tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149778722024-03-17T13:46:47.203-04:00georgesworkshophigh-performance alternative energy projects and other adventures stressing diy.George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.comBlogger193125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-37296372185548280052023-10-18T08:17:00.065-04:002023-10-18T09:29:12.835-04:00welcomeMost read this past year:fixing led string lights 3520 viewsdiy solar parabolic trough gen2 intro 1500 viewssuperinsulating my refrigerator freezer 1330 viewshow to make solar superheated steam 989 viewsa very bright 1 watt diy led garden light 918 views2012 ford focus window regulator repair notes 847 viewsnew uses for old tv towers 2 497 viewsuses for phragmites&George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-54903655311906355372022-04-06T14:47:00.099-04:002022-11-12T12:20:14.318-05:00CO2 metersRemarks on some of the inexpensive CO2 meters I am testing. Showing CO2 readings from 5 meters in my office. My own breath over a few hours while in a smallish 10x10ft office room with one door open to the rest of the house. Only me in the house (plus a cat).I had hoped the initial results would be more similar but I do see them converging with time.[click the picture to enlarge]The cat and I George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-56786762481300811072021-09-30T10:21:00.018-04:002021-10-01T19:57:51.678-04:00home electric blog index (new)Ongoing series since 2014 about managing my home energy.
Click any picture to enlarge. Use BACK to get to this new index.
A work in progress. Comments welcome.
intro
home electric progress
home electric progress 2
home electric progress 3
home electric progress 4
mcmaster study
flexplan/blueline/energycloud/plotwatt update
measurement
the base load
my typical electrical day summer
my George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-91728375574989013662021-09-20T12:24:00.023-04:002021-10-24T16:39:37.006-04:00chimney capINDEX to the seriesBeforeCapping my old chimney will hopefully reduce my home energy use.This chimney has not been required since the old oil burning furnace was removed. Covered with a tin roof and screen, the old chimney was essentially an open tube from the roof down into my basement.Although closed off at the bottom, this steel lined pipe was open at the top allowing convective flow from the George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-9351699337154007242021-08-11T15:29:00.023-04:002021-08-11T17:52:08.490-04:00polishing headlightsImproving 14 year old headlights for about $25 and a few hours easy work. Most of the time is to allow drying after each step.I used 1000, 2000 then 3000 grit 2 inch sanding disks in a drill to wet sand, followed by hand sanding then washing and drying at each step. Then I put on gloves and applied Wipe-New. I had not used Wipe-New" before. The result is impressive.The "AFTER" picture<George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-84503750852920549042021-06-22T08:51:00.011-04:002021-07-18T10:47:50.269-04:00fixing old stuffTroubleshooting two big old Tektronix 7854 in my garage. The first analog oscilloscope with a computer. An oscilloscope lets you "see" electricity. Currently I am checking the LV power supplies. I think I can operate them completely out of the scope. I hope it will be an advantage to be able to compare one scope to the other. I have already found a few things I have the 3" thick George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-29308760566740734532021-05-19T15:06:00.008-04:002021-05-19T20:16:38.077-04:00easy changeJohn Deere Easy Change oil system Today I tried to change the "Easy Change" oil filter on my cute little John Deere E120 lawn tractor. I am supposed to easily remove a canister that contains the filter and about a third of the engine oil and replace with a fresh unit. No need to drain the oil, they say. Cost locally at Home Despot is C$70. They call it Easy Change. First time I have tried it. It George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-68343400499716348752021-01-21T13:15:00.054-05:002021-04-19T09:55:11.901-04:00infrared cameraINDEX to the series
In my never ending quest to reduce household energy use, I have added a Hti-Xintai HT-18 Thermal Imaging Camera to let me see HEAT.First day reaction: this is VERY COOL.
I can now see an accurate temperature image from a distance on a small handheld display. But not thru glass.In this picture, I am looking at an inside wall and noticing gaps in
the insulation.A whole new George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-2254427512638018762020-03-15T12:11:00.000-04:002020-06-06T07:25:48.027-04:00freezer 3INDEX to the series
A beautiful sub-zero sunny day.
