Entropy continued

[MicMaven]

Damn this is disappointing, my new sprayer (actually the hose) just failed spraying water all over my kitchen.

Sorry to hear that. Have you considered buying a new faucet? A licensed plumber recently explained the problem is, sometimes, where the hose spray attaches to the faucet. For example, there is water to MY hose spray handle, but not enough pressure to make it spray, and the problem appears to be where the hose attaches to the main faucet - so, perhaps you have a similar situation? Could your problem possibly be with the faucet - or also? Maybe? Not saying, just spitballing hoping it might help. My road to Heck is paved with all my good intentions! James

 

[kags]

Cheap non contact thermometers are <$10... I am also looking at thermal imaging cameras that are less than $200 but that a little much for just messing around.

I would like to have that capability for checking for heat/cooling leaks (windows and doors), but not ready to pull the trigger at 2 C notes.

JR

I’ve been using a Back and Decker thermal imaging “camera” as a stud finder. It’s great for locating ceiling joists that wander or jog in old ceilings. This has saved lots of time and pilot holes while installing overhead speakers for immersive setups. I think I paid around 50 bucks

 

[JohnRoberts]

Sorry to hear that. Have you considered buying a new faucet?

Ideally I'd like a commercial kitchen sink that has a pull down sprayer but have I mentioned that I am cheap?

A licensed plumber recently explained the problem is, sometimes, where the hose spray attaches to the faucet. For example, there is water to MY hose spray handle, but not enough pressure to make it spray, and the problem appears to be where the hose attaches to the main faucet - so, perhaps you have a similar situation?

No plenty of pressure,,, In fact a little too much pressure, when I sprayed water into bowls and like, water would shoot back out, so I modified the sprayer by adding some foam pipe insulation to keep me from pushing down the spray lever too far.

Could your problem possibly be with the faucet - or also? Maybe? Not saying, just spitballing hoping it might help. My road to Heck is paved with all my good intentions! James

My suspicion is that 1) I use the side sprayer more than typical because I keep a bottle washer screwed into the regular faucet and 2) there is a relatively heavy weight attached to the side sprayer hose under the sink to retract the hose. I will leave that weight off when I replace the hose. Hopefully the hose will be less stressed.

I am really pleased with this side sprayer, but the hose is a disappointment. A steel braid shielded hose looked like it should be pretty robust, but it wasn't.

JR

 

[Mr. Moscode]

I’ve been using a Back and Decker thermal imaging “camera” as a stud finder. It’s great for locating ceiling joists that wander or jog in old ceilings. This has saved lots of time and pilot holes while installing overhead speakers for immersive setups. I think I paid around 50 bucks

$50 is a steal. What model? I have a flir camera for my phone but it's low res. I also have a contact studfinder that pretty reliable.
Fighting entropy from here on out . . . . . . . . . .

 

[kags]

$50 is a steal. What model? I have a flir camera for my phone but it's low res. I also have a contact studfinder that pretty reliable.
Fighting entropy from here on out . . . . . . . . . .

I got it at Home Depot in 2019 or 2020. They do seem to have gone up a lot! I bought it s as a toy.

 

[Mr. Moscode]

I got it at Home Depot in 2019 or 2020. They do seem to have gone up a lot! I bought it s as a toy.

AAAH- pre covid! What's the make and model?

 

[kags]

AAAH- pre covid! What's the make and model?

I’ll look it up when I’m back at the shop- it has only a trigger- no buttons around the screen. It’s a Black and Decker, but I’ve seen imports that look identical under other brand names. I was doing some renovations at home and while browsing at the store, I came across the imager and though for the price it might be helpful for many things.

I’ve been trying it for some electronic troubleshooting, but it is not really precise enough to get a temp of a transistor on a crowded board. It seems to average an area of a few square inches. It does work for isolated items in a circuit. It is also a good stud finder and helped me locate some other utilities hidden in walls.

 

[JohnRoberts]

There is a lower resolution thermal image camera 24x24 for $150, and the better 120x90 is still $200.... I am still interested but I am also still too cheap to drop $200 on a lark, at least not today.

JR

 

[JohnRoberts]

This is my old sink side sprayer hose that started leaking. My suspicion is that they cut one corner too many using too soft (cheap) of the interior tube/hose.

Sorted, but replaced with the same OEM hose. I removed the heavy under sink weight that was there to assist recoiling the hose. I suspect a decent rubber/vinyl hose might be more robust.

JR

 

[JohnRoberts]

View attachment 122216
Here is this morning's image of my rain gauge array. Our first rainfall since I reversed the float insert inside my copper freeze proof gauge. All four rain gauges are now in relative agreement. The copper freeze proof is still difficult to read for small amounts but now more accurate because rain does not get caught inside the top of the float. There is a tiny difference between the tilted vs the straight up cheap plastic rain gauge. We have more rain expected tonight so I reset the gauges to zero.

My conclusion is that all of the rain gauges when properly used are merchantable. In hindsight the cheap rain gauge would be completely adequate, and easier to read. A second backup gauge kept safely out of freezing weather would still be cost effective. The results of my experiments is that there is less difference between them than I expected.

