Entropy

Relax in southern comfort on the east bank of the Mississippi. You're just around the corner from Beale Street and Sun Records. Watch the ducks, throw back a few and tell us what's on your mind.
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JR.
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Re: Entropy

Post by JR. »

Well my peltier based dehumidifier repair was short lived... this time it stopped dead, no lights no action... Since it's solid state and the only moving part has been replaced, time to look for something simple.

JR

PS: I pulls so little water from the air that it is hardly worth the trouble.
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JR.
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Re: Entropy

Post by JR. »

I finally got back to figuring out why my peltier dehumidifier stopped working.

It was simple the 12V-6A lump ps was broken and not putting out proper voltage. The green power LED would flash intermittently. Oddly even after the line cord was unplugged the green LED flashes several more times. This suggests that the switching PS input stage is OK but output stage tries to start then shuts down. It is inside a sealed molded plastic package so not repairable.

I found a replacement ($10) PS. It has a different power cord end, but i can deal with that. There were cheaper PS but I went for the UL approved and double insulated (2 wire line cord).

I guess for $10 I'll give it another shot.

JR
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mediatechnology
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Re: Entropy

Post by mediatechnology »

Electrolytic capacitors seem to be the weak link in everything - maybe even dehumidifiers.

Knock on wood my daily-crashing Win XP machine has run since Friday the 13th without a reboot.
The 6 out of 10 bad electrolytics I replaced brought it back to its old reliable self of running months without a reboot.
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Re: Entropy

Post by Gold »

I got my Waveforms 520A VTVM back. Apparently only a couple of capacitors needed changing. He also had some documentation for another model that's very close. He said there is so much negative feedback that the tubes would have to be dead before noticing any problems. I love this meter. Its the only tube thing I use. It is 6"x4.5"x6". Very compact with a giant meter.
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JR.
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Re: Entropy

Post by JR. »

The replacement PS for my Peltier (toy) dehumidifier arrived. I had to solder the correct PS jack onto it but it is working now. 8-)

The fan now seems to be moving more air than before, so perhaps the old 12V supply was puny too... The new one is a few hundred mV hot with no load. I never did get to measure the old one before it crapped out... Now the old PS just tries to start then gives up, repeating about once every couple seconds.

The new PS is not UL listed :roll: but CE marked and also has the double insulated mark (box inside a box). I specifically bought one with a two wire line cord to get the double insulation. It is also plugged into a GFCI outlet so really unlikely to kill me. :o

I'll see if it pulls more water from the air than before, but this never pulled humidity on the scale of my two real dehumidifiers that can pull a couple gallons every 24 hours, when humidity is high. :D

JR

{edit... working about like before, but the replacement PS is one hot rock... :o I don't recall the old one being this hot... it may be the weakest link. /edit]
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mediatechnology
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Re: Entropy

Post by mediatechnology »

JR. wrote: Tue May 01, 2018 11:02 am The new PS is not UL listed :roll: but CE marked and also has the double insulated mark (box inside a box). I specifically bought one with a two wire line cord to get the double insulation. It is also plugged into a GFCI outlet so really unlikely to kill me. :o
You obviously don't have one of the newer "shuttered" GFCI outlets which require a the third ground pin to unlock and open little plastic shutters for Hot and Neutral.
You can't plug a two wire cord into them.

A couple of days ago I walked out into the garage with bare feet and touched the metal handle on the metal door riding on metal tracks.
I think all of you know where this is heading...

I felt a tickle.
This garage door has no electric opener.
A multi-conductor low-voltage sprinkler line is draped over the pulley and spring brackets but that wouldn't have been it unless the insulation was chaffed. Not likely.
Then I glance over and see an old (powered) light fixture hanging from the end of the track.
I said to myself "Self: This might be it."

It was.
I had checked that fixture for continuity (garage Ohm meter on X10K scale) to the conductors before I had installed it.
Sometime over the last few months there may have been an insulation breakdown or there's a dead moth in the fixture.

