DISCLAIMER The following info are changes that were made to our equipment and for our reference only. Do not attempt to make any changes to your equipment. Only certified technicians with the proper skills are permitted to make changes to equipment. STEP 1: Unlock The Parameters 1) Press Emergency stop. 2) Press the SETNG/GRAPH key. 3) Type 7 then press the down arrow. 4) Use the Left or Right Arrow to change to OFF. 5) When OFF is shown press WRITE/ENTER. STEP 2: Change The Parameter Settings 1) Press PARAM/DGNOS key. 2) Enter 131. 3) Press down arrow. 4) Change parameter 131 from 4000 to 6000 and press WRITE/ENTER. 5) Enter 183. 6) Press down arrow. 7) Change parameter 183 from what it is (13333) to 20000, and press WRITE/ENTER. The spindle should now run up to 6000 RPM. NOTE: Make sure to break in the spindle at the higher speeds by running it for a while. Start with the regular warm up to 4000 RPM, and then increase by 10% increments for a few hours until you reach 6000 RPM.

DISCLAIMER: The following info are my notes about modifying the power input on the NEST fire alarm. Do not attempt this at home. It could cause a malfunction of the fire alarm and injury or death if there is a fire. NEST Protect Fire Alarm uses expensive AA Lithium batteries that need to be changed every 1-2 years. It will not accept regular AA batteries, or rechargeable batteries. This is very annoying, not solely due to the cost of the batteries, but more so the maintenance frequency required especially if you have many of these fire alarms and not to mention any other wireless home automation or alarm systems that require occasional battery replacement. I end up feeling like I'm spending all my time replacing batteries. The marketing tells you that the battery is in these devices last two to five years, which sounds fine. The reality is that when you have a lot of these devices that consume power at different rates and have different battery change intervals you start to have to replace batteries all the time. There is a model of the NEST protect fire alarm that plugs into the AC system and still has a battery backup. But from what I can tell the battery backup still requires non rechargeable lithium batteries, which means that they will be need to be replaced at some point. I would like the nest protect fire alarm to plug into the AC power and have a rechargeable battery backup. The nest protect fire alarm requires lithium batteries because it wants a very stable 4.5 volts. It uses six lithium batteries but they are wired as two sets in parallel of three batteries and series for an output of 4.5 volts. Four nickel metal hydride rechargeable batteries have a nominal voltage of 4.8 volts. Float charging NiMH for extended periods of time is generally not recommended, but the expectation is always that the flow charge is at the max charge voltage. If you float charge the nickel metal hydride battery below its max charge voltage it can be done indefinitely with no negative effect on the battery. The downside is that the battery will never reach full capacity. However this is acceptable in the application of a battery backup system for a device that has very low power consumption. Charging a NiMH battery to 1.2V will only reach 40-50% of it's capacity. A constant voltage buck converter can be used to charge the NiMH battery to 1.2V per cell (4.8V for the 4 pack). Most buck converters require a 1.5V minimum difference between the input and output. That would mean that a voltage supply would need to be a minimum of 6.3V, which is more inconvenient than being able to use a ubiquitous 5V USB power supply. Buck Converters Mini 360 DC-DC Buck Converter Step Down Module MP2307 4.75V-23V to 1V-17V Since 4.8 volts is so close to 5 volts, a USB power adapter that outputs a constant 5 volts could be used to charge the batteries to 1.25 volts per cell, which is still far below the max charge voltage. REFERENCE INFO Float Charger For NiMH Cells Charging NiMH battery methods Charging NiMH at a constant voltage

I needed a hydraulic shop press for many uses. Force testing vs displacement on some rubber samples. Pressing and forming PEM nut threaded inserts into sheet metal Bending sheet metal Pressing in pins. Pushing out pins. One thing I would like to be able to do is to pull on samples to test to failure. I could find or modify this press with a double-acting hydraulic cylinder. The way this hydraulic press is designed, the head with cylinder can be flipped upside down with the cylinder extending upwards. A steel frame can be made to hang down from the cylinder piston, allowing samples to be pulled apart. I looked at all the 20-ton floor-standing hydraulic presses that use a hydraulic cylinder that is independent from the pump and reservoir (does not use a bottle jack). Selection Criteria Necessary Requirements Floor standing At least 20 ton capacity Independent cylinder (No bottle jack) Adjustable cylinder head position left/right Air operated in addition to handle/foot operated. Air allows the cylinder to be moved significantly faster. Would Be Nice Hydraulic cylinder is dual action. It can be retracted with an equal amount of force. If dual action hydraulic cylinder is not available, then it should be possible/easy to flip the cylinder head upside down. BLACK WIDOW 20T AIR OPERATED HYDRAULIC PRESS by Discount Ramps I chose the Black Widow 20 Ton air operated hydraulic press. It appeared well made and reasonably priced. It didn't come with any accessories, but it appears to be the same as models sold by OEMTOOLS and Redline Engineering WHERE TO BUY BLACK WIDOW 20T AIR OPERATED HYDRAULIC PRESS DIMENSIONS THE GOOD Very solid and well made frame. The hydraulic components appear to be well made and good quality. The air powered pump works well, especially for rapidly extending the cylinder. The force gauge is large, easy to read and appears to work well. The graduation spacing is small. THE BAD (Room For Improvement) NOTE! Although the bad list is longer than the good list, I'm mainly nitpicking on details that could be improved. There's nothing that affects the functionality of the press. Other presses in this price range will have similar issues. The packaging was terrible. The boxes were barely holding together, but fortunately, I'm surprised that the more sensitive parts didn't get damaged. Most of the parts are heavy metal, so at those just got scratches and nicks in the paint. The force gauge was close to death but survived. The instructions don't indicate screw sizes on the diagram. You have to figure that out yourself. The cylinder slides around too easily on the upper beam. It needs some way to lock it in place. The cylinder mounting block hangs down a few mm from the rail, so after contacting the workpiece, you still have to extend a few