ShopTalk Sunday: Summer Safety Issue – Papa’s Day!

9:45 AM Update – Father’s Day

New panels are in place – done before breakfast as implied:

They should make 240W each – which means the only action points (into hour-long blocks) will be removing the old wiring, measure and premake the extensions, mount junction boxes, complete wiring, taping.

Memo to DIY home solar builders: fill in those conduit ends with high expansion foam. Got nicked by a wasp who wanted the day off. (Little SOB…reload of h0rnet and wasp spray (4 cans worth) enroute as we speak.

Say, you do have fire ant, spider spray, diatomaceous earth, and flying bugs in your long-term prepping plans, right?  If the grid hiccups, all those stored soaps and chemical processes products will be better’n Bitcoin for returns.

Fetch Hank & WmoRR – Stat

Hank and WmoRR- tell me “Don’t do it!” E. F Johnson Viking Five Hundred Transmitter w/ Key Ham Radio Extremely Rare HTF | eBay

Reader Note: We will do the 3D printer Build next week – solar panel work took precedence being a revenue related project…Father’s Day Mr. Cheap becomes Mr. Lazy.

Story Time

Wow!  Son G2 would be proud of the old man on this one. Because some of my childhood “firehouse thinking” ground into me as a kid (early 1950s) paid off in spades Saturday morning.

Let’s set the table a bit.  This is a tale of Plasma Cutters and used 55-gallon drums – such as you can find in any big city industrial area.  The one involved in today’s tale was acquired from a manufacturing outfit in Tyler, Texas about 2-years back – could have been three – and it was a deal at just $5-bucks.

What had been in the barrel previously was a chemical called Dynasylan Silbond.  It’s a silica-zinc chemical in ethanol that is used in making anti-corrosion coatings.  The p[ace selling the barrels assured me “Oh, yeah, we washed ’em all out…”

So there’s me – the welding job on the solar panels done (more on that in a sec.) – and I figure I will haul out the plasma cutter and pop the top off this new burn barrel.

Just as I was about to light it up a little nit in the back of my mind went off.

You know, you didn’t see them wash out the barrel, did you?  You know Firehouse Rules, right? No assumptions means no Accidents…”

So, I turned off the plasma rig and thought about how to proceed.

A barrel wrench is on the wall outside the shop so it was an easy matter to unwind the big plug.  And sure enough, there was a little smell coming out. Not a lot.  But enough to make me decide to “take it slow and easy…”

With a 3-foot stick with a burning wick on the end, I lowered it into the barrel an inch or so, covering myself in case the barrel went Blooey.

Nope.  But there was a solid “Pop!” as some of the ethanol and whatever decided to gently explode.

Wow – great lesson in shop safety there, ” I was thinking as I turned and walked back into the shop.  Then, just walking in the shop door, here comes this sound like a Fourth of July Roman candle.

`I quickly shut the door and went inside. Knowing any fumes would not be good for me.

But it makes for a dandy lesson in shop safety and listening to those “little voices.”

5-minutes later, the smells had cleared – the barrel was still warm to the touch – as I put five gallons of rainwater into the small plug, just to make sure the insides were good and wet.

The plasma cut took less than 2-minutes. But I stopped each quarter-turn because I didn’t want to be breathing any of the fumes, no matter how low the concentration.  Cut, walk to clear area, breathe, return to work. Repeat.

The new “burn barrel” will be ready for its first burn Monday when we are due to have some rain through. The winds will be away from people (and basically down the rifle range).

One Other Summer Safety Note

Speaking of the plasma rig, I got a little more than a quart of water out of the air compressor Saturday.  When used in a hot humid area, like here, you can get a pint of water a week – and more.  If you don’t drain them every so often, you’ll speed up the rust formation.  The present compressor is about 10-years old, and I think 20-years, for a consumer type compressor, may be pressing it far enough.

If you want more air over longer timespans, go with a big Ingersoll and put dryers on the intake and outlets.  They are not cheap, though: five horsepower 2-stage 60-gallon job will run a hamburger less than $2-thousands.