A perfect day to stack all the frozen food outside while I defrost my freezer.
I'll save a bit of energy and reduce future ice buildup by checking the seal and door hinge adjustment. Easy to do.
Also a good time to inventory what I have on hand and check expiry dates/condition. And clean up a bit of raspberry juice.
The ice build up is all George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-8260711328874993702020-03-12T11:58:00.001-04:002021-01-19T06:56:12.053-05:00fixing led string lights 2Addendum to fixing led string lights.
An example of fuses in a string. Two of the tiny 10mm 3A fuses down in a recess in the plug.
[click any pics to enlarge]
I found it helpful to use a small flat screw driver to push open the tiny cover.
Tiny fast blow 3.0 amp 10mm fuses. You can buy them at Amazon in a larger lot for about 50 cents each. Beautiful laser engraved printing on one end cap.
George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-64159366272845303422020-03-12T09:43:00.002-04:002020-03-16T07:03:00.987-04:00my typical electrical day winter 2INDEX to the series
Daylight savings time changed this past weekend.
I normally check my hourly electricity usage at my utility's website to make sure I've reset the water heater timer correctly so that my hot water heater does not come on during peak priced periods. The water heater is a big electricity user here that I can see easily on this chart. Since I have kept it off for twelve hours, George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-25725295670906134932020-03-11T14:14:00.001-04:002020-03-12T07:30:24.142-04:00battery testing 3Retesting after 6 months of daily use shows ~10% decline in capacity of my 18650 lithium rechargeable cells.
Last summer I tested three new 2200mAh cells. Initial average capacity was about 2030 mAh with my test which may or may not be accurate. After six months in service, I repeated the test with the same tester and method and found average cell capacity was now about 1822 mAh, or a reduction George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-34848274980274443862020-02-28T07:31:00.001-05:002020-03-05T07:07:33.665-05:00solar printing
Markus Kayser - Solar Sinter Project from Markus Kayser on Vimeo.
Amazing.
I wonder if finely shredded plastic waste could be used instead of sand to make fused plastic works?
Fresnel lenses are pretty cool.
Thanks for your interest.
George Plhak
Lions Head, Ontario, CanadaGeorge Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-17079784122856530582019-09-27T09:32:00.001-04:002019-10-06T07:10:56.260-04:00battery testing 2Using the small automatic tester to check car sized batteries takes much longer but gives useful sorting information.
Continuing with the theme of battery testing but on a different scale, I have changed the loading of the battery tester to draw more current. The three large resistors are in series across the load terminals of the tester. The resistors are the three rectangles with my George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-59303241999645359042019-09-24T14:39:00.000-04:002019-09-26T07:01:16.346-04:00visitorsHello!
I am humbled and grateful for your interest. And for your comments!
Each day is different. This chart is today. Usually I have more visitors from Canada.
The data is page views by country over the past 24 hours.
[click pics to enlarge]
Most often Google brings you here or you've clicked a web link. You stay to read, on average, for almost two and a half minutes!
The "bounce rate" forGeorge Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-19014225703205144982019-09-17T08:47:00.000-04:002019-09-24T12:33:08.408-04:00diy lamp updateSome learning from five years outside. I have taken down my lamps to make changes. Let's see how they are weathering.
My concept was to build simple safe cheap reliable rugged outdoor lamps using common materials: wood, found glass, cheap LED chips and "wall wart" power supplies, all re-used if possible.
It was important to me that my lamps give efficient light without drawing attention to George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-8352447403891011952019-09-03T06:56:00.002-04:002021-03-31T19:35:11.172-04:00digital clock
Some additional detail. A short photo essay to expand on the above FB post. [the FB link does not seem to be fully live. Try this instead]
The circuit working on my bench yesterday. Link to the video. It keeps time from the 60Hz line frequency so it is pretty accurate unless the power goes off in which case it needs to be reset. It doesn't know about daylight savings time. It does not dim at George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-88643725740470318742019-08-28T07:26:00.000-04:002019-08-29T08:18:18.754-04:00battery testingSome of my lithium rechargeable cells weren't lasting as long as others.
