Edward Lye

Edward Lye wrote:

Yes, we be carnivores.

We used to have ants in and outside the house but lately, they seemed to have
disappeared despite having uncovered food leftovers.

My number one way to get rid of ants is to use ant powder/poison BUT
we haven't.

What has changed?

I read that ants and termites don't like each other.

My Neem tree was attacked by termites. The mud tunnels snaked around
the trunk and branches. It was a mighty chore to mechanically destroy those.

So how about killing two birds with one stone?

I now throw all leftover food and food scraps at the base of the Neem tree.

The ants quickly smother these with their mud.

No smell.
No leachate.
No flies.
No maggots,

Eventually i will scoop all these up and sieve before making into biochar.
But it is a long way off since we don't produce a lot of kitchen waste
in the first place.

My current hypothesis is that this is such a Nirvana for ants that they are not
bothered to go anywhere else.

I have two answers: one which is mobile and one which is not.

Just a spiral roll of sheet metal. Improvise if you need a tripod
or shelf. I use a chain to suspend stuff - no danger of spills
or toppling. A swing arm would be best.



A more permanent fixture.

During this 2026 Spring Festival/Chinese New Year,
the fridge stopped cooling - a test icecube melted.

In a bizarre event, the wall socket energizing the fridge
ceased to work. I cannot replace it yet since the wires
were daisy chained at the socket.
I needed a Wago type device which I recently purchased.

BUT after a week or so, water turned into ice and it
was normal again . . . until it wasn't.

THEN my test icecube/chunk - in those coleslaw containers
you get from fast food outlets - melted again.

Bummer.

So I studied



How to Test & Replace a Defrost Timer in a Refrigerator | Repair & Replace

The rest of the videos in this series cover other failures.

In my case



HVACR: How A Refrigerator/Freezer Defrost Timer Works/Defrost Timer Troubleshooting/Sequence/Testing

Wow. My fridge, a National/Panasonic NR-B29T does not
use an electromechanical timer so it is good to know that
the 6 to 8 hour compressor/cooling period is interrupted
by 20 mins of defrost/heating. Were you aware of this?
I certainly didn't. The videos I watched never mentioned
this fact. So if my defrost cycles are too close together,
something is wrong.

These are the only two circuits exclusively energized.
And within each period, the defrost thermostat turns off the
heater when the ice is gone while the compressor shuts off once
the desired temperature is reached. So two circuits and 4 distinct
phases. Thus an idle period can follow a defrost if the thermostat
cuts out earlier because there is no more ice to melt.

Here are the readings I have taken with comments on what I did
or observed. I don't have the service manual so the behaviour
of the electronics has to be treated like a black box.

If I witnessed a recovery, chances are the fridge sensor
is still working although that does not rule out contact
corrosion or a marginal supply to the electronics interpreting
the sensor wrongly.

It is even more difficult when I don't have a baseline to
compare with BUT I challenge you, does anyone on this planet
have a baseline for their fridge?

Power meter shows normal current readings for
cooling, idle and defrost.
EXCEPT that the compressor now draws 512 mA
instead of 489 mA. The reading also depends on
the mains voltage. We are currently experiencing
a heat wave.

The power meter has been connected for ages and
I can tell the state the fridge is in. When
defrosting, the phase angle is zero.

When idle, it is 11 mA.

Water from freezer compartment does not flow
into the drain tube. It wets the floor.
I can't figure this out yet.
Now I know. The guide was not fully inserted
by the previous repairman. Now the defrost water
collects in the tray as expected.

