How To Get Better Gas Mileage And Save Fuel

By Pete Roberts

As gas prices continue to increase you may be wondering how to get better gas mileage. If you are finding ways to increase gas mileage or improve fuel efficiency there are several do it yourself solutions that you may want to consider as part of your standard car maintenance.

Performing a tune up can increase gas mileage up to 20% or even more if a faulty oxygen sensor is discovered. This is extreme but if your engine is idling roughly or hesitating and spiting smoke out the tail pipe then you should and get a full engine tune up you should increase gas mileage and possibly extend the life of your engine saving hundreds or thousands of dollars in future maintenance.

Check your tire pressure. Many people overlook this simple maintenance item and it should be checked monthly. By keeping your tires at recommended pressure as stated in the owners manual you could get better gas mileage of 2-3%. Not only that you could save hundreds of dollars of more because when your tires are properly inflated it also maximizes the life of the tire.

Driving habits can have a real adverse affect on mileage. Driving habits can be finding the shortest way home or the route that is the most direct and has the least amount of stops along the way. If you have been asking yourself how to get better gas mileage this is a big factor. Find an online mapping service that shows you direct routes.

Do you use your vehicle or car trunk as a storage unit? By eliminating every 100lbs in your vehicle you could be increasing gas mileage by a percentage point. Many people are so extreme in this extra weight that they may only keep their gas tank partially filled to reduce weight. Gas weighs about 6.1 pounds per gallon at room temperature. If your are deciding on how to increase gas mileage there are many solutions to help help improve gas mileage.

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To find out more about hho kits and hho dry cell plans.

Should I Use A Custom Shed Plan For My Backyard?

By Ryan Henders

You know you need a storage shed but you just aren't sure which to pick out of the many ones available to you. They all have some great features but just not everything you want. You may be feeling that you are going to have to settle for the next best thing but that's really not the case. You can build your own custom storage shed just from some basic plans and even customize those plans to fit your exact liking.

If you only have a few items and don?t anticipate having too many storable items, in the future you are probably better off just to make due with a pre fab. Although as we discussed there are many benefits to building your own unit from the ground up. You will be able to customize the size, which wouldn?t be an option with a prefab.

Another benefit to building your own outdoor shed is you are going to be able to pick the material that best suits the customized style that you are going with. You will have had to plan your design prior to starting so you already know exactly what materials you are going to need. It may save you some extra money in the long run as well. If there happens to be some materials on sale that you can fit into your overall plan then you will have some extra savings.

The same applies to windows if you are going to be installing windows in your custom shed. If there are some on sale, why not build around the sale. It made mean a few alterations to your plans but if it means extra savings then all the better.

Another benefit is when it comes to space. If you had gone with a prefab then you would have to have that specific size space available. Perhaps the space you have for your shed is an odd or irregular size. This is not going to be a problem with your customized built one because you can make your plans according to spec. Another option is if you have an area that is not in plain view then you don?t have to worry about it being as esthetically attractive and it gives you the option of going with sidings like metal or vinyl as opposed to wood. Most individuals prefer the wood siding if the shed is going to be in plain view.

Ideally, to initially start getting some ideas take a look around the garden and home improvement centers and pick out some things that you like about the sheds you see there. Then you can incorporate them into your customized plans perhaps.

You can see that by being creative and innovative you can build yourself a really nice outdoor shed for much less money than you may have spent on a pre fab one. Plus it has everything you wanted and most likely is much better quality. In the end not only was it worth the time and effort you get to enjoy all of the other benefits of a customized shed.

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Over 12,000 shed plans and woodworking patterns. MyShedPlans is the one stop resource for woodworkers and shed builders. From free storage shed plans to woodworking projects, MyShedPlans cover them all!

5 Ways To Use Outdoor Sheds - Shed Plans

By Ryan Henders

Whats great about having your own shed is the fact that you can customize it to your liking. There are tons of great free plans on the market but the fact is that they are never ideal or perfect. You might like the walls but not too keen on the layout and vice versa. The only way is to create your own custom made shed.

Another problem with the standard outdoor sheds is exactly that, they are standard they are designed to fit in with the d?cor of your house. Some of them stand out like a sore thumb and take away from the garden d?cor. If you have spent a lot of money on your outdoor architecture then you are most certainly going to want an outdoor custom shed that is going to enhance your work. It?s most often appreciated by your neighbors as well as it increases the overall esthetics of your neighborhood.

