SOP

Yes. Its Friday and the last of the off Fridays for a while. Well it was interesting. I lost track somewhat. Not of the day but of the things needing done. Oh well. I did get propane for the balloon... Of which this blog will be about today. I also worked on other projects and helped a friend pickup and deliver a stove. With help from Mo and Jon.

So... went to get propane today. Quick and easy. I thought I would put it here so you could see what goes into it and also if you ever need to help out your Pilot and refuel for him/her you can. After I hitched the trailer up and drove to Ortega's Propane it all starts.

You should always open the windows of your truck.
If you're basket is in the back of your truck you should drop the tailgate.
If you basket is in an enclosed trailer with only one door or no venting you should pull the basket out of the trailer as much as possible.
If your basket is just in a regular trailer, open all doors and secure them.

Wait your turn and be ready to assume the position.

Remove any nylon or strikers or lighters or any other possible flammable or sparking things from the vicinity of the refueling. Stay off  your cell and shut off any radios before you get to the refueling area.

Refueling hose big toggle is the main fuel lever and the yellow one is the bleed off toggle.

 

 Wear a good pair of leather gloves that are not too tight. Or not tight at all. Propane is very cold and can burn you bad. You ARE going to be sticking your hand in raw propane so be sure you have the right gloves. We got a good pair during last years Fiesta and I have them all the time in the trailer just to propane.

Good thick non tight gloves.

 You're going to get a refueling hose from the company and you will have to use an adapter on some tanks. They can be long or short or in between. Mine is in between.

Fuel lever up and on. Yellow bleed closed.

 Attach the adapter to the end of the hose and the other end of the adapter to the tank. Make sure they thread in smoothly. You should never have to force a hose end. Make sure the line is supported and not hanging on the connection. Verify that the bleed valve is closed. These are different everywhere and if you do not know if its closed or not ask the company you're at.

 Okay.. so now you should remember this. You do these three things when refueling. You start by opening the bleed or spit valve on the top of the tank.. then the tanks main handle or knob...then open the fueling hose.

I have QSO levers to turn my tanks on and off. The gauge is in the middle and the spit or bleed valve is the gold knob by the DOWN sticker. See the fuel hose is supported by the burner bag.

Watch for the bleed or split valve to start blowing a full stream of propane. When this happens do two things. Turn off the spit  or bleed valve and the main fuel hose now. Then shut the tank off. Told you you would have to put your glove in the propane. Most bleed / spit valves will pulse fuel. When its a steady stream its time to shut down. Some people do it when its pulsing but its a choice if you are able to do two things at once.

Adapter is snugged up against the tank connector.

Once you have made sure all levers are off you can disconnect the adapter from the tank if you are going to fuel another tank. Some small amount of fuel is in the adapter so there can be a quick spurt of fuel. Gloves! If you are refueling two tanks do the same over again... Connect, open spit, open tank, open fuel line. Then shut spit and fuel line then tank at the end.

Once this is done on the last tank you can tell the service guy that your done and he will shut off the main input. Now keep the line away from your face, body or anything you do not want frozen.You then can flip or unscrew the bleed valve on the fuel line evacuating the fuel from the adapter hose. You will hear a hiss and thats the propane being removed. After that you can disconnect the fuel line from the adapter from the tank and put the adapter away. Make sure the adapter is safe as nothing is more un fun for the next person to refuel than a missing adapter.

If you're at fiesta or a rally you can just check everything once more time to make sure everything is closed and covered. Close up your trailer or shove your basket back in or jump down from your truck. Safely exit the local area before lighting anything up or turning on radios and phones. If you are at a refueling company.. get your fuel amount and go pay. Ortega's is great because they give balloonists a little discount.

Ortega's! Yay!

Ta daaaa.... You can refuel. Some balloons have multiple tanks and they may have a manifold between tanks or multiple connectors which means you can do things a little differently. Nothing major though. Lots of Pilots have specific ways they want things done. Write it down if you cant remember it. Always be safe first. Always refuel by yourself on with one other person. Be safe. Don't take shortcuts. Pay attention. In cold weather o rings in the lines and tanks can shrink and the connectors may not seat right. Be patient.

Was that not fun?

Here is what I found to look at today...

Pop-Tarts.. yum!

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/the-splooge-of-making-pop-tarts-is-so-very-hypnotic-1493379306/@caseychan

You could trade one of these on the school yard for tons of candy. Good deal.

I have mixed in my past. I have and still do edit stuff for my movies.. This is excellent and I love the program he is using to do these edits.

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/edm-producer-shows-how-daft-punk-used-a-sample-to-make-1493571302/@caseychan

Ahhh design.. I love these.. but I love number 6 most. Number 5 least. I can and have done this. Many times and sometimes much better than any of these. BUt hay.. i have a day job.

http://gizmodo.com/6-jaw-dropping-superyachts-designed-by-architects-1456960233

Oh boy... There is one great instruction manual for taking selfies.. 1. Lower the phone. 2. lower. 3. a little lower. 4. put phone on table and do not take picture. Thanks.

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/13-people-who-were-caught-mid-selfies-with-awkward-expressions

If you take pictures in a public bathroom.. someone should take your phone and deposit it in the nearest commode. If you do not lock the door when you go into a private bathroom... you are a goober.

Off to take some shots on the roof.