16 Dec 2004
The Virtues of Being a Packrat

As my lovely wife would gladly tell you, I'm an incurable packrat. I save everything I possibly can. Emails, tools, metals, trinkets, photos, you name it, I probably have a "collection" of them. And this week it's come in very handly indeed.

Years ago, when I was very much into model rocketry I bought myself an airbrush, the better to paint the rockets with. This was probably the mid 1980's - so we talking nearly twenty years. Time and other factors conspired to remove me from hobby rockets, but, of course, I still kept all the materials, tools and whatnot, including the compressor for the airbrush.

We've had a real problem lately, what with all the rain we've had, of getting some very dirty eggs. Mostly the hens just walk thru the mud, or sometimes their own droppings, and then hop in the nest to lay. It's a pretty thankless task, removing crusty chicken dung from eggs by hand: you have to use water hotter than the egg (ideally about 95° F) and then gently brush the goop away, drying with a towel or letting it sit in the open for a bit. Takes about 5 minutes per egg to do properly.

So imagine my excitement when I spotted the Incredible Egg Washer. This is a modified plastic 5 gallon bucket that you fill with hot water and egg wash powder. You then place the egg basket in, and air from a small (2 cfm) compressor bubbles thru and around them, removing the grime and chicken poo. It's USDA approved, too. And it costs $89, sans compressor, which is sold separately for $139 on the same site.

Ninety bucks I could afford, but if I had to buy the compressor, well, $230 was a bit steep. Ah ha! A quick trip to the storage area in the barn, and the airbrush compressor came to the rescue! It's the prefect size, has the right pressure, and after a trip to the auto parts store to get some new hose fittings, works like a charm.

The moral of the story: being a packrat can save you digging thru a lot of shit!

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