The Honda Pioneer 520 side by side was scheduled for shipping on 8/6/2021 from the factory in South Carolina to the Dealer.
So a reasonable chance I will take delivery of the Pioneer 520 this week or early next week. But I won't believe it until I see it sitting in my barn.
It was ordered in late January.

Nothing new on the fiber optic internet. I'm way down on the list for the install work as it's a seasonal camp, not a full time residence.

A cell phone tower is being installed high on the ridge overlooking the valley where the cabin is located. Unknown who the carrier(s) will be.
They have the in-ground concrete pads built, and the electric and broadband internet at the tower site. They are still waiting for the tower steel. (2 or more months waiting for the steel)

We completed a major cabin project Friday last week. We now have running water at the cabin.
Several years ago we identified a spring site within about 200 feet of the cabin. It remained wet there even during the drought last summer.
Last year I built a tractor path from the field down to the spring location. I dug at the spring site with the backhoe on the little Kubota only to find a large bed of shale rock.
I excavated several cubic yards of rock and soon was stopped with the Kubota backhoe hydraulic digging power being the limiting factor.
(photos of the Kubota dug "test" hole and tractor path on page 3 in this thread)

We have a good friend and neighbor that owns a septic/water/well pump business. He generously offered to look at the cabin and spring site and see what he could do.
My neighbor is also pretty damn good at redneck engineering.
He brought his Bobcat excavator last Thursday and was successful digging in the huge shale bed at the spring site. (tore one rock point and mounting lug right off the excavator bucket)
He got a pit dug about 10 feet in diameter, and it ranged in depth from 2.5 feet to 4.5 feet deep.
All the heavy excavation in the shale bed appeared to open up the spring "seeps" between the huge slabs of rock and the cold crystal clear water now runs from at least 2 locations with strong flow.
We installed a 6 foot length of 24" diameter black corrugated HDPE culvert pipe vertically in the deepest part of the pit.
The culvert pipe has holes drilled in it so the water can get inside the pipe. The deep well pump (120 volt) is installed inside the culvert.
Since the bottom of the pump is only 4.5 feet deep, and around 20 feet rise to the cabin, a high horsepower deep well 240 volt well pump isn't needed.
We ran eight gauge wire between the pump and the pressure switch for minimal voltage drop.
The pump is fed with a new install dedicated 20 amp circuit.

I moved a ten wheeler dump truck load of #2 stone with the Kubota front bucket and dumped it in the excavated pit.

My neighbor then dug a 4' to 5' deep trench between the spring site and the cabin outside wall.
We buried the 1" diameter 200 psi rated PEX tubing and the wiring in the trench and then backfilled.

We had acquired a well pressure tank (bladder style) several years ago and installed it next to the electric stove inside the cabin.
Some PEX tubing hooked the tank up to the kitchen sink.
There is room under the kitchen sink for a modest sized electric on-demand water heater. It's a future project...

There is additional work on the water system that will need to be done before winter. I will need to get a 10 wheeler dump truck load of fill dirt and increase the cover depth at the spring site.
After filling the excavated spring pit with the #2 stone up above the maximum water depth, we covered the #2 stone with geo-textile fabric and then started covering with fill dirt.
I will need to cover it with several more feet of fill dirt to insulate the water source pit from the harsh upstate NY winters.
I put a square of plywood over the top of the culvert pipe where the pump is located for now, but for winter it will require a proper insulated sandwich cover made from plywood and foam board.

The system is designed so it should work even in the harsh winter months.
The pump has a flapper style bleed valve so the PEX line going to the cabin will fully drain back into the spring source pit when the pressure is bled off.
The pressure tank (inside the cabin) has a drain on the bottom so it can be drained (pipe thru the wall) along with the interior plumbing when the cabin is not heated when we aren't there in the winter.
There is about 20' rise between the cabin and the spring site so all the water should drain back into the pit and not freeze in the PEX tubing.
I need to construct a plywood box where the PEX comes up to surface grade and penetrates the cabin floor, insulate with foam board, and fill the interior of the insulated box with spray foam.
The drain pipe for the pressure tank and interior plumbing will also serve as an outside faucet.

The only downside to the project was the lawn between the woods and the cabin is completely destroyed. I will need topsoil and grass seed. I'm going to let the excavated/backfilled trench settle first for a while.

