Category: weather

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Installing an Exhaust Fan in My Shop (Post #745) 8/12/2026

OMG! If you haven’t noticed, it is hot outside. Here in the Southern Plains (never refer to Oklahoma as “the Midwest”, never). Oklahoma City has recorded about 15 to 16 days of 100-degree temperatures so far this summer in 2026, which is above the typical annual average of 12 to 13 days. We have at least 6 more 100-degree days coming. If your country has never landed a man on the moon that temperature is 37.7 Celsius.

With those kinds of temperatures my metal shop building with the lovely radiant heat effect temps often climb above 120°F (48°C). That’s warm. And for a man of my age that is considered “dangerous”. When you start looking at the wet bulb numbers you can easily quantify your chances of a heat related injury.

85-88Working or exercising in direct sunlight will stress your body after 30 minutes.Take at least 30 minutes of breaks each hour if working or exercising in direct sunlight
88-90Working or exercising in direct sunlight will stress your body after 20 minutes.Take at least 40 minutes of breaks each hour if working or exercising in direct sunlight
>90Working or exercising in direct sunlight will stress your body after 15 minutes.Take at least 45 minutes of breaks each hour if working or exercising in direct sunlight

So we have had wet bulb numbers above 85 all of August. Brutal.

So I’m looking at options to adjust the temperature of the shop down to a “reasonable” temp. That will take at least two major items to help.

Exhaust Fan

This weekend I put a 2200 CFM exhaust fan in. Shops my size should have at least a 1500 CFM fan. So I grabbed a Chinese made fan from Vevor. I ordered one with a “control module”. It was broken when it arrived. I had to repair it. Then I tested it. The temp rheostat did not seem to work as I would have expected. Set on 100°F the fan didn’t come on. So I set it to the lowest temp 32°F the fan came on about 60% speed. That is not going to be acceptable.

So I’m going to wire an old fashioned on off switch to a plug. Plug the fan in and when needed I will turn it on the day before. Simple, efficient.

The second thing in the research, planning, I need some money to buy stage is Prodex.

I’m looking at something like $1,000.00(US) to get roughly 1,410 square foot of Prodex Total 5m material and the ancillary materials to mount it to the building frames.

The testimonials and YouTube video promise I will see some significant temp reductions. And in the winter I’ll retain heat.

That’s what were up to. That’s where we are headed.

Thanks for reading, like and subscribe, and support my work by contributing on Patreon.

May the wind take your troubles away….

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Too Cold to Work on Land Rovers (Post #722) 1/25/2026

In this video I talk about how cold it has been and our recent weather event. It was a good one. We got 7 inches of snow here at Okierover Base Camp. We had a couple of days with temps in the low teens and 24 hours of single digit temps.

I never really thought about it but I have 120°F (49°C for the people who have never landed humans on the moon) of temperature variation in the course of all four seasons.

In this video I briefly talk about the Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum. They have a reenactment of a real Wild West Show each summer.

I also talk about a now defunct Chevy dealership in Pawnee, Oklahoma. Moss Chevrolet was in business from 1941 to 1966.

An advert in the Pawnee Bruin Yearbook from 1952.

Relax…it’s not a real wolf pelt.

Thanks for reading, like, subscribe, tell your friends, and Happy Rovering.

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Planning Random Jobs on my Range Rover Classic Overland Rig (Post #715) 8/18/2025

It’s the Dog Days of Summer.

From Wikipedia: The dog days or dog days of summer are the hot, sultry days of summer. They were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star system Sirius (known colloquially as the “Dog Star”), which Hellenistic astrology connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck. They are now taken to be the hottest, most uncomfortable part of summer in the Northern Hemisphere.

Actually we are a week outside the OFFICIAL Dog Days of Summer, that’s okay Oklahoma is behind in a lot of things.

In 2024 Oklahoma was 49th in Education among the states. Thanks New Mexico!

We are 37th in crime…

48th in Healthcare! West Virginia and Mississippi are still worse.

On the good side!!!!!

2025 US News ranked Oklahoma City was named #1 Big City to live in!!!!

When it comes to food, Oklahoma is #1 in Onion Burgers and probably chicken fried steak. I’d say we are top 5 in BBQ too.

When it comes to oppressive heat we are rocking it on that too!!!

It’s too hot to work in the shoppe. I’ve tried to get out in this hell-scape but my 60 year old body is not my 40 year old body and I’ve had a mutiny. My brain still thinks I’m 40 so my body chronologically aged is 60+.

I’ve got a few things I’ve been putting off fixing. They aren’t all that important individually, but necessary.

Zip tie some wires. I’ve got a bunch of failed zip ties underneath. I bought some special for this and I need to get under and get this sorted.

Rear brake line bracket. I cut the bracket off so I didn’t have to deal with the brake lines. Now it’s just hanging and needs to be reattached.

Rust. I bought some rust converter. I could use it very judiciously to make some stuff look better and to stop the rust.

GMRS Radio. I need a solution for my GMRS radio that would make it portable. Was thinking ammo can… haven’t decided exactly.

