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What's the aluminum foil test?
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POTD- PROJECT OF THE DAY: What Did You Make In Your Shop Today?
- Thread starter wachuko
- Start date
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- Apr 23, 2018
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No. Is it a test where I use a soft metal like aluminum (foil is 98.5% aluminum, balance silicon and iron), drawn thinner than a sheet of paper, to demonstrate what I might be doing to my ground and polished ISO/DIN/JIS/ASTM spec'd high carbon chromium steel bearings?
So far, I've seen only a little writeup for a trade journal utilizing upscaled processes. I'm thinking a little water rinse is nice for cleaning too, but "wet" doesn't imply pressure washer or water jet cutter in the extreme, so no cause for alarm.
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- Nov 23, 2014
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Okay, it wasn't a POTD; actually winter/spring 2023, but I'm officially calling "Woodfest 2023" complete! We supplement our geothermal heating with firewood. We have a couple of fireplaces in the house that on their own raise the house temp around 30 F from the outside temp. Keeping the fireplaces going cut our propane usage down by half. Of course, it's a lot of work; I think the joke goes something like, "cutting your own firewood heats you twice".
Yet another GREAT thing about being retired is I get to split the work up from just cutting on the weekends to any day of the week. I put up around 8 full cords of wood a year. In my 30's, that was a long week's work. Now, it's spread over months which is much more tolerable to my aging body.
As others who supplement their heat with wood will tell you, though I may be done for next winter, the work really never stops. Before you know it, it's time to start cutting for next year. On the plus side for us, the county came through last year and cleaned up the river trail. Their contractor did a great job cutting and stacking well over 50 trees just off our river trail. My goal is to go out at least one day a week through summer and run a tank through the saw (run around 30 tanks through for a full season). And on top of that, we had some limited foresting done last year which has left over 50 maple tree tops down in our woods - more easy pickings.
Thanks for looking, Bruce
About 8 full cords stored in our barn. Another POTD under the cardboard "tarp"; Craftsman lawn mower with 4 flats and a very bad repair done by me on one of the mower pulleys that snapped off a shaft. I did a poor job getting the pulley centered to the shaft when it was welded back on, vibrates like crazy. We replaced the mower with a JD 4 or 5 years ago; the Craftsman is another "retirement project".
Another full cord at our lower level
Another full cord in the garage. Yeah, the dog doesn't use the dog house much anymore! And "no", we don't have a springer spaniel!
We have over 50 trees down just off our river trail. The ones around 3' diameter will probably not get harvested. Sure, a 3' diameter slab yields 4 times what a 18" diameter slab does, but it also weighs 4 times as much. Much easier on my back taking just the smaller stuff!
We have over 50 maples that were harvested in our woods. These are on high-ground and should last at least 2-3 years before they start punking out. I'll focus my sweat & labor on the more at risk stuff on the river trail.
Yet another GREAT thing about being retired is I get to split the work up from just cutting on the weekends to any day of the week. I put up around 8 full cords of wood a year. In my 30's, that was a long week's work. Now, it's spread over months which is much more tolerable to my aging body.
As others who supplement their heat with wood will tell you, though I may be done for next winter, the work really never stops. Before you know it, it's time to start cutting for next year. On the plus side for us, the county came through last year and cleaned up the river trail. Their contractor did a great job cutting and stacking well over 50 trees just off our river trail. My goal is to go out at least one day a week through summer and run a tank through the saw (run around 30 tanks through for a full season). And on top of that, we had some limited foresting done last year which has left over 50 maple tree tops down in our woods - more easy pickings.
Thanks for looking, Bruce
About 8 full cords stored in our barn. Another POTD under the cardboard "tarp"; Craftsman lawn mower with 4 flats and a very bad repair done by me on one of the mower pulleys that snapped off a shaft. I did a poor job getting the pulley centered to the shaft when it was welded back on, vibrates like crazy. We replaced the mower with a JD 4 or 5 years ago; the Craftsman is another "retirement project".
Another full cord at our lower level
Another full cord in the garage. Yeah, the dog doesn't use the dog house much anymore! And "no", we don't have a springer spaniel!
We have over 50 trees down just off our river trail. The ones around 3' diameter will probably not get harvested. Sure, a 3' diameter slab yields 4 times what a 18" diameter slab does, but it also weighs 4 times as much. Much easier on my back taking just the smaller stuff!
We have over 50 maples that were harvested in our woods. These are on high-ground and should last at least 2-3 years before they start punking out. I'll focus my sweat & labor on the more at risk stuff on the river trail.
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2021
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- 1,048
No. It's just a quick test looking for cavitation damage to a sheet of aluminum foil. Aluminum shows it fairly fast. Sort of a Go-NoGo test to see if the ultrasonic cleaner is "any good". Sorts out the weak ones that can't make cavitation from the ones that can. (Even the cheap chinese imports are pretty powerful now. Powerful enough, that I wouldn't spend the extra for a Crest ultrasonic any more.)
Just drop a sheet of aluminum foil in the ultrasonic cleaner to see if it eats holes in it. If it does, then it may be more powerful than you think.
Cavitation damage to items in water or oil can happy WAY faster than you might expect. I've seen it eat a hole in cylinder liners in diesel engines in 10's of hours. That's cutting though .250" of steel or more. It can damage blades on torque converter pump/impellers, etc. I've also seen just a couple of minutes of cleaning damage SMT ceramic capacitors. I know a lot of industrial guys dealing with preventing it.
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Looks like a lovely property Bruce!
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- Dec 21, 2018
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In my younger days, I heated with wood. About 8+ cords a year. Cheap wood stoves, not terribly efficient but much better than a fireplace. I actually enjoyed the entire process. Was living in an 1880's house with no insulation. So it was often cold in the morning.
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- Apr 22, 2016
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I fully agree!
I heat entirely with wood (outside furnace) once the cold weather sets in till early spring, December through March. Before and after the gas furnace get turned on.
Aaron
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- Nov 23, 2014
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I don't mind doing it at 63 years old. It keeps me in decent shape along with other daily exercise. It's kind of mindless work; I solve the world's problems while cutting. I suspect when I get to the point where I don't burn anymore, I'll use the old boat owner joke revised for cutting firewood: "The two happiest days of a woodcutter's life are the day they start cutting wood and the day they stop!"
Our family room is in our walk-out basement. It has 8" insulated walls, but wasn't plumbed in heat-wise like normal living space. The 1500 sq ft. area has 4 registers while there are at least a dozen on the other two floors. It's a "brisk" 55 F in the basement if the thermostat is set to 65 F upstairs. The fireplace in our lower level keeps it a very comfortable 70+. My plan "A" for when we finally stop burning wood is to move our evening entertainment from the basement to the living room upstairs.
Bruce
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- Nov 23, 2014
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We're spoiled and know it. I used to work for GM at the Lansing Delta Township Assembly plant. Had a 15-minute, 10-mile drive from home. Now I find any/every excuse possible to not leave the property after retiring. Something about accumulating over 30-years of projects on my "list of good intentions"!
Bruce
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