more pumps before the force begins to be applied. Adding some screws on the top side of the mount above the rail to pull the mounting plate against the bottom of the rail will fix this and the cylinder sliding issue. The pump handle stays in the pump when released, but falls out easily if bumped or the pressure is released. This is dangerous as it can feel and hit you. I get that leaving the handle in place is dangerous because it is long, sticks out far and so it's easy to run into it, but they need to figure out a better solution. The spring clips for the table support pins are goofy. They pop off easy and shoot off, so they will be easy to lose. They should have included extras. The table is loose on the column. It would be nice if it could clamp to the upright legs to prevent the table from moving around as you are using it. ACCESSORIES Shop Press Pin Set I bought the OEM TOOLS Shop Press Pin Set. It's a modular system that allows you to quick change the diameter of the press pin. Also comes with a base with holes for each pin. WHERE TO BUY PIN SET OEM TOOLS Shop Press Pin Set Each pin diameter has a specific tonnage force that should not be exceeded. It also came with a thick punch plate with holes sized for the pins and marking their max tonnage design force. Redline sells an identical looking asset for more money. Redline also sells individual pins, so pins can be modified and replaced easily. UPGRADES, MODS and IMPROVEMENTS Clamp The Cylinder To Prevent It From Sliding Install a sheet metal plate under the bottom plate, and another over the top beam. Use 3/8 threaded rods to clamp the hydraulic press assembly to the rail. One threaded rod on each side should be enough. Tabs To Prevent Table From Falling Off Pins When Raising Or Lowering The table assembly bolts are mounted in a diagonal pattern. This design allows the table to be removed from the frame by lifting up one end, rotating the table vertically until it is free from the legs and can be removed from the frame. The table is not terribly heavy and can be lifted and held in place while the pins are moved. However it is unwieldy, so holding it steady while you're moving the pins is challenging without help. The easiest way to raise or lower the table is to tilt it up an angle such that it pivots on top of the pin at the stationary end until the other end reaches the next hole. The risk here is that the end that's sitting on top of the pin slides off the pin, and the table falls if not held properly. Adding some tabs the prevented the table from sliding off the pins would solve this problem. Add A Foot Pedal Air Valve It's tricky and slightly dangerous to try to operate the air pressure switch and hold the piece being pressed in place at the same time. A foot pedal-operated air valve would make things much easier. I bought and am using this foot pedal and it works awesome! I left the hand switch inline after the foot pedal to act as a safety switch. The hand switch has a lock to keep it on. WHERE TO BUY Pneumatic Air Foot Valve This foot pedal has a 2-way output. It has a normally open output and normally closed. They are labeled A and B. The air input is labeled P. Output B needs to be plugged to prevent air from leaking when not pressed. Adding A Digital Pressure Gauge The included gauge is nice, but the resolution is low. Each line is one ton, so it's not a useful measurement gauge for precision use. I found a 10,000 psi digital gauge that displays pressure which can be used to calculate the force applied if the cylinder bore diameter is known. This pressure gauge will provide higher accuracy and resolution. WHERE TO BUY DIGITAL HIGH PRESSURE GAUGE Buy 10,000 PSI Digital Gauge on Amazon This gauge has a G1/4 thread, which is 1/4 BSPP (British Standard Pipe Parallel) The hydraulic press pump outlet is 1/4in NPT female. The first fitting is a 90 degree 1/4in NPT male to male fitting. The hose from the pump to the cylinder has a 1/4in NPT female fitting on the pump side. In order to attach this pressure gauge, I will need a T piece with 1/4 NPT male inlet to 2 female outlet. A hose with 1/4 NPT male fitting and on the pressure gauge side, a 1/4 NPT fitting with a 1/4 NPT to female G1/4 adapter. It is difficult to find 1/4in NPT hydraulic fittings that have a 10,000 psi rating. In fact it appears that the thread/pipe hole diameter itself might be a limiting factor to the max pressure. This company in the UK has 10kpsi rated fittings https://www.steerforth.co.uk/high-pressure-hydraulic-piece-fittings-p-4266.html These fittings are rated to 15kpsi. https://hosesolutions.org/hose-adapters/high-pressure/ TABLE LIFT The table is not very heavy, but it is unwieldy to raise and lower. More expensive hydraulic presses include a winch to raise and lower the table. If the hydraulic press has a stationary cylinder or uses a jack-style cylinder, it's easy to add a cable winch, with the cable coming out both ends of the winch, passing over pulleys at the top corners, and going down to the ends of the table. That way both ends of the table can be lifted evenly. The Black Widow hydraulic press design makes it a little more tricky to position the winch because the cylinder slides back and forth. So the winch needs to be mounted at the top edge, or on the vertical legs. A strap hand winch will be the easiest to add on because it won't require running a cable over pulleys or rollers. Mount the winch at the top of one of the legs. Pass the strap inside one leg, down to the table and under both table cross bolts, and up the other leg interior and hook it onto the top of the leg. Watch this video to see how I mounted it and how well it works. The only issue with mounting it on the side upright is that the handle interferes with the top crossbar. The axle that the handle is attached to needs to be extended to allow the handle to clear the top crossbar. One way to do this is to weld an extended nut (like a coupler nut) onto the handle axle and weld an extended socket on the handle. Then the handle can also be easily removed when not in use. I discovered that it is even easier to mount the winch such that the handle is on the side and there are no clearance issues. The strap has to twist 90 degrees to pass under the table, but no issues with that either. WHERE TO BUY WINCH 600LB Boat Trailer Winch with Black Polyster Strap Some winches have ratcheting handles, which won't interfere with the top frame crossbeam. This winch is available at Harbor Freight, and I haven't found anything similar with a ratcheting handle on Amazon. The downside to the ratcheting handle is that it will be much slower to operate than the normal handle. If your hydraulic press has parts that interfere with the strap routing, then you can also use a cable winch, but you will need to add pulleys or