You've Heard About My Redneck Hot Tub . . .

[raebates]

Many of you know that my sweet husband, The Furry Guy, is also known as MacGyver. He took a 6' round, metal horse trough, added a homemade, giant fish tank filter, and then added a passive solar heater. Here are the photos.

Here's the pool. The filter is made of two tall kitchen trashcans filled with charcoal, fiber-fil, and gravel. The hose is old vacuum cleaner hose. Originally a sump pump moved the water, but a cousin gave us an old pool/pond pump, so we're using that now.

This is the heater. It's basically a segment of black tile. The sun heats it, heating the water flowing through it. This year he encased it in insulation and topped it with Plexiglas to preserve and concentrate the heat.

The pool ain't pretty, but it works! It's not really hot-tub hot, but it's nice and warm. I was in it today and the pool thermometer read 80F.


Can't quite figure out what that filter's sitting on? It's the tub from a washing machine. There are several that have been filled with gravel and buried in various places around the yard to help with drainage.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

YeeeeHawwww!

It's even better when we see the pictures!

Tell the Furry Guy I am amazed at his talent!:thumbup:

 

[raebates]

I'll pass along your praise.

 

[janetupnorth]

Pretty cool - I'll show DH later...We have a garage full of pond pumps and filters of various sizes waiting for their use. I got a whole skid of stuff at a Labor Day Sale about 5 years back. Paid about $50 for the whole lot of things! One item was worth that!

 

[vwpamperedchef]

It looks great---

Slightly OT question, why do you refer to your DH as The Furry Guy? I always thought you were speaking of a pet---seriously you have me thinking your DH might just be very "furry".

Sorry please explain---I am lost!

 

[raebates]

This is my sweet, furry husband.

What you can't see in this picture is that he has the most amazing blue eyes you've ever seen.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

It looks great---

Slightly OT question, why do you refer to your DH as The Furry Guy? I always thought you were speaking of a pet---seriously you have me thinking your DH might just be very "furry".

Sorry please explain---I am lost!

Oh my! That was funny!

 

[vwpamperedchef]

Well I seriously was confused and didnt know. Thanks Rae for clearing the air!

Now, I am wondering if KG really does have a wife or if he calls his cat the Kat Lady...

I didnt think I was so gullible....but I guess I am!

 

[janetupnorth]

Well I seriously was confused and didnt know. Thanks Rae for clearing the air!

Now, I am wondering if KG really does have a wife or if he calls his cat the Kat Lady...

I didnt think I was so gullible....but I guess I am!

That's his wife and they have cats...

 

[raebates]

He's my pet. He's been called a lot of things through the years. In junior and early senior high school they called him Master or Norman. (Take a look at our last name if you're confused.)He grew his beard and hair out his senior year and rapidly became Grizzly Adams. In recent years he's been compared to Marty Stouffer (host of a PBS backyard wildlife series) and Travis Tritt.He's one of 7 kids, 5 of which are male, so people kept asking me which Bates boy I was married to. Once he was out of the marines and had his hair and beard back, I started responding "The furry one."He didn't officially become The Furry Guy until I was here on CS. I noticed that KG refers to his wife as The Kat Lady. I talk about my sweetie a lot, and I got tired of the same old DS. Ta da! The Furry Guy. Now I refer to him that way a lot. It usually gets a chuckle, followed a knowing nod from anyone who's ever seen him.

 

[vwpamperedchef]

OK I think I've got it now!

It would be great if we just stuck with our abbreviations---DH and DW!

 

[raebates]

Nah, that's a little tame for my Furry Guy.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Nah, that's a little tame for my Furry Guy.

Besides that, if you started referring to a DH....we'd all be wondering what happened to the Furry Guy!

 

[raebates]

It comes in really handy to call him that. His given name is Chris, and there are several men by that name in our circle of friends and at church.The head of the children's ministry is a Chris. Since The Furry Guy is a helper in the children's ministry, being able to differentiate immediately helps. A couple of the kids started calling him The Hairy Guy before they ever heard me refer to him as The Furry Guy.And, before anyone asks, he doesn't mind at all. If he did, I wouldn't call him that.

 

[Mr. Pampered Chef]

well if they can't find you handsome they can find you handy...at least's that's what I am told...handy...GREAT LOOKING TUB!!

 

[lacychef]

That is cool!
My dh is sitting here; he said he wants the blueprints!

 

[chefann]

Now, I am wondering if KG really does have a wife or if he calls his cat the Kat Lady...

I didnt think I was so gullible....but I guess I am!

She really does exist - and she's a real sweetie! she put up with me and KG gallivantin' around SE WI one day last fall, and didn't even go insane(r)!

 

[pamperedlinda]

Thanks for sharing Rae - very interesting. Has The Furry Guy ever entered any competitions for 'inventions'?

