Down in the bunker....

[MrJim]

This is a casual fellowship thread to post stuff that maybe isn't thread worthy but still could be useful, or for general just "get to know" each other sorts of things. Pretty much anything goes within boundaries of CF rules but not for arguing and discontent....we're all in this bunker together so we "must needs" get along

<<I was at a Renaissance Faire yesterday..the Olde English rubbed off >>

 

[SavedByGrace3]

Found some dent corn today with the vacuum bag gone soft. A good one is hard as a rock. Gonna have to re-pack that one with the food saver.

 

[Poster0]

I'M going to attempt building a quickie gasifier today. I will be using an old propane bottle (cleaned out of course) as the outer shell, and an old fire extinguisher for the reactor. I don't have a lot of things i need to build a good one so this will be very basic. It my goal to experiment with using syngas (aka woodgas) to heat my propane forge, (which i also built out of junk). I use this forge to heat and forge steel. So far in my blacksmithing adventures i have built and used a coal forge and a propane gas forge. Both work well but the fuel seems to go fast. I'm sure i could learn to manage charcoal and gas fuel better, but i need a cheaper solution because i'm very poor. Charcoal works good but it burns fast and i suspect that much of the energy is wasted, and so i think perhaps a gasifier will use the wood fuel more efficiently. At least that's my hope anyway. I nothing else, it'll be fun trying.

 

[MrJim]

End of my workweek~~I work at a bakery making some very tasty potato rolls...but the constantly shifting hours and days off are tiring though the pay and benefits are very good and it's only 2 miles from my front door so must be grateful + my co-workers are most excellent folks and my supervisors are generally near perfect dudes. I spent half my life in charge of people in some way or another....dozen years as an "operations manager" so I know how the "other half" are ...enjoy being a lowly "worker" now letting others deal with issues...

 

[Cernunnos]

I lost arm hair today to an industrial kiln. . . had a malfunction and needed to be cleared of the pile up. I feel ya, Mr Jim, it is nice taking orders and doing what needs done in a "no blood, no feces, everyone lives" work environment.

 

[zippy2]

I'M going to attempt building a quickie gasifier today. I will be using an old propane bottle (cleaned out of course) as the outer shell, and an old fire extinguisher for the reactor. I don't have a lot of things i need to build a good one so this will be very basic. It my goal to experiment with using syngas (aka woodgas) to heat my propane forge, (which i also built out of junk). I use this forge to heat and forge steel. So far in my blacksmithing adventures i have built and used a coal forge and a propane gas forge. Both work well but the fuel seems to go fast. I'm sure i could learn to manage charcoal and gas fuel better, but i need a cheaper solution because i'm very poor. Charcoal works good but it burns fast and i suspect that much of the energy is wasted, and so i think perhaps a gasifier will use the wood fuel more efficiently. At least that's my hope anyway. I nothing else, it'll be fun trying.

Hey Poster0 be careful with all that gas stuff, yikes it sounds dangerous to me! Take care.

 

[Poster0]

Hey Poster0 be careful with all that gas stuff, yikes it sounds dangerous to me! Take care.

It has its dangers but nothing that will likely kill you, maybe hurt you though. I have studied the dangers involved, i don't think i'll have a problem, God willing. Thanks for your concern however, and you are right.

 

[Poster0]

I previously built a modified trash can rocket stove and filled the inside with wood chunks instead of insulation like is normally used. I did this for the purpose of making charcoal out of the wood chunks. Usually its filled with insulation so the reactor will stay hotter and will produce a better quality of wood gas. This was a valuable experience because i saw the potential hazards of creating and burning wood gas. IT can get extremely hot very fast. The flames can shoot out and be very hot, so its good to keep it outside, and to be be cautious. A normal rocket stove doesn't have any hazards that any other woodworking stove does, but mine was really a rocket stove- charcoal retort kiln hybrid, and it was the charcoal making process that made it potentially hazardous. However, its not as bad as it sounds, but caution should be observed.

The dangers with gasifiers would be flames shooting out at you if a part of the gasifier would fail, and also you must be careful not to allow the reactor tube to become empty if you are using a lid on top because if it burns down then gasses will fill the reactor tube, and if air get in it will combust and blow the lid off. I wont be using a lid on mine and everything will be welded so i think it will be safe. I built it today and tried it, however i wasn't able to get the wood gas to ingnite. This is a common problem with homemade gasifiers. Its a learning process. I guess that it takes about 10 minutes for the gasifier to get hot enough to produce usable woodgas, and the gas supposedly needs to be cooled at around 90 degrees, after it leaves the gasifier, before it will ignite. Air leaks in the gasifier can cause ignition problems as well. I didn't build anything for the gas to run into and cool off so that may be a problem. I was also using damp charcoal and that is always going to be a problem because the wood needs to be fairly dry. I think i'll build a hopper and also something to cool the gas, and i'll try again.

