Saturday, October 18, 2014

Recap of last week's posts--- 10/18/14

Nothing stands out about last week, just Ebola stuff and some market scare that is wearing off already.

The highlight of the week was:  Home again  and Norovirus & Ebola Zaire: same transmission vect

Not exactly setting the world on fire, ya'll, but what can I say?



Water filtration lab 10/4/14 has made the "Best of" list.  Didn't find any others, but that could be because I wasn't looking for any.


Thoughts on the road ( belated edition )

This is the new feature I was talking about.  I won't embed it into the post, but will link to it here.

It is taking more time to do this than I thought, and the quality isn't exactly good, so  I don't know if I'll start doing this.

By the way, I am going to include another video link:   Set up the tent:   which I figured is of low quality unsuitable for embedding.  Come to think of it, my videos haven't been uniformly good.  Oh, well.

Seinfeld posts: recurring posts about nothing--- in particular

A new category that will fit under Sundry Topics.   What I wanted to do was to add another category without cluttering up the blog any further than what it is already.  So, this post will be a catchall of sorts.  I will put all new posts like "Home Again" under this category.  Plus anything else in particular that is recurring, but isn't a series.  On further review, that last sentence reads like a contradiction to the title.  The thing that is in particular is the recurring post type, but the category isn't about anything in particular.  Perhaps that explanation clears things up.


My two cents on Lockheed Martin's fusion propulsion device

Speculation alert:  ( Note: This is invoked when I am talking out my ass, which is most of the time, but this time, I'm really talking out my ass. )

There was a post this week about a new concept for fusion propulsion.  After thinking it over briefly, I have a few observations and thoughts about that:

Observations:

  • Since it uses neutrons as opposed to alpha particles, it is less efficient than polywell or focus fusion
  • The use of it as a space propulsion energy source means that it will mostly act like a fission drive
  • Fission drives that employ thermal propulsion techniques have a much lower ISP than a fusion device.
  • It is proposed by Lockheed Martin, which is a big government contractor.
Thoughts:
  • Focus Fusion is the best I've seen for space propulsion.  It is already sending out alpha particles at near the speed of light.  I'm not sure that you can improve much upon that.  It could have ISP of a million or more.
  • We have already proven nuclear thermal propulsion devices.  Why do we need this one?
  • If you want higher ISP's, then develop the fission propulsion devices.  This new device doesn't solve any problem that hasn't already been solved, but it could make a lot of money for Lockheed Martin.
  • Big money gets the big government contracts.  Bigger isn't necessarily better.  We are already spending plenty of the ITER project.  Again, we do we need this one?

Working the weekend "to do" list

Several items on the agenda this morning.  One of which is to get my van serviced.  It went over 300k recently.  Lots of miles on it, maybe a lots more are possible if I'm lucky and careful.

Second item is to attend to the list I made yesterday.

One thing I did that may not be on the list was to make a mini-filter.  It works the same way the bigger cousin worked.  I'm using a straw.  I stuff some cotton at the drain end, put in some sand, more cotton, activated charcoal, and then more cotton.  I ran some preliminary tests on it and found that it drains much too slowly.  Perhaps I didn't mention this, so I'll mention it now.  I made a filter out of my lamp about which I described in a video.  It has a long shaft too, and I'm thinking that the long shaft idea isn't going to work too well for the reason given above.

Another thing I tried was to use the drill on some dried up filter dirt from earlier water experiments.  This dirt had hardened up into some formidable type bricks that may be useful proxies for how the dirt will respond when I go out there.  The bad news is that it broke up rather badly.  If that happens out there, I won't get good holes that I'm looking for.

It may require some different kind of bit, which I looked at last night.  This is a backup plan if Plan A doesn't work.  That is, try another bit.

Reviewed plans for my next trip.  No changes made.

Here's a thought not on the list:  I went through my "home again" posts this morning.  Interesting to see how this all developed into what I'm doing now.  Actually, it is somewhat related to my list, but it is not a new feature.  Maybe it can be a new category, but there are so many of these already.