JR

I finally had enough rain for a fair test of my 5 rain gauges.

The top reading was 1 1/2" in one 9" bucket and the premium copper gauge. Both cheap plastic rain gauges read low, with the tilted back plastic gauge reading the lowest. My second 9" plastic bucket was a total fail, since apparently I drilled some pin holes in the bottom to allow rain water to drain out (inconvenient for a rain gauge). I have cleaned out a different 9" bucket without any drainage holes and will attempt to transfer the adhesive backed rulers over to it.

My early conclusion is that the 9" plastic buckets can be reliable. The relatively small diameter copper gauge did better than expected.

More rain forecast for next week, so more data to follow.

JR

 

[JohnRoberts]

It appears that where the sink side sprayer hose interfaces with the holder is a known point of failure. This replacement hose from another vendor reveals a metal reinforcement to prevent that known failure.
JR

 

[JohnRoberts]

I am reaching the conclusion that bottle washer and sink side sprayer poor reliability are a personal problem. Apparently people who brew and drink as much beer as I do, use kegs or mini kegs to avoid all the bottle washing. I prefer the portion control of refilling individual beer bottles.

My latest incremental improvement to my sink hardware is a diverter valve so I can leave my bottle washer attached and use the valve to switch between bottle washer and normal faucet. This should reduce the wear and tear on my side sprayer from over use.

JR

 

[kags]

My tenant is a chef and he had me replace the side sprayer with a second single-hole faucet so the double sink also has a double faucet. You could use one side for the bottle washer and one for normal sink stuff if you don’t need the sprayer.

 

[sodderboy]

My happy medium was champagne bottles. I would cruise the catering halls on Sunday for plenty of grist. The conditioning was not as good as single bottles, but was still a good presentation.
If I depended on myself only to make libations, I would install commercial whatever I needed.
I label anything electronic or Amazon gadget with a date purchased. The under-cabinet kitchen lights have about a 5-year life span. I like the current jams so much I bought an extra set to get 10 years. And the wired motion-sensing closet lights? Man they rock, but for how long? 5 years I hope, and I'll buy them again because I am not going back to a pull chain.
Mike

 

[JohnRoberts]

My tenant is a chef and he had me replace the side sprayer with a second single-hole faucet so the double sink also has a double faucet. You could use one side for the bottle washer and one for normal sink stuff if you don’t need the sprayer.

I finally decided that I am (was) the problem.... I am currently washing and refilling 12 oz and 22 oz glass beer bottles. I likes my beer a lot so have tested the reliability/robustness of bottle washers and sink side sprayers. My next experiment is to start kegging my beer batches. Using 5 Gallon mini-kegs avoids all the individual bottling labor. These mini kegs seem like a pretty mature technology but I am sure I will have to make other adjustments. Of course these kegs need to be cleaned between batches. We'll see how it works out.

It's possible to carbonate the beer with pressurized CO2, (apparently pressurize the mini-keg to 25 PSI for several days, then reduce to 3 PSI or so for dispensing). I could just add priming sugar like with bottle finishing like I use now. I expect using CO2 instead of a secondary fermentation would result in less sediment to clean out of the mini-kegs.

I have my first mini-keg on order so my next experiment in DIY libations begins momentarily.
=====
I am ready to stick a fork in my rain gauges experiment. I had 5 different rain gauges deployed during the 5" rain storm yesterday. None of the commercial rain gauges delivered very competent (accurate?) results. All under-reported total rainfall somewhat.

My two DIY red neck rain gauges made from cheap 9 1/2" plastic pails with adhesive backed rulers mounted inside, reported the exact same 5" rain fall despite being placed several feet away from each other in my yard. The downside to my red neck plastic rain pails is that they make attractive homes for mosquito eggs, and are not freeze proof.

JR

 

[MicMaven]

I am currently washing and refilling 12 oz and 22 oz glass beer bottles. I likes my beer a lot so have tested the reliability/robustness of bottle washers and sink side sprayers. My next experiment is to start kegging my beer batches.

Nuts! (This is a bad pun as you will discover below ...)

If you switch to bourbon, then it gets much easier! Bourbon is aged in NEW charred white oak barrels - no clean up and you can sell your spent barrels to Scotland where they age their rotgut in spent bourbon barrels or sherry casks. Beer is too much work and lacks sufficient kick for the effort. I have my stock broker distilling and aging his own hooch! Be more efficient and work less - make bourbon, instead.

. The downside to my red neck plastic rain pails is that they make attractive homes for mosquito eggs, and are not freeze proof.

JR

That is why I went straight to surrender and use an empty peanut can for MY rain gauge. I got it for ... I cannot resist ... "JUST PEANUTS !!" Easy to clean and practically maintenance free, and when it rusts, it will blend into the yard so much easier. Do yourself a favor - try a peanut can and save the cost of any other device - and you can enjoy the peanuts with your beer! A win -win scenario if I ever saw one. I'll drink to it !

Or dump all those toys and spring for a REAL rain gauge that empties itself so you don't get your toes-ies wet dumping it. See photo below. They cost around $35-$40 - although I acknowledge that would cut deep into a week's beer fund! Ouch. (seriously)

And that is just MY take - your mileage may vary. James

 

[JohnRoberts]

Nuts! (This is a bad pun as you will discover below ...)

