What was your most interesting recent non solar project?

[robbob2112]

Unless one of the components says “universal “ then it is only two trips lol

Yall are missing one qualifier. The more complex a task the more trips to the hardware store. And the less planning or more beer that was consumed during planning the more that will be required.

For instance in the plumbing isle you can always tell those that planned. They are the ones scratching their heads and thinking if they want to try 3 other stores or just do it a different way because there is one part missing.

And the experinced planner will look for that missing part in the wrong bins surrounding the correct bin that doesn't have anything but wrong parts in it. Then they will look in the right shape bin but the wrong size because invariably someone picked up a part and realized it was the wrong size, but instead of putting it back right they toss it in the wrong size right shape bin.

 

[glandpuck]

My most interesting recent non-solar project was to build a weatherproof UV ballast enclosure and wire it as a replacement into my Aqualogic Comet UV sterilizer. Eight inch pipe and 190 watts of UV output. Lots of fun and problem solving.

 

[fatjay]

Fence bought and installed. Chicken manure spread, plant food spread. Tiller had a horrible accident, it picked up a rock and locked up. That was fun.

Installed a new spigot. Tapped the washer's cold water supply. Used sharkbite for the first time. I was skeptical as hell, but no sweating pipes, no leaks. I'll still keep an eye on it for a while.

 

[Brucey]

Like the diesel ztr.

 

[NC_hydro]

16 x 120ft rows of Irish Potatoes planted. And various other plants in the deer proof garden: 30 celery, 24 green cabbage, 24 red cabbage, 24 cauliflower, 24 Broccoli, 24 brussel sprouts, and 50 or so various pepper plants.

 

[Brucey]

View attachment 212161

16 x 120ft rows of Irish Potatoes planted. And various other plants in the deer proof garden: 30 celery, 24 green cabbage, 24 red cabbage, 24 cauliflower, 24 Broccoli, 24 brussel sprouts, and 50 or so various pepper plants.

Is that tiller a handful? Beehives in the background? Looks like a slice of paradise.

 

[Zwy]

Like the diesel ztr.

You would love my Toro diesel Groundsmaster. 4 wheel drive to boot. It goes up inclines like a bighorn.

I bought it used for $1400 from a local implement dealer that took it in on trade. Deck was trashed but I found a parts mower with a 2 year old deck on it. I put fuel in it at the most 3 times a year, 6 gallon tank.

 

[Q-Dog]

I'll bet that feels good falling down into your socks. You should use the cutting torch that way too.

I always wear pants with high top boots, pants never tucked in and never wear pants with holes in them.

I speak from years of experience.

I only wear cotton socks when welding, sythetic socks stick to you when they melt.

My Dad was a welder, so I grew up around this stuff. If I had a lot to do I would use more protection. This is lots of bending, looking, bending, looking ... and then a few seconds of sparks.

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

Alternator likely had an external bridge rectifier and regulator. Or the internal bridge rectifier and regulator might be shorted and passing AC directly to the output.

this type from what I read has an external. it only has two wires coming out of it and is good for about a max of 12-14 amps. I see adds for "6 wire kubota" regulator/ rectifier sets but I have no clue of the 6 wires which would be needed. it appears that one of them is strictly for an indicator lamp on the dash of most vehicles. the other seem to be a mystery.

 

[NC_hydro]

Is that tiller a handful? Beehives in the background? Looks like a slice of paradise.

Yeah, with the sloped garden spot there, it's a bit of a handful. The rocky soil doesn't help either. But does save time laying out the rows. It has a two-disc attachment that creates a hill of soil over your row, but sadly, it wasn't working, so we had to cover the rows with hand tools.

It's definitely a slice of paradise up there. My grandpa got it back in 1991 for $800/acre. Just shy of 80 acres, 3,120ft at the low point and 3,800ft at the back and you can keep hiking right on up to 6,280ft elevation in the National Forest. Water is everywhere, which was one of the deciding factors when Dad and him were property hunting. Thousands of Sugar Maple trees, which we tapped when I was a kid on a very small scale but my wife and I are planning to tap on a much larger scale when I "retire" next year.

Due to the elevation it's rarely over 85 degrees in the summer, upper 70s to low 80s typically. I work 4 day work weeks, so we enjoy escaping the Chattanooga, TN, heat in the summer up there. . We also have no mosquitos but there are pesky gnats :|

 

[OM617YOTA]

this type from what I read has an external. it only has two wires coming out of it and is good for about a max of 12-14 amps. I see adds for "6 wire kubota" regulator/ rectifier sets but I have no clue of the 6 wires which would be needed. it appears that one of them is strictly for an indicator lamp on the dash of most vehicles. the other seem to be a mystery.View attachment 212167

For an externally regulated alternator, there should be more wires coming out. Internally regulated can have just one wire. That's probably the "fix" I'd go for, install a cheap one-wire alternator and be done.

