Electronics Q for y'all...

[Kevin the grey]

Well, technically, it was NOT working as a ground, but as a conductor!

If grounds were not conductors we would all be in big trouble . L:O:L

Technically in this case it seemed to be working as a load . That is proabably why the main fuses didn,t blow .

If you really want to get wild ? Same landlord different house . The electrician used the ground as a hot to give himself two circuits with three wires .

Unfortunately for him the next electrician who came in reconnected the hot and neutral to a receptacle . The poor guy in actuality connected two 110 votages to the plug . This receptacle was the circuit my Sony trinitron and V:C:R: were hooked up to . The capacitors didn,t really make all that much noise when they blew up . The landlord made much more noise when he had to replace my equipment . L:O:L

 

[DOC-CANADA]

The old timers went to bed early, at 2000 to 2100 hours??
But awoke at daybreak to utilize the daylight as much as possible.
Daybreak in US Lower 48 is anywhere from 0430 to 0600 depending on latitude and season.

good question. What would we do?

First of all, as was pointed out, you would be up during the daylight hours, as much as possible. As far as lighting, it would probably be used as a temporary thing, for the most part.

In this part of the world, some tree barks will burn and act as torches - Birch bark (Betula papyrifera), some Cherry barks (Prunus spp.). I've found that the bark from Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) burns, but I have not, as yet, tried to make a torch with it. A 18" Birch torch will burn 15-20 minutes in still air.

The torch on the left is Birch and the one on the right is Cherry. Cherry will burn better than the picture would suggest.

You can render animal fat, and use it to saturate Cattail (Typha spp.) and use this as a torch. You can use it in an oil lamp, that can be made from local clay, or a rock with a depression in it, a sea shell (or Mussel) and use a rolled up and dried Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) leaf as a wick.

Just to keep this honest, the oil in the Mussel shell in this photo is Peanut oil.

These are a couple of ideas. There are also other methods.

Doc

Edited:
In retrospect, I think I should have posted the link, so here it is:
http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/lights/torches.html

 

[Kevin the grey]

Doc is that you ? How tightly is that birch bark rolled ? How wide is the space in the middle . Do you use the inner bark as well ? Will it stay lit in a drizzle ? Why are you trying to set fire to your garage ? What is the most questions you have ever answered in a row ? L:O:L

 

[DOC-CANADA]

Kevin the grey]Doc is that you ?

The Brad Pitt look-alike?

How tightly is that birch bark rolled ?

It's not that critical.

How wide is the space in the middle .

That's a good question. Not that critical, but you need to keep it hollow in the centre. It helps the flame to burn because of the extra oxygen. If, for whatever reason, the flame starts to die down, you turn it over to start it burning better. Same for the Cherry bark.

Do you use the inner bark as well ?

Separating the bark is not necessary for a torch. For tinder, though, it is. For tinder you need small, thin, wispy pieces.

Will it stay lit in a drizzle ?

Depends on the drizzle, but Birch bark can be removed from a log, under water, and it usually burns, although one piece I tried, didn't, but every other piece I've tried, did.

Why are you trying to set fire to your garage ?

Insurance purposes.

What is the most questions you have ever answered in a row ? L:O:L

Seven.

doc

 

[Coldwood]

We would learn to live the way our grandparents did. Candles, oil lamps, natural daylight, learn to see in the dark. When we have power outages, we burn candles. What I've noticed is that they do not illuminate a room like a lightbulb, regardless of what you see in the movies. They give you small pools of light to navigate by. But they are cheap.