First, the two floats together
Here, the washer chopped down with a dremel (allowed the float to fall back to a specific place in the "well".
And, of course the description of why we did it and how it works below in the month old post.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Resolution: FAIL
Here are the pictures of the sump pump fix.
First, the two floats together
Here, the washer chopped down with a dremel (allowed the float to fall back to a specific place in the "well".
And, of course the description of why we did it and how it works below in the month old post.
First, the two floats together
Here, the washer chopped down with a dremel (allowed the float to fall back to a specific place in the "well".
And, of course the description of why we did it and how it works below in the month old post.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
New Years resolution: more posts
We'll see how that pans out. Erika and I stayed at my parents house over the holidays and we had some interesting weather to say the least. First, it was super cold and snowy when we arrived. Then it warmed up and started raining. Anyone who has a basement in the Chicago area knows what that means...flooding.
So the family is sitting in the dining room listening to the sump pump kick on and off when suddenly it starts making a funny noise (funny uh-oh, not funny ha-ha). So Dad trots down to the crawl space only to find the pump won't shut off when the water level is low. We messed with it for a few minutes and determined that it also wouldn't shut off when the water level is high any longer, either...unless you jar the float in some manner (we used a screwdriver). The pump would work if you simply moved the float past it's natural resting position by putting more upward or downward force on it than normal. All that was needed was a gentle lift or push with a finger.
Bear in mind, this is all figured out over 30 minutes while it continues to rain buckets and everyone else in Chicago is finding out the hard way their pump has failed. It'll be a while before the plumber arrives and neither of us feel like crouching in a crawl space poking the sump pump every minute or so to turn it on or off. Most importantly, it worked well enough to get us out of the crawl space for the three hour wait for the plumber to arrive.
The solution? Go buy a toilet bowl float and zip tie it to the sump pump float. The added weight will pull down on the float with greater than normal force and the added buoyancy will lift the float with greater than normal force.
Total cost? a few bucks for float, zip ties and a huge deck screw to plug the float hole.
Pictures to come soon.
So the family is sitting in the dining room listening to the sump pump kick on and off when suddenly it starts making a funny noise (funny uh-oh, not funny ha-ha). So Dad trots down to the crawl space only to find the pump won't shut off when the water level is low. We messed with it for a few minutes and determined that it also wouldn't shut off when the water level is high any longer, either...unless you jar the float in some manner (we used a screwdriver). The pump would work if you simply moved the float past it's natural resting position by putting more upward or downward force on it than normal. All that was needed was a gentle lift or push with a finger.
Bear in mind, this is all figured out over 30 minutes while it continues to rain buckets and everyone else in Chicago is finding out the hard way their pump has failed. It'll be a while before the plumber arrives and neither of us feel like crouching in a crawl space poking the sump pump every minute or so to turn it on or off. Most importantly, it worked well enough to get us out of the crawl space for the three hour wait for the plumber to arrive.
The solution? Go buy a toilet bowl float and zip tie it to the sump pump float. The added weight will pull down on the float with greater than normal force and the added buoyancy will lift the float with greater than normal force.
Total cost? a few bucks for float, zip ties and a huge deck screw to plug the float hole.
Pictures to come soon.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
I shall call you: Hamburger Knee
Erika and I are pretty sad to have the house all to ourselves...we miss Slammer a lot. At the same time, we both realized it wouldn't do us any good to sit around and cry whenever we saw something she played with, laid on, chewed on, etc. So we took a trip to Fruita, CO. It's a cool mountain bike town on the western slope with great riding.
Here are some pictures.
Driving at sunset toward Fruita.
Erika is cute. This was a super mellow climb, but it made us appreciate our complete lack of fitness after 8 weeks of taking care of a suffering dog.
Erika shreds the Zippety Do Da trail. Note the trail following the ridge in the distance.
In an effort to try and get some level of physical condition back before Thanksgiving, I went to try out some large-ish jumps at lunch. I was doing fine until I jumped during a cross-wind. My beautiful blue baby was unharmed during the crash. Now with updated icky picture!
Here are some pictures.
Driving at sunset toward Fruita.
Erika is cute. This was a super mellow climb, but it made us appreciate our complete lack of fitness after 8 weeks of taking care of a suffering dog.
Erika shreds the Zippety Do Da trail. Note the trail following the ridge in the distance.
In an effort to try and get some level of physical condition back before Thanksgiving, I went to try out some large-ish jumps at lunch. I was doing fine until I jumped during a cross-wind. My beautiful blue baby was unharmed during the crash. Now with updated icky picture!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Bike photos
Here is the finished beast.
I painted the headbadge with Krylon. I think it's stainless steel, so we'll see how long it stays this color.
I painted the headbadge with Krylon. I think it's stainless steel, so we'll see how long it stays this color.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Was: Red Heat, Now: Blue Heat
Earlier this year, I bought a new frame in anticipation of the Hammerschmidt release. I got it in red because most of my bikes have been red. On the Turner website, it looked like a candy apple red, but it was really a flat, boring red with a semi-polished rear triangle and a black rocker link...see below.