Solar Madness

I’m, going to try not to bore you to tears with the solar panel rack work.

The first step was to begin early (on a 95F day) so you do your sweating before breakfast.  That would be to get the panels off the existing rack:

This is followed by weed-whacking.  And then by going over the bare ground with a magnet sweeper to pick up runaway hardware from the Berserkering  which contractors call “demising.”

Then you do the fix up welding… and in no time, you’re ready to mount the new (recycled) panels and get on with making more power

If you look really close at the far end (left upper – top rail) you can see the droopy 5/8ths rebar which is now solidly welded back in place. Should outlive me.

Tool Talk

A couple of notes from the solar rack welding is a good place to begin.

To the right, you’ll see the inside of my Yeswelder mask and two of those (draftsman insulting) yellow scribbles of mine.

They point to the pop-in slides where two shade holder locks are supposed to go.

I don’t do that much welding, but the fact is they popped out all the time and so one of the first “cobbles” was to get a strip of packing tape on the shade so it wouldn’t flop out when I wag my head around.

I have gotten whiplash trying to get the jaunty “welder’s neck toss” that pops the pro’s masks up and out of the way.  It’s nonchalant the way they do it. For me, it could be a trip to the chiropractor.   Back of my hand and packing tape is safer. Zero training time.

Next stop on the tour is the welding and cutting area where we had a small triumph over the (lightly exploded) new burn barrel.

You will see there’s a fine coating of protective dust on the Lotos 5000D plasma, so let’s start there.  When I wired for the welding table outside, under cover, I grabbed the same 220V outlets that seemed to be standard for things like air conditioners.  3-pins.

Now, if you look at the small gas/propane genset in the background (you won’t see it so don’t strain) you’d find a 4-pin plug NEMA something.

Now, if I had a lick of sense (fortunately, I don’t) I would have thought “I’ll just put all the same kind of plugs on everything in Creation.  Thus, gaining favor with the Almighty for interoperability preparedness.

No, instead I have to power the house with the genset, then backfeed the shop and plug in the plasma rig there.

It’s OK, though.  because these two little vignettes teach us a great deal.

“Like what?”

Well, the mask slide locks missing is a chance to build something important when I do the build of the new 3D printer…

And – since I told you there’s been a real price-war going on over at Amazon for flexible monitor and laptop mounts (like this one…)

We can all look at the YouTube videos on how to make things while we’re trying to make things work.

“And the Second point?”

I now know the answer to the question “If you had all the money in the world to buy tools, what would you buy?” is…. the latest, greatest 4-inch multimeter scope with a DDS signal generator up to 10 MHz to keep up with brother Hank on the Big Island.

I couldn’t help myself.  It was another $40 off coupon and it’s easier to read than the old Fluke.

Shop Research Questionnaire

The tomatoes will (maybe) survive alive in the super hot greenhouse, but ith temps up into the 110F area, no fruiting.  Which gets me to a tough decision and I’d like your help as an arm-chair McGregor (cause you sure as hell ain’t an engineer, the Brown Bros (PEs) excepted).

So would you:

  1. Rip the greenhouse roof and siding off (as soon as someone closes the doors to Hell which have been left open again in Texas) and build all over again with:
    • Double wall poly greenhouse panels (sides and roof) plus
    • Plywood with two small windows north walls
    • Put ply up 3 feet on the West-facing wall too to reduce afternoon heat gain.
    • And then R19 bat insulation stapling the hell out of everything then tape over.

The budget for this is about $300 and a week of sweat, plus a fair amount of time on ladders which means angry calls (“Get of the ladder, old man!”) from G2. OR…

  1. Take D’Lynn’s idea of sprayon polyurethane close cell foam (r5) which would seal better, be less time on ladders, not as pretty, but would also be a $100 bill cheaper.  Fewer calls, and might even be done with plants intact with some lightweight drop clothes…

Either way, I will cobble in a higher capacity single 20-inch exhaust fan because the two 8-inch fans ain’t cutting it.

