Welcome to Keeping Up With Papa - Life After Work. After 50 years in the work force, I recently decided to retire. Not being one to rest on his laurels, I am keeping myself active, and mentally and physically engaged, with various projects.
I'm constantly asked what I'm up to now, so I thought setting up a video log might help answer that question, pass on knowledge gained over a lifetime of trial and error, and maybe entertain you along the way. Join me. You never know what might happen next!
Update: We had an odd glitch with the unit. At times when you turned it on, you woud hit the source buttons, AC, DC, USB, they would not light up. At other times it worked as normal. You could turn them on with the App. Still under warranty. I contacted Bluetti and they said return it and we will fix it. They supplied both a shipping label and a box! Two weeks later, returned to me, but rather than repair it they just sent me a new unit! Regular communication via email. Very impressed with their service after the sale.
Finally bought my first solar generator. The200L with 200w panel for $1150 Amazon prime days couple days ago! Couldnt pass it up. Hope i made a good choice for my first one!
I’m sure it will be a great garden! I’m not really the gardener, Michelle is but it looks like you’re well in your way. Awesome to have a little helper as well. Thanks for sharing. Have a good week.
great video i also have a smaller bluetti the biggest problem is the cost per watt the $5,000 that you spend on a system would power your house year round with full usage for 4 years and solar and wind is pain in the butt for what you get from them / somebody needs to work on a propane thermal electric generator ?
Not so much. As mentioned the storm center was passing by 150 miles to the west. We were expecting heavy rain and some wind overnight, which is all we got. My storm prep was done. I’m a native Floridian and have lived through this dozens of times. If it were coming straight at us, well, the garden can wait.
i have a BX2350 and i find it's more economical in the long run to buy the 5 gallon pale of super UDT. it is slightly more expensive then the cost of enough fluid for 1 fluid change but i have almost enough to change it all over again. i think the interval required for transmission. if you buy it by the individual gallon, it's far more expensive per gallon. i bought my tractor used 5 years ago for $8k. came with the 54" deck, and rear snowblower. only had 295 hours, currently it sits at 640 hours. i just did engine oil/filter, air cleaner and fuel filters...... and i got a new seat. it's not the newest model, the newer units have better fit and finish, better loader mount dismount.... but it is the same engine as a BX2380 and same as your BX2370. the engines havent changed since the BX2350 came out (23 hp). i hate the plastic panels but otherwise it seems to be fairly well put together. it's fairly trouble free and the capabilities are nearly identical to a new machine. the inflation is not being kind to our household, so i will probably end up keeping as long as i can. it's paid for. i added the loader separately (bought that brand new), have the BX grass catcher (we have dogs and kids, it keeps the mess out of the house), i added a tractor supply "countryline" rotto tiller (tarter)
Same thought on inflation. As much as I'd like a new one (considering a B2601 for bigger tires, less getting stuck in beach sand and muck when tilling), dang that is a lot of money I'd rather not spend. Oddly enough, the bigger bucket that comes with it would be a detriment to me in some cases. The bucket I have now fits perfectly in some tight spaces.
@@KUWP id like to buy a vintage tractor and keep my current kubota. i would love a farmall 140, i think they are awesome tractors..... best tractors ever made in my opinion were made by international harvester. before i had my kubota i had a 1948 farmall cub with a 60" belly mower and a blade for snow removal. it worked very well, but it needed an overhaul (clutch replacement and had 2 cylinders low on compression). it was useless from the standpoint of ever possibly running a loader. i miss my cub, it was an old row crop tractor and had that feeling of an old tractor. it had a distinctive sound. it was running when i sold it. the modern tractors can do things the old tractors have difficulty with, but the modern tractors lack soul and character. it actually did a great job mowing lawn, you never would have known the tractor i used was almost 70 years old. they did sell loaders for the cub, but they are rare, dont have power steering, and do not have the capability anywhere near a modern sub compact. they are also very difficult to mount and dismount. the loaders are almost useless except for historical context
Great video, the hydraulic oil issue is what made me go to UDT2. The savings of $30-40 didn’t seem like a good investment to me. The Kubota parts guy said good choice when I bought all Kubota oils and filters. I have an old B1750 that drives and mows smooth before and after changing all the fluids I know the piece of mind will make it last for years to come.
