Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT Grumblebums Corner

[Grumblebum]

Haha, and I thought my cheap circlip pliers with the interchangeable ends were great, having struggled with picks/screwdrivers etc for years. Very nice!

Thanks MH.

Grumblebum, over in Lyndon's thread we're talking about meeting up for lunch one day in Camden. You should come up and join us

Sounds great Hewey, I think there is a PM sitting there flashing at me, sorry I've been off the radar a bit for the last couple of weeks.

The circlip pliers look great GB, I did the same as Andrew a couple of years ago and bought the cheapies with the interchangeable ends - which was a big improvement over screw-drivers, etc. (which was usually followed by "the great circlip hunt" - now where the %$# did that %#$&# thing go? ).

Mark, I've dug holes in my hands enough with screwdrivers trying to remove circlips, so it was just time to get the right tools this time

GB, a man after my own heart I like your thinking when it come to tools..

Thanks 1/2.

 

[Grumblebum]

Catching up a bit...

Last weekend got a couple of things done

Saturday...Installed a new FullRiver 105AH AGM battery in the camper trailer. The now 16 year old orange telstra batteries I had been using are now not lasting very long running the engel fridge, so it was time for a new one. These FullRiver ones are pretty high quality units and are normally very expensive, but I found a good deal online. This should last many years. I also picked up a fold up 80W solar panel for it to go camping with as the solar panel I had been using is full size, heavy and bulky to take.

View media item 62750
This is the battery box I made up from an old one we used to use at work. It has a 12V socket to run the led camp lights and an engel socket to run the fridge. On the top I grabbed a cheap LCD Voltmeter so I can keep tabs on the voltage. On the side I have a Manson SBC7210 20A solar charge controller that I connect the solar panel to and also run the load from. It has the low voltage disconnect set so that the battery won't discharge any more than 50%.

View media item 62751
Mucked around with this a bit too and repacked some of the gear... (those jerry holders are just sitting there still, not welded on yet)

View media item 62753
Sunday...Wifie had picked up some seedlings, so now that spring is poking it's nose out a little bit I cleaned out the chicken coop manure and topped up the vege garden beds and planted them. You can see some of the painting wifie and kids have done on the mural frames I made up a while back...

View media item 62752
Quickly followed by some netting to protect them from the chickens who would destroy them in about 5 seconds...

View media item 62757
And that was last weekend...

 

[Grumblebum]

...and that brings us to today.

Got home from kids swimming this morning (a bit slow going as we had a trivia night for the kids primary school last night at the RSL club up the road - beer was fresh off the tap and cold, so a few were had...) and noticed a drip of oil on the driveway under my truck.

Thought that was a bit strange as she doesn't drip oil so I got under and investigated. After a bit of searching and wiping I have found that the oil return line from the turbo back into the crank case is dripping, checked the bolts and they are still tight so it looks like a fracture around the flange, seems this is a common thing after a bit of google looking.

View media item 62754
She is just about due for her 290k oil change anyway so I'll pickup a new one and swap it out and give it a good degrease.

Have a good day, cheers GB.

 

[1/2 Cup]

GB, been a busy beaver by the looks of things.. Trivia nights can slow things up some what...

Sixteen years out of a battery is not to bad, let us know how the new ones perform..

Don't remind me its spring now as I have a bit of catching up to do in the garden to get ready for summer.

Good pick up on the oil leak as it will save some heartache down the track..

Have a good one................

 

[Lyndon]

Rod

You can see that the leak (only a low pressure point) must have been going for a while, because that brace under the pipe is nice and rust free near the leak, but showing surface rust the further away to the left you look. We had a low pressure oil return get shattered when we were on the Trek last year in the Landcruiser. Blocking the bottom end and letting the top end vent to atmosphere until we could fix it worked fine and didn't cost any oil until we got it fixed.....

Lyndon
Got your pm, looking forward to wifie's answer.

 

[Terrick down Under]

Sorry 1/2, but "Sixteen years out of a battery is not to bad" I reckon it is ****** fantastic.
GB, have you been over at Myswag.org, got lots of interesting information (and people) on there.

 

[Grumblebum]

GB, been a busy beaver by the looks of things.. Trivia nights can slow things up some what...

Sixteen years out of a battery is not to bad, let us know how the new ones perform..

Don't remind me its spring now as I have a bit of catching up to do in the garden to get ready for summer.

Good pick up on the oil leak as it will save some heartache down the track..

Have a good one................

I'll have to pop up a pic of the old Telstra batteries. Indeed garden season is almost here, I've got a lot to do also.

