A day in the shop

It's been a long time since I posted an update, so I thought I would post a bunch of pictures about what is going on in the shop today.

First is some control circuitry for the LEnR experiment. The schematic was drawn on the board.

Then, Paul works on the little circuit boards that will hold the circuits. He tries drilling the mounting holes...

But ends up making a very square looking owl face, instead.

But it's OK, because the owl fits in the test rack.

Then he commences the actual circuit assembly.

In another part of the shop, Jake and Jim C are working on a sink for the new garden shed that they will be able to wash plants and vegetables in.

On another table is a replacement water cooling coil that arrived damaged, so we had to get another one coming rather than installing it as planned.

An our resident wizard, Wayne, is busy refining the designs for the new duplex arc, even as the carpenters are building the foundation.

And Jeff is using the CNC router table to cut a bunch of holes into OSB pieces that will hold the under floor sensor conduits in the new duplex ARC.

And just outside the back of the shop, Mark and Dan are spending the day whipping up a replacement outhouse. Normally, we'd prefer a sawdust toilet in properties like the one this is for, but in this case, the usage is so light and the outhouse tank is already in place, that it makes sense.

And, while not being directly a shop project, the sign that Lisa had revamped and gotten installed Friday, got a landscaping make over with a mowing, a wood chip walkway and even some flowers with automatic drip irrigation. It is now very inviting as well as informational.

Self explanatory:

Also sort of self explanatory (especially after ninja attack):

Conditioned Air? Yes Please!

The Mani Shop has gotten a little bit cooler recently. With RREAL's expansion last fall, we rearranged the HUG offices in the building. This rearrangement made the greenhouse the main hallway and we found that in the summer heat this made the attached offices extremely uncomfortable. With a large area to cool and high costs of operating a concern, a normal air conditioning unit would not meet the needs of the shop. So, a new air conditioner was designed.

Using a furnace blower as the core, we designed the unit to work with cold water instead of a compressor. Using a radiator coil we inherited from an old grocery store, we are able to transfer the cold via an air exchanger to the blower at a rate of 2.5 gallons per second. We get a second use out of the water, too. We divert the water after it's used to help in watering the living garden on the roof via a sprinkler system. Plus, any additional overflow goes to the pond in front of the Mani Shop.

Here you can see Ryan installing the holes for the duct work.

It also recirculates the air it uses. This lets the unit work less often and keeps the air in the building colder, longer. This is very useful because the AC unity can push up to 2000 cubic feet of air per minute. This recirculation cleans the air and with an activated charcoal filter, it helps keep the air fresh by absorbing odors.

It was given a wooden bracket for a brace and was placed in the mezzanine level for easy access and maintenance.

Here you can see the air ducts and water hose.

The system is working wonderfully, now. In fact, on Friday we had several little girls splashing through the sprinkler system on the roof. Sounds like we got it online just in time.

Solar Conveyor

I am trying out a new way to bring solar heat inside, without using air or water as a medium. From a web search, it doesn't seem like anyone is trying this, except someone patented a solar belt collector way back in 1975!

Here is the inside belt. There are no fans. The belt heats the building through radiation and natural convection.

The powered conveyor roller only consumes 5W, and since the belt gives off almost 500W of heat, the coefficient of performance is almost 100.





The same belt extends outside where it absorbs the sun's energy. The glazing is inexpensive 6mm twin-wall polycarbonate. The belt is made from an EPDM pond liner. It is not as black as it could be, so the overall efficiency of the system is about 40-50%.

The bar has been set for awesome shop signs.

Lisa's masterpiece.
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Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.

Super King Kong Double Whammy Green Machine

The Pine River Dam Park has its playground equipment. On Tuesday, Rainbow Play Systems installed the "Super King Kong Double Whammy Green Machine" at the cleared area north of the Pine River Dam, just off of Barclay Ave.

The installers normally take only several hours to complete installation of normal backyard models. However, this model is so large it took them all day, through rain and blustery wind.
It comes complete with a set of three swings, a climbing wall, picnic table and rocking bench, two slides, and four clubhouses.

It took no time before the playground was swarming with kids.

The unit is so large that it barely fits into the prepared 30x55ft area. There are plans to expand the areas around the slides and buoy ball swing for safety.

If you want to see more information on this monstrosity, visit the Rainbow Play Systems website.

Pine River Dam Park Under Construction

In partnership with Rotary International, HUG has offered to help prepare a site in downtown Pine River for a future playground. The Dam River Park, located just north of the Pine River Dam on Barclay Ave, was in serious need of an overhaul.

First, the derelict exterior fireplace was removed, twelve horseshoe posts were taken out, and around 50 tons of play sand was delivered.

We then took 7 red pines from our property, cut them, stripped them, and hauled them out to the site.

We dug trenches for the logs to be placed in.

Jim measured (twice) and cut (once).

We notched the ends, arraigned the logs into a rectangle and finally secured them so they wouldn't roll.

After the logs were arraigned, we leveled out the sand and raked around the logs to shore up the sand.

The playground equipment will be delivered next week and once installed we will be installing a balance beam from the leftover logs. We should be finished just in time for Frost Free Friday next Friday the 27th.

Solar Panel Carts

Jake's been kept pretty busy over the last several weeks. RREAL has commissioned him to create a specially designed cart to carry the solar panels they create

After improving on a design that his father made

Jake cut the steel...

welded the frame...

and finished the cart.

Four carts were made overall and several of the older models were touched up. They, now have the capability to carry 50-60 solar panels that can reach up to three thousand pounds. Good work, Jake.