John Weiland

John F Dean wrote:......
I own a small tractor with a front end loader.  It has come in handy. But I seriously doubt if the money I put into it is justified.

I will agree with many others here regarding really large equipment, what they tend to be used for, and the skill that typically is needed to use them wisely, safely, and efficiently.  That said, like many, we have a tractor....well, not technically true....we have 3 tractors.  It appeals to my sentiment that I have access to at least two of everything that I consider important or useful.   All are within that 20 - 35 horsepower range and they are a good substitute for a lot of what skidsteers and excavators can do if you have time and patience.   But again, some work is best done with that larger equipment and hiring it out may be the best course of action.

John F D....I must admit that I feel the money spent on tractors is the best money I've spent outside of the homestead.  Interestingly, even as the homestead will appreciate due to the size and location, the house itself is probably not worth $20k....those were the words of the real estate agent when we purchased and I think it's gone downhill from there!  Two of the tractors were bought new and were not cheap, but each year that goes by with minimal maintenance and continued operation, I feel the cost-per-year gets ever more justified.  If you compare your tractor in terms of both what it *can* do as well as what it *has* done for you along with the resale you could get for it to your car, your computer(s) and other equipment, you might be surprised at how justifiable it is.  And remember how we discussed the savings in doctor's bills due to reduced wear and tear on your body?  Since my wife uses these tractors as much if not more across the year than I do, it's not just a benefit to me alone.   The third tractor, a small used grey-market Yanmar, has a 3-speed PTO that allows one to run certain equipment at higher speed without maxing out the rpm on the engine....a tricky balance between fuel use, engine wear, and equipment operation to be sure, but great to have the option.  Finally, although you noted doubting if the money spent was justifiable, was not the education received on using, modifying, and maintaining the machine some sort of vague 'financial kick-back' that was unanticipated?  It's taken a while for me to realize how much I've learned about 'the way things work' just out of necessity of getting familiar with and fixing the equipment and appliances on the property.  

Back to OP:  If you end up getting a tractor and are on hilly country, get something with wider wheel spacing for stability.  Familiarity with front loaders and attachments are just something you learn on the job with use.  Good luck!

Our situation still has me thinking about this option.  When looking at numerous reviews of commercial low wattage (1000 - 2000W) turbines of this type, most report disappointment in the power generated by this style of turbine.  One of my earliest documents describing Savonius type vertical wind turbines was Michael Hacklemann's 'Windspinner' publication, illustrating the use of half-barrels positioned to obtain spin and using car alternators for the power generation.  Today, it appears that one might find dedicated permanent magnet rotors for wind power production, even as most of those are sold for DIY projects towards horizontal turbine builds.  Whether a vertical turbine might be produced as a DIY project or purchased as a completed commercial unit, my interest here is due to location in a fairly windy region (Minnesota-North Dakota border), yet having a farm-yard with deep windbreaks.  I'm just not so interested in getting a tall tower up above the tree line out of the way of turbulence.  Rather a vertical turbine is more immune to turbulence and could be positioned more accessible in the farmyard for maintenance, even as it suffers efficiency detriments compared to its horizontal axis cousins.  Irrespective of how we might end up using either electrical or mechanical power generated by such a beast, do any others on this forum have or know of vertical wind-power turbines in their area that the owners find quite useful?  If so, are these DIY builds or purchased commercial products? Thanks!....

Allen Jackson wrote:....... At least with LiFePO4 batteries, the age is much less of a factor, and you can get away with adding new batteries to an older battery system.

I can suggest/recommend JK BMS, if you are building from scratch, as those are well made, decently capable, and maybe more importantly, they have very good compatibility with lots of inverters, if/when you get to a point where you need that.

Excellent continued discussion and I thank you Allen for your time and expertise on my questions....hoping all of this is of use to the OP as well!

I've got components lined up now hopefully for purchase this week (contingent on the income tax equation for previous FY not being too brutal!).  One question now pertains to the fact that I'm looking at some 100 Ah EVE cells that are 'unprotected'.  These cells have a max continuous discharge rate of 1C, but I'm not finding a max 'surge' discharge rate.  That said, I was looking at a Daly BMS that has a 200A cut-off and now am unsure if this is an unsafe configuration for these unprotected cells.   If I don't know whether the cells can tolerate a 200A burst discharge for a few seconds, do I need a BMS with a lower over-current cut-off limit?  With this first time build, I'm hoping to get my feet wet experimenting with the cells, the BMS, the organization with the chosen case (ammunition case) and all incidentals like bus bars, cell spacer and wrap sizing, and ultimately, getting it all to work properly.  For this first build, I hope to skimp a bit on the BMS capability (no Bluetooth)  Later, I hope to up the game to Bluetooth app monitoring of cells/battery, possibly even jumping straight to 48V build at that time.

As you and others have noted, it's fairly crucial to work backwards from the peak load one wishes to power.  In the case of this first build. I only hope to use it for portable 12 power....powering 12V lights, trail cameras, etc. wihtout an inverter, but adding an inverter for items that would not necessarily need large surge amperage.  Later builds or configurations would be more thoughtfully designed for powering well/irrigation pumps, sump-pumps, etc....using inverters for DC-AC conversion.  And also to add that I have kept my eye on the JK brand BMS and hope to use them in a Bluetooth configured build later on....I currently love using Bluetooth apps to monitor solar controllers, battery states via BMS (commercially purchaed batteries) on golf carts and off-road EVs.  Hopefully looking forward to beefing up the off-road EV (48V) to Ah capacity to assist in emergency home power provision through a current transfer switch on our utility power pole....would really like to relegate the petrol generators to other reduced duty at this point.

