Yesterday my tablet (a 2012 Nexus 7) that I bought as refurbished from Walmart in October of 2014 decided to commit suicide. For quite a while it had been resolutely refusing to shut down. Three days ago, it started freezing. Thus, yesterday I pressed the reset button. This should have set it into factory reset. Needless to say, it didn't work. It transpired that the recovery partition was missing. Now the only way that could have happened is that Walmart's A+ technician had really shown what stunning worth A+ computer certification has. No sane person ever deletes a recovery partition but I see grubby computer tech after grubby computer tech doing it. It's like a religion of lemmings!
Needless to say, blog entries will be missing until the tablet is replaced. Bearing in mind the refurb Nexus was $100 and lasted a mere 14 months, I shall not be buying secondhand again. This time it's a 16gb RCA tablet for $55 with a keyboard case.
I did try my Mac but without getting it fixed, its not possible since the screen lamp keeps going out. It could be the battery or something worse. Best case scenario its the battery but a new battery at $80 is an expensive gamble!
My new tablet should be available on Monday so until then, no blog entries. I'll work on the bus - probably welding but blog updates will have to wait. My phone with its 4 inch screen is a bit small to do major updates.
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Research is interesting!
It seems that super capacitor technology hasn't been fully embraced yet. Having said that, there are portable car starting units that are built from super capacitors.
Browsing around, it seems several people are claiming to have successfully replaced their car batteries with super capacitors. There are reports that alternators die fairly swiftly yet these reports have a pretty even chance of being true or false.
The actual circuitry for the super capacitor is very simple. The capacitors are wired in parallel. The interesting thing is that the individual capacitors act very differently from the way a battery would, adding to the complexity of the task. Each capacitor holds a charge of around 2.7 volts. As the charge reduces so does the voltage but at a greater extent than a battery.
There have been attempts to blend lithium batteries with super capacitors but the results are as yet unknown. Thus far it looks as though my power solution has to be along the following lines:
1. A lithium battery - if the manufacturers website is right about the high amperage output. The limiting factor is the high cost.
2. A super capacitor solution though this is a bit of a mystery at the moment and looks ominously like it'll be expensive.
3. A standard battery solution using an $80 marine battery. This would not power the microwave or the fridge but cooking could be achieved using gas when mains power is unavailable.
4. A standard battery solution using the same $80 marine battery but backed up by a generator that's run every time more than a couple of amps is needed.
5. A further solution could be a hybrid super capacitor and battery solution though this is an unknown.
6. For a final solution, sufficient batteries to provide sufficient amperage to power a microwave though this could be heavy and expensive.
Whichever way the solution ends up going, its going to be interesting!
Browsing around, it seems several people are claiming to have successfully replaced their car batteries with super capacitors. There are reports that alternators die fairly swiftly yet these reports have a pretty even chance of being true or false.
The actual circuitry for the super capacitor is very simple. The capacitors are wired in parallel. The interesting thing is that the individual capacitors act very differently from the way a battery would, adding to the complexity of the task. Each capacitor holds a charge of around 2.7 volts. As the charge reduces so does the voltage but at a greater extent than a battery.
There have been attempts to blend lithium batteries with super capacitors but the results are as yet unknown. Thus far it looks as though my power solution has to be along the following lines:
1. A lithium battery - if the manufacturers website is right about the high amperage output. The limiting factor is the high cost.
2. A super capacitor solution though this is a bit of a mystery at the moment and looks ominously like it'll be expensive.
3. A standard battery solution using an $80 marine battery. This would not power the microwave or the fridge but cooking could be achieved using gas when mains power is unavailable.
4. A standard battery solution using the same $80 marine battery but backed up by a generator that's run every time more than a couple of amps is needed.
5. A further solution could be a hybrid super capacitor and battery solution though this is an unknown.
6. For a final solution, sufficient batteries to provide sufficient amperage to power a microwave though this could be heavy and expensive.
Whichever way the solution ends up going, its going to be interesting!
posted from Bloggeroid
Sunday, December 13, 2015
Invaders from Mars arrived today.
Or perhaps that's what m'lady and her dogs thought when they ran, screaming, for the hills when they saw me in my welding outfit.
Today my welding was much better. Indeed it looked a lot closer to what a professional would do.
On the whole, I was happier with today's welding. Unlike last week I sprayed my welds with rust killing paint because welds are more prone to rust. I'm not sure how much more welding I should do but as I'd become tired, it was time for a break. After that the sun went and hid itself below the horizon. Talk about inconvenient!
I don't know what that website I was reading yesterday was on about but I find welding easiest at about a 45° angle. I suspect like everything else, most of these websites are set up by self taught welders each of whom uses a different technique that they swear is the one and only correct way of welding.
