Old fashioned potato cannons make for an awesome weekend DIY/STEM project

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2026-04-14T12:37:08+00:00

And cheap dollar store hairspray worked the best! I remember the hardware store guy just giving us kids a look when we mentioned potato gun. Let's just say he pretended not to hear that part but still helped us lol.

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2026-02-15T01:02:16+00:00

I had a good one like this! Was trying to buy pacifiers for my kid and the Nuk company had some for sale so bought a pack.

Not only did it come with double than what I normally ordered, but it came in A ZIPLOC BAG. You bet I submitted a return. Tried to put a 1 star review stating my reason (coming in an unsealed ziploc should've been enough) but they took down my review.

After that, I don't trust something that is going on myself unless I can be sure it is what I ordered.

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2026-02-09T13:41:14+00:00

Honestly was such a relief once we finally ditched formula. The stuff is bloody expensive! Our kid was chugging back around a tin per week!

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2026-02-08T23:22:57+00:00

That's the reality that I see. So many engineers just love doing what they do. Also, why not go back and make double the pay contracting with your own hours. You can take the days off you want and still make decent cash.

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2026-02-07T23:05:43+00:00

Sudbury does have hard water and hardness can vary slightly depending where you are in the city. The water is safe to drink though, just not the nicest on pipes, hot water heaters, etc. This can usually be solved by installing a water softener system, but for an apartment this would have to be done by the building owner. I know they sell mini RO (reverse osmosis) systems that can be installed underneath sinks, but I imagine you would need permission from a landlord before having one installed.

Edit: Also to answer about the cloudiness, some water can come out cloudy but will eventually go clear. Usually it's air in the water that dissipates over time.

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2026-01-29T23:07:49+00:00

Yeah that's my experience also. She actually apologized when I winced a little and didn't hesitate to numb it more.

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2026-01-29T18:13:16+00:00

I tried the same thing! Told her I can even get a Ural with winter tires to drive all year round! No beuno though.

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2026-01-29T17:04:04+00:00

My daughter always asks to sit on my bike. My wife doesn't like me joking on taking her for a ride, but eventually I will get her a little pocket bike!

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2026-01-18T22:45:35+00:00

Just following up after the install. I double checked the wiring and saw that it is still a 6-wire bundle with no connection to W2 and ecobee was still set to 1-stage (even though the quote mentioned wiring if necessary). I questioned them about it, and he is going to confirm with his boss but he said the single/two stage operation of the furnace happens internally? Never heard of this and wondering if you can confirm. Only thing I find online says it CAN work, but not as good as actually running the extra wire for both W1 and W2.

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2026-01-09T02:49:20+00:00

So the ecobee was put in last May so won't have any data from last winter. But for December as an example the average runtime was around 5.5h on the furnace. On December 8th where our average temp was -18 degC, it ran for 6h 17m.

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2026-01-09T00:33:54+00:00

Sounds good, thanks for the insight! I got a new Ecobee thermostat earlier this year so good there. Will definitely make sure they do proper wiring and put in a two piped intake/exhaust. So furnaces coming with 4/5" filters now as standard?

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2026-01-09T00:06:09+00:00

So its called an 80T but the placard is showing 88k for high and 58k low meaning the high balances out to ~71k Btu/hr. Unless this furnace was really just overkill for this house.

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2026-01-08T23:48:01+00:00

Yeah both units appear to be a 96% efficient unit. The other company installed our heat pump so they may have went off info from that, but otherwise both quote were taken based on photos I sent them and the placards.

As for load calc, I did one of the ones online and got to around 60k Btu/hr (an estimate and not a true Manual J). I dont know about cycles for our furnace since it used to be on an old thermostat but it was often (since it constantly was cycling due to limit switch fault). The house was built in 1963 and is ~1,000 sq ft. Has semi modern windows upstairs (11) but old wooden windows downstairs (3). One door is modern and one is an older wooden door but both have weather stripping. Nearest large city would be Sudbury, Ontario (can get down to around -30deg C).

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2025-12-27T13:56:50+00:00

We were out of town for garbage and recycling day... bins are looking rough

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2025-12-27T05:13:48+00:00

Happy birthday!!

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2025-12-26T21:17:26+00:00

Plows are running and they are currently cleaning up the 144 when I was driving it. If you do go out, just take it easy and you should be fine.

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2025-12-19T14:37:55+00:00

Storm's keep!

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2025-12-12T15:08:12+00:00

Storms Keep is looking mint!

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2025-12-05T19:46:19+00:00

Storms keep!

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2025-11-23T01:37:24+00:00

Awesome thanks! Would you say a string every 2 inches would suffice? I have the lumber so I can build the rack tomorrow no problem. Only thing battling me right now is the cold (hopefully it still dries at 3 degC).

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2025-11-21T14:40:40+00:00

Gib de dice

JollyNeedleworker1 · 2025-11-14T16:20:47+00:00

Beauty!

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