Eco-Tech Archive

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Give the Gift of Emergency Power This Holiday Season

By
Admin
– November 23, 2012Posted in: Gadget Wisdom

Last month, Hurricane Sandy hit hard in the New York area, in many places that hadn’t seen devastation of that level in half a century. Many people lost power and internet for days. Many people lost more than that…and our sympathies go out to them. But, while we fortunately came out of it without any serious issues, it as given us a lot of time to think about emergency preparedness. The need to prepare for the unexpected. One of the coolest devices we saw being used during this was the BioLite CampStove. This is a small portable camp stove that, when stowed, is the size of a water bottle. It uses twigs and other simple fuel, and can not only cook, but provide USB charging. The company took to the streets during the power outages to offer power and a warm drink. The list price is roughly $130 direct, and the money is partially used to fund a larger version used in third-world countries. Most people will need to handle an outage of hours or a perhaps a day or two. A long extended outage does happen, but in most areas is not as common. In the case of New [...]

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Shrinking Your Electronics by Thinking Embedded Systems

By
Admin
– October 12, 2012Posted in: Gadget Wisdom

Electronics are getting smaller.  People don’t have desktops in as large a number as they once did. Many have laptops, netbooks, tablets, etc. This is an area we’ve been thinking about a lot lately, mostly due to the flood of inexpensive systems on a board, led by the Raspberry Pi. The Pi is a computer the size of a credit card, and the commonly sold version includes RCA video, HDMI video, two USB ports, and an Ethernet Port. The entire assembly is powered by a microUSB charger of the sort bundled with phones and other electronics. The GPU onboard is capable of blu-ray quality playback. There is no built in drive, the OS is loaded off of an SD card. You can hook in a USB drive, but not as a boot drive. There is a special version of Fedora, Debian, and even an XBMC port to turn the Pi into a full-fledged media center Now, this won’t be taking the place of a full-fledged PC for many things, but the Pi, and some of the competing devices are perfect for ‘embedded system’ type functions. An embedded system is a computer system designed for specific control functions within a larger [...]

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Feed Changes

By
Admin
– October 7, 2012Posted in: Gadget Wisdom

To All RSS Subscribers: Due to the recent uncertainty regarding the future of Feedburner, we are removing all redirects to Feedburner. All links on the site will now use local feeds. If possible, please update your subscriptions. If not, the Feedburner feeds will continue to be maintained for as long as Google continues to offer the service, but we feel that self-hosting all feeds is the more prudent long-term move. Feed: http://www.gadgetwisdom.com/feed/ Related articles Feedburner on the Rocks?(onecoolsitebloggingtips.com) Is Google Feedburner Shutting Down?(quickonlinetips.com) Using Feedburner? Time to Look at Alternatives(blogher.com) Why, How and When to Quit FeedBurner(socialfish.org)

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Switching to Induction Cooking

By
Admin
– February 26, 2012Posted in: Gadget Wisdom
Induction cooking

Induction cooking (Photo credit: Sandy Austin)

Induction cooking is the wave of the future. We say this jokingly. Patents on the idea date back a century, and demonstration models were shown to the public as early as 1950, however, the idea has never quite caught on.

In recent years, however, there has been a slight increase in interest in this technology. A traditional electric burner heats a coil, on which a cooking vessel is placed. An induction cooktop also uses electricity, but it runs current through an electric coil, creating a magnetic field. When the cookware is brought close to it, it induces an electric current in the pot, which dissipates as heat.

Like some newer electric stoves, the top of an  induction burner is a glass-ceramic top. Because of the design, they are often safer than other cooktops. There are no open flames or explosive substances, as in gas. And the surface can be touched shortly after the cookware is removed, as it is much more energy efficient than other cooking methos..

There are limitations though. As induction works on the cookware, you need compatible cookware…specifically magnetic. We checked our existing cookware using a refrigerator magnet. If it doesn’t stick, or does so weakly, it is not sufficient. Stainless steel and iron cookware is ideal, aluminum and copper will not work. Being as your results will vary, you can get cookware that is labelled as induction ready. For example, we found a lot at Ikea at a reasonable price.