13:49 19/04/2026 sick, cooling -1.5 12,0
15:51 19/04/2026 sick, cooling  1.3 11.4
21:25 19/04/2026 sick, cooling  3.8 12.5

14:26 20/04/2026       defrost  2.7 11.9
18:41 20/04/2026 sick, cooling  3.1 12.0

01:46 21/04/2026 sick, cooling  2.9 10.8
06:29 21/04/2026 sick, cooling  5.0 10.9
17:33 21/04/2026       defrost  5.6 13.9
20:48 21/04/2026 sick, cooling  4.4 13.0

08:01 22/04/2026 sick, cooling 11.1 13.6
10:08 22/04/2026 sick, cooling 11.1 14.0
15:19 22/04/2026 sick, cooling  3.7 12.1
16:34 22/04/2026 sick, cooling  2.9 12.0
22:28 22/04/2026 sick, cooling  6.1 12.3

06:59 23/04/2026 sick, cooling -0.7 11.0
08:58 23/04/2026 sick, cooling -0.6 12.0
19:34 23/04/2026 sick, cooling  0.6 11.0
21:04 23/04/2026 sick, cooling -1.4 10.9
21:29 23/04/2026       defrost  7.5 11.0

03:01 24/04/2026 sick, cooling -2.0 10.6
07:27 24/04/2026 sick, cooling -0.9 10.5
09:43 24/04/2026 sick, cooling -1.1 10.6
11:00 24/04/2026 sick, cooling -2.1 10.4
11:52 24/04/2026 sick, cooling  0.9 10.4
14:42 24/04/2026 sick, cooling -2.5 10.4
16:29 24/04/2026 sick, cooling -3.8  9.9
16:48 24/04/2026       defrost 11.3 10.4
21:43 24/04/2026 sick, cooling -2.6 11.0
23:20 24/04/2026       defrost 12.9 11.2

07:20 25/04/2026 sick, cooling -2.5 10.5
09:04 25/04/2026 sick, cooling -0.4 12.8
13:59 25/04/2026 sick, cooling  9.0 11.0
18:30 25/04/2026 sick, cooling -0.5 10.9
20:22 25/04/2026         idle  12.6 11.1

04:54 26/04/2026 sick, cooling -2.0 10.3
08:34 26/04/2026 sick, cooling  0.7 10.8
12:12 26/04/2026       defrost  0.9 10.2
13:39 26/04/2026 sick, cooling  2.3 11.0
15:09 26/04/2026 sick, cooling -0.6 10.9
18:17 26/04/2026 sick, cooling -1.4 11.8
22:25 26/04/2026 sick, cooling -0.8 11.8

04:30 27/04/2026       defrost  6.5 10.1
07:58 27/04/2026 sick, cooling -2.1 10.8
10:03 27/04/2026 sick, cooling -2.1 10.5
12:35 27/04/2026 sick, cooling -3.4 10.2
13:59 27/04/2026 sick, cooling -3.9 10.5
17:42 27/04/2026 sick, cooling  0.2 12.5

02:27 28/04/2026 sick, cooling -0.1 10.6
07:28 28/04/2026 sick, cooling -4.3  9.5
08:54 28/04/2026       defrost -1.1  9.3
10:42 28/04/2026 sick, cooling 11.3 10.4 no ice at freezer evaporator
13:43 28/04/2026 remove fridge control flap
14:24 28/04/2026 sick, cooling  2.2  8.2
14:35 28/04/2026 sick, cooling  1.9  7.5
15:33 28/04/2026 sick, cooling  1.4  7.0
17:20 28/04/2026 sick, cooling  0.0  5.1
17:38 28/04/2026 sick, cooling -0.3  4.9
19:23 28/04/2026 sick, cooling -1.9  3.2 ***
20:22 28/04/2026 sick, cooling -0.3  4.3
22:39 28/04/2026       defrost  2.9  5.1

02:44 29/04/2026 sick, cooling -0.9  3.4 ***
08:03 29/04/2026 sick, cooling  9.4  7.3
08:20 29/04/2026 sick, cooling -0.4  4.0 ***
09:32 29/04/2026 sick, cooling -0.8  3.7 ***
10:52 29/04/2026 sick, cooling -1.8  3.1 ***
defrost ?
12:47 29/04/2026 sick, cooling  1.8  5.6
13:29 29/04/2026 sick, cooling -2.8  2.3 ***
14:45 29/04/2026 sick, cooling -2.8  2.3 ***
16:10 29/04/2026 sick, cooling -3.2  2.0 ***
16:46 29/04/2026          idle 11.6  6.5
17:45 29/04/2026 sick, cooling -0.9  2.7 ***
defrost 20min
18:04 29/04/2026 sick, cooling  8.4  7.9
18:14 29/04/2026 sick, cooling  0.4  5.2
18:45 29/04/2026 sick, cooling -2.7  2.6 ***
20:35 29/04/2026 sick, cooling 11.1  7.3

