Shop Tricks
- Thread starter 49tandc
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602466
Silver Member
I keep seeing posts here for funnels. I have never purchased one or cleaned one after using. I take plastic soda bottles and cut off the tops. Use 12 oz for small funnels and 2 liter for large. Anything plastic with a screw top can be use. When done I just recycle. Now some of the beers come in plastic bottles so I have an endless supply!
Wally
Wally
BigE_
Platinum Member
Rechargeable batteries - NiCad and NiMh. I have a ton of the AA and AAA type. I also have adapters that will let you use the AA in the place of a C or D cell.
At some point in time these stop taking a charge. Some people erroneously call this the memory effect. What is really happening is that there is a crystalline growth inside the cell that shorts out the internal workings of the cell. With a quick large burst of current you can blow away this crystalline structure.
For batteries that will no longer charge on your charger, you can revive these with a car battery charger. (Caveat: I've been doing this for close to 20 years never had a problem, but wear a face shield and leather gloves for safety if you are paranoid). OK, so what you do is put the car battery charger on 10A manual mode. Put the red (+) clip on the table / workbench. Now hold the AA battery with the positive (+) side against the red clip. Take the black (-) clip and tap it against the negative (-) side of the battery. DON'T HOLD IT THERE! You'll see the current meter on the charger jump to 8-10A and back to 0, and you'll get some sparks. Repeat this 10-20 times, just quick little taps. If you feel the battery getting warm, STOP!
This technique also works with portable tool batteries (drills, saws, etc) provided you can take the plastic battery case apart and get to the individual cells. My original 12V batteries for my Makita drill I got in 1995 *still* take a charge.
I've read on here and other places about the de-sulphating of car batteries, and I believe this is a similar process, but I've never tried one of those units on a dead AA battery.
Buyer beware, caveat emptor, safety nazis abound, do at your own risk, yada yada yada. Like I said, 20 years, never a problem, but be careful and don't over stress the battery. If it is bulging, don't try this trick! If it is leaking, toss it. Don't try this on alkaline batteries.
At some point in time these stop taking a charge. Some people erroneously call this the memory effect. What is really happening is that there is a crystalline growth inside the cell that shorts out the internal workings of the cell. With a quick large burst of current you can blow away this crystalline structure.
For batteries that will no longer charge on your charger, you can revive these with a car battery charger. (Caveat: I've been doing this for close to 20 years never had a problem, but wear a face shield and leather gloves for safety if you are paranoid). OK, so what you do is put the car battery charger on 10A manual mode. Put the red (+) clip on the table / workbench. Now hold the AA battery with the positive (+) side against the red clip. Take the black (-) clip and tap it against the negative (-) side of the battery. DON'T HOLD IT THERE! You'll see the current meter on the charger jump to 8-10A and back to 0, and you'll get some sparks. Repeat this 10-20 times, just quick little taps. If you feel the battery getting warm, STOP!
This technique also works with portable tool batteries (drills, saws, etc) provided you can take the plastic battery case apart and get to the individual cells. My original 12V batteries for my Makita drill I got in 1995 *still* take a charge.
I've read on here and other places about the de-sulphating of car batteries, and I believe this is a similar process, but I've never tried one of those units on a dead AA battery.
Buyer beware, caveat emptor, safety nazis abound, do at your own risk, yada yada yada. Like I said, 20 years, never a problem, but be careful and don't over stress the battery. If it is bulging, don't try this trick! If it is leaking, toss it. Don't try this on alkaline batteries.
Steve C
Platinum Member
Thanks for the info, I will try it if I ever get a battery that seems to be suffering from "diminished capacity"
I have just revived a almost brand new Craftsman 19.2 volt battery that had been "flat lined". I have a radio that uses this battery. It had been left "on" for about 6 months. I probably accidently turned it on when putting it away. This battery had been drained as far as it is possible to drain one.
When I put the battery in the charger, the charger refused to do anything with it except to register that it was defective and should be discarded according to the owners manual.
I have read that some cells in the ni-cad batteries can actually reverse polarity when they are drawn down like this. At any rate I thought what the heck, the battery is already junk, there is nothing I can do to it to make it more junk so I devised a plan.
