Research facility construction

[Dennis P Brown]

Well, thanks to Nathan's excellent post's, I've decided to move forward with building a dedicated research shed/building. I'll have both 120 and 220 service as well as cold water & drain access inside. I ordered all the required building material yesterday - wood, concrete, electrical, plumbing and various misc. stuff. I will begin construction when these arrive (I hope) the following week.

Besides getting my fusor up and running, I might rebuild my deuterium accelerator (assuming I get my nerve up to install the existing 100+ kV VM.)

This extra room will allow me to set up all my old thesis related equipment. In this way I'll get my orginal thesis project going again (I created a room temperature flexiable glass that was stronger and exhibted greater tensile elongation tolerance than aluminum alloys!) Its about time I made that stuff again and studied its properties in more detail.

I still have far too many home projects going but again, thanks to Nathan interesting work, I realize I really need to get my fusor back in operation and those other projects as well. Not sure if I've recovered from all the previous ache's and pains related to these previous home project efforts but reading all these excellent posts has made me impatient (as has the home isolation these last few weeks.)

[Dan Knapp]

If you decide to condition your space, I highly recommend the Mitsubishi ductless heat pumps. They are super efficient (SEER up to 26 available). You can buy them online precharged with freon for easy installation. Be careful not to oversize the unit; they are so efficient that they don't stay on long even when properly sized making it difficult to keep the humidity down in high humidity climates. There are cheaper brands as well, but I think Mitsubishi has the best efficiency figures.

[Richard Hull]

I have the space, but I, too, need to get a working fusor built as I rip fusor V(alpha) apart. Fusor V(b) might be a 10 inch sphere or a rework of fusor IV. Good luck on your building and if relatively small, I highly suggest heating and cooling so that year round work can be done. The extra cost of conditioning in electricity would be worth it. Oh, insulate well, too.

Richard Hull

[Dennis P Brown]

Excellent points and I really like the idea of a heat pump both to solve the issue of year round work (which I will really need since this is also since I will be performing serious research besides the fun fusor stuff) and ease of installation; so thanks - didn't think of that aspect or device. Always useful to post here - suggestion and comments always are useful.

[Dan Knapp]

One other suggestion if you live anywhere near water, be mindful of the floor elevation. A little fill dirt can save much hassle later. When I built my lab building, we hadn’t seen a hurricane in twenty years. I put the foundation slab at grade level, and now I find myself sandbagging every year. And as we get older, those sandbags don’t get any lighter!

[John Futter]

Dennis Ive been building my new lab for the last year
a year ago

last week

and plenty of power

[Dennis P Brown]

John, just incredible. What will be the focus, might I ask? Certainly not for a simple fusor - lol.

Minor aside: why the very high ceilings - second floor for office space, maybe?

Dan, I'm a few hundred ft ASL and thirty above the nearest small creek. So, not too worried on that score; snow, maybe - that destroyed my last small outdoor shed.

[John Futter]

Its the new barn on our new farm
so the open bays are for farm type stuff the triple closed-in bay is my workshop /lab a home for my lathe mill power hacksaw Mig tig arc welders
the new house will be 120 meters away with a purpose built room for my Ham shack
The hieght is due to me wanting 10ft on the low side and the build ing is setup to take 3 tons of solar array on the roof ie 100 x 360 watt solar panels and support structure
that is also why there is still room in the switchboard the top row is reserved for grid tie electrics
and yes the high side might get a mezzanine floor after the building inspector signs it off

[Richard Hull]

Drool!

Richard Hull

[Dennis P Brown]

Amazing - I second Richard's response.
Especially good to add solar; producing one's own energy (while the sun shines) is both nice for the environment (though Richard's points on the subject are more on spot than mine as far as net results), saving money in the long term is very practical. As too are your multi-functions for the "building/work barn/work lab/machine shop/solar farm." Do keep us all abreast with the progress because it is certainly interesting and fusor related, as well.

[Dan Knapp]

Is that a fire truck in the photo?

[Dennis P Brown]

Or maybe an explosive carrying truck?

[John Futter]

Yes that is a fire truck in the photo actually a foam unit with a separate 80 hp engine for the pump and compressor
not mine no1 sons folly
solar pay back is quite quick i get US$0.07 per kW/Hr from the utility co. I expect around 120kwhrs /day or more cost is approx US$12,000 for the entire setup direct from china
https://www.yangtze-solar.com/
so payback is around 4 years or even quicker if i factor in the cost from the utility of US$0.19 per kw hour of my use

[Richard Hull]

I hate to think what a totally suitable solar system with battery storage, inverters, etc. will cost for an outbuilding to store tractors and farm implements, plus supply a lab section.

However, if you have the bread, spend it....You can't take it with you. Frank Sanns has experience in this of late. Much depends on daily needs and short term high demands and many other things. A kilowatt or two short demand should not be outrageously expensive. Over 10KW of regular demand? ....Get out your checkbook.

Very high energy, short term, irregular demand might just be best served by a propane powered Genrac system for a lot less.

Richard Hull

[Nathan Marshall]

Dennis:
I look forward to seeing your progress with this new lab build. I can't wait for the day when I can afford a place of my own with a dedicated lab space, but that will be a number of years down the road. Your thesis work sounds quite interesting. It definitely piques the curiosity of my chemistry side. What sort of equipment is required for this work? Will the lab have a fume hood or are there no dangerous gasses involved with your experiments?

