Comments for Korey Atterberry's Idle Chatter

Comment on Free heat by Korey

Korey — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 02:52:31 +0000

Andy - you’re 100% correct. In my old apartment, I made the poor choice of placing my fish tank directly under the thermostat. Until I moved it, I couldn’t get the temperature in the apartment over about 58 degrees, no matter how high I set the thermostat. The fish tank created a warm tropical bubble over itself, making the thermostat believe the apartment was a balmy 78.

That being said, with proper air circulation (i.e. running the ceiling fan in the master bedroom) the heat redistributes OK. Point well taken. My goal was to keep heat inside the house, but if it’s not getting where it needs to be, that doesn’t help much.

Comment on Free heat by andy

andy — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 02:35:27 +0000

Your shower idea may actually cool the house, not warm it. Consider the following.

Assume that you have 2 zones for heating your house, upstairs and downstairs. You set both for 68 degrees. Your bathroom you do this trick with is upstairs, and the thermostat for upstairs is located close to the thermostat.

So, you’ve now raised the temperature of the area close to the thermostat to 72 degrees, and the heat is shut off for upstairs. However, as you move away from the thermostat, the temperature drops off quickly. 10 feet away, it may be at 68 degrees. Your son’s room is holding at 63. In the time it takes the bathroom area to come down below 68, your son’s room may dip into the 50s. And that cooler air will sink down the stairs as well.

Another test - in a large-ish room with a thermostat in one corner, check the temperature in the opposite corner while the heat is off. Place a lamp near the thermostat (on a table below it works best) and leave it on for a few hours. The temperature in that far corner will drop because the thermostat thinks the room is warmer than it really is, due to the lamp’s heat.

Comment on Free heat by how to save on electricity | Digg hot tags

how to save on electricity | Digg hot tags — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 00:43:57 +0000

[...] Vote Free heat [...]

Comment on Free heat by free energy fan | Digg hot tags

free energy fan | Digg hot tags — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 00:38:33 +0000

[...] Vote Free heat … [...]

Comment on Photos by Megan

Megan — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:29:13 +0000

When rabbits attack!

Comment on Homemade Truck Bed Bike Rack by Bill Phillips

Bill Phillips — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 02:54:15 +0000

I just purchased a 2008 tundra with the deck rail system. I wanted to add 4 bike mounts to the rail system, but the list price on the Toyota bike mounts are $99. Instead, I purcahsed 4 bike mounts from performance (see website) for $8 each and went to Lowes and bout some 1/2 by 2in carrage bolts and nuts. The carrage bolts are the perfect size to slid in the deck rail and you just have to use a 1/2 drill to drill the wholes larger in the bike mounts. Awesome solution and only paid $40 instead of $400. They don’t lock, but you can attach locks to the bike mount.

Comment on Photos by megan

megan — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:35:22 +0000

“Say Uncle!”

Comment on Gas mileage improvements by andy

andy — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:24:14 +0000

My previous post I tried to link to my fuel log on ecomodder.com but it disappeared.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/em-fuel-log.php?vehicleid=994

Comment on Gas mileage improvements by andy

andy — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:21:52 +0000

I wouldn’t go so far as to call me a “hypermiler” - I’m not doing all the drastic things they’re doing. I’m just doing some coasting and pulled the roof rack.

But I am quite proud of getting such great mileage out of the car when others are struggling to get 25 on the highway.

Comment on Gas mileage improvements by Korey

Korey — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:05:08 +0000

Andy - awesome! Thanks for the info. What you’re saying is what I was guessing would happen, but I didn’t have any way of proving it. I have to descend a large (by Illinois standards) hill every day, so I crank down it at 4000 rpm in second gear. I was hoping that wasn’t blowing through extra fuel.

20% better? That makes you a certified hypermiler. I’m looking forward to doing the same.