Post your ideas in the Comments.  I’m especially interested on whether the people who complain about urethane foam smelling a long time at right (or just pussies) and whether aerosolized amine smells could taint vegetables or whether they’re into that kind of kink?

One for the Road

So, another sleazy mass emailer writes: “Are you curious about the gut-brain connection?”

I tracked him back and sent a note: “Nope. They hold office and have their heads nearby.”  (rimshot)

Ure thoughts, pleeze… I have to go figure out how to thaw out a prime rib.

Write when you get rich,

George@Ure.net

56 thoughts on “ShopTalk Sunday: Summer Safety Issue – Papa’s Day!”

  1. Not sure about the vegetables but sounds like d’Lynn’s suggestion is better from the standpoint of your wallet, your bones and Elaine’s lectures. The foam smell will go away.

  2. When it comes to greenhouses in Texas, my view is that they’re for overwintering plants that would normally thrive outside. Unless you’re doing hydroponics, in which case I can see putting them under a roof. Tomatoes in pots that can be rolled into the greenhouse for winter would be a lot cheaper than all those mods to the greenhouse.

  3. “Wow! Son G2 would be proud of the old man on this one. Because some of my childhood “firehouse thinking” ground into me as a kid (early 1950s) paid off in spades Saturday morning.”

    “Firehouse thinking” (early 1950’s) probably thanks to…

    ‘Hook and Ladder’ is a 1932 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan.

    Synopsis

    Answering the Fire Chief’s request for volunteers, the Our Gang kids form their own firefighting squadron, replete with ersatz uniforms, a fire pole, a dog-and-cat-powered alarm, and a jerry-built fire engine that must be seen to be believed. After a few false alarms and delays, the kids are afforded the opportunity to put out a real fire, which they do with the expertise of veteran smoke-eaters.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hook_and_Ladder_(1932_film)

    • For those who care, here’s the episode on youtube:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FvfEmhE_Fw

      Personally, I find the behavior of the kids hideous and reminds me why I avoid kids completely. The episode has kids yappy voices and isn’t even closed captioned, so it’s really hard to understand. Too bad that stuff was the only thing on TV so much of the time when I was a kid.

      At least dynamite and all manner of things were easily available for fun and kicks, unlike today where everything imaginable is regulated to death.

      • Another missing memo! I swear….

        Memo: South Park and Simpsons are Documentaries

        Did you miss it?

        Spanky and Rascals are time capsules…

      • Unable to read, Stymie rushes in to dump the boxes and cans marked “dynamite” and “black powder” dangerously close to the others. The explosions rouse the attention of the real firemen who arrive just as the gang puts out the fire, leading to a promise of reward for their brave job.

        https://ourgang.fandom.com/wiki/Hook_And_Ladder

  4. Since some people celebrate PRIDE MONTH ;-( my prediction for the future is that in short order we’ll have only Mofos & child molesters eligible to run for political office? Just think about it for a change.
    Happy “Father’s Day” (& mothers) to everywhere !!

    • exactly.. what is it now almost half of the states have Satanic statues at their capital buildings. you cannot put a statue of the ten commandments or anything else except its the right to free speech that allows them to put those things up. Michigan even has an preschool satanic after school program.. I think I am still in the middle of a nightmare or we have entered the twilight zone….

    • Eyes ignorant .

      That being said, what is the Difference (s) between People who “celebrate” pride month and child molesters ? Along this same line of inquiry, what is the difference between Mofos/child molesters and pride celebrants. I dont understand, this seems like a BS question ?

      Inquiring mind..thx

  5. (“Nope. But there was a solid “Pop!””)

    one of my hats.. was steam cleaning tankers..the boss was anal about cleaning volitiles out of the tankers. first on gas tankers ..you drained out any fuel left in them . then down with the steam cleaner.. access points hetween baffles..( except the blood tanks you drained the magics out then crawled in..even the guy from dirtiest jobs refused to do it)
    anyway back to gas. when you first start the job he would take a clean tank put a thimble full of gasoline..shake it up ..the hit it with the torch.. it would blow up four times it’s size…
    as anal as he was about cleaning a tank he must have missed a half cup of fuel. went in to patch and it went up..took his life..
    for barrels even if they are rinsed..you fill the barrel with water then work on it..