Rod

You can see that the leak (only a low pressure point) must have been going for a while, because that brace under the pipe is nice and rust free near the leak, but showing surface rust the further away to the left you look. We had a low pressure oil return get shattered when we were on the Trek last year in the Landcruiser. Blocking the bottom end and letting the top end vent to atmosphere until we could fix it worked fine and didn't cost any oil until we got it fixed.....

Lyndon
Got your pm, looking forward to wifie's answer.

Yep, it's been slowly dripping down around the sump and only now just got to the point where it could drip off, when I used to have more time I would do a full clean/detail around all the lower mechanicals so would see when things were not right. If only I had Dan's new lift it would be a bit easier.....

Sorry 1/2, but "Sixteen years out of a battery is not to bad" I reckon it is ****** fantastic.
GB, have you been over at Myswag.org, got lots of interesting information (and people) on there.

The old orange Telstra batteries were a pretty good quality from what I understand as they are the batteries used for backups in all the comms racks.

I have lurked a lot on my sway.org, not much recently though. I have been thinking of starting a thread there with the cub camper trailer at some point.

Thanks for dropping in, GB.

 

[Bears Fan]

View media item 62753
That's a great looking unit you put together, I just think it is badass (that's a good thing) Great job on the garden too...

 

[Grumblebum]

Continuing the discussion about batteries...

These are my 6 ex-Telstra batteries that came out of some old data racks some years back.

They are Hawker Energy SBS-40 series, 36.8 Ah units.

View media item 62760
The two at the front I just removed from the battery box I had in the camper trailer. They were connected in parallel.

View media item 62759
All manufactured May 1999, so they have been around awhile.

View media item 62762
I checked the voltage on them all and they are all still holding 60% or better depending upon what state-of-charge table you go off. The 4 at the back haven't been charged for probably 6 or 8 months, maybe a bit longer.

View media item 62761
To charge them I have a Ctek 8 stage 10amp charger. Normally I let it sit on each one for a full day.

View media item 62763
They used to be in my old single garage that used to be here before I did the extension on the house, running 4 in parallel, fed from a 60 watt solar panel on the roof. Used to power the 12 volt shed lights, sensor light and a low wattage (125 watt) water pump (since died) that I used on the vege garden I had at the time.

More recently a couple of them have been in the camper, but I am thinking that perhaps I have the low voltage disconnect on the charge controller set too high for these which are AGM batteries. I have it set to 12.2V which is normally about 50% for wet batteries, I can probably bring that down to 11.95V which should disconnect the load at 40% which should be fine for an AGM as long as you get them recharged soon after.

So they may still have some life in them yet, I had been planning on building a small art studio out the back at some point for wifie and they would run the lights etc out there.

Anyway, that is my battery collection.

GB.

 

[rmalkow2]

Quite the battery, charging, starting system tester you have there. Thanks for the close ups of each mode. I've not seen a hand held like that before but seems to have a lot of good capabilities. I may have to look into one like that myself. Between acquiring more of my own battery equipped projects and many friends with occasional issues it could be a frequently used tool around the garage.

 

[1/2 Cup]

GB, the Ctek is great to keep AGMs at their best.

Your batteries would have been from a controlled environment to last that long.

From what we have learned at work:

Charge each battery individually ( you may already do this).

I would recommend leaving the charger on in reco mode for a few days in your charging of them..

Regards

 

[Grumblebum]

That's a great looking unit you put together, I just think it is badass (that's a good thing) Great job on the garden too...

Thanks bears. Just need to get it out more, there is not much that needs to be done to it now. We were supposed to go out the other weekend but those plans got changed.

Cheers GB.

 

[Grumblebum]

Quite the battery, charging, starting system tester you have there. Thanks for the close ups of each mode. I've not seen a hand held like that before but seems to have a lot of good capabilities. I may have to look into one like that myself. Between acquiring more of my own battery equipped projects and many friends with occasional issues it could be a frequently used tool around the garage.

RM I think it's a nice testing unit for home shop use. Should meet all my needs for my immediate circle of friends & family also. Really nice to confirm the state of a cranking battery before you lose time chasing other issues.

GB, the Ctek is great to keep AGMs at their best.

Your batteries would have been from a controlled environment to last that long.

From what we have learned at work:

Charge each battery individually ( you may already do this).

I would recommend leaving the charger on in reco mode for a few days in your charging of them..

Regards

Thanks 1/2 Cup, the batteries have been pretty much stored in the garage on a shelf and never on a concrete floor. I do charge individually except when the two in the camper battery box were in parallel.

