Pure Pumpkin Pie

Source: Pure Pumpkin Pie

Pure Pumpkin Pie

It’s pure and straight forward like a simple Thanksgiving  *  Mix a 15 oz can of pumpkin with one 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk  *  add two eggs and a Tbsp of pumpkin pie spice  *  an optional tsp of vanilla extract can be added for additional flavor  *  Pour the pumpkin pie mix into a frozen 9 inch pie crust and place on a foil lined baking sheet  *  Bake in a preheated 425F oven for 15 minutes  *  Reduce oven temperature to 350F and bake 40 minutes longer or until knife inserted i inch from crust comes out clean  *  Cool on a wire rack  if possible  *  Best when served with a peak of whipped cream if you have some heavy cream and sugar available  *  unless your tallying calories like myself – and can enjoy the classic Thanksgiving desert in it’s pure flavor  *  I wish a Happy Thanks giving to all who read the Sea Oats Project blog!

Recipe for an Electric Motor

When the blender “burns out” the problem is probably not with the electric motor  *  more than likely the circuit board has interrupted the flow of electricity  *  circuit boards are used to change the amount of voltage (and amperage) that reach the electric motor – more voltage; more speed, less voltage; less speed  *  more amperage; more current, less amperage; less current  *  this is done with resistors, transistors, transformers, capacitors, condensers, fuses, circuit breakers, etc.  *  most circuit boards can be by-passed in an emergency and a blender can run on one speed until the mixing is done  *  the electric motor seems too simple to break down and be the problem when a blender stops  *  here is an easy recipe for making an electric motor  *  make a neat coil by rolling 2 feet of single strand 20-gauge magnet wire around your index finger  *  Finish by wrapping each loose end around the coil three times to hold them in place  *  leave at least two inches of of wire at each end of the coil  *  Sand the insulation off each end of the wire  *  these exposed ends will become the electrical contacts  *  by covering only the top half of each wire with ink from a marking pen – the top half becomes re-insulated – from the marking pen ink  * This becomes the commutator  * Open two large paper clips and loop the ends so that they can be used as a stand to support and hold the coil  *  take a 3 inch block of wood and drill small holes about two inches apart to set the paperclips in  *  make sure the loops on the clips are about 1 1/4 inches above the base  *  Balance the coil so that it will rotate easily inside the loops  *  Beneath the coils – place one or more magnets and raise them so that they are close to the coil without having them touch  *  make sure that the magnets are very close to the coil and that the coil can spin freely  *  let’s make the electrical connections  *  Use wire clip leads to connect each terminal of a battery to one of paper clips that is supporting the coil  *  the coil may begin to spin on it’s own – if not – give it a slight flick to get it started  *  It should start spinning around  *  If necessary add a second battery by connecting two batteries so that the positive end is wired to the negative end of the other  *  then connect one of the loose contacts to one paper clip and the other contact to the second paper clip  *  by connecting the batteries in series – the voltage in the circuit will increase  *  I have not made this motor yet, but I can’t wait to give it a try!

Brushes-Blenders-Poles: continued

Remember, when we plug in a blender, the electricity is used to make an electromagnetic force in the motor  * Like an ordinary magnet – electromagnets obey the rule that like poles repel and unlike poles attract  *  this is the basis of one of the most useful machines in the modern world: the electric motor  *  A basic motor consists of a coil of wire, like a solenoid, but on a long rod that is able to spin around  *  this coil is the armature and two poles of a permanent magnet are on either side of the coil  *  When we switch on the electricity – the armature becomes an electromagnet with its own poles  *  If the electromagnet’s north pole is near the permanent magnet’s north pole – these two magnetic forces will repel  *  The armature’s north pole is attracted to the permanent magnet’s south pole which is on the other side  *  this makes the armature spin around for a half turn  *  Now comes a neat invention – a device called the commutator serves as a switching device on the shaft  *  A commutator is a round metal collar or ring that has been divided into two halves  *  each collar is joined to one end of the armature wire  *  Two wire brushes (contacts) press on either side of the commutator and feed electricity to it and the armature  *  Best to take this next happening slow – because in reality it happens very fast  *  As the armature spins half a turn – the commutator contacts move around half a turn  – so that in effect, they exchange brushes  *  This reverses the electrical current!!  *  When the electrical current is reversed  – the armature’s magnetic poles are also reversed  *  It’s north becomes south and repels the nearby south pole of the permanent magnet  *  the same push-pull forces happen again – making the armature spin further – and the commutator reverses the current again  *  the armature keeps spinning as the commutator keeps switching the current  *  This causes the electric motor to turn around  * This allows the shaft of the electric motor to keep turning around  *  the electrical energy has been changed to kinetic or movement energy and can blend our mixtures when a blade is attached to the turning rod  **  I need a break

Brushes and Blenders

I was recently making a zucchini and raisin bread with the help of my blender  *  In an absent-minded moment – instead of pouring the wet mix in first and the dry mix on top – I made the mistake of putting the brown sugar in first  *  I really thought the blender blades would spin it around with no problem and the wet and dry mix would follow  *  It didn’t happen and the blender immediately burned out  *  I have a thing for electric motors and removed the invention from the blender housing  *  It is truly a scientific invention ( from the experiments of Ampere, Faraday, Sturgeon and Henry) and a work of art  *  Electrified Magnets turn coils and brushes spin a rotor that has the fins that blend the recipes – or something like that  *  Just can’t seem to part with the device  *  the electric motor has been around for a long time  *  It not only does amazing things – it has an amazing design  * I am puzzled that they are thrown away when the blender stops working  *  They really are the essence of the blender and in all probability a fuse or circuit connected to the motor has been interrupted  –  while the electric motor is still working and in good condition  *  I think these electric motors are worth saving and still have a value  *  Your comments as to what to do with the electric motors are welcome and appreciated