What non automotive projects and repairs are you doing?

[volvolugnut]

I finally got the eight new capacitors installed in my old Hobart MIG welder. I have no real skill as a welder, so it took several attempts to get the setting close and make a decent weld. I am using 0.035 flux core wire without gas. I had to make a small welding wire spool holder since I do not want to buy the large wire spools.
First little project is a ball hitch for the John Deere mover. The mower is easier to maneuver around the yard than the truck.
volvolugnut

[matthew1]

Today I sharpened the blades on my push mower. First time, and I need to redo. I didn't get the leading edges to a full 90°.

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[matthew1]

One day...

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[erikv11]

We have radiant heat in our 100 year old house, no forced air. A Munchkin condensing boiler has been getting us through Iowa winters the last 20 years. Have had to repair something every four years or so but it's easy to work on and has been relatively cheap to repair. As long as I clean and maintain the firing chamber it still performs well.

We have a hydronic radiant house. My boiler is a submarine-sized A.O. Smith from 1947, 190,000 btus. A bit oversized. They were big and heavy duty, maybe that's why it's lasted so long. It's dumping all kinds of carbon and soot on the floor, showing signs of failing.

We have a local wizard on hydronics, and he is working on a new system using a Viessman boiler with a piggyback hot water tank. The boiler is "on-demand," so it will step up the burners from just a little to full blast if needed. They can be wall-mount or on the floor. Really easy to service I'm told. Fingers (and checkbook) crossed.

We put in the mod-con in 2005 shortly after we moved in to the house, to replace an ancient, gigantic cast iron boiler that was down in the basement. I don't know what brand it was, but it took a crew all day to haul it out of there in pieces. When that thing fired up, it would suck huge amounts of air into it for the burn, creating a noisy, windy micro climate in the basement. It was spectacular! Then when it shut off it would radiate such heat that the basement was the warmest are in the house. The people we bought the house from had owned it for 47 years, presumably they were "just used to it" and it did keep the house warm but it was so expensive to run.

I also DIY'ed radiant floor heat under the back of the house (kitchen, bathroom, mud room, laundry room) where we took out the single large radiator that had been providing the heat. Contractor put in tile flooring and I labored in the crawl space to staple-up extruded aluminum heat transfer plates and install pex tubing. Still working nicely, provides enough heat even on the coldest Iowa winter days, no issues yet (knock on wood).

A modern, properly sized boiler will be a joy, especially if you have access to some maintenance and programming know-how. Not cheap to buy but probably a good investment. I'm hoping I don't have to think about that for a while but may be on borrowed time with the Munchkin unit.

[Sveedy]

^ Do you know how they demolished the old boiler ? I have a project where there is one in the basement that owner would like gone, but I can't see how to break it apart. It's got to be 2" - 3" thick in some parts. I was thinking of a Port-a-Power, but I'm not sure even about that.
Old wood frame house above it, so no torch. Digging a big hole and pushing it in, and burying it is the best I've come up with.

[BlackBart]

Also....is it full of asbestos before you start cutting?

[volvolugnut]

^ Do you know how they demolished the old boiler ? I have a project where there is one in the basement that owner would like gone, but I can't see how to break it apart. It's got to be 2" - 3" thick in some parts. I was thinking of a Port-a-Power, but I'm not sure even about that.
Old wood frame house above it, so no torch. Digging a big hole and pushing it in, and burying it is the best I've come up with.

Are you thinking dig a hole in the basement and bury in place? I could see that working. Bury, compact soil on top, and pour new concrete on top.
Burying stuff has been the go to solution forever.
volvolugnut

[matthew1]

Burying stuff has been the go to solution forever.

Or taking a swim in the Hudson at night with concrete boots on.

[Sveedy]

Also....is it full of asbestos before you start cutting?

Good point. That lovely scenario never crossed my mind.
Looks like a deep hole is the best solution.

[erikv11]

I don't know on any of those questions; maybe I don't want to now! They were working all day and then it was gone and the much smaller and quieter white box was in its place.