rollers at every bend. Synthetic winch rope can be used as a substitute for metal cable, as long as nice radiuses are added to all corners and edges for the rope to slide over without causing any damage to it. Adding Caster Wheels The feet have holes in them for bolting the hydraulic press to the ground. I doubt most people will do that, especially if they ever want to move it around. Some shop spaces are dynamic and equipment has to move around depending on the project. My favorite caster wheels for heavy equipment that also need to be very solid when stationary are Foot Master leveling casters. I've used these on my Southbend lathe and other shop tools for years. The wheels don't get flat. The rubber feet work great, but the extension/retraction mechanism could use improvement. It's annoying to use, hurts your fingers, and so it makes you not want to use them often. I haven't tried the ratcheting version, but they are supposedly better. In general they are better suited for heavy equipment that rarely gets moved, not something that you want to take out and put away every time you use it. WHERE TO BUY FOOT MASTER GD-80-F-NYN Leveling Caster, 63 mm Nylon 66 Wheel Cheaper 60F size clone with ratchet To support the casters, another piece of angle iron will need to be added to the feet. The angle iron should be bolted back to back such that it makes a wider platform to attach the caster wheels, and the spine is in the center. The added height and floor contact offset (from the end of the angle iron) decrease the stability of the already top-heavy hydraulic. Another caster option is retractable caster wheels. These usually have a foot lever that raises and lowers the caster. There are many inexpensive options of these on Amazon, but the quality is questionable. The one that appears to be the highest quality is sold by BORA. Here's an example from an Amazon review about how they added retractable caster wheels to their hydraulic press. This specific model of retractable casters also has a quick-release feature, but that makes it weaker than non-quick-release mount models. This is the BORA brand retractable caster solution. The casters must be mounted fairly high, which requires an extended mounting bracket for the hydraulic press legs. I may replace the bottom leg angle with a larger angle. Another flaw with any of these style casters is that unless the caster mount is perfectly level, the caster will want to swivel outwards and attempt to track in a straight line vs following the motion. FOOT PEDAL MANUAL PUMP Some hydraulic presses have manual foot pedal pumps, and the concept is pretty simple. The advantage of the foot pumps is a hands-free method to apply pressure, that way you can have both hands free to control the part being pressed. The foot pedal pivots on the side of the frame and a linkage goes up to the hydraulic hand pump. This foot pump could be made from simple sheet metal parts. TO BE CONTINUED... how How To Pull With a Hydraulic Press I 7 How To Modify Hydraulic Pump Handle

The APEC RO-90 reverse osmosis filter system has been working wonderfully for the past 2 years. This is a long-overdue pre-filter replacement, but since the sediment in our water is pretty low, the flow is still good enough for general use. The pressure had dropped enough that the storage tank would only hold about 2 gallons instead of 4-5 gallons. The TDS (total dissolved solids) was still very low, so the RO membrane filter is functioning well, so the pressure drop is likely being caused by the clogged pre-filters. ▼ WHERE TO BUY ▶ APEC RO-90 Standard 5 stage ▶ APEC RO-HI (High Flow version of RO-90, larger tubing between storage tank and faucet) ▶ APEC RO-90 Pre Filter Kit ▶ APEC RO-90 All Filters Kit (minus PH+ Alkalinity) ▶ APEC RO-90 FILTER-MAX-PH Complete Replacement Filter Set for ULTIMATE Series ▶ APEC RO-90 FI-PHPLUS-QC Alkalinity pH+ Calcium Carbonate ▼ VISIT OUR WEBSITE ▶ Products we make: https://soulbuilt.us ▶ Engineering: https://www.engineerable.com ▼ FOLLOW US ON: ▶ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soul.built/ ▶ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soulbuilt.us APEC RO90 Filter Replacement after 2 years DISCLAIMER The products shown here were purchased by me with the intent to use them. I did not receive any free items, and I am not being paid or compensated for this review. The video, description, and comments may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link, I may receive a commission. Money earned helps to support my channel and bring you more informative videos about engineering, crafting, and DIY.

I love Dyson cordless vacuum cleaners, but hate their poor battery life, especially after about 1-2 years of use, the original battery no longer lasts long enough to finish cleaning. It would be nice if Dyson had made the batteries quick change like cordless drill batteries, but for reasons unknown (probably to make more money and sell you a new vacuum) they chose to hold the batteries in with screws. In this video I show how to use a clip I designed to securely hold the battery in without screws, and make it easy to change the battery. It's as quick as changing a cordless power tool battery. ▼ WHERE TO DOWNLOAD DESIGN FILE FOR 3D PRINTING: ▶ DYSON V6 Model: https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/home/dyson-v6-quick-change-battery-clip ▶ DYSON V7 Model: https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/home/dyson-v7-quick-change-battery-clip ▶ DYSON V8 Model: https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/home/dyson-v8-quick-change-battery-clip ▼ WHERE TO BUY (Supports this channel): ▶ DYSON V6 Model- https://www.shapeways.com/product/AEA825GNW/dyson-v6-quick-change-battery-clip ▶ DYSON V7 Model - https://www.shapeways.com/product/XD4NEXRAR/dyson-v7-quick-change-battery-clip ▼ CHAPTERS 00:00 Quick Change Battery Clip Intro 00:13 Removing the Dyson V6 battery 00:49 3D Printed Clip to retain battery 01:21 Installing the Dyson battery clip 01:37 Removing the Dyson battery with clip 01:54 Advantages of using Dyson batteries 02:22 Does the wall charging dock still work? ▼ VISIT OUR WEBSITE ▶ Products we make: https://soulbuilt.us ▶ Engineering: https://www.engineerable.com ▼ FOLLOW US ON: ▶ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soul.built/ ▶ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soulbuilt.us DISCLAIMER: The products shown here were purchased by me with the intent to use them. I did not receive any free items, and I am not being paid or compensated for this review. The video, description, and comments may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link, I may receive a commission. Money earned helps to support my channel and bring you more informative videos about engineering, crafting, and DIY.