The other great feature of having a custom outdoor shed is the minimal work it requires on your part. You just need to give the designer the instructions of what you want, such as style, size, color and even the shape. That?s the bonus of it being custom made you can have it built the way you want in accordance with the structural requirements by law. Once you have made all these decisions then you just need to sit back and watch. The company you have hired to do this does all the rest of the work. You will most likely be told what type of flooring is going to required for example the proper foundation pad. They will gather the materials according to your instructions; build the shed most likely on their premises. Then install it at your location. Nothing could be easier and they really are cost effective when you factor in you are getting what you want and the quality is going to be superior.

If you want to save yourself some labor costs, many suppliers will give you the option of assembling it yourself.

There are few things though that you are going to want to keep in mind when you are determining just what you want to achieve with your custom outdoor shed. You want to plan it to house all of the current items you have now to store but plan for the future as well. No doubt, you will be making other purchases that are going to be needing storage room as well. You don?t want to out grow your shed in a year or two. Also, consider if you are going to be doing any type of work in your shed as well such as minor repairs for example. Remember when you are designing it that primarily it has to be functional although the esthetics value is playing a great part in why you are having a custom shed built in the first place.

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Want to build sheds the easy way? Get free shed plans of a storage shed at MyShedPlans site now. MyShedPlans offers you over 12,000 shed plans and woodworking patterns. It is the ultimate woodworkers resource

Raising Chickens - Why Not?

By Tom Francis

Theres something nice about keeping your own chickens and its no wonder that so many people choose to keep a few chickens.

The chickens will supply you with all the eggs you need, and maybe with enough to sell to shops or at the local market.

They are one of my favorite foods, without a doubt. You can beat the taste, and you can have so much variety with eggs. The common uses are of course, boiling, frying and poaching. But there are so many other applications, in baking cakes, quiches etc.

I live in the city and I am a regular consumer of eggs. I get mine in the local grocery store or supermarket. They are OK I guess, but have you ever tasted real free-range eggs?

I usually spend a weekend in the country with my mom, every five or six weeks. And she always seems to have a supply of "free free range" eggs at the ready. She gets them from a local farmer who calls to the door. Now these eggs are about as far from battery eggs as it's possible to get.

And boy do I enjoy those eggs. Theres just no comparison with shop eggs, bless them. And I have my doubts if shop eggs (even the free-range variety) are really free-range.

I think its because I grew up on that same farm, and enjoyed those free free range eggs every day, that I got the taste for them. You are never happy with second best.

And it's quite easy to get started with your own chickens. That's one of the big attractions. With a back garden of a reasonable size, you could soon build a coop at a reasonable price, and get a few chickens who will call your place home! Not to mention - the daily supply of fresh eggs.

And I think that it's hard not to get attached to the chickens - they can be so endearing. You can of course keep them for the eggs, but they can turn out to be like pets!

Believe it or not, I could watch chickens for ages. I find them so interesting (and funny). The sounds, the head movements and the way they forage around the yard, all amuse me. (Maybe that's easily done)!

Each one has their own particular traits - some are loud and and boisterous, while others are more laid-back, or timid. And when they lay an egg, they let you know, loud and clear!

And the chickens come in many beautiful colors and varieties, such as Golden Campines, Blue Andalusians or the popular Rhode Island Reds.

They can be kept as pets, of course, but they will keep producing eggs. What other pet gives something back? I cant think of any!

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To get a free, 53-page color manual on building a chicken coop, just go to Build Your Own Chicken House and enter your details. You can get an excellent, detailed coop-building guide at Chicken House Plans Grab a totally unique version of this article from the Uber Article Directory

Starter Charms and Charm Bracelets For Girls And Young Women

By Shiran Cohen

Regardless of how old or young a woman is she will always appreciate a gift that brings back great memories. Family members can start a young girl off on her very own collection of charms and a charm bracelet as a way to mark all the important events as she grows and matures. When this happens the charms and the bracelet become a treasured gift as well as something that is very personal.

Starting a girl out with her own collection of charms and a charm bracelet means a bit of thinking ahead. If you select a bracelet that is suitable for a young girl, at least with regards to size, it will have to be replaced as she grows and matures. The other aspect is to consider an Italian style charm bracelet that can easily changed by simply purchasing a larger base and allowing the girl to choose the charms she wants on the bracelet.

To deal with this issue it may be possible to choose an adult sized charm bracelet and to collect charms for the bracelet. When the young girl turns a specific age or reaches a particular milestone in her life she can then receive the bracelet to wear.

Another consideration is that some young girls may want to simply wear the bracelet while they can and then retain it for later when she has her own family. In this way the bracelet and the charms become a gift of her past to her own children.