Sorting my batteries was made easier with a simple inexpensive battery capacity tester.
I found a wide variation in my own assortment of various 18650 Li-Ion cells. Now each cell has a number, the milliampere-hours (mAh) the battery achieved on the tester.
[click any pic to enlarge]
The one pictured had been running on George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-14969669159351355412019-07-02T08:51:00.000-04:002019-08-20T17:53:45.592-04:00improving cell data with a refrigeratorI have been experimenting with my cell phone as the hot spot for my home internet. The pic is my Rogers cell based internet after placing my phone in the best location which I discovered here yesterday, on a box on top of my fridge.
Rogers is offering an unlimited data plan which was a $5/mo upgrade so I took it. I intend to drop my land line based internet to save by having cell only.
My George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-81903533081908334692019-06-24T06:58:00.001-04:002019-06-28T19:16:12.486-04:00hot wire foam cutterI built a simple hot wire foam cutter to make parts for a couple of projects.
I wanted to slit a full sheet of 1.5 inch insulating foam into strips for a mooney wall. Another project, a water heater insulator, required large foam discs.
What started as quick and dirty ended up a very useful tool.
Using scrap wood, I began by adding a slot and a "fence" to a partial sheet of particleboard to George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-55291905966727605082019-06-20T09:40:00.002-04:002019-06-23T08:54:42.053-04:00water heater updateINDEX to the series
This graph [click to enlarge] shows the big reduction in standby energy use between my old (blue) and new (red) water heaters at different basement temperatures. The new uses much less electricity, about 25% less. Same capacity, same size heat elements. 25 year age difference.
What's changed?
The new heater has better insulation, a DIY insulated mounting base and is time ofGeorge Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-47606268403132468102019-06-03T07:57:00.001-04:002019-06-06T08:28:52.022-04:00reader project 6Project description from Matt Janssen:
[click any pic to enlarge]
George,
Here is a 3/16" laser-cut steel-framed parabolic trough array based on your design.
There are a lot of things I really like about your design and there is no way I could have learned so much about parabolic trough technology that would have not taken more time and more money than building your design and experimenting George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-18051919939546259622019-05-29T07:59:00.000-04:002019-06-04T19:25:02.804-04:00rain barrels 2Barrel equalization with a siphon bridge and flood control continued
rain barrels part 1
Lessons learned: This is a former rain barrel setup where I had re-used three food grade barrels on a raised platform behind a pool shed/pump house. The location was ideal, steps away from a large (5m x 10m) vegetable garden. The edge of my solar pool heater array can be seen at left back.
Using only rain George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-34263240828051575752019-05-27T08:08:00.003-04:002019-05-27T20:12:03.370-04:00footbridgea short photo essay
A small footbridge I built 2005-07 across a "seasonal stream" at my last home. Tiny fish would swim up the stream in the spring. By late summer no water.
[click any pic to enlarge]
I had intended the bridge to support a lawn tractor so I overbuilt. But I never drove the tractor over it. Used it only as a footbridge. But it was strong enough.
The foundation started as two George Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14977872.post-54237598435339178612019-04-27T08:46:00.000-04:002019-06-24T05:51:59.402-04:00CO2 meterWe hear so much about CO2 these days.
I want to measure indoor or outdoor CO2 concentration at a reasonable cost (~$100).
These are first reactions to HT2000, a portable recording CO2 meter which also measures temperature, humidity and dew point.
My HT2000 came from bangood.com product ID: 1258981 "USB Carbon Dioxide CO2 Data Air Temperature Logger Humidity Meter Monitor LCD" US$99 and arrivedGeorge Plhakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832386563569915660noreply@blogger.com0