    • Seems like common sense..fill first, then hot work. but alas Common Sense is so rare these days as to make finding Hens teeth on the ground easy peasy. Hell I see more Snipes running wild just after dusk these days than I do Common Sense in our Yutes and Adults on any given day.

      I have considered the vaxx as being an agent of rapid onset Stupidity, until I realized they were that way prior to vaxx or they would not have fallen for the bullschiesse.

      Speaking of which – the next new batches of “vaxx” out of India/Paki/Bangladesh (cloudy vision) dark-brown skinned Lab workers..assuming the country of origin, will be the cause of next global Pandemic. The first recipient (s) will be the super spreaders..time frame was Not ID’d, nor were viewers able to read the name on the building where the lab work was going on…latest project from the good folks at Farsightprime.com/Farsight.org

  6. My father was braver than I am.

    Before WW2, about 1936, the year
    he graduated High School, he thought
    the world was probably edging to war
    and so, in order to have some seniority,
    he joined the Navy. He was posted to
    the battleship U.S.S. Colorado. By
    then he was a trained Radioman.

    He was at Tarawa, the Marshall Islands,
    Saipan, and Guam, As a now Radio1/C, he
    occasionally rode front seat in a “kingfisher”
    catapult-launched biplane with an enormous
    single float for sea landings. Morse code was
    used for spotter reports. (In his little box of
    stuff from his Navy days we found a DFC
    decoration, and a Japanese dog tag. Neither
    of which would he ever talk about.)

    He left Colorado for Submarine Service
    training, and during one later break for
    his boat’s re-fit, I was (likely) conceived in
    March of 1944 in Key West, where he and
    his new wife were Honeymooning.

    He served as Radio and SONARman 1/C
    on the boats for the rest of the war. His
    long-in-the-tooth sub was finally fitted with
    RADAR in mid-1944. (Which device he said
    was all but useless, and was very twitchy.)

    After the war, he never took up electronics
    or technology. He said he didn’t want to deal
    with any of that stuff any more. (He used a
    different “S” word for it.)

    One thing I have only recently come to
    realize; for all of 1942 and some of 1943, my
    parents were quite uncertain the Good Guys
    would win the war. Though all of 1942, and
    some of 1943, the war did not go well at all
    for the allied cause. They were gut-scared
    of losing. This is a Very Big Thought.

    Things didn’t seem quite as bad after the Battle
    of The Coral Sea and Midway.

    I wish I had a bit more of my father’s courage.
    (July 2024, on Father’s Day)

      • DFCs are rare for Navy non-aviators.
        We don’t know how he won it. My guess
        is they spotted Something Big and reported
        in usefully. As to in which oeration, we
        have NO idea…

        As to the Johnson Thunderbolt..
        What’s the money FOR if not to buy Fun
        Things — especially extra-rare excellent
        Great Classics. I vote to get it. Hardly
        matters if it works or not. It’s History.

  7. Get you a male 4 prong plug , a female three prong plug and 5-10 foot of 8 gauge S O cord. I’ve got three lengths of S O , 10 foot for the garage and 20 foot and 50 foot for working outside.

      • Yes.. with the electric and hand cranked one.. you have a double action.. which has me curious how this works.. the first use rolls the lip over the second action folds it under.. I have a bottle capper.. the difference is the fold.. so it does have me curious.. I can see pulling down folds the lip over the edge.. its the second action.. definately a new kitchen gadget.. if it works.. boy would that take the work out of capping cans.. LOL.. on the electric one I have.. I put the spacers someplace.. so I gave it to the machine shop to work on making me spacers for the two sized can’s I use.. the twelve and sixteen ounce.. but to work on it in his spare time.. in the meantime I can’t can any water LOL.. I love lemon water and lime water.. and capping the cans is nice.. then you can toss one in the car and head on down the road..
        Of course I don’t need one.. its the curiosity that has my attention..
        Its like the grinders I have.. I have several.. got my favorite ones.. for general grinding of lets say ham for a ham salad … or chicken I use the Norpro.. love it and its plastic to boot.. but what a nice grinder..

