The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: Solus on July 09, 2017, 09:21:34 AM
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How about a light powered by a rock?
http://www.facebook.com/ThisIsZinc/videos/695533780647291/
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clever engineering...
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Very clever. Made possible by the energy efficiency of LEDs.
One thing though, in the opening the narrator says "...doesn't require any kind of energy." That is wrong of course. Where the energy comes in is that someone must lift the rock (weight). Granted it's human/muscle energy, but energy none-the-less. Gravity isn't an energy, btw, but a force that creates energy.
Still a great use of low current LEDs, small generator and high gear ratio gravity motor. Not unlike old grandfather clocks.
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Very clever. Made possible by the energy efficiency of LEDs.
One thing though, in the opening the narrator says "...doesn't require any kind of energy." That is wrong of course. Where the energy comes in is that someone must lift the rock (weight). Granted it's human/muscle energy, but energy none-the-less. Gravity isn't an energy, btw, but a force that creates energy.
Still a great use of low current LEDs, small generator and high gear ratio gravity motor. Not unlike old grandfather clocks.
yeah..I figure lifting the weight or pulling the chain to raise it can be looked at as part of your fitness regime =)
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Old technology if you mean like a grand fathers clock weight power. However, it's only practcal because of new tech LEDs.
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Great for preppers. For people who look at it as black magic, not so great.
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Great for preppers. For people who look at it as black magic, not so great.
Which is exactly the last thought that went through Professor Fleep's mind as the natives were unceremoniously burning him at the stake. ;D
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All this modern crap they sell, "Must have for prepper's".
It's all bullshit intended to cash in on the gullible and shallow thinkers.
Preppers don't need anything designed later than 1850 .
The only benefits since then are fixed ammunition and lighter materials.
Radio MIGHT be useful, unless the particular disaster leaves residual radiation, other wise the cell towers and carriers will all be wiped out so communications will be limited to local net which can use telegraph
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One of my side gigs is working for a local green energy company(water turbines) as a superintendent of construction. Lets just say 99% of the preppers I have come in contact with have no clue. They waste 10s of thousands on ideqs that sound goodb,but are a waste of money.
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One of my side gigs is working for a local green energy company(water turbines) as a superintendent of construction. Lets just say 99% of the preppers I have come in contact with have no clue. They waste 10s of thousands on ideqs that sound goodb,but are a waste of money.
Maybe you should consider writing a book explaining that and offering suggestions. Not trying to be funny. I am serious.
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Water turbines. I find those interesting my problem is I don't have running water to turn one here at home.
However...about 250 miles away in Arkansas I have a bit of land with some running water.
How small do they make those things Tab? Are there some 25-100 amp models suitable for home?
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Water turbines. I find those interesting my problem is I don't have running water to turn one here at home.
However...about 250 miles away in Arkansas I have a bit of land with some running water.
How small do they make those things Tab? Are there some 25-100 amp models suitable for home?
If you have running water with enough drop you can make a set up where a 55gal drum is at the low end and it contains a float which will rise as the drum fills with water. At the top of it's travel, the float trips a level that opens a drain at the bottom of the drum allowing the float to descend and flip the drain close lever. (think of how a toilet tank works). This action can be use to pump water to a raised above ground tank which then provideds "running" water from a tap.
I was also thinking about a wind up light....similar to how the Grandfather clock weight generates the juice to run the LED bulb.
Also, does anyone know if LED bulbs and the generator powered by the clock weight or a wind up spring are damaged by EMP? And if so, can they be protected in a small enough package to be practical?
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Maybe you should consider writing a book explaining that and offering suggestions. Not trying to be funny. I am serious.
most people that want "green" stuff don't care or want too know. Almost everything claiming too be green is not.
I have said it many times, if you want too do something green, that costs you nothing, saves you money andhas a real impact...pee in the shower.
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Water turbines. I find those interesting my problem is I don't have running water to turn one here at home.
However...about 250 miles away in Arkansas I have a bit of land with some running water.
How small do they make those things Tab? Are there some 25-100 amp models suitable for home?
Build a water wheel, any flow will turn it which in turn can turn the armature of a generator or turn a belt drive. if you don't have flow, or variable water levels, you can build a dam to form a holding tank that will maintain water level and put the wheel at the out flow.
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If you have running water with enough drop you can make a set up where a 55gal drum is at the low end and it contains a float which will rise as the drum fills with water. At the top of it's travel, the float trips a level that opens a drain at the bottom of the drum allowing the float to descend and flip the drain close lever. (think of how a toilet tank works). This action can be use to pump water to a raised above ground tank which then provideds "running" water from a tap.
I was also thinking about a wind up light....similar to how the Grandfather clock weight generates the juice to run the LED bulb.
