Ben's Garage - Page 5

stevehull · 11-29-16, 06:03 AM

Why not put in "pull down" type plug. I have made up more than a few with rubber tubing attached to the end of the wire. Easy cheap and out of the way.

The future of charging will be inductive - not plug in. Look for this system to rapidly be accepted in the next couple years.

Plug in will still be there, but at home charging means you just drive the EV into the garage on top of the flat floor mounted inductive "transmitter". Will also require an inductive "receiver" on the bottom of the EV.

This also means that wires, in a roadway, could be used to constantly charge an EV as it travels down that road.

Exciting stuff.

Regarding the wire from the house, you can easily put in three AWG 3 stranded THHN wires (L1, L2 and neutral) and a ground in 1.5 inch conduit.

Steve

natethebrown · 11-29-16, 08:40 AM

For your lighting arrangement, I have a suggestion. My suggestion comes from how I use my garage. Often, I just need a little bit of illumination in the entire garage to find something, then I leave. When I am actually doing work in the garage, I turn on more lights. I agree to having all of the lights on two different circuits, but from my perspective I would change it slightly.

Here is the layout I would recommend (imagine your lights are like an Excel Spreadsheet with your North West light = A1 and South East light = C4):
Circuit 1 (Primary) - A1-A4, C1, and C4.
Circuit 2 (Secondary - additional work illumination) - B1-B4, C2, and C3.

This would allow you to move around your entire garage (assuming your East wall has some sort of storage/scrap wood piles/scrap metal piles) without turning on the second circuit. Again, this is just my suggestion based on how I use my garage.

bennelson · 11-29-16, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevehull

Why not put in "pull down" type plug. I have made up more than a few with rubber tubing....
Steve

Like latex tubing stapled to the ceiling that pulls up the cable when it gets unplugged? That would be fun to try!

The big down-side of any type of ceiling mount is that I'm a lot taller than my wife. We have plenty of step-stools around our house for her. I'm not sure a ceiling-mounted EVSE would suit her well!

bennelson · 12-02-16, 12:57 PM

Got the front on.

It's a 16" tall micro-laminate beam that spans the whole front of the garage.

One thing I can say, it's HEAVY!

pinballlooking · 12-02-16, 01:23 PM

That is a sweet looking beam. No above door sagging for your garage.
If you don’t mind me asking how much did that beam cost?

bennelson · 12-02-16, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinballlooking

how much did that beam cost?

I don't even know yet. Not sure I want to. The family business is in remodeling, so my Dad has an existing relationship with the local lumberyard. I'm just buying everything through my Dad as we go and then am paying him for materials in lump sums.

Even if the beam is rather pricey, it's the price I pay to be able to have some nice large doors, an upstairs to the garage, some very large spans, and enough strength to carry 5,000 watts of solar panels and a snow-load.

pinballlooking · 12-02-16, 05:59 PM

No big deal I was just curious because I built my greenhouse last year. I could have used a 24’ beam like that one.

I ended up building my own with two 4 x 10 and ply wood glued and screwed together. Then I supported it ½ in the middle.

If I bought a beam like yours I could have done away with the center support.

No Mater what that is a good looking beam.

bennelson · 12-02-16, 10:21 PM

The center column isn't really a matter of support for the beam. What it really does is break up the opening into two doors instead of one.

Having two doors greatly increases my flexibility. For example, I could glaze in one door and set it up like a greenhouse for the winter - letting the sunlight in, while still being able to open and close the door. At the same time, the OTHER door can open and close for pulling a car in and out.

I don't know what it is, but for whatever reason, I've gotten an awful lot of ODDLY NEGATIVE comments on Facebook, Youtube, etc, for having two garage doors instead of one. In my area, multi-car garages tend to have a mix of one large door or two smaller doors. Perhaps in some other areas, it's most common to have one large door? People tend to like and defend what they have and are used to.

I've always lived at places with twin garage doors and haven't seen an advantage to one large one.

sunspot · 12-03-16, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bennelson

I've always lived at places with twin garage doors and haven't seen an advantage to one large one.

One massive door? Let's see. Harder for the missus to manage, less likely to seal remotely well, lets twice as much conditioned air in/out per use etc. etc...

stevehull · 12-03-16, 07:53 AM

Pinball - you can now order gluelam beams with a built in camber. You specify the center static load and they build in and set the camber height during fabrication so when the load is applied the beam is flat as a laser beam.

In one case, I figured the static load wrong and had to "pull it down" with some weights to get it flat. Once in place and braced, it maybe arched back up 1/8 th inch with my extra load removed. But a 35 long beam!! Far cheaper than a steel "I" beam and easier to work with.

