My work shop build in progress

[Frank Surber]

30' from the controller: http://www.lutron.com/TechnicalDocumentLibrary/369760a_ENG.pdf

Mine are also set up on motion control so when you walk in the lights turn on, and turn off 5 mins after no motion.

Lutron's controls are the bomb.

Cool bit of kit Thanks I'll have to consider this as an option for later on. That would be the bee's knees especially the motion sensor for being in the shop and not requiring lighting is some areas at all times particularly in my container storage areas .
Not in love with the remotes being battery operated but I guess a wall wart could be interfaced instead of the batteries.
The 30' range is also a kicker but there are all sorts of RF amplifiers on the market that could be tuned to the correct frequencies I'm sure
the nice thing about the LEDs as opposed to ballasted lighting or Fluorescent's is they are on now and off now like incandescents but with much higher lighting output per given watt of power consumed

 

[redheelerdog]

Cool bit of kit Thanks I'll have to consider this as an option for later on. That would be the bee's knees especially the motion sensor for being in the shop and not requiring lighting is some areas at all times particularly in my container storage areas .
Not in love with the remotes being battery operated but I guess a wall wart could be interfaced instead of the batteries.
The 30' range is also a kicker but there are all sorts of RF amplifiers on the market that could be tuned to the correct frequencies I'm sure
the nice thing about the LEDs as opposed to ballasted lighting or Fluorescent's is they are on now and off now like incandescents but with much higher lighting output per given watt of power consumed

Yes sir. The power savings/light output make them a no brainer.

 

[Frank Surber]

Yes sir. The power savings/light output make them a no brainer.

A while back a friend of mine was at an auction where they had several pallets of light fixtures that had been removed from school gymnasiums. He called me and asked how many pallets I thought that I might want for my shop. He said he thought he could buy them for $20.00 per pallet of 10 fixtures. He thought I was crazy when I told him that I didn't want any of them because I cold buy LED lighting and the energy savings alone would more than pay for themselves in a very short time.
It might be different if I lived in a cold climate where I could use the radiant heat from the lights to supplement the heating of the building but even at that the efficiency or lack there of would hardly justify the cost of energy consumption.
Someday I am sure that a light source will be invented to replace the LEDs possibly some crystal thing or bioluminescence which will equate the current LEDS to CFLs in energy savings, when that happens once it becomes main stream readily available I'm sure everyone will be hucking their LED fixtures . But I don't see in coming in my remaining life time.
I've added what is being called full spectrum LED grow lights in my wife's plants room but am waiting to see if I need to increase their quantity for output I think the UVA UVB and UVC output of those I have installed is far from being optimal at their current total wattage output in the room

 

[dragoneggs]

I've added what is being called full spectrum LED grow lights in my wife's plants room but am waiting to see if I need to increase their quantity for output I think the UVA UVB and UVC output of those I have installed is far from being optimal at their current total wattage output in the room

Interested to hear on your results as I am considering doing the same for my wife's plant starter area.

I do love my Costco LED shop lights in my shop. I have 13 of them and they mounted somewhat strategically over my tool work areas but also flood the shop nicely.

 

[Frank Surber]

Started out this morning have to clear off an area of 20x30 by 4 feet deep to expose more good fill material before I could start excavating it after spending all that time I only excavated enough for about 20 loader buckets full
the shop floor this morning

This afternoon

I think I am going to have to make a spray bar to hang off the bumper of my pickup and water the fill down because it is getting dryer and not compacting as well

 

[redheelerdog]

Getting dry up here too, its heating up for a big time grasshopper battle, millions of the little ones around now.

 

[Frank Surber]

Getting dry up here too, its heating up for a big time grasshopper battle, millions of the little ones around now.

the grasshoppers came out around here about 2 months ago tiny things by the billions if I were to guess not they are about an inch and a half long and getting more voracious every day. our garden was reduced to nothing almost before the plants even sprouted with nothing left to eat the grasshoppers have started eating weeds and even grass burs I've even noticed them eating the leaves of bull nettle. as long as they don't eat out cactus plants I'm not going to bother them at this point. They give the dogs, cats and chickens something to do

 

[Frank Surber]

The more fill I excavate and spread the more I am glad not to be doing this with shovels and wheel barrows.
After having to replace a couple of damaged grease zerks topping off the fluids I sat about the now daily task of relocating part of the Earths crust.
First off I had to build my daily stock pile of fill since one of my personal indicators of whether or not I feel I have accomplished anything for the day is to run out of fill at the end of the day

the ever encreasing pit

the stock pile after several bucket fulls have been hauled

out of material again

Ok the second pile of the day

by the end of the day some 50 trips were made just to add this little bit

I spend more time spreading and driving back and forth over each thin layer of fill I put down than actually moving of material
And I really am going to have to start watering this stuff down

 

[Frank Surber]

This morning my wife thought I had finally stripped the cogs off of the last remaining brain cell in my head when I told her I was going to arrange a few things which would eventually lead to adding another bay on the shop should ZI ever require it.
She said Frank you have already gone from building a 4000 sq ft shop to one that will be 6000 sq ft and you are no closer to completing it than you were before you decided to make it bigger.
Why do you think you want to make it larger now instead of latter if you need it.
So this brings me to how I came up with the idea I have some storage van trailers that are parked just inside my fence out next to the highway in front of the shop. I will need to relocate them eventually any way, so why not pre plan on how to make best use of their storage capabilities. Right now they are full of stuff that most of it will be place in the shop once it is closer to completion. but where the trailers are located it is most difficult to transport materials or equipment from them.
So I decided to spend some time now and save even more time latter by relocating the trailers or at least prepare an area where I will be relocating them. To not do this might mean I would not be able to place them where I want them due to the amount of fill I still need to add, plus once I park and ground the tool room trailer it may be completely impossible to place one of them anyway.
So I began the day moving a load of bar joists which will be used for the rood between the shop and the machine shop trailer. then I moved my forklift that has been parked at the end of the container on the North side of the shop ever since the container had been placed there.
Then I moved my steel rack and a lot of other materials which was in my way
then pushed off about a foot of the soft dirt and refilled with the rejected fill material I have been mining for the shop floor. Since the area will not be brought up to grade any time soon the reject fill would serve to harden up the soil enough to place the first trailer there Plus by leaving the area about 2 feet below the finished floor level once I remove the wheels and tires entry to the trailers will only be about a foot above the eventual slab Also I plan to put the trailers with about a 25 ft bay between them which may eventually be roofed over
And that is how the insane mind of the Frank functions

 

[dragoneggs]

I guess you have time since you likely aren't bussing kids around lately! :laughing: