twisty

Lying in bed last night I got a brainwave. It happens every 10-20 years.

I built a an oil burner a while back that works on draught alone. Burns pretty clean and puts out awesome heat though most of it of course is in the flue gasses rather than radiant.

The thing is an old casserole type pot I cut a large hole in the top and sat an old fire extinguisher on that I cut the top and bottom out of and put a load of holes in the sides. On top of that I put a length of 4" Pipe. Around the edges of the lid of the pot I put 4 1" holes.

The fire burns in the pot and gets the primary air through the 1" holes then goes into the secondary chamber where the air mixes pulled in by the draft of the chimney. It could use more holes in the Secondary chamber to burn perfectly clean but that would also dilute the flue gas temp and rich is hot... Just like a Diesel engine!

So what I did today is get some 20L oil tins from a load I picked up on the weekend and fitted the 4" pipe right through the middle. With all the delicate skill and craftsmanship an unskilled person can muster with a wood chisel, a hammer and a pair of pliers, I cut a nice snug fitting hole to the top and bottom drums and the ends out of the middle one.

On the bottom burner I fitted a squirrel cage Blower and on the top, I impressed myself by cutting a hole in a star design with the metal sections coming out so I had somewhere to tape the duct on.
The blower wasn't quite strong enough to force the air through so I got an 8" in-line ventilator fan and put that on to act as a booster and put some more duct on that to take it inside through the cat flap.

The blower merely blows air on the flue pipe which normally glows red for about the first 2 feet and the resulting warm air is blown in the house.
The setup looks as redneck as Imaginable but stuff me if it's not about 30o in here and I have the burner running at about 1/3 power.

It's using about 2L of oil an hour which is high because it's real inefficient atm but I can fix that. I'll add another 2-3 tins tomorrow on the flue pipe which is still uncovered and bloody hot. I think this will allow the burner to be throttled back some more and the same or better heat generated.

1L/ hr of oil generates about 30Kw so even with poor efficiency, that should keep the place nice and cosy.

I have to say I'm a bit amazed at how well this works. Sure it's about 20% efficient ( 80% INefficient) ATM but it's a stack of oil drums with a stove pipe in the middle and a fan blowing air on it. The surface area to the cold outside air is far greater than the area exposed on the hot side. I have some insulation that will fix that. The extra drums will help as well.

I'll take some pics tomorrow for a laugh and post them up.

The thing is, this Pile of scrap could run on any waste oil you can get your hands on.... engine oil, tranny oil, Veg, hydraulic or even animal fat. All you would have to do is start the thing with some liquid oil, sit your drum of fat close by and it would melt the stuff as it burnt.

The blowers I am using are about 150W and the amount of heat I could generate with this thing would melt the snow off the roof of a place if required.
What it has opened my eyes to is how efficient something like this could be if a Dollar was actually spent on it. This thing will last me this winter then when I'm in new digs next winter I'll do something up properly.

Perhaps the biggest achievement with this thing is I'm still in the house. The mrs came home and saw this " construction" sitting on her beloved back Verandah and wanted to know why the hell I had brought my chit onto her veranda and it better not be there tomorrow.
She seems very happy to have it there right now and be sitting round watching TV in a T shirt instead of a jumper.
We have air but I think shes enjoying having this thing turned right up without having to worry about what it's doing to the power bill.

So far the only comment is can I put a duct in the wall so the animals can get in and out the cat flap?

WINNER!

Quite satisfying

Ive been exclusivly using SSD's in my home PC's for about 2 years now. I started with an OCZ Summit, then moved on to an OCZ Revo PCI based SSD. They scream - I would NEVER EVER go back to a magnetic disk again. They are slow and noisy.

One bit of advice, spend the money and buy an SSD thats fast - Currently OCZ Vertex 4 is where its at. If you put one of these into your machine it will transform it. There is simply no better upgrade you can do - no amount of CPU, memory or video card can match the overall speed increase that an SSD will give you.