It wasn't a bad looking bike but it certainly wasn't handsome, either. Also, I didn't have downtube cable routing, so I was left with zipties holding it in place and scuffing the paint. So, I took it to Spectrum Powder Works here in the Springs and had it painted. It looks great. Now I just have to reassemble the bike. Check it out.
Complete frame...the upper rocker link will be black to echo the Turner type. The Turner logotype is painted on...no more scratched decals.
Detail of the cable stop near the head tube. Yes, it's held on by JB Weld.
ISCG Tabs. I'll have to face the frame again to get all the powder off, but no biggie.
A nice view of the non-drive side dropout.
It wasn't a bad looking bike but it certainly wasn't handsome, either. Also, I didn't have downtube cable routing, so I was left with zipties holding it in place and scuffing the paint. So, I took it to Spectrum Powder Works here in the Springs and had it painted. It looks great. Now I just have to reassemble the bike. Check it out.
Complete frame...the upper rocker link will be black to echo the Turner type. The Turner logotype is painted on...no more scratched decals.
Detail of the cable stop near the head tube. Yes, it's held on by JB Weld.
ISCG Tabs. I'll have to face the frame again to get all the powder off, but no biggie.
A nice view of the non-drive side dropout.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Lotus Europa - WIP
Long time no post.
Here are some pictures of a model car I picked up a while back. I started working on it again when Erika asked "when are you going to work on that again?". I chose the Europa because of the Lotus philosophy of weight savings. So many cars on the road offer big power, but in a big heavy package that handles poorly.
It offered about half the horsepower of a stock subaru WRX, but the heaviest of the Europa models weighed in at about 1600 lbs...less than half what my Subaru weighs. So the power to weight ratio was just marvelous for the 1970s.
"Simplify, then add lightness" is a famous quote from Lotus founder Colin Chapman. When I finish, that quote will appear on the case I put this car in.
Pictures:
Lotus Big Valve! 126 hp!
Front Suspension, steering and brakes.
Motor, exhaust, rear suspension.
Here are some pictures of a model car I picked up a while back. I started working on it again when Erika asked "when are you going to work on that again?". I chose the Europa because of the Lotus philosophy of weight savings. So many cars on the road offer big power, but in a big heavy package that handles poorly.
It offered about half the horsepower of a stock subaru WRX, but the heaviest of the Europa models weighed in at about 1600 lbs...less than half what my Subaru weighs. So the power to weight ratio was just marvelous for the 1970s.
"Simplify, then add lightness" is a famous quote from Lotus founder Colin Chapman. When I finish, that quote will appear on the case I put this car in.
Pictures:
Lotus Big Valve! 126 hp!
Front Suspension, steering and brakes.
Motor, exhaust, rear suspension.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Pump Track update #3
Well I haven't been updating the blog so much...busy, busy. This is only the third pump track update because I've been mostly riding it and not taking pictures. A co-worker came over with his BMX bike and helped me refine some areas of the track.
Below are some pictures.
Chuck just moved from sea level. He's out of breath in front of the big berm.
Entrance to the track.
Ripping the big berm
Below are some pictures.
Chuck just moved from sea level. He's out of breath in front of the big berm.
Entrance to the track.
Ripping the big berm
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Pictures from Europe
Here are some pictures I took during my trip to Europe a while back.
Central area of Leusden (where I stayed) and my main mode of transportation in Holland.
Thatched roof...they're everywhere.
Really nice landscaping is also commonplace.
Funny horse laying down. He then proceeded to scratch his back on the grass, get up and take off running. The other one just stood and ate grass.
A good example of the stellar cycling routes in Holland. It is the best place I've ever ridden a bike (for purpose).
A windmill. They're not as common as you might think, but they aren't rare either.
Central area of Leusden (where I stayed) and my main mode of transportation in Holland.
Thatched roof...they're everywhere.
Really nice landscaping is also commonplace.
Funny horse laying down. He then proceeded to scratch his back on the grass, get up and take off running. The other one just stood and ate grass.
A good example of the stellar cycling routes in Holland. It is the best place I've ever ridden a bike (for purpose).
A windmill. They're not as common as you might think, but they aren't rare either.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Pretty View
Erika and I went on a bike ride yesterday from Buffalo Creek. It's a little closer to Denver than to us, but was a very nice ride. We wound up getting a little lost and climbing for a little longer than we'd have liked to, but it was worth it. We wound up at Wellington Lake with this view:
We also started pulling some of the lettuce from the garden...it looks tasty. I grabbed a little sprout to try some and managed to find some of the only mustard greens in there. So my mouth tastes a little funny.
We also started pulling some of the lettuce from the garden...it looks tasty. I grabbed a little sprout to try some and managed to find some of the only mustard greens in there. So my mouth tastes a little funny.
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