Area51 - Mike's Miscellaneous Projects 2026:

Starting off the new year with a bang, literally! Last job in the garage for 2025 was getting ready to welcome in 2026 with a load of fireworks. I had one board of single shots, and 3 boards with cakes which put off a great show!

All the fireworks were glued in place to ensure they all went off safely.

For Christmas Sandy gave me an 8kw Vevor Diesel Heater! This unit can be used inside or outside provided you properly route the exhaust outside and comes with a wireless remote and Bluetooth connectivity to control the unit.

I took the unit apart for inspection based on some videos I watched and found everything secure and in good order.

The only modifications I made were splitting and installing some oversize plastic tubing to protect the fuel line where it passes through the metal frame in two spots.

Now it was time for a test fire. I extended the power cord and ran the unit off the battery in Project 6x6 having just fully charged it.

I ran the exhaust out under the overhead door and later added the 3" heater duct to direct warm air back into the garage. The unit worked extremely well and was very quiet, this unit must have the newer style quiet fuel pump as it's much quieter than all the rest I have seen.

The Bluetooth app is fantastic, it displays temperature of the machine, room temperature, and battery voltage. It also lets you adjust temperature and start/stop the unit. With this fantastic new piece of kit I'm really looking forward to some ice fishing adventures in my Woods Arctic-4 ice fishing shelter later this year!

On January 18th I hauled our 2020 Murano into the garage for some routine maintenance and a minor repair.

First up was and engine oil and filter change, this was my first time doing it myself on the Murano as we had five years of included dealership oil changes when we purchased the vehicle.

The oil filter was accessed through the passenger side wheel well, having only to turn the wheels all the way to the right and remove a small plastic access cover.

We've had an engine coolant drip for a couple months now which is slowly getting more pronounced. With the vehicle on  jack stands and the skid plate removed for service the culprit was easily identified. The lower radiator hose clamp rusted out and no longer had any clamping force, a problem I experienced and repaired on my Silverado. I removed the clamp which immediately split in two pieces and replaced it with a traditional stainless steel hose clamp.

Now I fully understand the use of these spring clamps on modern vehicles with plastic radiators as they can expand and contract with heating/cooling. However in our climate they are garbage as they always rust out. The stainless traditional clamps have held up perfectly fine for over 10 years on my truck so it should be a great repair here as well.

January 27th: With another snow storm on the way it was time to show my trusty now 20 year old Honda 9/28 Snowblower some love.

During the last driveway cleanup which was incredibly wet & heavy the blower struggled and actually let some smoke out of the auger belt! The belts were last replaced twelve years ago so I am not at all disappointed with that service!

Splitting the machine is a matter of removing the chute, light and belt cover then removing ten 12mm bolts that attach the bucket to the main frame. Most can be removed with a ratchet but two on each side need a standard wrench, a ratcheting wrench makes quicker work of removing them. As I will be replacing the impeller bearing at this time, the augers were removed from the bucket as well.

Auger belt well worn and stretched out. If I never had replacement parts I could possibly adjust the tensioner but at twelve years old this machine is getting a fresh set.

I've had these replacement parts in stock for a couple years now as I knew I would need them soon, today was that day.

These three 10mm bolts hold the cup for the impeller bearing. Mine was not noticeably noisy but when I checked it was rough. It's always a good call to replace this bearing while the machine is apart for belts.

For the last 10 years I've been packing these brand new bearings with my own high quality Lucas grease then reinstalling the seals. This procedure greatly increases the life of this fast spinning, hard to get to bearing. Grease on the outside of the bearing retainer is solely for rust prevention.

Copyright © 2025 Michael Smith