Noodle Making
Forum rules
Post a new topic to begin a chat.
Any topic is acceptable, and topic drift is permissible.
Post a new topic to begin a chat.
Any topic is acceptable, and topic drift is permissible.
Noodle Making
I never would have thought of this: https://i.imgur.com/qXLaJnh.mp4
Re: Noodle Making
Wow, that was interesting.
I'm sure the speed is important as well as how sharp those blades are.
I went through a factory once where they made plywood.
A high speed lathe turns that big long down to perfectly smooth.
Then the machine speeds up to supersonic speed and an arm drops down with a cutting blade that winds into the spinning log and one long continuous sheet of thin wood veneer is peeled off. The conveyor the wood veneer slid out on was like 200 feet long if not longer. Was amazing to see.
Then at the far end of the conveyor, another high speed lathe like the first ran perpendicular to the first, its conveyor ending up at the same spot.
When the two logs are finished, one on each system, workers inch the conveyor up until the lead end of the wood veneer is against the cutting and gluing machine. One sliver is cut off to make the lead edge flush with the bulkhead, and when both conveyors are just right, they fire them up simultaneously.
First the left is fed into the machine, it is sprayed with adhesive, then the right is fed into the machine and sprayed with adhesive. After a few sheets were fed in, the conveyor stops and this huge press drops down and presses the plywood sheet together using a heated press.
The almost finished sheet comes out onto another conveyor which takes it through a pair of saws that trim it to width, I didn't see anything that trimmed the length, so I guess they are the right length.
Oh, almost left out one of the steps on the first conveyor. They have this machine that goes back and forth on tracks, and is manually set into place. Each time the worker spots a knot, he lines up the machine over this knot, and it comes down and cuts an oval hole, then moves a little bit and drops a biscuit into the hole, then comes back down again and presses the biscuit tight, did not see glue here so maybe it just expands the biscuit with pressure.
Took longer to type this up than it did to tour the plant. The finished sheets of plywood are coming out of the machine and stacked on racks faster than you can blink an eye.
I'm sure the speed is important as well as how sharp those blades are.
I went through a factory once where they made plywood.
A high speed lathe turns that big long down to perfectly smooth.
Then the machine speeds up to supersonic speed and an arm drops down with a cutting blade that winds into the spinning log and one long continuous sheet of thin wood veneer is peeled off. The conveyor the wood veneer slid out on was like 200 feet long if not longer. Was amazing to see.
Then at the far end of the conveyor, another high speed lathe like the first ran perpendicular to the first, its conveyor ending up at the same spot.
When the two logs are finished, one on each system, workers inch the conveyor up until the lead end of the wood veneer is against the cutting and gluing machine. One sliver is cut off to make the lead edge flush with the bulkhead, and when both conveyors are just right, they fire them up simultaneously.
First the left is fed into the machine, it is sprayed with adhesive, then the right is fed into the machine and sprayed with adhesive. After a few sheets were fed in, the conveyor stops and this huge press drops down and presses the plywood sheet together using a heated press.
The almost finished sheet comes out onto another conveyor which takes it through a pair of saws that trim it to width, I didn't see anything that trimmed the length, so I guess they are the right length.
Oh, almost left out one of the steps on the first conveyor. They have this machine that goes back and forth on tracks, and is manually set into place. Each time the worker spots a knot, he lines up the machine over this knot, and it comes down and cuts an oval hole, then moves a little bit and drops a biscuit into the hole, then comes back down again and presses the biscuit tight, did not see glue here so maybe it just expands the biscuit with pressure.
Took longer to type this up than it did to tour the plant. The finished sheets of plywood are coming out of the machine and stacked on racks faster than you can blink an eye.
Re: Noodle Making
I couldn't think of a more complicated way to make noodles than that machine. LOL The Italiann pasta makers look to be a lot more efficient, but admittedly not as flashy. 
I had an idea about how plywood is made but never saw it done. Apparently it takes a certain kind of tree to be able to cut that way, and the supply of them is running out. That's the justification for plywood being so expensive. The bit about cutting out knots is interesting. It looked like it might have been labor intensive, but apparently that is automated as well. Can't imagine why they don't glue in the plugs though.
I had an idea about how plywood is made but never saw it done. Apparently it takes a certain kind of tree to be able to cut that way, and the supply of them is running out. That's the justification for plywood being so expensive. The bit about cutting out knots is interesting. It looked like it might have been labor intensive, but apparently that is automated as well. Can't imagine why they don't glue in the plugs though.