If you switch to bourbon, then it gets much easier! Bourbon is aged in NEW charred white oak barrels - no clean up and you can sell your spent barrels to Scotland where they age their rotgut in spent bourbon barrels or sherry casks. Beer is too much work and lacks sufficient kick for the effort. I have my stock broker distilling and aging his own hooch! Be more efficient and work less - make bourbon, instead.

Since I roll my own libations I am not ready to start making beverages that need to age more than a couple weeks.

That is why I went straight to surrender and use an empty peanut can for MY rain gauge. I got it for ... I cannot resist ... "JUST PEANUTS !!" Easy to clean and practically maintenance free, and when it rusts, it will blend into the yard so much easier. Do yourself a favor - try a peanut can and save the cost of any other device - and you can enjoy the peanuts with your beer! A win -win scenario if I ever saw one. I'll drink to it !

Or dump all those toys and spring for a REAL rain gauge that empties itself so you don't get your toes-ies wet dumping it. See photo below. They cost around $35-$40 - although I acknowledge that would cut deep into a week's beer fund! Ouch. (seriously)

And that is just MY take - your mileage may vary. James

I didn't find that one, but see a different one that also claims to be freeze proof. The opening on the one I found was like 7" rectangular so less than the recommended 8" diameter. Not sure I want yet another battery operated gadget to maintain. ==== Speaking of batteries my mailbox alarm went off late last night. I put fresh batteries in it about a week ago so that should not be the problem. That's what fixed it last time.

View attachment 124222View attachment 124223

My recent rain was 5" so the peanut can would be full.

JR

 

[MicMaven]

My recent rain was 5" so the peanut can would be full.

OK ... I surrender! Some guys would complain if you hang them with a new rope.

NUTS -- If the peanut can is too short, you can use a No 10 size can, instead. I DIY my own pasta sauce, so I usually have one on hand.

I GIVE UP -- if you get more than 5 inches of rain in any material period of time, you surely DO NOT NEED a rain gauge, and you should be fully aware you do not need to water the lawn! If we get 5 inches of rain, our gardens would all be washed away, obviating the need for water anything!

Methinks you may be obsessing. _ _ _ (Anonymous)

 

[JohnRoberts]

OK ... I surrender! Some guys would complain if you hang them with a new rope.

Since I evaluated a number of commercial rain gauges too, I am trying to be objectively critical. The biggest fault of the peanut can is diameter, the short height is a secondary concern.

NUTS -- If the peanut can is too short, you can use a No 10 size can, instead. I DIY my own pasta sauce, so I usually have one on hand.

My 9 1/2" plastic pails are inexpensive and will not rust. The adhesive backed rulers I added to the pails were also inexpensive.

I GIVE UP -- if you get more than 5 inches of rain in any material period of time, you surely DO NOT NEED a rain gauge, and you should be fully aware you do not need to water the lawn! If we get 5 inches of rain, our gardens would all be washed away, obviating the need for water anything!

We have been suffering from a prolonged drought period locally. Hopefully this 5" storm effectively ended that. I have a pile of tree branches that need burning.

Speaking of entropy I am pleased that my crawl space sump pump float controller worked flawlessly, to empty ground water from beneath my house. Over the years I invested a lot of time on tweaks and improvements. Really nice that it did not require any more attention.

Methinks you may be obsessing. _ _ _ (Anonymous)

Indeed, deploying 5 separate rain gauges is about 4 too many. Inexplicably the copper freeze proof rain gauge turned in a pretty strong performance despite having only a modest sized collection aperture. Perhaps a larger diameter version of that copper freeze proof design would have merit.

JR

 

[JohnRoberts]

I guess this qualified as entropy... I just replaced the battery in my smart phone. Not exactly rocket science but harder IMO than it should be. I am impressed with the connectors they used for the battery (+?) contact and the fingerprint reader that had to be removed and reconnected.

The case (motorola G7) is mainly held together with adhesive. The kit came with a small metal pry-bar. I suspect the case in the video was previously apart. In the video he was able to pry it apart with a small plastic pick, mine took significantly more effort and the metal tool.

Then the camera housing was held in place with 10- T5 torx screws. The repair kit came with a torx driver but it was a T4 not a T5. About half the screws refused to unscrew (the screws had some thread lock on them) . Luckily I had a set of torx bits so used a proper sized T5 to remove the rest of the screws. For a while I only found 9 screws until I noticed the tenth hiding under a paper sticker. Probably a tell to reveal if a phone was ever disassembled.

Removing the battery was difficult. With a normal screw driver the battery folded up and shorted internally releasing a shower of sparks and toxic fumes. I took the phone outdoors and finished prying out the battery with a plastic putty knife. The battery was slightly swollen and barely fit into same box the new battery came in.

Reassembled and back in service, the new battery is behaving better than the old one.

JR

PS: Did you ever repair anything in the same time as the Youtube repair video? The video took <15 minutes, my actual repair took 2 1/2-3 hours.