Time to move on the next thing.

Update:

The van is serviced, and now for the tent.  I put it together rather easily, or maybe not so easily because I got one point wrong.  Now I know what I did wrong, I can get it right the next time.  As for getting it up outside ( I was doing this inside my bedroom ), I will have to contend with the elements such as sun, wind, and maybe other things like how I feel.

As for the plastic bricks, not a whole lot of luck there.  Looks like I might be able to make a wall, but not the way that the thing is intended to be used.  Other configurations allowed this, but not quite in the way I wanted.

Maybe it might be better to just make the friggin' wall out of cinder block and get it over with.

Looks like I've touched base with every item on the list, except the videos, and it isn't even noon yet.

Update:

Went back and re-did the tent.  It's right this time.  This was more work than I thought, so I'd say it was a good idea that I returned to it.

Also went back and re-did the water test with distilled water as a comparison with last week's results.  There were water spots on the distilled water test too, but they were really hard to see.  The impurities may have been introduced from careless little old me.  As a point of comparison, it does show that the water obtained last week was definitely not distilled water quality and may have had significant amounts of impurities in it.  This leaves me with the thought that running it through the humidifier isn't really worth it.


Friday, October 17, 2014

Home again

Been home for about an hour.  Brought a nice baked chicken and chowed down.  Yummy.

Scanned the news.  The Dow was up today.  Not really unexpected.  Plenty of the usual propaganda.  It may work, but they have to deal with what comes afterward.  There hasn't been any real economic growth for over 40 years.  It's all smoke and mirrors, and they are running out of tricks.  What trick can they pull this time?

Meanwhile, "back at the ranch", I'm planning the weekend.  There are a few things I'd like to do on this weekend.  Like to do is the operative word, there's no time to do it all
  • check out the tent again.  I didn't get it up before, perhaps this time?
  • experiment more with the drill.  the big time experiment comes with the next trip out there
  • planning next trip out there
  • experiment some with making filters for water filtration---practice makes perfect
  • experiment with making videos, I could be adding a new feature if it works
  • check out plastic bricks
Each time I reach this point of the week, I figure I've got a ton of time.  Every time afterwards, I learn that time is fleeting, and there never seems to be enough of it.


The Dream and The Reality

That last post makes it look like I've got money.  Not so.

If I had money, I would not be working on the job I have now.  Let's say I came into some money.  If I did, I would leave this job immediately.  If the sum were large enough, I'd buy an RV and live in it.  Probably not on the land yet, but in the nearby town of Sierra Blanca.  Every day, I would be out there working on the land.  I'd raise my own food.  Obtain my own water.  Handle my own sanitation and trash.  I'd be a one-man city works.  Whatever I couldn't make, I'd buy, so I'd still need money.  Hopefully, not very much.

Almost all of that is a dream.  The only money I've got has to be watched over very carefully.  Even so, there's no guarantee that it is going to be enough.  Also, I'm counting on Social Security benefits when I reach 62.

Not hardly upper-middle-class, yet that's what the quiz said.

Yet it may look upper middle class.  Owning land and being self-sufficient is heady stuff.  But it may only be a dream.  I am going to do what I can to make that dream a reality, but it isn't there yet.  There's no guarantee that I will make it either.

Enough of the navel-gazing.  Back to the wage-slave job.


ParaPundit: Do You Live In A Bubble? Take The Quiz

ParaPundit: Do You Live In A Bubble? Take The Quiz



I scored a 34.  What does that mean?  The explanation here:

11–80: A first-generation upper-middle-class person with middle-class parents. Typical: 33.
Er.  Upper-middle-class?  Don't know about that.

After taking the quiz, I'd say it measures how well indoctrinated you are with the culture.  That people in the upper levels are not indoctrinated might make some sense because they are probably the indoctrinators.  The pushers don't take the dope, they just sell it.


Our government is going to get us killed

This article shows it to me.  Check out the comment section:  they are doing the right kind of things to control the virus, but it isn't here, it is in Nigeria.  Nigeria!  If there's any example of third world backwardness, that has to be it.  Yet we can't match them for common sense effort.