Go for it!

I’ve seen a bit of excitement lately about SSDs vs Hard Disk Drives on many of the tech sites/forums, especially since the price of SSDs have been falling and capacities have been increasing, though nowhere near the $/GB factor of traditional spinning platters. I've also been hinting at backup and recovery options in some recent posts and noted Linux as being a good option should things go wheels up on your PC. However, that only provides you with a way to recover data and not your operating system (OS) and programs that you may have installed on your PC.

If your PC goes wheels up, you may be able to recover your OS, but you're usually going to have to re-install all of your programs from scratch. And if it's a complete hard disk failure, then it can be a painful process, one which I've experienced twice so far in 30 years, which is twice too many. So what can you do? The solution is actually quite easy and not all that expensive considering the pain that you can avoid. Hard disk drives are pretty cheap nowadays, so you can afford to have at least one spare, acting as nothing but an image of your working system. I did just that the other day with my PC hard drive, as I have several 1TB hard drives lying around, so rather than let them languish, I thought I'd use one of them to create and store a complete image of my main PC. There are many ways to do this and even Windows gives you an option, but they aren't quite the best. I also wanted to do the same with my Gigabyte tablet, as I'd hate to have to rebuild everything from scratch, but I didn't have a spare 7mm form-factor hard drive.

To that end, a search through the local PC hardware sites (http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php, http://www.cplonline.com.au) gave me some options. I could get a suitable 500GB hard drive for $100, which was way overkill as far as capacity went or a 128 GB SSD for $130. So I thought I'd try out the SSD, since it was more than enough for what I needed and wasn't that much more than a regular hard drive, but what to get? By the way, I did a search on eBay and no one had prices that could match the two stores. A lot of research narrowed down the selection to three options, an Intel 520 120GB, an Intel 330 120GB or a Samsung 830 128GB SSD. The Intel 520 was reportedly the best SSD on the market at the moment, ie speed and reliability etc; with the Intel 330 close behind, but with performance hobbled to some degree to keep the price down. The Samsung 830 wasn't as fast as the Intel SSDs, but not far behind the Intel 330 and all reports I could find gave it a very high score as far as reliability. The Intel 520 was about $50 more than the Intel 330 and Samsung 830.

One thing I found from my research is that consumers SSDs, then cheapest variety, have tended to have quite a record of failure compared to regular hard drives; surprising really, considering that there are no moving parts. What apparently is the Achilles ’ Heel of SSDs is the controller and most SSDs use a SandForce controller, Intel included with the 520 and 330, and the controller can cause all sorts of issues causing the dreaded BSOD and even complete SSD failure. The SandForce controller is a generic controller sold to many SSD manufacturers and it's up to them to make sure it works properly with their SSDs. But these manufacturers don't necessarily work closely with SandForce, so their efforts at solving issues aren't always effective. But what Intel has done is work very closely with SandForce and modified aspects of the controller to improve the reliability so that they are confident about its long term performance; only Intel has access to these modifications. Samsung, on the other hand, make all their own components and so they all work in concert and don't rely on third parties.

Another aspect of SSDs is the need to regularly ‘clean’ the drive of ‘garbage’ that accumulates during read/write operations. With the Intel SSDs, and just about all the others that use SandForce controllers, this cleaning is done on the fly, which may reduce the overall performance of the SSD, but keeps performance consistent all the time. With the Samsung, the cleaning is done during quiet periods, which means that in intensive operations, the performance can drop significantly if cleaning is not able to be done. This can be a concern in data centres and where you are really making the SSD work for long periods of time on intensive tasks; something to consider when choosing an SSD. However, since my tablet was not going to be used in intensive tasks, I decided to go with the Samsung 830 128GB SSD for some reason. Maybe I was just a bit worried that despite the work that Intel had done with their latest SSDs, and favourable reports, they haven’t really proved themselves regarding long-term reliability. Anyway, the SSD arrived yesterday and it was time to clone the OS.