Covering that, the cooking properties of induction are most similar to gas. When you change the temperature, it happens immediately. There isn’t a gradual rise as there is in traditional electric cooking. It is why many chefs and cooking enthusiasts love it.

“Standing at an induction range, even great cooks must rethink their basic moves. The heat comes on so fast that anyone used to pouring oil in a pan and chopping the last of the onions while it heats is making a big mistake. Learning to control heat levels with numbered dials is like trying to master a new language.”

It makes it hard to make an omelette, and a learning curve. But we are slowly getting there.

If you are interested, a single plug-in burner can be had for between $50 and $100, like the one below.

Price: —

( customer reviews)

0 used & new available from

 

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The Future is Brighter with LED Light Bulbs

By
Admin
– February 26, 2012Posted in: Gadget Wisdom

We’ve been gradually, as the prices dropped, been converting our home to LED lightbulbs.

A few years ago, we jumped on the CFL bandwagon. It was one of our earliest stories on this blog, back in 2006. And we went hunting for dimmable CFLS.

We were convinced at the time, that CFLs would continue to improve, as would the dimmable type. However, dimmable CFLs burn out, and don’t quite have the dimming we’d like.

The common complaint about many CFLs is that they do not come up at full brightness, and the color output doesn’t quite match incandescents.

LEDs, however, have none of these shortcomings, although they can be highly directional light. They use less energy, they are typical dimmable, their color performance is more like an incandescent bulb and they last longer. The last longer part is relative, however.

Early models haven’t lived up to their longevity, by most reports. We haven’t had the decade to test them out, but Gadget Wisdom Headquarters is now 90% LED powered. The holdouts had been PAR20 and PAR30 bulbs, which were still $30 a piece. But the local Costco is selling 75 watt equivalent PAR30s for only $15. We got two to test, and will be expanding.

We also have a fixture that uses bulbs with a E12/candelabra base, and it is harder to find 40-60 watt equivalents with this base. They will come, we’re certain. They are hard to find in CFLs as well.

In several rooms, we’ve installed LED strip lighting from Ikea. They offer two models, the more economical Ledberg, and the more flexible Dioder. The Ledberg is one long strip, the Dioder can be installed as four separate strips, and other configurations. It is perfect for display areas, bias lighting, and undercabinet needs.

One of the biggest problems we’ve had was solved recently, trying to understand lumens to traditional watt ratings. The above diagram was shown to us, which has been very useful.

If you are reluctant to spend a lot, you may be able to justified a few strategically placed $10 LED bulbs in certain fixtures, which is the way we started. Either way, it is where we are all going eventually

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Back to the Toilet Technology – Part 3

By
Admin
– February 25, 2012Posted in: Gadget Wisdom

Nearly two years ago, we took a special trip to the Gadget Wisdom bathroom to discuss dual flush conversion. We came back a few months later to review the MJSI Dual Flush Converter.

At the time we commented, “The nice thing about this design is that it does not require removal of the toilet tank to install. If you have to go as far as to remove the toilet tank, you might as well buy a new toilet with integrated dual flush, which we recommend if you have a really old toilet.”

Flush with our previous successes, despite not being professional plumbers, when our toilet tank started dripping, we decided it was time to dive in again. While there are one piece toilets, most toilets are two piece, the bowl and the tank. The tank is attached to the bowl using bolts and rubber washers that secure the two together, along with a gasket. When these start to fail, they can be replaced.

The replacement parts cost us seven dollars at the local hardware store. But as we had to dismantle the toilet tank anyway, we decided it was time to replace the MJSI Hydroright Drop-In Dual Flush converter.

BlueSource HYR270 HydroRight Drop-in Dual Flush Converter by MJSI

Price: $19.49

3.6 out of 5 stars (413 customer reviews)

43 used & new available from $14.74

The product served us well for two years, but did have two design flaws we knew from the beginning. One, the item attaches around the overflow tube with a plastic zip tie. This did not stay on, and that created problems. There were common complaints about the quality of the gasket. We also had issues with the toilet running, forcing us to press the button a few times, similar to jiggling the handle of a conventional toilet.