In this country, all we here is this insanity of political correctness.

Why do people vote for this crap?

If I may:  it's because of money.  Too many people get their free stuff from these PC people, so these PC people repay them by killing them ( and the rest of us ).  It reduces the population so we won't have as much pollution.  Killing a lot of people reduces the population don't you know.

I tell you: if you want to defeat political correctness, you have to defeat the moneychangers.  You defeat them by not allowing yourself to become dependent upon them.  A tall task, but it can be done.

The moneychangers run the government, the government is home to political correctness.  Defeat them and you defeat political correctness.


Thursday, October 16, 2014

Ebola prevention idea

Soak a paper towel in bleach and use it to keep hands clean.





Quickie post before I go 10/16/14

If you hear that no travel bans can be implemented, you should be suspicious.  For if the government wanted one, there could be one.

Consider that the airports were shut down after 9/11/2001 and this was for several days.  I recall that very well, because at the time, I traveled every day right by the big Houston airport.  No planes in the sky was an odd sight.  If they could do that much then, they can certainly do more than what they are doing now.

If you hear it, it is designed to put you off for the moment at least.  After the election, we may all begin to hear about how serious it all is and how they have to do more.  Of course, by that time, it will have become serious enough that they will have to do something or people will be furious.

They should be furious already.


A Sensible Strategy to Curtail Ebola in US

Free Republic

As usual, I'm running out of time.

I'm linking to this because it is an example of what we should be doing all the time.  That includes one Rush Limbaugh and a bunch of other people in high places.

We don't have much time.  The sooner something like this gets started, the better.  Hopefully, it won't come too late.


Ann Coulter - October 15, 2014 - WE'LL TELL YOU HOW DANGEROUS EBOLA IS AFTER THE ELECTION

Ann Coulter - October 15, 2014 - WE'LL TELL YOU HOW DANGEROUS EBOLA IS AFTER THE ELECTION



comment:



What she reports indicates that it's even worse than I thought.  They are lying to us.




Next Big Future: Lockheed Martin Compact Nuclear Fusion Reactor Con...

Next Big Future: Lockheed Martin Compact Nuclear Fusion Reactor Con...: The Lockheed Martin Skunk Works® team is working on a new compact fusion reactor (CFR) that can be developed and deployed in as little as te...



comment:



I'm getting a bit cynical these days.  Here's what I think I might be seeing:  Another attempt to distract people away from what will work into something that either won't or can't work.



We already know that molten-salt reactors work.  Why fool around with this, then?




Odds and Ends

Here are a few things I've noticed, but not commented upon:

  • The latest downturn in the market.  Is it significant?  Or is it a fakeout?  To answer that question, one has to realize that the Fed has a lot to say about where the economy is going to go.  We don't have tight money, it's still easy money time, so I'll say it isn't significant.  Once the Fed turns to tight money, then the market could get serious about a selloff.
  • Limbaugh reports that there is a belief out there that we could be on the cusp of a great awakening.  In my opinion, Limbaugh needs to wake up.  Nobody's waking up, as far as I can see.  Limbaugh used to be fresh, he's getting stale.  Very much so, I'm afraid.
  • From what I can tell, people are really underestimating this Ebola thing.  That's really bad news.  It will be a major miracle if there isn't a serious epidemic.  Even trained people aren't handling it right.
  • If there is a major disruption in the economy, Ebola could be the reason why.  If there's anything that might cause the wheels of commerce to grind to a halt, it is a major epidemic like that could be.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Giant dogtooth tuna becomes shark bait - GrindTV.com

Giant dogtooth tuna becomes shark bait - GrindTV.com

Old Man And The Sea, anyone?

I put this one in at the office, so to speak.  There was an hour lull and I thought I was going to go home when...

A delivery that should take about 45 minutes tops turned into an hour and fifteen minutes.  That may only seem like 30 minutes, but to me it is a lot of time.  I don't get much time off, so I'd like to have those 30 minutes if I can get them.  What caused it?  Some stalled vehicle in the right lane that backed up the traffic for a couple of miles.

