to make our job as Lineman that much safer and easier. I tried not to go into too much detail to keep the video short and too thw point. Yet, there is a lot of custom stuff that gets put on these trucks that we design.
Thanks For Watching...
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/nivtxyam
Welcome to the Splatts House! Where if the back slider is open and the Runner Ducks are let loose in the back yard... They think its time to come in the house. Brownie (drake/male) is always the first to pop in and say Hi.
Just a short little video of the type of shenanigans that go on at the Splatts house... Dont mind the hole in the wall, thats from a skateboard :wink:wink:
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/zensiexy
It's about time I got around to some juice makin' and video makin'!! Mama Splatts and I arr always saying, "We need to juice more often!" What a bunch of slackers!! If you have follwed my shenanigans for any lenght of time, you know my go-to juice is Apple, Beet, and Carrot. Then we started adding celery, and broccoli stems. This go around I decided to throw in some kiwis... since there were in the fridge and I imagine Mama Splatts didn't even know they were there.
Alright let's have some fun with a Snapchat filter and make some delicious, healthy juice using our Tribest Slowstar Juicer.
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/ovohheji
I recently posted some GIFs i made of these dead trees hitting the ground. Yet, they really didn't do the videos justice. Without the sound they are actually pretty lame. So i decided to put a few of them together so you all can get the full effect. ENJOY!!
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/btckfqye
Welcome back my DIY junkies, have I got a little Jimmy Rigged repair job for you. Jimmy Rigging isn’t a recommended repair practice but there is a time and a place for it. For instance, when your Sister-in-law brings the Ford Exploder by for me to find a fuel leak.
They got my Father-in-law’s Exploder running and with a broken fuel gauge who knows how much fuel was in there. So she took it to fill it up. Then noticed that the gasoline was pissing out under the car when the fuel pump clicked off indication it was full. She took it home and parked it. It was still dripping. So she pulled it around the back of their house and it left a nice little drip trail.
My wife asked if her sister brought it by could I take a look at it. Of course I said yes, I mean did I have any other option??
With the ol’ Exploder parked out front for around 45 minutes I went and took a peek. No drips whatsoever... that’s interesting?? So I pulled it up into the driveway and this is what I discovered...
Some sort of rodent must like the taste of rubber and enjoyed huffing some gasoline too.
Well this repair job definitely called for some Jimmy Rigging skills. Time to dig around my garage and see what I can make happen. Check out the video and see what I came up with. That repair should last about 20 years.
Hey, sometimes you just gotta make it happen...
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https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/fdtaxmfy
Surrounded by trees weighted down by the snow, blue skies above, and down below Whitney Creek makes a turn. Not a bad place to be if you ask me. Though I do with it was for fun instead of work but hey, I’ll take it either way. That’s just...
A Day With A Lineman
Enjoying the View We had a tree fall through the Powerlines and broke it in a few places. It tore it down from 2 poles and fell across the creek.
Having a side-by-side with tracks makes getting around in the deep snow much easier. Not to mention it’s got a nice light bar on top for working and driving around at night.
It got dark on us really fast. We were hoping to have the spliced back together and up before night fell but... That’s didn’t quite happen. You just never know what kind of obstacles your gonna run into. Wire tangled in the blackberry bushes, getting the wire back across the creek, tree branches that won’t let the wire come up, then when you do get the wires up they are twisted. Trying to untangle wire at night is really fun. 😉 It seem like one little issue after another... It’s just part of the LineLife.
The video is a view from this pole only during the daylight hours. If you look close you can see me on the top of the pole on the left side. You can see my little white hard hat.
Made it home around 9pm and Mama-Splatts had my dinner in the oven keeping warm. I love that Women!!
Well I hope you enjoyed the view and another episode of...
A Day With A Lineman
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https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/zcdrqqoz
Welcome back to another edition of...
A Day With A Lineman #16
Replacing a Broken Pole ~ Time Lapse
I’m mixing things up a little bit with this one. If you follow me you may have seen the pole that recently got blown over. We had some really strong winds come in from the south and I guess this pole decided to call it quits and fall over. This go around I decided to setup my phone in the window of the truck and take a time-lapse video of us changing this pole out. I wish I was a little closer but hey, you win some and you lose some I guess.
This line has been de-energized and protective grounds have been installed for our safety. With that being done we can go to work getting this pole changed.
This pole had a bank of transformers on it, so the first thing we needed to do was remove them from the bend rack. One of the transformers had a bushing broken in half. To think not a sign of a drop of oil hitting the ground. Crazy!!
Once we got that 400 or so pounds of transformers off the pole, it made it easier to grab with the claws on the Linetruck and stand up. Then, with the pole back in line where it should be, untying the wire from the insulators was a piece of cake and a heck of a safer.
Use the bucket to hold the wires out of the way, lean the old pole over and let it hit the dirt!! Dig a 6 foot hole for the new 40 foot pole, set the pole on the hole, plumb it up straight, back fill and tamp the crap out of the soil around it. Easy as that...
These transformers feed a center pivot watering system and a well pump. They are using it at the time so we left the transformers off and the crew can handle it in the morning.
That’s it for another edition of
A Day With A Lineman #16
Replacing a Broken Pole ~ Time Lapse
I hope it was worth the watch
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https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/mtychduj
What do to while waiting for the guys to show up with a new pole to replace this one that blew over...
Make a Stupid Snapchat video!!