02:18 30/04/2026 sick, cooling -3.3  2.0 ***
07:xx 30/04/2026       defrost  0.5  3.3
07:36 30/04/2026 sick, cooling  8.1  7.0
07:45 30/04/2026 sick, cooling -0.1  4.4
09:34 30/04/2026       defrost  0.0  3.7 ***
10:00 30/04/2026 sick, cooling  0.1  4.6
10:16 30/04/2026 sick, cooling -1.4  3.4 ***
11:24 30/04/2026 sick, cooling -1.3  3.4 ***
13:00 30/04/2026 sick, cooling -2.5  2.5 ***
16:21 30/04/2026 sick, cooling -0.4  4.6
18:15 30/04/2026 sick, cooling -3.5  1.6 ***
19:24 30/04/2026 sick, cooling -3.6  1.5 ***
19:39 30/04/2026 in defrost
19:48 30/04/2026 sick, cooling 11.9  7.6
20:55 30/04/2026       defrost  3.3  4.9
21:08 30/04/2026 sick, cooling  8.5  9.5
22:22 30/04/2026       defrost  7.3  6.1
23:52 30/04/2026 sick, cooling  1.7  5.3

06:40 01/05/2026 sick, cooling -2.3  2.6 ***
07:01 01/05/2026 sick, cooling -3.7  1.5 ***
09:45 01/05/2026 sick, cooling  0.3  4.7
11:14 01/05/2026 sick, cooling -2.3  2.6 ***
12:12 01/05/2026 sick, cooling -1.3  3.3 ***
13:07 01/05/2026 sick, cooling  4.0  6.5
15:11 01/05/2026 sick, cooling -2.6  2.8 ***
16:05 01/05/2026 sick, cooling -0.3  4.4
16:39 01/05/2026 sick, cooling -2.4  2.9 ***
18:04 01/05/2026       defrost  9.4  7.1
18:29 01/05/2026 sick, cooling -0.5  4.1
19:50 01/05/2026       defrost  2.1  5.1
20:24 01/05/2026 sick, cooling  0.5  5.9
22:42 01/05/2026       defrost  1.8  4.9

defrost
05:37 02/05/2026 sick, cooling 10.4  7.4
06:12 02/05/2026 sick, cooling -1.5  3.4 ***
07:25 02/05/2026 sick, cooling  4.1  7.0
09:12 02/05/2026 sick, cooling  3.1  7.4
09:42 02/05/2026       defrost  4.1  6.9
12:04 02/05/2026       defrost  1.3  5,1 getting more defrosts
13:11 02/05/2026       defrost  6.8  7.5
13:53 02/05/2026 sick, cooling -0.7  4.1
15:30 02/05/2026 sick, cooling  1.5  6.0
16:14 02/05/2026 sick, cooling -1.5  3.5 ***
17:32 02/05/2026       defrost  2.8  5.5
18:10 02/05/2026 sick, cooling  0.5  6.3
23:15 02/05/2026 sick, cooling -2.7  2.5 ***

05:23 03/05/2026 sick, cooling -0.8  3.6 ***
05:53 03/05/2026 sick, cooling -2.3  2.5 ***
05:54 03/05/2026       defrost
06:49 03/05/2026       defrost  1.8  4.5
08:04 03/05/2026 sick, cooling  2.4  6.1
08:30 03/05/2026 sick, cooling -2.0  3.0 ***
12:17 03/05/2026 sick, cooling -1.6  3.4 ***
13:08 03/05/2026 sick, cooling -0.1  4.6
13:57 03/05/2026       defrost  3.0  5.0
15:45 03/05/2026 sick, cooling  2.5  6.6
18:12 03/05/2026 sick, cooling  5.1  8.8

03:16 04/05/2026 sick, cooling  7.5  9.1
first time noticing a climb from 489 to 512 mA
05:41 04/05/2026 sick, cooling  2.8  7.2