There aren't any other bikes like the ECOTRIC DOLPHIN. It's the lightest, folding, step through, electric, fat bike that I was able to find, and turns out to also be one of the least expensive. WHERE TO BUY ECOTRIC Dolphin Ebike (White) ECOTRIC Dolphin Ebike (Black) The bike will be long term tested by my aunt who wants to be able to ride faster to keep up with her friends in group rides. She also wants to be able to ride the bike on the beach. Living in Florida, there are a lot of sandy areas that benefit from fast tires. The bike needs to be as light as possible in order for her to be able to lift it into her car trunk hatch. She will be using and doing longer term reviews of this ebike. Updates will be posted every few months. What's The Problem With 20in Folding Fat E-bikes? The problem with most 20in fat tire e-bikes is that they are loaded down with unnecessary accessories and features and end up weighing up to 85 lbs. Most have a front suspension fork, which are cheap quality and add very little benefit and will soon wear out and lock up. You don't need a suspension fork for Florida flatland and beach riding, especially with fat tires. It was incredibly difficult to find a fat tire, folding, step through, 20" ebike without a front suspension. In fact the ECOTRIC Dolphin was the only one I found that had a rigid fork. Some have rear suspension, which is also unnecessary for the type of riding that my aunt will be doing. The fat tires will provide a lot of suspension. A suspension seatpost can also be added, which is lighter than a rear bike suspension. Many fat tire E-bikes come with front and rear racks. These are great if you plan to carry cargo, but they add unnecessary weight to the bike if you don't use them, and the goal here is a bike that can be lifted easily into a car for transport, so we don't need racks. The racks also increase the folded size. Requirements Electric (torque sensing preferable, but not available in this price range) Folding (needs to fit in car trunk) Step Through or low top bar Lightweight Fat Tires (for riding on beach) Inexpensive The Looks As much as a step through, folding fat tire ebike can look good, this one does it with style. The fenders add some nice flair to the bike. The bike is available in black or white. I chose the white one for better visibility. The red rimstrips used in the wheels stand out and don't match the white/blue color scheme (but my aunt thought they were cool...). Some don't like the appearance of the visible battery behind the seatpost. Personally I don't care about that. It's held in securely, easy to remove, and probably easier to replace in the future since it is a generic design. The appearance of the bike was totally transformed by adding these whitewalled tires. The Riders Who is this bike ideal for? Any casual rider looking for an electric boost, a step through frame design, wide tires for ability to ride on the beach, folding design for portability, and a relatively lightweight ebike. If you don't need the ease of the step through frame, look for a bike with a regular frame. Step through frames compromise strength and stiffness for ease of mounting and dismounting the bike. This is the kind of bike that I see people riding at campgrounds, on the beach, and around town. This is the perfect bike for someone like my aunt, who needs a bike with a step through design that is light enough to lift into her SUV by herself, foldable to take up less space, and has fat tires for comfort and to ride on the beach. She would not have been able to lift anything heavier than this into her SUV, and most similar bikes weigh 80+ pounds. The Terrain This ebike is best suited for paved roads and paths, smooth gravel and dirt, and beaches and packed sand. It is not suitable for rough off-road use. The 20" fat tires soak up a lot of bumps and roughness in the road, but the frame is not designed for off-road use and lacks suspension to absorb off road terrain. The stock tires are knobby, which give it a mountain bike appearance, but don't let that make you think you can take it on mountain bike trails. Those knobby tires combined with this style frame are only good for loose gravel, dirt, mud or sandy surfaces. A smooth tire with low rolling resistance is much more appropriate for this style bike which is meant to be ridden on smooth surfaces. Read the tires section below for my recommendation. The Frame The frame has 2 unique aspects. It folds in half making the bike easy to transport, and it is a step through design. I selected this bike for both of those features. The bike had to fold to fit in the trunk of a car. Also my aunt has difficulty swinging her legs over the top tube of a regular bike, and so she needs a low clearance top tube like this step through design offers. The build quality of the frame is quite good. The welds look nice, there are extra gussets welded in several areas at connections to strengthen the frame. The Dimensions The adjustability of the seatpost and the handlebar height allow it to fit a range of riders. I'm 6'5", and I was not uncomfortable with the seat raised to the max height and the handle bars raised up to middle of their travel (they could go higher). The weirdest thing to me was the short crank arm length, which I'm not used to. However there is a current movement in biking to reduce the crank arm length, and a shorter crank arm length will feel more comfortable to riders shorter than me. For my aunt who is about 5'2", we had to drop the seatpost all the way down (which required removing the reflector attached to the seatpost). She only felt comfortable being able to have her feet flat on the ground without needing to lean the bike when stopped. Someone shorter could ride this if they felt comfortable being up on their toes or leaning the bike over some when off the pedals, as you would normally do on a properly fitted bike. The Motor The motor is an internally geared hubmotor with 500W output. It is branded by Ecotric, but it must be made by another manufacturer like Tongsheng or Bafang. Since the motor controller is Tongsheng brand, it is most likely that the motor is also Tongsheng. The Motor Controller The motor controller is a Tongsheng brand, 36V controller. The model is LCO3618C1H-TS23 and LCD-3618-UL The enclosure for the controller and excess wiring is directly under the battery. There's no sealing or gaskets around the wires entering the box or the door. After riding on some wet roads, there was moisture in the box that had come in through the wire holes. I used Alien Tape (which is useless tape for most other applications) to wrap around the wires and fill the gap between them and the hole in the enclosure, creating a good enough seal. I also used narrow strips around the top and side edges of the door, leaving the bottom unsealed. The Battery The battery is 36V, 12.5Ah (450Wh). I tested the capacity using a discharge test