What did you do today?

[ebinmaine 69,996]

This morning we did a one hour plus hill walk. 

Great to be OUT and getting exercise. 

 

 The rest of the day we spent in the basement getting different things done. 

We got some old alarm wiring taken out. 

 

That had to go to make room for the next bit of fun..

We moved a 220V wire from the middle beam of the house to the front wall for a baseboard heater. 

That was quite time consuming what with yanking several dozen feet of wire all the way to the breaker box and completely rerouting the wire.  

 

We now have one of two heaters connected. 2500 watt 96" baseboard. The other is a 72" length. 

[Wayne0 769]

2600 watt baseboard, what's the 72" rating? What does the panel think about it? (I'm sure you've got it figured out).

Not a fan of electric heat, but some times it makes sense in the situation. WTF do I know.

[ebinmaine 69,996]

1 hour ago, Wayne0 said:

2600 watt baseboard, what's the 72" rating? What does the panel think about it? (I'm sure you've got it figured out).

Panel's fine. 

We went from a 5K AND a 2K to these 2.5K.

 

1 hour ago, Wayne0 said:

Not a fan of electric heat, but some times it makes sense in the situation. WTF do I know.

 

It's amazing how many people say that. 

But yet....

 

We were spending $1100 - $1300 annually on oil before the spill. 

We removed the oil system. 

We installed electric heat and electric hot water. 

Our electric bill WENT DOWN. 

 

Process that fully. 

We stopped buying oil. Saved over a G a year on fuel alone. 

AND our electric bill went down. 

 

WHY do people think electric heat is bad???

 

 

[Pete D 298]

I started modifying my new-to-me harbor freight sandblast cabinet.

Here's the new DIY metering block, mocked up.

The floor flange will have the sides trimmed so that it fits inside of the flip down hopper "lid", and it will mount inside of that lid. This is what the down pipe mounts into. 
There is a plug at the bottom of the first 1" x 1" tee which allows one to empty media without flipping down that lid and making a mess.
The second tee (1" x 3/4") includes a 3/4" to 1/4" reducing bushing, a 1/4" brass nipple, and a 1/4" ball valve for allowing air into the mix, and fine tuning the blast media rate. This is mounted at an angle to avoid interference with the hopper. 
At the end of the second tee there is a reducing bushing and a brass 1/2" nipple to attach the new media hose. The hose is secured at each end by #12 stainless steel hose clamps.
Although it is likely unneeded, I will be using Teflon tape on all of the fittings. 

 

 

 

 

Edited Sunday at 03:29 AM by Pete D

[8ntruck 7,285]

I spent the last 3 days being a robot inspector at the FRC event we are hosting.  Completion ended up today with the upper class team a member of the winning alliance and the under class team the captain of the #8 seated alliance.  The under class team got eliminated in the first round of the lower double elimination bracket.

 

The upper class team is currently rated at #58 in the world, while the lower class is rated at #355.

 

Not too bad of an event that was effectively a 3 day long debugging session.

[Wayne0 769]

17 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

 

WHY do people think electric heat is bad???

 

 

That probably goes back to when oil was cheap and electricity was not.

My first apartment had electric base board heat and I had to budget my power over 12 months to afford it.

Things obviously have changed since the '80s.

[ebinmaine 69,996]

47 minutes ago, Wayne0 said:

That probably goes back to when oil was cheap and electricity was not.

 

 

That makes sense & cents. 

 

I wish I'd known back in 2005 when I bought this house how much better off I'd have been.....

Hindsight. 20/20.  

 

 

[ebinmaine 69,996]

20 hours ago, Wayne0 said:

2600 watt baseboard, what's the 72" rating?

Wayne I checked that 72" heater today. 

It's rated at 1500 watts.  

 

The 96" is a 2500W. 

 

Not sure if they will have separate circuits yet.  

 

 

 

[ebinmaine 69,996]

We had an electric fan installed as part of the oil spill remediation back in 2019. It needed to be used 24/7 for a year then on an intermittent part time schedule for another year. 

At some point the fan went bad. 