06:20 04/05/2026 sick, cooling  7.3  8.8
09:12 04/05/2026 idle 11.3 5.0 something wrong with these numbers
09:13 04/05/2026 sick, cooling 11.4  9.2
10:30 04/05/2026 sick, cooling  0.1  5.1
13:45 04/05/2026 sick, cooling  1.6  6.3
14:13 04/05/2026       defrost  1.4  5.1
14:49 04/05/2026 sick, cooling -1.0  4.0 ***
15:59 04/05/2026          idle 11.5  8.3
16:32 04/05/2026          idle 11.8  8.3
19:26 04/05/2026 sick, cooling 12.2  9.4
20:39 04/05/2026 sick, cooling  0.4  5.3

00:14 05/05/2026 sick, cooling -0.2  5.0
06:10 05/05/2026       defrost  3.9  6.5
06:22 05/05/2026          idle 11.4  8.1 no cooling phase?
06:24 05/05/2026 sick, cooling 10.4  8.3
06:53 05/05/2026 sick, cooling -0.1  4.5
07:01 05/05/2026       defrost  6.0  7.4 haywire !
07:24 05/05/2026 sick, cooling  0.7  5.3
12:23 05/05/2026 sick, cooling  2.8  7.3
12:41 05/05/2026 sick, cooling  0.5  5.3
14:37 05/05/2026 sick, cooling  0.4  5.8
14:43 05/05/2026       defrost  3.6  9.8
17:45 05/05/2026 sick, cooling  0.6  5.4
20:17 05/05/2026       defrost  5.8  8.4
22:26 05/05/2026 sick, cooling  1.8  6.7

01:37 06/05/2026       defrost  0.0  5.3
06:57 06/05/2026          idle 11.9  9.0
10:27 06/05/2026 sick, cooling  2.4  6.8
11:18 06/05/2026 sick, cooling  2.7  7.0
12:01 06/05/2026 12.9  9.9
DISCONNECTED. No Happy Ending.

Hisense open-close door
0.7  7.8
1.0 15.4
3.7  6.7
2.8  8.9
6.7 10.8
5.2  9.5
4.3 10.3
5.1 11.9
4.2 10.6
4.2  9.7

So, where to start?

Firstly the FIRST reading of the day. This gives the fridge
all night long to reach the lowest temperature.

Most readings taken here allow for at least 30 mins after the door
has been opened. The temperature probes are placed just
inside the door which make for wild readings once the
door is opened because of the lack of thermal mass and the
condensation from the outside air. But they are placed
to be out of the way of accidental strikes and lack of
cable restraints and the length of the cable.
It is what it is.

And then there are those blips which indicate a defrost
happened but I cannot be sure.

I mark "***" at those readings which meet the requirements
for both the freezer and fridge compartments IE 0C or below
for the freezer and less than 4C for the fridge.

The barrier happens at:

"13:43 28/04/2026 remove fridge control flap"

This opens the passage of freezer air directly into
the freezer. This is also when I reseated the drain
thingy connecting the Freezer Compartment to the
manifold in the fridge compartment leading outside to
the drain hose. No blockage found by sticking in a
cable tie.

It used to be that at the maximum settings, lettuce
would ice up in the fridge.

It is clear that before, there are no *** while
after removal of the flap, I now get ***.

The fridge can clearly do no better and is just
limping home.

When we moved into this house end-1972, we brought
along the Kelvinator and my wife recalls we switched to
this smaller fridge between 1995 and 2003.
So about 2 decades of continuous use.

The current draw increase and the poor reading at the
freezer vent (my car air-conditioner was pumping out
at least -10C) leads me to conclude that the compressor
needs to be replaced at the very minimum for food safety.

The fridge failed exactly this way a few years ago and
replacing the board fixed it. I don't think the sensors
or the board are at fault this time.

Perhaps it is a failing run capacitor. The second hand
unit we saw advertised has apparently been sold so
there is nothing to compare.

