Eric Hanson

John, Jay,

Your points are well taken.  And Jay, I have given a thought or two about getting some worms into the pot to try and mimic something of a real ecosystem.  

As far as consuming the insecticidal soap, keep in mind that the amount that I consumed was the amount that my tongue could gather from the thin film left from the single drop that hit my finger and then rolled off.  Mostly what I did was stagecraft to assuage a couple of mildly panicky students.

In addition to that, I do like to make my students think that I am a little bit nuts, unhinged.  It keeps them on their toes.  This bit of stagecraft really got their attention!!



Eric

Most students were thankful that the gnat program was significantly better on Monday than Friday,  Some wanted me to spray all over the place, but I labored to explain that insecticidal soap is not a ‘cide in the traditional sense.  I did have one student who asked if she could use the spray bottle for a minute and she then proceeded to just spray randomly in the air, thinking that she was toxifying the air to gnats.  Other students then got worried that she was spraying ‘cides randomly all over the classroom air.  I tried to explain that it was harmless, but eventually I drove the point home by spraying a few drops on my finger and then licking it off.  Students were revolted/shocked/horrified/concerned for my safety.  But then I explained that it is simply a very weak soap solution—and it basically tasted like water, barely any soap taste at all.  Further, I explained that I bought it from the organic section and most students began to understand.  It HAD to actually hit the little bugger as it moved by and it was perfectly harmless to everyone else.

I think I got my point across, but the look on their faces when I touched my tongue to a drop on my finger was absolutely priceless!!



Eric

No robes, no scythe--I am carrying a spray bottle of insecticidal spray.  If I so much as see one flying in the air near me I spray at the general area and watch the gnat's wings stick together and the little nuisance falls from the air!!


GRRRRRRRR!!!

I have become Gnat Death!  Destroyer of Gnat World!

Its Monday morning.

Get'em!  Got'em!

While there are a few gnats, it is nothing like Friday.  A few sprays of Insecticidal Soap and the remaining stragglers go down.  Oh yeah, this is working!!  We will see how my students see things in class today.


Eric

OK, my reply is extremely late in coming, but I will give you two stories about my lab-mix Gracie.  For being a black lab, Gracie is a very fast runner, at least in her prime years.  And being a lab, she may bark and growl, but she has no ill intent-she only wants to play, especially if another animal is running—almost always away.

First story—Gracie somehow chased down a squirrel and grabbed it up in her mouth.  She probably shook it violently, which to her is a form of play when she gets a toy.  Having scooped up the squirrel, she immediately ran back to me to show off her new “friend.”  Honestly, she fully intended to bring the squirrel back to chase and play with it around me.

But of course, that violent shake killed the squirrel which hung lifeless in her mouth.  She dropped it down, expecting it to run around so they could play.  But of course it was dead and just lay there.  When it dawned on her that she killed her new friend, she did the most baffling and amazing thing I have ever seen a dog do: she went over to a section of decorative rock (2 inch diameter—not conducive to digging) and dug a hole with great effort, picked up the squirrel and dropped it in.  And to the amazement of my wife and I she then proceeded to bury the squirrel.  And after the squirrel was buried and the surface of the rock looked completely undisturbed, she plopped down on the ground facing the little squirrel grave and moped for the next hour, not moving an inch, her eyes low, the saddest I have ever seen.  Honest to God, I think she gave her squirrel friend a funeral!  My wife and I were both wide-eyed and stupefied followed by bemused laughter as we shook our heads.

To this day, somewhere in our decorative rock is a little squirrel grave.  The rock has never been disturbed since the funeral.  Gracie’s friend rests peacefully under her determined presence!

To this day I still can’t quite fully comprehend the event.  It was so human-like that it was mesmerizing.  I’ve never seen anything quite like it, but that is the character of Gracie—all full of love and devotion.


Eric

That’s right Carla, it is a school, so you might have to be my only cheerleader—but I bet you can get my students worked up into a rousing roar!!

I will take a look tomorrow to see how much damage I inflicted on the gnats (just thought—gnats sounds like a really lame high school mascot.  That’s appropriate, I don’t want to give them any advantage at this point!!!

Eric

OK, Today, Gnats—It’s ON!!

I decided to take on my gnat problem by the horns today and go on offense instead of playing defense.

I went out and bought insecticidal soap and Diatomaceous Earth.  I took them into my classroom with gnat-murderous intent!!  I went over to my tented plant, prepared to remove the tenting while getting myself ready for a swarm of gnats to fly into my face.  

But no, not really

As I unwrapped my plant, very few gnats flew out, as in single digits.  At the center of the pot was my little paper towel that I wadded up and soaked with isopropyl alcohol yesterday.  It was bone dry.  Meaning that all that alcohol evaporated into that tiny space that I bundled up.  There were a few gnats crawling around and I quickly sprayed them with the insecticidal soap, rendering them immobile, and beginning to succumb to the effects of the soap.  I ruthlessly sprayed any gnat I could see crawling on my shelf or flying into the air.  It was strangely satisfying to see a gnat fall out of the air once the soap mist stuck its wings together mid flight!  

After I could find no more movement, I opened the bag of Diatomaceous Earth and scooped up four plastic bottle caps (the only spreading tool I could find) and laid down a thin layer over the surface of the potting soil.  

It will take time to see how well the DE works and I left a mess from the widespread spraying—but that’s a problem for Monday morning.  I might check it out tomorrow, but today I struck my first blow against the gnat infestation!!



Mwahahahaha!!!



Eric

I am aiming this post specifically to John who earlier asked about “true” 0% and “BMS” 0%.  But I want to add in that this is a fantastic thread, chocked full of great, detailed information.  All of this discussion is very helpful to someone jumping in on one of these or similar projects but is a novice and needs a starting point.



Ok, on to John’s question.

So a LiFePo4 battery can be safely operated between 100% charge and about 30% charge.  You can check me on the actual, more precise low point setting, but it is something in the low 30’s%.  Below 30%, the LiFePo4 will continue to discharge all the way to zero but the battery will not accept a new charge, essentially ruining it from a functional standpoint.

So from this point on, the new zero percent will be indicated by the BMS which stops the battery from discharging any further, which I suppose we can call BMS ZERO.  The 20% you refer to is actually on top of BMS ZERO.  Don’t read that as 50%, because it is a percentage of the remaining 70%, and not additive to the 50%.  Math not being my thing, I don’t know what this point is compared to TRUE ZERO, but it is a pretty large portion of what the battery could store if that darn lower 30% issue were not there.  Nonetheless, the LiFePo4 battery still has a substantial amount of charge left.

Discharging below BMS20 is not catastrophic, it is more like a best practice to ensure the longest life from your battery.  Also, charging up to 100% is not so much dangerous as it is unnecessary.

I hope that this clears up some confusion and adds to the overall discussion.



Eric

A fly trap plant?  I like that!

But I really need action now before maintenance does something first.

This morning when I came in, I looked down at my mostly empty desk.  There were dozens of dead gnats laying on it.  This has never happened before.  Did I give the gnats alcohol poisoning?  Is it possible that this hair-brained scheme is actually working?

The gnats do seem less this morning.  I guess we will see how the day goes.


Eric