diy solar

diy solar

What was your most interesting recent non solar project?

If interesting includes pain in the lower back, that's me crouched down and head out the window so I can almost see what I am doing.
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They stripped the forms off that pool wall and we got a couple of pieces of 8" sch 40 PVC in.

The long factory bell joints do not push together by hand, so in this picture I am ready to gently pull it together with that sling.
While standing up and reaching back for the controls.
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This is not the first rodeo with that.
Up in Mount Rainier National Park with a 65' long reach, a while back.

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That is awesome!
But I did not see that one coming! Where do you get a set of bones for a prehistoric Bison? Is there some really cool tinker crate for adults that I don't know about?
I volunteer at a science museum. We are working with a company that casts and mounts all manner of prehistoric fossils. Our next exibit is fossil mammals found in Louisiana.
 
My whole life has been one giant project. My wife says I always have projects.

Remodeled a few houses, built a few buildings, camper mods, build just about anything from scratch. Life is about the experience and taking advantage of the ability to do whatever you want. Here a few projects ranging from an ice boat to remodeling the shower in my truck camper.


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I'm with you. My wifes least favorite words. "I can fix that!"
 
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Log splitter engine replacement. I built a log splitter from scratch about 8 years ago. I used a 1983 B&S 8hp snowblower motor i found on Yahoo auctions and it worked pretty good for about 6 years. I bought a small kubota diesel engine pre-covid from a rice combine and was planning on swapping it eventually but never had time.

well this year it finally crapped out and I was forced to start the engine swap project. Last week I welded up a cradle to support the engine, radiator etc. and I pulled the flywheel so I could machine out the center to hold the love joy coupler. this week I framed up the engine to hydraulic pump adapter and got it all set into place.

When I bought the engine it was from a junkyard with 600 hours on it, the frame had rotted out but the engine was low hours... but the junkyard cut all of the soft fuel lines. took a while to figure it out. the engine was new enough to have a automatic bleeding system that bleed the pump, the lines, and lastly the injectors. once I figured that all out it fires right up with no glow plug at all.

now the next part. and please anybody with an idea chime in. it has a little itty bitty alternator but it does not put out DC.... it puts out 19 volts AC. I am guessing that there was some kind of system to change the AC to DC. anybody got any ideas? I would love for it to charge its own battery so i don't have to pull the battery and bench charge it. I will get photos next week when i go back.
 
Log splitter engine replacement. I built a log splitter from scratch about 8 years ago. I used a 1983 B&S 8hp snowblower motor i found on Yahoo auctions and it worked pretty good for about 6 years. I bought a small kubota diesel engine pre-covid from a rice combine and was planning on swapping it eventually but never had time.

well this year it finally crapped out and I was forced to start the engine swap project. Last week I welded up a cradle to support the engine, radiator etc. and I pulled the flywheel so I could machine out the center to hold the love joy coupler. this week I framed up the engine to hydraulic pump adapter and got it all set into place.

When I bought the engine it was from a junkyard with 600 hours on it, the frame had rotted out but the engine was low hours... but the junkyard cut all of the soft fuel lines. took a while to figure it out. the engine was new enough to have a automatic bleeding system that bleed the pump, the lines, and lastly the injectors. once I figured that all out it fires right up with no glow plug at all.

now the next part. and please anybody with an idea chime in. it has a little itty bitty alternator but it does not put out DC.... it puts out 19 volts AC. I am guessing that there was some kind of system to change the AC to DC. anybody got any ideas? I would love for it to charge its own battery so i don't have to pull the battery and bench charge it. I will get photos next week when i go back.
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.
 
Nothing to exciting, just getting the garden started.
I've been expanding it every year. Had a pile of cinder blocks and pavers laying around so I rednecked a potato bed this year, they really are fun to dig up come harvest time.

The strawberry's have been spreading nicely the past 2 years. I'll have to move the peppers to a new spot this year.

Beans and peas will go below the pole and I'll string some new netting up, last year they almost climbed to the top.

I ran out of fabric staples so I resorted to a pile of bricks I had to laying around until I get some more staples.

I have onions, spinach, lettuce, celery, parsley, broccoli, cucumbers, potatoes and tomatoes in. Still need to plant peppers, beans and peas. I want to get something else simple going but I don't know what yet, I'm thinking radishes.

It's somewhere around 80 degrees and to damned humid so I took a break before planting more and hooking the irrigation back up.

"pro" tips. A blow torch works excellent for making holes in the fabric and an auger makes planting really easy.
 

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