thomas rubino

master rocket scientist
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since Apr 14, 2013
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13 acres in extreme rural Montana 100% off grid since 1983. Solar and micro hydro. Summer time piggy farmer. Restoring 2000-04 Subaru outbacks wagons for fun and a little profit. Not quite old enough to retire YET but closing on it fast... until then I must occasionally leave Paradise "home" and run large construction cranes on union job sites across the inland northwest. I make (Well try) A-2 A-2 cheese, I love cooking with my wood smoker for everything! Would not live anywhere else but rural Montana ! My wife Liz runs "Rocks by liz" a successful Etsy store and we have a summer booth at the Missoula peoples market. We currently breed and raise persian cats but are about to retire all the girls and let them be happy kittys for the remainder of their days.Oh and my biggest thing is... I LOVE MY RMH !
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latitude 47 N.W. montana zone 6A
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Recent posts by thomas rubino

The piggies got too close to the waterline in the comfrey paddock, so I moved them onto the summer palace grounds.
In days they had dug up as well. They have three months to eat, drink, and sleep, and on September 2nd, they go for a truck ride to meet the butcher.
2 days ago
Oh My, the short answer is YES, welders require the proper size stick, or the correct size wire.
What you are thinking of is called gas welding; no welder is required, but it uses a torch to melt metal.

3 days ago
Sounds like a low-cost 110 volt wire feed welder would do most light jobs.
Very easy to learn how to use, small, lightweight, and portable.  
Cast iron welding is not for a novice. Special welding rod and proper heating and cooling are needed.
Here is an example.
https://www.harborfreight.com/easy-flux-125-amp-welder-57861.html
4 days ago
If you have to give them an antibiotic shot, then you would need to wait thirty days before butchering.
I had three ready to go to the butcher, when one got sick in a similar fashion. A shot fixed her right up.
Two days later, her buddys went to the butcher. For the next 28 days I was a part of the herd... all two of us.
She would see me up at the house, and come crashing through fences to get closer... A miserable time for both of us.

1 week ago
Well, it has been just over a week now, and tilling is progressing quickly.
They exposed the water line briefly and are very close to it out in the middle.
They have terrorized the Comfrey patch as far as they can reach.
One more week should do it, unless they expose the water line again...
1 week ago
And then for those who want a workhorse that can go just about anyplace and have heated comfort.
https://www.roxoroffroad.com/
Not cheap, but quality rarely is.
1 week ago
I believe that one panel with bad output will lower the output of good panels, the same as with batteries
I would hope for the best, but I would not be surprised if they do not hold up in the long term.
Keep these panels as one string, and if you get more, create a second string.
2 weeks ago
Hi Rachel
Well, if they still have full output, and you got them at a great price, then just about any pourable weather-proof sealant will work.
With your plan to use them as a temporary learning tool. I would buy the least expensive sealant and treat the panels gently.
Perhaps attach them to a wooden frame so they can not twist.
As long as nothing traumatic happens to them, they may just last many years.
However, I would not mix them with any new panels you might purchase in the future.

2 weeks ago
Hiya Matt
I know that smell.  (sounds like a bad Jr high school game...)
Every so often, Shorty gets a dragony smell.
Not enough to bother us, but it does have a distinctive aroma when you notice it.
But it never sticks around very long either.
I do not notice the outdoor dragons having this smell, but both are in high-ceilinged, well-ventilated (leaky) spaces.
Also, both are first-gen designs; perhaps this is unique to the Shorty design?
An oddball idea might be to place a tin of baking soda through the cleanout door and see if that helps.
2 weeks ago
What a difference a few days makes!
The piggies have been working diligently at tilling the whole pen.
If they dig too deep, they will hit a water line!
By July, they will be moved to the Summer Palace, which has its own apple tree.
2 weeks ago