Month: February 2021

Not much else to say about that. Really need to get the generator enclosure completed this weekend so the materials won’t be in the way. Really hope I can transport the machine next Tuesday since I scheduled a day off that day just for that reason.

As soon as I got a container number I’ve tried multiple ways to track it or the ship it was aboard . Through Hapag-Lloyd I have tracked the container. It told me when it left the yard empty before the machine was loaded into it andwhenits been loaded on or taken off a ship. It said the ship it was on arrived in Vancouver a few days ago and a couple of days ago said it had been taken off that ship. So just waiting for it to e loaded onto a train and sent here. But I also track the container using ShipsGo which sends me an email whenever there is a status change. ShipsGo sent anupdat that the container arrived in Vancouver about a week early than Hapag-Lloyd said and indicated the container would arrive in Indianapolis on February 14th. Then today it said it was being loaded on a train on February 14th and would arrive Indianapolis on February 15th. The best information I could find said Vancouver to Indianapolis by rail was 58 hours so 24 hours seems pretty unlikely. I’m pretty sure its still in Vancouver waiting to be loaded on a train

So I received the new air conditioner/ heater unit. It’s a heat pump not a heater. So an air conditioner takes air and transfers the heat outside and the cool inside. This unit basically reverses the process while in heat mode. It blows the cold air outside and the warm air is returned to the inside. Since the workshop isn’t heated while unoccupied it is very difficult for this unit to bring the temperature up to a comfortable level. The temperature recently has been between 15°F and 25°F. The workshop is mostly insulated but there are some significant issues with that. There is a fairly significant gap under most of the garage door. It also doesn’t have any weather stripping. Its an uninsulated sheet metal door. It transfers heat outside very effectively. That makes it very difficult to heat the space efficiently. I need to figure out how to get that door unsullied. But with the new unit and the space heater working together it is possible to raise the temperature despite the very low temperatures. Pretty sure if the outside temperature was above 32°F (freezing) the new unit could handle the task by itself. I think now if left only itself it would struggle to maintain a constant temperature.

So the heater / air conditioner shipped and it says it’ll be delivered tomorrow by 10pm! It’ll be really nice to have some heat on Saturday.

So I ordered a replacement and started the return process on the other one. The new and I mean new one won’t arrive until Saturday! Guess I could change the address to the workshop address and hope it arrives while I’m there. Anyhow it looks like it’ll be another really cold day in the workshop this Saturday.

Also, I have to repack the wrong unit and drop it off at UPS. Thats more than a little out of the way.

I suppose I should have bought the system a lot sooner but with the insulation and mild winter temperatures the little heater has been mostly adequate. Think I’ll need to borrow a larger heater this weekend.

I’m so frustrated and disappointed! I ordered a combination Air Conditioner / Heater unit from Amazon. There was a Used-Like New purchased option from Amazon. This wasn’t a third-party seller with a used it, it was an Amazon returned item. I saved over $100 with this option.

It was delivered yesterday so I put it in the car to take to the workshop today. Once I got to the workshop after work I opened the box. Take a part out and notice its broken. I think we’ll maybe I can just get a replacement from the manufacturer but honestly I don’t think I need that part for my application. Take a couple more items out and notice another broken part. Again, I don’t think I need this for my setup so I can just get a replacement from the manufacturer. I take the unit out of the box and set it on the floor. Take the rest of the stuff out and notice there’s a broken caster in the bottom of the box! Sure enough, the unit is wobbly. Well those definitely need replaced but I can still use the unit until they arrive. I start to do an inventory and notice yet another part broken and of course the remote is missing!

Fine, ill probably need to just replace the unit but it’s possible I can just call Black&Decker and have them ship all the missing broken parts. So let’s see if the unit even works. I plug it in and its pretty cold so I’m try to figure out which icon is the heat setting. None of them make sense so I look in the manual. Ummmmmmmm, the control panel in the manual has a heat icon but the unit doesn’t!

It’s not even the right model!

Seriously?

