The mother of all videos!

The quest continued today, despite my back injury to build the front door unlocking mechanism. There were plenty frustrations today! I'm in no way going to throw the towel in on this one. Even if what I come out with costs way more than anybody else's solution, I will perservere.

Today was fraught with difficulty. Yesterday or the day before, I'd reglued the end of my wire to the brass tube. After I'd finished winding the coil, the damn glue failed again! So my nicely wound coil suddenly sprang loose and ended up looking more like a slinky than anything else. Wrapping tape and spraying glue ended up with a loosely wound coil that's definitely not to my liking. I might re-wrap that coil another day.

Next, I connected a pp3 battery clip to the two wires. That was a challenge as the enamel on the wire was extrordinarily thick. Normally it's easy to burn through with a soldering iron. This was most definitey not easy and had to be scraped off.

What I'm trying to do is to rig up a method of lifting the latch that holds the front door closed without going to extremes such as electric garage door openers that require the door to be both opened and closed electrically or other severe methods such as replacing the entire door assemly. This is such a simple thing to do yet is proving to be extraordinarily difficult!
 
The upshot of today's work (which I'll probably have to redo) is that I did manage to make a rare earth permanent magnet move out of my coil. It had little to no actual power behind it which is a major problem. I'm currently running it off 6v. I'll have to try raising the power to 12v but this is not currently looking promising. I have found that I was correct in using a permanent magnet with my coil however. I suspect I might get more luck with more power and possibly extra coil windings.


As you can see - it's not that powerful even though it is spectacular. It looks to have the right amount of throw to open my latch - just not yet enough power.

problems, problems, problems

It's one of those days. It started with a return of my stomach virus which wasn't entirely welcome but not unexpected. I don't expect to be fully well again until probably March. I work with children and they're extremely generous with their virusses.

Today's only activity was to complete the 20A cable I started to construct last night. At 30 feet it turns out to be a bit on the short side. I'd thought 20 feet would have been plenty but I need more. I"ll probably get another 30 feet of cable after Christmas. For the moment, what I have will suffice to complete my welding. Welding will, of course, have to be done on a dry day. That's not today.

Meanwhile, the blogging application I used on my Nexus won't install on my RCA tablet and the application I used for the last few posts decided when the tablet went to sleep to delete the entry I had just typed. Clearly local auto save was not a feature built in! Thus, I'm using the blogger web interface and lots of data.

In other news, mentioning my stomach virus to a friend elicited the response that as I've been ill so frequently over the last couple of months, why didn't I see the doctor. The aswer is simple - I have only a part time job that doesn't pay enough to pay rent or buy health insurance. Ineed, if it were not for the generosity of my lady, I'd have nowhere to live other than on the street in my as yet unfinished bus conversion. Every penny I have that does not go on fuel to get to work, goes on the conversion. This is why progress is so slow. I just can't do it that fast when I can spend only $100 a month.

The more right wing amongst my readers will ask why I don't simply get a second part time job or get a full time job. That's harder than you might imagine. Over the past 12 months my applicaions have yielded one single interview. That was with a local college and the interviewer asked for a bribe. Now aside from the fact I can barely afford to live, let alone pay bribes, a company that has employees that routinely ask for bribes doesn't sound like employment that's going to last more than a day or two after they figure out that I'm not going to pay them a percentage out of every paycheck. A second part time job isn't going to work because where I work is so far from any centers - that's in the rare instance that "open availability" isn't demanded. Open availability means one has to be available 24x7 at the drop of a hat for part time work. Basically being unable to work for anybody else! Yes - employers really do that and its very common.

So, right now, I'm just plain stuck. It seems to me that applying for jobs doesn't work in the vast majority of cases. Those interviewed usually seem to know somebody in the upper etchelons of the organisation and I've always kept myself to myself.

Last year, I got a few interviews but several were cancelled as soon as they discovered my gender or race was not to their liking. I had no idea  that gender or race had any impact on administrative work! Surely ability to do work is far more important than gender or skin color? This year, I can add bribary to the list. Things really aren't looking too good for South Carolina employers - racist, sexist, demanding bribes and God alone knows what next!

Recovering slightly from my stomach bug, I headed to the bus to discover the brass tube that I bought yesterday was an ideal fit for my latest magnet. I glued some magnet wire to the end of the tube in order that it doesn't slip while I'm winding the coil. I'll probably do 12 layers of coils and see what happens. No particular reason why I'm doing 12. It just sounds like a good number.

Small achievements building toward success

That's the way to do it! Today of note were several achievements in an otherwise dismal, dreary, wet day. I'd like to be able to claim major success but I didn't do anything major. The major stuff all accomplishes itself as it's all reliant upon the small but insignificant steps.

