FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
Question:
Could you tell me exactly how to connect the ground wire inside hood and what is a zip tie and how do i connect to other end of tube?
Answer:
I connected the ground wire by getting a piece of speaker wire. I drilled a
small hole in the rain gutter end, pulled the wire through the hole inside
the hood. Once the wire is inside, I tied an overhand knot (the simple knot
by making a loop and putting the end through) with the wire. The knot on
the wire prevents the wire from pulling back out through the drilled hole
when you pull it from the outside (if the hole is small enough). I stripped
approximately 1 inch of the end of the wire to and simply used scotch tape
to connect the wire to the foil on the bulbs. For connecting the wire to
the outlet, I found something that had a ground plug (the third prong) on it
and removed it from the device. I found that it was threaded on the other
side and had a nut on it. So I just looped the speaker wire around it
(after stripping the end) and used the nut to tighten the wire against the
prong, and plugged it in.
A zip tie is a plastic strip thing. Its used to tie things down. You can
find it at hardware stores. Very handy thing to have around. Tie your
computer wires together to keep them tidy. Zip ties also go by other names
like pull straps, and cable ties. "Zip" ties get its name because the strap
make a zipping sound when you pull them tight.
Question:
Have you thought about patenting this invention of yours?
Answer:
Yes. However, I feel people shouldn't have to pay for "ideas". As long as I don't see this hood design in the pet stores or mail order catalogs, then I don't mind sharing. However, if you ever DO see this design being sold commercially, please let me know (grant@tokumi.net) and just remember where you saw it first. =).
Question:
What are those 2 square shaped black things on top of the hood in the top pictures?
Answer:
Those are cooling fans. The 2 fans ended up being pretty much useless and added more noise. Cooling fans were added in an attempt to reduce the tanks temperature of 79 degrees. It cooled the tank around 2 degrees which was not enough considering I was shooting for a drop of 11 degrees. The poor cooling was partly due to the fact that fans could not be installed on the back gutter. Fans on the back gutter would interfere with the front gutter when opening the hood. Fans are not included in the drawings and are not necessary in my opinion.
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