In order to clone a drive, you need to be able to connect the drive to the main PC and what I used was a SATA docking station that I’ve had for some time. This device enables you to insert a 2.5” or 3.5” SATA hard drive and connect it via a USB cable to any PC, a simple and elegant solution. The cloning process is actually quite easy, depending on what you use and my recommendation is to use software designed for this purpose. The Samsung came with an option to download Norton Ghost, which I had some reservations about, but decided to try anyway, since it was what Samsung offered. I thought that Norton Ghost would be on the disk provided, but it was actually available as a download, which I accessed through the Samsung SSD Magician software that I’d installed (more on that later). After downloading and installing Norton Ghost, I started the cloning process only to discover that what I’d downloaded was a 30 day trial version, but with the ability to do the clone. Also, as soon as I opened the program, it wanted to make all sorts of changes to my tablet. My suspicions had been vindicated. So I did a complete system restore to get rid of Norton Ghost. That fully confirms all of my previous views that anything that comes out of Symantec should go straight into the bin.

Anyway, I had a program already installed called Paragon Hard Disk Manager (http://www.paragon-s...me/hdm-personal), which allows for the migration of everything from one hard drive to another, as well as many other functions, and is what I’d used to clone my PC hard drive. I should have used this from the outset, but then I wouldn’t have had my confirmation of the Symantec rubbish. I also have another similar product, Acronis, which came with a laptop that I’d bought years ago, but I never became wedded to Acronis, as it had what I thought was a very obtuse interface. A lot of people swear by it, I just swore at it. Anyway, I discovered Paragon and when I bought it in 2010, it was pretty inexpensive and even the latest version is reasonably priced.

When cloning an SSD, using a dedicated program designed for this can be important, as an SSD works differently to a regular hard drive so it’s important apparently to match everything from one device to the other, including sectors or whatever from one drive to the other (Google cloning hard drives to SSDs and you’ll find out). There are differences in how both work devices work and if they aren’t matched properly, you can get all sorts of problems. Anyway, the cloning worked flawlessly and when I swapped the two drives in the tablet, it fired up as if nothing had changed. And that’s exactly what made me wonder what was going on, things should have been blistering fast for start-up etc, but they seemed to be much the same as with the normal hard drive. So once everything was confirmed to work, I opened the SSD Magician software to see what it would do.

The SSD Magician offers a range of disk and OS management and optimisation functions, so I went through all of these and selected the recommended options. I also did another Windows performance test and all that increased was hard drive data transfer rate figure from 5.7 to 7.7, everything else obviously stayed the same. So with further testing by opening and closing programs, shutting down the tablet and restarting once again, I can say that the SSD hasn’t measurably sped up many of the functions on the tablet. Some programs do open faster, such as Lightroom and Photoshop, but these are really are the most intensive of programs one can use and are usually quoted when SSDs are compared to regular hard drives. One program that does work a lot faster is Memory Map, not so much when opening, but loading maps is significantly faster, so I guess in these types of operations you can see the improvements.

Why doesn’t the SSD significantly improve performance like you so often hear? Well, I think it’s due to several factors. Firstly, the tablet isn’t a speed demon from the outset, so the hard drive isn’t the performance limiting factor that it can be on very high performance desktop PCs. Secondly, the original hard drive wasn’t a complete slug and by using Ready Boost, I was able to get pretty good performance out of the drive and associated operations. Thirdly, some things simply won’t work faster with an SSD, as they are dependent on accessing stuff on the net or network.

So is an SSD worthwhile? In a desktop environment, all the indicators are that SSDs can be very beneficial, especially if you put your OS and programs on the SSD and data elsewhere, but in my example and similar situations, you’re not going to get mind blowing results by installing an SSD. Power consumption, ie improved battery performance may improve, but I haven’t had a chance to measure this. If you need a lot of hard disk space, then a regular hard drive is, in my view, the better way to go, especially if you have space in your device for only one hard drive. I certainly wouldn’t have contemplated this even a year ago, as SSD prices were incredibly high compared to regular hard drives, but in this case it was worth a try.