So not bad for a two day construction project. Dawn till dark with three people. (I cooked strip steaks on the grill for lunch)

My neighbor said he would have quoted that job between $10k and $15k depending on how far he needed to drive to get to the job site.
That would have been out of my budget range for a seasonal cabin.
We got the friends/neighbors/hunting buddy's discount.

Here is the spring pit. Water is all mucked up from digging. (about 10 feet diameter, 2.5 to 4.5 feet deep)

IMG_20210805_154343035_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

All the stone went into the shale rock excavated pit. It's tamped around the vertical culvert and locks it into place so it won't move or "float".

IMG_20210805_154213970_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

Here is the culvert installed in the pit, the stone is in the pit, the geo-textile fabric is covering the stone, and some fill dirt on top of the fabric.

IMG_20210806_191214668 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

Looking down into the culvert. (sky is reflected off the water surface, and I need to file a small ditch in the HDPE pipe so the wires are not pinched under the cover)

IMG_20210806_191235339 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

Looking from the spring site uphill towards the cabin with the trench backfilled.

IMG_20210806_191249983 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

Pressure tank inside the cabin. (pressure switch set at 40 psi on, 60 psi off)

IMG_20210806_190946519 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

Next two are the trenching.

IMG_20210805_154118975 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

IMG_20210805_154056532 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

We will not drink the water before we use the system for a while and purge out sediment. We will also have the water tested in a lab before drinking.
We did drop a 1/2 cup of pelletized slow release chlorine tablets into the black culvert.
Flow is around 14 gallons per minute. We ran the system full bore for hours for particulate flushing and saw no significant water level drop in the culvert. (couple inches water level drop max in 2 hours)

Running water at the outside hose for system flushing and flow testing.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/slxz.../Hose_Water.mp4?dl=0

Running water at the kitchen sink faucet.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ka3g...aucet_Water.mp4?dl=0

It's coming along, nice having piped in water! Now should be a good time of the year to get grass started where possible to minimize mud next Spring.
Hopefully your SxS shows up soon.

The 2021 Honda Pioneer showed up!
The dealer called me Thursday night.
I picked it up Friday morning.
Tested it out Friday at my sister's rural place.
Then Friday night headed to the cabin and rode around most of Saturday.
Helga the Olde English Bulldog has claimed the dump box.
We got her accustomed to riding by driving around the field slowly.
Then we headed for the trails.
I will get some pictures posted soon.
Almost 8 months from ordering until delivery.

IMG_20210903_160356803_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

12634 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

Helga's new ride looks great. Congrats.

Looks great, you going to build a shed for it and keep it at the cabin or haul it back and forth...

I will be hauling it every time.
25 to 30 minutes driving time, house to cabin.
Somebody up the road from the cabin a few miles had
a UTV stolen. Thieves chainsawed the back of the building.
I *might* store it in a 40' steel shipping container, but that
won't be happening this year.

Two years ago, if you told me I would have fiber optic internet at the cabin, I would have called you CRAZY!

The internet company actually asked me to reach out to a neighbor, and get permission to install a pole on his property. I thought that was rather odd, but did it anyway.
I asked the neighbor, and he agreed. (he's getting a free install out of the deal, but not free internet)

The last two days I've spent mornings at the cabin while the second of three install teams have been working.

Last week they installed two poles. (install team 1)

Yesterday they started installing the overhead fiber optic line. It was going great until the "lead" guy walked over and said "we forgot the come along and we can't finish the job today"
Today they showed up again, this time with the come along, and finished the outside portion of the job. (install team 2)

Now I'm scheduling an inside the building install appointment. (install team 3)

This internet install has been an ongoing situation since December 2020 and VERY frustrating at times.

I'm almost there now!

BTW, they offer up to 2 gigabit per second download speeds, we will be going with the 100 megabit per second which will service our needs at the cabin nicely.

Today is a good day.
I am at the cabin posting on the SIG Forum.
GF and step-daughter are out in the woods deer hunting.