A jeweler, however, can remove even soldered on charms from a traditional style bracelet and transfer them to another charm bracelet. This can be a good option if the girl wants to move some of the charms from a child's size bracelet to an adult charm bracelet. Charms don't have to be replaced; they just have to be re-soldered.

Anything that a young girl enjoys doing or shows a passion or interest in is good category of charms to consider for the bracelet. Most young women have very diverse areas of interest that means there is a great number of possible combinations of charms.

Giving the gift of charms or a specific charm to mark those important and special dates and events in a girl's life can be part of the celebration. The whole family can get involved in adding to the bracelet by selecting charms that tell the girl how special and unique she is.

It is rare to find a gift that continues to improve with age, but a charm bracelet and personalized, significant charms is certainly one such gift. As each milestone is reached and the young girl develops new talents and abilities, additional charms can be added to commemorate her achievements all through her life.

About the Author:

Shiran Cohen of World of Charms get more than 7 years of real knowledge in the charms world. If you want to buy a charm bracelet or to add charms to a bracelet you already have you need take a look at World of Charms and check their wonderful variety of silver charms, gold charms and diamond charms for bracelets.

The Top French Fragrances Of All Time

By Paul Mancini

People love women's French perfumes. It is no wonder that the women's fragrance industry worldwide makes around 9 billion dollars every year. It is also well known that fragrances have been around for a very long time. This is due to the fact that people always like to smell nice, and hence perfume manufacturers are on a never ending quest to try to come up with fragrances that will appeal to the masses.

Through the past several decades, several brands of perfumes have been introduced to the market with mixed results. Some of them seemed to smell good, however there are only some that remain on the market to become all-time favorite scents, used by a large number of women, and endorsed by some of the most well-known superstars in the world.

The tastes for women's perfumes are different for every individual. Some folks like a strong fragrance but many like a subdued one. Despite this fact, the tastes for perfumes always have a point where everyone's tastes coincide and complement. This is irrespective of cost and ultimately leads us to the enduring perfumes. Women, both past and present, never tire of them. So without further ado, here are several of the top fragrances worn by women of all time.

Chanel No. 5 - This well known scent was created by Chanel in 1921. One of the most memorable celebrities who claimed to love this French fragrance so much was none other than Ms. Marilyn Monroe. In an interview she claimed she would not wear any other women's French fragrance to bed but Chanel's No. 5. This classic perfume has remained popular throughout the years not only because stars endorsed it, but because its classic powdery aroma and staying power makes it a favorite and it remains so right through to today.

L'heure Bleu - It was created long before other fragrances were created. Its name means 'the blue hour'. As one of the oldest, this fragrance has a sweeter fragrance that creates its delightful scent, making it a perfect accompaniment for both young and old.

Creed Tuberose Indiana - This classic was created in 1980 and until now many women including celebrities go after it. This fragrance's citrus scent creates a sexy feeling and hence is loved by Goldie Hawn and others.

Bulgary Pour Femme - It is one of the most original scents of Bulgari which was created in 1995. This women's French fragrance is a great fit for a free spirited young lass. Its scent is comprised of a subtle blend of orange blossom and violet. This women's fragrance has a floral bouquet which is loved by Whitney Houston and others.

Christian Dior Eau de Dolce Vita - This citrus and vivacious scent was created by Christian Dior. Known by anyone, particularly big name stars such as Kristin Scott Thomas, this perfume, released in 1996, creates a delicate scent of femininity.

The choice of your own signature fragrance is a very personal choice. You should pick one that smells good to you. The French fragrances mentioned above are simply a guide to help you pick your own great smell.

About the Author:

Paul is a first rate expert at trade sites where you can find tens of thousands of trade leads for Designer Fragrance and Womens Perfumes.

Why I Buy My Filters Online

By Steven Barker

Are you sick and tired of being of being overcharged for your aquarium filter? Many people continue returning to the place where they first purchased their tank for fish tank filters. Luckily, there is no reason why you should have to pay these high prices for your filters. You can find a number of aquarium supply retailers online that carry the exact same products that your store does.

What a lot of pet stores won't tell is that you can find replacement fish tank filters at a number of different places. They won't divulge this information because they know that the other places will be much more affordable. In fact, you could be paying up to fifty percent less for the exact same filter if you know where to look.

One of my friends told me that the best place to locate a cheap aquarium filter was online. She told me that I would be shocked by the number of online retailers that carried the same brands and styles that I needed for my aquarium. With the wide selection that was available I could easily comparison shop.

