Myers Depot Metal Detectors

A 12volt coffee can and other projects

GKL

GKL

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Joined
Jul 22, 2016
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Location
Winnsboro, South Carolina
Yep, I really did say a 12volt coffee can :laughing:

WHY ? well even though I can use it for other things, I thought of the idea as a solution to not having to try to position my lawn tractor close enough to our car to be able to use the plug-in 12v air compressor to add air to the tractor tires (and pull wagon tires) when needed.

I already tried plugging in the air compressor to the 12v coffee can and it does work !
I could also plug in other 12volt accessories to it if needed.

It runs off of 8 "D" size batteries

I had to buy a battery holder for 8 "D" batteries and also a 12volt socket normally used in vehicles or boats.
The coffee can came free with the coffee I drink :lol:

So you can see exactly what I used, here are links to the battery holder and 12v socket and below that are the pictures of the project itself.

Battery Holder 12VDC Power D-Cell Batteries 8 X 1.5V w/ 6" Wires 5.25X2.5X3" K41
$8.97 + shipping

https://www.ebay.com/itm/401500860729

Waterproof DC 12V Car Boat Motorcycle Cigarette Lighter Socket Outlet Power Plug
$5.69 (free shipping)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/353040832852

Note: the packing "sponges" I used on either side of the battery holder were not really necessary as the holder fits in there almost like it was made to fit, but it just makes it slightly more snug.

Also: I used alligator clips to connect to the socket just in case I ever wanted to use the 12volt battery pack to power something that did not have a car type plug.

12v_coffee_can1.jpg12v_coffee_can2.jpg12v_coffee_can3.jpg12v_coffee_can4.jpg12v_coffee_can5.jpg

A small "project" I did was to save me from buying a pricey gooseneck magnifier. I was ready to buy one and thought "I already have a large hand-held" magnifier" and I have a long gooseneck on a clamp where the other end that had a phone clamp was broken, so I took off the rest of the broken phone clamp, then using a spare piece of PVC pipe I had sitting around that was slightly too narrow for the magnifier handle to fit and used a hacksaw to cut slots at right angles to each other, which allowed it just enough "give" for the magnifier handle to very snugly fit, but still removable for hand-held use. I used zip-ties to fasten the PVC to the end of the gooseneck.

PVC_magnifier_holder_on_gooseneck_clamp.jpg

A project I am still working on are 2 lamps made with real, brand new, yellow LED traffic lights.

I bought these a good while back and no longer see the web page available where I got them from so they might have sold out.

The seller said these LED traffic lights were originally bought for a town far north (they sold yellow, red, and green, but I figured yellow gave off the most light as a lamp) but after initially trying some they realized a big problem, the LED lights did not give off the heat like the old style lights did and when it snowed the traffic lights had snow accumulate in front of them blocking the lights. So now they had a surplus of new lights they couldn't use and that is why they were available for sale. I can't remember offhand what I paid but remember thinking it was a very reasonable price.

They use regular household current, I have 2 lamp cords with inline switches I salvaged from old lamps. I have the bottoms of 2 dollar store buckets that I cut about 2/3 off and they fit the lamps good to make an enclosure for connecting the wires. I am still formulating ideas on how I want to mount the lamps, I might make a PVC stand that allows me to rotate the light up and down, and thinking on other possible ideas.

Hey, the nice amount of light they give off for just being 7watts is great, not to mention the "neat" factor of how they look :lol:

Yellow_traffic_lights__for_lamps.jpgYellow_traffic_lights__for_lamps2.jpgYellow_traffic_lights__for_lamps3.jpg

…...so as you can see I am a "gadgets" and a DIY guy, it's neat some of the things you can make on your own using some creativity :lol:
 
Last edited:
zeemang said:
Gotta keep busy!
Click to expand...

Hey, it's fun to get stuff done on neat projects like that ! :lol:

…….as far as the 12volt coffee can, you could say "thinking outside the box" meant "thinking inside the coffee can" :laughing:

(and it was so neat how good that 8"D" battery holder fit so well inside that coffee can !)
 
I guess it's fun all caffeined out on a battery can project. But I still don't quite get it. Don't you have an exterior outlet or extension cord ?
 
KOB said:
I guess it's fun all caffeined out on a battery can project. But I still don't quite get it. Don't you have an exterior outlet or extension cord ?
Click to expand...

If you mean an exterior 12volt outlet, no, don't have exterior ones on our vehicles.