Was thinking about hitting the reco mode last night, the manual recommends to do this annually on a battery to keep it in top form.

Time for another coffee then I better get into it, sun is out and the wind has dropped off. Have a good day guys.

GB

 

[dlcwent]

GB, thank you for the in depth report on the tester. It looks to be a treat to use. I appreciate you taking the time to show the multi functions it's capable of. It appears to be a good quality machine. I'll be looking into it.

I like the gardens you have set up. Is there any significance to the murals placements? Like does each mural represent who's bed is who's?

 

[Grumblebum]

GB, thank you for the in depth report on the tester. It looks to be a treat to use. I appreciate you taking the time to show the multi functions it's capable of. It appears to be a good quality machine. I'll be looking into it.

I like the gardens you have set up. Is there any significance to the murals placements? Like does each mural represent who's bed is who's?

Dan, no problem mate - sorry it took a few weeks to get to. I would like to make some time to review and perhaps add some content about the testing techniques once I learn some of it myself. I think for your shop the one I have might be too basic, that model you were looking at I think will be more automated with maybe a 1 button test type thing and you have that thermal printout option on it to print for your customers.

As for the garden art, no nothing of significance. I just hung them then wifie and kids did their thing. Actually the bed sizes were designed around the chicken coop with the idea being that I could just move the coop from bed to bed and let the chickens do their thing, as it turns out we have just left them on one bed at the moment, once summer kicks in I'll probably move them back over to the side that gets the most shade.

Had a good cleanup day on Sunday, I think I've moved into a secondary sorting phase without realizing it. Have had some success sending clutter off to the donation place the other week, another trip there hopefully one morning this week with whats in the back of my truck now and we are slowly getting there.

View media item 62899
Got rid of a heap of unused old cardboard boxes from the top of the storage cupboards, vacuumed the top and got rid of the dust. Sorry I was into it so didn't take the horrible before pics.

View media item 62896
View media item 62898
And look, for a few minutes I had it where the vehicles could come home to roost. Actually only have the camper in there at the minute, and there is room for wifies car. Had I not run out of daylight I would have got them in there at least for a pic.

View media item 62897
With a bit of luck I am going to take 2 weeks of long service leave very shortly and get a few things finished which will be good for my sanity, going too long now with that last %5 of jobs not finished. It will be a full on slog as I have some house projects to get squared away along with my little list of garage items including the french cleat back wall, finishing the slide out shop trash can, getting the air compressor mounted in the plant room area and hard lines run. Also want to get someone in that knows their stuff to service and insulate the garage door before we get to summer, it's west facing so that afternoon summer sun turns the garage into a not very comfortable place to work.

Anyway will see how we go.

Cheers GB.

 

[Lyndon]

Rod

Looks good. Have you spoken to the missus yet about September?

Looks like, if you're on long service leave, we might need to meet at your place?

Lyndon
Just thinking out loud.

 

[Grizz1963]

Verrrry smart and tidy.

 

[1/2 Cup]

GB, now that looks fantastic.

Enjoy your long service..

Regards

 

[Terrick down Under]

Gee, I'm glad you got that done, it looks so good. So the practice run is done and you are happy with it, .....now you can do mine with confidence.....LOL. I love the labels on the tall cupboards, gunna steal that one.

 

[HOTFR8]

I was going to post about the C-Tek and the batteries but 1/2Cup raced me to it.

 

[oldironfarmer]

I want my shop to like yours

 

[Bears Fan]

Very well organized

 

[BBChevro]

That looks really good GB.

 

[rmalkow2]

Man your clean up efforts make the place look great. It's always a good feeling to do that and enjoy the space. At least until the next project starts up. Top work!

 

[Grumblebum]

Rod

Looks good. Have you spoken to the missus yet about September?

Looks like, if you're on long service leave, we might need to meet at your place?

Lyndon
Just thinking out loud.

Thanks for the quick chat today Lyndon, once we hear from Hewey we might be almost sorted

Verrrry smart and tidy.

Thank you kindly Rian...

GB, now that looks fantastic.

Enjoy your long service..

Regards

Thanks 1/2 Cup, I've been trying to get the garage near this stage for a long time it seems. Hopefully two weeks of LS starting from the week after next. I'll be changing to a different phone number temporarily and one of the other guys at work can have the pleasure. I will still be doing daddy duties in terms of school drop offs and pickups so I will have to make the most of the just shy of 6 hours each day for any solid project time.

