Rj Howell

Let's break this down.

Hopeful Grid down usage: Would be the same as above

* The generator is producing 3KW, an hour. It not an obtainable goal. This is why I ask what appliances. You need to determine what 'needs' to be run, how often and how long. Example: I need hot water for showers once a day. For both of us I plan 1hr of time. Now I can calculate my well draw and my water heater draw and see what that use is per day.
   My well requires 220v and uses 4amp (per hour). That is 880 watts of power. 200v x 4a = 880watts. My water heater (on demand) is 110v and uses 2amps (propane run) equating to 220 watts. My use for daily showers is 1100 watts or 1.1 Kilowatts.
  A 100ah LiFePo4 battery holds ~1.2kw (1200 watts). You can see how quickly power is consumed..

Period of time you wish to sustain power level: forever? 😂 (If the grid goes down... Anyway: researching solar batteries, I understand that they run for only so long, until the battery runs out. But don't they recharge during the day?)

* Example above shows you how quickly you can run through power. If grid is down and it's storming out there, usual reason for grid down) no, you won't be recharging.

Voltages of appliance of which you wish to run: well, freezer and water heater are the main ones. Then, there are regular lights, etc. That do not take much. How would you calculate the wattage? Shouldn't this be per-hour energy consumption? Because, for example, the well will not run all the time.

* My freezer (and frig) is only run for 2 hrs each day we're down. If winter, I move most perishables outside in coolers and they do not run at all. Well is tough because you require 220v and that leads to expensive inverters to split phasing and make it happen. Pricing is coming down of these, yet still $1500 and up. We run a generator for well use. Again how long do you need it? For us couple hours a day.
 Wattage example above. If only in use for 30 minutes, then 110v @ 2a = 220w /.5hr = 110watts used. It's important to go though these steps and see just what you really need.


Overall wattage of said appliances:
Average days (and hours per) of sunshine: we are in Washington, so 2 per week on average!

*2 days a week... UGH.. A stationary panel will only gain maximum for ~4hrs a day. Balance is %'s leading to and fading from. Not ideal at all..
  If you find you typical outage is less than 2 days, figure usage on that to size you power requirements. We rarely go beyond 2 days here and by then I have solar gain. If not I will run the generator a tad longer and bring the batteries back up. If you go weeks/months between outages, then a small solar array should have you ready for the next outage.

 If your cooking with electric, look at buying a camp stove. Lighting can be as simple as candles or kerosene lamps (many different oil choices). Having a small battery pack will work for recharging devices. I have several inexpensive packs here just for this (use them regularly as we travel).

 Your looking to determine your full usage and decide how you can compensate for most of it. What's left is much more doable for reasonable money.

I do hope sone of this helps.

So far the least expensive I've researched is ~$10K, but that my area in the Nor'east US and for my requirements. It's also me doing all the setup/install. Without personal involvement I'd expect $25K and upwards for my basic system. All I require is 220v for my well.

Would my hopeful system work for you? Doubt it as none us know you solar possibilities, your current usage or what usage you wish to have when the grid goes down. You have many steps ahead of you starting with knowing your usage now and your realistic goals.

So:
Current usage:
Hopeful Grid down usage:
Period of time you wish to sustain power level:
Voltages of appliance of which you wish to run:
Overall wattage of said appliances:
Average days (and hours per) of sunshine:
  Note: few to no clouds as production is reduced

Reducing the requirements for grid power is an important step. My lighting is LED lighting my means of 18650 batteries that I can recharge by driving to the store (plugged into the 12v socket) or solar, same for our phones & computers.. Heat is my wood stove. Cooking is on the gas stove.  For us the only power requirement is the water well. Add freezer to that if grid goes down in warmer weather (which is rare).

Being my first 'real' season of making bio-char hard to even think of 'end' goals. I've been composting my leaves with cardboard and adding my worms to create another grow area. I watched a video of another doing the same and adding the bio-char to the mix. As it steals neutriments for the leaves, it breaks they down, win/win as I see it. The other use I've learned of was using this mix as mulch on 'all' the beds.