That's life in modern times.  Our lives are ruled by the clock and the almighty dollar.  Maybe I can change that and maybe I can't.  I won't presume to change it in anybody's life but my own.  After all, what I'm trying to do has no money in it!


Huevos Rancheros

I don't mention much about my cooking, which is probably a good thing.  lol

Eating is good, cooking not so much.  It doesn't do much for me to cook, but I love to eat.

What I want to discuss here is a dish I just made.  What I like to do is to make stuff FAST and EASY.

Huevos Rancheros in a short description is egg whites with a dash of garlic salt, black pepper, and salsa.   Use a little olive oil or your eggs will become a hockey puck in the microwave.  No bread, no cheese, just pour the salsa on top after it's cooked and enjoy.

It takes only a couple minutes in the microwave and it's yummy.

The thing about it for me is that it is low in cholesterol ( zero! ), no fat, and no iron.  The iron needs to go because it screw up my meds.  That's for breakfast only, iron is definitely needed in the diet, it's a timing issue.


Should the government do more about Ebola?

There's a poll being referenced here that asks that question.

It strikes me as rather odd that people want to turn to government to solve problems when it was the government that caused the problem in the first place.

People are acting like trained seals.  They get a command from their masters, and then they comply by "barking" and "tooting" that little horn ( the poll).  Here's the government letting this man with Ebola into the country and then they profit from this by the demand from the public that the "government do more", and so they "do more" which invariably means a bigger and more powerful government.

To me, the government has done enough already.  Stop killing us with your incompetence and/or malice.

Yes, they may be doing that on purpose and it may well be downright malicious.

The poll should ask not whether the government should do more, but should the government do better.


Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Stirling Engine With DC Generator

Started out looking for something else, and found this.  It may be useful for me, but it doesn't have much power.  This actually may not matter considering what application I have in mind for it.

Update:

The application that I have in mind is to make something that will force condensation of water due to its coldness.  Up until now, I've been using pre-refrigerated items inside of the container.  Instead of doing that, I will use these windings that will go inside a tube that will follow the pathway of the mist as it comes out of the dehumidifier.

The mist will rise a couple feet or more after it comes out, but it also really wants to sink.  I want to use that fact to my advantage.  The idea here is to make some pvc pipe that will attach to the dehumidifier and divert the mist upwards a short distance, and then down.  This could happen several times in order to take advantage of the mist's tendency to rise and fall, you see.  The apparatus could look like a zig zag affair, with the pipe bending outward and then down several times.

It may be tricky to get the windings inside of the tube, so may I put them outside around the pipe.  Then attach a cooling device to the windings so that they cool down considerably, and thus cool down the pipe.  The mist will flow through the cooled down pipe and cool down in the process.  I am hoping that this will increase the condensation rate.

The Stirling engine will cool down the windings.  It doesn't have to be too powerful, because it will then freeze the mist, and I don't think that is necessary.

He mentioned the littlemachineshop dot com, so I am linking to it.

Here's a small Stirling Engine:




Prev  Next



A quickie before I go

Just read Limbaugh.  As I wrote before, Limbaugh isn't THE problem, but he is a problem.

Everything Limbaugh says, I'm sitting there nodding my head in agreement.  I didn't finish the article, but the drift of it was clear.  It was politics from the start and into the middle, which is where I quit reading.  I figured that it was also politics to the end.

Here's where politics of today leads you:  we could have Ebola killing millions of Americans, and these guys would be arguing back and forth about whose fault it all was.

At this point, we can leave the fault finding behind.  You don't argue about who was at fault when you have a fire raging.  You put out the fire, and then you inquire into what went wrong.

See what I'm talking about?  Limbaugh and the left are arguing about whose fault it is that Ebola could break out and kill millions.  They should be talking about how to stop this before it gets out of control.

Politics Schmolitics--- it's like that across the board.

Yeah, I'm doing it too.  But at least I said a little bit on how to deal with it.  Bleach.  Other things too, but that's a beginning.

