Altoidian

I've been making a very similar project- I found that stainless steel screws are excellent soil moisture probes. I simply wrapped copepr around the neck of 3/616 x 4" SS bolts and got rid of the little PC board probes that came with the soil moisture sensor kit. In fact a voltage divider circuit worked best, using the SS screw pair as the second (cathode) side of the VR and sent the output wire directly to my A0 pin ( I use 4; A0 thru A3) with my nano A-4 &5 as my IIC inputs for my LCD. The input is easily adjustable through the XOD multiplier node. Calibrating between the 'dry' and "moist" zones is done with a few days of testing - I insert the SS screw contacts directly into the plant soil about 3" apart. this seems to give the best result, although it can change…

I've been making a very similar project- I found that stainless steel screws are excellent soil moisture probes. I simply wrapped copepr around the neck of 3/616 x 4" SS bolts and got rid of the little PC board probes that came with the soil moisture sensor kit. In fact a voltage divider circuit worked best, using the SS screw pair as the second (cathode) side of the VR and sent the output wire directly to my A0 pin ( I use 4; A0 thru A3) with my nano A-4 &5 as my IIC inputs for my LCD. The input is easily adjustable through the XOD multiplier node. Calibrating between the 'dry' and "moist" zones is done with a few days of testing - I insert the SS screw contacts directly into the plant soil about 3" apart. this seems to give the best result, although it can change the output according to the varying amounts of plant food you give the plant- Plant food is electrolytic. I try to mix my plant food to a TDS of about 1200 to 1500 and that gives me a near perfect stable moisture reading and quite an acceptable nutrient level for my plants. I also found my moisture levels were much more stable with some level of electrolytes in the water. Just plain tap water gave unstable or erratic readings over time, causing the system to glitch toward either too dry or too wet. Also, the type of soil is very critical to electronic readings. Dense, poorly drained soil gave me a very narrow (brittle) moisture reading and caused some overwatering due to delays in the soil absorbing the moisture. Loose, aeriated soil also tended to separate or loosen contact with the sensors which caused erratic readings. I became accustomed to making sure the soil around the probes was well compacted making good contact. I also experimented with various shapes of probes, from spirals, to ring to sheet metal squares, perforated tubes - and found the shape barely made any difference. But, one huge problem with the little probes that come with the kit you are using is corrosion. In jsut a matter of a few days, I found the PC board probes corroded almost completely to uselessness. I then coated the probes with silver solder, but then found they developed a kind of oxide crust that interfered with the readings. So far, the stainless steel probes are doing just fin. I intended to replace them with titanium rods (available through "online metal store" at a very reasonable price. I chose titanium because I had experienced many years ago with an electrolytic chemical process in which titanium anode/cathode was the only metal that did not dissolve itself into the process through corrosion in the electrolysis. Placing a time delay between watering events greatly stabilized the system. I water for only 6 seconds then wait at least 300 seconds before accepting the next reading of the sensor. If the soil reading is still below the threshold, the plant gets another 6 seconds of water- and so on until the reading is satisfactory. I found that the system quickly leveld out to where the plant calls for moisture as soon as the 6-second delivery amount of moisture has been well absorbed- about every 45 minutes on cool days and about every 30 minutes on warmer days. I do not get wasted nutrient water draining through the soil and dripping out into the catch pan. The plant uses all the moisture and nutrient it is getting.One other thing: I learned that a pump can fail. So, I use a gravity feed system, Water is delivered to a reservoir that is elevated about 1 meter above the base of the plant and a small valve is opened to gently drain the water into the pot. I use a circular ring distributor to put the water completely around the base of the plant so it quickly drains equally into the root ball and uniformly near the moisture probes.I did some other testing which demonstrated a small voltage is generated between the probes in the electrolytic rich environment of moist soil. I thought using probes of the same metals would eliminate this small background interference with the readings- but it persists. I do not quite understand this phenomenon or have I found its source. Apparently, growing plants produce a small but detectable flow of current- I did not know this before and it dogged my moisture readings causing them to be inconsistent. However, I played around with the various resistor values in the anode resistor of the voltage divider and found that about a 10K value seems to overpower the small voltage produced between the moisture probes, rather damping out the effect. Now, I have very reliable moisture readings and exceptionally healthy plants.I also programmed with XOD although my first sketch was entirely in C++. I found XOD to be outstandingly easy to use and to change as needed.Thanks for your excellent Instructable! Your charting was very helpful and informative.