Re: Noodle Making
I guess they don't glue in the plugs on the top sheet right away, because the whole sheet gets glued in and pressed down with heat before it pops out of the laminating machine.
I often wondered why all the plywood sheets that had these biscuits were all cut the same size until I saw the machine that did it. Although it sounds complicated, it really was a simple machine, not much different than a drill press on an inverted U shaped frame. As I said, it was manually operated. Each place there was a knot, the guy positioned the machine over the knot and locked the machine in place. He hit a button and a head with a die would come down and cut out the biscuit shaped hole, suction held the cut-out in the die head while it shifted a couple of inches and came back down and placed a new biscuit in the hole, then it shifted a couple of inches again and another head came down and pressed on the biscuit, I assume to cause it to spread.
Oh, by the way, the wood veneer is moist, but goes through a dryer roller just before the laminating machine.
I agree, the noodle cutter seemed like a slow way of doing it.
Seems a high speed slicer doing an entire sheet off the dough, then running it through a roller die with several cutting blades would be cheaper and a whole lot faster.
Or consider this, why not have a machine more like a meat grinder, sorta, you put the dough in and it is extruded through a slot the width and height of a noodle, while a blade cuts the extrusion off every millimeter or so.
Sorta like cracker like snacks are made in a way.
Speaking of which, I went through a factory that made Cheese-Puffs.
The meal to make them is passed through a tiny hole at such high pressure, they cook coming out of the machine. A propeller like blade inside behind the pin hole they are ejected from cuts them off.
They do go into hot grease for a split second before the spinning forks lifts them out and puts them on a chain conveyor where they get rolled and dusted from cheese flavoring powder that is continuously recycled creating a dust storm inside a cabinet. When they come out the other end they go straight into the bags, along with a heaping helping of hot air, hi hi.
I often wondered why all the plywood sheets that had these biscuits were all cut the same size until I saw the machine that did it. Although it sounds complicated, it really was a simple machine, not much different than a drill press on an inverted U shaped frame. As I said, it was manually operated. Each place there was a knot, the guy positioned the machine over the knot and locked the machine in place. He hit a button and a head with a die would come down and cut out the biscuit shaped hole, suction held the cut-out in the die head while it shifted a couple of inches and came back down and placed a new biscuit in the hole, then it shifted a couple of inches again and another head came down and pressed on the biscuit, I assume to cause it to spread.
Oh, by the way, the wood veneer is moist, but goes through a dryer roller just before the laminating machine.
I agree, the noodle cutter seemed like a slow way of doing it.
Seems a high speed slicer doing an entire sheet off the dough, then running it through a roller die with several cutting blades would be cheaper and a whole lot faster.
Or consider this, why not have a machine more like a meat grinder, sorta, you put the dough in and it is extruded through a slot the width and height of a noodle, while a blade cuts the extrusion off every millimeter or so.
Sorta like cracker like snacks are made in a way.
Speaking of which, I went through a factory that made Cheese-Puffs.
The meal to make them is passed through a tiny hole at such high pressure, they cook coming out of the machine. A propeller like blade inside behind the pin hole they are ejected from cuts them off.
They do go into hot grease for a split second before the spinning forks lifts them out and puts them on a chain conveyor where they get rolled and dusted from cheese flavoring powder that is continuously recycled creating a dust storm inside a cabinet. When they come out the other end they go straight into the bags, along with a heaping helping of hot air, hi hi.
Re: Noodle Making
When my mom made noodles she would roll the dough out flat like a pizza and cut it into strips. Some of the best chicken soup I ever ate was made with those noodles. Eventually she got a machine with two rollers through which the dough traveled. The distance apart could be adjusted and the dough fed through several times until everything was the right thickness. Then there was a set of cutting cams. I don't know how else to describe them. They simply cut the long slab of dough fashioned by the rollers. This was all hand cranked but there also were machines that were motor driven. This all made mom's life a little easier but the noodles did not taste the same as the ones hand fashioned. I'm sure I could duplicate the noodles, but mom's chicken soup was special.
I wonder how many millions of dollars those plywood making machines cost. It seems counter intuitive to assemble such a thing at high speed, but then again, I've seen printing presses running rolls of paper through them in excess of 55 mph. What do you suppose they did with all the knots they took out? Doesn't seem like the kind of stuff from which particle board is made.