We need to be talking about how to stop this, that's the bottom line.


Thanks to my readers

There aren't many of you, but I know you are out there.

Of course, I don't know who you are.  You could be friend or foe.  You are unknown to me.

Or, perhaps I do know you?  Perhaps.  I get the feeling sometimes that my audience does know me, but it isn't necessarily a vice versa situation.

You are welcome here, just the same.  Thanks again for coming by.  At least somebody is reading this.


JAWS: They're All Going To Die


Lots of social commentary in that movie.  But the usual talk about the movie will be about the special effects.  Tried to find the scene where Hooper here tries to warn the mayor about what they are dealing with, but the mayor is worried about other things---like money.  This scene is similar in that these people don't take what they are doing seriously enough, despite being warned.




A little worried this morning

About what?

Everything!

Yesterday, I had an appointment with the doctor.  As usual these days, they want to take blood samples.  For that, you must fast.  I didn't eat, cuz you are not supposed to.  Trouble is, I didn't drink enough either, probably cuz I didn't think about it.  That gal had to poke me three times for blood, so there's that.  She asks: "did you drink any water" and I thought I had, but evidently not enough.  I may have be dehydrated, cuz the blood wouldn't flow.  Well, I have to wait for the results of that.  The doc wants to know how my thyroid is doing, and probably a few other things, so there's that.  The long and short of it is that I'm getting old.  I haven't done everything right, in terms of health, so it's catching up to me.

Getting sick ain't cheap.  Fortunately, I'm not sick yet, but I'm workin' on it.

That dental bill can make you sick.  That cost a bundle.  It got so big because I didn't take good enough care of my teeth.  Like I was sayin'.

Now, here I am, thinking of going out West, like the young man of yesteryear.  The spirit is like that, always young.  But your body will tell you otherwise when you get old enough.

That's just your body and your money.  That's just the beginning of troubles.

I was thinking yesterday that even if I am totally prepared, I'm still cooked if things fall apart badly enough.  I  need medications.  How do I get my meds when the crap hits the fan?

We really need the crap to stay away from that fan, okay?  There seems to be people out there who'd love to see the crap hit that fan.  Me, not so much.  Just one more thing to worry about.

Then there's the Ebola thing.  It shouldn't be happening, but there it is.  Yesterday, I was in that clinic about to give blood, and all these people there.  A disease like Ebola could spread like wildfire, and not enough people seem to understand, or to be aware, of how a catastrophe like that can all happen. If there's one place where Ebola might lurk, it is around a lot of people, and especially in a doctor's office, or clinic.  But, you've got to go to the doctor sometimes.  People are going to the doctor all the time.  Just sayin'.

 The Big Picture is not looking good, but the leadership says--"not to worry".  Sure, don't worry about a thing.  They are taking care of everything.

Somehow, I don't feel reassured.


Monday, October 13, 2014

Cataclysmic Nation Changing Event

kitco commentary: Taylor


In his book, “The Coming Economic Ice Age” Dr. Robert McHugh warns readers that we are nearing a very major decline in equities given the massive “megaphone” formation that is taking shape in the Dow and many other major indexes around the world. In the book he shows that the same formation was present before other major equity market declines such as 1929, 1957, 1966, 1973, 1987, 2000 and 2008. In fact all major declines since the 1930s have had a widening megaphone which McHugh labels “The Jaws of Death.”

Buckle up your chinstraps boys, 'cuz this can get rough.


Air Conditioning 6 - Fan Coil Unit (FCU)

The video shown in a previous post was part of an six part series.

The below is part 6.  I wanted to find the two parts previous to the mentioned video.  Still looking. Thought I'd put this one up, for ideas.

Ah, here's the playlist for all six.  I don't have time for this now, but I'll come back to it later.





Thoughts on the timetable for moving out west

Back to considering an early move yet again.

The thing that may convince me to make the move would be if I can come up with a product that I can make and sell.  What would that be?

