Photos and Information.

Mike, his wife Terri and I went out for an early visit on 20-22 March, see report below.

Tom went out around the 5th of April and took the Camp generator from Frank's place. I'll still bring my generator and probably run it most of the time I'm there, it's cheaper and quieter.

Spring Fling 2009 was a 4 day trip starting on Thursday 16th till Sunday 19th to allow the long distance drivers an extra day to unwind (some really need it!).

 UPDATE: There were seven of us for Spring Fling 2009, Mike, Bill, Tom, Charlie, Frank showed up Thursday - Rich and I  came in on Friday, I got there around noon, Rich came later that afternoon.

No real projects were scheduled but Frank cut some of the trees lying around the camp into short logs that were stacked up for splitting later in the year unless somebody steals them!

I brought the rebuilt  Ram Pump and some new feed pipe (see comments below from March trip). Mike, Bill and I installed the new parts and moved the water lines out of the creek for a straighter flow of water into the Ram Pump. At first it didn't work because there was actually too much pressure for the pump "clack" valve! The old feed line was 1" inch and the new stuff was 1 1/2" inch and about 5 feet longer (2 ten foot sections of Sched 40 PVC).

The protective hood didn't fit (see video) the clack valve so I clamped some screen wire over the opening to keep bugs and junk out. I'll rig up a new one and take it out next trip. Also, the pressure chamber leaks around my experimental air valve a little, nothing major but it bothers me! I'll put a new 2" inch nipple in the old pressure chamber and bring it back up in a couple weeks. I didn't have one in my junk box this time. I can't carry as much crap in the FJ as I can in the pickup but 21 MPG is better than 13!

Click HERE to watch another. Slightly longer but shows the new pipe setup.

Luckily I still had the original 1 1/4" inch clack valve on my shelf and it worked perfectly the first time I opened the water line into the pump. I didn't have to fiddle with it or anything. We left it run to keep the lines clear. I guess the next thing is to install the 35 gallon tank to replace the 7 gallon PVC tube on the Camp wall. Click on the picture above to watch a short video of the Ram pump's "clack" valve in action, you can see the "L" shaped bug hood lying on the ground. I'm still amazed by how the damn thing works!

We also had to repair a section of the 1/2" inch output pipe that some critter had bitten into. It left several holes right through the plastic pipe! I forgot to take a picture of it. I'll take a roll of 1/2" inch pipe next trip to replace the section that now has 3 or 4 splices in it!

On Saturday I took a sledge hammer and busted out one old mounting pad in the power plant and filled the hole with concrete to make it easier move the generator around. It was always a pain with that block of concrete in the way. I also swept the floor and sorted the cans and bottles and threw out some junk. I also changed the oil in the Camp generator to Mobil 1 10W-40 synthetic. If we change it once or twice a year we should be fine. Just don't overfill it. It only takes about 20 ounces for a change out.

Some other pictures

Tom watches fire

Bill, Mike and Chuck BS on porch. The weather was absolutely perfect. Cool at night and in the low 70's in the day. They had a fire Thursday and Friday nite but Saturday was warm enough to skip the fire.

Tom's Jeep and my FJ. There was very little green stuff around, nothing sprouting except some of the ferns were just poking through the leaves. We saw no creatures, heard one turkey gobble on Saturday morning and the ravens/crows couldn't wait for us the depart so they could pick over the table scraps we tossed out. One persistent crow swooped down while we were still sitting on the porch and flew off with a pancake!

(Mar 22)

Mike, his wife Terri and I went out the first Day of Spring 2009, Mar 20-21.  Joe had car troubles and didn't make it. He was supposed to bring eggs and bacon for breakfast but we managed anyway. Someone showed up with another new vehicle and really had Mike confused for a while.

All was okay at camp, found one dead mouse in a trap. Serves him right after he destroyed the roll of paper towels left on the hanger for him! The spring was flowing and well was full. The weather was nice but Friday night got really chilly. Heck, it was downright cold at 13 degrees! We didn't bank up the stove enough Friday night and it was a bit cool Saturday morning,  47 inside 13 outside

The ram pump is toast (again) the drain valve was closed and water froze in the pump and the feed pipe had burst with several holes in it. I brought the pump home but I may not fix it again, too much time money and effort.

Click on the picture to view a short video of the Ram pump fountain out of the feed pipe.

Mike and I surveyed the area across the road for a food plot. Lots of deer poop and scraping on the ground but no furry critters. The ground is still too cold for planting, especially at 13 degrees!

Mike sprayed around the well to kill the Poison Ivy there. It really sprouted since the trees were knocked down and allowed more sun into the area. Be careful in April, it may start sprouting.

My new Honda generator ran great. It's really quiet, you can't hear it from the outhouse. If you turn on the coffee pot and microwave at the same time it does bog down for a minute. It only has about 2000 watts of power but 95% of the time that's plenty. And it is very efficient. We ran it for about 30 hours total and used about 2.5 gallons of gas.

Click on the picture to view a short video of the generator and what happens when the coffee pot kicks on. It's an mpg file so should work for most everyone.

All in all we did little work, very unusual for us, but we took notes on things we might work on during the Spring Fling in April 16-19. The days are Thursday thru Sunday.  Meals depend on how many guys will are there. Thursday will probably be on your own except maybe for supper. Fri and Sat probably 3 meals and breakfast on Sunday before everyone leaves