Also, does anyone know if LED bulbs and the generator powered by the clock weight or a wind up spring are damaged by EMP? And if so, can they be protected in a small enough package to be practical?
I did a little reading online and the consensus is that flashlights that have different modes like strobe, low and high are controlled by a small circuit board attached to the LED that will be fried by an EMP. There's no agreement about whether LED bulbs without a circuit board attached will survive or not. Some people suggest you stock up on candles and oil lamps.
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Just a fyi, if an emp is strong enough too fry a board... lets just say what obummer did too this country will be like 1st base for what will happen too you.
Out side of infrastructure, emp is a nonissue as the radiation you will be exposed too will be life altering if not fatal.
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If you have running water with enough drop you can make a set up where a 55gal drum is at the low end and it contains a float which will rise as the drum fills with water. At the top of it's travel, the float trips a level that opens a drain at the bottom of the drum allowing the float to descend and flip the drain close lever. (think of how a toilet tank works). This action can be use to pump water to a raised above ground tank which then provideds "running" water from a tap.
Do a youtube search for Ram Pumps. Similar function.
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Just a fyi, if an emp is strong enough too fry a board... lets just say what obummer did too this country will be like 1st base for what will happen too you.
Out side of infrastructure, emp is a nonissue as the radiation you will be exposed too will be life altering if not fatal.
Not necessarily.
There are other sources of EMP besides nuke blasts.
The greatest practical concern is solar activity.
In 1859 solar flares generated EMP levels so high that telegraph operators were able to send and recieve while disconnected from their batteries.
In fact, static charges were generated in telegraph wires so strong that the poles ignited.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_storm_of_1859
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That's pretty clever Solus. Use a flow to generate energy to lift a smaller volume.
The event in 1859 melted telegraph wires.
Radiation will be a bad deal. I'd like to have shelter to stay in for few weeks or longer.
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Build something earth sheltered .
10 feet of dirt is supposed to shield you from all harmful radiation.
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After about 3 weeks the levels drop dramatically and since I live 25-30 miles outside a city (target) I'm hoping 3-4 feet should do it. But, for now, that's just a pipe dream.
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I wonder how much shielding a typical above ground pool would give to a shelter room under 5 or 6 feet of dirt directly under it?
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I'm not in a first-strike nuke zone. Second or third? Who knows? Flint is less of a target than it used to be because of GM closing half of the local plants but we still have manufacturing capability. Not enough to make all the weapons they made during WWII but enough that an enemy might want to nuke it. I'm not too worried about it.
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Build something earth sheltered .
10 feet of dirt is supposed to shield you from all harmful radiation.
After about 3 weeks the levels drop dramatically and since I live 25-30 miles outside a city (target) I'm hoping 3-4 feet should do it. But, for now, that's just a pipe dream.
Three or four Conex containers (relatively cheap) and a rented backhoe and you're in business. ;D
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I wonder how much shielding a typical above ground pool would give to a shelter room under 5 or 6 feet of dirt directly under it?
A lot. Water stops neutron radiation too. In the oil business we run pulsed neutron logging tools that are pretty hot. They have a chemical source switched on with electricity. The depth of investigation is no more than about 12 inches.
I bet 4-6 feet of dirt would be plenty.
Three or four Conex containers (relatively cheap) and a rented backhoe and you're in business. ;D
I actually have a short one I bought for $500. Now I need a backyard I can dig a hole in....
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better make sure its water tight 1st...
honestly there are better solutions. I have done a few "bunkers" over the years the precast panels were always the most cost effective choice.
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Precast concrete. Tell me more. Sizes, how they were joined, how they were sealed, etc.....
???
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8,'x4'x8" sealed with the same stuff you use on a tilt up. Braces welded on the top. They also had a tongue and grove sides for lack of a better term. You can even get them made to bank vualt strength, metal spirals and all. They are often used for basements as well.
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[urlhttps://youtu.be/m6xP4HTa2t4[/url]
Quick search, not exactly, but simlar idea.
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[urlhttps://youtu.be/m6xP4HTa2t4[/url]
Quick search, not exactly, but simlar idea.
When I search for that I don't come up with a valid link.
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Fixed it for everyone.
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https://youtu.be/m6xP4HTa2t4 (https://youtu.be/m6xP4HTa2t4)
Thanks for the info Tab. I like how fast it is. Get in and get out before nosy neighbors butt in.
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Fixed it for everyone.
Thanks for fixing it. I wish my basement was like that instead of a bunch of concrete blocks with leaks everywhere. That probably would be good bunker material. You could even make two walls and fill between them with dirt to make a really thick wall like they did with ancient fortifications.