The first thing I did was to make a coil out of some wire, put my new permanent magnet inside and run 6v from 4 D cells through it. The magnet did twitch. Clearly I need to find some copper tubing slightly larger than the magnet in order to wind enamel wire around it. That should allow the magnet to slide easily and should give years of use. I just have to wind the appropriate number of coils around it.

The next success was more basic and less exciting though vital. I tried my old angle grinder without success. Banging it I could get a few spins from the motor before it stopped. I had a brainwave and changed the other carbon brush. I"d already changed one because it was broken. Voila! The thing worked when I plugged it in. Clearly that problem has been solved for the moment. The other one has a problem based around a loose connection. When I need it, I'll tighten that connector.

Lastly, I hunted around in the bushes on m'lady's 4 acres and found a nice piece of steel. It needs some de-rusting but cut with the angle grinder and welded, It;ll make an excellent bottom for my battery compartment. Unlike the hillbillies, I'll drill holes for water drainage. I'll also see about putting a lip over the door to stop water penetration.

The final solution to the power and cooking problem is, unfortunately, going to have to be a gas cooker where the microwave is currently situated. The microwave is rusted and beyond salvation. I"ll have to install an extraction fan - probably a 12v fan running off my small battery. I could run that through the window I blocked up or put a roof vent. On the whole, the window seems more accessible. I thought long and hard about other solutions but this seems to be the only one that makes financial sense. To spend $3,500 on lithium batteries, $300 on a generator or $500 on lead acid batteries to run the microwave or $40 on a gas cooker. That's $10 cheaper than buying a replacement microwave. The big bonus is because I've already done the electrical work, I can still use electrical appliances when plugged in. There's also nothing to say I cannot later just remove the gas cooker and install solar arrays, generators and solar panels.

Frustrations

Today started with my laying conduit on the ground from the outside breaker box to where I was going to have my plugin. Then I was going to erect a stake for the socket. The plan was to have the electrics completely done today but as with plans, little was actually accomplished.

The blower swiftly removed fallen leaves and the conduit was layed over the ground. The next stage will be to insert the cable and bury the conduit. I can certainly do better than the Dish Network people that didn't bother burying their cables. An ants nest was revealed and the scurrying ants blown away too.

When it came to cutting a point on the metal stake intended for use with the outside socket, I hit my first big problem of the day. My angle grinder stopped working. After some tinkering, I gave up on it as a lost cause and zoomed off to buy a new one. They're cheap enough at Harbor Freight for $15.

After returning home with my new angle grinder, I proudly plugged it in and it didn't work. Nothing I did could make it work. Putting it away and cursing Harbor Freight, I pulled out a hacksaw and completed the task. Then I drove the stake into the ground.

By then, the light was beginning to fail but I took another look at the angle grinder and found how to dismantle it properly. It seems one of the carbon brushes on the motor had broken. Looking around as I recall there had been spares, I found some that didn't fit.

Clearly either I found spare brushes for another device or Harbor Freight put the wrong brushes in the box. This is rather disappointing and frustrating!

As tomorrow is a party day, nothing will be done. Friday being shop til you drop day, should be good. Everybody will be out on the roads hunting non existent bargains. A good time not to go to Harbor Freight!

Even without an angle grinder, I can complete my wiring in order to run my welder. I fully intend to be welding by Sunday night!

In other news, the Peltier cooler arrived. The glue that fixes it to cooling vanes arrived a few days ago as did the solar panel to power it. I'm still waiting for the cooling vanes.

I've ordered a long permanent magnet to use with a home made coil for my door opening device. Failing that I did see a likely looking solenoid but I'd rather try building something myself first rather than going to a last resort of buying somebody else's junk.

This bus project is taking longer than anticipated. Were I starting again, I would definitely take a different route. Meanwhile I'll have another hunt for the right carbon brushes. Harbor Freight surely can't have been dumb enough to supply the wrong brushes?

Mechanics Magazine 1853

In my quest to build a latch opener for my bus I had a brainwave and consulted Mechanics Magazine from 1853. Yes - a publication I downloaded as a free eBook. On page 52 was an article about an oscillating telegraph arm that used two magnetic coils and two permanent bar magnets.

The original telegraph machinery was largely constructed from brass. In my case, it'll be aluminum as I have quite a surplus of aluminum. Indeed, perhaps the permanent magnets I bought the other day sliding inside a plastic tube around which is a coil I could wind would be the solution.

I don't anticipate the plastic tube having an eternal life but tube and wire are cheap. I'd also estimate the tube lasting at least a few months until it could be replaced with copper or brass. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Today was another day of zero progress. Aside from stepping outside to check m'ladies chickens for eggs, that was the extent of my exertions. My virus had taken over. It's like a very light version of flu (I'm glad I had the flu vaccine). I'm getting tired of being ill at weekends and not being able to work toward completing my bus project.