meter and measured 12.7Ah down to the 31V cut off. I was impressed that the measured capacity exceeded the rated capacity, as my experience with most low cost Li-ion batteries is that the manufacturer lies about the capacity, overrating them by up to 50%. Hopefully this honestly rated capacity is a good sign for the quality of the battery. I then continued the test down to 27.5V to see where the BMS would cut off. It did not cut off, and I didn't feel comfortable discharging any lower than that, so I stopped the test there. Hopefully the BMS would cut off at 25V minimum, and maybe the cut off is that low to take into account voltage sag while the motor is working hard. The battery has a key on it with several positions. Unlocked Off to remove the battery Locked Off (key is removable) - Battery is locked to frame, power is off. Locked One (key cannot be removed) - Battery is locked to frame, power to motor controller is on. The key does not come out in the locked ON (run) position, which makes me worried that it will get hit and break off. They do this so that the user will not lose the key and be unable to turn it off at the battery level. A lower profile key would be an improvement. Turning the key from the Unlocked to Off position requires pushing it in, but I noticed that the locking pin didn't align perfectly with the hole on the battery mount, so I had to lift the battery slightly to be able to turn the key and get it to lock. A light filing of the hole would solve this problem. My aunt had difficulty lifting the battery while turning the key to the locked Off position and it took her some practice to do so. This is definitely a manufacturing alignment issue that can be frustrating to use. The battery weighs 7.42 lbs. The battery measures 15in (381mm) long, 3in (76mm) wide (width of bike direction), and 4.5in (114mm) in depth (front to rear of bike direction) The battery uses an XLR style charging plug, common amongst these inexpensive ebikes. The charging port is covered by a simple rotating dust cover flap. Don't expect this to be watertight. Also looks like it will be easy to break the cover off by accident. The top of the battery has an LED indicator with push button for checking the battery capacity (note that this only works with the key in the ON position. The bottom of the battery has 2 electrical contacts that are recessed fairly deep to avoid shorts. There's also a fuse access covered by a rubber cap. Removing the rubber ebike batter fuse cap reveals a 40A fuse (it would take 1440W of power to blow this fuse). Under normal operating conditions, this fuse shouldn't blow. If this fuse ever blows, it's an indication that something is wrong downstream of the battery, like a short in the wiring or motor controller. Simply replacing the fuse isn't likely to help without addressing why so much current was being drawn. These are the specs written on the battery. The Charger The charger is a 42V, 2A (84W) charger. This means that it will take about (450Wh/84W)=5.36 hours to charge a fully depleted battery. The charger weighs The charger measures 6.5in (165mm) by 2.81in (72mm) by 1.94in (49mm). The input AC cable measures 58in (1.473m) The output DC cable measures 44.5in (1.131m) The Controls The controller has a basic LCD readout, which is actually nice because it's small, unlike some of the ridiculously huge displays on some E-bikes. The controller is mounted on the left side of the handlebar with the buttons on the left. It has 3 buttons. THE CENTER BUTTON The center turns the power on and off by holding it for a few seconds. Once turned on, quick pressing the center button changes the bottom part of the display between Trip Distance, ODO, and Trip Time THE TOP BUTTON Quick pressing the top button increases the pedal assist level. Pressing and holding it for a few seconds will turn on and off the headlight. THE BOTTOM BUTTON Quick pressing the bottom button decreases the pedal assist level. Pressing and holding it will turn on walk mode. Walk mode is too fast on the flats and you'll be quickly jogging to keep up with the bike, and so they should have called it drag mode. However you probably wouldn't need walk mode for the flats, and therefore it's intended for walking the bike up hills, where it slows down enough to keep up with it. I didn't have any issues with the buttons and the user interface, but it is not user friendly. There are no instructions on the bike about the button functions. People that were unfamiliar with E-bikes had difficulty remembering what the buttons did and how to use it. READOUTS: PAS (5 Levels), Speed, Distance, Battery Level, Time DRIVE MODE: Pedal Assist, Throttle, Walk Mode The throttle is a twist style throttle mounted on the right side of the handlebar. The current pedal assist level (0-5) determines the max speed that the throttle will accelerate to. A partial turn of the throttle prior to starting pedalling will smoothly accelerate to a percentage of the max speed at the currently set assist level. The throttle can be twisted to adjust the speed. However, if you pedal first and then twist the throttle, it will accelerate to the max speed level of that assist level. To reset to throttle speed control, you will have to stop pedaling, coast, release the throttle, and partially twist the throttle again to a set speed. Be careful when the bike is powered on and at any setting level other than 0 (1-5), because accidentally twisting the throttle will cause the bike to surge or leap forward unexpectedly. It's best practice to turn the setting down to 0, or turn off the bike when stopped. It takes about 1/2 a turn of the cranks for the motor to start up. Pulling either brake lever will disengage the motor power even before the brakes are applied. Slightly pulling the brake lever while pedaling away from a start is a great way to smoothly take off if you don't want the motor to accelerate you quickly. The Gears There are 7 speeds on the rear hub and 1 chainring in the front (7x1) for a total of 7 speeds. If you need to change the gear range, you can buy a new freewheel with a different range. Range? The Shifters Shimano SIS Index Thumb Shifter (Right) The rear derailleur has a cage around it. This is nice for protecting it when the bike falls over. It also protects the motor cable. The Crank Arms I find the crank arms to be too short, but that may be personal preference because I'm so tall. The crank arms are only 150mm long, while I'm used to 170mm cranks on mountain bikes. Someone shorter may find the crank arms to be the perfect length. I feel like I'm riding a kids bike. The Q factor of the crank arms is unnecessarily wide. It appears that the crank arms were designed to clear the frame chain stays on a 26in fat bike. But the chainstays on this 20in fat bike are far away from the cranks because the wheel is smaller and the battery between the seat tube and wheel extends the distance