But HEAVY!

One of my silly workers once put one in upside down - so you need to put it is arch up! About 10% more than a standard gluelam beam.

Steve

11-29-16, 06:03 AM	#41
stevehull Steve Hull Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: hilly, tree covered Arcadia, OK USA Posts: 826 Thanks: 241 Thanked 165 Times in 123 Posts	Why not put in "pull down" type plug. I have made up more than a few with rubber tubing attached to the end of the wire. Easy cheap and out of the way. The future of charging will be inductive - not plug in. Look for this system to rapidly be accepted in the next couple years. Plug in will still be there, but at home charging means you just drive the EV into the garage on top of the flat floor mounted inductive "transmitter". Will also require an inductive "receiver" on the bottom of the EV. This also means that wires, in a roadway, could be used to constantly charge an EV as it travels down that road. Exciting stuff. Regarding the wire from the house, you can easily put in three AWG 3 stranded THHN wires (L1, L2 and neutral) and a ground in 1.5 inch conduit. Steve __________________ consulting on geothermal heating/cooling & rational energy use since 1990

12-02-16, 12:57 PM	#44
bennelson Home-Wrecker Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: SE Wisconsin Posts: 546 Thanks: 3 Thanked 165 Times in 96 Posts	Got the front on. It's a 16" tall micro-laminate beam that spans the whole front of the garage. One thing I can say, it's HEAVY! __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

12-02-16, 01:23 PM	#45
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,930 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	That is a sweet looking beam. No above door sagging for your garage. If you don’t mind me asking how much did that beam cost? __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

12-02-16, 05:59 PM	#47
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,930 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	No big deal I was just curious because I built my greenhouse last year. I could have used a 24’ beam like that one. I ended up building my own with two 4 x 10 and ply wood glued and screwed together. Then I supported it ½ in the middle. If I bought a beam like yours I could have done away with the center support. No Mater what that is a good looking beam. __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

12-02-16, 10:21 PM	#48
bennelson Home-Wrecker Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: SE Wisconsin Posts: 546 Thanks: 3 Thanked 165 Times in 96 Posts	The center column isn't really a matter of support for the beam. What it really does is break up the opening into two doors instead of one. Having two doors greatly increases my flexibility. For example, I could glaze in one door and set it up like a greenhouse for the winter - letting the sunlight in, while still being able to open and close the door. At the same time, the OTHER door can open and close for pulling a car in and out. I don't know what it is, but for whatever reason, I've gotten an awful lot of ODDLY NEGATIVE comments on Facebook, Youtube, etc, for having two garage doors instead of one. In my area, multi-car garages tend to have a mix of one large door or two smaller doors. Perhaps in some other areas, it's most common to have one large door? People tend to like and defend what they have and are used to. I've always lived at places with twin garage doors and haven't seen an advantage to one large one. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

11-29-16, 08:40 AM	#42
natethebrown Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: North Alabama Posts: 167 Thanks: 0 Thanked 40 Times in 20 Posts	For your lighting arrangement, I have a suggestion. My suggestion comes from how I use my garage. Often, I just need a little bit of illumination in the entire garage to find something, then I leave. When I am actually doing work in the garage, I turn on more lights. I agree to having all of the lights on two different circuits, but from my perspective I would change it slightly. Here is the layout I would recommend (imagine your lights are like an Excel Spreadsheet with your North West light = A1 and South East light = C4): Circuit 1 (Primary) - A1-A4, C1, and C4. Circuit 2 (Secondary - additional work illumination) - B1-B4, C2, and C3. This would allow you to move around your entire garage (assuming your East wall has some sort of storage/scrap wood piles/scrap metal piles) without turning on the second circuit. Again, this is just my suggestion based on how I use my garage.

12-03-16, 07:53 AM	#50
stevehull Steve Hull Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: hilly, tree covered Arcadia, OK USA Posts: 826 Thanks: 241 Thanked 165 Times in 123 Posts	Pinball - you can now order gluelam beams with a built in camber. You specify the center static load and they build in and set the camber height during fabrication so when the load is applied the beam is flat as a laser beam. In one case, I figured the static load wrong and had to "pull it down" with some weights to get it flat. Once in place and braced, it maybe arched back up 1/8 th inch with my extra load removed. But a 35 long beam!! Far cheaper than a steel "I" beam and easier to work with. But HEAVY! One of my silly workers once put one in upside down - so you need to put it is arch up! About 10% more than a standard gluelam beam. Steve __________________ consulting on geothermal heating/cooling & rational energy use since 1990