        https://www.mercari.com/us/item/m30782312323/?srsltid=AfmBOopydvioKQf2hMizW4bT0diLQ3K41XW0YJeVn18dvERblKo6ZtSzNTc&com_cvv=8fb3d522dc163aeadb66e08cd7450cbbdddc64c6cf2e8891f6d48747c6d56d2c
        look at the price of that thing.. two years ago it was under twenty dollars LOL.. I think I paid under ten for the one I have.. and it has pasta dies with it to.. we of course use ours all the time.. just about daily.. for something LOL… wow.. I am amazed at how much it has gone up…its like the norpro indoor smoker.. great item to use in fowl weather..

        https://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-36556-Stovetop-Kettle/dp/B07FPXMHKF/ref=asc_df_B07FPXMHKF/?
        Great item .. doesn’t get used as much as it could.. if you lived in an apartment.. you could use it all the time.. but when I got mine it was under twenty five dollars.. way under twenty five dollars.. Phew.. amazing how much this stuff has gone up..

  8. Hey, I want to know if d’Lynn has any updates on his adventures with the “Fat Bastard.”

    • Curious, I called yesterday and asked to speak to Loss Prevention Officer.., I was told that they do not have one.
      .
      I didn’t want to push it – other than that – not a peep from anyone, other than the morning radio program, the day after.

      • Walmart doesn’t hire one of their own.. there is a second company that does all the stores.. I met the head of the company once.. only to discover that he and I was in the same barracks in the military together. years ago.. he had to come trouble shoot a personell problem that they were having.. what was funny is he recognized my ugly mug but I didn’t recognize his.. LOL I forget what the name of the company is.. like scope or something like that.. around here in the wastelands.. they have someone check receipts as you leave..I did ask what the reason was that they started to do that at the doors.. LOL. Walmart had introduced a shop online like Sams club.. to cut staff.. personell.. you self checkout.. but you would use your pnone.. and scan the item then when done shopping hit pay.. nice I use mine all the time at sams.. anyway what I was told was when they started it it was a free for all.. in less than a few days they had loses of over a million dollars at the one store alone. LOL LOL people just walking in pretending to pay then leaving LOL LOL LOL….
        Now the kids don’t like having their receipts checked for me.. I don’t care go ahead I can’t imagine me ever taking something that wasn’t mine.. so I don’t care if they know I bought a gallon of milk and a couple dozen eggs or some worthless thing I didn’t need.. online shopping also cut income.. shop online you buy what you need.. in the store you have impulse shopping.. oh yeah I need some of that to.. LOL

  9. “Say, you do have fire ant, spider spray, diatomaceous earth, and flying bugs in your long-term prepping plans, right?”

    At a remote satellite station I had a real problem with ants nesting inside the ground conduits and junction boxes. Old timer engineer cured it for me. DRYER SOFTENER SHEETS was the answer. Stuff one in each accessible box & conduit. Insects hate them. Keeps everything creepy-crawly at bay… geckos, too.

    The Johnson Viking looks in beautiful shape. I’m safe, as the seller will not ship to Alaska/Hawaii. (I get that a lot, unfortunately). Best I can tell you, George, is that you can get TWO IC-7300s for that price! But does it have a power supply??

    The Burn Barrel tale reminds me of my older brother’s tale from the 50’s. He bottomed out his old Ford and scraped a hole in the gas tank which leaked. So he drained the gas and let the car sit for a day with the cap open to air it out. Next day he went under the car with a small alcohol torch, intending to solder shut the small hole. As the torch approached the hole, it suddenly ignited a small blue flame from the hole. As he watched, the flame grew shorter, sucking in toward the gas tank. Brother hastily got out from under the car just as the tank went “WHUMP!” And belched a flame out the filler neck. After the patch later, the expanded tank held several more gallons of gas.

    • “Yes, but then I realize that old boys our age are history, too….”

      Now think about that, and who/what happens to your ‘museum’ after you are gone? You have a BAA… Boat Anchor Addiction. Does ARRL have a ‘BA Anonymous’ 12-step program? Think about the widow who has to dump this stuff you are getting. Do you want g2 or one of your daughters… or Elaine… to go thru disposing of your ‘stuff’ (or other ‘S’ word they may choose)?

      • So sell it all, get an s-line with the 30-s1 of course – and let the collectors give the widder even more money?? Hmm… 7851 and an Acom, maybe…

      • (“You have a BAA… Boat Anchor Addiction.”)

        my father in-law loved concrete… he was always pouring concrete…afterwards he always had a gallon of concrete left..so he would bend a hunk of rebar and put it in an ice cream bucket making a small boat anchor..lol lol
        so I was looking at statuary molds and came across a standing concrete cow mold..small a little over a gallon ..I said hey rather than hundreds of bucke anchors..why don’t I buy dad a cow mold.. you know they all threatened physical harm if I bought him a cow mold …lol lol

        • (“Pappy did the exact same thing”)

          I swear the cow mold would have been a great idea.. gifts or sell them LOL LOL.. a guy I use to work with.. went to craft fairs.. he made this ugly little owl.. but he made good money on them at the craft fairs.. LOL…
          I use to do crime scene photos.. ( disgusting job ) anyway lately I notice there is a statue of a soldier.. right where there was a horrific murder forty something years ago.. I keep wondering if family put it up or not.. I drive by the spot and see the statue standing there.. and memories of the crime comes back.. sad.. how people are in this world..

    • I ran over a free-ranging shock absorber and it put a hole in the gas tank of my ’76 Mustang. It was an interesting ride home watching the gas gauge…

      My solution was to find a course-threaded screw of appropriate diameter, apply a generous helping of gasket sealer, and plug the hole. Never had any issues.

      • (“I ran over a free-ranging shock absorber and it put a hole in the gas tank of my ’76 Mustang. It was an interesting ride home watching the gas gauge…”)

        I had an old grande torino.. great car.. I had to stick a pile of books on the seat to sit on.. my legs long enough that it looked like a little kid sitting in the drviers seat.. POWER dam that thing had power.. had to pass a car one day full tank.. I hit the gas.. the thing hunkered to the ground.. and off like a rocket ship.. I could see the gas gauge moving down as I went LOL LOL LOL…

    • In my youth (12-13) I was shooting off firecrackers behind my gradnfather’s shop, a lot filled with stuff (he was a boiler maker). When the firecrackers were gone, I noticed a 55-gallon barrel with the bung hole open. It smelled like tar, and I dropped a lit match in the bung hole. It produced a whoosh and a flame extending a foot above the barrel. A second match didn’t do anything, so I went on to other adventures.
      All that summer, when I came through that lot, I would drop a match to see the whoosh. I was smoking by then and always carried matches. By the end of summer, the barrel looked like an inflated paper bag.

  10. There was a rather lengthy detailed explanation as too how these averages were compiled., it did seem unbiased, but complicated. It covers only the 48 States.
    .
    Average Summer temperature across the U.S. since 1885
    1895 – 1899….. 82.67
    1900 – 1909….. 81.97
    1910 – 1919….. 82.31
    1920 – 1929….. 82.52
    1930 – 1939….. 84.37
    1940 – 1949….. 82.79
    1950 – 1959….. 83.17
    1960 – 1969….. 82.27
    1970 – 1979….. 82.38
    1980 – 1989….. 82.69
    1990 – 1999….. 82.58
    2000 – 2009….. 83.50
    2010 – 2019….. 85.06
    2020 – 2023…. 84.82 *
    * covers all data collected “to-date” for these four years.

      • No.., missed it – as I have cut all communication with the “Green Initiative” crowd.

