Gardening, canning, pickling and everything related
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johnsbrewhouse Why did you decide to convert from CPVC to PEX? I always had really good success with CPVC on multiple residential projects, although I still prefer Copper, min. Type L. I just don’t trust the PEX totally yet, especially when the fittings are used vs the manifold system that it was designed for. I had worried about some problems with it when I first started seeing it used a lot with the fittings vs manifold, that would be similar to PB tubing. I have heard it has manifested itself to some degree. The CPVC will be brittle though & not as flexible as PEX, but not as rigid of course as good Copper (so expensive these days). The CPVC needs to be insulated very well. There are pros & cons to each & every one of them. When we decided to restore this old house we are in now (I am way behind due to lack of energy, etc.) rather than build again, I redid all the potable water system with Type K Copper, I believe in it. On the other hand, I have personally & professionally seen more problems though with Copper than PVC or CPVC. Interesting hmm, I don’t know what to say about myself. Yes, solid silver solder is the way to go if you can. It is a pain though doing it on an existing structure & I am not as good at it as I used to be.
calldoctoday Use silver solder on my stills, we use lead free solder on the plumbing, but good quality. I have sil-brazed fittings as well, you never get them apart.
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calldoctoday PEX is a really good product, been around for many more years then people realize. Beverage lines are made of PEX and most European homes all contain PEX. The CPVC is the reason why I had to replace the valve, it became brittle and broke due to some contractors poor installation. Once you have used PEX, you’ll never go back to CPVC. I like copper as well, but the prices are sky high now. Also with PEX you have to use the right style, we use the expansion type that has an expandable sleeve that goes over the tubing that seals it to the barbed fitting rather than a crimped band. Another thing with PEX is that it can freeze somewhat and will expand without splitting. Here is a picture of our well house at our camp, it done all in PEX 1/2"- 1 1/4". We did this all ourselves, we own an cordless electric PEX expander, makes it easy.

johnsbrewhouse I will have to agree with you on most every avenue including the brittleness of the CPVC & the fact that most of the problems with it is due to folks getting in a hurry or too much of a hurry with it & PVC either sch. 40 or 80. I forgot that when I started seeing it showing up around here a lot, that I would make my usual comments & the fact that it had been used in Europe for over 40 years already & that was back in the late 90’s I believe, but I would make the off the wall comment that I had not been doing neither design or construction in Europe at all, so I couldn’t speak directly for it. There is not questions it is #1 out there for residential & we are seeing it in more & more commercial too. Of course, over the years I have seen that happen with lots of materials that were sold with a fever as being the best thing this side of sliced bread & I was more open to trying new things back then to then discover it was not quite what they hyped it up to be. Sorry for being the pessimist. I am still open to new things, every day, just a little slower at accepting them at full face value without more time on the street. I will agree though, there are a lot of good plusses to PEX, many that you mentioned, & Copper has gotten totally ridiculous in price. I have the debate with myself often, since I do not do hands on anymore, nor design, if I were to build another one for us, what would I use. I have been arguing with myself for a while on it.
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Vaguely related to this category but… Thinking my Xmas cactus is a little confused. That, or we have a lot of winter left.

Now, what did the groundhog say?



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Vaguely related to this category but… Thinking my Xmas cactus is a little confused. That, or we have a lot of winter left.

Now, what did the groundhog say?



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Vaguely related to this category but… Thinking my Xmas cactus is a little confused. That, or we have a lot of winter left.

Now, what did the groundhog say?



PapaSop it looks really nice
thanks for sharing. -
Vaguely related to this category but… Thinking my Xmas cactus is a little confused. That, or we have a lot of winter left.

Now, what did the groundhog say?



PapaSop hope not just got my peppers and tomatoes started.
Anyone ever try the soil block method. This’ll be my first go at it. Hate to change what works but the benefit of this seems to make sense. Planted some the usual way as well as an insurance policy.

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PapaSop hope not just got my peppers and tomatoes started.
Anyone ever try the soil block method. This’ll be my first go at it. Hate to change what works but the benefit of this seems to make sense. Planted some the usual way as well as an insurance policy.

Surg No, but if I did not have all the starter pots used over & over again, that would probably bee what I would use. It seems good because so long as you can keep the moisture level just right, there is no removal of the seedlings when it comes time for permanent planting, you just plant them & allow them to keep growing, so it is more natural I suppose you would say.
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Made some Branston Pickle for Christ.as gifts this year. If you’ve been to England, you’ll recognize this ubiquitous brown vegetable chutney that is served with sausages, cheese, meats etc. Indeed, if you ask anyone for a pickle in the UK, this is what they will hand you. I will post a full recipe and notes in a separate thread sometime soon, but saw this thread and wanted to share my most recent canning / pickle project.

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Made some Branston Pickle for Christ.as gifts this year. If you’ve been to England, you’ll recognize this ubiquitous brown vegetable chutney that is served with sausages, cheese, meats etc. Indeed, if you ask anyone for a pickle in the UK, this is what they will hand you. I will post a full recipe and notes in a separate thread sometime soon, but saw this thread and wanted to share my most recent canning / pickle project.

Dave in AZ never heard of it but it looks delicious

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I have not heard of it either, but I would sure try it.
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Just a heads up fellow caners, some stores in my area have name brand canning lids on the shelves now. Yes the prices are higher and they have a limit of one, but they are there
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Frys and Safeway, and CAL ranch all have tons of canning supplies near me.
What I need are those rubber gaskets for glass top jars. Guess I will have to Amazon it. -
Just a heads up fellow caners, some stores in my area have name brand canning lids on the shelves now. Yes the prices are higher and they have a limit of one, but they are there
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Frys and Safeway, and CAL ranch all have tons of canning supplies near me.
What I need are those rubber gaskets for glass top jars. Guess I will have to Amazon it.Dave in AZ Up here in Colorado my wife just picked up some at the local ACE Hardware store.
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Just a heads up fellow caners, some stores in my area have name brand canning lids on the shelves now. Yes the prices are higher and they have a limit of one, but they are there
kyle said in Gardening, canning, pickling and everything related:
Just a heads up fellow caners, some stores in my area have name brand canning lids on the shelves now. Yes the prices are higher and they have a limit of one, but they are there
The wife picked up a bunch today, and by the way my 15L fermenting crock arrived yesterday. Now just waiting for my cabbage to mature and I’ll be making some kraut, again thanks buddy.
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kyle said in Gardening, canning, pickling and everything related:
Just a heads up fellow caners, some stores in my area have name brand canning lids on the shelves now. Yes the prices are higher and they have a limit of one, but they are there
The wife picked up a bunch today, and by the way my 15L fermenting crock arrived yesterday. Now just waiting for my cabbage to mature and I’ll be making some kraut, again thanks buddy.
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kyle said in Gardening, canning, pickling and everything related:
Just a heads up fellow caners, some stores in my area have name brand canning lids on the shelves now. Yes the prices are higher and they have a limit of one, but they are there
The wife picked up a bunch today, and by the way my 15L fermenting crock arrived yesterday. Now just waiting for my cabbage to mature and I’ll be making some kraut, again thanks buddy.
mrobisr send a pic when you put the crock in action.
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GWG8541 I sure will, cabbage is planted so it will be first then will be cucumbers for fermented kosher dills like my aunt use to make.
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Just a heads up fellow caners, some stores in my area have name brand canning lids on the shelves now. Yes the prices are higher and they have a limit of one, but they are there
kyle thank you for the heads up.
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Saw this and it made me laugh.

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