Typically customers exaggerate when reporting issues... not this customer. They were right on!! Even at the height that the wire and transformers were floating off the ground. Well done loyal customer... well done!!
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https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/ggybvekd
Well my fellow DIY’ers it’s update time! My son @w-splatts and got some serious work done on the Lineman Workbench. I put my new Milwaukee 18 volt compact Router to work counter sinking the bolts into the table top. The vise is in place and the lower frame is in place and mocked up.
For those that don’t know, I am trying to make a sort of “Mobile WorkBench” made from the old Powerlines we rebuild. Bolts, brackets, and most of all crossarms. Half of the table will have a steel top on it for welding and the other half will be smooth thick plywood. Tools storage, battery charging station, 100ft extension cord and whatever other ideas I can come up with. This is gonna come in real handy when I start prepping the house for fresh paint this spring.
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https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/vnbjysfu
I have been wanting a table saw for a long time. It’s just one of those tools that you gotta have... well you think you gotta have anyway :wink:wink I was leaning towards the battery powered Milwaukee... buuuuttt it was about $150 more and it didn’t have a portable stand. Sometimes you gotta weigh out your pros and cons.
So I just thought I would show you guys around the Ridged table saw and let you see what this thing is all about. It folds up really easy and has a place for everything... except and extra blade... nevermind that!! I just can’t wait to start using this on the next project around the Splatts House!!
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https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/rntryxpz
I am not usually one for the whole “Vlog” type of video but when you have a morning like this why not give it a try?
When a Lineman gets that call to work for an outage, we try to get out the door as fast as possible. Now if I am getting ready to eat a meal... I am gonna eat because who knows how long the outage is gonna take. Most of the tile when I return home from an outage I am hungrier than a hostage. Then again my metabolism is out of control.
You know it never fails that when I am on standby and I go to make a quick run to the store for something, or start a little project... that phone rings. That is exactly what happened this morning and the events afterwards were... funny. That’s what I tell myself anyway.
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https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/vmkejvia
This project was a little more involved than I thought. I assumed I just needed to pop a piece of trim off and access the bolts needed to upgrade my 2001 Ford Excursion’s mirrors. Well that’s what I get for assuming. It still wasn’t that bad and probably took 1 1/2 hours or so to complete. The reason for the upgrade was... well one mirror, let’s just say... broke. So if it breaks... upgrade it. Welp, I guess that means it DIY time.
I really like the look of the new tow mirrors that Ford has been using on their Super Duty trucks since 2017. I have seen some Ford Excursions with the square mirrors used on 2008-16 Ford Super Duty trucks. They look really nice but I think the 2017 mirrors will look better on my Excursion. So when I found these mirrors on Amazon and read the reviews and searched multiple other mirrors, I decided on these. Some where in the price range of $400!!! $180 was a lot easier on my wallet despite the few negative reviews from some picky people. :wink:wink
Tools needed are:
- 1/4 in drive ratchet
- 11mm - 7mm - 5.5mm sockets
- Flathead Screwdriver
- Possibly and extra set of hands to hold the mirror
I was amazed at how much larger the field of vision is on these mirrors. Especially the fish-eye lens on the bottom. The glass in the mirrors had no vibrations while on the highway and they are good and solid. I kind of wish I would have paid a little more attention and got ones with running lights also but just having the blinkers will do.
Well I hope you all enjoy the video and it encourages you do get the tools out and DO IT YOURSELF. Save some $$ and DIY
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https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/fdeikeme
Just me being me and sending my fellow Lineman a little Snapchat video. What was really funny about this is that this woodpecker had been annoying the homeowner for the past month or so. After I grabbed the bird off the transformer and tossed it to the ground, I refused the transformer and the customer had power. Then he came over and asked what kind of bird it was. He started laughing and said, “That’s what you get for waking me up every morning for the past month by pecking on the side of the house!” I am glad the electrical grid could salve his problem and provide a new for us Lineman... or coyotes..
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/spbmxuax
As we were changing out these transformers that got hit by lighting earlier in the morning, I took a moment to have a look around. This bank of transformers powers a 500hp pump which helps to water the thousands upon thousands of acres of apples we were surrounded by. I really wish the apples were ripe, I could have used a crunchy Fuji at the time. Be careful it is easy to get lost while wondering through this place. Your GPS on your phone doesn’t work for crap out here. This orchard is massive and is owned by First Fruits. Next time you see the produce guy stocking apples take a look at the box. Washington Apples are like no other.
Take a wrong turn or back up a little too far and your truck may end up in the Snake River. We were a mile or so above Ice Harbor Dam and looking to the southwest we could see round 2 of the storm making its way toward us. We had to shut down early due to a massive amount of lighting filling the sky. Then the storm hit, wind, rain, lighting, and then came the outages. After working until 1 am we came back and finished this job up after getting a little sleep.
I hope you enjoyed another episode of
A Lineman’s view
https://3speak.tv/watch?v=splatts/cpeukxxz
A Saturday morning outage call took me to the Tucannon River in Dayton, WA. No, that little stream of water in front of me isn’t the river. It is back in the tree line at the base of the hills. This little stream must have been created from the flood this year. As nice as it would be to be able to drive to all these poles, it gives me the opportunity to take a look around and soak up some nature. As we make our way from the circuit breaker to the end of the line looking for what caused the trouble we found it at the very end... of course. As usual, one of those stupid cotton wood trees broke and tore down the line. We have been pushing them to relocate this section of line... it must be in the works....
I’m not in the air but the sometimes us Lineman are grounded....