Your are welcome.

I was very skeptical when I started reading your Instructable. As an old home builder licensed contractor, commercial and residential (GB-98), I have put the pencil to these "micro homes" and found myself really challenged by them. They have some problems that are unique to them. I was particularly impressed with your insulation strategy. You get an A+ from me on that. Your solution to the waterproofing, choice of construction materials and proper ventilation for a small, airtight space gets an A. Layout is quite charming and your overall design with an excellent eye for aesthetics is another A+. You obviously did your homework and had some good helpers. I voted for your design as best overall.

State laws and building permits are completely different and much more relaxed for building on wheels than a fixed foundation. Anyone can build on wheels in their backyard. If you tried to build this unit as a fixed foundation home, the permitting and legal process would prevent you from doing it yourself without all sorts of permits, inspections, licensed contractors, and fees. The State wants formally drawn up plans by a certified architect (exorbitantly expensive) if you build on a fixed foundation. As for moving the home down the highway, as long as the trailer is licensed and can support the home's weight, there would be no problem. I would not use it as an RV, but, to move it to your location once or twice every few years is not going to be a problem as rigidly as it is built. If yo…

State laws and building permits are completely different and much more relaxed for building on wheels than a fixed foundation. Anyone can build on wheels in their backyard. If you tried to build this unit as a fixed foundation home, the permitting and legal process would prevent you from doing it yourself without all sorts of permits, inspections, licensed contractors, and fees. The State wants formally drawn up plans by a certified architect (exorbitantly expensive) if you build on a fixed foundation. As for moving the home down the highway, as long as the trailer is licensed and can support the home's weight, there would be no problem. I would not use it as an RV, but, to move it to your location once or twice every few years is not going to be a problem as rigidly as it is built. If you planned on moving it more often, diagonal steel strapping can be installed to the studs- which is all factory built mobile home producers use - with even less rigidity to their walls and floor and that over far longer leverage moments over the central wheel systems.

Yes, I completely agree- I just enjoy the "bash" of it all. Taking junk and making stuff. It's all too much fun.

Well, Luke, that is one heck of a labor of love. I absolutely like it. Beautiful design, well engineered. And your record keeping is literally exhaustive. I also think your Instructable is one of the best, most professional, I have ever seen. Thanks for sharing. I thouroughly enjoyed it.

You, sir, are an engineer. What a fantastic project! I've wanted an e-bike for some years. I made a powered one with a weed eater engine a decade ago, but hated the noise and gas and smoke- Yuk! The only way to power one for real outings is electric and this design seems robust enough to meet the challenge. I probably will not build one myself. But, the idea you presneted and the engineering you displayed - I would say this is ideal. Thanks. Well done!

Seal from pressure chamber to motor shaft: I understand the vacuum in the shaft area while the impeller is rotating. However, on shut down, liquid will tend to leak back through the rubber seal, even though it is semi tight when the assembly is new. I suggest the rig be assembled in such a way the motor drives an impeller shaft through a coupling, keeping the motor some distance from the housing. This shaft could be eliminated with a longer shaft motor, or a belt drive of some sort removing the motor from the impeller chamber. Also, it would be helpful if the motor was located above the impeller housing, as in a vertical arrangement, thus preventing leaks at the shaft from running back into the motor. The design as is, is very well thought out for assembling a pump in a critical and prob…

Seal from pressure chamber to motor shaft: I understand the vacuum in the shaft area while the impeller is rotating. However, on shut down, liquid will tend to leak back through the rubber seal, even though it is semi tight when the assembly is new. I suggest the rig be assembled in such a way the motor drives an impeller shaft through a coupling, keeping the motor some distance from the housing. This shaft could be eliminated with a longer shaft motor, or a belt drive of some sort removing the motor from the impeller chamber. Also, it would be helpful if the motor was located above the impeller housing, as in a vertical arrangement, thus preventing leaks at the shaft from running back into the motor. The design as is, is very well thought out for assembling a pump in a critical and probably (hopefully!) temporary situation. I like the simplicity, the easy construction with a minimum of precision tools, and the design would probably run for many hours reliably. Even as it is, if one were to be careful during shutdown and start up, I see no reason for much of a seal at the motor/impeller shaft. Proper care to dry the motor after use and keep it lubricated should prevent any real damage due to water or other non-corrosive or flammable liquids.I think this is really an awesome project that give valuable information for helpful products in cases of emergency.Thank you for posting this. It's a Good Instructable! I would have liked to see a photo of the finished impeller after it was attached to the shaft. How much vibration did it suffer in operation, etc. Do you have a video fo it in operation?