Gee, I'm glad you got that done, it looks so good. So the practice run is done and you are happy with it, .....now you can do mine with confidence.....LOL. I love the labels on the tall cupboards, gunna steal that one.

Thanks Terrick, the cupboard doors are painted with tile and laminate primer then chalkboard paint - good for fleshing ideas out on or writing up lists. I need to do something with the white handles as they look crappy.

I've got one more practice run to do and that is the workshop at work - then I'll have earn't my certificate and can come and look in your shed for treasures, sorry - help clean up I mean.

I was going to post about the C-Tek and the batteries but 1/2Cup raced me to it.

Thanks for your visit HOTFR8, I have a question for you and 1/2 cup.

The ctek manual states the recond mode:
"Recond program 15.8V/1.5A. Use to return energy to the empty
WET and Ca/Ca batteries. Recond your battery once per year and after deep dischare to maximise lifetime and capacity."

Have you guys used this mode on AGM's ?

I want my shop to like yours

Andy, you are well on your way mate with that shiny new slab. However, I wish my shop was as big as yours (or even the size of your old chicken coop would do )

Very well organized

Thanks very much BF

That looks really good GB.

Cheers Mark

Man your clean up efforts make the place look great. It's always a good feeling to do that and enjoy the space. At least until the next project starts up. Top work!

Thanks RM, getting rid of a pile of clutter to the charity shop (and some more today) has made a massive difference. I was hoping to have made more progress on the chop saw but I need to fab a bracket to get the housing off over the bearing where the circlip was. My small gear puller can't clasp around it as it is.

Thanks again fellas, much appreciated. GB.

 

[dlcwent]

GB, you have a very nice looking and well organized shed. I wish mine was that tidy.

And I think you're right about the tester I'm looking at. It's all about showing the customer a print out that shows results.

I hope you get to enjoy some of the down time coming your way.

 

[Grumblebum]

So this afternoon I pulled the Hilux into the garage, well because I could - finally

And tonight got out the measuring tape and had a thought...

If I pullin such that there just enough room to close the door...

View media item 62906
Then at the front I have this much space...about 18"

View media item 62907
So that got me thinking, I could use up maybe 12" (300mm) for some shallow cabinets along that wall - or I could make some shallow ones hanging on the french cleat system so they could be moved around if needed...hmmm

The max protusion of general things hanging on the cleats shouldn't be any more than about 8".

So it might work to have some lower cabinets 10-12" deep for some additional storage and still have 6" or more buffer at the front of the truck.

 

[Grumblebum]

GB, you have a very nice looking and well organized shed. I wish mine was that tidy.

And I think you're right about the tester I'm looking at. It's all about showing the customer a print out that shows results.

I hope you get to enjoy some of the down time coming your way.

Thanks Dan, cheers. interested to see what tester you go with.

 

[rmalkow2]

Heck, with 18 inches (more if you take out that hitch insert) you'd have enough room to create a rival Wall of Craftsman!!!. I bet I know a guy who could help you find some old classic tool chests.
Just stay away from the plastic bins.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Heck, with 18 inches (more if you take out that hitch insert) you'd have enough room to create a rival Wall of Craftsman!!!. I bet I know a guy who could help you find some old classic tool chests.
Just stay away from the plastic bins.

rmalkow good one.

 

[dlcwent]

rmalkow good one.

Gave me a good chuckle too.

 

[cbacres]

Heck, with 18 inches (more if you take out that hitch insert) you'd have enough room to create a rival Wall of Craftsman!!!. I bet I know a guy who could help you find some old classic tool chests.
Just stay away from the plastic bins.

rmalkow good one.

Gave me a good chuckle too.

GB, this some funny stuff. A couple of us here agree with the bin comments, as we tried to give them away.
Oh, when you do this wall of vintage boxes, please paint!!!!, you'll really one up the other wall.

Enjoying your thread.
Craig

 

[HOTFR8]

Thanks for your visit HOTFR8, I have a question for you and 1/2 cup.

The ctek manual states the recond mode:
"Recond program 15.8V/1.5A. Use to return energy to the empty
WET and Ca/Ca batteries. Recond your battery once per year and after deep dischare to maximise lifetime and capacity."

Have you guys used this mode on AGM's ?

I have not used it before as I never let a battery get so discharged. If you do have a battery that flat then do as it states in the instructions.