So, because of these two design issues, the item’s usefulness degraded over time, to the point it started to waste water, defeating the purpose. So we opened up our browser to look for a new item.

We looked at several items, and decided to give the products at Being Water a chance. Being Water is a small plumbing company based on California. They do make a drop-in converter, similar to the HydroRight. However, it contains several design improvements. Instead of zip tie, it uses a removable base that attaches to the overflow tube with a wing nut. then the unit twists and locks into the base.

One2flush-QUICK-FIT Drop-in Dual Flush Toilet Converter Kit With Bowl Fill Control From Being Water

Price: $23.47

5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)

3 used & new available from $19.47

The older your toilet is, the more likely it is in need of new internals. We had discussed another MJSI product, the HydroClean fill water saving valve. This allows better adjustment of the amount of water your tank fills up with initially, as well as offering a sprayer that sits at the bottom of the tank and keeps dirt and debris from accumulating. We’ve had no issue with this product since we installed it.

BlueSource HC660 HydroClean Water-Saving Toilet Fill Valve with Cleaning Tube by MJSI

Price: $11.25

4.1 out of 5 stars (102 customer reviews)

33 used & new available from $7.00

Back to Being Water, if, in our case, you have to remove your toilet tank anyway, you might as well go for the tank removal style dual flush kit. This replaces your flush valve and overflow tube. The new flush valve has the locking mechanism built in to accommodate the Being Water dual flush converter. Toilet bowl cleaners may, over time, degrade the plastic of these valves, so you may be better off with manual cleaning and the HydroClean valve we installed. Your toilet won’t have blue water though, if that is something you like.

The tank removal style is thus better in the long term. Being Water provides videos demonstrating the step by step installation, and detailed PDFs explaining the procedure. When you purchase the item, in the interest of not wasting material, there is a minimum in the box.

The company sells a complete kit that includes their dual flush converter, a replacement water saving fill valve, and a set of replacement bolts and gasket..everything you need. We just ordered the converter, but it included a bowl fill adjustment which allows you to adjust the water usage even more. We got our bolts at the local hardware store. Their kit includes a handle. Left for full flush, right for half flush, which is an improvement over the button of the HydroRight. you can get a button style from Being Water if you wish.

In the end, we’re very happy with the Being Water unit. We did have to call in someone to help, but that was due to an issue with the way our toilet bolts were originally installed. the installation process was very easy.

 

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Review: Home Water Filtration

By
Admin
– February 15, 2012Posted in: Gadget Wisdom
3 Baskets of Bottled Water - Starbucks

3 Baskets of Bottled Water – Starbucks (Photo credit: djwaldow)

Time after time, we start research all sorts of gadgets, from technology to productivity tools to…well, home tech.

This week, we are talking about water filtration filters. Many people buy bottled water. We’re not sure why they do this. Some bottled water is actually tap water. Tap water is actually more regulated than bottled water.

Bottled water isn’t a good value. The cost per bottle is significantly higher than a that of tap water. Bottled water actually has a higher per gallon markup than gasoline, and takes substantially fewer resources to produce. And it must be stored in bottles. which are estimated to total 1.5 million tons of plastic waste each year.

If you don’t like the taste of the local water supply, that is what filtering is for. If you are concerned about contaminants, that is what water filtration is for. Assuming you get water from your municipal water service, this water is already treated to a degree, but filtering in the house can give you a better experience.

Home water filtration began to become popular with the pitcher filter. The quality levels of these can vary, but a single pitcher is usually not enough water for a whole family. We migrated from this to the faucet filter. In edition to not being aesthetically pleasing, these filters can slow water flow significantly.

We chose to go with the under-sink filtration option. The first problem with these filters is that they require, if not a plumber, someone who feels comfortable with plumbing. You can either filter the cold water running through your faucet, or add a dedicated spigot, which may require drilling a hole. Our sink already had a cutout, so we went for the spigot option.

