Adding a UHMW Rub Rail to the 1st Generation Toyota 4Runner tail gate to protect the rubber window gasket. This also lets me fill the screw holes left with the Kayline soft top was removed.
Checking out a series of small waterfalls on Water Wheel Creek above the Canyon Trail. This creek originates high on Montebello Ridge from at least one seep or spring according to the USGS hydrography dataset.
Normally, a Speleothem is in a cave (a.k.a. a Karst), but this Speleothem is flowing over a Karst. There's a large Speleothem along the paved portion of Stevens Canyon Road.
Speleothem:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speleothem
More to come...
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...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr9INzBbHLE
Let's check the exhaust temperature on the tank less water heater and see how hot it gets.
From testing at 1/3 output (40K BTU/hr or 12KW) it gets up to 100°F or 38°C
At 2/3 output (80K BTU/hr or 24KW) it rises to 110°F or 43°C
Link to Takagi T-H3M-DV-N heater installation manual:
http://www.takagi.com/media/54105/88A161.pdf
Stay tuned and we'll crank it up to 11 and see what happens!
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Intro/Outro:
Louisiana Fairytale by Austin Rogers
http://drfiddle.com/show_tune.php?id=94
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkuscb7Bo-g
Answering viewer requests for an "all-in-one" video showing all the screens and settings on my EpSolar/EpEver charge controller with the MT50 remote display.
I have 2 of these controllers and displays, one 20A and the other 40A. This video focuses on the 20A/12V setup in my garden shed. The system has 2 strings of 2 - 60W and 2 - 15W panels in parallel, giving ~43Voc and 3.5Isc and 150W. Batteries are 26AH and 12AH AGM/sealed units in parallel for 30AH total capacity. They are in parallel since the capacities are different and I need to be able to remove either one to use it elsewhere.
The lights and fans in shed are powered off the DC Load terminals of the charge controller. This way, if a light is left on by mistake, the controller will shut off the load output below the low voltage disconnect level. The DC Load output also records energy consumption, which I track on a monthly basis.
Many people do not understand the DC Load feature and instead connect things directly to the battery. This is fine for heavy loads like a power inverter. But for smaller loads like lights, fans, and other electronics, the DC Load output will help protect the battery from over discharge. These controllers were originally designed for lighting applications and the DC Load feature has a many options for "On at Sunset"and "Off at xyzHours" for use in controlling lights at night. I think this scares off many people, especially if you have to look up up a number in a table to select on the controller. I always select the "Manual Control" option (usually the last option in the table!) and then the "Esc" key gives a simple on/off control for the load. All the controllers I've used have a 20A maximum DC Load output rating. They will shut off if that current is exceeded. If you wanted to control a higher current load, it's easy to wire up a DC relay to that output. Have the relay then switch battery current on and off to the higher current device.
See the video card links to videos with more details on the various screens.
MT50 Remote Display:
https://amzn.to/3YI43Tf
I have the 4215BN (40A) and the Tracer 2210AN (20A) controllers:
EpEver Solar Charge Controllers:
https://amzn.to/412O9oP
More to come...
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And as always, thanks for watching
Intro/Outro:
Louisiana Fairytale by Austin Rogers
https://web.archive.org/web/20170402222425/http://drfiddle.com/show_tune.php?id=94
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dpDUFyDVJw
Nylon trimmer line comes on 3 pound spools that are much wider than the ones normally used.
This was the first large print I did on the printer and now that I made the filament dry storage box:
https://youtu.be/xzPvQJxFql0
I no longer use it, but it worked well for the ~4 months or so I did make use of it. I figured I would post the video to show basic steps of customizing a downloaded STL file and the work flow from Thingiversre to the Cura slicer to uploading the generated gcode to the printer. It's not quite like printing on paper, but close.
I found a simple filament spool stand that looked like it could be adapted to fit the wide nylon trimmer line spool:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:296971
I had to scale the 150mm long bar up to 210mm long and otherwise used the stand as-is. I printed this in ABS plastic so that I could get some experience with that material.
Nylon trimmer line filament is a very economical way to obtain nylon for 3D printing. Here's my printer settings video:
https://youtu.be/By_Ah0MKKqo
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And as always, thanks for watching
SOUNDTRACK:
Louisiana Fairytale by Austin Rogers
http://drfiddle.com/show_tune.php?id=94
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAWBmYgYGYA
Time to load up this shelf with CNC machined parts and see how it works, plus a sneak peak at the solar power shed.
A crate weighing 660 lbs (300kg) was dropped off. All the contents of that ended up on the newly reinforced steel wire shelf unit. There are about 200 lbs (90kg) of machined parts on each shelf with almost no sagging visible.
I also added some sides to the shelf supports made of recycled OSB to help keep parts from falling off the sides. I still need to attach some straps to the wall to secure the shelf from tipping over in case of an earthquake.
This is a 18"D x 36"W x 72"H (46cm c 92cm x 182cm) steel wire shelving unit that is used to hold some of our CNC machined parts. Originally the bare shelves were used but under the ~200 lbs. (91kg) weight of parts, the shelf would sag down in the center. I also have a 48" wide shelf units and those have a center truss under the longer shelves, but the 36" shelves seem to only have the front-back trusses.
I found a piece of 3/4" (19mm) plywood from the last packing crate made a great stiffener for the shelf. I cut it to fit inside the flat part of the shelf, so in this case 17.5" x 35" (44cm x 89cm) and also notched the corners to clear the shelf support poles. The key thing is to make sure the plywood sits down flat against the wire shelf and is not resting on any of the raised portions of the shelf around the perimeter.
