Tales from a Ventilation Lunatic

[Cammalu]

Jeez Stern. Looks like you need to find a very quiet beach somewhere with a tiny population. Not likely it will get any better where you are.

[sternwake]

Before the pandemic, I could find windows late morning/ early afternoon where parking was not ridiculous and neither were the numbers in the water. Was already sacrificing light wind/glassy conditions just to be able to surf with few others around, but that was a good enough compromise for me.

Once everybody started working from home, then realized they did not even need to live where they were to work from 'home' seems they all flocked here, and have all the free time in the world. They order their 100$ chinese disposable softtop surfboards, and just turn the lineups into a total shitshow of the worst aspects of human behavior.

The last time I surfed, almost each wave I got, There would still be fools trying to drop in.
Does it sound like a good idea to jump infront of a bus? apparently they are sure they are well iwithin their rights to do so and the bus must simple stop.

The times where I called them off with fire in my eyes, there would be idiots just completely in the way, and in order to not run them over, I'd have to straighten out and watch the wave peel off without me.

It does seem there is little if any chance of the average lineup flotsam becoming less ignorant or inconsiderate, or entitled, and I would love nothing more than to be able to live and surf in a nice quiet area with few others around.

Unfortunately such areas are usually heavily localized, by those who don't want their spots turning into this absolute overcrowded shitshow that southern California has become, and became long ago.

Its just now the whole 'lookit me!!!!!!" narcissistic entitled generation has decided they are going to learn to surf.

I'm hoping that surfing goes back to being viewed solely the pasttime of deadbeats and losers.
But now surfing is in the Olympics.
I hope those enamored of the idea of starting surfing, are instead turned off, when they realize how boring it is to watch when conditions are tiny windblown slop, in some overrun polluted urban area.

[Scott7022]

I watched a program here done by the BBC that really looked into what colours animals and fish “see”. They used special lights and cameras and it was very interesting. Answered questions such as why are Bengal tigers orange and black. Orange is not only a poor word to rhyme but poor camo in India grasslands. So why did the tiger, an alpha predator, develop and evolve as such.

Seems like fish, reptiles and birds and bees can see into vastly different spectrums than we can. I have suspected such for a number of years. As some of you have seen I have ultraviolet ink stuffed under parts of my skin. I noticed, when diving that fish would swim up and nip at the area of the tattoo. I couldn’t see it glowing but quite obviously the fish could.

Hopefully Sharks don’t have this extended spectral vision or it might cost me an arm and a leg! Lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cammalu]

Ohhhhh. That would be really bad! That’s interesting about the fish seeing it. Is it a variety of fish?

[Scott7022]

Seems any small types see it and think it might be food or have a food potential. Perhaps something in the natural environment glows when edible. Lol. Not sure.

Some cats seem to see it as well. My domestic evil bastard never did but some wild ones Serviles, Ocicats, Bengals seem to catch glimpses and come to investigate.

Curiosity killed the cat...

Lol.

One summer I worked north in a diamond mine. At night we had loads of bats. If I held my arms in a circle above my head I would usually have one of two land on my left arm, not the right, and hang out for a few moments and then fly off. Strange as the see with sonar. Other people doing the same thing didn’t have the same results.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sternwake]

I re-perused this thread for some dates as to when some fans were first put into service.

Happy to report all is well on the ventilation front. The only fan failure for a while, a Noctua nf-f12, purchased in October 2012. It was on my fridge condenser for years, then evacuating my electrical cabinet thereafter.
Its 6 year warranty expired 3.5 years ago. Not sure why it failed, other than it looked like some tiny resistors on CB melted their solder and entered a parallel universe. I had unplugged it on arrival in Florida, when I turned off my fridge, and when I plugged it back in it a few months later, it started up and fizzled, and that was that. I had a silverstone fm121 with me that replaced the Noctua. The SS fm121 has the built in speed controller, and when I load the fridge with warm items, I crank up its speed as it pulls air not only from electrical cabinet but also assists the fridges condenser fan when it kicks on.

All the Delta fans, 92mm, 120mm and 140mm, which have been hardened with clear nail polish over circuit board components, and Amazing goop on the wire entry at the hub have been flawless.

The 24v Papst fans also see tons of use in Van, and workshop, on buck bust converter.
The PWM motor speed controller on my HVAC blower motor is still working well.

I still use the activated charcoal 'sock' filters on my 92mm internal fans, but my HEPA filter project was tabled. It seemed a waste to quickly exhaust highly filtered air, but have recently revisited this.

Previously I just laid a Papst fan on a HEPA shop vac filter, and speed controlled it, but the flow through a highly restrictive hepa filter is rather weak. I modified it a bit for an epoxy related project where dust nits would compromise outcome, where I pushed air into the filter, instead of pulling it through the filter, but was again unimpressed with what I cobbled together, and tabled the idea until today.

An old clock housing and the single burner propane stove, the cannister holders which hold the green disposable propane bottles, basically fit the circumference of the hepa shop vac filter perfectly, and allow for a good tight seal, and a more portable, durable filter.