I wonder how many millions of dollars those plywood making machines cost. It seems counter intuitive to assemble such a thing at high speed, but then again, I've seen printing presses running rolls of paper through them in excess of 55 mph. What do you suppose they did with all the knots they took out? Doesn't seem like the kind of stuff from which particle board is made.
Re: Noodle Making
Well one thing I know for sure, no waste from trees leave any Weyerhouser or Georgia Pacific mill. They use every part of the tree to make various products. This is one area where the big companies actually shine. Smaller companies have a lot of waste, which in some cases is good for woodworkers who need cheap scrap hardwood for their small projects.
There was a sawmill up north on the way to Alton, Illinois we used to go to quite often to pick through the scrap hardwoods pile. They also had another pile of waste wood they let you have for firewood too.
A company who made wooden chess pieces had a contract with them for two types of hardwood scraps, mainly end cuts from those two particular logs.
When they were squaring up a trunk, cutting a slab off which had bark on it, most of those were sold to someone under contract also, so there was no getting slabs with bark on them to use for decorating or burning.
A sawmill out in High Ridge, Missouri used to save its sawdust to make fireplace logs, they also had a chipping machine for the waste lumber and would mix that with the sawdust for the fireplace logs too. Interesting machine they had for making them too, but they wouldn't let you see what they were adding to the hopper, hi hi. Something liquid did go in there, but what is anybodies guess, hi hi.
There was a sawmill up north on the way to Alton, Illinois we used to go to quite often to pick through the scrap hardwoods pile. They also had another pile of waste wood they let you have for firewood too.
A company who made wooden chess pieces had a contract with them for two types of hardwood scraps, mainly end cuts from those two particular logs.
When they were squaring up a trunk, cutting a slab off which had bark on it, most of those were sold to someone under contract also, so there was no getting slabs with bark on them to use for decorating or burning.
A sawmill out in High Ridge, Missouri used to save its sawdust to make fireplace logs, they also had a chipping machine for the waste lumber and would mix that with the sawdust for the fireplace logs too. Interesting machine they had for making them too, but they wouldn't let you see what they were adding to the hopper, hi hi. Something liquid did go in there, but what is anybodies guess, hi hi.
Re: Noodle Making
Back in the days when we had a fireplace in the basement, we burned a lot of artificial logs. They came wrapped in paper and that is how you got the burning started; light the paper wrap on fire. There obviously was sawdust in those logs but the binding goo seemed like paraffin. At least that was the texture of it. It burned fairly clean and didn't leave much of a residue. It was perfect if you didn't want to get your hands dirty, or if you didn't have a ready supply of real wood.
We also experimented with making our own logs out of newspaper. This was in the days before the Internet and there actually were newspapers. Newsprint was rolled up and put into a trough of water. There might have been some other stuff to put in too, but I don't recall. After soaking it for a while to absorb the moisture the logs were set in the sun to dry. The paper logs burned with a lot of smoke, but there were pretty cheap compared to the store bought kind.
I've heard the same thing about saw mills; they have no waste. All of the tree gets used for something.
We also experimented with making our own logs out of newspaper. This was in the days before the Internet and there actually were newspapers. Newsprint was rolled up and put into a trough of water. There might have been some other stuff to put in too, but I don't recall. After soaking it for a while to absorb the moisture the logs were set in the sun to dry. The paper logs burned with a lot of smoke, but there were pretty cheap compared to the store bought kind.
I've heard the same thing about saw mills; they have no waste. All of the tree gets used for something.
Re: Noodle Making
I had a newspaper rolling machine to make logs.
It was just like a half-pipe on a stand with a split bar you started the paper in, then turned the crank.
The instructions said to include a sheet of waxed paper about every fourth double sheet of newsprint.
We tried it that way, then with a continuous roll of waxed paper between the newsprint paper, and also with no waxed paper. Never saw any difference in how they burned.
We also tried soaking some and not soaking some. They still burned about the same, unless they were still damp inside.
I don't know about smoke because we usually added the paper logs to an already burning wood fire.
Later, in my next house with a fireplace, we only burned bituminous coal in a coal grate.
I liked that one the best!
I burned a lot of scrap lumber as well, and it never seemed to burn any different than logs did, except being softwood they would burn up faster.
It was just like a half-pipe on a stand with a split bar you started the paper in, then turned the crank.
The instructions said to include a sheet of waxed paper about every fourth double sheet of newsprint.
We tried it that way, then with a continuous roll of waxed paper between the newsprint paper, and also with no waxed paper. Never saw any difference in how they burned.