        • LOL LOL LOL I hear ya.. now I am for future inovation and incorporation of new technologies.. just don’t hate the old technologies.. and why not make it better if its cheaper.. I love coal I love natural gas and propane.. I love wood burners.. ( miss the smell of the wood stove)
          We build huge billion dollar wind turbines.. when we could be putting up solar towers or just handing out solar to the citizens to strengthen the grid and national security of the grid.. I don’t like nuclear.. the reason it is not cost efficient disposal of the waste materials is expensive and hard to do.. why not start cleaning up that huge island of plastic in the ocean.. be good stewards of the earth and then reprocess it back to oil again.. there isn’t a shortage.. we toss away about seven pounds of oil a day.. per person..

  11. https://youtu.be/Fl6Ye6ez9O8?si=T72X5cjAQYraUiJ7

    Scott Ritter really gives a great report and analysis..

    https://warnews247-gr.translate.goog/diethnh/kina/rwsoi-ekpaideuoun-tous-kinezous-se-maxes-xarakwmatwn-gia-thn-eisbolh-sthn-taiban-hpa-eimaste-konta-sto-adianohto-rwsia-kai-kina-tha-polemhsoun-mazi/?_x_tr_sl=el&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en

    it seems as if things keep moving forward..
    with all the money the democrats and oligarchs have spent trying to destroy p him i do believe they will never allow trump toxic in the command chair again..

  12. re: “Patterns of Force”
    feat: Star Trek, 16/2/68

    Folks,

    Happy Pop’s Day! Yesterday’s democrat mega-fundraiser at an LA venue which is subsidiary of a subsidiary of a Philadelphia colossus is being deemed a success. Tickets apparently ranged in price from $500 to $500,000 to share airspace with two Presidents and a First Son of recent courtroom drama. This “X” curtains video link from a senior writer of “The Hollywood Reporter” shows a Snagglepuss “Exit, stage left!” maneuver by the two President’s.

    https://x.com/chrissgardner/status/1802239454314410096

  13. Art is the HVAC guy.
    I hate REWORK. Rework always costs 100% of time and material. So my first thought is don’t tear up what you have. Figure out why you have so much heat gain and then look at moving enough air through to remove it.
    You have vent fans, do you have inlet vents down low to allow in cooler air (closer to the ground) to draft up through the greenhouse?
    A roof mounted draft vent and vents low on the walls to get air flowing may help.
    Is there any way this can be hooked to the home heating system in the winter? If that hot air is blown into the outside condenser of a heat pump it will drive the output temp way up, and the Aux heat will never come on.
    Also vent at night. Best cooler for a house is a thermostated and timed attic vent fan that comes on early morning and takes out all the stale warm air before the sun comes up, also reduces contained humidity (the water vapor is what holds heat in the air, water is the world’s greatest absorber and retainer of Infra Red (IR) radiation).
    I’m just guessing but it sounds like your have it sealed too tight and need more airflow.
    I’ll tell Art if he hasn’t looked today to look at the problem.

  14. re: “Ode to Joy”
    feat: roll over, Beethoven?

    Folks,

    Apparently Leipzig in the former East Germany was the birthplace of “Ode to Joy”. Later the poem inspired Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. The latter was the basis for the Rhodesian National Anthem prior to Mr. Mugabe seizing power. It also features in the EU’s “Anthem of Europe”. As chance would have it, Leipzig concert goers this past Friday offered Sir Rod Stewart audible boos upon his dedicating “Rhythm of My Heart” to the Ukraine cause with pictures of war and President Zelensky on the screens.

    Germany’s “Tag24” has the boo news in the following link. The 10 year old daily digital news website is a subsidiary of a German media holding company. The second largest shareholder of the latter is Germany’s ruling SDP Party which traces its Marxist roots to 1863.

    https://www.tag24.de/leipzig/leipzig-veranstaltungen/f-putin-rod-stewart-in-leipzig-fuer-pro-ukraine-statement-ausgebuht-3217854

  15. Memo to DIY home solar builders: fill in those conduit ends with high expansion foam.

    Don’t do it. Spend the few alms to buy plugs. The little flying, stinging things will bore right through the foam…

  16. “Fetch Hank & WmoRR – Stat
    Hank and WmoRR- tell me “Don’t do it!” E. F Johnson Viking Five Hundred Transmitter w/ Key Ham Radio Extremely Rare HTF”

    So, did you buy it?