Spirulina.  I'm already going to make the stuff for fuel.  I don't want to eat it, but if I am going to sell it, I'd better eat it.  Not exactly looking forward to that, though.  But it must be done to reassure customers that my products are fit for human consumption.  If I can't nor won't eat it, neither will they.  If I do, I may have a chance to sell it, and earn some cash flow.

The Spirulina will be grown into separate batches for human consumption and for fuel.  The fuel can use the lower quality water that I can no longer recycle.  The batch for human consumption can be grown with distilled water, provided that I can make enough of the stuff.  My progress this past weekend on my water filtration ( see video below ) gives me optimism that I can reach this goal.  But I'm not there yet.

A business is going to require going to town more frequently.  I cannot ship from that place in the desert.  I don't think I'll ask anybody to come out there to get the stuff I'm shipping.  It may ship out of the post office in Sierra Blanca.  If somebody wants it faster, I may have it shipped by mail to a location in El Paso, where it can be overnighted anywhere.

There may be regulatory hurdles.  I'll have to look into that.  If all this can be made to work, which is a big "IF" right now, I'll be moving out there sooner rather than later.

Update:

Here's a video of the filter system as it stands now:





On moneychangers and Unitroids

Consider this quote from FDR's first inaugural:

The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.  Source: Wikipedia
A mouthful there.  First of all, let's consider what happened in the last 82+ years since FDR uttered those words.  I wrote about Unitroids, which I think is where we are now.  The 'troids herald the arrival of the moneychangers back to their high seats in the temple of our civilization.

Let's put it another way:  instead of FDR achieving what he said he would achieve, which is to apply "social values more noble than mere monetary profit", we have gotten even more of the same!  FDR and his successors have failed miserably.  We are worse off as a result.  Much worse.


Thoughts about the next stage of the water filtration

A quick review here:

What I've achieved so far:  I've got a simple and cheap water filtration device that can produce laundry quality water or higher out of laundry water. In other words, I believe that the water I got out of this system is at least good enough to reuse for laundry if it was used for laundry in the first place.

The water can be used for the spirulina systems as long as bleach isn't used for disinfecting.  For that matter, the spirulina system may be able to kill off all bacteria and virus because of the high pH.  But, to be on the safe side, before it is sent to the spirulina, it should be boiled.  It should be boiled before going through the filter, come to think of it.

So, the filtered water has two uses.  But what about drinking and bathing water?

I'm thinking another system will be required for that.

The condenser system that I've been working on probably won't be good enough.  I'm going to need something else.

All along, I've been considering a de-humidifier for the relative humidity condensation.  Could this not be possible for the water that is lost in the humidifier system?

Let's look what happens to that water that comes out of the humidifier.  It wants to condense almost immediately as it comes out of the device.  What would be better is if it were to evaporate completely and then run through a de-humidifier.

In order to do this, the water coming out of the humidifier needs to go through a long tubing that can let get away from the system as far as possible.  In other words, grab off the water and collect it, but don't worry about the "losses".  Those can be gained back later with the dehumidifier.

The long tubing can be my ozarka water bottles hooked up into series.  This will give the mist plenty of volume to expand into water vapor while at the same time, we can collect the water and maybe be able to use it for bathing.

The thing not to do is try to collect water in the container, as I've been trying to do.  It doesn't work well enough.

Instead, I will consider either making a condenser out of kiddie lab equipment and a boiling apparatus.  I don't care if it is kiddie equipment as long as it can produce usable water.

Actually, the kid stuff looks cheaper than a dehumidifier.  So, you've got that working for you.

I'm going to think on that one for awhile.  No rush.

After a pause, a few more thoughts:

Number one:  What I've been doing so far is similar to what happens as described in this video:


The last part, where the hot air is rejected to environment is what I want to use to run through a dehumidifier and gather that back up again without losing any water at all.  In other words, the part that is being lost, which in my system is about 4 ounces of water per hour, will go into the room where it will raise the relative humidity level, which, by the way, what the humidifier is supposed to do in the first place.

