Yes, its a "Clog" instead of a "Blog". The blog isn't abandoned, but life has been very tricky these last few months. We got a big GMC Suburban to drive, and fuel mileage is the *last* thing that truck is good at.
Recently I was laid off and got new work at a local mobile computer repair company. I really like the work! Its a great job. All jobs start out good though, but they seem like decent folks and I like the type of work. As a result of the toss up in our lives, we've decided to move to someplace cheaper and closer to our family in south Reno. So I probably won't post much more until the end of the year when we finally get settle in our new home.
Derrick and I are going to be working on some small robot type machines called "BEAM" robots. Google it, you'll learn a lot. Its very neat stuff that will fit in an apartment.
I have also begun to stretch my legs in writing. I have a new story that I am not going to publish, about a man whose best efforts are wasted by a greedy colleague. If you know me, email me and I'll email you a copy back.
TTFN
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Goodbye Taurus
The Taurus was rear ended last week with my wife, daughter, son, and niece in it. It blew the transmission and caused body damage, and gave my wife and daughter really bad whiplash.
The insurance company totaled the car because of (minor) body damage, not to mention that the transmission was blown. So, I have to find another car. I just got this one 6 months ago! Oh well. Its time to find something that is more suited for my family, I hope.
On the DIY front, this week I finished the Meridian bicycle and will be commuting 20 miles round trip on it next week. See my Photo Gallery for details.
The insurance company totaled the car because of (minor) body damage, not to mention that the transmission was blown. So, I have to find another car. I just got this one 6 months ago! Oh well. Its time to find something that is more suited for my family, I hope.
On the DIY front, this week I finished the Meridian bicycle and will be commuting 20 miles round trip on it next week. See my Photo Gallery for details.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Grill Blocks on my Taurus
In a recent post I explained in simple terms how I jumped from 17mpg to up to 23mpg. In the quest for even better mileage, I put grill blockers on my 1998 Taurus. For the upper grill I just used clear packing tape, and for the lower grill I used cardboard taped on with the same clear packing tape.
I drove for 300 miles like this (one tank of gas) and it made NO difference. I came to find out that although it does work on many cars with poor aerodynamics, the Ford Taurus that I have as a Cd of .30 which is VERY good to begin with.
I am still contemplating other mods, but I really hate working on car mechanicals so we'll see how far I go.
I drove for 300 miles like this (one tank of gas) and it made NO difference. I came to find out that although it does work on many cars with poor aerodynamics, the Ford Taurus that I have as a Cd of .30 which is VERY good to begin with.
I am still contemplating other mods, but I really hate working on car mechanicals so we'll see how far I go.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
How I went from 17mpg to 22-23mpg
Yes, its true. I didn't do anything out of the norm, really. My car doesn't look any different. It doesn't drive any different. In fact, I didn't do anything to the car itself.
The car: 1997 Ford Taurus SE with the V6 and an automatic.
WHAT I DID
First, I changed my tire pressure. I put 55lbs in on each tire. Or, 5lbs over the posted sidewall limit. That gained me 2mpg. Then, I read this article and applied everything I could. This guy runs ecomodder.com and actually knows what he's talking about. Then, I gained 3mpg on my next fill up, and 2mpg on the following fill up. Its very amazing really and I am thrilled to have gained so much.
Next: Grill block and windshield wiper covers.
The car: 1997 Ford Taurus SE with the V6 and an automatic.
WHAT I DID
First, I changed my tire pressure. I put 55lbs in on each tire. Or, 5lbs over the posted sidewall limit. That gained me 2mpg. Then, I read this article and applied everything I could. This guy runs ecomodder.com and actually knows what he's talking about. Then, I gained 3mpg on my next fill up, and 2mpg on the following fill up. Its very amazing really and I am thrilled to have gained so much.
Next: Grill block and windshield wiper covers.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Building your own... Welder?
When I tell people that I built my own welder, I usually get mixed responses. Some people say "Wow, COOL!" and others look at me and probably wonder where the bodies are hidden.
Truthfully, my quest to build my own welder started when I didn't have the money to buy one and desired to learn to weld so that I can build my own bicycles from plans and from scratch.
The purpose of this is to document my build, not to show you how to build one. the best instructions are found here, by Randy Gross: http://www.geocities.com/aaawelder/
His instructions are top notch. I recommend reading through them so that you'll know what the heck I'm talking about next:
The first thing I did was get the materials needed. I bought 50 feet of 10 gauge stranded wire and collected 3 microwave ovens. You only need two of them. I disassembled the microwaves and pulled out the transformers as Randy's instructions say. The next step is to knock the secondary windings out of the transformer.
I tried a number of ways to get them out. I'll spare you the agony of reading about all the ways that failed. The quickest way was to take an angle grinder with a cut off disk and carefully cut the secondary's off right at the part where they go into the transformer. Then use a hammer and some kind of blunt punch to knock the rest of the windings out. That was very fast and very effective.