So what happened is someone bought two units. One expensive unit with heat for $480 and a cheaper unit for like $375. Maybe they bought the better model to replace the cheaper model or whatever but they put the cheaper model with whatever broken parts in a box and returned it as the more expensive model. So now its my problem.

What sucks is that since it doesn’t have heat I can’t even use it until I order and receive the right model.

Probably won’t be doing the used option on Amazon again…

So today I called the Indiana Railroad to ask about their freight pickup procedures. They referred me to the container yard and gave me their number. So I called the number and the guy answered CN which is the Canadian Railroad. He told me that my driver needs to stop at the gate and give them the container number he’s there to pickup. Then stop at the gate on the way out so they can record the chassis (container trailer) number and that’s it. So much less work than what CSX was talking about.

So, I thought we’re back to Plan A or whatever it was where I’d just rent a semi tractor and pick the container up myself. So I called Penske Truck Rental and asked their documentation requirements. A little overwhelmed again. First, they don’t do personal rentals so I’d have to do it as a company and they want a physical business address. Like not the house! Okay I can figure that out. Then a $5,000 cashier’s check as a deposit for the truck. Okay, that’s also feasible. Now for insurance. Ummmm, I’d need a policy through the company. Well that’s a lot of work and may take longer and more money than I have… so the $200/day and $0.25/mile is the least of my worries. So not going to be able to do the truck myself.

I got to thinking about who might have a truck to go pick this up for me at a reasonable price. I remembered that Robert Bangle of Bangle Farms does hauling on the side. It’s common for farmers to own semi tractors and trailers and use them in the off season to make extra money. So I asked around to get ahold of his number and we were able to discuss the possibility of him doing the job. He’s familiar with the yard and said his standard rate was $115/hour starting when he leaves his shop and ending when he returns. Since the rail yard is on the near Southside it isn’t far from his shop or the workshop so as long as the yard doesn’t create so unreasonable delay or we have a delay in unloading the container should take 3 hours or less. Pretty sure that’s gonna be a lot less than getting insurance to rent a truck.

I ordered an in-line panel mount 30 amp 3 phase breaker for the phase converter control panel. This will provide protection on the circuit as well as a disconnect for the 3 phase power. The way the box is wired even with the converter turned off there would still be electricity in some of the wires to the machine. This will kill all the electricity from the box to the machine. In addition to providing a disconnect for safety the converter shouldn’t be started while feeding power to the machine so this will allow me to switch power off until the converter is ready to feed the machine..

Today I received a portable combination Air Conditioner / Heater for the workshop. I bought a used one from Amazon so I’m hoping it’s functional and complete. Should really improve the comfort in the workshop year round.

I also did a lot of work on the generator enclosure design yesterday. I think I should be able to get that mostly completed this weekend. Gotta hurry because the machine could arrive in as little as 4 days now…

So lots of developments. First, I got an Arrival Notice from the freight forwarder. It gave the address of the final destination of the shipping container and a $75 handling charge. It turns out that the container is not going to the CSX rail yard in Avon but the Indiana Railroad rail yard near downtown via Canada Railroad. The upside is that this makes it a shorter drive between the yard a d the workshop. But now I need to call them and find out their pickup procedures and plan accordingly.

But the container is in North America now! It arrived in Vancouver last night or this morning. Now it just needs to take a train ride to Indianapolis.

The garage is coming along. The generator enclosure will require more planning than expected. It’s going to be rather complex in the end but needs to be to contain and remove any carbon monoxide while being able to stay cool and provide the soundproofing required.

Ordered and received the rotary phase converter for the rope machine. The converter changes the power from the generator or any residential power source into the kind of power used for commercial and industrial facilities. The freight driver was very helpful in assisting me to place the skid on my saw horses so I could more easily slide the unit into the back of the car. Once at the workshop I used a couple of boards as a ramp to slide the unit into the garage.

Need to make several phone calls to arrange to get the machine from the rail yardto the workshop. Also, need to make some casters to quickly attacto the machine so it can be rolled into the workshop from the street.