So we bought a Mitsubishi. The radiator runs along the
body shell just like the National. We waited 3 hours after
delivery before powering on. Is seemed sluggish but
overnight it cooled to expectations. Water froze in the
freezer. No hurry to place a stone in the plastic cup
with a chunk of frost from the Hisense icebox.

One day I will improve the Hisense by placing a PC fan
inside to circulate the air.  

Before we chose the replacement, we asked for a photo
of the circuit diagram. I bet no other consumer does that.

Your cat will enjoy this too.



WTC could have saved many lives with this.

Not the Moonwalk.

You can meet this half-way by landing on a table.



I like this because it shows you the wrong way too.



And in case you have an external system:

rope saver

3 unique stairs.

I have the same idea !

Here is what I now have.

It used to be just a pile of soil and weeds and one day
upon finding the basin and bin, decided to do something
about it.

So I cleared everything into buckets and boxes to another
corner of the balcony. I ringed the area with bricks and
flowerpots. For the walkway around the railings, I spread
wood chips. Then I just filled the basin and bin and the
space in the middle. I left a tube inside the bin for some
future purpose. I also embedded tubing in the centre. I can
later add a pole or mast here and maybe use it to hold up
cherry tomato plants.  Or an umbrella.
If you look carefully, beans are the
current crop. I have cut drainage slots into the basin and bin.

Behind the ladder is where the former soil is stored.
There are also 3 or 4 buckets of
*cough* over 10-year old humanure *cough*.
I haven't had time to shift this humanure and soil into the
basin, bin and surrounding since there are always pressing
matters like the neem tree dislodging a roof tile and rain
was dripping into the bedroom. Once I finish, there will be
a volcano hugelkultur there. Humanure, pottery shards,
biochar, leaves. Once this becomes substantial enough to
wick water into the flowerpots, I will add earthworms. The
best news right now is no snails.

But priorities.

This is why there is a ladder there. I usually do a sturdier
job of attaching a vertical banister to the ladder but this
was enough to get me off the roof safely without kicking the
ladder away. Note the hash marks in the middle of the ladder.
That's roughly where the centre of gravity is.

It so happened that the gutter rusted and a hole developed.
Instead of repairing this, I allowed it to drain into a
polystyrene box. Drain holes are at the bottom. I later added
a 5-gallon bucket and a floral stand. This breaks up the water
stream.

I have not sealed the balcony but by the time the concrete
deteriorates, it will be someone else's problem.  

I still do a very limited humanure. See the slotted spoon
and saucepan? If you know, you know. Below that piece of
plywood is some humanure. Sometimes you just know that
the flush won't cut it. So I place it there and pile used
coffee beans around it.

I keep some used coffee beans in the bedroom and bathroom.
I think it helps keep the mosquitoes away - - - at least
noticeably better than before.

Here are two videos that explain everything else. I suspend the
fan by the grille since that is where the centre of gravity
is closest. The other cord is merely to point the fan in the
general direction.





The slippers indicate the extreme ends of the oscillation.

You have to Gedankenexperiment yourself that the amplitude
of oscillation is indeed reduced - able to ventilate both ends
of a sofa without wasted effort elsewhere. With a bit of
ingenuity and extra cordage, you could limit the swing further.

For a start, I would find the top dead centre of the grille and
move 8 gaps to the right for an initial place to suspend
the fan. Iterate and when everything is best, use a marker pen
to indicate the spot to return to after the annual washing.

I don't think any table fan designer could have anticipated
my variation on a theme so let's not bother the dears.

PPS A faceoff between Midea and Toshiba? The Toshiba slammed
   the cardboard against the Midea's face. It was the greatest
   takedown I have ever witnessed.

After one night's run, there were strange noises and it was
my mistake for not screwing the grille tightly so the slender
fan blades would sometimes flex back under load and strike
the grille.

I am now a happy camper.

But - plot twist - I read the label on the motor and it is made
by Midea.

This is how I choose a table fan.

I go to a department store with a wide selection of brands.
Like Aeon/Jusco.