Excellent Instructable and very well thought out design. I've made several "hasty" solar water stills, mostly with clear plastic for camping purposes. I really do like this design because it is easy to build, easy to clean (and you will need to clean it!) and it appears to me to be efficient in producing distilled water. I'm inspired to build one again on this design. Thanks for sharing it. JB

I have been building RC models for almost 30 years and your skills are fantastic. I've thought about doing this but shied away because these little balsa strip rubber powered AC models are so fragile and re-engineering them to stand up to electric flight weight and stress seemed too much of a challenge for the reward. But, the beauty of your model and the intelligent re-design decisions you made have convinced me it's worth a try. Thanks for a really good instructable.

When I was a kid we lived in a small town and the electricity would fail quite often. Sometimes my mother would make vaseline candles with small strips of cotton cloth and a jar lid. I can't remember exactly how she did it, but they put out good light.

The Zombie Apocalypse will be all over this.

What a great project. My Nieces and Nephew will love it. And your instructable was excellent. I admire the quality of the instructable as much as the project you made. Thanks.

I jsut love this kind of stuff. I'm a ballistics nut, anyway. Enjoyed your Instructable. Nice!

Excellent Instructable. Some pretty good ideas there I had not been aware of. I also have used the screw extractors, successfully. I have never had to use the plug cutter idea, but would have in some situations had I thought of it. Great ideathat. I have used, for both my phillips bits and "regular" bit drivers the serrated bit for many years. They tend to prevent the nasty "slide out" or "cam out" that ruins screw heads. (one example ehre: https://www.amazon.com/80105-Phillips-ACR-bits-5-b...I also agree with several poster who recommend the impact screw driver. The most offensive is the flat head phillips heads that are either flush or recessed. There is no lip to engage with other means above the surface. I recently encountered a brake disc where I had to…

Excellent Instructable. Some pretty good ideas there I had not been aware of. I also have used the screw extractors, successfully. I have never had to use the plug cutter idea, but would have in some situations had I thought of it. Great ideathat. I have used, for both my phillips bits and "regular" bit drivers the serrated bit for many years. They tend to prevent the nasty "slide out" or "cam out" that ruins screw heads. (one example ehre: https://www.amazon.com/80105-Phillips-ACR-bits-5-b...I also agree with several poster who recommend the impact screw driver. The most offensive is the flat head phillips heads that are either flush or recessed. There is no lip to engage with other means above the surface. I recently encountered a brake disc where I had to remove the stripped head flush recessed phillips left to me by some other "mechanic". Impact driver did the trick. Why the engineers insist on using cheap screws in expensive cars amazes me.that.

I'm impressed. Excellent Instructable. Thanks.

Excellent article/Instructable. Thanks. As a retired electrical contractor, I find your story quite accurate. Experience is the best teacher, but she can be a real b***ch when you don't do your homework. Your handling of the inspectors and authorities was masterful. I have seen so many dollars and man hours and stomach acid wasted by Contractors digging in their heels against the advice and authority of the local Inspection authority. My first and only response to comments, suggestions and criticism from the Inspector was, "Yes, Sir. I'll do that right away. Thank you." no matter how contradictory or expensive their "suggestions" were. As a result, they became my advocates, respected my projects above others and my projects always came in on time and under budget. So, …

Excellent article/Instructable. Thanks. As a retired electrical contractor, I find your story quite accurate. Experience is the best teacher, but she can be a real b***ch when you don't do your homework. Your handling of the inspectors and authorities was masterful. I have seen so many dollars and man hours and stomach acid wasted by Contractors digging in their heels against the advice and authority of the local Inspection authority. My first and only response to comments, suggestions and criticism from the Inspector was, "Yes, Sir. I'll do that right away. Thank you." no matter how contradictory or expensive their "suggestions" were. As a result, they became my advocates, respected my projects above others and my projects always came in on time and under budget. So, you have given the "Selfies" some top notch advice. Well done! Thank you.