Garage doors should probably be grounded...
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JR.
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Re: Entropy

Post by JR. »

mediatechnology wrote: Sat May 12, 2018 6:31 am
JR. wrote: Tue May 01, 2018 11:02 am The new PS is not UL listed :roll: but CE marked and also has the double insulated mark (box inside a box). I specifically bought one with a two wire line cord to get the double insulation. It is also plugged into a GFCI outlet so really unlikely to kill me. :o
You obviously don't have one of the newer "shuttered" GFCI outlets which require a the third ground pin to unlock and open little plastic shutters for Hot and Neutral.
You can't plug a two wire cord into them.
That would be awkward for all the typical bathroom appliances (like electric toothbrush chargers) that only use two wire line cords.
A couple of days ago I walked out into the garage with bare feet and touched the metal handle on the metal door riding on metal tracks.
I think all of you know where this is heading...

I felt a tickle.
This garage door has no electric opener.
A multi-conductor low-voltage sprinkler line is draped over the pulley and spring brackets but that wouldn't have been it unless the insulation was chaffed. Not likely.
Then I glance over and see an old (powered) light fixture hanging from the end of the track.
I said to myself "Self: This might be it."

It was.
I had checked that fixture for continuity (garage Ohm meter on X10K scale) to the conductors before I had installed it.
Sometime over the last few months there may have been an insulation breakdown or there's a dead moth in the fixture.

Garage doors should probably be grounded...
I am a believer (and dependent upon) GFCI technology to interrupt current flows going anywhere but where they should. RCD/GFCI in the mains panel can protect entire branches, but the tradeoff is more likely false trips and higher thresholds.

Tingles are not good, before I grounded my kitchen outlets I would routinely get tingles from kitchen appliances all bonded to each other but previously floating from ground (in my case the source of the current was a faulty outlet strip with leaky protection devices).

JR
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JR.
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Re: Entropy

Post by JR. »

I take pleasure from repairs and easy is good, but sometimes the repair just doesn't sit right.

The spray hose nozzle for my kitchen sink broke (again). I keep a bottle washer attached to my faucet so I use the sprayer for routine washing needs, so probably used several times normal frequency.

I took the broken spray nozzle apart and found a broken pot metal tab that is not readily fixable. Now the part that didn't sit right is after making a special trip to Walmart, I found the exact same sprayer for sale. I guess this isn't that surprising because it's where I bought the last one, but hard to have high expectations for longevity this time.

The shiny metallic (looking?) replacement sprayer was $6 and a black plastic version of the same thing $5... I decided to buy the black one just to remind myself that this repair too may be ephemeral. :roll:

JR
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mediatechnology
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Re: Entropy

Post by mediatechnology »

Dallas only picks up brush and bulk trash once a month.
I pay $27.26 per month for trash pickup and try to get my money's worth.
I have a pile like this, from brush dragged >200 feet and uphill anywhere from 20-60 feet about every month.
There are about 20 hackberry's in there.

Image

This was last month's clearing which was mostly Nandina and Privet.
The trail leads to our creek about 100 yards away.

Image

This month's clearing, on the third terrace below the house, required removing about 5 or 6 tall hackberry's to expose a nice Eastern Red Cedar.
I haven't counted in awhile but I probably have 50-100 Eastern Red's.
You couldn't see the forest for the trees.
The hackberry's grew pretty tall and straight so I left the trunks on the hill to use them for erosion control.

Image

I haven't counted in awhile but I probably have 50-100 Eastern Red's.
There is a Bigelow white Shin Oak in the left of the frame.
They are very slow-growing: There's a picture of me on that same hill at age one and they are about the same size.
That was 1958.

Fortunately the city came Wednesday July 4th tp pick it up.
It's getting really hot here and the copperheads are beginning to come out.
Time to get out of the woods...
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JR.
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Re: Entropy

Post by JR. »

Today is saturday so I am burning my once a week accumulation of fallen branches. Got a half inch of rain last night so may be a little rough starting it (but I feel lucky).

JR
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