Ghetto Mods

[A Computer Guy]

Forgot this thread:

20V solar panel to an MPTT controller to charge a battery i found in abandoned building that had a large amount of plant growing lamps, totally not a suspicious location at all

View attachment 292745

The solar panel charges the MPTT controller, which then charges the battery that absolutely needed to be topped up with distilled water despite being "maintenance free" - but it was too slow so i of course used the jumpstarter for my car and wire from a Cat6 cable to force-feed more juice into it

In the black box is my old UPS battery, and i absolutely intend to mix and match all these batteries into one bigger juicebox for fun explosions when i go camping again

I got a rack just like that this weekend as in your photo. I disliked a bit how the verticals stacked on top of each other somewhat imperfectly without some beefier part to reinforce the join. Did your vertical pieces come as a single piece or two pieces that have to be stacked/joined by the horizonal bars at the midsection?
(I'm going to getto mod my rack to alleviate my concern maybe post pictures later this week.)

 

[lexluthermiester]

@Mussels, do lead-acid batteries have more energy density than Lithium ion batteries?

No, not even close.

 

[caroline!]

Forgot this thread:

20V solar panel to an MPTT controller to charge a battery i found in abandoned building that had a large amount of plant growing lamps, totally not a suspicious location at all

View attachment 292745

The solar panel charges the MPTT controller, which then charges the battery that absolutely needed to be topped up with distilled water despite being "maintenance free" - but it was too slow so i of course used the jumpstarter for my car and wire from a Cat6 cable to force-feed more juice into it

In the black box is my old UPS battery, and i absolutely intend to mix and match all these batteries into one bigger juicebox for fun explosions when i go camping again

Ah, urban exploration?
Did you grab the lamps as well or were they scavenged before you got there?

I sneak into abandoned factories or apartment buildings whenever I can too, they're going to be demolished at some point anyway so... I look for specific parts though, anything electrical is good, most lowlifes get the wiring to sell it as copper but leave the switches and sockets behind for me. They don't know about ballasts, thankfully, so fluorescent fittings are mainly left alone. If the place was abandoned <1990s there's a good chance to find porcelain/bakelite or 'glowing' (they glow in the dark, got banned due to someone claiming they caused cancer) sockets and switches which I like and use at home, I find modern plastic ones to look... cheap, even if they're not.

Old cars and trucks have good stuff in them sometimes, batteries, plates and tyres are long gone but headlamps and other lights can sometimes be found, my favourite are the round headlamps but I won't turn down any free halogen or incandescents.
Not sure how legal is what I'm telling you but as I said the buildings will be blown to pieces and the cars scrapped at some point.

By the way, I make sure there are no hobos or criminals on the run before going in, or at least negotiate with them, I gave a few cans of food to a guy once to gain access to the basement where he was staying in, cool guy thankfully, told me stories about how he used to be a carpenter but had an accident and lost 3 fingers, couldn't work anymore, his wife left him and he had his house taken by the State.

 

[80251]

Can lead-acid batteries at least survive more charge-discharge cycles than a lithium-ion battery? Even though lead-acid batteries are full of H2S04 acid I've never known anyone to get burned by battery acid -- or catch fire for that matter. It seems to be commonplace for lithium-ion batteries to catch fire -- at least in the Battlebots arena.

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

Can lead-acid batteries at least survive more charge-discharge cycles than a lithium-ion battery? Even though lead-acid batteries are full of H2S04 acid I've never known anyone to get burned by battery acid -- or catch fire for that matter. It seems to be commonplace for lithium-ion batteries to catch fire -- at least in the Battlebots arena.

Yep, if they are deep cycle. The trouble is, they have terrible capacity to weight ratio, but excellent discharge amperage capacity. Aka great for running large motors for very short times, like starter motors.

 

[R-T-B]

they glow in the dark, got banned due to someone claiming they caused cancer

They do emit rads at a level well above what is today considered "safe", and rads are strongly corelated to cancer, but you do you. In the states we had some food grade glassware with similar properties... obviously banned for similar reasons. IIRC either Radon or certain Uranium isotopes are utilized to keep the glow going.

Can lead-acid batteries at least survive more charge-discharge cycles than a lithium-ion battery? Even though lead-acid batteries are full of H2S04 acid I've never known anyone to get burned by battery acid -- or catch fire for that matter. It seems to be commonplace for lithium-ion batteries to catch fire -- at least in the Battlebots arena.

It's because Lithium is highly reactive. NiMH is a nice compromise if you want a lighter weight "safe" alternative. In consumer form, I am a big fan of the eneloop line of batteries.

 

[silentbogo]

They do emit rads at a level well above what is today considered "safe", and rads are strongly corelated to cancer, but you do you. In the states we had some food grade glassware with similar properties... obviously banned for similar reasons. IIRC either Radon or certain Uranium isotopes are utilized to keep the glow going.

I highly doubt those are radioactive. Old "glow-in-the-dark" toys/souvenirs and especially light switches were made out of plastic with added luminophores(just like today). Misconception is caused by a simple fact that people kept referring to those as "phosphorus" or "uranium" thing, even though it had neither in it. The actual uranium novelty items are very hard to find, cause most of them are 60+y.o. by now and there weren't that many of them made in the first place.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Can lead-acid batteries at least survive more charge-discharge cycles than a lithium-ion battery?

It depends on how they're built and formulated. Car batteries, no. They are meant to be kept charged up. Discharging them completely or nearly so will degrade them quickly. However...

Yep, if they are deep cycle.

