Thinking of making a simple manually controlled firewood (or lumber?) dehumidifier.
I’m finding LOTS of free wood – most of it is “almost ready”, but could use a bit of drying. That bit of drying is something like 1-4 months on average (in sheltered, but breathable conditions), and some much more – I want it NOW!
So, I’m thinking of using the heat I produce in my workshop’s stove to dry the wood. The basic idea is to capture the heat from the top of the stove by making a loose enclosure over the pipe coming out with the main orifices being at the bottom sucking in air across the top of the stove, and sucking it through a 4′x3′x3′ box which with the flow directors at either end. This will give me a about 1 cubic metre of volume for wood. A cubic metre is a bit over 1/4 cord (0.276 cubic metres per cord), so I figure with some waste space, I can get 1/4 cord per run.

My guess is that for wood that “has been dried” – as in old but has been out in the weather, I should be able to dry in a few hours while warming myself working on a bike or whatever. The other wood I have that I cut as “downed trees” but aren’t quite ready – I’m guessing that most of that I should be able to dry in a few evenings of “runs”

See below for a mockup of the general idea. this is just a simple “off the cuff”plan – so any comments are welcome.

Click the image to enlarge.

Like

Unlike

My version of the Beaufort scale. The real data was ruthlessly stolen from Wikipedia, the last column, “Emotional Impact” I’ve added.