I've an idea for a similar, but more compact and perhaps quieter filter, with a 92mm fan inside the shop vac hepa filter, instead of a papst fan on one side. I was not going to disassemble one of my 92mm delta clamp fans, and my other 92mm Antec fans are too weak, so I just ordered another 92x38 mm 175cfm fan, and should have a nice compact portable multispeed HEPA quality air filter, not that I really need such a thing, but it is nice top open the door, and smell absolutely nothing but crisp clean air where a man and a dog live.

I did have to resolder the potentiometer wires on my Meanwell adjustable voltage power supply. My soldering skills in 2014 were lacking, to a much higher degree, than now.

My dual independently regulated Alternators/dual battery bank system is working well, but I've not really worked it hard. Still using the old worn single V belt with mismatched alternator pulleys. Not very high on the list. as I dont need 240 amp charging potential, at the moment

My 2 free 5years old workshop floor Dekas GC-2 AGM's sat for 3.5 months unattached to anything, and were 12.74v when I checked. The other 2 I dragged to Florida and back, they powered 2 fans 24/7 while I was sticking and bricking it, and the van sat ignored and unloved.

On the way back, from Van Horn, Texas, to Lordsburg New Mexico, I had horrible headwinds, but especially from las Cruces to Lordsburg with 35 to 40mph gusts straight on the nose. I slowed down to ~57mph just as it was so dang loud. Somehow I managed the best mpg of the whole trip at 17.17mpg. I think I got a tankful of gas without ethanol in Van Horn. From Lordsburg to Yuma I also had incredibly strong crosswinds and some headwinds in areas too, and drove 58 to 61mph and only got 16.51mpg. Lighter headwinds.crosswinds in Florida through San Antoniio and I was lucky to get 15mpg at 65mph

I usually drive 65mph and only speed up if I am slowing down other traffic, but with gas prices where they are, I'll slow down. 17 mpg is acceptable, 14.5 is not.

[rvpopeye]

Welcome back Stern !
Nice update.

[Wayne49]

Over on the new old site, when the subject came up of using a fan to pull air through a HEPA filter to improve air quality, someone stated that there needs to be an enclosed gap of several inches between the fan and the filter to create enough suction.

I haven't experimented with the idea yet. Depends on how the summer air qualityy goes.

[sternwake]

...when the subject came up of using a fan to pull air through a HEPA filter to improve air quality, someone stated that there needs to be an enclosed gap of several inches between the fan and the filter to create enough suction.

Yep, All  fans have issues when there is restriction to flow,  too close to the blades.  They work much better at pushing air through a resistance, rather than pulling it, but the farther the restriction from spinning fan blade, the better, to a point and there is huge variances with different fans  as to how they perform with restriction before or after.

Pushing air into the filter, means the fan blades will eventually  get impacted with dust, whereas pulling it through the filter, they wont.  It's not really a fun task, cleaning the blades with Q tips and rubbing alcohol, and if left too long, the airflow from built up dust causes much less airflow to occur, requiring higher rpms, noise and amp draw to move the same amount of air, so best to keep fan blades and whole fan clean.

  When pushing air through a restriction/ filter the blades can be closer to the restriction compared to pulling, but the tiny micro pores of a HEPA filter requires huge surface area in order to not stall the fan blades.  RPM helps too, in the brute force department, with high airflow and high static pressure, but there is a point where lots more fan rpm is not going to move much, if any more air.

I can stack two shop vac filter elements and greatly increase air flow through the filter with same fan at same speed, but I am going for a compact portable HEPA filter.
 Low center of gravity, somewhat abusable filter.  The second revision Papst fan filter is quite top heavy,  but still works if it tips over, even upside down., but basically, It's always in the way, and just something else I have to tie up or put away when I drive..

The 92mmx 36mm thick Delta fan I just ordered, has the stator vanes which concentrate and direct the flow forward in a tight narrow column, at least in free air.  The weak ass Antec 92mm fan I first tried the internal fan hepa filter  method with, seemed to allow the modest amount of air moved,  to do a quick U turn and go through filter again.

  The 92 mm fan is basically suspended in the filter, the nearest restriction several inches away.
So perhaps, if it works as hoped, this HEPA filter might be able be placed out of the way, and be cranked up to somewhat ridiculous filtering speeds, like when Fiona shakes after doing wheelbarrows on my bed.   The tight fast narrow column  from the Delta, might prevent it recycling a high percentage of  prefiltered air over and over, which is just a waste of silence and battery power.

Or it might not.

I do wrap the white HEPA filter with a black activated charcoal layer.  This layer alone is not a great air filter, but still catches a lot of dust.  Within a day I can run my vaccuum over the filter sock and leave a darker black streak where the vacuum passed. 
This activated charcoal filter sticks to velcro
I have one removable layer on my 3 fan intake shroud, on the window exterior, and it stays put at highway speeds, but takes a beating.
It also restricts flow plenty, but I can still levitate my bedding, I just need to turn the fans up a bit higher.

When super hot out I am likely replacing the total volume of air inside often, so it does not make much sense to pump hospital grade air to outside.  So basically this is for when things are more closed up in cooler weather, which is also when one can open the door and be hit with a wall of stink.

[Wayne49]

Thank you for the details.

Capturing airborne crud by pushing the dirty air through the filter.