Off The Grid

The right tool for the job. I need a bushing inside a square tube to keep bolt from crushing it.... hobby lathe and bobs my uncle.

1940s infant exercise device designed to build leg strength

Your HVAC air handler will condense water when the air conditioning is running. That water has to go somewhere. If you just straight pipe it to the outside world, a portion of your precious cool air will escape out the pipe. The trick is to install a trap in the line with a "dip" that is greater than the inches of water pressure in the HVAC air handler. Water will fill the trap and stop errant air flow. When the trap over fills only the excess water will run down the drain. Two additional details. There needs to be a vent (or vacuum breaker) to prevent the drain pipe from siphoning all the water out of the trap, and TWO you need to install a drip pan under the HVAC unit with a shut off float switch. That way if the drain pipe gets plugged up and water backs up in the air handler, it will drip into the pan instead of your ceiling. The float switch will drop the HVAC system until you solve the problem.

When penetrating a wall for a flue pipe, tilt the bit that goes thru the wall downward slightly. All other horizontal runs of a flue should "run" up or level. Only the last bit sticking thru the wall should go downward, and never more than 1/4 the diameter of the flue. LP gas will cause water to condense in the pipe and 1) you need that water to run out, 2)water raining on the house of the house might run into the wall along the flue, so tilt it slightly down. Never underestimate the ability of water to condense in a horizontal pipe. A 12" vent pipe with a 150' horizontal run in a paper mill would exhaust warm moist air out of a piece of equipment. Water would "pond" up in the pipe and when the blower was shut off, all that water would run back into the fan housing. Gallons of water along that 150' run. Always install water traps on long horizontal runs of piping.

Another water tip. If you have a long horizontal run of something, water will run along the bottom. To stop that, put a stripe of caulk across the bottom of the pipe. Water will run to the "speed bump" on the bottom side of a pipe and stop... and drip there.

Tip du jour... Drip loop. There is no way to prevent water from forming on a cable or wire and then following it downward. So we use a drip loop. it can be a "belly" in the wire before it gets to your junction box or wall penetration or a loop. Water will run to the lowest point and drip off rather than continuing into your equipment. It is also advisable to bring wires into the bottoms of boxes rather than the sides if possible.

Greenhouse progress

Oh boy! A cauldron to cook in!!

https://youtu.be/i7cHlEqKPPw very imformative.

Also, a family member works for Lowes, so I got an 80v Kobalt tiller for 20% off today. I'll use the large cultivator on the tractor probalby once a year, but I can spot till small sections of the green house at any time now.