Pulled the freshly repainted inner rocker panel off its stand and moved it over to the Monte to begin the process of installing it. During one of the previous test fits I had managed to locate it in a position with which I was satisfied so i had used a few self drilling Tek screws to create "hangers" to hold it where I wanted it. Today was just a case of using those same screws to again set the panel where it needed to be. Then I set the MIG up and...........................................................................
Ran out of C15 about half way through the burn in run.
![Oops! :oops: :oops:](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f633.png)
![Grimacing face :grimacing: 😬](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f62c.png)
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So tomorrow is "go get some gas" day" as well as a grocery run, cause Thursday is back in to work for the balance of the week.
At some point I also have to determine if my Optima Red Top is actually taking a charge or if it is now too old to resuscitate. I do have a fresh new battery waiting, jic. I did have to shake my head at the clerk at Napa, He swore that the new battery was fully charged and ready to go. Threw it at my Carlyle smart charger and it came up as 85%. it still seems that many clerks just haven't learned that so-called "fresh" or new batteries will actually lose charge at the rate of 1% per day, just sitting on the shelf. This one came with a build sticker for May of this year so, yeah, a new unit but still open and vulnerable to static loss while waiting for a buyer. They, of course, wanted a core, for some WTF reason so I scored one from the yard. I had actually hoped to find one in a fresh haul in but it seems that the tow boys are leaving the keys on or the doors open when they pick up vehicles so the batteries go flat.
Supposedly you can get an AGM to return from the dead if you go way low with the charging amps. My smart charger can drop to 2A for charging small batteries so tried that first but the charger kept clocking out because the cpu could not sense any charge beginning to accumulate. Decided to try my Battery Tender Plus as it supplies current as the rate of 1.25A which might just be low enough that the Red Top can accept it. If so, it will either be about two days before I see anything positive, or the charing light goes green and into storage mode.
Did manage to score some more belts for my micro file sander so I can at least clean up the panel as far as it has been burned in. I had to plug in an in line water trap into it to grab the moisture in the compressor air as even with the large water trap at the tank, the air is so humid that I get moisture build up. It's a sufficient PITA that I have to drain the compressor daily and leave the drain valve open to let the tank "breathe".
Nick