Save energy with a timed plug: Do it yourself with Arduino

I used this to build a wireless plug socket countdown

I had a Wireless programmable plug Contros of Broadlink with the wifi card damaged:

and I realized that I could come in handy a plug to be activated for a certain time simply by pressing the button, with increments of the same time with each pulse (similar to working electronic microwave, that with each press of the button quick heated adds 30 seconds to the time). A picture is worth a thousand words (explained in spanish, sorry):

Modifying an insertable wood stove to add double combustion and fans

In this post, which had long been "waiting" for various reasons (my apologies to Alberto, intone the mea-culpa), an animated friend of sustainability we discuss how modified 2014 a stove without too much effort to optimize its performance , having fun how nice in the process.

Alberto tells us who dared to take pictures of it and write it done because it came in handy examples and information I put in this blog.

Adding steel tubes for double combustion and fans increase the combustion efficiency to deliver oxygen where it is needed, and also preheated, and fans are needed to optimize the extraction of heat to the room and extend the life of the stove by reducing the temperature of the structure , which otherwise would be very stressed by extreme temperature changes to increase performance. These modifications are safe (with the only danger plaster smoke, controllable and which will be discussed in detail). 

So, without further ado, let him be himself who tell us (apologies for the quality of the photos):

Presentation and project

The first is to introduce Alberto and I am not a professional in this sector, but I like the tools and I dare all.

I needed an insertable for the house in Ávila, at 1360m above the sea, as the chimmenie fire never could heat the cold granite house. And of course I wanted to double and double combustion chamber. 

I do not remember very well the extent of the gap in his fireplace; would be about 530mm, about, quite recently, I found an insertable fire made ​​of that size. The sides of the fireplace are also granite but the problem is securing a roof beam in the middle of the house and did not make me any grace the walls shake too.

So I Have This Test was willing to custom. I was asking for tempered glass in the door to start ... phew... 'find materials that work !!.

By chance I found a home at a low price approaching the measures, and for 250 euros I found very interesting in Leroy Merlin especially since half the work had already been done.

Repairing a Chinese Li-ion battery charger 42V "Rait" brand

The circuit: in one UF1004 dissipating diode and a MOSFET 600V N  MDP11N60 (left)

A collegue had broken his battery charger, he told me that he had left running, hitting an explosion when going to charge his battery 20Ah scooter for the last time .

Normally when a small explosion sounds, it is that any electronic component has gone to hell, so I checked the components and at first sight there was nothing broken, not even the MOSFET had been damaged.

It is  quite simple transformer of 180 / 240VAC to 42 Vdc with 5A load capacity (although the actual output voltage 40,7V are even better for the longevity of the battery), of unknown Chinese brand that came with the battery of 20Ah Chinese acquired.

In reviewing the tracks below, we see what happened: the track that connects with the departure had not stood the peak intensity of the moment to connect to charge the battery (capacitors can deliver a significant current at the time of connection); It is that by design has 3 tracks (possibly to put resistors as a fuse in the Tinned areas) but only one was connected.

Replacing the battery ARRAY Ni-MH battery with a Li-Ion one

In this post we will see another example of updating a NI-MH battery for Li-ion another , much more durable and with no memory effect, in addition to saving bucks in the long run on batteries. These modified batteries are two years running without any problem, and that they were batteries in its final cycle of use, recycled.

Disk arrays on servers usually have an acceleration unit with memory and a battery to prevent data loss in the event that there is a black-out.

Since the Ni-MH array accelerator many HP servers work with 3.6V (three 1.2V rechargeable batteries in series) is replaced by a single Li-ion protected working between 3 and 4 battery , 2V (at 3.6V is 40% capacity).

The original battery, spare ref. 307132-001 HP is 500mAh, so a Li-ion 2600 mAh far exceeds that capacity, so it will retain more energy and for more years than the original having no "memory effect" (probably last longer the server itself), protecting better against unexpected power outages data (also recommended a UPS).

Centralized control mixed system Solar-Biomass with Arduino and TFT Shield

In this post I will share with you the improvements I've made ​​to -biomass Solar mixed system , which is basically to change the obsolete control system for thermostats with a centralized system based on Arduino fully customizable, flexible and expandable; We see assembly, components and source code.

Used materials:

   1- Arduino MEGA 2560 (specifically I used one Funduino clone ), because the TFT shield does not leave me enough inputs / outputs Free UNO R3.

   2 Touch Screen TFT 2.4 "  McuFriend , which will give us great freedom when it comes to display information on screen libraries that have worked best for me. Are the BUHOSOFT ; here you can download the version I used.

   3 - relays to activate solenoid valves, with a fed to 5V that can handle 230V and 10A worth us to spare. Not to stress regulator Arduino board, the food independently with other L7805 regulator (handles between 7-30V and 1.5A max). Being so low consumption, nor need a heatsink:

Changing the battery of your tablet for a few bucks

In this post we will change a spent battery to a 9-inch tablet

Currently it is not uncommon to see every family with an Android or Apple tablet, and over time the piece gets more wear of this useful accessory is the li-ion battery, especially if it is of poor quality, and when it lasts less than an hour we should change it, improving the original capacity if possible. In this case we have a Edertix Tablet 9.7" whose battery lasts less than half of its original capacity.

Extending the battery life of your phone past 3 DAYS

S5 with housing and battery Zerolemon What's hot?

Granted, cheating is so fashionable today... but if not, "you wouldn't go read" this entry. No, there are no magic tricks to make your smartphone lasts, in normal use, more than calculated by the manufacturer (beyond a few more hours);  if you want your battery to last more, the only answer to your praye is to change the battery with a higher capacity one at the expense of giving more thickness to the mobile, yes, and if the change includes a cover that protects it from knocks great, welcome are the "fatphone"! 

But do not go! This entry is not sponsored! The Zerolemon are not the typical Chinese fat batteries, with a shabby housing to accommodate them. It is quality batteries, yes manufactured in China, but with reliable Design and Quality; I tell you I've been using for the last year one for my S3 with results that have exceeded my expectations, with actual 6000 mAh .

Build your own fully customizable Energy Monitor for 30 bucks

Arduino UNO with a 2.4 "TFT monitor the consumption of a house

The crisis continues, so If you want to know how much electricity do you need every hour of the day, or switch power contract to the TDH or reduce the contracted power, or make estimates, you can install an expensive energy monitor, or, as we will see in this post, we manufacture ourselves .

IMPORTANT : If your supplier has telemetry on your electricity bill, chances are that hourly consumption can be consulted on the website of the supplier.

Version 1.0 of the program and debugged

Everything you wanted to know about planned obsolescence ... and other topics on home appliances

Good, I was thinking about writing an article about the "planned obsolescence" after having a nice discussion with a "Blablacar" passenger long ago, but what was my surprise that my a friend Antonio Sanchez has already done it, and very well in his blog on saving on home appliances, and I 'm grateful to him for keeping people well informed of (I subscribe to every word of him, I think I wouldn't explain it better). Well, for me:

How to locate the fault point on a fiber optic cable without tools

24 port switch with Allied Telesys Quality

There are expensive cable testing tools that tell us quickly and reliably what fiber cable is failing sending the light signal, but do not usually indicate where it has been broken. 
But with a simple trick we can see which section of the connection is broken , just using a powerful chip CREE LED Flashlight XML-T6 and the ability of the fiber to transmit any light waveform trhough it.
At one end we put the flashlight focusing terminations: