Robotic Vacuums: any helpful tips and advice on usage for newbies
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Hydroponic Green Peas, Newbie please help!
Comments (12)Better nutrients than gasoline... but I know what you mean. If you don't want to bother with a pump, to avoid drinking the spent solution all you needs is a 'trap' to connect to your dangling siphon hose if everything is in the one tub. An easy one can be made with glue and two top halves of 500 ml clear plastic water bottles, and it is just as quick as cracking open a drain valve. I think I follow that you are making the suggestion that I could just prepare the original concentration of nutrients by weighing or pouring standardized nutrient solution concentrations. That was worth a chuckle since I couldn't have imagined it any other way ... but now it is sounding like people use the EC to add without weighing like cooks tossing spices into a broth and testing it until it meets their spec ... that possibility completely went over my head, but I bet it is a common reason to buy an EC meter. I'm pretty sure something as generic as EC can be managed much more accurately with a good multimeter than the typical HM EC meters I removed from my shopping list. Like you said, EC isn't providing any details about individual ions, all that all you need to do is mix up the right solution once with the scales and graduated cylinders and measure it even using the resistence scale if you are lazy, since ppms are fudged anyway. The only technical issue is to get a standard sized 'cell', I might use a tic-tac case, and firmly attach two flat electrodes facing each other submersed on the bottom, and run two insulated wires out (preferably set in some insulating epoxy, both for electrode tab and especially to keep the wire leads to them dry. So check the 1/resistance and then check it at half strength or whatever your action threshhold is. (same calibration for temperature fwiw) That's the range. Enough on this since you said it's been discussed. I'll post what I did as soon as I'm in business assuming it has convenient application. BTW the open top tic-tac cell like this could be put directly into the rez as a probe to measure since the plastic ought to act as an insulation shield from spurrious readings. Maybe it was a pH measurement that was more complicated because for that you'll likely need a hydrogen selective electrode and interface, neither that a multimeter comes with... Back to the fun stuff, I was actually thinking of changing 1/3 of the rez every 5 days during heavy demand instead of everything every two weeks and play it by ear as to when a complete change was needed like if yield loss or gunking up. 1/3 every 5 days vs. 100% every 15 seems much better to me as a compromise between dilution and accumulating unused trace nutrients. By the 15th day, only 29.6% of the original spent nute solution wilnot be changed out. That sounds a whole lot better IMO than carrying all the spent nutes till the 15th day. I'm in northeast FL but so far I don't know anyone nearby doing this. There is a hydro store or two in driving range and one of these days I hope to at least get to one and check it out. But I seriously doubt that they would be so helpful as your pictures from the other thread, which really got me thinking more creatively from the canned stuff all over the web....See MoreNewbie building pool needs equipment recommendations
Comments (4)Where you live plays significantly into your choices. If you live in California or Hawaii, where power is expensive, the variable is the better option. In much of California, it often makes more sense to get a gas fired heater over a heat pump, especially when a spa is attached. There are for types of cleaners. There is the suction side cleaner, the pressure side cleaner, the robot, and the in-floor system. I think you are starting to see the value of having a PB. To build a pool on a DIY basis, you really need to know something about it. Scott...See MoreA little OT but I need HELP with vacuum decision
Comments (74)I also posted my question about my Dyson on the Cleaning Tips forum and thought I would share their responses. Apparently, the Dyson was not a good choice for my friese carpet (or any longer length carpet) because it does not have a height adjustor for the roller brush. It does self-adjust, but it does not adjust as high as it should for longer carpet fibers. That would explain why it is very hard to push on my friese but not on the shorter carpet in our bedrooms. Having the roller brush at a lower height also decreases the effectiveness of the vacuum on longer length carpet, because the roller brush cannot fully move the carpet fibers around to release the dirt between them. Also, the Dyson roller brush can be too aggressive for area rugs - but this can be solved by using the rug/floor attachment. It was suggested that Simplicity, Riccar, Miele, or Sebo vacuums might be a better choice for my floors. Hope this info. might help others choose their vacuum....See MoreHi EVERYBODY – newbies need help with kitchen layout please
Comments (34)Just off the top of my head, I would probably move the table into the flex room right now and put your piano front and center in the great room. Make your piano the star in the room. Use the flex room as your dining room since you don't use it that often. Then I'd probably put a prep sink on the island with your cooktop centered as you had it. I'd move the ovens down to the left side and put the cleanup sink on the right with the dw to the right of the sink. You don't need a window over a cleanup sink as you spend maybe 10 minutes a day cleaning up. Put a pretty shelf or a dish rack or a pretty tile arrangement over the cleanup sink. I'd make the laundry room into one long room and move the W/D against the outside wall. You could also just enclose it with pocket doors and have the mudroom/laundry as one large room. I'd ditch the pantry sink and just have the pantry as one large pantry/butler's pantry. You have room to make the guest room larger. I did so in the plan. Yes it's not equal but you'll never notice it when you're actually walking into the room. Trust me on that. You don't view your space from the ceiling. That automatically narrows the foyer and since the door opens against the guest room, that too will help you not see that it's not "equal"....See More
KATHY
7 years agoI have a few things I put up before I run it. I have 3 virtual walls but only used them a couple of times so far. We put them outside the bedroom doors when doing bedrooms so it will get to the edge of carpet but stopping it from going to hardwood hallway flooring. You do have to figure out how far to set them back from door opening so it gets to edge, for me that was about 9-10 inches and angled to point at door jamb on other side of door opening. I live in a ranch style home with a long hallway to bedrooms and baths. I shut those doors when I want it to do main rooms such as kitchen, dining room, den and laundry room. I got up this morning at 8 and heard it going in one of my son's bedrooms, he had put all his stuff up on bed and it was just vacuuming away. Of course that kind of messed my scheduled cleaning up because I had it set for 9 am, and the battery indicator had turned amber and it was looking for its dock. I took it to the dock and let it charge for an hour and then it started up at 9am and lasted about 40 minutes. That was sufficient for me today. I know it probably ran in his room for at least 1 1/2 hours. I would say in a solid 2 weeks of use, I have only had it get stuck a few times. I have area rugs but none with fringe so for what I have it has worked fine. It goes over floor vents without a hitch,
The thick wooden ones that match the hardwood floors. Those scratches are not from the roomba, they are from a child's rocking chair that usually sits there but Christmas tree is in this area nowThis is the one spot it has gotten stuck twice. Just not enough room between the rug and the edge of the curio.
No problem with small rugs in kitchen or the 2 thick wool ones.
Sorry this is so long but hopefully if you have read it all, you will glean some knowledge.
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7 years agoI am glad it has worked out for you. I wish I had have asked my dad for one the same time my sister did for her big Christmas gift. Oh well, you live and learn. She doesn't research anything. She thought it was cool :)
I use this for dusting baseboards and it would probably be better on your back. It is flexible and another one of my favorite tools
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7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoKATHY
7 years agoAnother tip, my roomba kept going forward about 2 feet and then turning 180 degrees and then 2 feet forward. Over and over! That front little wheel pops right out and also needs to be cleaned. This is what was up under my wheel and problem solved
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