How depressing!

Two identical electromagnets refused to repel each other. Today I wound an electromagnet all of my own. I put about 5 layers of coils on a bolt then put power through it. The result was that it picked up bolts easily.

Next I put a bar magnet on the end. Power was applied and nothing happened. As there was a spark when I connected the wires to the batteries, it was not lack of power. Clearly I had to reverse the polarity. Thus, the polarity was reversed and a spark proved there was a circuit. The bar magnet didn't budge!

That was rather odd. I have no idea why nothing is working. The identical magnets should have repelled each other. I tried a permanent magnet on the bought electromagnet with the same lack of effect. Next I tried a bought electromagnet on my homemade electromagnet and the same thing happened or rather didn't happen.

Now I'm rather depressed. I just don't know why what would appear to be fairly standard physics aren't working. Either there's a factor I'm missing or physics laws don't apply any more; possibly this is an indicator of the end tymes.

The only other thing to try is a bar magnet and a simple coil - if that doesn't work then I'll be totally stumped!

Ouch!

Yes. I might have to lie down in a darkened room for a few weeks. I went shopping and it was expensive! My 10-2 electric cable was double what the price of 12-2 cable would have been. Still, I now have a cable suitable for outdoor use and capable of carrying 30 Amps.

While I was out I picked up some plastic tubing and connectors. Not so much as to keep the cable dry underground but more to protect it from an errant shovel.

Next on the list was bolts to make an electromagnet but while I was in the store, I picked up some "super strong" magnets instead that I thought I'd try with the existing Chinese electromagnets. And of course a sledgehammer.

Needless to say, when I tested the super strong magnets against each other, they repelled nicely. Putting them on the electro magnets did nothing. Whether the current was forward or reverse, the electro magnet did not repel the super strong magnet. It's all really rather odd and seemingly defies the laws of physics.

Needless to say, when the total topped $100 I needed to go for a lie down! The electric cable was the most expensive part. Thinking about it though, with the way my motorhome is set up, I could get away with just 20 or even 15 amps. I could have put a 20A outlet in the yard and saved the $30 on cable but had to spend $20 on a lower rated breaker for the bus. Given the saving would have only been overall $10 I went with the bigger cable.

I had a look at solar panels and lithium batteries online. Then I sat and did some calculations. My maths for my microwave is wrong. I'd been reckoning on needing to use it 3 times a day and to cook a plate full of food from frozen which takes 15 minutes. As there will be only a cooler in the bus and not a freezer, nothing will be frozen. Thus, it will likely take only 5 minutes per plate.

5 minutes per plate is around 8 amp hours. Given the microwave will pull less than 100A then a smaller lithium battery should do. They can put out 100A continuously without breaking a sweat. Still, even a 30A lion battery is ludicrously expensive at around $200-$300. The low weight is very tempting as is the long life.

Thinking about power, I really don't need much. The cooler can be kept cool overnight using freezer blocks and powered straight from solar panels as can ventilation. It's only cooking that needs battery power. That and charging cellphone batteries. I could probably be very happy with 40AH.

Looking at solar panels, it seems an expensive way of doing things. It seems to be $2 per watt for solar. Given that a 40Ah battery would contain 480 watt hours and that would be about what is used in a day, I'd need to generate about 500wh. That means two or possibly 3 solar panels to be able to use the microwave three times daily. That's an expenditure of $600 on solar panels plus $300+ on batteries. Add in other stuff such as charge controllers and inverters and the cost would top $1,000!

Going back to minimal power usage, if the cooler was powered solely from solar panels then a smaller lead acid deep cycle battery would do all my cellphone etc charging. Thus, I could potentially get away with just a 20ah battery. Cooking would have to be done with gas and there'd have to be a battery powered extraction fan to eliminate the steam.

Again, solar power looks like being way too costly. I'm wondering again about wind power. Now that I have a welder, it shouldn't be hard to put together a wind turbine, even if it only runs a bicycle dynamo. That should still provide ample power to charge such small batteries.

Thinking more about the microwave, since a $3,500 lithium battery would hold 300ah, that would probably keep my minimal 30-40ah daily going for at least a week. Plugging in once a week would eliminate the need for solar panels.

Now, given 5 hours of half sun per day, the power needed to fill a 300ah battery would be 3,600Wh which would be 1,500 Watts of solar panel or 15 panels at a cost of $3,000. Basically, the perfect electrical system would be around $7,000. Now you can appreciate why I put a plugin for the microwave! Look at the prices of lithium batteries.