from the bottom bracket to rear wheel. Narrower cranks could be used. The Pedals The pedals are nothing to write home about. They are generic folding pedals and the platform surface area is small. I would like to see a pedal with more surface area, which will be more comfortable under foot. I dislike the generic folding pedals because they don't fold down very much at all, maybe only half the original pedal length. Replacing the pedals with some nice wide and long platform pedals for BMX or MTB will really improve the comfort. The Seat The seat is nothing to write home about, nor is it terrible. It's a wide, decent seat for a casual rider. The seatpost is aluminum. The seat and seatpost combo weigh 2.06lbs. It would be nice if the seat had a quick folding mechanism that allowed it to fold up and forward to clear the way for removing the battery. With the stock seatpost, the quick release seat post collar must be loosened and the seat/seatpost removed before the battery can be removed. Here's an example of a folding seatpost. The Tires The stock tires are Chao Yang 20” x 4” which can be inflated to 20PSI (1.4 Bar) and the tubes have a schrader valve. The tires are OK if you need the grip provided by the knobby tread, which is like a mountain bike tire tread. However they are loud on the pavement, and inefficient, so your range will be reduced. The skin of these tires is very thin below the level of the knobs, which keeps the tires relatively lightweight, but means that it will be more flexible, have higher rolling resistance, and easier to puncture than a tire with thicker tread. Replacing the tires with smoother ones will make the ebike quieter and extend the range of the battery. The 4in wide fat tires offer a lot of grip without the need for a knobby offroad style tread. An excellent tire choice is the VEE Tires Speedster 20” x 4”. This tires have a smoother profile for lower rolling resistance but still offer lots of grip. They are designed for electric bikes. Also available with a whitewall appearance, which will look cool on this white frame bike. WHERE TO BUY: Two Vee Tire 20x4.0 White Wall Speedster Bike Tires E-Bike 50 Rated with Endurance Compound The new tires were immediately noticeably smoother and required less effort to pedal without the motor assisting. With motor assist, they were much quieter, and the bike went faster at an assist setting vs the stock knobby tires. There are much cheaper copies of the Veetire Speedster, but don't trust the quality. MAKELEN Fat Bike Tire 20"x4" The Brakes The first thing I noticed about the brakes was that they were backwards compared to any other bike I have ever ridden. The rear brake is on the left and the front is on the right (moto style). It takes some getting used to, but due to the weight of the bike it is a bit irrelevant. I did notice that my tendancy to use the right brake (rear) first makes the braking appear way stronger, because I'm actually braking the front which has much more traction. The brakes are mechanical disc brakes (CSTAR Mechanical Brake Calipers) with 160mm discs. Pretty standard quality and stop really well. However they were not well adjusted out of the box. I could pull the brake levers all the way to the handlebars without getting full braking power. Using the barrel adjusters on the brake lever and calipers to tighten the cable was easy and sufficient to adjust the brakes for full brake power. However it really needs a full front and rear brake tuning to properly adjust the brakes and reduce squeeling. The brakes were a bit noisy, which is usually a sign of improper adjustment. It would be nice if the brakes were properly adjusted out of the box, but most bikes I have unboxed rarely are. Even high end bikes sold at a bike shop usually need a tech to tune the brakes before it goes into the showroom floor. Most riders struggle with brake adjustment, but fortunately there are instructions and videos avaliable online. I'll be publishing some. The Brake Levers The brake levers are large, somewhere between bike levers and motorcycle levers. I've seen the same levers used on several bikes. They are large, and best suited for large hands, because unfortunately there is no way to adjust the distance to the handlebars. That means that small hands have to really stretch their fingers to reach the brakes. Most bike brake levers have an adjustment that adjusts the distance between the brake lever and handlebar. That makes it easy to adjust for different size hands. Unfortunately that adjustment feature is missing from these brakes, and I think the reason is because of the motor cutoff switch. They way it's designed doesn't allow the switch to be adjusted with the lever. The brake lever distance was fine for my large hands. My aunt said it wasn't a problem for her, but I could tell that she had to stretch her fingers and reposition her hand to pull on the brake, which doesn't look safe to me. The Suspension You are the suspension (there is none 😂). But seriously, the use case for a bike like this doesn't require a suspension. This bike will be used on roads, smooth gravel trails and sandy beaches. The 4in wide fat tires will be effective at providing a smooth ride and floating over uneven and soft ground. A suspension fork or rear suspension would add unnecessary weight to this ebike. If a rear suspension is desired, a suspension seatpost like Cane Creek Thudbuster can be added to the bike, but you need a few inches of seatpost height to use one, which won't work if you have the seatpost bottomed out. The Fenders The fenders are a nice touch, and add a bit of flair to the bike. They do add some protection from water spray when riding on wet surfaces and through puddles, but they are not long enough to stop all water spray, especially the rear fender. The rear fender is too short, and as a result, water sprays up at your butt and back. It should be much longer to cover the angle at which water could spray up on your back. This Himiway brand electric fat bike is an example of a rear fender of appropriate length to prevent water from spraying up at your butt and back. The front fender is effective at preventing water and mud from being sprayed upwards at your body or into your face, which would otherwise happen on a fenderless bike. The front fender does not keep water off your feet, but neither would the Himiway front fender. Extras The Ecotric Dolphin is a low frills bike, so there aren't many extras, which is nice to keep the weight down. It does have nice fenders on the front and rear to prevent water, mud, sand from getting sprayed up on you as you ride. There are mounting points for a rear rack should you choose to add one. There is a cage that protects the derailleur and the motor cable that goes into the axle. This cage is a nice feature because it will prevent the derailleur and motor cable from getting damaged when the bike is inevitably dropped or