Solar Furnace – thermostat

November 7, 2008Green, TinkeringGreen, Tinkeringwarren

Earlier this week, I posted about my solar furnace project. I can’t take all the credit for the idea of a solar furnace as they have been around for a long time. Most of them seem to be passive – relying on natural motion from the warm air rising through the system. This sort of air flow is not typically very strong (though it can be), so cannot open a louver or check valve. Just leaving the hot air pipe open is an option though physics will bite back at night or when it is not sunny outside. Just as hot air rises, cool air sinks so at night, warm air will syphon from the house backwards through the system. Some folks drape a piece of plastic over the warm air output so that the warm flow blows the plastic open a little. Cool air cannot flow back through the plastic, supposedly.

All that sounds nice, but I cannot be satisfied with simplicity when I can further complicate things with technology. Being interested in saving a buck and doing the right thing energy-wise, I replaced our old thermostat with a digital programmable one a couple of years ago. I noticed that the old thermostat had a mercury switch so I didn’t want to just throw it in the trash – instead I kept it in my stash of junk…and lucky I did. This project is prime for my sort of junk. I stripped the mercury switch and the bi-metallic temperature wire from the thermostat and connected it to an old computer fan. I am building a box that will contain the thermostat and the computer fan. The fan will pull warm air from the furnace across the thermostat. While the air is warm, the mercury switch will turn on the fan which will blow open the dryer vent (that will prevent cold-air backflow) and send warm air into my room.

Initially, I had planned to power all of this with a solar panel. My fan is a 12 volt, 0.62 amp fan (though I ran it just fine with a 9-volt battery). To drive the fan directly from the solar panel (at 9 volts), I would need a 5.58 watt panel (watts = volts * amps). I may be able to get away with a little less but the cost of a 4-6 watt solar cell would still cost somewhere around $50. I have various 9 volt wall-wart transformers from old gadgets that I no longer need.

For now, I will just drive this system from wall power. At 9 volts, when the fan is on, it will draw around 4-5 watts – about the same as a nightlight. I can live with that.

My plan is to get all of this hooked up and running this weekend. I will post again with the final project. It is supposed to be cool this weekend so I guess the timing will be right!

Spammers have been attacking this page so I have turned off comments. If you would like to have a discussion, please post on one of the other solar furnace posts or send me an email message. My contact info is in the “about/contact page”. Sorry for the inconvenience.

A-maze-ing

November 6, 2008Adventure, Family, WVAdventure, Family, WVwarren

Last weekend, the kids went with their Mommaw and Aunt to the corn maze a few towns over. I don’t think they had ever been to such an event but everyone was gung-ho. I have little doubt that Isaac, in particular, was full-throttle the entire time.

The good thing is, the maze is huge and basically walled in with corn. They nicknamed Isaac the streak at the maze, and not because he was garment-challenged. Anyhow, I don’t know what sort of corn they planted but it was super tall and the kids were curious what would happen if they got lost. I told them to shoot sparks from their wands just like Harry Potter. I guess they didn’t buy it though. Isaac had a plan how he would just run right through the corn if necessary.

In a very serious tone, he informed me he was “ready to do what he needed to to get out.” The maze is closed now for this year, but we will probably get back out to it next year (and we’ll remember our wands next time!)

A salty bunch

November 5, 2008Family, TinkeringFamily, Tinkeringwarren

We gathered a jug of salt water from the ocean 2 years ago on a trip to Tybee Island near Savannah, GA. I had in mind when I collected it to do an experiment to show the kids how to separate the salt from the water, how crystals formed, how to research stuff, etc. I finally got around to it last weekend. We did several experiments which have had mixed success. First, we looked at various things under the microscope including epsom salts, table salt, and sugar. In our first experiment, we suspended a string in a cup full of ocean water. No crystals formed on their own so we are waiting on evaporation to expose the salt. We also mixed epsom salts and water to form crystals. This was sort of cool but not as dramatic as I had hoped.

Next, we supersaturated water with table salt. Crystals have definitely formed on a suspended string. Crystals have also formed on the side of the jar in which we are doing our experiment. We put a bunch of salt in that jar so the effect is pretty dramatic. This was closer to the effect for which I was hoping.

Both of these experiments were pretty slow to show much effect for kids though. Being anxious for my kids to ohh and ahh at my scientific knowledge and ability, I found a recipe for making crystals from salt, liquid bluing, and ammonia.

As a base, we tried to use a piece of cardboard rolled up in a tube. My expectation was that the cardboard would wick up the water and make a little crystal tree. For some reason, the cardboard did not wick any moisture.

I guess it was too dense (or maybe I was?) so the crystal tree turned into more of a crystal shrub. Still, the effect started within a day or so.