So, to recap, I'm probably not going to use much in the way of battery power since batteries and generation are expensive. I'll probably get more solar panels but rig them to hang inside the cockpit where they'll be protected and will afford added privacy.

An interesting day!

The primary goal of heading out today was to get my car serviced, which happened this week. Now I don't have to worry about it all. Sure, they were on about rotating tyres and the age of my battery and radiator flushes. My tyres rotate quite well as I drive down the road and anything else gets done when needed. In other words, the battery gets replaced when it stops starting right away.

Speaking of batteries, two of my purchases arrived today. The first was a 5A solar panel and the second was my enamelled copper wire. I'd have got on with making electro magnets had I not completely forgotten to purchase appropriate bolts.

With this wire, I should be able to make far better electro magnets than the Chinese supplied and make sure they work with my setup! I could have saved a lot of time by doing this from the start.

The solar panel is 12v, 5A and is intended for use as a battery keeper. A quick test using a 12v panel lamp proved the panel works well even out of direct light. Note that the panel is sitting on a shaded step on the bus with the lamp connected. The plan is to put a cigarette lighter socket plug on it, put the panel on the dashboard where sun will shine on it and to plug it into the electrical system. That should slowly trickle charge the battery and ensure it doesn't go flat.

Another thing I got was a 70A welder. Looking at the reviews, it seems most of the complaints come from people that can't read. Looking on the sides of the welding rod boxes, amp ranges are specified. A rod for 25-45A will work well as long as the power is turned down. A rod for 45-90A will work well. A rod for 90-135A will not work. I was pretty careful to read what it said on the boxes!

Now the next issue is the welder needs a 20A power supply. That doesn't exist right now. It will have to be installed on a separate pole outside. Fortunately I have a suitable box. The first task though was to hack my way through a jungle to get to the box.

Having reached the pole, I investigated the box. It's going to be "interesting" wiring it up with a potential 200A running through it all. Fortunately there are spaces where breakers have been removed and there's a hole in the bottom of the box. There's plenty conduit taken from the hillbilly installation that can be used.

As the conduit is a bit of a funky shape, there will need to be a separate pole for the new outlet. Clearly I'd have to buy more electric cable. It's all doable though it might be next weekend before I get started. Right now I have several projects all needing extra parts or preparation work. It's a little frustrating!

To add to the frustration, my multimeter has indeed died. It seems the needle is sticking. I have no idea why as it has been stored dry, never abused and not used a great deal! It worked a few months ago. Clearly I need to replace it as its now unreliable even if I did get it to work again.

It's probably had a reasonable innings since I bought it about a decade ago. I remember buying an inexpensive meter. EBay came up trumps. $4.99 got me a replacement with a digital display, shipped from Texas. I'm not in a great hurry for it so I can afford to wait a week. There's plenty else I can do without a meter.

My latest plan is to continue on with eliminating the handbasin in the bathroom, turning the vanity top into a straight countertop. That makes far more sense to me. I can use the counter for a gas cooker or for a plastic bowl to do my washing etc.

On the path of Houdini

Houdini could open any lock. I'm almost there myself with the front door locking mechanism. Today my electro magnet arrived from China.

The magnet apparently runs off 9v so after a long hunt I located a pp3 battery. It was inside a radio transmitter detector that had been lurking in my drawer since I'd had to track down some unauthorized listening devices in my old home. The battery was several years old yet it powered the magnet very successfully. Indeed, it even grabbed onto the door locking mechanism strongly enough for me to lift the latch.

As the magnet didn't seem to have much grabbing range its probably going to be best used as a repelling magnet. I'll mount a permanent magnet on the underside of the latch and the magnet can repel it in order to lift the latch. That's the plan anyway.

Also arrived today was my Nema 5-15P socket. I tried it with my plugs and it all worked perfectly. Now all I have to do is to rebuild the battery/cable compartment. I tried both plugs and they both fit nicely into the socket as can be seen from the combined socket, plug photo.

Speaking of the battery/cable compartment, the bolts and lock nuts arrived that are intended for use in the new compartment. I'd been afraid they'd be too thin but looking at them, they'll be fine. I'll use many more than I think I'll need, just for security.

I can't find the sheet strength for the bolts but given the entire weight that needs to be supported will be probably 20lbs for the compartment frame plus 55lbs for each of two batteries plus say 30lbs for luck then doubling it all in order to allow for rough roads. That's a grand total of 160lbs. Assuming each bolt will bear 10lbs then 16 would be needed. An unverified online source states 200 lbs sheer strength per bolt. That sounds doable. Another online source quoted 700lbs. I'm being conservative and reckoning 20lbs per bolt. I don't want 160lbs of battery compartment falling on the ground!