Yeah, pretty much as west as you can be in Canada. Northern Vancouver Island in B.C. Our little community only requires a site permit so you don’t build too close to the property line. I can see the regulations coming but they aren’t here yet. The main drivers are the banks and the insurance companies. If you don’t have to borrow you don’t have to jump through their " well intentioned " but increasingly stringent hoops. Most of the carpenters here aren’t going for the needed certifications and only doing remodels. Driving the costs up getting certified guys from farther away. I have a lumber grading ticket so could write a certifying letter but don’t need to. It is kind of a joke because the " kiln dried lumber " in the building supply is out in the yard exposed to all the rain. I can certify beams but the building has to be an engineered design. The trusses can be store bought 2x4 s with pressed metal plates. Mine are full 2x6 bottom chord and full 2x4 tops with 5/8 ply gussets. This is not a spec house! I am building it for me and my descendants.
Fear is what those companies are good at. It cost me a lot of money to get and stay certified but it comes back to me. It is never black and white, always gray. Regulation often leads to better products, but at the same time a lot of unneeded bureaucracy.
Don’t lose your mind yet. Fuel is still really cheap for what it does.
I ask myself how high does it have to get before switching to snow shoes and sledding in groceries?
I believe now is the time to fill the welding tanks, buy the rod and wire, lay in the grinding wheels, and buy the equipment one needs to build producers.
When it’s high enough to start snowshoeing, it’s too late to build a decent producer…then it’s Mike LaRosa duct tape time.
Pretty exciting to think about. I know the boys are old enough to understand Woodgas if they are shown.
When snow is off, we will pull that locked up D318 Cat motor, from the D6 and start on the wood fueled Chevy engine.
Air compressor was a little slow to start today. Checked the oil and holy cow at the sludge. I changed this oil last year and only use this compressor maybe 3 hours a month. Added some fresh 20W and a splash of marvel to it after draining the garbage oil out. I’ll probably change it again next month after the new oil has had time to loosen the sludge.
Just sludge, didn’t see any flakes or milkyness that would indicate wear or water.
I think what happened is, my dad used to maintain this compressor, it’s an old industrial sized V Twin compressor. When dad moved out of the house we would randomly use it but I didn’t know it needed oil changes. I’ve only just recently as of two years ago started changing the oil.
I think it’s just from years of intermittent use and never getting hot enough to break up the sludge to drain out. When I go into the shop the first thing I do is hit the breaker switch to turn on the compressor, it’s located outside with a little roof to keep rain off.
Even when dad got it, it was already old. He got it from his brother who was an On-Call maintenance man for factory equipment and a place wanted to throw it out. Everything is either brass fittings or cast iron.
I have educated many people to doing oil changes on air compressors. Previose shop I worked at threw away a 3 year old compressor that locked up, had leaked out all the oil and seized. Still don’t know what I’m going to do with this tank but it will come in handy some day, dad wants to turn it into a hog scalding pot, I was thinking smoker or boiler parts. Been dragging it around for 8 years now still haven’t done anything with it
Right there with you Bruce. Been doing it for quite a while. Never sure how I would get gases so I just keep buying rolls of flux core and rod, cut off wheels, grinding wheels, pipe fittings, solder and flux. Whole world of materials laying around if you have the fabrication supplies to do something with it.
Norman once you have a permanent home shop the thing to do with cast off air pressure tanks is to parallel mount them to a good V-twin air compressor.
Can’t have too much air pre-charged.
We did that at the gun shop had several tanks coupled in line from a screw compressor. 2 full size sand blasters running automated another with me running it 6-8 hours plus the mill and lathe. Never ran out of air once
Yeah. High volume air-use shops I’ve been surprised not more thought-use done with heating and cooling from the compressed air systems
Close neighbor/in-town shops we had the noisy air compressors inside.
Great heat contributor in the cold season. Same with the hot water automated cleaner machines.
And on the air-use side actually can contribute to in-shop summer cooling.