The water that is collecting is like the sump in the video.  It goes back into the chiller system, but I don't need that.  I will use that water for either laundry, bathing, or drinking depending upon quality.  At the moment, I've got laundry quality water coming out of it.

Since I'm not heating anything, the "kiddie" equipment isn't needed yet.  It could be used for some other application when boiling is necessary.  This may come into play when I want to get drinking water.

The dehumidifier might at least get bathing quality water, so here's a recap:

The current system that I've proven ( I think it can be said to be good enough to say that) will produce laundry water and "irrigation" water.

The part that is currently being lost, can be recovered using a dehumidifier.  This will produce at least bathing quality water.  Especially when you use a bit of bleach as a disinfectant.

The last part can be run through the kiddie lab in order to produce drinking water.  This could be a fraction of the water that is currently being produced from the humidifier of my current system.

I don't want to quit on my system.  Just keep improving it.  Therefore, it won't be the last treatment for the water coming out of the current (proven) system.  It will need further processing.

Update:

I've been linking these water filtration posts together into a type of proto series.  From now on, they will be part of a new series.  Each of the posts so far have a link in it somewhere, although these have not been clearly defined.  It is possible to follow this up to this time, or track back into time to the first.  You can also access the thread from the Table of Contents post for the main series, which the off-the-grid series link in the sidebar.

Next ( TBD)


Sunday, October 12, 2014

Norovirus & Ebola Zaire: same transmission vector (vanity w/CDC links)

Free Republic

Ebola Zaire and norovirus have the same transmission profile (at least based upon the CDC's claims of Ebola transmission vectors, which are publicly admitted to be incomplete)so the best comparison of the spread of Ebola in the US to any other viral pathogen is norovirus

The two are very hard to distinguish from each other.  There may be many false positives and false negatives unless a rigorous testing regime is put into place.

It may be bad timing for yours truly, but I've got dental and doctor appointments while we may be heading right into the middle of this "storm".

Toughest water filtration test yet underway

Been fooling around with this thing all morning.  Interesting when I use tap water, it stays clean ( or appears to).  Why use tap water?  Well, I changed the filter just slightly.  I took out some small rocks and put in more sand.  So, that filter now has several sand layers ( 3 I think if you count the separate activated charcoal device).

To make matters even more interesting, I made a new activated charcoal filter and now there are two of these on the same filtration device.  It slows down the drainage significantly.  I'm using tea bags for the charcoal filter.  Take out the tea and then add the charcoal.  Staple it back together and instead of a tea bag, you've got an activated charcoal bag.  Not only those changes, but I remembered that using a paper towel actually helped with filtration.  So now the water drains first into the first charcoal filter, into the second charcoal filter which passes through the paper filter first.  It then proceeds through the filter as before, which as mentioned, contains two layers of sand.  The final hurdle to pass through is a cotton ball.  The cotton doesn't help much, but it does stop sand.   That sand is pretty pesky stuff.  Even with all the rocks, it still makes its way down.

I hope to obtain 12 ounces of filtered water and use it in the humidifier/ condenser setup.

The greywater will be some rather dirty clothes, which I washed in the sink.  It may be more realistic than using a washing machine water, because out there, I won't be using a washing machine.  Too much electricity, too much water.

Nope, this will be more realistic and the water is going to be rather dirty.  If this gets clean, that will be something.

The greywater has been produced and disinfected.  Yeah, I don't want disease laden stuff going through this filter and humidifier.

The first few ounces have been pored, and I took some time to write this post while it drains.

I'll update on the progress...

Update ( about 1 hr later ):

About half way there...  The water looks great.  It seems rather slow in getting there, but if the water really is as good as it looks, it may come out the dehumidifier in worse shape than what it was when it came in!

I'm cleaning up all of the equipment for that part of the test while this part finishes up.

Update ( about 2 hrs later ):

Disaster.  While cleaning up, I tipped over the top part of the filtering apparatus.  ( They are loosely fit together plastic beverage bottles.)  I lost some of the water, maybe as much as two ounces.  The thing stop draining, because the top most filter looks to be damaged in some way.  Just now, I sped things up a bit so this won't take all day.  Water quality might have suffered a bit.  Don't know if the mishap may be the cause.  Water quality at first was very, very clear looking.  Now, it might have a slight tint to it.