[Dennis P Brown]

Nathan, hello and thanks for your previous work and posts.

I have almost two weeks before the supplies will be delivered; it will be dwarfed by John's impressive facility. It will only be 10 by 12, with 7 ft. ceilings.

As for my thesis research, some aspects are proprietary (for obvious reasons) but the thesis itself was published (as required) and is in the public domain - what it shows are my results and background theory; however, the fact that I can convert any glass phase into a compound that has superior tensile properties to Al was both a surprising and frankly, unexpected discovery on my part. I was trying to make a stronger material and one that vastly increased its overall toughness of the glass phase. It far exceeded those expectations.

It requires no fume hoods and isn't too difficult to achieve nor require dangerous chemicals/glasses or materials or extreme equipment - just a furnace (to melt glass) and hot rolling mill (yes, those aren't everyday pieces of equipment but easy to obtain.) I start by creating a laminated metal with glass and then hot roll them into multiple layer composites - a unique invention in of itself (both the laminate and process.) I can increase the glass phase content to over 95% and still keep all the metal like tensile properties. The process is simple, cheap and creates a material that normal cutting tools can be used to cut and shape.

For instance, my sapphire based glass/metal laminate can be cut by an ordinary bandsaw blade - don't try that on a sapphire plate. But is far stronger than any Al alloy, offers superior tensile and bend strength properties and is nearly as tough/fracture tough. While it isn't transparent aluminum (heard that joke) it is the next best thing.

[Dennis P Brown]

Well, have nearly all the required building material - windows, electrical componets/wire/shingles/plumbing and this massive pile of lumber (see pic.)

I need to go and get a half dozen 80 lbs concrete bags and finish the support foundation but for a few days, I have to finish an addition to my home: a small wash room addition; that project is on going (footer has set, and partially done with the new foundation blocks) and will take a few more days to finish building the building and do all interior work.

Then I will begin construction of the shed/lab - weather looks good, 90's temp and 70+ humdity. Well, I do like steam baths ... .

Of course, the special tongue and grooved floor panels I need to first paint with sealant and let dry ahead of time, are on the very bottom of the wood pile

[Richard Hull]

Well of course they put the stuff you need, first, on the bottom to insure you have to handle all the wood on top several times before using it.

Richard Hull

[Nicker]

Am I the only one that wants a nice underground section for the fusor?

[Richard Hull]

Yes, Nick, you probably are the only person that might desire an underground location. There is no real reason for it of course.

Richard Hull

[Bob Reite]

Unless Nick figures out how to replicate Doug's "Gonzo" mode and will need a lot of neutron shielding.

[Dennis P Brown]

Wow, underground! That's serious fusion work, indeed.

My more humble future shed/glorified research facility finally has a real base to build upon - literally. Due to limits on the orgianl start on the foundation, the building will be 9 ft by 12 ft. As can be seen in the photo I've finished the foundation (ugh) and installed the floor. All underside lumber has been painted - just ran out of paint so not all the upper floor is painted yet. Of course, the walls/windows/door, roof and many services will need to still be done but having a square, level and solid foundation & floor are the essential first steps to build an above ground ( ) facility. Of course, it is well away from the house so if by some chance, I too get a strange flair I think it being above ground will be ok - just maybe not for the operator ( )

Interestingly (to no one, really) I ran out of all my treated lumber, screws, wood glue and cement finishing this thing - wish I could claim excellent planning but obviously, the exact opposite is really the truth; cutting things that close is almost always a recipe for aggravating extra trips to the lumber store; too often, repeat ones at that.

[Dennis P Brown]

OK, more progress - got the walls partly up and hung the door. So it is coming together - glad the heat and humdity weren't killers today. I'll add the windows tomorrow if I have time and weather permits. I decided to go with extra high ceilings - both for equipment room, and ease to install outer wall panels (being lazy helps.) Once more, after I got more screws (and paint) I started work and after getting to this point - had one screw left - again, not planning correctly. Next time - jumbo size. Still, reached my limit on construction, anyway.

[Dennis P Brown]

Further progress - walls are complete; need a roof (wood, shingles, vinyl siding) and add windows. Then paint and the exterior is essentially finished. That is a lot still to do but progress is how it gets done.
Need to get the roof mostly up tomorrow before it rains - not likely (the former, not the later.)
Decided on a pitch to make roof beams easy to cut - must admit, this building phase was far harder than I thought but went more smoothly than I expected. So, guess the roof will be the opposite; through I recently replace half the roof on my home (all new beams, panels besides shingles) so I consider myself a bit more experienced in that area of building. Guess that means I will have a really hard time.

[Richard Hull]

Great work, thus far! You may come to regret not putting up the roof trusses first. With weather, I think I would have done the roof first at least to the tar felting covering. In that manner, you can continue work in the rain and shingle last. Wiring is typically last, but that is a matter of choice as is all construction when done by an individual. Out of curiosity, what anchors your base 2X4s to the concrete? I looked for the classic high strength, "L" bolt anchors typically set into the concrete, but could not seem to locate them in the image.

Richard Hull