S.U.
I love my air tools way more than any of my electric rotary tools. They never run hot, they are maintainable, and even if my 220v motor craps out I can strap the compressor up to a gas or diesel engine, or make someone run a bicycle! I should probably get a new air tank, the old draincock area is rusted I think because it constantly drains. A plus for me considering it now never has water in the tank but a negative because I can’t just store air.
I have thought a lot about this over the years. Using a set up like an Aeromotor windmill to pump air. I figure some water wells using them have to be hundreds of feet of drop pipe and yet they have enough torque to pull water up that distance. When I was doing paint systems we used air motors for a lot of applications where an electric motor would have presented an explosion risk. Lots of large 250-500 gallon propane tanks around to store air in.
For the other things you are right, but this one is not correct. Max 100 W if you are very fit.
My electricity usage is way to high (not really, just average) and I am looking/ thinking to change the filtersytem on the plasma cnc to NOT clean by air but some mechanical way. Compressed air is very very expensive and you will have to cut a lot more trees to get that one going instead of a battery tool and solarpower.
Yeah this guy was brought up before.
Amazing he was able to Sprint burst for minutes at 700-800 watts.
A human dragster. Watch his other videos power lifting.
Now look at this world class time-trialer distance rider. Lean, mean ~400 watts capable for hour after hour. Heart and lungs, circulatory system.
No big bulging over developed thighs or upper body.
Too much weight to drag along. Too much air resistance to push aside in the Sprinter man.
Valentines day and if wishes could-be: I’d trade my 25" (62cm) thighs and meaty gluts for a 30 years younger heart and lungs.
Pants have always been a difficulty in the legs and butt. Ha! Why I’ve had to wear suspenders. or hand remake the waistlines.
I counted and have 40, average of 9 watt LED light bulbs in the house.
All lit off makes for 360 watts electrical usage.
Be much more impressive for an endurance bike-man to have lit up a whole house for an evening.
Steve unruh
Hi All, Still Winter weather with many days forced inside here due to soft grounds and muds.
So once the kids on the bus off to school YouTube educational time for an old fart retiree like me.
There was talk about ditching out of air tools and going into all battery electric.
Here is a video of a very fast transmission rebuilding guy (older - like me) who has been transitioning out of his hosed air tools to battery electric:
This is from August 18, 2021
He started this transition back in May of that year. Encouraged to try from his YouTube viewers.
First, he fought the electric with not soft-quick coupling up of his sockets. With the electrics harder starting torque he fought rounding off of his sockets entry mouths and some fastener heads.
Then once he got that down he tried everything with different sized of battery electric impacts. That phase did not last long. Too much breakages.
To now using both air and electrics for their different, best characteristics.
Yep. I was raised to hand tool everything. Progressive using air tools later sped me up a lot. Extended out my working career capabilities by a full decade as the hands weakened and trigger-fingered a lot then.
I’ve used battery electric for the drilling and driving of fasteners for the last 22 years. First 12 VDC until on it’s third replacement battery. Then that system NLA. Went with 14.5 volt next. Still got it with only half a battery time use capable now. Recently upgraded to a three tool Milwaukie 18 volt system based on what transmission Richard evolved to using.
Great for drilling and fastener driving and removing.
But for the cost of all of these in the last 22 years I could have bought a whole commercial 30 years life air compressor system and two set of comparable air tools.
Ha! Hey wait! I did do that 1990 to 2007! Yes. I was a fanatic of air moisture draining. Super fanatic on before daily use squirting air oil down the tools air chuck.
Air tool system it is no electronics in the charger’s; batteries; and tools. Air tool systems are 90%, see-do mechanical. Evne thier elecrical side is non-electronic. See-do-smell-bad.
Look at human manned assembly lines. Still using air tools. Safer on the assemblies. Much less tool-is-down, useable time. Cheaper.
Don’t sell air-as-power short.
Account for ALL usage factors.
Steve Unruh