My laboratory methods leave something to be desired.  However, not all is lost.  I can still run the experiment to completion, only with a little less water.

Update ( 5 pm ):

Final results of the filtration:

Duration:  1 hr.
Beginning water:  10 oz.
Ending water    :    6 oz.

Water lost to atmosphere ( and other places ):  4 ozs.

Water collected:  From humidifier :  4 ozs.
                           Ozarka:               0!
                           container:             2 ozs.
total water collected:                       6 ozs.
unaccounted for:                             4 ozs.

total amount of water                     10 ozs.


Discussion:

Nearly identical performance from the last test

Water quality:  Does not appear different.  Went in good, came out good.  With one exception.  At the hose that attached to the container from the Ozarka bottles, there was a dripping that I collected.  That water quality was definitely poor.

Have not done any water stain tests.  It's likely to have stains.  I'll get to that later.  Perhaps I'll report on it.

Conclusion:

This Ozarka setup doesn't work at all.  Can't explain the difference from before other than it was tilted before and is standing straight up now.  Water is probably condensing and going back into the humidifier.

Without a much better performance than this, this idea is stuck in reverse.

Water stain test setup, will review it first thing in am.

Update ( first thing in the am ):

I screwed up again.  The Ozarka water isn't distilled water.  It may have affected the water stain test.  Not only that, but I don't have any distilled water so that I can make a comparison.  Didn't use tap water as a comparison, either.  However, even with tap water, there's some chemicals, yet the water is potable.

Anyway, the tests show stains both before and after the dehumidifier/condenser activity.

At the end of the day, so to speak, I am going to keep believing that the last step of dehumidifier/ condenser does improve the water slightly even if there's no definite proof of that.  Secondly, I'm going to have to construct a new condenser because this current system doesn't work worth a poop.

Perhaps a new condenser can work on existing designs.  No need to reinvent the wheel here.  I'll study existing designs and see if I can come up with something I can use.

That wraps this up for another week, at least.


Water filtration progress

Yep.  No bout a doubt it.  I've run greywater through the filter and have gotten nearly clear water.

The way I did it was to review my work and implement some improvements.

As I'm writing, I'm doing another run through the humidifier/condenser apparatus.  Early indications look good.  If I can improve the water still further, I'm getting close to tap water quality.

A dash of bleach at the end of the process may even produce drinkable water, but no thanks.  I won't be doing that.

Update:

I got the following results from the humidifier/condenser run.

Time elapsed:  1 hour
Beginning water:  12 ounces
Ending water:        8 ounces

Lost to atmosphere:  4 ounces

Collected water:

From apparatus at end of experiment:  a little over 6 ounces
From container                                :   a little under 2 ounces
From "ozarka" bottles on top of humidifier:  zero!

Processed six ounces and collected just under two.

Beginning water quality:  mostly clear, some cloudiness
Ending water quality from container:  maybe better, hard to tell--- no smell at all.  Does have some suspended particles visible when held to light.

Discussion:

This experiment was to determine the performance of the humidifier/condenser in terms of output and losses.  It wasn't really set up to measure water quality.  Hence, the less than pure water at the end of the experiment does not discourage me.

There's plenty room for improvement, as the ozarka bottles lost all of its output.  I think it all drained back into the humidifier apparatus because there was no place for it to collect.  This was owing to the fact that the ozarka bottle is very wide and is standing nearly straight up vertical.  The second ozarka bottle did have a place for collection, but none collected there at all.  If there's to be any collection of this water, it will have to be modified so as to be collectible from the first bottle, which is closest to the humidifier.

I suspect that the collection in the first ozarka bottle can be quite impressive.  The humidifier is working quite well with this water, so these numbers don't indicate that because of the water draining back into the humidifier.  If that water is collected, we may get back up to the numbers seen in earlier experiments of about 10 ounces per hour.


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