  17. “I figure I will haul out the plasma cutter and pop the top off this new burn barrel.

    “You know, you didn’t see them wash out the barrel, did you? You know Firehouse Rules, right? No assumptions means no Accidents…”

    Never, ever, EVER assume.

    There’s a reason I didn’t cannibalize the lumber I used to build my barrel washer — I disassembled it and carefully stored it.

    Old timers welded up split gasoline tanks by submerging them in a water tank and welding the crack or hole up with acetylene. You can fill a barrel with water and lop the end off with impunity with a cutting torch (unless the barrel contains calcium carbide ;-)

  18. “Speaking of the plasma rig, I got a little more than a quart of water out of the air compressor Saturday. When used in a hot humid area, like here, you can get a pint of water a week – and more. If you don’t drain them every so often, you’ll speed up the rust formation.”

    You can get an automatic drain valve, which opens and drains the tank automatically. It actuates whenever the pressure goes to zero, so unless you keep your system pressurized 24/7, you might find it worthwhile. (If you have a vehicle with air-brakes, you might also be able to utilize this device. I installed one on my big truck before I installed one on my compressor…)

  19. For a compressor, how ’bout a C-H:

    https://www.powerequipmentdirect.com/Campbell-Hausfeld-XC802100/p102442.html

    Personally, I’d prefer a Quincy:

    https://www.aircompressorsdirect.com/Quincy-2V41C60VC-Air-Compressor/p855.html

    but the price has more-than-doubled over the past 36 months.

    This C-H is made in California, with either a MAT (American) or Sanborn (China) cast iron 2-stage compressor. This Quincy is made in Quincy, Illinois from American-made parts.

    Since COVID, MAT Industries has bought Campbell-Hausfeld, Atlas-Copco has bought Quincy, and Trane has merged with Ingersoll-Rand.

    My first compressor was a Sanborn single-stage 60gal, made in Taiwan. It blew a seal and I gave it to a friend, so I could justify buying a shiny new Delta 2-stage 80gal (also made in Taiwan.) The Sanborn is still going strong, nearly 40 years later, the Delta didn’t last two years. C-H and IR dual 80s lasted about 10 years each (I was painting cars and things as a side hustle. My kids learned how to completely wet-sand a car, before any reached double-digits.) I went through a DeWalt in about 3 years — shorted somewhere and I needed compressed air fast, so I bought a California Air Tools compressor and haven’t fixed it. CAT makes “Dental Grade” compressors. Their output is dryer than a conventional compressor with a stack of dryers and water traps hangin’ off it. It is, by far, the quietest air compressor I’ve ever owned. I never looked to see where it was made (although it was assembled in California. ‘Twouldn’t surprise me if the compressor itself was Metabo and either Japanese or Chinese.) The pressure switch shit itself two years in, and after replacing it, the thing has been flawless for years…

    • (“My first compressor was a Sanborn single-stage “)

      Thats what I had.. great compressor.. I gave it to one of the kids…I bought it in eighty something like eighty five.. still working like hell..

  20. “Shop Research Questionnaire
    The tomatoes will (maybe) survive alive in the super hot greenhouse, but ith temps up into the 110F area, no fruiting. Which gets me to a tough decision and I’d like your help as an arm-chair McGregor”

    I would dig a hole and build a greenhouse in it. USE the geothermal presence to your advantage, use double-wall panels for everything above ground, and float some white 50% fabric over the greenhouse, 1-3 feet above the poly panels, perhaps with a fan set to blow between the sunscreen and roof. Use your existing greenhouse as an enchanted garden, coffee & wine room…

Comments are closed.