Here at my location, this is the Columbus Day Weekend youth hunt. Saturday, Sunday, Monday.
Kids 12 & 13 can hunt deer with a rifle, but during the archery season which started October first.
Guessing here, but the reasoning seems to be, no other gun hunters in the woods except for the kids with their mentors. (hopefully safer)
And the weather is generally warmer. (kids may enjoy deer hunting more when not freezing)
Adult mentor experienced hunter is required to be physically present with the youth.
Mentor cannot carry a gun.
Plenty of hunter orange clothing required.
Also can't hunt from an elevated stand, must be on the ground during the youth hunt.
Step-daughter got her Hunter's Safety class/certificate online in 2020 during COVID when in-person classes were not available.
It's reasonably nice weather, 64 degrees and partly sunny today.

The fiber optic internet installation was completed yesterday. Today I installed and set up the WiFi router, the indoor cell phone network extender, and several ROKU devices on the two TV's.

I called my cell phone provider on Wednesday and told them I wanted them to ship me a FREE cell network extender.
(no Verizon cell coverage at the cabin)
I had to be firm, ATT recently installed a nearby cell tower. I told them I would switch to ATT if they didn't provide a free network extender.
They eventually relented, shipped the unit, and it arrived Friday. Simple install & setup.
(uses wired Ethernet and generates a several hundred yards diameter circle of cell phone signal)

So I'm setting here at the bowling alley table inside the cabin, way out in the boondocks, posting on the SIG Forum, and Watching the Outdoor Channel.
Helga the Olde English Bulldog is napping on the couch.
I've been the chief cook, bottlewasher, and vacuum cleaner operator today.
LOL, and the IT guy.
Now I'm relaxing!

Life is GOOD today.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: cee_Kamp,

Sounds like rocking chair time on the front porch with some adult beverage. Good for you,

Glad your Pioneer 520 finally arrived!

quote:

Originally posted by cee_Kamp:
Two years ago, if you told me I would have fiber optic internet at the cabin, I would have called you CRAZY!...

Same here, after 14 years w/o internet at all, then 5 with very slow satellite, last Fall I finally got fiber to the house in my rural location. I'm sure it was thanks to Federal grant money given out to "connect rural America to the internet".

quote:

Originally posted by cee_Kamp:
IMG_20210903_160356803_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

12634 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

Thats awesome. Just make sure you check to make sure that dump box doesn’t get too hot. Despite having heat shields above the engine and below the dump box on my Polaris I jumped up there to sit down one time after doing some worked and immediately jumped back dow do to the heat from the engine coming up through the dump box.

[/QUOTE]Thats awesome. Just make sure you check to make sure that dump box doesn’t get too hot. Despite having heat shields above the engine and below the dump box on my Polaris I jumped up there to sit down one time after doing some worked and immediately jumped back dow do to the heat from the engine coming up through the dump box.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the info, I will do so in the spring.

We are getting better at preparing for firearms deer season. Today we used the Pioneer 520.
This year we've added three fabric pop-up blinds, two of the three have propane heat and 20 pound LP tanks.
We added another ground blind as well, burlap wrap on steel "T" posts with natural wood top rails. (saplings)

One of the regulars that has hunted with us for a long time had to make an emergency trip to northern Ontario, Canada.
His elderly father had fallen and broken some ribs. So he went north for 5 to 7 weeks to help out while his Dad heals.

We had another hunter that also has been hunting with us for a long time.
This year we gave him the "boot" as he couldn't follow our wishes in regards to the way we wanted OUR property hunted.

So it's only family for this year.

The State has "gifted" us with another week of late muzzleloader season.

We can hunt deer with firearms this year from November 20th thru January 1, with a couple non-hunting days around Christmas.

Tomorrow morning is opening day of firearms deer season.

The fiber optic internet provider for the cabin raised the monthly bill $5, and raised the base speed from 100 mbps up/down to 200 mbps up/down.
OK, fine.
They also mandated using a >NEW< customer portal for paying the bill.
That's fine also. Except it doesn't work. (the >OLD< customer portal worked fine)
I've spent at least a half day on the phone with customer service.
Guess the cabin internet is now free, can't log in to the new portal and pay the bill.
The customer service agents are reading from a script and can't actually fix the problem.
Good help must be hard to find.

We are having problems with the internet at our cabin as well. We got it so we could use a on line thermostat and turn the furnace on when we leave for the cabin, having Roku there is kinda nice too. But our service keeps going out. We may drop it and wait for something more reliabile.