(and any caffeine residue in the can does not add to the power :laughing:)

The air compressor is one of those small ones you carry in your trunk for when you need to put air in your car tires. It plugs into the cigarette lighter socket on your dashboard and the cord is barely long enough to reach all the tires on your own car. When I had to put air in my lawn tractor tires it was tricky and awkward getting the tractor close enough to the car to reach all four tractor tires.

The air compressor runs off of 12volts and has a 12volt auto type plug so I can't plug it in a regular household outlet.

The 12volt coffee can allows me unlimited mobility to add air to the tractor tires wherever it is sitting on my property at the time.

All four tires were low after sitting unused for a while over the winter months when the grass wasn't growing.

Besides the air compressor, I could use the 12volt coffee can for any device that uses 12volts, also if we had a power outage I could use an automotive USB plug that would go in the cigarette lighter socket to recharge our smartphones if needed !
 
GKL said:
If you mean an exterior 12volt outlet, no, don't have exterior ones on our vehicles.

(and any caffeine residue in the can does not add to the power :laughing:)

The air compressor is one of those small ones you carry in your trunk for when you need to put air in your car tires. It plugs into the cigarette lighter socket on your dashboard and the cord is barely long enough to reach all the tires on your own car. When I had to put air in my lawn tractor tires it was tricky and awkward getting the tractor close enough to the car to reach all four tractor tires.

The air compressor runs off of 12volts and has a 12volt auto type plug so I can't plug it in a regular household outlet.

The 12volt coffee can allows me unlimited mobility to add air to the tractor tires wherever it is sitting on my property at the time.

All four tires were low after sitting unused for a while over the winter months when the grass wasn't growing.

Besides the air compressor, I could use the 12volt coffee can for any device that uses 12volts, also if we had a power outage I could use an automotive USB plug that would go in the cigarette lighter socket to recharge our smartphones if needed !
Click to expand...

Ahhh... ok now I get it. I think I read it wrong.
 
I thought I'd post a couple pics of my lawn tractor I mentioned as years ago I did a project with my tractor.

I wanted to have shade on extra hot sunny days while mowing, but the store-bought canopy that was available had poor reviews so I came up with my own idea.

Using PVC pipe (which I later painted to match the tractor color) I made an umbrella holder that holds a very large umbrella made to reflect sunlight and UV rays. When not needing it on the tractor the umbrella is available for use as a regular hand-held umbrella. Also the top part of the PVC pipe is removable when not needed to hold the umbrella so the tractor fits thru the shed door okay. (in the bottom pic I have the top pipe sitting back in place after getting the tractor into the shed, but I leave it off now until needed so I don't forget to remove it when taking the tractor back out of the shed)

As you can see between the tractor and the wagon I have a total of 6 tires to keep properly inflated, which is very important for proper traction especially since parts of my property are a little hilly.

trac_um.jpg
tupainted.jpg
 
GKL said:
I thought I'd post a couple pics of my lawn tractor I mentioned as years ago I did a project with my tractor.

I wanted to have shade on extra hot sunny days while mowing, but the store-bought canopy that was available had poor reviews so I came up with my own idea.

Using PVC pipe (which I later painted to match the tractor color) I made an umbrella holder that holds a very large umbrella made to reflect sunlight and UV rays. When not needing it on the tractor the umbrella is available for use as a regular hand-held umbrella. Also the top part of the PVC pipe is removable when not needed to hold the umbrella so the tractor fits thru the shed door okay. (in the bottom pic I have the top pipe sitting back in place after getting the tractor into the shed, but I leave it off now until needed so I don't forget to remove it when taking the tractor back out of the shed)

As you can see between the tractor and the wagon I have a total of 6 tires to keep properly inflated, which is very important for proper traction especially since parts of my property are a little hilly.

View attachment 464528
View attachment 464529
Click to expand...

Very nice, GKL! Unfortunately on KT's Royal Estate, that umbrella would be broken off as the Royal Kubota goes under the first tree! KT wears a wide brim straw hat when mowing to keep the sun off his Royal face and shoulders, but even then sometimes blackberry vines and/or rip briars remove it! :laughing::laughing:
It is for this reason KT carries both shears and a 12" blade length knife, to strike those stickery bushes where they live!
 
KingTotsalot said:
Very nice, GKL! Unfortunately on KT's Royal Estate, that umbrella would be broken off as the Royal Kubota goes under the first tree! KT wears a wide brim straw hat when mowing to keep the sun off his Royal face and shoulders, but even then sometimes blackberry vines and/or rip briars remove it! :laughing::laughing:
It is for this reason KT carries both shears and a 12" blade length knife, to strike those stickery bushes where they live!
Click to expand...

