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| author | Bradley Taunt <bt@btxx.org> | 2024-07-02 14:22:21 -0400 |
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| committer | Bradley Taunt <bt@btxx.org> | 2024-07-02 14:22:21 -0400 |
| commit | 3f6a9546ec13063d0d5bdf21d30a93d3e8aa6050 (patch) | |
| tree | 947985c4eda1bceb1910bc01739c32fd0baad181 /build/over-engineering-an-oil-tank/index.html | |
| parent | 14074019d62d98885c4c764401a9e7e1fd129f79 (diff) | |
Diffstat (limited to 'build/over-engineering-an-oil-tank/index.html')
| -rw-r--r-- | build/over-engineering-an-oil-tank/index.html | 84 |
1 files changed, 84 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/build/over-engineering-an-oil-tank/index.html b/build/over-engineering-an-oil-tank/index.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..07d586e --- /dev/null +++ b/build/over-engineering-an-oil-tank/index.html @@ -0,0 +1,84 @@ +<!doctype html> +<html lang="en"> +<head> + <meta charset="utf-8"> + <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> + <meta name="color-scheme" content="dark light"> + <link rel="icon" href="data:,"> + <title>Over-Engineering an Oil Tank Gauge</title> + <link href="/atom.xml" type="application/atom+xml" rel="alternate" title="Atom feed for blog posts" /> + <link href="/rss.xml" type="application/rss+xml" rel="alternate" title="RSS feed for blog posts" /> +<style>*{box-sizing:border-box;}body{font-family:sans-serif;line-height:1.33;margin:0 auto;max-width:650px;padding:1rem;}blockquote{background:rgba(0,0,0,0.1);border-left:4px solid;padding-left:5px;}img{max-width:100%;}pre{border:1px solid;overflow:auto;padding:5px;}table{text-align:left;width:100%;}.footnotes{font-size:90%;}</style> +</head> + +<nav> + <a href="#menu">Menu ↓</a> +</nav> + +<main> +<h1 id="over-engineering-an-oil-tank-gauge">Over-Engineering an Oil Tank Gauge</h1> +<p>2020-09-09</p> +<p>I almost went down the path of investing a huge amount of time and effort into fixing a stuck oil fuel tank float-gauge in my house. Recently, the float mechanism became stuck and permanently displayed <code>empty</code> regardless of how much fuel was in the tank - not ideal. It’s a 20 year-old tank, so I wasn’t surprised that the float finally gave out. </p> +<p>Being the wannabe tinkerer that I am, a light bulb went off in my head and I started thinking on how to incorporate some ultrasonic system to display the accurate fuel reading digitally. Obviously my first thought was just to replace the float gauge with a new one and be done with it. That didn’t sound very <em>fun</em> though.</p> +<p>I briefly looked at other similar projects and started brainstorming the best way I would implement this for my own situation. The best option I came across seemed to be this: <a href="https://scottiestech.info/2017/10/24/diy-ultrasonic-fuel-gauge-level-sensor/">DIY Ultrasonic Fuel Gauge / Level Sensor</a></p> +<p>An ultrasonic system with a cool mini display sounded pretty rad - much cooler than just replacing the broken gauge with a new float arm. So it was settled.</p> +<h2 id="my-oil-think-tank">My oil think-tank</h2> +<p>I quickly thought through my options in my head before jumping too far into things (and even included a “poor-mans” temperature strip option):</p> +<table> +<thead> +<tr> +<th>Solution</th> +<th>Cost</th> +<th>Time</th> +</tr> +</thead> +<tbody> +<tr> +<td>Ultrasonic Gauge</td> +<td>$40-50</td> +<td>~2-3 hours</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>New Float Gauge</td> +<td>$25-30</td> +<td>~45 minutes</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>Temperature Strips</td> +<td>$10</td> +<td>~2 minutes</td> +</tr> +</tbody> +</table> +<p>My mind was still set on building and implementing the ultrasonic option. It would be a great learning experience at the very least!</p> +<p>So, before I ordered any parts or started designing a case that would house this new super-cool device, I went to investigate/remove the float gauge to get a better look at the damage. With the help of some penetrating oil (the original installer went crazy with the pipe dope) and my trusty wrench, I opened up the gauge cap, partly lifting the float from the tank. Right away I noticed that the float and shaft were slightly stuck together in one small area. I poked it with my finger.</p> +<p><em>The float set itself back into the correct position. It was fixed.</em></p> +<p>How could I have been so dumb. I was so excited about <em>building something</em> that I jumped into implementation before fully realizing the problem. Talk about a metaphor for web dev, am I right?</p> +<h2 id="overthinking-simple-problems">Overthinking simple problems</h2> +<p>I can’t speak for all designers / developers out there, but I catch myself (far more often than I’d like to admit) over-engineering a solution because of some perceived notion that it is the “best” option. Most of the time it isn’t actually better, it just seems more <em>fun</em>.</p> +<p>Now don’t get me wrong, fun is a good thing most of the time. It’s just that some instances call for the quickest, cleanest, easiest solution in the name of efficiency - just be sure to have fully explored the problem <em>first</em>.</p> +<h2 id="final-decision">Final decision</h2> +<p>So I ended up doing nothing. I simply re-threaded the cap and placed the float back inside the tank. I know I saved myself time and money, but I can’t help but feel like I failed…</p> +<p>Just like in the world of software, it’s best to avoid over-engineering simple problems.</p> +<footer role="contentinfo"> + <h2>Menu Navigation</h2> + <ul id="menu"> + <li><a href="/">Home</a></li> + <li><a href="/projects">Projects</a></li> + <li><a href="/uses">Uses</a></li> + <li><a href="/wiki">Wiki</a></li> + <li><a href="/resume">Resume</a></li> + <li><a href="/colophon">Colophon</a></li> + <li><a href="/now">Now</a></li> + <li><a href="/donate">Donate</a></li> + <li><a href="/atom.xml">RSS</a></li> + <li><a href="#top">↑ Top of the page</a></li> + </ul> + <small> + Built with <a href="https://barf.btxx.org">barf</a>. <br> + Feeds: <a href="/atom.xml">Atom</a> & <a href="/rss.xml">RSS</a><br> + Maintained with ♥ for the web. <br> + Proud supporter of <a href="https://usefathom.com/ref/DKHJVX">Fathom</a> & <a href="https://nextdns.io/?from=74d3p3h8">NextDNS</a>. <br> + The content for this site is <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.<br> The <a href="https://git.sr.ht/~bt/bt.ht">code for this site</a> is <a href="https://git.sr.ht/~bt/bt.ht/tree/master/item/LICENSE">MIT</a>. + </small> +</footer>
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