Lawn Tractor/Plow Block Heater

This is not just about the Lawn Tractor Block Heater but it is about over loading breakers in the cold. I had not been able to plow the snow when it was -20 deg C, and thought I would plow it today wile it was -40 deg C. Well do you think I could start the 600cc single cylinder lawn tractor? No Way! So I came up with a totally sketchy 1500 watt lawn tractor block heater, an old iron, that I picked up for $0.75 at a garage sale.

I couldn't leave my lawn tractor unattended with this 1500 watt heater just jammed into the cowling. After 20 min, it hadn't thawed enough, and I was starting to get uncomfortably cold, in the -40 shop. At that point I added the 250 watt magnetic heater, and the 1500 watt heat gun on high for another 20 min, ALL ON THE SAME PLUG.

That is a good 3000+ watts of heat running off of one 1500 watt breaker for 20 minutes. Why? Because the breakers trip with heat, and it is -40 in my garage. The breaker never did blow. I realized I was going to need to warm the battery up too, and everything plastic insisted on breaking when I touched it in the cold. The lawn tractor did turn over, but I decided to limit potential damage by not running it until it was warmer.

Although my Lawn tractor block heater was working great, I think in future cold days, the only way to go is to put the whole thing into a heated space, like the fully enclosed trailer, with heat. Or I could tarp it over with a propane blower heater heating under the tarp. I think this way because even when it starts I don't believe the Hydrostatic/Hydraulic drive would work until it warmed up, and if it all starts out warm, the plastic parts won't break as easily. I will take apart the iron and see if there are some slightly lower wattage heaters inside I can use to make the -20 lawn tractor block heater.

DIY LED Tubes for Fluorescent Lights

These LED Tubes are a great solution to the Fluorescent cold starting issue. Check out more Here

Fluorescent Lighting

T8 versus T12 fluorescent lighting, which one is the best. T8s are the newer, "more efficient" lights, and they are supposed to light at lower temperature.

I was utterly disappointed the other day going into my shop, wired with three new T8 fixtures and an old salvaged T12, none of them lit up. The temperature was only -30 deg C, and I can still expect it to go down to -40 ish before winter ends. It has warmed up to -20 deg C today, and only one of my 3 T8s lit up, I almost got more flickering light out of the T12.

Recently I found they started making the mini fluorescent lights in 42 watts, equivalent to the 150 watt incandescents. 23 watts used to be the biggest minis you could buy. If I did it all again, in the shop, I would do all 42 watt mini fluorescents in the standard porcelain base. I don't expect them to light in -30 to -40 either, but I can just unscrew them in Winter and screw in some warm incandescents for the winter. Plus the installation and fixture costs, are way down.

That is my two bits, for a more detailed comparison of T8 vs T12 go here.

I also have about 20 used T12 4', 4 tube, ceiling tile fixtures for sale. Completely working, tubes and all were $80 new, selling them for $20 each, but if you found them here I will let you have some for $10 each. They make great summer shop lights.

How to Wire a Three Way Switch

This is a basic drawing of three way switch wiring. There are still a number of ways to wire a three way switch.

If you are doing this yourself, I am going to assume you are going to add a three way switch to you existing switch. To do that you need 14/3 wire, and simply run that from your existing single switch to your new three way switch.

The single switch needs to be replaced with a three way. The new three way will have 2 brass screws and one black screw. One of the wires off the existing switch, presumably black, will go to the black terminal of the new three way. Then the other wire off the switch, presumably black also, will terminate to the black of the 14/3 you just pulled in. Then the white and red terminate to the brass screws.

Now your second switch simply gets the black wire to the black screw. The white and red terminate to the two brass screws on the three way switch.

Another House Finnished in Vegreville

Another Big project was completed this week in Vegreville Alberta. This house was completely gutted and rewired with a new service and entirely new wiring.

How to install a plug

This is a quick video of how to install a plug, and terminate the plug box. One thing that i only touched on in the video that is important, is to always disconnect the white neutral last, and connect it first. This is in case the plug box contains a three wire home run. If it contained a three wire home run and you disconnected the neutral first, you could potentially expose 120 volt circuits to 240 volts. Don't be afraid to hire an electrician if you have problems.

North East of Edmonton Canada I would highly recommend Possum Electric.