We also tried soaking some and not soaking some. They still burned about the same, unless they were still damp inside.
I don't know about smoke because we usually added the paper logs to an already burning wood fire.
Later, in my next house with a fireplace, we only burned bituminous coal in a coal grate.
I liked that one the best!
I burned a lot of scrap lumber as well, and it never seemed to burn any different than logs did, except being softwood they would burn up faster.
Re: Noodle Making
The make-shift logs were for the fireplace in the first house we owned. It wasn't that expensive to buy a chord of wood, but we didn't have a lot of spare real estate on which to store it. Thus we tried alternatives.
The house we had custom built didn't have a fireplace by design. We did have a wood burning stove complete with catalytic converter. We also had more than half an acre of forest in our back yard that had enough timber to burn in that stove continuously for the rest of our lives. LOL That plus scrap lumber from various projects guaranteed we would never run out of fuel for the stove. As an aside, the wood burning stove worked way better than the paper shredder I had in the office too. I'm sure that stove could have burned coal, but we didn't need it. Although, I think coal ash would be a lot easier to handle than wood ash.
The house we had custom built didn't have a fireplace by design. We did have a wood burning stove complete with catalytic converter. We also had more than half an acre of forest in our back yard that had enough timber to burn in that stove continuously for the rest of our lives. LOL That plus scrap lumber from various projects guaranteed we would never run out of fuel for the stove. As an aside, the wood burning stove worked way better than the paper shredder I had in the office too. I'm sure that stove could have burned coal, but we didn't need it. Although, I think coal ash would be a lot easier to handle than wood ash.
Re: Noodle Making
Coal is great if you don't get clunkers to deal with. Not all bituminous burns to complete ash, most does though.
I had a Woodstock Soapstone Stove I bought for my last house. It got sold at auction.
I loved that stove. It too had a catalytic converter, but for some of the things I burned in it, I kept it flipped off, to prevent ruining it.
I had sawed up a lot of old doors, woodwork, and furniture that had either paint or varnish on them, and those things would clog up the catalytic converter. I normally only used the cut up door pieces to get a fire going, then used split logs for heating.
Had corn stove for a short time. They sound great until you start using them. Like anthracite coal, they have a lot of clunkers. And with the small burner box, you are forever cleaning it out.
I bought a different internal system for it after the first year, so it was almost self cleaning but not quite.
It used a double burner box, and would feed one side for awhile, then shift to the other side long enough for the side one to ignite side two, then right before it was time to switch back to side one, side one would dump and a metal arm smack it to knock out the residue, aka clunker. This worked fairly well, and had a cone like skirt just under the boxes with a hole in the middle. The idea behind this was, when it dumped the clunker it would end up outside of the ash box where you could pick it up with tongs. A lot of neat ideas, but they did not make it any easier to use really. The only good point was you didn't have to relight the thing again after cleaning.
You also have to find a place to buy corn for the right price too.
Even today, a bushel of shelled corn, dry, is still only around 4 bucks a bushel (56 pounds).
But those who package it in 50 pounds bags try to get right at 20 bucks a bag. Some only 15 bucks.
But if it is packaged in 10 to 20 pound bags to feed squirrels, they get 6 bucks for 10 pounds and 12 bucks for 20 pounds.
Highway robbery to say the least. The co-op store sells shelled dry corn for 6 bucks a bushel if you bring your own containers. 8 bucks if they use double layered paper bags which only hold about 45 pounds.
I had a Woodstock Soapstone Stove I bought for my last house. It got sold at auction.
I loved that stove. It too had a catalytic converter, but for some of the things I burned in it, I kept it flipped off, to prevent ruining it.
I had sawed up a lot of old doors, woodwork, and furniture that had either paint or varnish on them, and those things would clog up the catalytic converter. I normally only used the cut up door pieces to get a fire going, then used split logs for heating.
Had corn stove for a short time. They sound great until you start using them. Like anthracite coal, they have a lot of clunkers. And with the small burner box, you are forever cleaning it out.
I bought a different internal system for it after the first year, so it was almost self cleaning but not quite.
It used a double burner box, and would feed one side for awhile, then shift to the other side long enough for the side one to ignite side two, then right before it was time to switch back to side one, side one would dump and a metal arm smack it to knock out the residue, aka clunker. This worked fairly well, and had a cone like skirt just under the boxes with a hole in the middle. The idea behind this was, when it dumped the clunker it would end up outside of the ash box where you could pick it up with tongs. A lot of neat ideas, but they did not make it any easier to use really. The only good point was you didn't have to relight the thing again after cleaning.