Anyhow, here are some additional methods to make crystals. The kids were in to it for awhile and had a good time checking on the progress. I’d recommend it for your own edification as well!
http://britton.disted.camosun.bc.ca/snow/boraxsnowflake.html

http://www.squidoo.com/groweasycrystals

http://silken-didyouknow.blogspot.com/search?q=crystal

http://www.science-projects-resources.com/crystal-science-projects.html

Chocolate pumpkin goodness

November 4, 2008FoodFoodwarren

Weight Watchers has all sorts of cool recipes, even if you don’t participate in their program. One that we discovered is chocolate pumpkin muffins. It’s pretty simple to make. All you do is mix a chocolate cake mix with one can of pumpkin – nothing else is needed. Spoon it into cupcake papers and bake it according to the directions on the cake mix.

The stuff is high in fiber and good for you. More importantly, it make a delicious, moist, chocolatey muffin that is like a party in your mouth when you eat it.

The best part of the fun is when you serve them to people. Don’t tell them what the ingredients until they have eaten it…they will never doubt you are a culinary genius again!

Solar furnace

November 3, 2008Green, TinkeringGreen, Tinkeringwarren

Being a cheap-skate, I am incredibly excited about doing anything I can to put a little extra green in my pocket. I have been looking online and thinking a lot about making a solar furnace to supplement our home heating. We happen to have replaced 2 screen doors with full-length windows so I was presented with a couple of large pieces of tempered glass.

You can look around online for solar furnace or passive solar heat and find tons of additional information, but basically, these things work by capturing heat and using the principle that hot air rises. I snaked clothes dryer exhaust tube side-to-side through an insulated (with sheets of styrofoam insulation) wooden box. I covered the insulation with roofing felt to make the inside of the box black (plus I knew roofing felt would live through high heat). I painted the box and the dryer hose with flat black paint so it absorbs heat very well.

Cool air from my family room floor is pulled in to the bottom of the system. The sun heats it as it sits in the tube. The heating causes it to move upward eventually running back into my family room at about waist-high level.

This version does not show a blower on it yet so air flow depends purely on the principle of hot air rising. I am working on a version that uses a small fan powered by a solar panel to move the air. I’ll post more on that later as I get the details worked out.

Anyhow, for the results…I set this in the sun at about 4:30 one afternoon. The input temp was stable at 62.8 degrees F. I then measured the output temp.

I could not believe it but my digital thermometer maxed out when the temperature got over 160 deg F. The last picture I took before it maxed out was at 157.3 deg F. I have no idea what the temperature actually got to but I saw at least a 100 deg F temperature differential!

I have some more info to post on this but it will have to wait until later this week…

Trick-or-treating

October 31, 2008FamilyFamilywarren

For some reason, our city declared last night to be trick-or-treat night so we headed out to family members’ houses in full dress. As usual, the kids had a good time. We always dump the candy they “earn” into a community pot. That is partly payment for my transport costs! They were paid well for dressing up – family is so good about that! Abigail was authentic right down to her pink leather cowgirl boots. I didn’t have a thermal detonator for Isaac so I shoved a cayenne pepper in his pocket and told him to make the best of it. Anyhow, today in school, they dress again and have a Halloween parade. No doubt, they will be fully sugared after school today too.

In one of their bags, they each got little video games. They were drawn to that above all else last night. It was pretty funny seeing a cowgirl and a storm-trooper playing video games.

Today is report card day so assuming things look good, we’re going to Hibachi, a Japanese restaurant where the chef cooks at the table. It’s a tradition and about the only time we go out to eat any more. Of course, it is worth the wait!

Chow Chow

October 29, 2008GardenGardenwarren

I used to turn my nose up at just about anything vegetable related, but especially things like chow chow and relish – stuff whose components cannot be easily identified. Here I am a bunch of years later wondering why in the world I was so silly. We had a ton of green tomatoes left in the garden when we decided to put it to bed for the winter.

I am not one to just dump the free food so we carried every green tomato into the kitchen. Thanks to the folks at Texas A & M University, we found a way to use them without my having to give myself some sort of tomato facial or make a tomato+Mt Dew sport drink.

CHOW-CHOW: 1 peck (12 pounds) green tomatoes; 8 large onions; 10 green bell peppers; 3 tablespoons salt; 6 hot peppers (chopped); 1 quart vinegar; 1 tablespoon allspice; 1/4 teaspoon cloves; 3 tablespoons dry mustard; Few bay leaves; 1 3/4 cups sugar; cup horseradish (optional)

CHOP tomatoes, onions and peppers together and cover with the salt; let stand overnight. Drain, add the hot peppers, vinegar, spices (tied in cheese-cloth bag) and sugar; allow to boil slowly until tender (about 15 minutes). Add horseradish. Pack into sterilized Kerr jars to within inch of top. Put on cap, screw band FIRMLY TIGHT. Process in Boiling Water Bath 10 minutes.