Cheers

Ray

As a full time Linux user since 2004 I can recommend all content Windows and Mac users to stay away from Linux and enjoy the great outdoors. Amen.

Are the parts he sells easier to fit than other brands?
If they really are he could be onto a winner. Somehow, I have my doubts.

One of the things I was reminded of this morning else where is the forum idiots that come on asking questions about how to do this or that then in a few posts are arguing with people that have been doing it for years and telling them their way is wrong.

Umm, hello! Weren't YOU the one asking for help and now you are throwing it back in the face of someone that HAS been doing it successfully for a long time and tried to help you of their own free will?
Unbelievable.

Even if you don't think the advise is good, The proper thing to do IMHO is be grateful someone tried to help you in the first place, thank them profusely and show a bit of respect and appreciation for them going out of their way for no gain of their own to try and give you a hand.

I've used the OME 2" springs with the Comfort Shocks for years now and have found that combination to be excellent for ride and handling. I've had the OME standard shocks in the past (the ones they always try to install with the 2" kit) and found them to be extremely harsh. The Comfort Shocks have softer valving in the compression stroke, so you don't get the jolt (lift) on bumps like you do with most other shocks. I've done a 100,000+km on my current setup and still going strong.

Cheers

Ray

hahahahahahaha ... thread remained on topic for ONE post, the OP. That's just wong

excellent work ya'll.

Are you sure that's Right?
Sounds a real ripoff. You are paying about twice what I do per Kwh.

I thought the renewable power had to be paid at a decent rate? I understand there was a scheme which paid higher ( pretty sure my mate get's .60c KWH) but 6C is ridiculous! Is this part of paying back the cost of the panels themselves?

Are you on an in/ out separate meter system or does your solar array feed back into the main house supply and you only draw from the grid the excess you need?

I have " Heard" of someone that runs a veg fired generator that backfeeds in to the mains. Using an induction motor as a generator the thing Phase locks to the frequency and having the field energised by the grid, the thing can't Island and be a danger either. By switching over to a C2C setup, the system can be self sufficient if the main power is isolated.

By backfeeding directly into the household supply, the power runs everything in the home to it's max capacity and any shortfall is made up from the grid. When the power generated is excess to requirements, the meter spins backwards. In this way you get the same rate for the power you make as the power you use which is only fair.

It used to be that even with free fuel self generation wasn't worthwhile but now with the advent of excessive power prices, The availability of cheap engines and using Low cost induction motors, things are changing.
Perhaps in my next place I'll have a high current circuit or 2 put in and have an set up a big system so I can pump some significant juice in and not have to run the genny for hours trickling in the power.

That's the trouble with DIY generation. You use the power 24/7 but running a genny those hours is impractical. The way to do it is to pump back a lot of power in a shorter time to compensate for the longer lower draw.
The Mrs has given me the Green Light to Import a Lister engine though so 12 hours a day plus runs at lower outputs may not be such a problem then.


Maybe I'll put serious effort into finding a place with a decent running water supply from a creek. It would pay well to set up a micro Hydro system and have that back feed into the grid even if it were just a couple of KW.
Running 24/7 would add up nicely.

I wonder what the hoops would be to setting up things on an approved basis and if something like a micro Hydro would qualify for renewable energy grants/ bonuses/ tariffs?