Jim

So last year I upgraded to a John Deere X700 tractor for mowing the grass at the house and the cabin. (both places combined, 2.5 acres of turf)
It's a nice used machine and it gave very good service for over 100 hours of mowing during the 2021 mowing season.
The only thing I didn't like about it was the damn thing chugged gasoline. (23hp V-Twin Kawasaki liquid cooled gas motor with a carburetor)

I was up at the J.D. dealer getting some service supplies for the X700 and made the mistake of talking with the Sales Department.
They agreed to sell me a 2022 John Deere X750 without a mower deck at a fair price and gave me a great trade in on the X700. (24hp Yanmar liquid cooled 3 cylinder diesel in the X750)
Both the X700 and the X750 are two wheel drive, front wheel steer with the difference being about 16 model years and gas engine vs diesel engine.
I don't have the need for four wheel drive or four wheel steering for a strictly turf mowing tractor. (both available for extra money and mechanical complexity if you need those features)

We have the Kubota for dirt and snow work, so the lawn tractor is only for mowing turf.

I recently acquired a John Deere 60" 7-Iron commercial deck that I was going to install on the X700.

So in several weeks, the new J.D. X750 should arrive and the 7-Iron commercial deck is going on that new machine.

Pictures of the recently acquired 7-Iron commercial deck. The deck shell on these 7-Iron decks is formed from 7 gauge steel. (0.1875" thickness) and the 60" 7-Iron deck weighs over 300 pounds.
It is a drive over deck for install/removal.

IMG_20220422_165143157_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

IMG_20220422_155847167_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

I'm anxiously waiting for the new X750!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: cee_Kamp,

quote:

Originally posted by cee_Kamp:
So last year I upgraded to a John Deere X700 tractor for mowing the grass at the house and the cabin. (both places combined, 2.5 acres of turf)

....The only thing I didn't like about it was the damn thing chugged gasoline. (23hp V-Twin Kawasaki liquid cooled gas motor with a carburetor)

I was up at the J.D. dealer getting some service supplies for the X700 and made the mistake of talking with the Sales Department.
They agreed to sell me a 2022 John Deere X750 without a mower deck at a fair price and gave me a great trade in on the X700. (24hp Yanmar liquid cooled 3 cylinder diesel in the X750)
Both the X700 and the X750 are two wheel drive, front wheel steer with the difference being about 16 model years and gas engine vs diesel engine.
I don't have the need for four wheel drive or four wheel steering for a strictly turf mowing tractor. (both available for extra money and mechanical complexity if you need those features)

We have the Kubota for dirt and snow work, so the lawn tractor is only for mowing turf.

Curious why you didn't trade it on a zero turn?

I've used zero turn mowers, just not a fan of them. Mowing speed is of zero concern to me. I like to mow, especially with a pair of high quality wireless headphones and the iPod.
I have just enough slope in the field at the cabin, a zero turn is a NO GO, at least for me.
I guess I'm just a tractor guy. Part of my decision is based on the overall higher complexity of a zero turn vs a tractor. I do my own service and repairs.
(twice as many hydraulic pumps/motors on a zero turn vs a tractor)

I may not go with the John Deere X750. The 7-Iron deck IS backwards compatible to the X700, but likely IS NOT forward compatible to the 2022 X750.
(after all, I did buy the 7-Iron commercial deck to put on my X700)
The J D dealer is reaching out to Deere Technical about the deck incompatibility issue.
If I go with the X750, I will likely have to buy another current model compatible 60HC deck. Then I lose the commercial deck construction.
John Deere may have lost me as a customer with this deck compatibility issue. Built in planned obsolescence.
The 7-Iron decks should have a lifespan of 20 + years assuming reasonable care due to the commercial construction. (7 gauge steel deck shell for commercial vs 9 gauge steel for residential decks)

I may just trade the X700 with the original 62C deck, and the 60D 7-Iron new to me deck, in for second Kubota BX.

One Kubota BX for loader and backhoe work. (already have this one)
The second one for mid mount mowing and bush hog work.
This way I won't be continually swapping implements.
Odd, the Kubota BX decks are compatible for at least the last 20 some model years of tractors, while the John Deere are not.
Decisions... Decisions...
I may just run the thirsty X700 with the 7-Iron deck and keep my money in the bank.

I haven't decided what to do yet, trade in values will be impactful on the decision.