Steve Turner

Hey all,

I know this is an older thread, but does anyone have any further thoughts on Siberian Pea Shrub seed edibility? Online reports vary from totally edible to slightly toxic. I'm considering it for a useful hedgerow. As for seed harvesting, has anyone tried laying tarps under the trees when seeds are maturing/exploding?

Thanks!

I'm super interested in trying both strong vinegar and salt for weed control. I didn't see a discussion of some safety in regards to using strong acids, so I wanted to dredge up some pointers from my chemistry days.

1) pH is a logarithmic function of hydrogen ion (acid) concentration, so pH of whatever acid can be increased by 1 by adding 9x the water volume. So, pH 3 hydrochloric acid can be made pH 4 by making 1:10 solution. pH 5 would be 1:100 solution.

2) If at all possible, if diluting strong acids, mix the acid into the water, so any splash will be pre-diluted.

3) Although adding a base (e.g., baking soda) to an acid does neutralize it, it may also liberate heat in the process. Depending on strengths of both, this could add a thermal burn on top of a chemical burn. So, if you get a strong acid (or base) on your skin or in your eyes, best practice is to flush with copious water to rinse off and dilute to harmless levels. Baking soda is great for neutralizing acids on objects; I keep a box handy when working with the sulfuric acid in our battery bank.

4) As mentioned previously, goggles, rubber gloves, and impermeable apron are all advisable.

Stay safe out there!

Thank you all for your advice. I like the idea of building a small RMH, but with my long backlog of projects, it probably wouldn't get built until 2022! Yeah, bigger firebox plus EPA cert may tip scales to the Drolet.

I have similar requirements and just posted a similar inquiry. The other stove I'm considering is the Drolet Spark, which is comparable in some ways (no additional cook oven) but takes longer firewood. From my experience in using wood exclusively for heating/cooking, the longer the wood the firebox accommodates, the less work overall of cutting/splitting. This is why I almost immediately excluded marine stoves (with tiny fire boxes) from my search.

Hello! I'm looking for a wood stove to heat a new tiny house/workshop. It's 200sq ft (avg 10' high ceilings) with R22 all around in increasingly-milder Southcentral Alaska. I don't need to maintain residential heat all the time; just enough to keep water-based materials from freezing and to warm up the space when I want to work.  My wish list would include: low price (less than US$1,000, preferably much less), efficient, some thermal mass, burns 16" firewood (the same as our Tulikivi takes in the main house), available in U.S, and isn't too oversized for the space. Options I have found include the Tiny Wood Stove Dwarf 5kw and the Drolet Spark. Does anyone have direct experience with either of these stoves? Are there other stoves I should be considering?

Thank you for your input!

Usually, these tiles just hold down the waterproof membrane, which is EPDM. I think EPDM is fairly inert, as people use it for potable rainwater catchment.

The styrofoam in the tiles is encased in a thin (~1/8") concrete shell. My concern, mostly, is whether the concrete is a problem and whether I can mitigate it with a waterproof barrier.

Hello!

We've recently cleared a plot of land and are hoping to make raised garden beds. Assuming that we want to build them with walls, we're trying to find a safe, long-lasting material.

Has anyone tried insulated concrete pavers for this purpose? These are EPS foam boards that are faced with concrete and used in membrane roofing systems. Recycled 2'x4'x2" ones are readily (and inexpensively!) available locally, and I have used them in the past to insulate a root cellar.

I think they would work structurally, and they should be long-lasting. But are there toxicity concerns (is the concrete made with fly ash?), and could it be mitigated with a waterproof barrier (e.g., 3mil plastic)?

Thanks!

Hello! We've had a Tulikivi cookstove (LLU1250) as our primary heat source (and sole cooking source) for 5 years. I have a love-hate relationship with it. It is super efficient (2.5 cords/year for heating and cooking, in Alaska) and once the mass is heated, it makes a nice, steady heat. The bake oven holds temperature for a long time, which can act like a slow cooker, and cooking on the stove top is super easy. But it has some big down sides:

1) They're expensive! You could buy the nicest, most efficient soapstone wood stove AND the nicest wood cook stove and still have plenty of change to spare.
2) They have an issue with creosote. It may be the paper birch that we burn, but even with bone-dry wood, we get creosote build-up in the stove (not chimney). Plus, with all those channels, they're not easy to clean.
3) They take a LONG time to heat up- the thermal inertia that makes for even heating takes a while to build. No building a fire to take the chill off.
4) Though they don't use much wood, it requires much more processing- they need small, stove-wood sized pieces, which means lots and lots of splitting. And because of aforementioned creosote problems, you have to have a really good drying strategy in place.
5) Retrofitting is tough. These things are massive, which needs to be incorporated into foundation planning and which precludes easy modification/replacement.

On the whole-- and though our Tulikivi is the heart of our home-- I wouldn't consider another if we were to relocate.

Thanks to all for the feedback. I guess I can't see any reason-- either economics or performance-- to justify switching to Schneider. Outback it is!

Hello, Solar Gurus! We are an off-grid family that would like to grid tie soon. Unfortunately, our current inverter (Outback VFX3524) doesn't permit it. Other components in our system are 9x250W monos, Outback Flexmax60 charge controller, Outback Mate2, 8 Trojan L16s (at 24V), and a 6kw Northern Lights diesel generator. Our desired improvements would make 120/240, operate off 24V (but going 48V wouldn't be deal breaker), grid interface, allow two AC inputs (generator+grid), have auto generator start, and have increased charge controller capacity for future panel expansions.

Options include:

Outback Radian 4048A+another Flexmax 60/80+ Mate 3 ($4,000)

OR

Schneider Conext XW+ or SW  ($3,000-$4,000) + ??

Having lived years with the Outback system, I'm super familiar with Outback products and what I need. I hear, though, that Schneider makes a robust, intuitive inverter.

So, does anyone have any insights into these systems? I can't tell from the specs, but does the Schneider have integrated MPPT charge controller? Or is that separate? It looks like Schneider's generator auto start might also be a separate feature. If the inverter doesn't include integrated systems, then the cost difference could really add up.

Anyway, apologies for long-winded question. I would really appreciate advice from anyone with experience with these systems.

Kind regards,

Steve
Palmer, Alaska