This is NOT a coffee cup!

[MChalkley]

Well, it won't come as a surprise to anyone that I've been looking for a really good tractor cup that'll hold large quantities of liquid and keep it cold a while.

I've found it. 7-11's around here, along with at least one gas station chain, are selling a 52-ounce mug that's got a sticker on it that says it's "triple insulated" and "keeps drinks cold up to 6 hours" for $4. It's made by Aladdin and I've had a few good plastic mugs by them before, but never anything anywhere near this big.

Anyway, I decided to test it: I filled it with ice only at 9 PM Saturday night. At 9 AM Sunday, the ice was a solid lump, with no liquid that I could hear. At 9 PM Sunday, there was a huge chunk of ice sloshing around in the water. At 7 AM Monday, I opened it and there was still a piece of ice in it a little smaller than my fist. At 9 PM Monday, I opened it again, and there was a very small piece of ice left and the water was obviously ice cold. I gave up the test at that point - as far as I'm concerned, it passed.

Two caveats: 1) This thing doesn't fit in any known cuphold ever made (though that may change soon, during my next project). 2) Don't use this thing for coffee, or you may not need the tractor to get your work done. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Mark

 

[Thomas]

Mark,
A 52 ounce cup,/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gifand as I'm so graceful with a cup of coffee I wouldn't want spill into my lap. /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif
52 ouncer would clean out the cob webs even in a NH./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Thomas..NH

 

[scruffy]

Sounds like a coffee cup to me! Morning coffee that is. It takes a pot to prime the world, so why set at the table when you can just take the pot with you?

Mark, why not use a chunk of 5"I.D. ABS or PVC pipe with a cap and bracket? Location of your choice, route a slot down the side for a handle? Brackets=Hose clamp(s) to upright ROP post?
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by scruffy on 8/30/00 10:28 PM.</FONT></P>

 

[MChalkley]

Ok, there's only one problem with this cup that I've been able to find so far: Where in the world do you put it? Even if my tractor had a cup holder, which it doesn't, this cup would hide it, not fit in it.

Well, never fear - problem solved! I stopped by a local sign shop, told the guy I was looking for some magnetic sign material (being a nut, I also told him what I wanted it for, of course) and he (after laughing hysterically for a while) pointed to some scraps laying under a table and said "take what you want". So I left with enough to make a few circles the size of the bottom of the cup. (The hardest part was arguing over the price. I wanted to pay him something, but he said I was just saving him the trouble of throwing it away, so we finally agreed that it was free, but the next time I need a sign, he'll get to do it.)

I cut a circle the size of the bottom of the cup out of it, contact-cemented it to the cup, and it works great! All you need is a spot on the fender big enough to set the cup down and you've got an instant cup holder! Right now, it's stuck to the side of my refrigerator, but it's a little big to be a refrigerator ornament...

MarkC

 

[Muhammad]

Mark... any, uh... photos? /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif I keep trying to picture this thing... and now with the holder.

 

[MChalkley]

Muhammad - I'll see what I can do. I'm sure I can get one next week. Don't you have 7-11's in NY? /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Mark

 

[glennmac]

A magnetic bottom coffee cup. What possibilies it opens up.

First, you better put the lid on tight because it won't want to let go of the fender, but when it does, it will whip off. But why limit it to such prosaic uses.

If you have a metal canopy, you can put it upside down up there. Then run a drinking tube with a bite valve at the end that dangles in front of your face. Better yet, an IV line to drip your favorite liquid right into your carotid. (None of that time consuming digestion stuff.) You could also put a shower head on it to shower off without ever leaving your tractor. Or you could mount it behind your seat so it sticks out horizontally to drip fertilizer on your lawn or oil on your freedom hitch.

Just a few of the many uses this crew will be able to think up for your new invention.

Glenn

 

[MChalkley]

Actually, the magnet doesn't hold anything close to that tight. The cup, being as big as it is, is inherently quite stable, and the magnet is just strong enough to keep it from tipping or sliding. The same trick wouldn't work on a slim-at-the-bottom, big-at-the-top commuter mug, for example.

But the on-board shower idea sounds interesting...

MarkC

 

[scruffy]

MarkC, IF it's only the magnet stopping you, then scrounge a defunct hard drive from a computer, and break it down. No fear, the end of your screw driver will definately find the magnet! Actually two of them. Now those little jewels will epoxy right to the bottom of your cup, and WILL hold it upside down from the cab roof! The h/d disk make dandy mirrors, so, for no cost (current) you can take a shower, shave, and in general recover some use out of a past expense. Now, if you had a second mug, you could hang it underneath, run a tube........you get the picture! Porta potty!

 

[Hawgee]

When I found the 32 oz. size at a local truck stop I thought I was in pig heaven. That is a big one. I prefer sipping thru the lid for coffee but like the straw when drinking cool fluids. The straw method makes for less spilling when bouncing around.
I have found large magnets from the back of radio speakers to be good. Have a very large one that came from the back of a large PA outdoor speaker. We keep it at the barn for draging around now and then to keep any loose nails from animal feet. Glued to the bottom of mug and then dip in liquid plastic to keep from scratching paint. I have one of those parts trays like that. Best $5.00 I ever spent.

"What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered."
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)