falls on that side. It's easy to damage a derailleur or bend the derailleur hanger out of alignment. Once that happens it will cause the shifter to skip gears. The Portability The Ecotric Dolphin frame folds in half, positioning the front and rear wheels next to each other. The handle bar folds down next to the frame. The seat can be lowered or removed. There's no latch that holds the frame together when folded. A strap or bungee will be a great helpt to keep the frame folded while moving it. The seatpost has a quick release to easily remove the seat and seatpost. Then the battery can be pulled out. This reduces the bikes weight by 10lbs, making it easier to lift in and out of vehicle. The Verdict So far, I've been super impressed by the quality and power of this bike. It's everything that I was looking for. MAKE: Ecotric MODEL: Dolphin PRICE: $699 USD BODY POSITION: Upright SUGGESTED USE: Neighborhood, Urban, Light Trails ELECTRIC BIKE CLASS: Class 2 WARRANTY: 1.5 Years AVAILABILITY: United States (With UL-Certification) MODEL YEAR: 2021 TOTAL WEIGHT: 41.41lbs (Without Battery) BATTERY WEIGHT: 7.78lbs SHIPPING WEIGHT (WITH BOX AND PACKAGING): 65.6 lbs MOTOR BRAND: Ecotric Branded MOTOR TYPE: Rear-Hub Geared Motor MOTOR NOMINAL OUTPUT: 500 watts BATTERY VOLTAGE: 36 Volts BATTERY AMP HOURS: 12.5 BATTERY WATT HOURS: 450 BATTERY CHEMISTRY: Lithium-ion CHARGE TIME: 6 hours ESTIMATED MIN RANGE: 15 Miles ESTIMATED MAX RANGE: 23 Miles DISPLAY TYPE: LCD READOUTS: PAS (5 Levels), Speed, Distance, Battery Level, Time DRIVE MODE: Pedal Assist, Throttle, Walk Mode TOP SPEED: 20 MPH FRAME MATERIAL: 6061 Aluminum Alloy GEOMETRY MEASUREMENTS: 17" Reach, 15.5" Stand Over Height, 21.5" Minimum Saddle Height, 30.5" Maximum Saddle Height, 24" Width, 49" Wheel Base, 65" Length Folded Dimensions 36"x28"x21" FRAME COLORS: White, Black ATTACHMENT POINTS: Fender Bosses, Rear Rack Bosses GEARING DETAILS: 7 Speed 1x7 Shimano SHIFTER DETAILS: Shimano SIS Index Thumb Shifter (Right) CRANKS: 150mm Unbranded PEDALS: Plastic Folding Pedals HANDLEBAR: 24" Wide, Folding Front Stem BRAKE DETAILS: 160mm Discs, CSTAR Mechanical Brake Calipers GRIPS: Rubber Ergonomic Grips, Non-Locking SADDLE: Unbranded Wide Plush TIRE BRAND: Chao Yang WHEEL SIZES: 20” x 4” TIRE DETAILS: 20PSI (1.4 Bar) TUBE DETAILS: Schrader Valve ACCESSORIES: Front and Rear Fenders, Front Reflector, Rear Reflector, Bell, Class 2 Sticker OTHER: Locking Removable Battery Pack, 1.7lb Standard Charger, Max Total Weight 265 lbs Beach Cruiser Dolphin Class 2 Budget Folding Foldable Ebike Electric Bike 500w

If you have an RV fridge that needs a new gasket, but the manufacturer no longer makes spare parts for it, you will need to get it custom made. I have a Dometic Coolmatic RPD-0110U that is 15+ years old, and could not find a replacement gasket for it anywhere. The original gasket has become hard and brittle, and no longer seals well (there are some gaps that a piece of paper will pass through). I contacted Domestic, and they told me that first of all my fridge is a European model not sold in the US (I bought it new in eBay shipped from US seller). Then they sent the parts drawings, but the gasket was not on there. When I pointed that out, they said that the door and gasket are sold as one unit, you can't just buy the gasket. So, my solution is to get a custom gasket made. BareRefrigeration.com makes custom fridge gaskets. However you need to know what style gasket profile you have, and find a replacement one that closely matches it. Thickness of the gasket is the most important feature, and whether the gasket has the magnet inside it. Fortunately, they sell a Sample Gasket Ring kit that allows you to test to see what gasket profile most closely matches the one you have. Buy the Sample Ring Kit. Determine which gasket profile you need. Measure the existing gasket outer dimensions. Order the gasket through https://www.barefrigeration.com Santoprene VS PVC Gasket Bare Refrigeration offres gaskets in Santoprene or PVC. If possible, select Santoprene, because it is a higher quality material. Santoprene gaskets are longer lasting and more durable than our standard PVC gaskets. Santoprene gaskets can withstand temperatures ranging from -50° to 275° degrees fahrenheit (compared to -20° to 150° degrees fahrenheit for PVC gaskets).

In this video, I show how to assemble and review the COMGROW 3D Printer Enclosure Protective Cover Tent. I specifically bought it to use with the Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro 3D printer, but it should work with just about any printer that is of similar size or smaller, like the very popular Creality Ender 3 3D printer series. The Neptune 3 Pro has a 225 x 225 x 280 mm build volume, which I would say is close to the max build volume for a 3D printer that will comfortably fit within this COMGROW enclosure. WHERE TO BUY: COMGROW 3D Printer Enclosure WHERE TO BUY PRINTER: ELEGOO Neptune 3 Pro 3D Printer ELEGOO Neptune 4 Pro 3d Printer WHERE TO BUY FILAMENT: DURAMIC 3D PLA Plus Filament 1.75mm DURAMIC 3D TPU Filament 1.75mm Polymaker ASA Filament 1.75mm Black, 1kg ASA 3D Printer Filament, Heat & Weather Resistant INTERNAL DIMENSIONS: EXTERNAL DIMENSIONS: 21''x 24.9''x 29.5'' THE GOOD Well made Strong stainless steel frame Easy to assemble Good quality fabric and stitching Fiberglass fabric is fire resistant Good zipper Fits printer well Adds some insulation. Definitely warmer inside than ambient room temperature. Lightweight NEEDS IMPROVEMENT Could use an actual layer of insulation to keep the interior even warmer Zippers are a little annoying to use. A door with magnetic quick closure would be nice. They should have coated the fiberglass on the inside too. Exposed fiberglass is not good to handle (hence the gloves for assembly) or breathe.

The Apple AirTag is great for keeping track of or tracking things. It has a speaker that notifies you of its location by making sounds. Lots of people want to use air tags to help track stolen items like bikes, bags, luggage, etc, but stealth is paramount so the thief can't just find and disable the AirTag. So the speaker needs to be disabled to make it more difficult to find the AirTag. Here's how you can do that without breaking any tabs or needing to use glue to reassemble. That means this tag van easily be taken apart in the future again. AirTags can only be used for tracking personal property. it is illegal to use them to track people or others property. WHERE TO BUY Apple AirTag Apple Airtag 4 Pack DISCLAIMER The products shown here were purchased by me with the intent to use them. I did not receive any free items, and I am not being paid or compensated for this review. The video, description, and comments may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link, I may receive a commission. Money earned helps to support my channel and bring you more informative videos about engineering, crafting, and DIY.