This is just fantastic. I want one.

Good project, well written Instructable. I like it.

Now, that's both clever and original. I've certainly never seen it before your Instructable. And I've lived around industry and machine shops all my life. Nice!

Very nice. Clean, few parts and efficient code. I really like that in a design. I built a brushed motor solar tracker for solar photography some years ago that used basic code and a a basic stamp and dozens of parts, switches and complexity on top of complexity. It worked very precisely and never failed. But, what a doozy to calibrate since I was going for single millimeter precision. In the end, I dismantled it. Now, your simple design has given me cause to resurrect the idea since I see no reason your tracker can be as accurate. Thank you for an excellent Instructable.

I like it. Quick, simple to make and simple to use. great Instructable, thanks.

Oh, man. I really like this project. What a great idea.

I like it. The dry ice method seems the most practical for filling the jar with CO2. It is easily available and you don't need any other devices. I would probably use a small bubble cup valve since no real pressure is involved. This valve is very similar or exactly like a beer or wine making bubble air lock valve. See here: https://www.instructables.com/How-to-make-your-o...Just let the dry ice sublimate completely ...and then seal the hole where the "J' tube comes out of the jar lid. Another great source of pure CO2 is club soda. Hooking up a bottle of the carbonated water to the jar with vinyl tubing would be easy enough. Just let the gas in and flow out through alternate hole that is similarly sealed as a one way valve. CO2 is heavier than air and will not be easily displaced once…

I like it. The dry ice method seems the most practical for filling the jar with CO2. It is easily available and you don't need any other devices. I would probably use a small bubble cup valve since no real pressure is involved. This valve is very similar or exactly like a beer or wine making bubble air lock valve. See here: https://www.instructables.com/How-to-make-your-o...Just let the dry ice sublimate completely ...and then seal the hole where the "J' tube comes out of the jar lid. Another great source of pure CO2 is club soda. Hooking up a bottle of the carbonated water to the jar with vinyl tubing would be easy enough. Just let the gas in and flow out through alternate hole that is similarly sealed as a one way valve. CO2 is heavier than air and will not be easily displaced once the jar is filled even if all you have is a small hole in the top of the jar lid. once the CO2 is flushed in, just seal the hole with JB weld or even solder. I enjoyed your easy to follow explanation and detailed list of supplies and tools. Great job.

I am blown away. Fantastic job. Beautiful, too. Very creative and the style is super interesting. I never would have thought a laser cutter could do this. Honestly, you have inspired me to use mine in different ways too.

Pretty cool. I would probably add some fake copper contacts and a Gothic lettered sign above it that says, in German, of course, "Main Switch" ("Hauptschalter").You did a great job on the finish and design. I like it.

Just a great Instructable. It defines for me why we have professional farmers. A friend of mine and his new wife decided to try living "off grid" and tried this scale of farming in Colorado. They lasted three years. He had a good inheritance to buy all the equipment, good land, nice home. He said the only thing he could not buy was the knowledge of how to farm. He lost a significant part of his fortune. Farming is what my family did successfully for generations. But, with the coming of the corporate farms, they were no longer able to compete and the large family farm in Missouri was broken up in the late 50's In my mind, farmers are required to have a knowledge base greater than any Doctor or engineer. And most of what they must know comes only through years of hard scrabble exp…

Just a great Instructable. It defines for me why we have professional farmers. A friend of mine and his new wife decided to try living "off grid" and tried this scale of farming in Colorado. They lasted three years. He had a good inheritance to buy all the equipment, good land, nice home. He said the only thing he could not buy was the knowledge of how to farm. He lost a significant part of his fortune. Farming is what my family did successfully for generations. But, with the coming of the corporate farms, they were no longer able to compete and the large family farm in Missouri was broken up in the late 50's In my mind, farmers are required to have a knowledge base greater than any Doctor or engineer. And most of what they must know comes only through years of hard scrabble experience.Thank you so much for your very delightful and well done Instructable.

I love this Instruct able. Well written, too. I often do small projects like this and a low cost, easy miniature studio is perfect for them. What's strange is, your LCD/Arduino project is one I am working on right now! Thanks!

I can see a hundred uses for this. I make small props for independant movies and this can really be a useful bit of tech I'll add to my skill set. Thanks so much.