During today's welding I was getting on so well that I exceeded the welder's duty cycle and it shut down to cool off. I was getting some lovely thick welds. It seems a welding rod is good for about 4 - 5 inches. I even managed to build up to fill a 1/8 inch thick gap where I oopsied in my construction. On the whole, this is pretty confidence building.
I'm reasonably confident that today's welding will hold up to the test of use. My next task will be to remove the old hillbilly cable compartment and door then to install my own. Before I do that, I'll probably cut sides and a base for it that can be attached when its in situ. Those will probably be riveted into place.
Meanwhile, I put more silicone caulk on one of the roof seams while standing on a stepladder. I suspect I might need to add more. There's definitely a minuscule leak there.
While I welded, I connected my Peltier setup to my solar panel. Every now and then I'd go back to it and feel to see whether one side was warm and the other, cold. By the end of the day I'd not noticed any difference. This does not surprise me in the slightest. My luck with electronics is never high. Things that should work or are reported to work rarely do. In fact, it used to be 50/50 whether purchased ready made electronics would actually function. These days the percentage of DOA electronics is lower but they still exist. Electronics always seems such an absurdly hit and miss area.
I was reminded of a website I saw before I tried my Peltier setup. The Useless World of tge Peltier Effect Dehumidifier https://secretscotland.wordpress.com/2013/09/13/the-useless-world-of-the-peltier-effect-dehumidifier/ in which was documented one fellow's miserable experience of Peltier equipment. Drawing only 60 W and claiming only 600 ml collection per day (conventional claimed 300 W and 5 litres per day) the numbers seemed reasonable.
Sad to say, the reality has not been anywhere close.
In fact, having run the new dehum under various ambient temperatures and humidity levels, it barely manages to fill its little 600 ml tank in a week, let alone a day.
I really wasn't expecting anything spectacular from the Peltier unit but was hoping for more than *nothing*. Still, I can experiment. It could be that my 5W solar panel wasn't producing enough to tickle a 60W element - which is the most likely reason.
So, over the next week or two I intend to finish installing my cable compartment. Having done that, I'll be in a position to file to have my bus reregistered as a motorhome.
Today my welding was much better. Indeed it looked a lot closer to what a professional would do.
On the whole, I was happier with today's welding. Unlike last week I sprayed my welds with rust killing paint because welds are more prone to rust. I'm not sure how much more welding I should do but as I'd become tired, it was time for a break. After that the sun went and hid itself below the horizon. Talk about inconvenient!
I don't know what that website I was reading yesterday was on about but I find welding easiest at about a 45° angle. I suspect like everything else, most of these websites are set up by self taught welders each of whom uses a different technique that they swear is the one and only correct way of welding.
During today's welding I was getting on so well that I exceeded the welder's duty cycle and it shut down to cool off. I was getting some lovely thick welds. It seems a welding rod is good for about 4 - 5 inches. I even managed to build up to fill a 1/8 inch thick gap where I oopsied in my construction. On the whole, this is pretty confidence building.
I'm reasonably confident that today's welding will hold up to the test of use. My next task will be to remove the old hillbilly cable compartment and door then to install my own. Before I do that, I'll probably cut sides and a base for it that can be attached when its in situ. Those will probably be riveted into place.
Meanwhile, I put more silicone caulk on one of the roof seams while standing on a stepladder. I suspect I might need to add more. There's definitely a minuscule leak there.
While I welded, I connected my Peltier setup to my solar panel. Every now and then I'd go back to it and feel to see whether one side was warm and the other, cold. By the end of the day I'd not noticed any difference. This does not surprise me in the slightest. My luck with electronics is never high. Things that should work or are reported to work rarely do. In fact, it used to be 50/50 whether purchased ready made electronics would actually function. These days the percentage of DOA electronics is lower but they still exist. Electronics always seems such an absurdly hit and miss area.
I was reminded of a website I saw before I tried my Peltier setup. The Useless World of tge Peltier Effect Dehumidifier https://secretscotland.wordpress.com/2013/09/13/the-useless-world-of-the-peltier-effect-dehumidifier/ in which was documented one fellow's miserable experience of Peltier equipment. Drawing only 60 W and claiming only 600 ml collection per day (conventional claimed 300 W and 5 litres per day) the numbers seemed reasonable.
Sad to say, the reality has not been anywhere close.
In fact, having run the new dehum under various ambient temperatures and humidity levels, it barely manages to fill its little 600 ml tank in a week, let alone a day.
