Most mechanical relays and switches are rated for 1 million cycles or less. That sounds like a lot at first, but if you have a sump pump that runs every 30 seconds, that's less than a year. Lowes used to sell a sump pump with a lifetime warranty. Every year, the manufacturer would mail me a new switch, and about every three years, a new pump, until they finally insisted on refunding my money.

Warranties on all the new sump pumps I looked at are awful - most are one to five years, and they expect you to mail the pump in each time. Some don't warranty the switch at all. Not keen on replacing the switch every year, and not wanting the basement to flood, I decided to build a solid-state arduino-controlled system. Water level will be detected using eTape, and the pump will be controlled with a solid-state relay. I've begun putting together a prototype:

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I have a large collection of 18V Porter Cable tools. The oldest are from 2010, and the batteries are starting to fail. I've heard that Harbor Freight's 18V battery uses the same cells. A new Porter Cable battery is about $40, whereas the Harbor Freight battery, with the ubiquitous 20% off coupon, is just $10.40.

Both batteries open by just removing a few screws. The Porter Cable battery is better packaged, but the layout of the cells is identical:

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The Chinese 40W laser cutter, sometimes called the K40, has been around several years now, and prices have finally dropped below $400. After waiting for discounts to line up, I was finally able to purchase one last week for about $360 shipped. How bad (or how good?) is a $360 laser cutter?

The unit is larger than I pictured it, given the cutting size. The box is 37"x25"x16". With its weight and bulk, it was too large for me to get my arms around, so I slid it in the front door and unboxed it.

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