Not in the video. I have to seal up the floor of the passenger side footwell where I welded and it melted off the stone chip coating.

That’s about it. Like and subscribe, hell drop me an email or comment on the video. Share it with friends at parties…

May the wind take your troubles away….Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

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Fitting the Floor Pan on my Range Rover Classic (Post #692) 2/23/2025

In this post I fit my floor panel in the Range Rover. Yes, I know, it’s about time!

I finished up bolting on the support beams and got the panel test fitted in the Big White Bus. This required me to go to the hardware store and buy a bunch of stainless steel hardware. Fortunately for me I bought a box of 100 bolts. Unfortunately for me the bolts had a 37.5% failure rate when fastening them with nyloc nuts.

Why? I have no idea. It’s not like I was torquing the hell out of them. I hadn’t even bottomed the nuts out and the bolts were binding up. Pretty disappointing. I’ll be sourcing a different brand of hardware in the future. These really let me down. I’ve had problems before but thought it was me being rambunctious with the impact driver. Turns out it wasn’t that after all. You might be quick to say “made in China” I’m not surprised. But these were made in Taiwan. Normally an acceptable substitute, and if that helps them stick it to the CCP I’m all for it. Not sure where I’ll find another brand but I’ll be looking.

The panel fit was “tight” to say the least. It required a bit of persuasion (with a hammer) but it fits. The next step is to get the damn thing welded into place. I probably have 100+ plug welds to do. This is going to be a challenge.

I can see the end of this part of the project in sight so I’m excited to get after it. That’s all for this week. Like and subscribe if you enjoy the content and appreciate all the free content.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

https://youtu.be/2Svh-SdwGOE
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Welding up the Floor Supports on my Range Rover Classic (Post #690) 2/9/2025

In this update I begin attaching the supports to the floor pan. Also in this update I tried to get carbon monoxide poison and avoided getting bit by a fiddleback spider.

I started on the supports and the first one was the strap across the back portion of the floor bed. When I removed the strap during my tear down I drilled out the welds. I did a decent job and only punched through on one weld. This allowed me to plug weld the strap back into place.

This was fortuitous. The other support beams are drilled through. That’s gonna make reattaching …difficult.

Since it was a bit chilly in the shoppe, I fired up the kerosene heater. I done this several times in the past. Before I closed the overhead door a little exhaust from the Big White Bus managed to get in. The heater must have added to a substantial amount of carbon monoxide. This set off the sensor. So I opened up the door to let the monoxides out.

I also moved the alarm, under the alarm was a damn fiddleback spider. The cold didn’t allow for the damn thing to scurry away. I ended it right there with a tap. When it twitched, I gave it a SMASH. One less brown recluse spider is a good thing.

I now have one of the three supports into place. The other two will not be as fun.

Like and subscribe if you are enjoying the content. It is appreciated.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

https://youtu.be/n2oFRhvDRRs
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Footwell Repair Part 1: Footwell Repair (Post #660) 6/30/2024

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stu·pid·i·ty /sto͞oˈpidədē/ noun

1 : the quality or state of being stupid

2 : a stupid idea or act

3: working in a metal shop building in the heat of an Oklahoma summer

Good grief it was hot today. The shop was 120F° (48.8°C) when I opened the big rollup door. After a few minutes the temp calmed down to a very tolerable 105-110°F (sarcasm). It was about as hot in there as I’ve ever seen.

But temperature is not something we let ruin a good time. Some people go camping in this heat, I don’t. Some people continue to run as a hobby in this heat, I don’t. Some people work on their Land Rovers when its this hot outside, I definitely do.

The heat aside, I have to work on this Land Rover at every opportunity if I’m ever going to drive her again. So there I was sweating my b@11s off to make a floor panel patch.

I started with measuring the size AGAIN. I seriously measured for this patch at least a half dozen times. I then proceeded to cut a patch from my recently procured steel.

The patch needed a lot of manipulation to get close to fitting. I bent the panel by hand first and then used the BF hammer to get it even closer. I’ve still got a long way to go to get this even closer.

One of the seems in the deep bend along the transmission tunnel is not welded. That will need to be welded and sealed again. I also have a small patch to fix next to the bulkhead on the door side. Those two will be the next two things I tackle.

Once those are fixed, I’ll be able to finish the patch. The patch will need to have another 1/2 inch trimmed off. Then…there is the two bends that are there for structure or to limit the vibration. I’ll need to build a jig and use the air chisel as an air hammer to bend the metal.

This is going to take a router bit that will closely approximate bends. And it will take me making a jig. I watched a video on YouTube by “Make It Kustom” where he did this very thing. I’ll need to make the same tool he did. And I’ll need my air compressor…which…is now disabled.

Seems my last working air fitting end, which started leaking recently, now will not hold any tools because the ball bearings are missing. And if that wasn’t enough, my hose end is now stripped out and I won’t be able to put a new fitting on, so I get to buy a new hose too. Super awesome.

That’s where I decided to shut down my work and jump in the pool.

Thanks for reading, like and subscribe, and Happy Rovering.

https://youtu.be/U5KY1AeaX0s
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