Anyway, all a great discussion and I'm learning so much now.  If possible, could you please expand on your line above that I placed in bold text:  I was under the impression that string connection of LiFeP)4 batteries was best done with batteries all of the same make, same age, same state of charge, etc. was crucial for tolerable functionality.  But your comment suggests that, with proper monitoring, older LiFePO4 battieries might be added to a series or parallel string???...   Truthfully, I'm thankful for being alive at a time when some of this has become so much more plug-n-play than earlier.  Still a lot of learning and caution needed around the power being generated, but solar right now, when paired with the new storage paradigms, is just mesmerizing me with its capabilities!  Thanks again!...

Are the majority of BMS's currently available LiFePO4-specific or can they be programmed to monitor and maintain sodium ion cells and battery pack?  Or are BMS's for sodium ion cells as readily available as the cells are currently?  Thanks......

Much thanks for this explanation, Esteban!....This answers years of questions from Stihl gas saws to my current 20V/60V Dewalt electric cordless units.  Right now, it's a small 20V Dewalt that is acting up.  I already used a small wire just to make sure the hole and tube going back into the reservoir are clear....now as you note, I highly suspect a groove packed with find sawdust to be the culprit....especially as that dust looks quite dry.  I was getting by lately just manually oiling the chain externally and keeping run times on that saw very low.  Hope now with your advice to get it back into proper shape.  Thanks again!.....

Esteban Ademovski wrote:

Later in the day I performed some maintenance on one of the chainsaws, making sure it was cleaned up and in good working condition for future use.

Esteban,   This line caught my eye as I've been struggling with a chainsaw issue lately.  I've never fully understood how chain oil gets from the chainsaw reservoir to the chain while in operation.  I've observed the little hole that can be seen, typically positioned between the two main nuts that keep the bar in place, out from which oil can be seen pumping when the bar is removed.  But does the oil then just move across the outer surface of the bar to reach the chain?  Or is there some conduit within the bar itself that allows the oil to get into the channel that holds the chain in place while operating?  I've noticed recently that the chain channel on the saw in question is packed with fine sawdust.  Could this somehow be preventing oil from properly flowing into that channel?  Thanks!

I don't know if the following comparison was included in the study but the central historic grasslands of the US are now largely cropped.....with abundant humidity being ascribed to crop plant transpiration along with the moisture that moves northward from the Gulf of Mexico.  While I've seen mention that this rise in humidity is due to annual crops versus native prairie species covering this region, I don't know if that's been established for sure.

paul wheaton wrote:

......What sleaze is woven into grocery store food.  Or food at a restaurant.  Even what is labeled as organic.  

Gardening ...  community ... natural building ...  bodgering ...   these things are the cure for sleaze.

Wife and I were having coffee and watching Franklin catch up on a wee post-breakfast nap.  We were discussing how pigs (Sus scrofa) had sold their souls into domestication with unfortunate individual consequences but a pan-global population expansion.  We tend not to view humanity as engaging in similar contracts, but on a large population point of view, hard to argue otherwise.

"Domesticate is a transitive verb meaning to tame wild animals or cultivate wild plants for human use, companionship, or agricultural purposes. It involves adapting species to live closely with humans, often creating dependence. The term can also mean adapting to home life, or adopting foreign customs/ideas."  -Merriam-Webster dictionary.

As the bold text notes, becoming domesticated can mean adopting foreign ideas, --in the current discussion ideas that clearly are unhealthy to individual and community...e.g., potentially nutritious food, but laced with preservatives and growth enhancers....ultimately contributing to poorer health and deeper sleaze.  I suspect this to be a crucial factor in the counter 're-wilding' movement and living 'with' vs constantly seeking to dominate the natural world.

Pearl Sutton wrote:

Jay Angler wrote:One of my frustrations with upcycling tin cans is finding a way to crimp them

I looked them up. This is what they are used for

and a random price point off Amazon is 30.00 or so.

Pearl, is this how people get artificial waves in otherwise straight hair??.... ;-)

Good tutorial on tin can rocket stove:    https://prepared-housewives.com/how-to-build-a-rocket-stove-and-impress-the-boys/

Won't use up many, but one could provide instructions and cans to those wanting to educate or be educated.  Good luck!

Carla Burke wrote: .....Even John isn't usually surprised if I disappear for 3 - 5hrs, because I'll go out, working on livestock needs, farm maintenance, or even just foraging/ walking our land. I *usually* try to remember to tell him where I'm going, what I'm doing, if I'm definitely going to be outside for more than 15 - 20 minutes. But, not always - particularly if there is something on my mind or needing time alone (or if I'm pissed off at him) .
....

Same with my wife.....right down to the fine print! ;-)  Even though neither of us are cell-phone huggers, I've tried to impress upon her to keep her phone on her when out feeding several large animals, none of which are behind fencing.  Someone brought up the idea of a whistle during an emergency, which actually might be better if like a referee's whistle....she might be more willing to have that around her neck than a cell phone in her pocket.

Earlier this year on a cross-country ski, I fell in a rather deep pocket of snow about a mile from the house and could not get up...never had that problem before, but since the stroke, strength, balance, and coordination all impaired and it's like learning to walk all over again.  That brief flash of becoming coyote food crossed my mind before methodically removing skis and clearing snow to stand back up. Now today dealing with large LGD who came up lame at end of last week....won't put rear foot down.  Getting dogs into cars for vet visits never easy with these breeds, but we're at the 'creative ramp' phase of animal shuttling and hope we can get her to walk up the ramp into the back of the SUV.  Seriously considering a used, low-cost mini-van as a replacement for such purposes.  As they say, aging ain't for the faint of heart...  :-/