The internet is highly competitive with pricing and you can find a lot of great deals. It is important that you make sure that you are purchasing your fish tank filters from a reputable internet business that is legitimate. Sometimes internet auctions will offer you this equipment for a very low price but they are not regulated. Do some research and thoroughly read through the website. Chances are that you can easily spot a legitimate business from a fraudulent one.

A replacement aquarium filter is not the only item that you can find on the internet. As a fish enthusiast there are a number of other items that you have to purchase to support your hobby.

I found replacement bulbs and a number of other aquarium essentials on the internet. They were priced much lower than they would be at my local pet store and they had a much greater selection of items.

I noticed that the internet retailers were able to carry a much larger selection of items yet I was still able to find the brand names that I relied upon.

Before paying full price at your local retailer for another aquarium filter or replacement bulb, check online first to see if you can find a better deal. You might be pleasantly surprised and save yourself a lot of money. Money you can spend on more exciting things like fish and corals.

About the Author:

About the author: he is an expert in using the proper aquarium filter and writes articles about the benefits of how fish tank filters keep your aquarium clean.

An Introduction To LED Kitchen Lighting

By Abigail Monot

Great kitchen lighting design typically utilises a large amount of lighting (which means more than just installing a few extra ceiling roses). Kitchen lighting needs a variety of types of lighting for different areas and purposes. The absolutely worst way to illuminate a kitchen is using bright fluorescent ceiling strip lights. They're certainly very bright - but also flat, cold and guaranteed to give you a headache into the bargain.

The most obvious issue with having central ceiling-rose fittings in a kitchen is that they produce dark spots, most noticeably where you cast your own shadow onto work surfaces. A solution seen in many kitchens involves fitting halogen down lamps in a uniform pattern across the ceiling then adding task-specific lighting for workareas, hobs and so on.

This solution works reasonably well, but does have its own downsides: halogen lamps operate at extremely high temperatures, don't last very long, and are without rival as the most expensive means of lighting a kitchen. Some 90% of the cost of incandescent lighting (of which halogen is an extreme example) is the electricity they use.

This one fact helps explain the growing popularity of cool, super energy efficient LED kitchen lights. For mains powered lighting you simply replace all existing GU10 halogen lamps with equivalent GU10 LED lights. For low voltage systems, you first replace existing 12 volt transformers with a smaller number of constant voltage 12 volt LED drivers (each can power a number of light fittings) then replace MR16 halogens with LED light bulbs.

There are 3 principal qualities to consider when evaluating LED spotlights, namely: luminosity (or brightness); color temperature (how blue and cool or yellow and warm the light seems); and light beam angle. Try to obtain as good a match as possible to the performance of your halogen lamps in these 3 areas.

We are used to measuring brightness in terms of wattage, but an LED light bulb will have a wattage rating at least ten percent that of it's equivalent incandescent or halogen bulb. Therefore, when replacing a 35w halogen lamp use an LED of 3w or above, and likewise replace a 50w with a 5w LED, etc.

Color temperature is used to measure how warm or cool a light seems. LED lights are available in a variety of white color temperatures (and also, colors) but since it has always been easier to manufacture blue LEDs, many cheap LEDs tend to have a cold/bluish tinge. Go for warm white (color temperatures below 3500K) for a reasonable approximation to the kind of white light normally associated with halogen lamps.

The more focused the beam angle is (i.e. 45 degrees) the more the light will appear tightly constrained to a single spot-like area; conversely wide angles (i.e. 120 degrees) disperse the light uniformly and reduce hot spots and glare. When looking for a good LED replacement for regular halogen lamps, the Sharp Zenigata LED spotlight is perhaps the top contender at present.

Determining how artificial light appears to the eye often owes less to the light itself than to the surface it is aimed at. A warm feeling is easily obtained by pointing spot lighting at areas that are themselves warmly colored, such as terracotta tiling, any type of wood or even just a warmly painted wall. By contrast, a dramatic effect can be had by simply throwing blue LED light against dark or hard surfaces - blue or green tiles, granite, enamel and steel all lend themselves to this treatment.

Combine LED lights of varying characteristics with different textures and colours to produce a range of effects suited to individual zones in your kitchen. The are almost boundless possibilities, even before you get to playing with LED strip lighting to accent plinths, worktops, coving and more or less anything else that takes your fancy. As ever though, the best designs often emerge by limiting things to a handful or less of the most appealing ideas - but don't be surprised how stunning even small amount of LED kitchen lighting looks.

About the Author:

Before you design your new kitchen lighting, Abigail Monot strongly recommends you discover more about LED kitchen lighting in particular and domestic LED lighting in general.