This is a totally green project, recycled plywood cut with cordless power tools charged with solar power on top of a recycled pallet workbench and even some recycled shellac that was a decade past it's "use by" date.
And the solar power shed will have a lot of recycled wood parts in it. Trying to use all the extra material to make it since it needs odd sized pieces cut to fit inside the shed.
Here's an update video on how the shelves are holding up:
https://youtu.be/3i0uVaOEMt4
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And as always, thanks for watching!
SOUNDTRACK:
Lousiana Fairytale by Austin Rogers
http://drfiddle.com/show_tune.php?id=94
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9lxAB3FB_4
I wanted to modify this charger to be a bit more like the ImaxB6 charger in the connections department.
I originally acquired the ImaxB6 charger a few years ago and have been very happy with it. It uses Deans T-connectors on its various adapters and I've made more adapters over the years.
The Turnigy Accucell8150 uses XT60 connectors on the charging side and hard-wired alligator clips on the power side. Link below:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__7523__Turnigy_Accucel_8_150W_7A_Balancer_Charger.html
I modified those cables to allow for Deans connectors to be used. I added a switched 12V lighter plug (via a Deans connector) on the power input and made up an XT60-Deans adapter on the output.
This way I can use all my Deans adapters on either charger and run both chargers off my 12V solar battery bank. The Accucell8150 has a higher charge and discharge rating than ImaxB6, mostly due to the internal cooling fan. This should help when I begin working with larger capacity battery banks.
For connectors, I've not found one to be ideal, so I use a mix of banana plugs and coaxial power connectors for lower power devices like LED lights and small power adapters. For mid-range power, I use the Deans plugs and then for higher power (10s-100s of amps) I use Anderson Power Pole connectors. By sticking to a few connector types, I can have connectors on-hand, re-use adapters and not have to make multiple versions of things.
Be sure to rate, comment and share.
And as always, thanks for watching!
SOUNDTRACK:
Lousiana Fairytale by Austin Rogers
http://drfiddle.com/show_tune.php?id=94
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3Js66nQgow
Replacing a no longer working Garmin ANT+ USB stick with a Suunto Movestick Mini
ANT+ is the wireless interface many Garmin and other GPS/fitness monitors use to communicate to peripherals and also to upload data on on-line servers like Garmin Connect, Strava and Endomondo. It's kind of like BlueTooth but not identical.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANT%2B
My old Garmin ANT+ USB stick stopped working some time ago. Since ANT+ is the only way I can download GPS training data from my Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS watch, I needed to get a replacement.
I found some reviews that suggested the Suunto Movestick Mini was a better device than the Garmin stick:
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2012/02/much-better-usb-ant-stick-for-your.html
So I ordered one off of Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004YJSD20/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004YJSD20&linkCode=as2&tag=4crawler-20&linkId=K4ASKXRMDJVLSJXR
Plugged it into my PC and everything works again. If did take about 45 minutes of retrying the device sync to finally transfer months of accumulated training data off the watch before the Sync Error message went away. Subsequent syncs work like normal.
Not much more to say, it works, it's smaller than the Garmin stick and about the same price. So if you have a defective ANT+ stick, consider this one as a replacement.
Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS watch battery replacement:
https://youtu.be/KYzo9iQm-iM
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIX9uxEMzcs
Cleaning and insulating the new 18650 cells in preparation for tabbing.
Since the 20P battery holders are set up for pairs of 18650 cells, it's necessary to pair up single cells prior to building the battery packs. And since the holders are set up to have jumper wires soldered to that tabbing, the positive ends of the cells need some added insulation to prevent short circuits due to that high heat.
These pre-cut insulating washers are perfect for the task. I find that separating 10 washers allows for one row of cells from the box to be insulated in short order. Simply repeat that 39 more times and all 4 boxes/400 cells are ready for tabbing.
Battery Insulator Ring on eBay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/540pc-18650-DARK-GREY-Battery-Insulator-Ring-Adhesive-backing-ebike-DIYPowerwall-/132303960347
Up next, flying sparks and more...
Be sure to rate, comment and share
And as always, thanks for watching
Intro:
Louisiana Fairytale by Austin Rogers
http://drfiddle.com/show_tune.php?id=94
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TMb_9K-Nb4
This should be the final cleaning step for the mastic removal process.
I used some more Bean-e-doo mastic remover on any remaining areas of mastic and places that were extra dirty from the prior steps. Then those areas were sprayed with the 50% Emerge Degreaser mix and scrubbed with the floor machine. Then a 20% detergent/water mix was sloshed onto the floor and a 10ft. x 10ft. area was scrubbed with the floor machine for ~30 mins. This was about all the area I could manage by myself without having it dry out too soon.
The resulting foam was scraped up with the large squeegee and then scooped into a dust pan with a smaller squeegee. A few gals. of clean water was sloshed over the floor and mopped up to remove the detergent residue. Left to dry overnight and the floor is mostly clean. I do have a few small areas to spot clean.
This mastic removal process is not something that can be done all in one step. It's more of a progressive cleaning process, you take off 90% in the first step, then 90% of the remainder in each subsequent step. And at some point, it's as clean as it's going to get.
To be continued, next step is etching the concrete...
Be sure to rate, comment and share
And as always, thanks for watching
SOUNDTRACK:
Lousiana Fairytale by Austin Rogers
http://drfiddle.com/show_tune.php?id=94
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF7oamSIeF8