Thomas shares makes

DIY Heatpump drip tray

My drip tray, installed.

An outdoor heatpump unit pulls water from the air since moisture condenses on its cold radiator. In very cold temperatures it forms ice, which is suddenly thawed all at once in a 'defrost cycle'. Our outdoor unit was installed over our driveway, and we walk under it on the way to our back door.

The installer did not place a capture tray, but I want to avoid water dripping and pooling on the driveway during the heating season so we don't get a slippery ice spot or perhaps the continuous flow of water might even find its way into the brick wall.

OpenPlank Proof Of Concept

The first (crude) prototype with sloppy veneer edges

In November I saw a cool device at an event. The device was presented as an unobtrusive way to interact with technology. Unlike usual touch screen devices, it looks like a wooden plank that is sensitive to touch and uses a LED pixel matrix behind the wood to visualize icons and text.

Since the device wasn't available for sale, I wondered how easy it would be to DIY a (much) simpler version that I could use for some of the same tasks.

I worked on this for a few hours each week, and by the end of December I had this simple proof of concept, making use of cheap parts and easy to assemble.

I call it the OpenPlank. Check it out...