Beaufort number	Description	Wind speed	Wave height	Sea conditions	Land conditions	Sea state photo	Emotional Impact When Sailing a Small Vessel
0	Calm	< 1 km/h (< 0.3 m/s)	0 m	Flat.	Calm. Smoke rises vertically.		Relaxation, tinged with boredom.
		< 1 mph
		< 1 kn	0 ft
		< 0.3 m/s
1	Light air	1.1–5.5 km/h (0.3–2 m/s)	0–0.2 m	Ripples without crests.	Smoke drift indicates wind direction and wind vanes cease moving.		Boredom, with a hint of hope.
		1–3 mph
		1–2 kn	0–1 ft
		0.3–1.5 m/s
2	Light breeze	5.6–11 km/h (2–3 m/s)	0.2–0.5 m	Small wavelets. Crests of glassy appearance, not breaking	Wind felt on exposed skin. Leaves rustle and wind vanes begin to move.		Sails full, boat moving, albeit slowly. Mild smile forming.
		4–7 mph
		3–6 kn	1–2 ft
		1.6–3.4 m/s
3	Gentle breeze	12–19 km/h (3–5 m/s)	0.5–1 m	Large wavelets. Crests begin to break; scattered whitecaps	Leaves and small twigs constantly moving, light flags extended.		Boat moves along nicely. Real smile forms.
		8–12 mph
		7–10 kn	2–3.5 ft
		3.4–5.4 m/s
4	Moderate breeze	20–28 km/h (6–8 m/s)	1–2 m	Small waves with breaking crests. Fairly frequent whitecaps.	Dust and loose paper raised. Small branches begin to move.		Hanging over the side with feet in the hiking straps. Alternating between big grins and serious looks while trying to REALLY get the boat to go. In The Zone!
		13–17 mph
		11–15 kn	3.5–6 ft
		5.5–7.9 m/s
5	Fresh breeze	29–38 km/h (8.1-10.6 m/s)	2–3 m	Moderate waves of some length. Many whitecaps. Small amounts of spray.	Branches of a moderate size move. Small trees in leaf begin to sway.		Pure Joy inside. Looks of concern on the outside. Having to start paying attention for when there’s gusts.
		18–24 mph
		16–20 kn	6–9 ft
		8.0–10.7 m/s
6	Strong breeze	39–49 km/h (10.8-13.6 m/s)	3–4 m	Long waves begin to form. White foam crests are very frequent. Some airborne spray is present.	Large branches in motion. Whistling heard in overhead wires. Umbrella use becomes difficult. Empty plastic garbage cans tip over.		A mixture of “WHEEEEE!!!!!” and “Uh oh”
		25–30 mph
		21–26 kn	9–13 ft
		10.8–13.8 m/s
7	High wind, Moderate gale, Near gale	50–61 km/h (13.9-16.9 m/s)	4–5.5 m	Sea heaps up. Some foam from breaking waves is blown into streaks along wind direction. Moderate amounts of airborne spray.	Whole trees in motion. Effort needed to walk against the wind.		The “Uh oh” is much stronger now. Tinges of real concern. Also wishing that we had donned life jackets before now.
		31–38 mph
		27–33 kn	13–19 ft
		13.9–17.1 m/s
8	Gale, Fresh gale	62–74 km/h (17.2-20.6 m/s)	5.5–7.5 m	Moderately high waves with breaking crests forming spindrift. Well-marked streaks of foam are blown along wind direction. Considerable airborne spray.	Some twigs broken from trees. Cars veer on road. Progress on foot is seriously impeded.		Alright, this is just plain scary. Not worrying about passengers seeing the concern – there’s no time for that.
		39–46 mph
		34–40 kn	18–25 ft
		17.2–20.7 m/s
9	Strong gale	75–88 km/h (20.8-24.4 m/s)	7–10 m	High waves whose crests sometimes roll over. Dense foam is blown along wind direction. Large amounts of airborne spray may begin to reduce visibility.	Some branches break off trees, and some small trees blow over. Construction/temporary signs and barricades blow over.		No time to think about how frightening this is now.
		47–54 mph
		41–47 kn	23–32 ft
		20.8–24.4 m/s
10	Storm,[6] Whole gale	89–102 km/h (24.7-28.3 m/s)	9–12.5 m	Very high waves with overhanging crests. Large patches of foam from wave crests give the sea a white appearance. Considerable tumbling of waves with heavy impact. Large amounts of airborne spray reduce visibility.	Trees are broken off or uprooted, saplings bent and deformed. Poorly attached asphalt shingles and shingles in poor condition peel off roofs.		Wondering Why on Earth we are out here. Only briefly wondering that though, due to the complete panic situation.
		55–63 mph
		48–55 kn	29–41 ft
		24.5–28.4 m/s
11	Violent storm	103–117 km/h (28.6-32.5 m/s)	11.5–16 m	Exceptionally high waves. Very large patches of foam, driven before the wind, cover much of the sea surface. Very large amounts of airborne spray severely reduce visibility.	Widespread damage to vegetation. Many roofing surfaces are damaged; asphalt tiles that have curled up and/or fractured due to age may break away completely.		Dear God.
		64–72 mph
		56–63 kn	37–52 ft
		28.5–32.6 m/s
12	Hurricane Force[6]	≥ 118 km/h (≥ 32.8 m/s)	≥ 14 m	Huge waves. Sea is completely white with foam and spray. Air is filled with driving spray, greatly reducing visibility.	Very widespread damage to vegetation. Some windows may break; mobile homes and poorly constructed sheds and barns are damaged. Debris may be hurled about.		The sails are blown off and we’re hitting record speed! Or maybe we’re dead. Tough to tell right now.
		≥ 73 mph
		≥ 64 kn	≥ 46 ft
		≥ 32.7 m/s

Like

Unlike

Launched a new website today – GITIKI.com

GITIKI is a Wiki style site dedicated to hosting guitar tablature and chords.

Like

Unlike

After fixing a problem with the four wheel drive system of a 1999 Blazer (or similar S series) you may find that you have low range 4 wheel drive or 2 wheel, but no 4HI. If this happens, it is very likely that a “code 2″ has been set in the TCCM (Transfer Case Control Module).

To check for this:
On the diagnostic connector under the dash (driver’s side – 16 pin connector), with the vehicle off, connect pin 13 (5th pin from the left, bottom row) to ground (an easy one is pin 4, top row and one to the left) and turn the key on. Watch the lights on the 4wd buttons – if there is a code, they will flash it out (in this case, 2 flashes).

If you have a code 2, it forces the system to a “safe mode” which only allows 4LO and 2HI.
To clear this, with the ignition off, disconnect the battery for 2.5 minutes (or more – the TCCM actually does take a bit of time to reset), reconnect, turn key on, and try it out.

Like

Unlike