 

[janetupnorth]

She really does exist - and she's a real sweetie! she put up with me and KG gallivantin' around SE WI one day last fall, and didn't even go insane(r)!

Not to mention anyone who is an MSOE alumni has to be pretty cool!

 

[Kathy's_Kitchen]

Rae,Thanks for the pics of the hot tub (and The Furry Guy ). Now we can just imagine you laying back and relaxin' in style!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

That's his wife and they have cats...

Don't forget the Scottish Terrierists.

She really does exist - and she's a real sweetie! she put up with me and KG gallivantin' around SE WI one day last fall, and didn't even go insane(r)!

Chefann TKG and The Kat Lady.
Photo credit: Passing MSOE student.

Yes, The Kat Lady is a MSOE alum, here's the proud mom with Sparky on his gradgieashun day last year.

 

[c00p]

Rae - I totally LOVE the hot tub....and I can't wait to show my MacGyver hubby the pics too!!! He was thinking of how to heat a pool (if we were to get one) and he was thinking of running some sort of copper piping underneath it and then "powering" the heat through with a propane tank of some sort. It was all quite comical!!! He's gonna LOVE this!!!!

 

[janetupnorth]

Oh yeah, the terrierists, can't forget about them or they might come terrierize me!

 

[janetupnorth]

...and let me point out for those who don't know from the picture, Sparky graduated with honors...good job kid!

 

[janetupnorth]

Rae - I totally LOVE the hot tub....and I can't wait to show my MacGyver hubby the pics too!!! He was thinking of how to heat a pool (if we were to get one) and he was thinking of running some sort of copper piping underneath it and then "powering" the heat through with a propane tank of some sort. It was all quite comical!!! He's gonna LOVE this!!!!

Umm, that's how old pool heaters used to work...just took one out at my parents' house a few years back...

 

[Kitchen Diva]

He's my pet. He's been called a lot of things through the years.

In junior and early senior high school they called him Master or Norman. (Take a look at our last name if you're confused.)

He grew his beard and hair out his senior year and rapidly became Grizzly Adams.

In recent years he's been compared to Marty Stouffer (host of a PBS backyard wildlife series) and Travis Tritt.

He's one of 7 kids, 5 of which are male, so people kept asking me which Bates boy I was married to. Once he was out of the marines and had his hair and beard back, I started responding "The furry one."

He didn't officially become The Furry Guy until I was here on CS. I noticed that KG refers to his wife as The Kat Lady. I talk about my sweetie a lot, and I got tired of the same old DS. Ta da! The Furry Guy. Now I refer to him that way a lot. It usually gets a chuckle, followed a knowing nod from anyone who's ever seen him.

I was calling my DH the chubby hubby- but that made him sad... (yet he'll eat chubby hubby Ben and Jerry's ice cream- hmpfh! Go figure!)

 

[GourmetGirl]

I was calling my DH the chubby hubby- but that made him sad... (yet he'll eat chubby hubby Ben and Jerry's ice cream- hmpfh! Go figure!)

Chubby Hubby ice cream... yummm.... That is so my favorite ever!!! Thanks for making me want something I can't have Kacey

 

[baychef]

This is my husband...

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Is there an electric motor or a two-cycle engine on your Leafs blower?

 

[baychef]

Is there an electric motor or a two-cycle engine on your Leafs blower?

I'll never tell!!!!

 

[lacychef]

Not THAT guy again

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Don't blame me! I had nothing to do with it!












This time.

 

[raebates]

Wait until I tell The Furry Guy that the thread about his Redneck Hot Tub has led to the Maple Leaf Waver. LOL!For the handymen out there who wanted "blueprints," the outside trashcan has a bit of gravel in the bottom--below the spout. The inner trashcan has 1/2" holes drilled about 1" apart all over the bottom 1/3 (sides only, not the bottom). The inner trashcan is then filled with layers of fiber-fil, old pillows, gravel, and charcoal.The heater is just a length of black tile--anything dark that would absorb the sun's heat would work.

 

[Jenni]

Do you have a fridge on your porch? LOL couldn't help but be funny... sorry!
On a serious note I would love a hot tub that doesn't get so hot your skin screams when ya get in!
Furry guy is so cute looks like a cuddller... got pics without fur?

 

[Jenni]

This is my husband...

Ah whats a maple leaf waver?

 

[raebates]

Sorry, Jenni, no computer-ready pics of The Furry Guy less furry. He is, however, very cuddly, even when he's painted like a leopard.

He had his face painted at the company picnic.And, as far as the Maple Leaf Waver is concerned, you probably don't want to know. LOL!

 

[itsjustCarla]

FYI: My hubby and boys LOVED your pics and are well on their way to building their own. LOL

 

[GourmetGirl]

Pretty soon I think we're going to need a CS contest for inventions or costumes! It sounds like we've got some pretty good contenders on here!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Well, in that case, here's The Kat Lady at her bes...er...at the theater with me.