I really wasn't expecting anything spectacular from the Peltier unit but was hoping for more than *nothing*. Still, I can experiment. It could be that my 5W solar panel wasn't producing enough to tickle a 60W element - which is the most likely reason.
So, over the next week or two I intend to finish installing my cable compartment. Having done that, I'll be in a position to file to have my bus reregistered as a motorhome.
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Electronics guru needed!
In the quest toward the perfect power system, yesterday I had somewhat of a brainwave. Looking at batteries, I've heard lots of strange tales from those ridiculous forums about it being instant battery death to use one down to zero. Well, I found a table that looks believable about how long a battery will last if it's discharged totally.
It work out that a standard car battery will die within 3 months to a year if it's regularly discharged to zero. A marine battery will die in 12-36 months. Now that sounds very doable. Indeed, if all I have to do is to spend $80 on batteries every six months or so, I'm not unhappy. I calculated my daily power usage should be somewhere around 80ah
The brainwave I had was based around super capacitors. Rather than having a huge bank of 12v batteries providing sufficient amperage to power a microwave, a capacitor bank containing sufficient power to run a microwave for 8 minutes (long enough to cook just about anything). The capacitors could be charged at a rate that wouldn't exceed the capability of the battery. Because capacitors can hold power at 120v, after charging, the output need only be converted to AC. As my microwave uses 1040 watts, I need only to hold about 9000 watt hours. That's 75ah. Like as not, the microwave would be used for only 3 - 4 minutes at a time but extra capacity is always good.
The super capacitors would act as a surge buffer, allowing the use of fewer batteries. Thius could catch on in the RV world. I guess I'll have to find an electronics guru to make it happen.
Today was pretty much a nothing day. I went out to buy more welding rods because I know that what I have is insufficient to complete what I'm doing. Due to the Christmas traffic, it was dusk before I returned. Thus, nothing was achieved. Having said that, it was too hot earlier to wear my heavy jacket in order to weld. Thus, I got an apron and arm protectors. Now I shall be able to weld in a short sleeve shirt and still be protected. Cool and welding!
The plan tomorrow is to get some welding done then having completed that, to put everything under cover as Monday its going to rain and I have yet to paint my welds. Given sufficient free time I might also connect my Peltier gizmo to my solar panel to see what happens.
It work out that a standard car battery will die within 3 months to a year if it's regularly discharged to zero. A marine battery will die in 12-36 months. Now that sounds very doable. Indeed, if all I have to do is to spend $80 on batteries every six months or so, I'm not unhappy. I calculated my daily power usage should be somewhere around 80ah
The brainwave I had was based around super capacitors. Rather than having a huge bank of 12v batteries providing sufficient amperage to power a microwave, a capacitor bank containing sufficient power to run a microwave for 8 minutes (long enough to cook just about anything). The capacitors could be charged at a rate that wouldn't exceed the capability of the battery. Because capacitors can hold power at 120v, after charging, the output need only be converted to AC. As my microwave uses 1040 watts, I need only to hold about 9000 watt hours. That's 75ah. Like as not, the microwave would be used for only 3 - 4 minutes at a time but extra capacity is always good.
The super capacitors would act as a surge buffer, allowing the use of fewer batteries. Thius could catch on in the RV world. I guess I'll have to find an electronics guru to make it happen.
Today was pretty much a nothing day. I went out to buy more welding rods because I know that what I have is insufficient to complete what I'm doing. Due to the Christmas traffic, it was dusk before I returned. Thus, nothing was achieved. Having said that, it was too hot earlier to wear my heavy jacket in order to weld. Thus, I got an apron and arm protectors. Now I shall be able to weld in a short sleeve shirt and still be protected. Cool and welding!
The plan tomorrow is to get some welding done then having completed that, to put everything under cover as Monday its going to rain and I have yet to paint my welds. Given sufficient free time I might also connect my Peltier gizmo to my solar panel to see what happens.
Monday, December 7, 2015
Bloody Hell!
They actually arrived! The two heatsinks I ordered for my Peltier cooler arrived today! I had serious doubts as to whether they would actually arrive, having ordered everything on November 8th and everything else having arrived very quickly.
Unpackaged, this is everything. Two heatsinks, the Peltier element and the heatsink glue.
It was pretty inexpensive - under $10 for the lot. Anyway, I glued it together and when the glue dries (which might take a few days), I'll be able to test it all.
The theory is that putting power through the Peltier element will transfer heat from one side to the other. The problem is, this is electronics and I generally find electronic gizmos have a very high rate of being junk. It's not worth spending more unless it actually works.
So, I'll wait for it all to cure then perhaps hook it up to a solar panel, mount it into a box - perhaps a plastic sandwich box and put a thermometer inside. Then after a while, check external and internal temperatures. If it works, fantastic. If not - its expected.