...Marine deep cycle types work a bit different. They are designed for a steady discharge and can be completely discharged without harm. The charge/discharge cycle lifespan depends on the formulation of and construction methods. The more refined types can get upto 1500 cycles before beginning to show signs of wear, which is better than lithium ion. The down side is that...

they have terrible capacity to weight ratio

...they're VERY massive and expensive.

It's because Lithium is highly reactive. NiMH is a nice compromise if you want a lighter weight "safe" alternative. In consumer form, I am a big fan of the eneloop line of batteries.

This. I much prefer NiMH batteries to Li-Ion or LiPo types because NiMH is greatly safer and more friendly to the environment. Energy density is about 10% to 20% less depending on formulation, but that is easily offset by making the battery and device it's intended for a bit physically larger(a compromise I am happy to accept). NiMH also has a higher number of charge/discharge cycles, so lifespan balances out. (EDIT: left key word out)

 

[caroline!]

They do emit rads at a level well above what is today considered "safe", and rads are strongly corelated to cancer, but you do you. In the states we had some food grade glassware with similar properties... obviously banned for similar reasons. IIRC either Radon or certain Uranium isotopes are utilized to keep the glow going.

You think? they appear to be mildly transparent resin with something that makes them glow, like the glowing stars for kids rooms.

I highly doubt those are radioactive. Old "glow-in-the-dark" toys/souvenirs and especially light switches were made out of plastic with added luminophores(just like today). Misconception is caused by a simple fact that people kept referring to those as "phosphorus" or "uranium" thing, even though it had neither in it. The actual uranium novelty items are very hard to find, cause most of them are 60+y.o. by now and there weren't that many of them made in the first place.

Well they look plastic, but to me they could be made out of a hard resin similar to bakelite that shatters in pieces if you hit it with a hammer as opposed to actual plastic polymers that crack in two or bend, it's also heat resistant so for high wattage appliances they're better than new ones that might melt if the plug gets too hot.
Nowadays you can get switches with a little LED or neon lamp but I dunno, red glow in particular isn't my style, I mean it's fine for multiplugs or appliance switches but it's not something I'd use for the house, also if the LED or neon burns you can't replace it...
Stay safe mate.

 

[80251]

I highly doubt those are radioactive. Old "glow-in-the-dark" toys/souvenirs and especially light switches were made out of plastic with added luminophores(just like today). Misconception is caused by a simple fact that people kept referring to those as "phosphorus" or "uranium" thing, even though it had neither in it. The actual uranium novelty items are very hard to find, cause most of them are 60+y.o. by now and there weren't that many of them made in the first place.

When I was kid you could buy glow-in-the-dark (radioactive?) paint, but I haven't seen that stuff for sale in decades.

 

[freeagent]

I had a mid 80s Rolex GMT Pepsi, the dial had Tritium in it..

 

[R-T-B]

When I was kid you could buy glow-in-the-dark (radioactive?) paint, but I haven't seen that stuff for sale in decades.

A lot of the stuff was still available on industrial and hobbyist DIY markets a lot longer than the consumer glassware types which indeed is hard to find past the 1960s. The way you tell if it's dangerous is if the glow needs to be "charged" with light or it always glows. The dangerous stuff always glows.

 

[freeagent]

They sure don't make things like they used to

 

[80251]

A lot of the stuff was still available on industrial and hobbyist DIY markets a lot longer than the consumer glassware types which indeed is hard to find past the 1960s. The way you tell if it's dangerous is if the glow needs to be "charged" with light or it always glows. The dangerous stuff always glows.

My father, who was a chemist, confiscated my glow-in-the-dark paint. It needed to be charged by light.

I read an article about the women who painted the tritium dials on wrist watches began developing cancer on their tongues -- it was discovered some of them were licking the brushes used to paint the tritium.
That's nothing though, I read a more recent event where some hunters in Russia came across some Radioisotope thermoelectric generators that had been used in some sort of relay station and had just been dumped into the forest. They found out they were warm and so used them at their campground as heaters. Most, if not all, of the hunters developed severe radiation burns that killed them.

 

[kony]

My old "laptop"

Also, another of my old laptops but with desktop GPU connected via ExpressCard

 

[Veseleil]

I read an article about the women who painted the tritium dials on wrist watches began developing cancer on their tongues -- it was discovered some of them were licking the brushes used to paint the tritium.

There is a film "Radium Girls". So it's radium, but let's not get further into it, it's off topic anyway.

 

[caroline!]

My old "laptop"

Also, another of my old laptops but with desktop GPU connected via ExpressCard

Early 00s computer desks were wild. Want a standalone tray for the mouse? you've got it. a recessed space to put your case in? say no more

 

[masterdeejay]

Custom cooling for Radeon Pro V540

 

[lexluthermiester]

Custom cooling for Radeon Pro V540
View attachment 293443View attachment 293444

I've done this. It was a few years ago. For my Dell T3500 with a W3680 that I wanted to softOC(ThrottleStop).
Couldn't install a better heatsink(because Dell) so a bigger/faster fan was the only answer.

 

[80251]

Nice job Lex.

 

[masterdeejay]

Ver 2.0

 

[freeagent]

It’s glorious!

 

[maxfly]

Ver 2.0
View attachment 293564View attachment 293565View attachment 293566

How does it work man?!

 

[masterdeejay]

How does it work man?!

It is two arctic p12 pressure optimized fan sandwitched to push the air inside the box. This card is designed to work in a server not for desktop.

 

[maxfly]

It is two arctic p12 pressure optimized fan sandwitched to push the air inside the box. This card is designed to work in a server not for desktop.

No I meant temps, how are your temps?