 

Because we didn't need that circuit anymore I moved the wiring to the wall behind the fridge. The fridge  now has its own dedicated line. 

 

 

This baseboard heater is all wired in and functions well. Another smaller one will be added.

 

 

 

 

Trina just got done painting this white wall.  

 

 

 

 

 

We also moved more of our stuff out to the barn and the Momma has been steadily bringing her things over daily.  

 

 

More good progress.  

[Ed Kennell 39,944]

19 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

We installed electric heat and electric hot water. 

Our electric bill WENT DOWN. 

 

      How much would I have to use to get my bill down to Zero?

[ebinmaine 69,996]

Just now, Ed Kennell said:

      How much would I have to use to get my bill down to Zero?

 

 

That would be soooo nice 

[lynnmor 7,514]

19 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

Panel's fine. 

We went from a 5K AND a 2K to these 2.5K.

 

 

It's amazing how many people say that. 

But yet....

 

We were spending $1100 - $1300 annually on oil before the spill. 

We removed the oil system. 

We installed electric heat and electric hot water. 

Our electric bill WENT DOWN. 

 

Process that fully. 

We stopped buying oil. Saved over a G a year on fuel alone. 

AND our electric bill went down. 

 

WHY do people think electric heat is bad???

 

 

Here is a website from your state.  Note that electric baseboard heat is the most expensive.  Fill in your own numbers to get a better result.  I did mine and found quite a bit of difference from the starting point, but electric baseboard was still way more expensive.

[ebinmaine 69,996]

6 minutes ago, lynnmor said:

Here is a website from your state.  Note that electric baseboard heat is the most expensive.  Fill in your own numbers to get a better result.  I did mine and found quite a bit of difference from the starting point, but electric baseboard was still way more expensive.

 

 

 

I don't know what info they're using but it isn't even REMOTELY close. 

 

Hypothetically: 

If we used ONLY electric heat for the whole month our bill goes up approximately $200 - $300. 

We did that for a cold month just to see. 

We heat for 6 ish months. 

Thats $1800 absolute max. 

We've never spent anywhere near that.  

Trina's mom has electric baseboard heat in her current place. 

Her bill reflects a similar amount.  

 

 

Our issue here was the total installation price as well. 

 

Installation of electric heat is nearly free other than the unit purchase. 

 

Oil heat was OUT.  

 

To go propane would have required an initial investment of many thousands. Not a few. Many. 

 

We don't have access to natural gas. 

 

Heat pumps are - at best - part time usable here. 

 

 

Also, we use MOSTLY wood heat. 

Yes there's gas oil and time involved there. But it's far far less than paying for any other methods. And it's FUN.  And it's a calorie burning activity. 

 

 

 

[SylvanLakeWH 26,819]

Denali on fire watch with me and Mrs Sylvan... first campfire of the spring... 

 

[Mickwhitt 4,906]

Hi all, I'm back from sitting on the naughty step for ten days.

 

So, heating and hot water seem to be a thing on here at present.

 

We are currently having a look at air source heat pumps as our government are phasing gas boilers out, probably in as little as ten years from now.

 

They are giving each household £7,500 towards the cost of a pump system which just about halves the price you have to pay, so it's a good incentive to move to it now.

 

We are having a heat loss survey done today so the company know what needs installing. 

 

Other than that Mrs.W has declared that she simply must have a walk in wardrobe.  So the spare room is now well on the way to being linked to our master bedroom as a dressing area for her. 

 

All fun and games over here. 

 

Mick 

 

[OutdoorEnvy 1,723]

Well the WH's haven't need any attention the last few weeks.  So took a little work on for my boredom and hobby funds.  A few years ago I did small engine repair as as side gig and every now and then old customer reaches out and if I have the time I usually take on the job.  This time was a couple Stihl saws that hadn't ran in 10 years or so.  Get them running and tune-ups was the request.  The MS180c was the worse, really dirty and someone had been into it before as the throttle and choke linkage and assembly bar was out of place ( Forgot to get a before pic).  This one ended up needing a carb cleaning, new gasket and the tune up and thorough cleaning.  The MS290 was hardly used since new.  It started up and ran good.  So simple tune-up was all it really needed.  So a couple good saws ready to be put back to work

