Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Chonda

I believe I've done this often enough now to say there's a theme developing in this blog: Justus' encounters with technology. This one's a little off the beaten path of my experience:

A few years ago the original 5 horse Briggs and Stratton engine on our very skookum chipper/shredder died. This was replaced by an outfit in Comox with a "Chonda", a Chinese copy of a 5.5HP Honda engine. It was significantly less expensive than the Honda equivalent, and the repair person said they'd had good luck with the ones they had installed to that point.

Of course he would say that; but in truth, it worked like a charm.

This year, after the rains had arrived and I felt it safe to start on my chipping pile, I hauled the chipper out. As usual, it started enthusiastically. It ran for about 15 minutes, then quit. I started it again: 30 seconds, then quit. Several times.

Thinking it was a fuel-supply problem, I unbolted the engine from the chipper, put the engine in the van, and drove to my local small-engine repair person.
 He thought maybe it was a fuel issue as well, and agreed to give it a tune-up.

When I got it back, it ran like a top for about 30 minutes, then quit. 
Again, it started, but wouldn't continue running.

So I put the chipper in the van and drove to Comox to see the repair person who had initially installed it.

The company had changed owners and they no longer dealt with this kind of engine, but their repair person would have a look at it.

Next day he phoned: the engine was a Chonda, and because it was a Chonda, it couldn't be repaired: they couldn't get parts.
 A replacement Honda engine, he estimated, would cost about $1000, but he wasn't enthusiastic about the job, probably because it would be a special order, and they no longer do this kind of repair.

Reasoning that if an engine replacement was necessary, I didn't need to have it done in Comox, I drove back to the shop, thanked them for their advice, placed the chipper in the van, and returned home.
 Then I went to see my local small-engine guy.
 Yes, they could supply a Honda, and for only a little more than half the quoted price.
There are two 5.5HP models; one is $40 more than the other.
 And what's the difference?

Well, the more expensive one has a feature that stops the engine when the oil level gets too low.

...Wait a minute! That has to be the explanation! It exactly describes what was going on, and I'd noticed an oil leak. If that's the explanation, any chance it could be repaired?

Well, sometimes Honda parts work…
I went home, loaded the chipper into the van, and took it down to see him.
Several days later he phoned: he'd compared the crankcase on mine with a stripped-down Honda he was working on. They were identical, so a Honda gasket would probably do the trick.
“Go for it!” I said.
Today I picked it up. It runs like a top, and there's no sign of leaking oil.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Snowman, the film


Those of you who number yourselves among the few occasional readers of this occasional blog may remember a post from December 2012, in which I talked about being visited by two former students, Mike Douglas and Kevin Fogolin, and what they had accomplished since they graduated from Robron Secondary in Campbell River in 1987. (If you don't remember, I think it's an interesting story; you could click on the link!)
Anyway, the film they were collaborating on came out a year ago. It's called Snowman, and it premiered last December at the Whistler Film Festival, where it was pronounced winner of the “best mountain culture film” award.
It recently became available, so they sent me a copy, and you get a brief review:

First and dominant impression: the scenery.  Much of it is from the mountains above Toba Inlet – the place where Kevin very nearly cashed in his chips in a helicopter accident, and it is spectacular. Watching Kevin in action killing potential avalanches is breathtaking. And I loved the shots of places I know, Campbell River particularly. There's no question that the outstanding photography makes the film, and will be what most people will remember about it most vividly.
But I'm not really a film person, and I'm not at all a downhill skier so my enthusiasm for high mountain winter scenery,
and tracks in endless powder, and avalanches (even those set off deliberately to prevent people dying),  and guys doing impossible things with skis and cliffs, is pretty limited.
I was actually more gripped by the human parts of the story: the autobiographical parts where Mike becomes a ground-breaking, trend-setting professional skier while Kevin establishes a career and family in Campbell River. Then how Kevin parlays his love of skiing to become an avalanche expert, which is how he ends up surviving a helicopter crash and the avalanche it triggers.
That's pretty gripping stuff.
The film makers used a good deal of the original Super 8 film footage that Mike and Kevin produced for my class. It was pretty neat to see that again! They even managed to make my comments appear coherent and relaxed, which is not the way I remember the interview.
That's what good editing does, I suppose.
Which is why, although I found them very interesting, I don't altogether trust the interviews, particularly those featuring Kevin's parents and then his wife, Joanne: they all appear very calm, and even analytical, when there must have been times when they had serious doubts and worries.
Emotionally, I was with Kevin's spotter on the helicopter, who, having survived, then caught the first available float plane out of Toba Inlet and returned to Toronto!
Smart guy.