Its probably best (and easier) to buy a gasifier and follow the manufacturers instructions, but i cant afford to buy one so i need to study them and build my own. Many people build them and i don't hear about a lot of accidents, but they do happen.

 

[Poster0]

Sorry, that probably sounded confusing. Im not as articulate as i could be.

About cutting into used propane bottles. That can be very dangerous. I researched it online and read about how others have done it. After the bottle is empty, and they remove the valve from the bottle, they then fill it up with soap and water and allow it to sit for a day or so. Some people use some type of acid as well, but i haven't done that. I just soak the bottle in soapy water for a day, then i empty it out. I shake the bottle around to clean the insides as im emptying it. I then fill it with fresh water and i cut into the bottle when it full of water. This way you cant ignite any remaining gas residue because the water doesnt leave any room for gas or oxygen. I have done this three times now and it seems safe if its done properly. However it would be easier to just buy a new, unused, unfilled bottle because it has never had gas in it it ad there are no hazards. Cutting into any bottle can be dangerous though, if you use a cutting torch, because you need to have a hole in it for the heat and torch gases to escape. I just use a grinder and cutting wheel. A new, unfilled bottle costs about 25 dollars, but i had a bunch of outdated used ones, and i that's what i used.

Anyway, thanks for reading my boring post. I'm passionate about these things, and i love to build stuff. I like talking about it too.

 

[MrJim]

I lost arm hair today to an industrial kiln. . . had a malfunction and needed to be cleared of the pile up. I feel ya, Mr Jim, it is nice taking orders and doing what needs done in a "no blood, no feces, everyone lives" work environment.

I often work on what is called the "pan line"~as the pans come out of the 350-400 degree oven (on a conveyor) the bread is taken off the pans and they either go back towards the dough machine or into a stacker....pan jams and malfunctions happen and I carry many scars from the burns

 

[MrJim]

Upgraded the mac from Mavericks to El Capitan today ....very painless procedure I was dreading..

 

[MrJim]

Decent workday~~simple 8 hours which is relatively rare in the bakery....pondering on making up a trunk gun... probably a 12 gauge with a short grip...don't like the traditional pistol grip...something more like this Shockwave grip~supposed to be easier on the wrist than the traditional grip:

 

[SavedByGrace3]

Got a really good price on parboiled rice. 57 cents a pound. We got 20 pounds for about 11 bucks.
We will vacuum some into buckets and cook some this weekend.

 

[MrJim]

Got a really good price on parboiled rice. 57 cents a pound. We got 20 pounds for about 11 bucks.
We will vacuum some into buckets and cook some this weekend.

One or five gallon buckets? What kind of shelf life do you expect and do you add any desiccants? Have you ever used a "seal-a-meal" sort of vacuum unit for smaller quantities (like quart size bags)?

 

[SavedByGrace3]

One or five gallon buckets? What kind of shelf life do you expect and do you add any desiccants? Have you ever used a "seal-a-meal" sort of vacuum unit for smaller quantities (like quart size bags)?

We have tried it several ways. We have mainly used 5 gallon buckets untill a couple months ago when we started just buying the big containers that hold more. We do the packaging and then fill the container. A container will hold 2 to 3 times more by volume... but it is heavy. A bucket will hold up to 30 or so pounds of rice, where the container will hold up to 50 pounds.

We started with good old 7 ply mylar with an oxygen absorber. (from the LDS store)
We later bought a food saver and pack rice and beans in plastic with an oxygen absorber. Sometimes have a problem with the plastic bags springing a leak. We just repackage them. 1 in 10 will spring a leak. We just leave the package out until we see if it limps. A good vacuum will cause beans or rice to turn into a rock. We buy the long rolls of plastic material and make our own bags. We have some stuff from 2012 that we are about to break open and test. Fingers crossed!

They say these will last 30 years... we are not trusting that. I want to recycle everything every 3 to five years so we have nothing that is older that 5 years...
We have opened corn that had molded.. that is a major concern. I have read that if the package started to expand.. it is molding. You question regarding the desiccant is relevant.

 

[April Rain]

Have you tried vacuum sealing and then putting Mylar bags? We triple layer to protect against puncture.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

Have you tried vacuum sealing and then putting Mylar bags? We triple layer to protect against puncture.

Good idea. I have considered a freezer bag inside of a vacuum bag....

 

[April Rain]

Yep. Just poke a few holes with a knife so that when you vacuum seal it and shrinks everything. We kind of went extreme and put O2 absorbers in the vacuum sealed bag and in the Mylar bag.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

Yep. Just poke a few holes with a knife so that when you vacuum seal it and shrinks everything. We kind of went extreme and put O2 absorbers in the vacuum sealed bag and in the Mylar bag.

Same here... we put the absorbers in everything. We have heard that desiccants will inhibit the effectiveness of oxygen absorbers. I have found in at least 2 cases where this seemed to be the case. But not always.

 

[MrJim]

Wish I could remember where I read/heard about O2 absorbers & desiccants & vacuum bags..probably Spirko at Survival Podcast