Great video. My wife and I are trying to get us a trailer set up so we can start tailgating down there. Any ideas of how we can find us a spot that might not be taken already? I would love to talk with you if possible about this. Maybe get some help from you on this. I’ll be in Gainsville for the Sanford game. Maybe I can stop and talk a few.
You are welcome to stop by. I'm happy to share my experience. Two friends nearby both have trailers, as you saw in the vid, and they can speak more to that approach. I am debating attending Samford this weekend, mainly due to potential rain. We park in front of Rinker. Let me know if you will be visiting.
@@KUWP might be around 2:00. I will definitely swing by a few times if you are not there. I’ll catch you at some point. Maybe we can exchange phone numbers at that point.
I am, as much as possible, but just short distances at the moment. No tag, no insurance. But I do live on a dirt road and am trying to "exercise" it daily.
@@KUWP Dude, get it registered and insured and enjoy it! Take advantage of the fact that it is NO computers to go haywire, NO catalytic converter to get stolen, NO sensors, NO cam phasers, and if anything goes wrong, YOU can fix it yourself at home, rather than having to bring it to a shop and be charged outrageous amounts. And yes, I refuse to own a modern car.
The blue smoke while idling means your intake valve guides are passing oil, or, maybe the rings on one piston are upside down, so they are scraping oil upward into the combustion chamber instead of downward into the crankcase. If you don't have excessive oil consumption, just ignore it. The spitting could mean a higher than perfect float height.
Thanks and I am leaning toward valve guides and o-ring seals. I installed the new piston rings myself and was meticulous on orientation. I only have 1200 miles on it since then. But, the machinist cleaned up the head for me. He was well experience with F-134 engines, and I know he reamed out the seats, but I don't recall if he replaced the guides and o-rings. I ordered new o-rings yesterday thinking maybe I could replace them without pulling the head back off, but that doesn't appear to be possible. I'm just going to drive it and see if the oil voodoo softens up the o-rings. I'll have to think about the float causing spitting. Not sure I follow. Thanks!
@@KUWP You would have to pull the head again, so I would just ignore it. The reason a high float could cause it is because some fuel could be dripping out of the main discharge nozzle when it isn't supposed to. That would cause that "puttering" you hear. When I got two "rebuilt" Rochester Model B carbs for my Chevy 292 - I added a second carb - both carbs had LOW floats and one of them even had the wrong accelerator pump plunger. It bottomed out just by the carb being fully assembled, so it is possible for your carb's float to be wrong. Check it out. Also, make sure the mixture screw isn't set too rich. The specified number of turns out is just a starting point. When the engine and intake manifold are fully warmed up, you should fine-tune it for the best possible idle.
@@jamesbosworth4191 Got it. I did mess a bit with the mixture screw as it was running pretty rich (exhaust smell). It was way off setting. Big improvement after tweaking. Still have the spit. Spit is not really an issue, just kind of irritating.
@@KUWP It might go away if you start driving it more and put fresh gas in it. Remember, each time you remove the head, you can very slightly change the shape of the bores, so it probably isn't even fully broken in yet. Good luck!
I don't know how i stumbled upon your channel, but i really like it. Thanks for taking the time to make these videos, you cover so many interesting projects in an engaging and informative manner. Well done! I hope my retirement ( which is still a ways off) is as fulfilling and fun. Cheers!
LOL! Good catch. I go back and forth. The guys at Kaiser Willys pronounce it rhyming with Billy. But, the original founder named Willys, it was pronounced to rhyme with Tillis, like Mel Tillis, or "What you talkin' about Willis?" I attempt stick with the founder's pronunciation.