 

[oldironfarmer]

Andy, you are well on your way mate with that shiny new slab. However, I wish my shop was as big as yours (or even the size of your old chicken coop would do )

Thanks very much BF

They always tell me "size doesn't matter"

 

[taumac]

Man, I would hate to be this guy your picking on. From the sound of it he sounds to be a real slacker. Who the hell builds a wall of plastic totes? Now the sound of a Vintage Wall of Craftsman cabinets sounds like a awesome idea but he hasn't painted them yet and has the nerve to post them of the famous GJ? I going to track this guy down and give him a piece of my mind. LOL


You need to lose the hitch and roll truck back few inches and that will give you room for 18" cabinets. Maybe some HF 44's?

 

[1/2 Cup]

I have not used it before as I never let a battery get so discharged. If you do have a battery that flat then do as it states in the instructions.

HOTFR8 We do use this mode on our chargers with older batteries at work, it works well, in fact I have one that is eight years old in reco mode as we speak.
We then let them sit and retest.

Regards

 

[HOTFR8]

HOTFR8 We do use this mode on our chargers with older batteries at work, it works well, in fact I have one that is eight years old in reco mode as we speak.
We then let them sit and retest.

Regards

I never use that mode as I never let a battery get that flat. If you keep a battery on a tender it should stay about 13.6 volts. Although the mode is for a battery that does get drained and 1/2 with the way your work would use a battery as back up power I expect that often happens. I have had Auto batteries last 10 years or more.

 

[Grumblebum]

Heck, with 18 inches (more if you take out that hitch insert) you'd have enough room to create a rival Wall of Craftsman!!!. I bet I know a guy who could help you find some old classic tool chests.
Just stay away from the plastic bins.

Got it! see next post

rmalkow good one.

Gave me a good chuckle too.

GB, this some funny stuff. A couple of us here agree with the bin comments, as we tried to give them away.
Oh, when you do this wall of vintage boxes, please paint!!!!, you'll really one up the other wall.

Enjoying your thread.
Craig

something to think about now.

I have not used it before as I never let a battery get so discharged. If you do have a battery that flat then do as it states in the instructions.

Ok thanks, I haven't used it before either as I normally don't let them sit withoug being fully charged first. Since the manual is talking about Wet and calcium batteries I do not think it's suitable for the AGM's. I could let it run on the old truck battery and see if it does anything for it. The old battery still has voltage, just not enough crank to get the truck started.

Andy, you are well on your way mate with that shiny new slab. However, I wish my shop was as big as yours (or even the size of your old chicken coop would do )

Thanks very much BF

They always tell me "size doesn't matter"

I just found about another 6"

Man, I would hate to be this guy your picking on. From the sound of it he sounds to be a real slacker. Who the hell builds a wall of plastic totes? Now the sound of a Vintage Wall of Craftsman cabinets sounds like a awesome idea but he hasn't painted them yet and has the nerve to post them of the famous GJ? I going to track this guy down and give him a piece of my mind. LOL

You need to lose the hitch and roll truck back few inches and that will give you room for 18" cabinets. Maybe some HF 44's?

Gerard, I think at the end of the day if the stars aligned and I ever got to hang in your garage, the last thing I'd be doing is painting - we'd be trying out those Killian Irish Reds instead

HOTFR8 We do use this mode on our chargers with older batteries at work, it works well, in fact I have one that is eight years old in reco mode as we speak.
We then let them sit and retest.

Regards

Thanks 1/2 Cup, I'll try it on the old Century battery from the Hilux. The AGM's are all charged ok so I'll not test it on them.

I never use that mode as I never let a battery get that flat. If you keep a battery on a tender it should stay about 13.6 volts. Although the mode is for a battery that does get drained and 1/2 with the way your work would use a battery as back up power I expect that often happens. I have had Auto batteries last 10 years or more.

Thanks fellas.

 

[Grumblebum]

Aha, so if I do this...

View media item 62943
I can have nearly 2' up here...

View media item 62944
What a dandy idea to get some extra space.

 

[HOTFR8]

Ok thanks, I haven't used it before either as I normally don't let them sit withoug being fully charged first. Since the manual is talking about Wet and calcium batteries I do not think it's suitable for the AGM's. I could let it run on the old truck battery and see if it does anything for it. The old battery still has voltage, just not enough crank to get the truck started.

Thanks 1/2 Cup, I'll try it on the old Century battery from the Hilux. The AGM's are all charged ok so I'll not test it on them.

Thanks fellas.

With the extra information I will add the best option would be to trick the charger into thinking the battery has some charge. Jump start the vehicle and let it build up some charge then switch off and hook up your tender charger. Many people forget they can do that. If it does not come good then the battery has expired. The other way you can do this is hook up a good battery to the flat battery and hook up the charger then after a short time disconnect the good battery and then see how the battery charges.