In reading review after review of these types of systems, the most common issues stem from installation. The systems leak, sometimes because of improper installation and because many manufacturers include cheaper plastic parts instead of heavier duty fittings and piping. For this reason, we brought in a plumber to do the job, and empowered and encouraged him to replace all parts in the box with more secure fittings, and to add an extra shutoff valve in the event there was a leak. This may be overkill, but the last time we had a leak under our sink, it turned into a mold issue.

This is probably the best lesson we can give about these filters. Go to your local hardware store and buy better quality fittings than any of these filters supply. The price shouldn’t add much to the bottom line. And add an extra shutoff valve, which will assist when you replace your filters, if nothing else. The cost of a valve is minimal.

There are two other types of filters we didn’t mention. A whole-house filter can remove some basic contaminants, such as sediment and rust, and are probably better if you have a more serious issue with these contaminants. Reverse osmosis filters use a tank under the sink as well as filters, and are the only type that can remove arsenic. However, they are slow, take up a lot of space and waste a lot of water.

We opted for a lesser known brand, but well thought of brand, based on a combination of reviews and research.

Watts Premier 531130 Filter-Pure UF-3 3-Stage Water Filtration System

Price: $134.99

4.2 out of 5 stars (81 customer reviews)

10 used & new available from $89.99

The above is a three-stage filter. The price was reasonable compared to most two-stage filters, and the mail-order price for a years supply of filters was reasonable. It contains no electronic filter change reminder, so we added a recurring reminder to Google Calendar.

The same company does offer a 1 and 2 stage filter as well, but with the installation effort being equal, we opted for the best decision long-term. You will probably be served reasonably well by filters from a variety of different companies, but do your research.

Watts 500313 2-Stage Undercounter Lead, Cyst & VOC Reducing Drinking Water System

Price: $72.20

3.8 out of 5 stars (32 customer reviews)

2 used & new available from $72.20

Watts 500315 Counter-Top Drinking Water Filter

Price: $35.02

4.0 out of 5 stars (83 customer reviews)

5 used & new available from $29.32

 

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A Few Quick Thoughts on Thermostats

By
Admin
– January 18, 2012Posted in: Gadget Wisdom, Uncategorized

Energy StarWhen we started reading about the issue of thermostats, someone commented to us that programmable thermostats were impossible to use.We can’t seem to get this right ourselves. So, let’s check in with the experts.

We started with Energystar:

For heat, the presets are:

  • Wake and evening: less than or equal to 70 degrees
  • Day and Sleep: Setback at least 8 degrees

Keep your thermostat set at energy saving points for long periods of time(at least 8 hours). This should include during the day when no one is home, and throughout the night after bedtime. You use more energy if you constantly override the pre-programmed settings. Cranking your thermostats up or down will not heat or cool your house any faster.

Energysavers, also a government site, recommends setting your thermostat back 10-15 degrees, setting it to 68 when you are awake.

It is not an easy thing. We’ve covered what the government recommends for programmable thermostats, but what else is there? Do you want a touchscreen thermostat? Do you even need a programmable, despite what is recommended?

And let’s go the ultimate in control…a wi-fi enabled thermostat. You can control your thermostat from anywhere in the world. But, unless you are in frequent need to change your settings on the go, this seems unnecessary. The new NEST thermostat is actually a wi-fi enabled learning thermostat that learns from your habits and from weather forecasts to make adjustments.

But, as nice as NEST is, it doesn’t seem like something we’d get. We are upgrading our thermostat after this reading, for a different reason. Programmable thermostats come in a few varieties. 7-day programmable, 5-2, 5-1-1, etc, based on the complexity of the program. We are replacing ours to go from a 5-2 to a 5-1-1 with a special vacation mode for when we go away, to override the normal program. And that upgrade cost us less than $40.

What are your thoughts? Do you have trouble setting your thermostat? Did you give up on even trying?

 

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Back to the Toilet Technology

By
Guru
– November 28, 2010Posted in: Gadget Wisdom

In June, we reviewed the MJSI HydroRight Dual Flush converter, and discussed the principles of toilet technology. Amazon has some good deals on two pieces of MJSI technology. One is, of course, the Dual Flush Converter. The other is the HydroClean Water-Saving toilet Fill Valve.



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