VOTE 1 Glort for PM

I'm not sure that a piggyback system is the ideal way to go with petrol engines. Units like the Wolf, Motec, Haltech etc replace the entire ECU and allow you to set and manage every parameter of the engine. The Wolf3D that I installed in my TB42E allowed me to tune the engine to perfection (from memory at 250 RPM increments), though I did have to build a complete new distributor from the original carby model, as the EFI model wasn't compatible with the Wolf system. I also had to build the entire wiring loom for all the sensors, injectors etc, as none of the systems were plug and play. Nowadays I believe that they all just plug in. Just about all of them are now laptop tunable, compared to the somewhat clunky interface modules available in those days. I actually used a spreadsheet to log all settings, adjusted and graphed the results from hours of road testing to get optimal results.

Despite all of that, power was slightly improved over the carby engine and driveability was a lot better, but fuel economy wasn't that much improved. I thought I'd be getting significant improvements with the EFI over the carby, but with the carby mods that I'd done on the previous engine, the improvements were marginal at best with the EFI. So if anyone says that you'll be getting 20% fuel reduction with a piggyback system, take big steps backwards, because nothing will provide those sorts of fuel improvements, moreso because you're running LPG and petrol (both require different tuning).

A Scangauge is a great investment, but it won't work with a TB45, but I believe that the ECUtalk will and provides a lot more info than the Scangauge.

Cheers

Ray

our planet doesn't need saving ... it's the humans that are in danger!

our planet doesn't need saving ... it's the humans that are in danger!

They call this "child proof" lol

Tonight Tonight - Smashing Pumpkins

I think you want to" Cheap mod. Don't think GU tail lights will fit a GQ though. Ebay is the go.

hhmmm ... been on my mind as well. you might find this interesting. How to build rock sliders

iv gotta pull mine apart, i might do a few pics with instructions.

A little more info..
It's a black widow sand flag.. About $150ish to your door..

http://www.bwidow.com.au/accessories/accessories.htm

Nup ... don't like them, sorry. Same as Millweld, not square, straight or alligned properly. Stands out like dogs balls ... yuk. And I like the bonnet entry even less now.

Do it how you like. Bonnet entry sounds a bit difficult but if you want something a bit different ... why not. I'm tossing up between a chrome (SS) finish to match the bullbar, or powdercoat green (jade) to match duco. I've given myself two months to decide, so hurry up with yours.

I've been thinking about this for a while as well. You may have noticed I've recently aquired a plastic snorkel but I'm still undecided about fitting.

Flaw 1. 4" seems the ideal and with a bit of shopping around it's all easily available. I haven't seen a custom snorkel yet that follows the body line correctly. There is always a larger gap at the bottom of the windscreen pillar, yuk. I'm still thinking of making a pvc mockup but the final product would be stainless and fully welded (no plastic joiners used externally). I've got no idea on costs.

Flaw 2. I'm in a GU but I'm not sure why you couldn't fit a GQ the same (entry behind wheel, not in front) unless there is some obstruction behind the LH guard that prevents this. I don't much like the look of any snorkel that runs past the front wheel on the outside of the body. Agree about the rubber and clamps.

Flaw 3. Yeah ... why not. Perhaps the prefilter can be moved? Rain. I'll have my inlet facing back and down. I just can't see "ram" air being of benefit below 100kph and a Donaldson style may be the "ducks nuts" but they look like an undesired growth.

Still thinking.

Nigel Walkabout - Kevin Bloody Wilson

do balads count ... hahahahahaha

Ye ill take a pic if u like, ill upload tomorrow night.

Just needs a "you're a twat" button and I would never get any work done!

Hahaha

I stopped identifying myself when receiving calls years ago. Rude b@stards! "hello", "Is Mr. twisty there?", "who's calling please", "i'm calling for Mr. twisty", "I know, who are you?", "I will identify myself to Mr twisty, is he there?", "you called a private number, who are you?", and so on. Entertainment for a short time only.

oh ... and I had one of those scam calls telling me they could fix my windowzz operating system. Now that was fun! Had them on the phone for half an hour pretending to do all they asked. Pretended something went wrong and had a "supervisor" call back to "fix" the "problem". Another 15 minutes of fun before they realised what I was doing. "click". ahh ... memories.