Daily Impact November 8 and 9, 2011

This is the 34th posting to this blog.

I have mixed results to share about my impacts on the planet these past two days. Food continues to be one of the largest problems for me. Last night, I ate at Wendy's. I had a coupon for a free single with the purchase of a fries and a drink. In addition to the beef in the burger, there was all of that paper packaging. There is also the transportation of all of that stuff from Wendy's warehouses. I also had those two bacon slices at Ikea, but at least there was no paper involved (I washed my hands after breakfast, and used the awesome jet dryer).

Monday evening, I had dinner at home. I had packaged bar-b-q chicken and frozen veggies. Both of these have packaging and transportation issues which come with them. Today (Wednesday), I had cereal at home, and now I sit at Panera with my coffee writing this. I had to ask specifically for a "real" knife, but the napkin was already on the plate under my bagel. I understand the convenience and hygiene of using a napkin (not to mention the manners), but if I am careful, there is really no need for a napkin most of the time.

My latest "mad scientist" project went through its redesign yesterday. I removed the 60 feet of black hose from inside of the heat box, and replaced it with a sheet of galvanized metal. I had the metal in my garage from the dismantling of a big box years ago, and it finally got its chance to be of use again. I painted the metal black (after etching it with vinegar, a very important step), and mounted it inside the box about 2 inches from the back. Air flows into the box behind the metal sheet, runs down to the bottom corners of the box, runs along the hot area between the metal and the glass, and exits the box at the top through one of those black hoses. This design meant that the box had to be air-tight, and that the metal plate had to isolate the cool and hot portions of the back and front of the box.

The result of the redesign is significantly improved air flow. With the squirrel-cage fan that I bought at Skycraft pulling air from the hot side, there is a strong flow of hot air coming from my creation. Now I just need to mount this fan in a nice box, add a speed controller, and wait for a cold day for the real test. This heater only will work if the sun is shining, so we shall see how often it becomes useful.