Meanwhile I looked more into lithium batteries for my bus. I found that only the most expensive were rated for 100A continual output. That's a major problem that makes a generator more attractive. There are other options though.
I looked at supercaps because if a supercap can hold 10ah then be recharged slowly from a traditional lead acid batterry I have a potential solution. The capacitors could release 8ah at 100a quickly then recharge slowly from a deep cycle lead acid battery.
I also looked into building my own lithium ion or nickel metal hydride batteries. Lithium ion cells seem to be 3.7v only. Looking at the costs, both lithium and NiMH seem excessively expensive.
The supercap solution looks the most economically promising but again, it's electronics and they so rarely seem to perform as advertised. I would use a supercap engine starting battery if I could find out their full specifications.
One of the problems if not the biggest problem is that nobody ever seems to publish full usage specifications on anything. It's like trying to sell shoes without mentioning important things like sizes!
Unpackaged, this is everything. Two heatsinks, the Peltier element and the heatsink glue.
It was pretty inexpensive - under $10 for the lot. Anyway, I glued it together and when the glue dries (which might take a few days), I'll be able to test it all.
The theory is that putting power through the Peltier element will transfer heat from one side to the other. The problem is, this is electronics and I generally find electronic gizmos have a very high rate of being junk. It's not worth spending more unless it actually works.
So, I'll wait for it all to cure then perhaps hook it up to a solar panel, mount it into a box - perhaps a plastic sandwich box and put a thermometer inside. Then after a while, check external and internal temperatures. If it works, fantastic. If not - its expected.
Meanwhile I looked more into lithium batteries for my bus. I found that only the most expensive were rated for 100A continual output. That's a major problem that makes a generator more attractive. There are other options though.
I looked at supercaps because if a supercap can hold 10ah then be recharged slowly from a traditional lead acid batterry I have a potential solution. The capacitors could release 8ah at 100a quickly then recharge slowly from a deep cycle lead acid battery.
I also looked into building my own lithium ion or nickel metal hydride batteries. Lithium ion cells seem to be 3.7v only. Looking at the costs, both lithium and NiMH seem excessively expensive.
The supercap solution looks the most economically promising but again, it's electronics and they so rarely seem to perform as advertised. I would use a supercap engine starting battery if I could find out their full specifications.
One of the problems if not the biggest problem is that nobody ever seems to publish full usage specifications on anything. It's like trying to sell shoes without mentioning important things like sizes!
Sunday, December 6, 2015
My welding has improved!
It's just like soldering. It takes some wiggling to get the arc started but once it has, life is very easy. I went through several welding rods (all E6011). Perhaps the trickiest piece of welding was to weld a top bar on one side of the box. I managed and it all went together well.
I had no problems other than from rogue sparks, one of which got into my glove. That stung a little but it was a spark, not molten metal, thank the Lord.
As you can see, the welding is way better. Each weld seems to use most of a rod. That leaves me with several ends of rods that I haven't yet used up. I like to "smoke them down to the butt!"
Once I complete the welding on this, I will probably get somebody more used to welding to attach it to the bus. There are a few bits that need more work but its coming along nicely. The whole construction seems much more rigid and less flexible now that I've done some welding. Welding it under the bus could be interesting! In fact, I might get a mechanic to check my welds and weld the unit under the bus.
Basically, welding is a lot like soldering. I suspect I'd have been better with an oxy propane welding set. It'd have certainly been cheaper!
Meanwhile, tomorrow is the 7th. I don't really believe my heatsinks will arrive because I don't believe they were ever sent! It looks like tomorrow I will be filing non delivery and claiming a refund from eBay and ordering a fresh supply.
I had no problems other than from rogue sparks, one of which got into my glove. That stung a little but it was a spark, not molten metal, thank the Lord.
As you can see, the welding is way better. Each weld seems to use most of a rod. That leaves me with several ends of rods that I haven't yet used up. I like to "smoke them down to the butt!"
Once I complete the welding on this, I will probably get somebody more used to welding to attach it to the bus. There are a few bits that need more work but its coming along nicely. The whole construction seems much more rigid and less flexible now that I've done some welding. Welding it under the bus could be interesting! In fact, I might get a mechanic to check my welds and weld the unit under the bus.
Basically, welding is a lot like soldering. I suspect I'd have been better with an oxy propane welding set. It'd have certainly been cheaper!
Meanwhile, tomorrow is the 7th. I don't really believe my heatsinks will arrive because I don't believe they were ever sent! It looks like tomorrow I will be filing non delivery and claiming a refund from eBay and ordering a fresh supply.
