great ideas around the house. January 24, 2009, 12:10:59 PM Post up a pic of something you have done around the house that could help others out. Are you the type that collects plastic shopping bags that pile up or become a pain? see my fix. Cut the bottom out of an apple juice container and mount it to the wall.Want to decrease your water heater electrical useage,, see my fix. Very high quality made in the US automatic and manual timer single or three phase compatable found at lowes.Got a wood burner somewhere like in the garage but tired of the wind getting back down in it causing back draft? see my fix. Metal coffe can will fit perfect over top of most 6'' duct. just cut openings into the side of the coffee can which act as regulators as well. Quote Selected
great ideas around the house. Reply #1 – January 24, 2009, 01:03:50 PM Nice...ive dont the plastic bag one. right now im trying to find a solution for our lack of space for the recycling. i built up a frame to stack our washer and dryer to save space. should have bought stackable units in the first place. Quote Selected
great ideas around the house. Reply #2 – January 24, 2009, 01:34:06 PM That water heater timer is a good idea. No point in keeping water hot overnight.I'm the master of redneck engineering. I simply don't wanna spend money. It's actually more than being cheap, though - it's also a matter of pride. I have the tools, I have the skills, and if I don't have the skills I'll either learn 'em or fake it. Some of my greatest hits:I made a chimney cap for the garage woodstove out of two old Ford van hubcaps and some galvanized sheet metal. Got tired of the flimsy and not cheap store bought ones coming apart in wind storms. No better pics of this because I didn't take the camera on the roof - in fact, going on the roof was the hardest part, as I'm TERRIFIED of heights. Here's a pic:*EDIT* I misunderstood the purpose of the thread, so I deleted the window stuff.If you paint a lot of small items you could make yourself a miniature vented paint booth. This booth was made using a single 4X8 sheet of 3/4" plywood. I mainly use it to cast resin (for my sequencers). I've got it in my attic, in my office. There are two 150-watt flood lights to provide some heat (the two can be switched independently) and a 110CFM bathroom fan mounted on top. The motor in the fan is permanent magnet and brushless - this is extremely important, because it does not create sparks. Some 1" holes drilled in the bottom of the door give the box a cross flow. If you were using it for paint you might want to put some sort of filters over the air intakes. I vented through the wall because I was redoing the attic anyway and use the box a lot, but if you only use it occasionally you could vent it out a window. Quote Selected
great ideas around the house. Reply #3 – January 24, 2009, 02:22:42 PM QuoteI'm the master of redneck engineering. I simply don't wanna spend money. It's actually more than being cheap, though - it's also a matter of pride. I have the tools, I have the skills, and if I don't have the skills I'll either learn 'em or fake it.A men to that....quote of the year right there.... Quote Selected
great ideas around the house. Reply #4 – January 24, 2009, 02:29:46 PM Next summer I will be building this (you will like this, Scott):http://www.scribd.com/doc/8260530/How-To-Make-A-Waste-Oil-Heater Quote Selected
great ideas around the house. Reply #5 – January 24, 2009, 02:30:57 PM Clean your shoe's off before you go in the house after the junkyard.!! I'm scrubbing now> Quote Selected
great ideas around the house. Reply #6 – January 24, 2009, 02:44:44 PM Quote from: Thunder Chicken;253352If you paint a lot of small items you could make yourself a miniature vented paint booth. Hmmm, that's a great idea. I'm always painting stuff in the basp00get, but the fumes eventually find their way upstairs into my living room. Now I know what to do with that blower I got from our old burn-in racks at work (motor is isolated from blower cage.)My garage has a normal rectangular chimney on it so I bought a commercial chimney cap - good ideas though. Quote Selected
great ideas around the house. Reply #7 – January 24, 2009, 02:55:15 PM QuoteNext summer I will be building this (you will like this, Scott):http://www.scribd.com/doc/8260530/Ho...ste-Oil-HeaterAwesome...when you do post up your results/progress. looks like a neet and fun project. my home is pellet stove and electric. might be nice to have a non electric option. Quote Selected
great ideas around the house. Reply #8 – January 24, 2009, 03:00:06 PM Well, my addition is this:I have a dual-fuel stove in my basp00get, and I'd rather use wood when possible than diesel fuel, and since my basp00get windows are low and not very tall, I made a little chute out of 2x4's and a piece of barn tin that comes up just over the tailgate of my truck (when it's opened and down) so that i can just drop the pieces of wood on it, and they slide right down through the window frame and into the basp00get. I bent the edges of the tin up so that the wood wouldn't fall off before it got in the basp00get.Saves a LOT of bending down with my hands full to drop wood in.If I get a free minute later, I'll take pics of it. Quote Selected
great ideas around the house. Reply #9 – January 24, 2009, 03:06:31 PM Quote from: Thunder Chicken;253367Next summer I will be building this (you will like this, Scott):http://www.scribd.com/doc/8260530/How-To-Make-A-Waste-Oil-HeaterCool idea. Our town uses the waste oil collected at the dump to heat the facilities there - pretty leading edge if you ask me. Quote Selected
great ideas around the house. Reply #10 – January 24, 2009, 03:40:23 PM Hey cassidy, the tank isn't a storage area!!. not a coffe dryer. Quote Selected
great ideas around the house. Reply #11 – January 24, 2009, 05:35:03 PM Quote from: Kitz Kat;253368Clean your shoe's off before you go in the house after the junkyard.!! I'm scrubbing now>THAT'S funny.I got yelled at by the wife yesterday because I was still wearing the Rid Wings after the yard run.I have to remember to remove the boots before getting on the carpet. Quote Selected
great ideas around the house. Reply #12 – January 24, 2009, 06:03:14 PM Quote from: Thunder Chicken;253352That water heater timer is a good idea. No point in keeping water hot overnight.True, but I wonder how much energy is consumed when that timer clicks on and the heater has to run long and hard to heat the cool/cold water. If it has to do this once a day, would it not negate the purpose of using a timer for energy savings?How much energy is consumed to maintain a certain temperature of water versus heating an entire tank every day? Quote Selected
great ideas around the house. Reply #13 – January 24, 2009, 06:15:32 PM Quote from: cougarcragar;253397How much energy is consumed to maintain a certain temperature of water versus heating an entire tank every day?Depends on it's location (heated area or semi-heated) and if it has an insulating blanket around it. Quote Selected
great ideas around the house. Reply #14 – January 24, 2009, 06:18:13 PM It usually costs more to heat water from a colder temp. (at least in my case).Our entire house has radiant and baseboard heating. It costs less to keep the heat at 68-70 then to turn the temp. down and try to re-heat the water, and reheat the house back to the original 68-70. and our bills are about the same as a house with about 1000 less sq. feetAs for our hot water tank, I'ts very energy efficient. It almost never turns on, unless someone is using the hot water.most newer tanks will do the same from about 2003 on up Quote Selected
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