I test a few for the throw it gives the air. I choose the top 3.
I run two of them face to face about 3 or 4 feet apart. I place
a piece of cardboard in between and move it around until it stays
vertical. I Leave this as an exercise for the reader to figure
out which is the more powerful fan.
I then pit the winner against the third fan.

This is how I arrived at the 55W Midea MF-16FT17NB
as the fan with the best bang for the buck.

My first Midea lasted a long time until suddenly in the middle
of the night it stopped working.

Measuring the resistance between live and neutral at the plug
pointed to a blown thermal fuse. Bummer.

So I bought another and recently it started running slower and
slower. Lubrication failure. But I caught it in time to save the
thermal fuse from blowing.

Both use sintered steel sleeve bearings which are not as porous
as sintered bronze and so die out earlier. Add to that a thermal
fuse buried deep in the windings and you get a lot of fans thrown
away as I see along my road. I never noticed this when I was a
child.

I will rescue my two Midea at a later opportunity with an NC
Normally Closed thermal switch mounted outside around the
middle stator bit. I must remember to ground this.

For the one that just failed, Singer and 3-in-one oil only lasted
one day. I remember trying engine oil in the past and that didn't
last either. I think it attracted a lot of dust. I have yet to
try Silicone oil.

Do you know of any fan manufacturer willing to sell their fan oil?
I remember researching the first electric fans and they had
built in oilers.

Anyway, the fan I just bought is the 55W Toshiba F-TSA20(G)MY.
It shapes the throw which can reach across the room. The main
selling point for me is the ball bearings instead of sintered
sleeves.

So no more headaches about lubrication for a long long time.

There was no felt pad oil reservoir in the Midea, just some
brown gunk paste. Built to fail?

Researching YouTube, it seems like many DIYers are replacing
their sleeves with 608Z ball bearings. I will go shopping
for those. In some countries, entreprenuers sell sleeves so
that your ball bearings fit your fan motor. I suppose you
could 3D print those. Some use 2-part epoxy or putty  and show
you tricks to align the rotor ends and stator.

In a pinch, you could try those from an abandoned/second hand
rollerblade wheel.
 
When I got the Midea, I investigated it with a power meter
and a cooking thermometer knowing that a day will come
when these baseline readings will come in useful.

I am sharing these here.
Setting 1/Low    40.33W 52.1 C
Setting 2/Medium 43.86W 55.1 C
Setting 3/High   53.12W 57.4 C {I rarely use this setting until
                               the lubrication started failing}
All measured against an ambient temperature of 32.9 C.

My testbed has been this Mistral Gyroaire.
This motor uses a 2A 250V 139C thermal fuse.
The coil measures 89.7 Ohms.
I managed to shoehorn a thermal switch.
If you look at the front view, I added a red ground wire
to the fan motor for safety.
I used engine oil which seems to attract a lot of dust.
I can't remember what the 130 C reading is about.

Here is a comparison. For domestic use, sintered bronze
is the superior choice in all measures except cost.

bronze VS steel

I consider it mala fide when they decided on sintered steel.
Shareholder wins, consumer and the environment loses.
I have 4 dogs in this fight. 3 Midea and former champion a
55W Faber FTF Tornado V 1611 BL.

PS If you are sufficiently alert, you might wonder why I
  wrote the measurements on the fan casing Upside Down.

  It is not a mistake. There is a simple answer --- I
  have a U-pipe - I think it used to be part of a deck chair -
  and the fan is suspended from it. It reduces
  the amplitude of the oscillation. You know, I wonder why
  nobody has yet to make the swing/speed/amplitude/loiter
  programmable. Cool one person then fast forward to another
  and stay there a bit longer . . .

Jay Angler wrote:
However, until we get to that point, let's find better uses for the results than fouling our beaches or filling our land fills.

I do not have any obcessive compulsive notion of transforming waste-contaminated-plastic
- it's most prevalent form - back into hydrocarbon or raw material for another round of plastic.

To me it is simple - diesel or energy.

Ben Peterson's Wastebot has shown one way and Amager Bakke another
and Amager Bakke is one of those rare human inventions you WILL WANT
in your backyard.

I have a launched a topic here:

the letter

Basically any container/bag will do but Ecoladrillos are best.