dcarch

Over on the Garden forum, we talked about growing artichokes. It is not easy to grow artichokes in my NY zone 6. The few I have are getting very big, but no blossoms yet. There will not be enough time for blossoms. Frost is coming. Well I decided to eat the artichoke leaves. They taste like artichokes, but a little stronger. Very tender and delicious. dcarch mango/lime shrimps on artichoke leaf stems.

I have found many interesting fungi in my garden. Here are some: The last picture is a puff ball, size of a basket ball. dcarch

LED can be very cool running, but high power LEDs are over driven, so they generate a lot of heat. They require heatsinks and cooling fans, otherwise they get burned out in seconds. On a per watt basis, LEDs produce more light than incandescent lights. Not as much as they claim, because they don't tell you the power inverter/supply/driver electronics also use up some power. You should never use incandescent light for a greenhouse, even some manufacturers call those incandescent lights "grow lights" That is because there is no such thing as LED TV screens. Also, BTW, there is no such thing as white LEDs. Your dad is a scientist. He did not heat the doghouse with incandescent light. He was only heating the dog with incandescent IR light. Using infrared, you can get heated up in freezing air temperature. You can broil food with the oven door open, for instance. dcarch

It would not be a sommelier cup. Sommelier cups normally are dish shaped, for better aroma airing. dcarch

Actually, for heating I will just use a small light bulb. Better yet, LED lights, which give more light per watt. Some seeds may need light stimulation to germinate. It takes about 15 minutes to build a very sturdy foam box using, yes, duct tape. Very encouraging for my garden. :-) dcarch

That is true about Peltier efficiency. However, it is the only device which can simply cool and heat without major plumbing setup. It can also instantly cool/heat in rapid cycling without being damaged like a compressor/freon machine can. An aquarium temperature ($20?) controller can turn on cooling or heating functions with great precision, better than a bread proofing box. If I built the box with 1" thick rigid foam board, efficiency should not be a big issue. dcarch

KennethT, you just inspired me (another one here who is as crazy as you ) to work on an idea. In seed starting, there are many seeds with temperature requirements to germinate. Some need specific warmth, some need stratification, and some need both. A seed starting chamber using a Peltier junction device would seem perfect in that the same device can cool or heat by simple reversal of polarity. My next year's project. dcarch

I took out my tube of heat sink grease. It says silicone heat sink grease. CPU operation is more critical, may be it is different compound. dcarch

Rather than having a fan blowing on a heat sink, I wonder if it would make sense to attach the peltier device directly to the bottom of a big pot of water (with silicone grease for better heat transfer). The peltier device will be making a pot of hot water at the sametime cooling whatever you are trying to cool, using no energy to power a fan. Metal/water contact is more efficient than air in conductivity anyway. By flipping a polarity switch, you can reverse the hot/cool process, not that you need to do that. dcarch

Boating supply stores have many non-slip solutions. dcarch

It's a little complicated, but I will explain. An electric mechanical compression motor is designed to operate vertically. It may have valves, interior refrigerant drain paths and thrust motor bearings which should be operated only in their designed position. An electronic one, OTOH, has no moving parts. It uses a noiseless Peltier junction thermal electronic device to "pump" BTUs. All you need is to tile it about two or three degrees to counteract gravity. It will not have any impact on anything. You refrigerator may have adjustable leveling legs to do that. You can also get silicone bake sheets to separate the bottles. Will look much better than cardboard. They don't rot and dishwasher safe. If you are in Paris, do take a look at earthquake risks in your zone and make appropriate preparations. dcarch

I think it is an electronic refrigerator, not an electric one. There is no moving parts except cooling fans. You can tilt the refrigerator backwards a few degrees so nothing falls out. Or if you are not a believer of storing wines horizontally, lay the refrigerator horizontally and store the wines vertically. dcarch

An immersion heater is the most efficient. 100% of the energy is converted into heat. An induction cook top needs energy to drive the electronics and a fan to cool the electronics. dcarch

Pressure cooking and slow cooking are not interchangeable. They are for different recipes. Just like deep frying is not the same as steaming. One thing I always find surprising is the number of comments from users who tout the fact that they can't smell what's cooking in any of these machines. I like the smell of the foods I cook permeating the kitchen and beyond. The aroma that fills the whole house is the aroma no longer in your food. (edit: We were posting at the same time, JoNorvelleWalker ) I think you know what a router speed controller (PWM voltage controller) is. (You are the one who knew what a gear puller is, if I remember correctly ). Plug an electric pot/cooker into a router speed controller ($20.00) and you can control temperature from 0 watts to full watts. dcarch

58 what? 58 pieces? You know 5 gallon buckets? I think I have 4 buckets full. dcarch

You have completely misunderstood what I was saying. In trying to explain the meaning of humidity in regular air that we breath, I was saying in a given volume, % of humidity will not displace quantity of air molecules, until it goes beyond saturation. Just like salt dissolving in water will not change the volume of water or the quantity of water molecules. dcarch

That is exactly what I was trying to say (see above), that you can't get all the air out. dcarch

Actually, if you roast them, like clams, many of them will crack open a little, letting you to use a knife to pry them open. They are oily nuts if you roast them. Yeah, they call them "Butternuts". Tasty, but not very meaty. Dieter's nuts. It takes a while to eat a lot, LOL. dcarch

I have a huuuuge one in my garden. it rains nuts like bombs. The tree is so tall, and the nuts are so aerodynamically shaped that it can actually hurt you if you are hit. I actually have to wear a construction hard hat if I am in the area. 1. It takes forever to peel off the thick pulp, or you can collect a whole lot in a bucket. The pulp rots very quickly into a black mess. Then use a pressure washer and blast the rotted pulp away. Very quick and easy. 2. "A tough nut to crack". May be they are talking about butternuts. they are very tough. But you can use a shop vise. Very easy to crack. dcarch

"Started with some decent oysters" And it's well known that consuming decent oysters can lead to indecent acts later on. dcarch

Therefore, we are in agreement. I was only questioning your following statement, : "---As it creates pressure the cooker first forces all of the air out of the vessel,----" dcarch

I don't believe so, according to the law of physics (as I understand it) . Air and water vapor under typical situations, including inside a pressure cooker, are always mixed in exact constant proportions based on temperature and pressure. The air coming out of the pressure cooker is not just air, and the remaining water vapor inside the pressure cooker is not just water vapor. When they say air humidity is 100%, all that means is that the water vapor in the air at that pressure and temperature has reached it max saturation proportion relative to air. It does not mean that there is no air. As a matter of fact, the same amount of air molecules is still there. Think salt water solution. there is a variable % of salt that can be dissolved in water , depending on temperature. When you reach 100% saturation, it does not mean there is no water in the solution. Interestingly you can add salt to water up to 100% saturation without increasing the volume of the mixture. Also, water vapor is not visible. Steam is no longer vapor, it is water droplets you can see. Even "pure" water has air in it. That also is a function of temperature and pressure. dcarch

Right. There is a relationship between temperature, pressure, water vapor and air. There is always air and water vapor mixed. You can't drive out all the air in a pressure cooker. dcarch

Is that true? I am not sure. dcarch

I am pretty good in figuring out how to cook various recipes. All except hand pulled noodles. I am not the only one who has failed many many times. Many have tried. No one has succeeded yet. dcarch