Recent content by PatrickW

What "real world" difference does the volts of a cordless tool make? Is a 24 volt tool twice as good as a 12 volt tool? Does it weigh more? Take longer to charge? Is more always better? Or is it hype? - Pat

Here's some more info: http://www.cordless-drills.net/

My ancient Craftsman is giving up the ghost, and it's time for a new cordless drill. I want to buy the best one that I can. Not worried about price too much because if I'm still happy with it 10 years from now it will have been money well spent. I absolutely refuse to buy anything made in...

Been a while since I've checked in. Some of my buddies are asking about how the floor is holding up. Still very happy with it. The work was all worthwhile, and I'd do it again. Over the past couple of years I've spilled all kinds of different chemicals on the floor. Acetone, gasoline...

I'd like to teach myself how to torch weld. Already have a brand new torch & regulator still in the box. What's a ballpark guesstimate of how much I should expect to pay for a cylinder of acetylene and a cylinder of oxygen? I'm thinking like 4' tall cylinders that would last me a while...

Thanks everyone for the comments and advice! I decided not to do it. I don't know enough about electricity and probably would have created more problems than it was worth. :shocking: Instead, I bought a smaller air compressor that plugs into 110 volt. It still saves me money, because I...

Yes, they did give me a $100 rebate for putting in the interuptible meter. It makes sense that they'd prefer to be able to control usage rather than not control usage. Maybe I'm just being too cautions here. It's probably just fine to splice into this circuit and hook up an air...

It's an ordinary 10Kw electric garage heater on a 60 amp circuit. But the power that runs through it is billed at a reduced rate. It's a separate meter from everything else. Air compressor calls for 30 amps, so I think it would take less power than the heater does. If I installed a switch so...

Here's the one I went with: http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200316377_200316377 Works good. Very quiet, and puts out a lot. Hey Jarhead - I take it you were in the Corps? I enlisted 24 years ago today. Got out 20 years ago. :beer: - PatrickW

I've got a single 240 volt circuit in my garage that's hooked up to an electric heater. The circuit runs through conduit on the inside of the garage. I'd like to "tap into" it and install a socket (like for an oven) so that I can plug in a 240 volt air compressor. That should be easy - but...

I wouldn't be suprised if a fair number of the people who go "missing" each year are actually burglers who've been killed (and disposed of) by homeowners.

I was *amazed* at how much heat gets "held in" just by simply insulating. The garage is the warmest "room" in my house now (unless I'm running the furnace, which we just turned on this week). The real test will be in the dead of winter, when it's -20 below zero outside. I bet that heater...

I hole-cut the drywall between every two studs. In other words, I cut a 4" hole every 16" or so, on the inside of the garage, up near the ceiling. It was a dusty mess... Then I rented a blower machine. Actually, they let me use it for free because I bought 12 bales of blow-in cellulose from...

My garage is a 3 car, attached unit. About 700 square feet. The unit I installed is a 10Kw Ouellet unit. http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200316377_200316377 "Interuptible circuit" means that I bought a special meter that I run my electricity for my garage...

Just to follow up on what I ended up doing, for the benefit of others who may be reading this. Turned out that the previous owner of my house put up sheet rock, but didn't insulate. So I put in a layer of R38 plus a layer of R19 above the roof, and I blew in cellulose between the wall studs...