This beach shade design is supported by poles inserted into the ground and therefore does not need a sandbag and cord in front to hold it up. Using an 11ft by 9ft beach blanket provides up to 100 square feet of shade. To hold it in the sand, I used 2 beach umbrella lower poles from beach umbrellas that had been thrown away. The poles are 20ft of heavy-duty aluminum tent poles, although fiberglass tent poles could also work. The aluminum poles are stronger and corrosion-resistant. The leading edge pocket pass-through for the tent pole was made using strong double-sided fabric tape, so no sewing was necessary. Watch the video to see how to set it up and how it's made. Since this design does not use the sand bag and cord to keep it up or any anchors, it is not protected by the patents, and therefore can be DIY'd. There is prior art that exists of cordless shade designs like this that use poles in the ground for support. That prior art is even referenced by their patent. Beach Shade LLC (who was previously sued for selling a copy of the that used the sandbag and cord tied to the leading edge) have recently (in 2023) started selling something similar to this design. Beach Shade LLC uses sand screws that are similar to beach umbrella sand screws instead of beach umbrella poles. The sand screws are shorter and don't provide as much support for the tent pole arch as the beach umbrella poles do. Therefore the arch flexes a lot more in the wind than this DIY design shown here. ▼ WHERE TO BUY PARTS: ▶ Tent Poles - 25 feet in length (These are large diameter and strong. Leave out 3 sections to make it 20ft) ▶ Fabric (microfiber beach blanket works great and is quieter than Silpoly rip-stop fabric) ▶ Fabric Tape (No Sew) ▶ 2 beach umbrella lower poles (harvested from old/broken beach umbrellas. They get thrown away all the time at the beach) ▶ Sand Gopher (Sand digger tool for beach umbrella hole) ▼ HOW TO MAKE 1 - Assemble the tent poles to 20ft length (leave out 3 sections if you bought the 25ft version). The tent poles are a kit and don't have the shock cord installed. You have to choose the length that you want by linking the sections together and then decide whether you want to use the shock cord or not. 2 - Cut off and remove the storage pocket and corner sand pockets from the beach blanket. Leave the tie-out straps in the corners of the blanket. 3 - Fold over about 2 inches of fabric on the front edge, and use the fabric tape to permanently hem it, leaving a pocket for the tent poles to slide through. No sewing is necessary. Press down firmly in the taped area to make sure it is fully bonded. I walked along the edge a few times to make sure proper pressure was applied. ▼ HOW TO SETUP 1 - Slide the tent pole through the hem pocket you made earlier. Leave the fabric bunched up about 3 feet from one end. 2 - Use the Sand Gopher tool to make an angled hole for the beach umbrella lower pole (think about the angle that the arch will form when perpendicular to the wind). 3 - Slide the umbrella lower pole into the hole in the sand. 4 - Slide the end of the tent pole closest to the bunched up fabric into the umbrella pole in the sand. 5 - Bend the tent pole into an arch (perpendicular to the wind). Where the bare end of the tent pole meets the sand, use the Sand Gopher to dig another umbrella pole hole. 6 - Slide the umbrella lower pole over the bare tent pole end and insert into the hole in the ground. 7 - Slide the beach blanket fabric to center it on the tent pole arch. 8 - Use left over bungee cord to tie the leading edge beach blanket edges to the umbrella pole to keep the blanket stretched out. 9 - Enjoy! 10- If it needs to be repositioned because the wind direction has shifted, use the Sand Gopher to dig a new hole at one end, pull the umbrella pole out of the ground, and insert it into the new hole. PRIOR ART This is one of the prior art Non-Patent Citations on the Shibumi patent. There are a list of Youtube videos, but most no longer exist. The "How to setup a butterfly arch" video does still exist and shows a video of a decorative shade arch that uses poles/stakes inserted into the ground to support the arch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOTYtjQAL4s This video was posted on May 26, 2012, years before the Shibumi patents were filed. Screenshots from the video with date stamps were taken for the purpose of evidence of prior art in case this video should disappear from Youtube in the future. Below you can see one of the legs and how it is anchored to the ground. In the image below, they are shown hammering the pole/stake into the ground. This is the support piece for the ends of the shade arch. Here's another better video by the same user that shows how to set up the sun shade and clearly shows the shade arch staked into the ground at the ends and the sail being supported by the wind. This video was posted on August 24, 2012, years before the Shibumi patents were filed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnqQWW_pMEI They also use bungee elastic shock cords to pull the sail tight and anchored it to the post inserted into the ground such that the sail does not fly off. DISCLAIMER: The products shown here were purchased by me with the intent to use them. I did not receive any free items, and I am not being paid or compensated for this review. The video, description, and comments may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link, I may receive a commission. Money earned helps to support my channel and bring you more informative videos about engineering, crafting, and DIY.

When head mounting the GoPro action camera, it's difficult to get the angle correct to properly frame the shots, especially when filming in a narrow mode. Jeremy Cook did a cool hack where he built a laser module to attach to the base of the GoPro camera to help center shots. His video shows how useful it is. I'd rather buy an off the shelf keychain laser pointer and 3D print a simple attachment for it. So I need the smallest keychain laser pointer I can find. Unfortunately, most of the cheap keychain laser pointers I can find all have a led light mode too, which is unnecessary for this application and makes the pointer larger. I only want the laser to turn on momentarily while I adjust the GoPro angle and get an idea where shot center is before starting to record. The smallest keychain laser I could find is this one sold at Office Depot. I can design a 3D printed part that will hold the laser pointer at the top left of the camera, and hook over the lens, and snap over the back. That way it can be easily removed when not needed. This laser pointer also appears fairly small, and could be a good alternate choice to the one Quartet brand shown above. To be continued...

I combined drifting and glow in the dark gel blasters to create an awesome new sport that’s a lot like real life Mario Kart. I started off with some drift trikes. Then modified the Gel Blaster STARFIRE to be used with an external trigger button. A motorcycle horn switch was attached to the handle bars to trigger it. The tactical rail on the bottom of the gel blaster STARFIRE was used as the attachment point. I used a handle bar mount to attach a picatinny quick release tactical rail mount upside down. The quick release tactical rail mount attaches to the rail on the bottom of the blaster. Battle drift trikes are a lot of fun. ▼ WHERE TO BUY: ▶ Gel Blaster STARFIRE (Direct) - https://gelblaster.com/products/gel-blaster-starfire ▶ Gel Blaster SURGE with STARFIRE Activator - https://amzn.to/3OAXmR6 ▶ Gel Blaster STARFIRE Activator (Add to your SURGE or SURGE XL) - https://amzn.to/3WvdVQq ▶ Gel Blaster STARFIRE XL - https://amzn.to/3MQwxqS ▶ Gel Blaster SURGE - https://amzn.to/3aMynZd ▶ Glow In The Dark Gel Balls: https://amzn.to/3LnqTZT ▼ WHERE TO BUY GEL BLASTER AMMO: ▶ Ammo (Gellets) 5 pack (50,000 rounds) - https://amzn.to/3zFdzKz ▶ Ammo 5 pack (50,000 rounds - 3rd Party - Cheaper) - https://amzn.to/3l9L6sp ▶ Ammo Orange 10 pack (100,000 rounds - 3rd Party - Cheaper) - https://amzn.to/3BOu0pK ▶ Ammo Blue 10 pack (100,000 rounds - 3rd Party - Cheaper) - https://amzn.to/3aMyZxZ. ▼ VISIT OUR WEBSITE ▶ Products we make: https://soulbuilt.us ▶ Engineering: https://www.engineerable.com ▼ FOLLOW US ON: ▶ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soul.built/ ▶ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soulbuilt.us #gelblaster #splatrball #splatrball #gel #gellets The products shown here were sent to me for free by Gel Blaster for my review. The video, description, and comments may contain affiliate links. If you click on a link, I may receive a commission. Money earned helps to support my channel and bring you more informative videos about engineering, crafting, and DIY