@@jamesbosworth4191 My source, but I didn't know the guy or any of his family so can't say for certain. Interesting debate that may never be resolved! www.thecj2apage.com/forums/how-to-pronounce-willys-correctly_topic26397.html
I bought a Kubota BX2680 in July of 2021. Best investment I've made....even though I've only put 110 hours on it so far, its saved me so many hours of manual labor type work, its been well worth the purchase. I have the loader, pallet forks, 60" mid mount mower, reverse rotation roto-tiller, box blade, and grading blade. Its a workhorse, and it does everything I need it to do on my 1 acre property. I do an occasional side job with it once in a while as well. I bought it because of its size, its small enough that I can use it in my barn/shop to move stuff around if needed and since I only have an acre, I don't need anything larger. I wanted the loader, that was the major thing I really wanted something bigger than a regular old lawn tractor for was for the loader option. I find that I use the pallet forks a lot on it for moving stuff around including my wood working tools....since I'm by myself I don't have anybody to help me lift and move stuff, so the tractor is my go-to for those heavy lifting and moving chores. I've replaced the fuel filters a couple times, I probably need to replace them again here soon. I haven't had any issues so far, but at 110 hours its still very new. I don't use it every day, but its nice that I have it and can use it whenever I want, rather than relying on someone else, or having to spend a ton of money to rent one.
Thanks, I just hit 156 hrs on a BX 2380. Zero problems. Hey check out, fitting a stainless steel coffee filter as a fuel inlet filter. I can't recall who recomended one, or which one. (less than $20.00 on Amazon). May be Biff in Pa? He is worth checking out. Also Be care full of that diff lock. It is not robust. The manual says to go straight. That does not work. I find getting it in before it's needed, or things are binding is key. What I do is make mild turns from side to side. Make sure, once it's in to keep your foot all the way down. Half in and it will blow up. May be even take out the case. You can have Florida, too many snakes, and too many New Yorkers!
@@KUWP Just looked through my Amazon history, guess it is too far back. I actually like snakes, my self. As it happens I live in upstate NY. The NYers are 150 miles South!
John with a Ritter Bit Will Do had a video about that coffee filter idea, I got one and put on my BX2680...it really doesn't do much other than keeping larger particles from entering the fuel tank. What Kubota needs to do is get rid of those stupid plastic inline filters that are a PITA and just put a regular serviceable spin on fuel filter on these machines.
FYI that after this fix, we have pulled the trailer from FL to CA without any overheating issues. Must have worked! On the way out I noticed the passenger's front drum was not heating up after braking. Sure enough, the wire lead was cut. Wire harness was not secured properly when the dealer replaced the axle. I spliced it, secured the harness with tie wraps, and brake is working fine.
Thanks! After you mentioned the hat, I realized I had two different ones on. One is a Shelta (white), the other a Tilley (green). Both are super comfortable.
One of the best, and honest, reviews I have seen for Kubota sub compact tractors. Excellent job. This will definitely help my upcoming decision to purchase one.
Unfortunately I've had enough run ins with yellow jackets that I keep a bottle of Rite-Aid allergy pills/antihistamine on my kitchen table, I chew up about 4 or 5 after a battle with them. I have an extendible pole that I taped a yogurt container to and I put a rag in it and soak it with gas, then I drop it over the entrance. Supposedly it's the fumes that kill them and I might have to pour a little more gas on it the next day. Crazy story about watching a family of skunks one night from up on my deck, Using a flashlight I spotted the skunks and while trying to figure whet they were doing, I started being hit by yellow jackets. It appears that skunks love to tear up Yellow jackets nest to get the larva inside, their fur protects them from the bees. Bottom line is the bees came after the light.
Good Eye! Yes, I knew that. I ordered replacement tires that were already on rims. And, well, it is what it is. Too much trouble to remove and spin around!
You are in luck. I still have the rattle can. Code is L90D. It's called Pastellweiss Pastel. Pastel white. I used Nason FulThane 2K Urethane single stage IB. Hope that helps.
Great video. I bought a Kubota BX2200 in 2001 and just sold it today for $6,000 and bought a New BX2380 w/loader and 60" mower deck. I live on 8 acres and cleared about half. I serviced the tractor twice a year regardless of hours used. Only Kubota fluids just as Papa said. Take care of it and it will take care of you.