I made up a set of small jumper wires with a spade connection on one end and the other end left bare. I then got a fully charged 19.2 volt battery and installed the 2 wires on the positive and negitive terminals using the spade connectors. I then touched the coresponding terminals on the dead battery with the bare ends of the wire, positive to positive, negative to negitive for a short moment, got a spark and took a voltage reading, it was around 8 volts. I touched them again and brought the voltage up to around 12 volts. I then put the revived battery in the charger and it charged up just fine.
Money saved to spend on more tractor stuff
Don't do this.
It could blow up or catch on fire....but if you think you need take such a risk to save a lousy $50 or $100 make sure that you protect your eyes with safety glasses/googles and protect your hands with gloves.......
radioman
Super Member
oh yeah- now I know I am not alone. I love the new style now tho, its built right in and doesnt get lost.
OY! OY! I do the same here. Every time I finish a spray can, if it not clogged, I save allll of the spray nozzles and stick em in my part bins drawer. I find that if I don't do that, I always cuss out everytime I need to spray something with the onyl can I got in the garage and the nozzle is either plugged or missing!
BigE_
Platinum Member
Changing oil on small engines (lawnmower, chipper, splitter, etc):
If it is a new engine, before I add oil to it, I decide how I'm going to change the oil. In most cases they want you to just pull the plug and try to catch the oil as it drips everywhere.
If it is a used engine, well, the first oil change isn't fun, but subsequent ones can be easier.
I buy those quick connect air hose adapters and put one of those on in place of the drain plug. On a lot of them, it just screws right in. Sometimes I have to do an adapter, but not normally. If it sticks out too far or looks like it could be knocked around, I put a right angle pipe adapter on it. (Sometimes have to pull the engine from the mount for this).
Now when I go to change the oil, I have the male end of the quick connect, and a short hose attached to it. Warm up the oil, shut off the engine, attach the male end, and let it flow into my oil catch pan.
I haven't had one leak on me yet.
-Steve
If it is a new engine, before I add oil to it, I decide how I'm going to change the oil. In most cases they want you to just pull the plug and try to catch the oil as it drips everywhere.
If it is a used engine, well, the first oil change isn't fun, but subsequent ones can be easier.
I buy those quick connect air hose adapters and put one of those on in place of the drain plug. On a lot of them, it just screws right in. Sometimes I have to do an adapter, but not normally. If it sticks out too far or looks like it could be knocked around, I put a right angle pipe adapter on it. (Sometimes have to pull the engine from the mount for this).
Now when I go to change the oil, I have the male end of the quick connect, and a short hose attached to it. Warm up the oil, shut off the engine, attach the male end, and let it flow into my oil catch pan.
I haven't had one leak on me yet.
-Steve
In an earlier post I mentioned about tool batteries that would no longer take charge, I was talking about when they were cold or when you held the drill chuck to keep it from turning when you turned it on to heat it up the battery wouldn't take charge either way. After laying them up for a long period of time and then putting them on charge they began taking charge again and hasn't failed to take charge since. I used to know how to read the numbers on craftsman tools and be able to tell what year they were made in but I have forgot how. If someone knows how to tell by the numbers would you post it, I would be interested in knowing how old it is myself.
Workstead
Silver Member
Workstead
Silver Member
Correct Tire Pressure
I have so many tires on my various pieces of equipment I can hardly count them let alone remember the optimum pressure for each one. I read this tip somewhere, probably on TractorByNet.
Use a permanent marker and write the tire pressure beside the valve stem for each tire. Then, when topping off the tire pressure you have the correct value for that tire, without having to go by memory/guess.
Clem
I have so many tires on my various pieces of equipment I can hardly count them let alone remember the optimum pressure for each one. I read this tip somewhere, probably on TractorByNet.
Use a permanent marker and write the tire pressure beside the valve stem for each tire. Then, when topping off the tire pressure you have the correct value for that tire, without having to go by memory/guess.
Clem
dcyrilc
Elite Member
Great idea.