 

 

 

 

[Wayne0 769]

3 hours ago, OutdoorEnvy said:

Well the WH's haven't need any attention the last few weeks.  So took a little work on for my boredom and hobby funds.  A few years ago I did small engine repair as as side gig and every now and then old customer reaches out and if I have the time I usually take on the job.  This time was a couple Stihl saws that hadn't ran in 10 years or so.  Get them running and tune-ups was the request.  The MS180c was the worse, really dirty and someone had been into it before as the throttle and choke linkage and assembly bar was out of place ( Forgot to get a before pic).  This one ended up needing a carb cleaning, new gasket and the tune up and thorough cleaning.  The MS290 was hardly used since new.  It started up and ran good.  So simple tune-up was all it really needed.  So a couple good saws ready to be put back to work

 

 

 

 

Those Stihl saw are awesome, except they flood if you look at them wrong! I've got one , so I know!

[Wayne0 769]

Me and Bets sat on the front deck watching the Bluebirds fight over the box in the font yard. It got to the point where the 2 females were rolling on the ground in a grudge match!

No women ever fought over me like that!

Then there were the small flock of Turkeys out back. One sat down to have a dust bath, and lost balance and rolled down the hill. I wish I had a video of that!!

[ebinmaine 69,996]

5 hours ago, OutdoorEnvy said:

MS180c

 

 

I think that's the model I have too. 

Excellent little limbing and trimming saw.  

 

 

1 hour ago, Wayne0 said:

Those Stihl saw are awesome, except they flood if you look at them wrong! I've got one , so I know!

 

I have two Echos and the Stihl. 

All 3 are a WICKED CHALLENGE to start cold. 

Once hot they're all fine. 

 

Have you tried adjustmeckating or adjustification?

[ebinmaine 69,996]

This was the project for the day and evening. 
Trina built the frame earlier today. 
When we got home from the gym we sliced 39" off the old "Dad's office" counter. Then carefully measured the hole 🕳   
We set the stove top in for a test fit.  

 

 

 

 

[Wayne0 769]

Is that one of those newfangled induction cook tops?

[adsm08 2,468]

I just came in from cleaning in the garage. Had to soap and scrub where the 855 marked all winter. Then I rearranged some stuff to make a bit more space until I can do my full Spring cleaning and tore into the HY-2 pump I grabbed at The Show last year. It's rough but I think I can save it. Worst thing I've seen so far is that the spring broke and one end it stuck in the head, and broke flush, of course.

[ebinmaine 69,996]

20 minutes ago, Wayne0 said:

Is that one of those newfangled induction cook tops?

 

No sir. 

 

Electric standard power but with a smooth glass top.  

Any cookware can be used.  

 

 

[Pete D 298]

Ordered Donna a new Bosch 800 (Deluxe) dishwasher.  🤕💰. The old LG is on its last legs.

 

Installed new seat bushings, & gas strut with mounting pins on the 414. 

 

I don't remember if I said anything about the new shifter knobs when I installed them the other day, or the battery hold-down, but those are new too. 

 

Received the carb kit for the Walbro carb, to be installed after manual and ultrasonic cleaning of the carb.

 

Tried to remove the pulleys from the mower deck with the kit I ordered, not a chance.  The kit won't fit.  Thanks to @adsm08 for offering to help me out!

 

Cleaned the new to me sandblaster, installed the DIY metering valve through the hopper lid, installed air intake where exhaust was, marked where new vacuum connection will be, removed the "screen" from the bottom in prep to cut out the support "bars" in order to lower the screen for extra room.

 

Found out the blast handle is damaged 🤬 so I ordered an Eastwood foot control and blast handle. 

 

Ordered blaster-mounted water separator/regulator and 50# garnet blast media.

 

Cleaned plastic view window, cursed.  Need to replace the plastic window with lexan or glass. 

 

Need to order thumb screws to replace nuts around view window to facilitate easier "lens" replacement.

 

Need to apply metal HVAC tape to all seams.

[ebinmaine 69,996]

@Pete D

You been busy!