T Melville

1) Here's how it looks from the outside.

2) Open hole at the bottom.

3) Upper hole and thermometer probe.

4) Interior, muffin fan, thermometer display.

5) 12VDC source for muffin fan.

The muffin fan was labelled as 12VDC. A local thrift store had these wall-warts for $0.25 each. The labels tell the output voltage, so I bought several 12V ones. Works great!

6) Power entry for heating element. Original insulation was ruined, new wire installed.

7) Added wiring: switch controls both the outlet for the wall-wart and power to heating element.

Today I plugged it into my Kill-a-watt for the first time. While heating it seems to draw about 62.2w. Somewhere the incubator is labelled 60w, and I added the muffin fan, so this is about what I expected.

Very limited funds, but I'd get in at the $1 level. (Might kick in a few more bucks if it looks like it would matter.)

My mother-in-law picked up an old incubator for $8 and gave it to us to hatch eggs. It needed rewired, and turned out to be a laboratory incubator from a local hospital chain that sold out. After finding out how to sterilize it like a hospital would, I started testing temp control. When it was dialed in to mostly stay between 80° and 90°F, I started drying some low value seeds. There's a small hole in the bottom that's just open and a bigger one at the top that had a drilled through cork with a glass thermometer installed through it. I unstopped the top hole. It worked decently.

I think basically the air inside warms a little, and rises out the upper hole. As it warms, it's capacity for moisture also rises, and it draws moisture from the seeds. Cooler air rises in through the bottom hole, warms, and the cycle repeats. The whole thing is driven by convection and again it worked decently well.

Later I made two tweaks that made it work even better. One, the glass thermometer being removed, I found a digital indoor/ outdoor thermometer with the outdoor unit being attached by a long wire. I put the display on top with two-sided tape and put about 6" of the outdoor probe in through the hole. Then I put a muffin fan covering the hole. Now it works the same only faster, as the air turn-over is faster. It works great, though it could be larger. I use it less now, since I no longer have help in the garden, and since I found an excaliber style dehydrator at goodwill for $20. At the lowest setting, the heating element doesn't come on, it works great for my needs.

I can find or take some pictures if anyone wants details.

Luna Silva wrote:can i just post updates here or would i do that somewhere else or nowhere here at all ever?

I kind of think of it like a paragraph. If I'm starting a new subject, I'll start a new thread. Look around and see where it would fit best. If I'm on the same subject, all my thoughts in one place makes sense.

Does your update relate to being 16 and new here? Or to something you said here before? (It's up to you, do what feels right to you. Those are just my guidelines.)

James Bradford wrote:I'm trying to think of a way to slow something in orbit by extracting momentum energy.  Atmospheric drag does that, but what would work in deep space? ...i'm not coming up with anything ...ideas anyone?

Solar sails?

So I'm hearing that you could do the experiment without harming your panel(s). What are the odds of harming the hot plate? How expendable is it? I'd be tempted to try it, unless the cost of damaged components was more than I was willing to pay. The consensus seems to be that it won't work, or won't work very well. Even if it doesn't, you gain the knowledge.

You've reminded me of a few other projects I've stumbled onto online. A guy built an electric 12 volt heater for instant heat because his engine warmed up too slowly. It used more power than the ones you plug into the cigarette lighter, he powered it straight from the battery. I wouldn't suggest that for a beginner. (I wouldn't suggest that for me.) There are a lot of ways for that project to go wrong. So why do I bring it up? His heating element was designed for 120v AC, and salvaged for free. It came from a toaster. He ran it on either 12v or 24v DC. (He doubled up the voltage for the fan, it's unclear which voltage the element got.) His website is gone, but I found it on the wayback machine. I wouldn't count on him still answering the listed email, but I guess you could try.

Sean Dembrosky of edible acres bought a cheap water heater element designed for AC and hooked it direct to a solar panel. It produced heat, in fact it was around 200°F while surrounded by 4°F air. Keep in mind, it was only heating itself, very little mass. For storage, you'll want to heat a mass, so expect it to reach a much lower temp, most likely. I'd note: Those are designed to be water cooled. Without submersion in water, it's hard to say how long it would last. So design to put it in water, or at least design for it to be easy to replace. If you don't know how to make a sealed hot water system safe, remember it doesn't have to be sealed. (Especially as you're probably going to omit the thermostat.) For more on that see anything Paul's ever said or written that contains "Boom-Squish"™. Sean's a youtuber, so I'll embed the relevant video. He starts talking about this specific project around 6:50.



He mentions another channel or 2 that he learned from. I don't know them, but he found them helpful, so watch for that if you want to go a little more in depth.

I forgot to mention lights. Neither the worms nor the mushrooms need much, if any.

There's already been success using fungus either to segregate unwanted minerals or to break them down. (I don't remember enough detail.)  It would be great to either make unwanted plastic into non-plastic, or lock up microplastic into buildings and tunnels and stuff.

Also there's been success feeding mealworms on styrofoam. Probably not much up there, but maybe they can eat other [polystyrene?]. I never could find out if they digest it to non plastic or just smaller pieces of plastic. If it's still plastic, maybe give it to the mycelium.

I think if they're smart about what plastics they take up there, most can be shredded, melted, extruded into filament and then 3d printed into new stuff. That should reduce waste and reduce what has to be sent up.

I agree about chickens.

I'd add all sorts of earthworms/ composting worms. And mushrooms. All of them are great recyclers and miners. If mycelium will grow in the dust/ regolith, it might make a building material.

Jill Dyer wrote: What about fish oil spray?   Local hardware had spray cans (sorry if that doesn't fit with the ethos)  of fish oil - highly recommended for outdoor situations, it's reputed to never dry out completely - a bit like linseed oil.  

A non drying oil, or a vegetable based oil that gets tacky when it oxidizes, will probably hold onto the surface better. It will also hold onto stray particles better. Hay dust, feed dust , manure dust, dust dust. Hair too, and probably wool. Probably better for the metal than rusting, but may take some solvent if you ever want to remove it. Doesn't have to be a super harsh solvent; soap and water, lemon juice, vinegar, elbow grease are all worth trying before going for harsh or expensive stuff.

I think you're looking at a trade off in where you spend your time and money and effort. It can be in the future, replacing that metal after it rusts away. Consider what kind of steel it is and how fast it rusts. What can it be replaced with to avoid a repeat? Stainless? Wood?

It can be in maintaining a finish that excludes oxygen, so it won't rust. Oils and fats can be cheap, and some of them harden to a slick, hard, dry suface. Great, but weather is the enemy. Clean, inspect, reapply as needed.

It can be in using a non drying oil or one that gets sticky. The effort will be inspecting and maybe reapplying from time to time. If some of it scuffs off, a respray should reseal. A surface will form that's hard to clean but pretty durable. Brushing it clean will be difficult. If you ever want to clean it off and start new, that'll be a chore. But I expect  it will help protect your metal, provided it doesn't find a way to trap water and/ or salt.

After that, beeswax or any food safe oil will seal out oxygen, though in an outdoor context, it probably won't stay on long. An oil polymerized with heat would last longer, but still need watching and frequent retreatment. Some kind of paint could last longer, if that fits with your values. If you paint, be careful to find something safe for food contact.