Thanks KT !!!! I do have a couple trees I need to be careful not to get too close to with the umbrella attached, but I can touch those areas up with the push mower I need to use for other areas the tractor can't fit into.

davidlhyde63366 said:
Looks like you are finding thing to keep you busy and keep you creative.
Click to expand...

Yep, and the neat part is that the projects are fun to do as well as being useful afterwards !
 
You have a skill that was lost years ago because todays youth was not trained to use their brain to solve a problem or to figure things out.

Sent from my Armor_3 using Tapatalk
 
DbblTap said:
You have a skill that was lost years ago because todays youth was not trained to use their brain to solve a problem or to figure things out.

Sent from my Armor_3 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
But they could all be thumb wrestling champions from using cellphones since the age of 3. Following simple instructions like walking in public 6' apart = impossible !
 
DbblTap said:
You have a skill that was lost years ago because todays youth was not trained to use their brain to solve a problem or to figure things out.

Sent from my Armor_3 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Thanks DbblTap, my skills are not always the most fine-tuned, to my wife's chagrin very occasionally in the past I have been known to use duct tape and/or coat hanger wire for a quick immediate fix on something :laughing:

The motivation to look at a problem as a challenge to come up with a solution as if you're solving a puzzle makes it fun and not just a chore.

Even as a kid I'd think of creative ways to make my own toys, made my own pinball machine using wood, marbles, a spring action thing to shoot the marble into play. Also made a realistic "Wheel of Fortune" wheel using an old bicycle rim, piece of wood cut round to fit, painted the various $ amounts, had the stopper things to know which amount it stopped on. Some kids are content to make paper airplanes, I made a tiny rocket using foil and crushed up match heads (try that outside only) of course when I did that I was a 17 year old "kid" attending advanced electronics school in the Navy :laughing:

Kinda reluctant to say all that as don't want to sound like bragging, but just want to make the point if you can get kids to look at creative problem solving as a fun challenge, that mindset will likely stay with them and come in handy as adults.

KOB said:
But they could all be thumb wrestling champions from using cellphones since the age of 3.
Following simple instructions like walking in public 6' apart = impossible !
Click to expand...

:laughing:

….funny you should say that, just saw a news report yesterday where a restaurant tried to make outdoor dining available, had marks on the ground to help people stay far enough apart in line, had the outdoor tables 8 feet apart, but the owner had to end up closing the restaurant early because people did not want to follow the social distancing rules, they were even moving the tables together. As much as the owner wanted the business, he didn't want to be responsible for people possibly getting sick from not following the rules.

….
 
Around the age of 10 , I remember us kids cutting out 7 or 8 tin cans and tape them together about 3' high. Small hole in the bottom and fill with lighter fluid. At night drop a tennis ball inside and ignite. Flaming balls shooting way up in the air.
A few years later , progressed up to a pvc potato launcher with electronic ignition. It was made and held like a bazooka. Kinda dangerous though. Potatoes going through wood fencing....
 
KOB said:
Around the age of 10 , I remember us kids cutting out 7 or 8 tin cans and tape them together about 3' high. Small hole in the bottom and fill with lighter fluid. At night drop a tennis ball inside and ignite. Flaming balls shooting way up in the air.
A few years later , progressed up to a pvc potato launcher with electronic ignition. It was made and held like a bazooka. Kinda dangerous though. Potatoes going through wood fencing....
Click to expand...

:shock: sounds like stuff kids would try :laughing:

I remember instead of simply shooting off firecrackers when I was a kid I'd like to try fun stuff with them, like using a slingshot to shoot them into the air, or even attach them to those 5 cent (back then) balsa wood airplanes and throw them :lol:

Hey, I had found some of those small balsa wood airplanes at the dollar store this past year or so, and I have some bottle rockets, wonder if I can make a jet plane :laughing: (just need to try it in a safe area when not windy and the ground not too dry just to be on the safe side)
 
Ah yes, potato guns, good fun! If you have another 6 inch piece of pvc same as the barrel size and chamfer it the same way as the barrel you can precut some spuds and freeze them... A friend of mine showed me that trick years ago, then loaded up a frozen one and shot it through through a stucco and plywood facade...
 
zeemang said:
Ah yes, potato guns, good fun! If you have another 6 inch piece of pvc same as the barrel size and chamfer it the same way as the barrel you can precut some spuds and freeze them... A friend of mine showed me that trick years ago, then loaded up a frozen one and shot it through through a stucco and plywood facade...
Click to expand...

:shock: Wow, who would have ever thought of a potato as a device of such power :laughing:
 
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