Re: What Projects / Tasks do you have going on / to do??

RVR II · July 25, 2021, 03:38:28 PM

Quote from: MartyS (Gromit) on July 25, 2021, 02:12:00 PM
How many hours per propane tank with that thing? I've never put gasoline in mine, I keep a log for oil changes and since I got it I've run it about 16 hours to keep my single fridge, TV, laptop, and battery chargers going during power outages. I get about 8 hours on a tank. During the few long outages I would run for an hour or 2, then shut down for 2 or 3 hours, and repeat...

I always keep 2 full propane tanks in my shed in addition to the one on my grill, I got an inverter type generator so it can throttle down and still provide normal power to low power devices like TVs and computers, increases the run time on a tank quite a bit. Normal generators have to run full speed all the time to maintain the proper frequency (60Hz).

Thing to watch out for with fridges and freezer compressors is the startup power needed, when the compressor kicks on it will draw a lot more power for a few seconds.

1 full tank like I use is estimated to run between 8-10 hours on this generator.
When I originally tested it off camera, I tripped the generator breaker because I plugged in too many too soon. In the video I spaced out the time to around 15 seconds or so and that seemed to give the generator enough time to compensate for the compressors kicking on when plugged in.
I've got 2 tanks this size that are either 1/2 to 3/4 full currently and I'm looking into getting a third to be used entirely for this generator.

RVR II · August 10, 2021, 05:44:15 PM

Bought a second generator, this one's for my parents..

I'll take it to them in a couple of days

BathTub · August 10, 2021, 07:55:20 PM

Doing another magic show (I guess I wasn't on the forum very much last year when I did my first one)

The Secret Parlour! Because my health is fragile I'm the silhouette. haha. But if it goes well we'll try and make it a bit of a regular thing.

MartyS (Gromit) · August 13, 2021, 12:22:52 PM

I put cellular shades in my computer room on the 2nd floor and it is several degrees cooler in there if I leave them down all day. I put them in my bedroom several years ago but that was to replace the crappy plastic venetian blinds in that room, the computer room had nice metal mini-blinds with nice cloth shades covering them so I wasn't planning on replacing them, but noticing how much better the A/C worked in the bedroom made me make the switch.

I did keep the cloth shades, so the look of the room didn't change except for it being darker now when the cellular shades are down.

RVR II · September 06, 2021, 11:53:08 AM

Success! With my unexpected toilet leak project..

MartyS (Gromit) · September 06, 2021, 12:30:19 PM

That was a crappy no-wax ring they put on there, funny thing is it probably cost more than a wax ring so it's not like they went cheaper, it was just crappy rubber that was used. Looked like tire rubber instead of good silicone like the new one.

That ring must have been leaking for many years to rust out the bolts like that.

Nice that they make those metal rings to fix a broken plastic flange, I've also seen parts that go under the flange for just one broken side but not sure you had enough clearance between the flange and the tile to get one of those in on that side.

Back when I did mine a few years ago I got one of those same "better than wax" rings as a backup in case the mixed rubber/wax one I got didn't work out. Hopefully I won't need to use it for the rest of my time in this house...

RVR II · September 06, 2021, 01:31:37 PM

The only positive about that crappy ring is that I didn't have a whole bunch of wax to scrape off.
It looks like it has been leaking for quite a while, I don't know why it took this long to seep out under the toilet..
Yeah there wasn't any room to put anything under the flange, just on top which reinforces the broken portion.
I looked up some reviews on the best toilet o-rings available and this one was at the top of the list. The local Ace Hardware had only 1 left. Both rings total came to just over $20 with tax. A bargain from what a plumber would have charged on a holiday weekend

ihavemyreasons · March 12, 2023, 08:49:39 AM

We have hard water here that causes build up over the years resulting in problems with faucets, water heaters, etc. Had to replace the kitchen faucet about 12 years ago. Bought a Kohler faucet that is made here in Wisconsin. Best thing about it is that despite it being discontinued since I bought it, Kohler still sells replacement parts. Handle broke - steel connector eaten away by the hard water. Was able to order an exact replacement directly from Kohler vs replacing entire faucet again.

LucasM · March 12, 2023, 02:03:59 PM

I need to cut down a bush that the previous owners of this house installed. The ignorant person didn't bother to check the ultimate height to which the bush would grow. Because of that it got tall enough to where it surrounds part of the power line and internet lines coming to my house.

Just how bad this was - and why it became a priority - was demonstrated to me because I almost lost BOTH in a recent 'wet snow' fall this week, as the bush was weighted down and was pulling on the wires. So the bush needs to be GONE.

When I saw the frozen snow on it and other bushes, I went out and smacked the snow clumps with a rake to break the snow up to stop potential damage to branches on the bushes, some of which were weighted down where 9' tall bush parts were touching the ground. The snow was about to kill (or seriously maim) a total of four different bushes if left unchecked (and at least two of which I'd like to keep).

Fortunately a good friend's spouse may have the tools needed (and the functional capacity) to come and help with that when it warms up and it dries up a bit, as the bush through the wires is basically an 8-9' spheroid evergreen and not something I feel safe and capable of attacking alone - particularly with the electric and internet wires running through it.

aaronbossig · March 17, 2023, 04:09:02 PM

Been working on a podcast! For... the last four years.

ihavemyreasons · March 17, 2023, 07:30:17 PM

So projects now = advertising....

Our living room furniture is 20+ year old. Bought a nice new couch amd loveseat last weekend, but won't be delivered for 4 to 6 weeks - ongoing supply chain issues. Spent enough on those that needed to go cheap on new coffee and end tables. Think Ikea- although we don't have an Ikea here - so got via Amazon but Ikea type pressboard fake wood and steel. Kind of cheap looking, but big improvement over the coffee rings and dog chewed corners of what it replaced. Assembly was rather easy, but lots of allen wrenching.

ihavemyreasons · March 17, 2023, 07:47:16 PM

Bigger project was building steps. Dogs like to lay on the front window ledge. Had build some steps 10+ years ago out of foam and covered them with carpet - dogs those steps build for are no longer with us

Those foam steps were falling apart.
Dog steps available to buy aren't high/big enough.
Went wood this time and completed last week. Took dogs a couple of days to start using new steps. Made them a bit wider than the foam ones were. 2 steps - 3 dogs - found 1 dog sleeping on the window ledge this afternoon and other 2 sleeping on the steps.

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Re: What Projects / Tasks do you have going on / to do??