featured:
 | diy anemometer I was organizing here the other day (a rare thing) and I came across this DIY anemometer (do it yourself wind speed and direction indicator recorder) that I had built in 2002 according to Derek Weston's excellent DIY Rotorvane design. What a nice thing Derek helped me build! |
 | 2012 ford focus window regulator repair notes Servicing the regulator can be a DIY job but you need patience. My Ford dealer had the best price on the part I needed. Doing this job with the window stuck at the top is a problem. You can mash the mirror connector in the door if you are not careful. |
 | diy solar reflector squeegee from a car wiper I get questions about cleaning my parabolic solar concentrators. Concentrating collectors might have a mystique about them that because they use mirrors, these mirrors have to be perfectly clean. This is not possible in the real world and not really necessary I have found. |
 | uses for phragmites Phragmites thrives in roadside ditches, along waterways and freshwater coasts. Here it is considered an invasive pest with no uses, to be eradicated if possible. But it does have uses. |
 | solar bbq This home built solar cooker is a parabolic solar reflector with a spit rod at the focus. A simple aligner post at the bottom front shows clearly when it is perfectly aimed at the sun. Aiming seems not that critical and the post makes it easy. We checked and moved very slightly only once during 1/2 hour of cooking. |
 | clothes dryer heat recovery This easily built project recovers warm moist air from a clothes dryer that would otherwise be exhausted to the sub-zero outside. Energy is saved two ways: heat used to dry clothes remains in the house and less cold air is drawn in by preventing negative pressure. Electrical energy that is used to dry clothes contributes to house warming. Moisture that is added to the house air is welcome during a northern winter when the cold temperature outside causes the air in the house to become very dry. |
 | do mice avoid garlic? I think they do. This was not a scientific experiment but a demonstration. Try it and let me know if this works for you. |
 | calibrating a data logger I have been preparing to do some comparative tests of different DIY solar collector designs. Accurate temperature measurement is key. Recording a series of measurements over time is also a requirement. |
 | in praise of older machines I believe that just because something is older, it isn't necessarily useless or bad. Sometimes old is good and even better than new. Particularly these days when new has come to mean cheaply made, unrepairable or throw-away. earlier stuff - a bit long - but still me |