Of course, chow chow is one of those mystery foods where you can really put just about anything into it. I have seen it with cabbage before and I suppose you could shred squash or pumpkins too. Anyhow, we made several jars of the stuff and it is really really good!

Jack-o-lanterns

October 28, 2008Uncategorizedwarren

My Mom sent me a link to this cool site where you can desgin your own jack-o-lantern. We virtually carved several options and settled on our favorites. Wait, that sounds like we actually put some real planning into our pumpkin carving. Ha! We did do some virtual carving but then we just went to town on the orange gourds!

We decided that we have a new appreciation for our parents. I cut the lids out and the kids reached into the pumpkins. Isaac very nearly threw up on the spot. Abigail held her supper a little better, but still wanted a pair of plastic gloves.

Like our parents, we just decided to reach in and pull the seeds (which we roasted…yum!) and goop ourselves. I have never been queasy about things but somehow, we made a couple of kids who gag at the sight or smell of anything and everything. It was actually pretty hilarious.

Anyhow, the kids carved their own pumpkins with those amazing tools they sell for carving pumpkins. Who knew that one could actually carve a pumpkin without danger of amputation! Anyhow, they did a heck of a job. After carving, we set the pumpkins outside so they can draw the proper number of fruit flies before trick-or-treaters arrive.

We’re all ready for Halloween!

Destination Unknown

October 27, 2008ThoughtsThoughtswarren

I remember my Grandpa (who was born in 1914) talking about the first time he saw a car and a plane overhead. He had (and still has) all sorts of great stories of life in the early 1900s. It was such a different world compared to the one we live in now. I know that he wondered where life would take him when he was younger. He no doubt had some dreams of things to come. I am sure he had no idea that there would ever be contrails from so many jets crossing the sky overhead. He had no idea that the world population would grow from under 2 billion in 1920 to over 6 billion now and that food would be scarce in many places and maybe even here in the near future. I wonder how life will change in the coming years for my family and beyond. I cannot imagine how life will be. With global warming and the economic crisis, will life become more technologically advanced or will we revert to a more simple life? Will we come out of it and just keep on doing what we are doing now? In some ways, I get a bit panicky when I think about what is coming, but then I think of all that my Grandpa has experienced. He survived. He is generally happy and well-adjusted. He has some great memories of times long ago. We’ll be alright whatever comes. I can’t imagine the stories I will have to tell!

This sucks

October 24, 2008Canning, Garden, TinkeringCanning, Garden, Tinkeringwarren

I talked a little about drying beans the other day but I didn’t tell you what we do with the beans once they are dried. Actually, we dehydrate and dry all sorts of things actually and this applies to everything we do. As I have said before, I get hair-brained ideas fairly regularly. I wanted to be able to vacuum seal stuff in jars but I couldn’t see spending the money to get one of the fancy vacuum sealers. Foodsaver makes attachments for their powered products to evacuate the air from mason jars so I decided to give that a try with a modification of how the air gets removed. I needed something that sucks!

I can’t take sole credit for these ideas but I can’t remember where I saw a similar discussion on the idea. Anyhow, a brake bleeder sucks just fine and, in fact, even has a vacuum guage on it to tell how much it sucks. My first plan was to integrate the brake bleeder with the mason jar sealer. Although I wouldn’t want to hand pump a brake bleeder all day long, I can pull a vacuum of 20 inches of Hg in about 30 seconds. The mason jar sealer works perfectly for that.

Moving on to bigger and better, Harbor Freight (a cheap tool supplier) has a vacuum pump for evacuating hvac systems. You simply hook it up to your air compressor and it will draw around 28 inches of Hg. I couldn’t make it work as well with the jar sealer for some reason though I didn’t try too hard either. You can (as I did) fashion some sort of a cup-like end for a piece of hose. You could use a stout film canister or a small piece of tupperware or somehting similar.

Punch a hole in the lid of the jar and put a piece of duct sealing tape (the shiny silver stuff, not regular duct tape) on the lid leaving the hole exposed. Hold the cup over the hole and tape and start the vacuum. When you are finished, slide the cup off across the tape sealing the hole. The vacuum will further hold the tape in place providing a great seal.

With a little effort, you could probably use the hvac pump with the jar sealer too so it is worth a try. My “cup” solution works for things like large pickle jars or other containers that aren’t mason jar sized.

A traditional vacuum cleaner will not pull sufficient vacuum for this to work by the way. You’ll need something designed to draw (from what I have read) somewhere around 15-25 inches of Hg to be sufficient. Also, this is not a replacement for canning stuff that should be canned. We only store dehydrated stuff this way. Anyhow, it’s a pretty cool option for storing garden stuff and it can be pretty cheap depending on the junk you have laying around your workshop.

My Home Among The Hills

Life in WV!