You also have to find a place to buy corn for the right price too.
Even today, a bushel of shelled corn, dry, is still only around 4 bucks a bushel (56 pounds).
But those who package it in 50 pounds bags try to get right at 20 bucks a bag. Some only 15 bucks.
But if it is packaged in 10 to 20 pound bags to feed squirrels, they get 6 bucks for 10 pounds and 12 bucks for 20 pounds.
Highway robbery to say the least. The co-op store sells shelled dry corn for 6 bucks a bushel if you bring your own containers. 8 bucks if they use double layered paper bags which only hold about 45 pounds.
Re: Noodle Making
I've not heard of a corn stove until you mentioned using one. Apparently the advantage of burning corn is that it is very efficient; something like 85% efficient. The claim is that it's cheaper than burning wood, but the stove itself looks like a pain in the drain to operate and maintain.
Before I started going to school I recall having a coal bin in the back room of our house. My parents were very grateful, as I remember, when the day came to replace that coal burner with an oil burning stove. It was less maintenance but was slightly smelly.
Before I started going to school I recall having a coal bin in the back room of our house. My parents were very grateful, as I remember, when the day came to replace that coal burner with an oil burning stove. It was less maintenance but was slightly smelly.
Re: Noodle Making
I've had to stoke many a coal furnace in my day, fortunately not in my own or my parents houses though.
I stoked our big coal boilers to heat the greenhouses for many years before we switched to oil, then gas.
My uncles coal furnace looked like an octopus. Large tubes ran directly from the top of the furnace, one to each room, in a straight line.
My grandfathers old house used a coal furnace also, and had a coal room. But he had hot water heat, so had radiators. He replaced the coal furnace when I was only about 4 years old, cleaned out the huge coal bin, and placed the new oil furnace in there. Then grandma took over the area where the coal furnace used to be as a quilting room where she had quilting bees.
The house I was raised in had ductwork ilke a normal house, and an oil furnace for numerous years. Dad had it replaced with a gas furnace a few years before he moved out to the western part of the county. Naturally his new house was gas.
I've lived in houses with both hot water and steam radiators. Hot water radiators are quiet, but those steam things are always hissing and making pipe banging noises.
Don't laugh. My house in Creve Coeur where I lived for 20 years was a Gold Medalion Home.
At the time it was built, it was total electric, however, it was not built with baseboard heating or floor heating. It had an electric furnace in the basement, and a self-contained AC unit outside, and they both used the same ductwork. I really liked how the ductwork was placed in this home, up high, out of the way, so remodeling the basement into living quarters was easy. The electric furnace and water heater were replaced with a gas furnace and water heater a couple of years before my late wife and her husband bought the house. Good thing too because electric prices shot up, making gas cheaper to use at the time. Before I moved south, using electric or gas was almost the same because gas got so high.
I stoked our big coal boilers to heat the greenhouses for many years before we switched to oil, then gas.
My uncles coal furnace looked like an octopus. Large tubes ran directly from the top of the furnace, one to each room, in a straight line.
My grandfathers old house used a coal furnace also, and had a coal room. But he had hot water heat, so had radiators. He replaced the coal furnace when I was only about 4 years old, cleaned out the huge coal bin, and placed the new oil furnace in there. Then grandma took over the area where the coal furnace used to be as a quilting room where she had quilting bees.
The house I was raised in had ductwork ilke a normal house, and an oil furnace for numerous years. Dad had it replaced with a gas furnace a few years before he moved out to the western part of the county. Naturally his new house was gas.
I've lived in houses with both hot water and steam radiators. Hot water radiators are quiet, but those steam things are always hissing and making pipe banging noises.
Don't laugh. My house in Creve Coeur where I lived for 20 years was a Gold Medalion Home.
At the time it was built, it was total electric, however, it was not built with baseboard heating or floor heating. It had an electric furnace in the basement, and a self-contained AC unit outside, and they both used the same ductwork. I really liked how the ductwork was placed in this home, up high, out of the way, so remodeling the basement into living quarters was easy. The electric furnace and water heater were replaced with a gas furnace and water heater a couple of years before my late wife and her husband bought the house. Good thing too because electric prices shot up, making gas cheaper to use at the time. Before I moved south, using electric or gas was almost the same because gas got so high.