When, should if, I'm done making beds, then using it as mulch seems to be the continuance. Like I say, first real year of producing and a long way to go before even thinking end goal.. :>)  

With temperatures taking the deep dive (zone 5b) I moved my worms indoors. That Storage tote got really heavy so I have switched over to the bucket system for the winter.

As I see benefits to this 5 gallon system I also see a pretty big con.. size of the bucket and how large the colony can be. I reading numbers ranging from 500 to 1500.. I have 3 buckets setup now with all of 500 worms (of ranging maturity) in each. Seems I'll be filled up fairly quickly..

What are the thoughts of colony size?

May Lotito wrote: I have seen video of one made out of flat carbon felt and it burns without smoke. .

I just tried my carbon cloth and find it's too thick. Lights yet won't stay lit. Before I switch wicks again think I'm going to try this copper tube warmer. I'll start the experiment by just warming the oil and see if there's a difference.

Almond Thompson wrote:Hello! I am looking for a recipe for DIY lamp oil for a hurricane lamp. I've read all over that you can't use Olive Oil because it doesn't have fumes to burn. Is there any substance I could use in place of buying oil? I would think there would be some alternative that was used originally, I can't imagine the pioneers buying a lamp oil solution as opposed to something they had on hand.

I know this is an older thread but I'm chasing the rabbit as well!

Olive oil does burn, but it has a higher flash point and more viscosity. Adjustments to be made. Olive oil seems to like 1" to 1.5" of wicking, more and there's just not the flame you want r will just go out. With all burning lamps, the wick should not be exposed below the flame point (burner). You'll get a flame jump! Don't want that!

Lookup both Bright Betty's and Chunk Light lamps. I've built both and have them running on olive oil. Kero is just too stinky for us. Wifey does not like the smell of the liquid paraffin so lead the chase after the rabbit and landing with olive oil. LOL

Working through wick sizes now to find that sweet spot of best flame!


Bright Betty

do notice the copper tube goes in the fuel!!

Chunk Light lamp

greg mosser wrote:what they’re saying is that if they drop early, underdeveloped, the kernel itself won’t be developed enough to get anything useful from, including oil.

what species are you expecting a lot from? oak mast years can be a lot harder to predict than the generally biennial bearers like walnuts.

My reds are due. Have had two weak years and that seems about the cycle for me. Two on, two light, two almost none, then away we go again. Just what I've seen on my land. Now couple miles away the reds had a great year! A friend of mine hunts those woods and we were comparing notes.

John C Daley wrote:In my opinion, the issue of 'public' is always trotted out as the panacea for difficult subject matter.
Where I live we have just implemented a Container Deposit scheme on drink containers.
Many people I speak to dont care or know about it, even though there is a 'public education blitz on the subject at the moment.
As far as I am concerned, the manufacturer should be obliged to create a recycle system before they sell the product, if its too hard they have to make it work, only have one type of plastic in the market place perhaps.
Put it back on to them, not the permies.

This I agree with. Grocery store gives out plastic bags, they should have a bin for returns. Now it would be space prohibitive for each supplier to have a return bin, yet the basic idea is there. I'd like to go the next step in this ideal and suggest the suppliers label their containers with the same plastic as the container. Some already do and happy to see this as it makes the recycle process just 1 step easier.

My main concern is that suppliers would just discard the plastic..

Next season should be an 'on' year for us and in that mindset I'm setting up to harvest this time. As I research harvesting, fermenting and multiple of uses, I have read one confusing article I hope you can confirm or deny for me.

Article spoke of acorns that fall with their caps still on. Basically stating they are not ripe enough to work with.

Even if true, then why could you not at least cold press for the oil?

Some very good info here! My experiments with olive oil fall right in with what's talked about here. I'm going to have to try a chunk light now!