On the regulator, if I had to guess(and it is a guess), the blue wires would be AC out of the alternator and into the regulator, the red and black wires would be positive and negative DC out of the regulator and going to the charging system, and the yellow and green would run to the indicator light you mention and energize the field coils in the alternator.

Seriously though, look at one-wire alternators.

https://www.amazon.com/Denso-Replacement-100211-4520-100211-4740-66436-64011/dp/B06XDHCKJC

 

[justgary]

I'll bet that feels good falling down into your socks. You should use the cutting torch that way too.

I always wear pants with high top boots, pants never tucked in and never wear pants with holes in them.

I speak from years of experience.

You are missing out on the Zen of welding. Keeping a decent bead while shaking the slag out of your flip flops is only possible by clearing your mind and becoming one with the process.

These flip flops recently broke, but you can see the small round holes from slag dropping into them while welding. Give it a try!

 

[Johneb]

Replaced tbe electric element in our rv water heater. As near as I can tell they place the water heater on the floor and build the rest of the rv around it.

 

[OM617YOTA]

I installed two more outdoor water spigots in convenient places, and still have two more to do.

When we had the house replumbed, I had all the outdoor water spigots put on their own separate circuit which can be turned off, and a valve + compressed air connection installed for blowing out the lines. Winterizing the outdoor plumbing now takes about five minutes.

 

[PreppenWolf]

Pad built and floor framing done. 4x6 PT construction. 7ftx21ft. Rebarred into ground. Need to fill half way with more rock before flooring and framing exterior. Floor will be 2x10 PT and rest of frame will also be 4x6 PT

Will be two farrowing huts separated by a common wall.

 

[robbob2112]

I installed two more outdoor water spigots in convenient places, and still have two more to do.

When we had the house replumbed, I had all the outdoor water spigots put on their own separate circuit which can be turned off, and a valve + compressed air connection installed for blowing out the lines. Winterizing the outdoor plumbing now takes about five minutes.

Simpler to just install the freeze proof spigots all around. Or they have a hydrant for the middle of the yard.

Woodford Model 17 Freezeless Faucet

www.woodfordmfg.com

 

[OM617YOTA]

Simpler to just install the freeze proof spigots all around. Or they have a hydrant for the middle of the yard.

Woodford Model 17 Freezeless Faucet

www.woodfordmfg.com

The plumber and I looked at that at the time the work was done, and I don't remember why we didn't go that route. Not much cost difference.

 

[robbob2112]

The plumber and I looked at that at the time the work was done, and I don't remember why we didn't go that route. Not much cost difference.

The only drawback to them is you need enough depth in the wall or backside depending on temperature. I have them in two place, one is into the joists between floors and the other is one I installed and it goes completly through the 6" wall and back of the bathroom cabinet.

I grabbed water by going through the floor to the utility room and get a 3/4" line to fill the hottub quicker.

 

[LydMekk]

Finally finishing my 8 channel amp for my Cinema. Have been left in limbo for some time.
Got to get it working.

 

[Brucey]

Finally finishing my 8 channel amp for my Cinema. Have been left in limbo for some time.
Got to get it working.

View attachment 212403

Looking good. I have one of these:

P422 Stereo Power Amplifier - March Audio

The award winning P422 (formerly model no. P452) is a Purifi 1ET400A based stereo power amplifier. This simply elegant product is milled from solid aluminium with a tough anodized treatment. Exceptional fit, finish and build quality. Class leading technical and subjective audio performance...

marchaudio.com

 

[millsan1]

Put in a dual zone mini split. Pretty uneventful and straightforward. One zone is taking care of a humidity problem I had in a tall stair tower, and the other is taking the edge off the garage on hot days. Still have central HVAC, which I am replacing with a separate mini split and central unit.

 

[OzSolar]

Quite boring by comparison to some of the really cool things that many others are doing but still it is my most interesting recent non solar project. (man, I need some new hobbies...)

We have an older commercial opener on our 12'x12' (yes it's that big) garage door and it refuses to pair with any of our vehicles so I just gave up and paralleled the momentary wall switch with this wireless relay. Dang this thing is impressive! Easy to set up and now we can open our garage door from the driveway entrance which is about 100 yards away from the "shouse".

 

[Brett V]

View attachment 212161

16 x 120ft rows of Irish Potatoes planted. And various other plants in the deer proof garden: 30 celery, 24 green cabbage, 24 red cabbage, 24 cauliflower, 24 Broccoli, 24 brussel sprouts, and 50 or so various pepper plants.

Is that the original tiller Columbus brought over?

 

[JJJJ]

We have some very talented members in this forum!

 

[BKY2003]

My new project, bought a freezer, caulked the seams . Filled it full of water and put a temp switch on it for 33 degrees. Hooked it to a 200 psi pump and a misting system. Finally got my greenhouse cooled down. That’s cassava in back, sure some might think it’s something else.