Re: Noodle Making
I have only a vague memory of Gold Medallion Houses. Thinking back on it I believe it was an effort to get people off coal and oil and switch to something clean like electricity. At the time all-electric was state of the art, which had an appeal all of it's own. In the Chicago area I've always heard how expensive electricity was. It didn't work out that way when I eventually became a homeowner. My gas and electric bills were about the same. Of course they would be opposite due to the seasons. Gas consumption went up during the winter but fell to the minimum during the summer months. The same happened with electricity consumption but in reverse. I'd like to see the cost of producing a standard BTU unit of energy from electricity vs gas. That would tell me which is cheaper.
Re: Noodle Making
Although it is too cold in Missouri to use Heat Pumps, and even down here if it gets too cold the Heat Pumps still kick in the expensive to use Inductance Heaters, unless you just happen to have gas heaters in the unit, which we can't where I live because natural gas is not fed to our subdivision.
It used to be, it cost more to cool a house than heat it, within the same temperature ratios.
But then as AC units became more efficient, the tables turned and it cost more to heat a house than keep it cool.
This is the main reasons Heat Pumps gained a foothold. Electric was cheaper than gas for that purpose.
Stepping back to when gas was cheaper than electric, many folks installed gas air conditioners, Arkla made a killing selling gas AC units. Gas was so cheap, nearly every home had permanently installed gas BBQ grills, and two to four gas lamps outside that burned 24/7.
When the tables turned, many converted their gas lamps to low voltage electric.
During the early years of my Handymenders business, I must have rewired over 200 gas lamps to electric, mainly because I could do it for about 80% cheaper than anyone else.
Why? Because nearly everyone was running 110 volt outdoor/buried Romex to the pole and then had to replace the guts of the lamp itself with an electric unit.
I chose a different and much easier route to electrify their gas lights.
After disconnecting the gas line at both ends. I ran a snake from the lamp to where I cut the line near the gas meter. Then pulled the proper gauge wire for the distance of the 24 volt system I installed. Most gas lamps had a ceramic T where the two separate mantles were mounted. I used two 12 volt white frosted lamps wired in series, with pigtails so there were no sockets to add to the fixture. With them wired in series, and the small voltage drop from the transformer, the chance of one burning out was slim to none. I did install a 110 volt dusk to dawn switch in a surface mount box on their foundation usually next to a basement window, and the Romex for it ran to the nearest basement ceiling light, the transformer was also inside the surface mount box. I kept the same phone number for 20 years and only had one callback, and that was because the guy hit the lamp post with his riding lawnmower and it caused one of the bulbs to burn out. I ran out there and replaced both bulbs for him, no charge, since I still had a whole box of them left in my garage, hi hi. He was also a customer for other things over the years too, so it was a courtesy call.
It used to be, it cost more to cool a house than heat it, within the same temperature ratios.
But then as AC units became more efficient, the tables turned and it cost more to heat a house than keep it cool.
This is the main reasons Heat Pumps gained a foothold. Electric was cheaper than gas for that purpose.
Stepping back to when gas was cheaper than electric, many folks installed gas air conditioners, Arkla made a killing selling gas AC units. Gas was so cheap, nearly every home had permanently installed gas BBQ grills, and two to four gas lamps outside that burned 24/7.
When the tables turned, many converted their gas lamps to low voltage electric.
During the early years of my Handymenders business, I must have rewired over 200 gas lamps to electric, mainly because I could do it for about 80% cheaper than anyone else.
Why? Because nearly everyone was running 110 volt outdoor/buried Romex to the pole and then had to replace the guts of the lamp itself with an electric unit.
I chose a different and much easier route to electrify their gas lights.
After disconnecting the gas line at both ends. I ran a snake from the lamp to where I cut the line near the gas meter. Then pulled the proper gauge wire for the distance of the 24 volt system I installed. Most gas lamps had a ceramic T where the two separate mantles were mounted. I used two 12 volt white frosted lamps wired in series, with pigtails so there were no sockets to add to the fixture. With them wired in series, and the small voltage drop from the transformer, the chance of one burning out was slim to none. I did install a 110 volt dusk to dawn switch in a surface mount box on their foundation usually next to a basement window, and the Romex for it ran to the nearest basement ceiling light, the transformer was also inside the surface mount box. I kept the same phone number for 20 years and only had one callback, and that was because the guy hit the lamp post with his riding lawnmower and it caused one of the bulbs to burn out. I ran out there and replaced both bulbs for him, no charge, since I still had a whole box of them left in my garage, hi hi. He was also a customer for other things over the years too, so it was a courtesy call.