My other suggestion is that instead of winding as many turns as you can get of 10 gauge wire, do 20 turns of 14 guage wire and then 20 more turns of a second set of wire and then put them in parallel. You'll end up with 4 leads coming out, with both of them together putting out a higher voltage. Its easier to wind, too!
I followed Randy's directions and ended up with a nicely working welder that puts out 60 amps. I didn't get as many winds on my transformers as he did. That is OK though, as the welder works great as it is. I used a pair of old jumper cables as welding cables and one of the ends as a grounding clamp. It really does work well with 1/16" 6013 rod. I haven't tried other rods yet.
I have a gallery of all of the welding pictures at my website rykoala.org. Click here to check them out. There are more construction notes as well.
Truthfully, my quest to build my own welder started when I didn't have the money to buy one and desired to learn to weld so that I can build my own bicycles from plans and from scratch.
The purpose of this is to document my build, not to show you how to build one. the best instructions are found here, by Randy Gross: http://www.geocities.com/aaawelder/
His instructions are top notch. I recommend reading through them so that you'll know what the heck I'm talking about next:
The first thing I did was get the materials needed. I bought 50 feet of 10 gauge stranded wire and collected 3 microwave ovens. You only need two of them. I disassembled the microwaves and pulled out the transformers as Randy's instructions say. The next step is to knock the secondary windings out of the transformer.
I tried a number of ways to get them out. I'll spare you the agony of reading about all the ways that failed. The quickest way was to take an angle grinder with a cut off disk and carefully cut the secondary's off right at the part where they go into the transformer. Then use a hammer and some kind of blunt punch to knock the rest of the windings out. That was very fast and very effective.
My other suggestion is that instead of winding as many turns as you can get of 10 gauge wire, do 20 turns of 14 guage wire and then 20 more turns of a second set of wire and then put them in parallel. You'll end up with 4 leads coming out, with both of them together putting out a higher voltage. Its easier to wind, too!
I followed Randy's directions and ended up with a nicely working welder that puts out 60 amps. I didn't get as many winds on my transformers as he did. That is OK though, as the welder works great as it is. I used a pair of old jumper cables as welding cables and one of the ends as a grounding clamp. It really does work well with 1/16" 6013 rod. I haven't tried other rods yet.
I have a gallery of all of the welding pictures at my website rykoala.org. Click here to check them out. There are more construction notes as well.
Doing it yourself- Why?
Some people wonder why anyone would want to do things themselves when you can go out and buy something that works right out of the box? Well, welcome to Ryan's DIY and more. I look at things and think "Hey, a man made it, another man can figure it out."
I've taken on projects I never thought possible. As consumers we're told that things are complicated. "Better leave that to the pro's." Why? They were not *born* a "pro" at what they do. Yes, they're good at it. Why can't I be good at it? I can at least try.
My main motivation for doing things myself is often a mixture of curiosity and lack of funds. The first project that I'm going to tackle in this blog is building my own welder. I desperately wanted to learn to weld, but I don't have the money to blow on a good welder. Or, ANY welder. Sure, I found one at Harbor Freight for $35 on sale for a 55/70 amp arc welder. But it was chintzy! And to be realistic, I don't buy anything there that I intend to rely on to work well.
I have used the welder and have learned to weld with it. Other things I've done myself include ham radio antennae, a recumbent bike (which I'll cover, its still in progress) and other simple things. I even made a pencil holder for my desk with an old coke can and some rocks.
So, can it be done yourself? That's up to you. The main tools you need for DIY work are curiosity, will power ("if they can do it so can I") and the ability to handle failure. If you don't know what I mean, go watch "Meet the Robinsons". It explains the whole thing quite well, if you ask me. Its a good movie too!
I've taken on projects I never thought possible. As consumers we're told that things are complicated. "Better leave that to the pro's." Why? They were not *born* a "pro" at what they do. Yes, they're good at it. Why can't I be good at it? I can at least try.
My main motivation for doing things myself is often a mixture of curiosity and lack of funds. The first project that I'm going to tackle in this blog is building my own welder. I desperately wanted to learn to weld, but I don't have the money to blow on a good welder. Or, ANY welder. Sure, I found one at Harbor Freight for $35 on sale for a 55/70 amp arc welder. But it was chintzy! And to be realistic, I don't buy anything there that I intend to rely on to work well.
I have used the welder and have learned to weld with it. Other things I've done myself include ham radio antennae, a recumbent bike (which I'll cover, its still in progress) and other simple things. I even made a pencil holder for my desk with an old coke can and some rocks.
So, can it be done yourself? That's up to you. The main tools you need for DIY work are curiosity, will power ("if they can do it so can I") and the ability to handle failure. If you don't know what I mean, go watch "Meet the Robinsons". It explains the whole thing quite well, if you ask me. Its a good movie too!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)