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    upwinger

    @upwinger

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    Posts made by upwinger

    • RE: Building permit ever issued for an aircrete home in the U.S.?

      This will take me a while as I have a full time job and had to buy a home near work (yep, they caught me for the next 30 years!!)
      My plan is to use Haijar's compass tool, which I believe it's main purpose is to function as a caliper to help with keeping the block rows at the proper distance and position from dome center, and modify his idea to utilize it to build a 1 square meter x 150mm thick mold. Theoretically, the dome can be constructed with identical blocks if designed right. After I get my mold built, I will pour a few block samples and line each side with a different material ( polyclothe, fiberglass cloth and basalt mesh) . Then my plan was to cut them up into smaller blocks to submit for testing and inspection. I will take weights of random 1 L samples of foam and aircrete, as well as logging accurate liquid and cement volumes to try and get some accurate recipe history/log. I also want to mortar a couple of blocks together and finish them with the final stucco/polyclothe layer, and cut samples out where the joint is, to do proper inspection and testing of the block joints.

      My thoughts are that the blocks can be made and stacked on pallets, then delivered and mortared together on site. The windows, doors, halls, and ventilation can be cut out and finished after or during assembly.
      My main idea is to get the mold shaped right. Each dome diameter would need it's own specific shaped mold. I'm still deciding if I want to have a "tongue and groove" type design, or if having them angled just right will suffice for strength.

      posted in AirCrete
      U
      upwinger
    • RE: Building permit ever issued for an aircrete home in the U.S.?

      @Ignacio-DHOME said in Building permit ever issued for an aircrete home in the U.S.?:

      @upwinger let's start a GoFund and do this!

      I found this document on a Google search: link to CA seismic safety commision document

      This is a start at least. I'll have to get creative with a letter of inquiry

      posted in AirCrete
      U
      upwinger
    • RE: Building permit ever issued for an aircrete home in the U.S.?

      Has anyone thought of applying for a research grant? Seismic area research, hurricane and tornado areas would be applicable as well. If the structure survives after a natural disaster, it can be inspected and maybe certifications could then be retroactively provided depending on the surrounding structures damage in comparison.

      posted in AirCrete
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      upwinger
    • RE: Q about interior polycloth layer

      @Ignacio-DHOME Is there a difference of final strength using fiber glass mesh compared to roofing clothe? I also looked at basalt mesh, which is much more expensive.

      posted in AirCrete
      U
      upwinger
    • RE: Foamcrete walls anyone?

      Just curious about the fiberglass mesh... I'm not sure the price difference between that and the roofing polyclothe. I would bet you could use the polyclothe as well, and maybe add a layer on top while it was still wet. Maybe that would help keep the blocks from crumbling while handling them to mortar them together.

      posted in AirCrete
      U
      upwinger
    • RE: Q about interior polycloth layer

      @Homer... I haven't bought any clothe yet... I'm not there yet. I'm still in the early R & D phase! I was thinking ahead of potential challenges and hanging cloth upside down was one of the potential challenges I can see happening. Building really big domes could probably use a scissor lift to make finishing the interior a lot safer/easier. I mean a 30' dome would put you 15' up, on a ladder stretching wet clothe out on the ceiling upside down sounds like a challenge to me!!

      posted in AirCrete
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      upwinger
    • RE: Issues with foam generator

      I found out after building my own foam generator, that the 1 way check valve works perfectly on my set up. link
      They are cheap on eBay, only a couple bucks, and I believe it will work fine with the little dragon also. It will completely prevent pressurized air from flowing upstream into your little dragon pump, yet allows flow of soap water from pump.

      posted in Tools & Equipment
      U
      upwinger
    • Q about interior polycloth layer

      Does the weight of the wet polyclothe cause problems when you apply it to the top inside? Or does it stick upside down no problem ?

      posted in AirCrete
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      upwinger
    • 12v foam generator SUCCESS 8)

      I hope to get some foam technology advice here as to how to fine tune the foam density recipe.
      I used two 5 gallon buckets, one stacked inside the other. The whole kit fits inside the top bucket for storage and transporting.
      alt text
      alt text

      I had to change the inside of the whole house filter with a 1" piece of pvc pipe cut to the length of a filter and I drilled a whole bunch of little holes at the bottom of the pipe to direct the foam up to the outlet.
      alt text
      I stuffed it full of stainless steel wool around the pipe and a wad of it up in the filter housing top, where I drilled and tapped a fitting for the air inlet. There was already a water pressure relief valve there.
      alt text

      The pump is a 12 volt sealess marine coolant pump made by Johnson.
      alt text
      I was getting consistent ~70g/L foam at about 20 psi air pressure , consistent ~50g/L at 25 psi, and consistent ~110g/L at about 15 psi. I could not get it right at 90g/L.
      This is just cheapo Kirkland brand Costco dish soap for testing purposes only. I mixed it at 2 cups per 5 Gallons H2O.
      alt text
      alt text
      alt text

      I consider this experiment a total success. Now my question for you experienced with foam generating, is what effect does using less soap in the water have? If my foam is too light at 25 psi, will using less soap in the water make it heavier??

      posted in Tools & Equipment
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      upwinger
    • Off-grid Foam Generator

      Proof of concept test was a partial success!

      https://photos.app.goo.gl/8tsgTJ3YZ59ABqds9

      I have a 12 v pack of Nissan Leaf automotive cells...
      These are wired 2s2p for 16volt and 100 aHr .
      https://photos.app.goo.gl/gcbdqdhG6tsKW8cR9
      The whole house filter is stuffed with ss wool pads. My foam was heavy at about 300g/L
      House Filter

      That was with 50psi air pressure. I think I need to stuff more ss pads into it
      https://photos.app.goo.gl/zHxgcADfLUCQXJTS8
      The pump is a Johnson 28watt 12volt sealess 22.5L/min
      It fits perfectly at the bottom when you put the 2 buckets together.

      posted in Tools & Equipment
      U
      upwinger