Re: Noodle Making
About the only thing that seems to have beat inflation is the cost of energy. That's understandable considering how well regulated the gas and electric companies are. I'm paying about the same annually for the gas and electric combined today as I was ten years ago. That's really amazing when you consider that the house down here in Missouri is about 800 sq ft larger than the old house up north. And, I am extremely happy to see my air conditioning bill stay reasonable too. I think that happens because the cost of electric changes during the different seasons. I probably could do even better if I signed up for that pay by the minute program Ameren offers.
When we had a deck built they gave us a "free" set of perimeter lights. It's really cool because we are the only people in our subdivision (that I can see) who have such a thing. It's all low voltage lights and not very bright, which is perfect in that they won't keep the neighbors up all night. They also gave me the spool of two conductor wire that was left over from the installation. It's got to be at least 10 gauge braided. The perimeter of the deck can't be more than 50 linear feet and I see no difference in the lighting from the first bulb in the chain verses the last one.
When we had a deck built they gave us a "free" set of perimeter lights. It's really cool because we are the only people in our subdivision (that I can see) who have such a thing. It's all low voltage lights and not very bright, which is perfect in that they won't keep the neighbors up all night. They also gave me the spool of two conductor wire that was left over from the installation. It's got to be at least 10 gauge braided. The perimeter of the deck can't be more than 50 linear feet and I see no difference in the lighting from the first bulb in the chain verses the last one.
Re: Noodle Making
When I first moved here, after I installed the fence going around a half acre, I bought a light for each fence post. Each transformer was limited to X number of lights and so many feet of wire.
Even with their best one, this limited us to only two straight runs of like 60 feet, so that is how we set it up.
This was a 24 volt system, because the 12 volt systems could only have like 6 lights on a circuit.
It did not last very long. Unfortunately they didn't have LED systems yet.
We replaced the transformer with a whole different brand, same voltage, but the lights were all a little bit brighter. This new unit had a dusk to dawn sensor instead of a timer, and ironically, the transformer cost less money than the same one in the other brand we had. It lasted about six or seven years, and when it quit, nobody carried this type anymore, they were all LED systems now.
No biggie, I bought two whole flats of cheap solar lights and put them on every fence post in our back yard. Some of the original lamps are still working, long after the batteries should have died. I got the lamps cheaper than replacement batteries, so just replace the whole fixture. I save all the old ones for a neighbor who takes them to get the solar cell out of them. I used to do that, but not into messing with electronics anymore, and no time either, hi hi.
Because LEDs draw so little current, there is little restriction on the number of lamps, but you have to use the right gauge wire for the length of the run if you go that route.
On the side of our house, we have a single solar cell on a stake that powers three little flood lamps. It has six batteries inside the oval box that holds the solar cell on top. The solar cell itself measures 3-1/4 x 4-1/2 inches, not counting the housing, just the cell itself. It's only like two years old now, maybe three, and has always worked just fine. Each lamp fixture has a square LED lamp in it, about 3/8 inch square, and is really bright at the lamp or looking into it. It lights up a beam on the wall of the house about like you would expect from a 12 volt light bulb spotlight type.
We did have a deck built, but it has no lighting on it.
It was something Debi wanted, but rarely if ever uses.
I hate it because it blocks the view of our back yard from the dining table.
It also cost double of what I could have bought a covered gazebo type deck for.
Even with their best one, this limited us to only two straight runs of like 60 feet, so that is how we set it up.
This was a 24 volt system, because the 12 volt systems could only have like 6 lights on a circuit.
It did not last very long. Unfortunately they didn't have LED systems yet.
We replaced the transformer with a whole different brand, same voltage, but the lights were all a little bit brighter. This new unit had a dusk to dawn sensor instead of a timer, and ironically, the transformer cost less money than the same one in the other brand we had. It lasted about six or seven years, and when it quit, nobody carried this type anymore, they were all LED systems now.
No biggie, I bought two whole flats of cheap solar lights and put them on every fence post in our back yard. Some of the original lamps are still working, long after the batteries should have died. I got the lamps cheaper than replacement batteries, so just replace the whole fixture. I save all the old ones for a neighbor who takes them to get the solar cell out of them. I used to do that, but not into messing with electronics anymore, and no time either, hi hi.
Because LEDs draw so little current, there is little restriction on the number of lamps, but you have to use the right gauge wire for the length of the run if you go that route.