Saturday, December 5, 2015
Gloopy blobs
Today being Saturday I rushed off into Red Bank to get some welding gauntlets and a welding helmet. Lowe's (hiss, spit) wanted $80 for welding helmets. Walmart wanted $30. No prizes for guessing who got my money!
Arriving home, I set up with the welder, put in a 6013 welding rod, attached the power cable to my newly installed power socket, attached the earth clamp to a piece of steel conduit and tried welding. There was a loud pop and a spark and that was that. Nothing I could do would make it work. I changed rods. There was a pop and that was that.
Feeling disheartened and wondering whether I would have to return to Harbor Freight with the words "it doesn't work", I slipped a 6011 welding rod in and tried again. This time it worked. I managed to tack the two pieces of conduit together although I did burn a hole in the conduit in the process.
Next I started welding the battery cage. My welding improved slowly though there's quite a way left to go! My welds all stood up to bashing with a hammer so I'm assuming that they're vaguely OK as welds. Of course I still have to weld the other side of the steel too.
Some of my first welds were quite gloopy blobs. Some were better though.
Perhaps my biggest problems were the rod sticking to the steel and my helmet visor dropping down when I was trying to do things that didn't need eye protection. The visor was pretty dark so the only place I could actually see the work was in bright sunlight. I also found the burning zinc fumes rather hard on my lungs but at least zinc is non toxic. I did look for a respirator but Walmarts shelves were empty. Although I did my best, covering up against sparks and UV from the welder, I did briefly see the arc a few times before dropping the visor but not long enough to cause damage.
Trying to free a stuck rod often led to charred tracks on surfaces I didn't want to weld. I'm thinking I should perhaps have the rod at a much more severe angle.
Thinking about the 6013 rods and a couple of the 6011 rods that also didn't work, I tapped the very ends with a hammer. The coating flaked off and voila, they worked well.
Meanwhile, I had a letter from the no hopers at Dish Network sent me a letter. Apparently they seem to think I can put a satellite dish on my bus. Then there's all the power that a dish and a TV would guzzle!
Now who in their right mind would want TV in a motorhome? Most with motorhomes are using them to get away from it all, not to remain hooked up and servile!
Now one of the interesting things is that I read a lot online about people failing to get an arc with this welder. I've also read stories of people failing to get rods to work. Clearly I've experienced all these but I persevered and achieved success. It goes back to what I've been saying for a while - too many people give up at the first sign of a problem and don't persevere at anything.
Arriving home, I set up with the welder, put in a 6013 welding rod, attached the power cable to my newly installed power socket, attached the earth clamp to a piece of steel conduit and tried welding. There was a loud pop and a spark and that was that. Nothing I could do would make it work. I changed rods. There was a pop and that was that.
Feeling disheartened and wondering whether I would have to return to Harbor Freight with the words "it doesn't work", I slipped a 6011 welding rod in and tried again. This time it worked. I managed to tack the two pieces of conduit together although I did burn a hole in the conduit in the process.
Next I started welding the battery cage. My welding improved slowly though there's quite a way left to go! My welds all stood up to bashing with a hammer so I'm assuming that they're vaguely OK as welds. Of course I still have to weld the other side of the steel too.
Some of my first welds were quite gloopy blobs. Some were better though.
Perhaps my biggest problems were the rod sticking to the steel and my helmet visor dropping down when I was trying to do things that didn't need eye protection. The visor was pretty dark so the only place I could actually see the work was in bright sunlight. I also found the burning zinc fumes rather hard on my lungs but at least zinc is non toxic. I did look for a respirator but Walmarts shelves were empty. Although I did my best, covering up against sparks and UV from the welder, I did briefly see the arc a few times before dropping the visor but not long enough to cause damage.
Trying to free a stuck rod often led to charred tracks on surfaces I didn't want to weld. I'm thinking I should perhaps have the rod at a much more severe angle.
Thinking about the 6013 rods and a couple of the 6011 rods that also didn't work, I tapped the very ends with a hammer. The coating flaked off and voila, they worked well.
Meanwhile, I had a letter from the no hopers at Dish Network sent me a letter. Apparently they seem to think I can put a satellite dish on my bus. Then there's all the power that a dish and a TV would guzzle!
Now who in their right mind would want TV in a motorhome? Most with motorhomes are using them to get away from it all, not to remain hooked up and servile!
Now one of the interesting things is that I read a lot online about people failing to get an arc with this welder. I've also read stories of people failing to get rods to work. Clearly I've experienced all these but I persevered and achieved success. It goes back to what I've been saying for a while - too many people give up at the first sign of a problem and don't persevere at anything.
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