sean om

randal cranor wrote:Howdy,

Although this one(12 ft freezer), seems a bit large, I am looking at ice chest/freezer for battery storage for my off grid battery insulated/isolated, fireproof(?)  "box" for large sets of batteries(4, 6V. DP Rolls Batts.. oversized area 3ft long, 1.5 ft wide, 2 ft tall).  More batteries/bigger system mean large freezer...

It needs to be well ventilated, lead acid batteries off-gas hydrogen and oxygen. It could go boom. You need a spark proof ventilation fan.

is the goal 'car-free' or sustainable? They are two different things. You can get an electric truck and be sustainable. It isn't like they don't recycle well over 90% of a vehicles already.

Is the motivation behind this to 'save money'? You make it sound like you are financially strapped. And to 'move to the country' may not save any money, and you may save some money, but you end up spending more on other things.

If you want to maintain the 'car-free' lifestyle, buy another lot or three in the city, and convert it to an organic farm. There are numerous people who have done that successfully.

There is an illusion about moving to the 'country' that you can do anything you want. It is false. Other false illusions are drugs and theft, they both happen in the country. And a lot of the social networking is done through religious organizations.

It may also requires a vastly different skillset and toolset then you most likely have. Usually you need larger, more expensive equipment and tools. Maybe for a 1-2 acres you can get it to work, but it is more work.

Converting an old city lot or building to organic vegetable farm seems right down your ally, and can be fairly lucrative. You may just wish to find an investor.

I just have seen numerous people with these big goals and fall flat on their face. It comes down to skillsets, trying to be too diversified with too much work, and too little knowledge, and not enough seed money to get started. Otherwise, they are hobbyists that pick and choose 1-2 sustainability practices to save money or make their life easier ie maybe get rid of trash. Along with their day jobs.

Lexie Smith wrote:I’m thinking about how I could use it for cold storage of vegetables.

you have to be a bit careful about controlling moisture.

You could use it as a cold frame for starting plants and cuttings. You could put led lights in the top and it will keep the humidity high, and use a clear sheet of plastic over the top when you want to start exposing them to sunlight.

you could use it as a chicken hatcher/brooder.

You could do a mushroom farm in it.

You could use it as an aerated tank for cloning aerobic bacteria for lawn and garden applications for soil health improvements. See Elaine ingham if you aren't sure what I am talking about.

It would be good for seed storage as well.

I wasn't sure =which= topic to post it under. I thought I saw other wood gasifiers in this topic. FM please move if it is the wrong area!

It definitely fits a niche where you don't have the time or equipment to do the wood prep, and/or want long unattended run times. You could do a pellet mill as well, but you don't have to get started. You can run it in your backyard in town without drawing much attention.

Thrive Energy released their gasifier system as an open source project. Their design uses small (US typical) sized wood pellets and was originally designed and is used for small generators and engines 400-700cc. It has long run times, tar free operation and the grateless design avoids numerous issues common with gasifiers. The video was just posted on assembly of a no-weld kit that is for sale that contains all the hard to make (if you don't have a metal shop), parts.

I have followed wood gas for years, and this is a pretty neat simple system especially for off-grid and you don't want to mess around with wood prep. I am looking at getting one for a ceramic kiln, and a foundry as well as backup generation.

John Suavecito I have been using the meat grinder. [/quote wrote:

I tried it. The char was wet from when i put out the fire in the restort. It took about a half hour to go through a 5 gallon bucket at about 90rpm as you have to trickle it in.  It stops with any brands or if you overload it and you have to grease the contact parts. But I like the consistency of it as it is like a medium sand.   If it is damp it comes out fine then it will ball up as it dries, but it breaks up easily. If it is wet, it comes out of the grinder as goo. It squeezes a lot of water out of it.  I didn't bother to sift out any of the ash first. It is straight from the retort.