On the side of our house, we have a single solar cell on a stake that powers three little flood lamps. It has six batteries inside the oval box that holds the solar cell on top. The solar cell itself measures 3-1/4 x 4-1/2 inches, not counting the housing, just the cell itself. It's only like two years old now, maybe three, and has always worked just fine. Each lamp fixture has a square LED lamp in it, about 3/8 inch square, and is really bright at the lamp or looking into it. It lights up a beam on the wall of the house about like you would expect from a 12 volt light bulb spotlight type.
We did have a deck built, but it has no lighting on it.
It was something Debi wanted, but rarely if ever uses.
I hate it because it blocks the view of our back yard from the dining table.
It also cost double of what I could have bought a covered gazebo type deck for.
Re: Noodle Making
The lights on our deck are incandescent and I can't see a reason for them not being LED. They were free so I didn't argue with the company that gave them to me. My guess is they had a lot of these in stock because nobody was ordering them. So the free offer, for the price of the deck, was a way to clear old inventory and make me think I'm getting a deal too.
If this system ever dies, and I'm sure it will some day, I'll be looking at an LED replacement. Maybe by then they will be programmable like my keyboard backlights. That would be cool as well as drive the neighbors crazy with my deranged light show.
If this system ever dies, and I'm sure it will some day, I'll be looking at an LED replacement. Maybe by then they will be programmable like my keyboard backlights. That would be cool as well as drive the neighbors crazy with my deranged light show.
Re: Noodle Making
Almost all individual solar LED lighting units have dusk to dawn sensors. This keeps the batteries from draining down too far before the next recharge cycle. It also helps extend the life of the batteries beyond their normal 300 cycles, some lasting well into the thousands of recharge cycles.
The best part is, solar powered needs no wiring, no transformers, etc. and very low cost to install and maintain.
Ready to install solar lighting units range from under a dollar per unit to over 100 dollars per unit, with the mean average cost per unit around 14 to 16 dollars for quality high output lighting.
By the way, you can buy programmable outdoor lighting. You see them all the time at light shows around Christmas.
The best part is, solar powered needs no wiring, no transformers, etc. and very low cost to install and maintain.
Ready to install solar lighting units range from under a dollar per unit to over 100 dollars per unit, with the mean average cost per unit around 14 to 16 dollars for quality high output lighting.
By the way, you can buy programmable outdoor lighting. You see them all the time at light shows around Christmas.
Re: Noodle Making
Those Christmas light shows are done with laser lights. Several of the neighbors here had them last year. I guess I could go disco and make the deck look like a retro dance floor, but that's not what I had in mind. LOL To be honest I don't know if I'd bother to program the lights if I could. I seldom use the deck and especially not at night. It would just be for show and not really functional.
What I have now is coming off a transformer with a light sensor built in. I don't believe there are any batteries involved. I do expect the transformer to deteriorate out in the weather. We get some intense heat here in summer and that can't be good for anything electronic. It's been a few years now and I should go out there to check it out. The line cords probably are cracking by now, although a good portion of it is under the deck.
What I have now is coming off a transformer with a light sensor built in. I don't believe there are any batteries involved. I do expect the transformer to deteriorate out in the weather. We get some intense heat here in summer and that can't be good for anything electronic. It's been a few years now and I should go out there to check it out. The line cords probably are cracking by now, although a good portion of it is under the deck.
Re: Noodle Making
No, I'm not talking about the Laser Light Shows. I'm talking about the ones that use thousands of individual and strands of LED Christmas lights.
I once looked up how they are done, and it does take some hardware.
Let me see if I can find something to show you what I mean.
Here you go, enjoy the video first, then scroll down and look for residential systems.
http://www1.lightorama.com/
Here is the link to the residential systems so you don't have to scroll down.
http://www1.lightorama.com/lighting-starter-package/
I wish I had a link to the light show put on locally here in a park we go to every year.
It really is something to see. They have to keep several guards posted around the place 24/7 because folks try to steal the controllers under each display. I'm sure they are commercial grade and very expensive.
I once looked up how they are done, and it does take some hardware.
Let me see if I can find something to show you what I mean.
Here you go, enjoy the video first, then scroll down and look for residential systems.
http://www1.lightorama.com/
Here is the link to the residential systems so you don't have to scroll down.
http://www1.lightorama.com/lighting-starter-package/
I wish I had a link to the light show put on locally here in a park we go to every year.
It really is something to see. They have to keep several guards posted around the place 24/7 because folks try to steal the controllers under each display. I'm sure they are commercial grade and very expensive.