Douglas Campbell

I built a roundwood woodshed last year of similar scope, to try out approaches.
I followed ideas from https://www.youtube.com/@KrisHarbour
on how to layout joints for curving pieces; it worked fairly well.
I cut lap joints at the tops of the main posts, with natural forks as knee braces.
On a different thread I read an expert writing that knee braces are not necessary, but they certainly stiffened my structure.
The post ends are under a metal roof so I did not attempt preservation beyond linseed oil.
I used timbers end-to-end through the concrete block holes, and recycled cabling,  to use the weight of the firewood load to anchor the structure and roof to the ground.
It has come through its first winter fine.

My next project is actually a honeysuckle arbour.
cheers Doug

Old post.
This is interesting as a science project or for value added products,  but not for renewable energy.
The Energy Return on Investment is too low.
Photosynthesis:

CO2 + H2O + 10 photons captures -> CH2O + O2

Maximum known conversion is ~4% for Brazilian sugar cane (interestingly, some lines can also fix N2 using symbionts)

Algal bioreactors have lower conversion rates, ~1%,  partly b/c light is attenuated by the cell suspension.

PV solar panels run at ~23% conversion, do not require water etc.
Then the electricity can be used at ~80% conversion to useful work.
Burning fuel is a maximum of ~30% conversion to useful work.

PV wins, electric wins by 100x, as Dale wrote regarding tool use.

Photosynthesis:
100 photons x 0.01 x 0.3 ~ 0.3 photons of work.
vs

PV
100 photons x 0.23 x 0.8 ~ 28 photons of work.

And the PV system is cheaper, lower maintenance and less prone to failure.

Steve Zoma wrote:use plywood gussets to fix the braces together. That way the angles would be perfect, and then just nail the braces to the hexagonal plywood gussets.

Agreed!
But would plywood gussets work with roundwood?  Attachment surfaces to members would have to be flat.

Hi;
Interesting build.
I just did a rough, guesstimate on my (new) materials cost to build something similar:
$C3088
Scavenging would lower some costs, but takes time in a low population area; stainless steel barrels are not common.

I  wonder about the space; from the video it seems the installation + offsets takes about ?3' x ?10' which seems a fair share of the tiny house.

Estimates (in Canada, we still use imperial for building supplies.):
Stainless steel barrel, 50 gallon, $C1250 (ULine.ca)
8" stove pipe (black), $C23/18" x ~30'/1.5' ~ $C460 (HomeHardware.ca)
6" stove pipe (black) $C24/36" x ~ 10'/3' ~ $C80 ((HomeHardware.ca)

8" stove pipe take outs $C57 x 3 = $C171 (HomeHardware.ca)
8" stove pipe elbows $C25 x 2 = $C50 (HomeHardware.ca)
6" stove pipe elbows $C20x 3 = $C60 (HomeHardware.ca)
6" to 8" stove pipe increaser $C29 = $C60 (HomeHardware.ca)
8" rain cap $C37 (HomeHardware.ca)
Aluminum foil tape ~ $C24 (HomeHardware.ca) (adequate?)

SteelSheet 24GA 0.024 $C0.03/sq inch x (48" x 24") x 2 ~ $C69 (metalsrus.ca)
(There may be cheaper appropriate heat shield materials?)
Pea gravel x 0.24 yard ~ $C30

Uninformed guesstimates on quantities
2" thick 2600F wool forge liner 12 sq ft $C216 (https://canadianforge.com/)
9" x 4.5" x 1.25" firebrick $C9 /each X ?20? $160 (kent.ca)
2" x 4" x 8" brick $C3.33/each x ?100? = $C333 (kent.ca)
2" x 4" x 96"  lumber $C4.4 each x ?20? = $C88

Christopher Weeks wrote:

Douglas Campbell wrote:Then I slowly make a digusting layer cake of poop, woodash and worms, with daily shoveling.

I don't know if "digusting" is a typo or intentional, but I love it -- a portmanteau of digesting and disgusting!

From the French 'Dégustation', a tasty treat from the point of view of the worms :)

Hi;
The standard recommendation for solar panel angle is your latitude;
ex. 45 latitude; 45 angle from horizontal
Panels work best when perpendicular to the suns rays, so 45 from horizontal is a
a compromise between summer (45 + 23 = 68) high angle sun with optimal panel angle of 22 from horizontal, vs.
winter (45-23 = 22) low angle sun with optimal panel angle of 68 from horizontal.

But I do not think the latitude angle works best for typical situations.
i) Grid tie:  This depends upon the utility deal.
My jurisdiction pays 1:1 for energy exchange, cand cancels any excess export above consumption  to 0 at the end of the year.
I should  maximize annual production up to consumption, at minimum capital cost.
In my climate that means a lower panel angle, towards summer optimum, because that maximizes annual production per panel & racking.
Coincidentally, bungalow roofs are less than 45, and so approximate a good summer angle for 1:1 grid tie.
From the utility point of view, they would prefer me to maximize winter production when demand is higher here; eventually regulations will likely push that way.

ii) Summer use off grid: similar to grid tie; optimize near the summer angle to minimize investment in panels & racking required.

iii) Year round off grid:  panels near winter angle will maximize scarce winter production, and shed snow better.
The cost of panels is now low,  so 'wasting' panels in summer is not a big detriment.
But panels need racks, and rack costs have not decreased, even if home built.

I get 250 l plastic barrels, with snap ring lids, and drill holes in the bottom.
I put them in a shady place where nutrient leachate will be helpful or at least not disruptive.
I put a mess of chopped brush in the bottom.
Then I slowly make a digusting layer cake of poop, woodash and worms, with daily shoveling.

Ice builds up in winter, wading through snowbanks builds character ;)
Once full I use window screen and the snap ring to cover.
Wait 0.5-1 y and I have a mass of odourless worm casings for shrubs etc,
along with seething masses of worms.
The barrels can be rolled to destination.
Passing through worms greatly lowers pathogens.
This all requires some room to work.

Hi;
The maritime Acadians built dykes with brush/log cores, faced with marsh sedge & grass sods.
When they cut the sods they cut on an angle, much deeper than a 'normal' sod, with a cap of leaf blades on a narrow top edge.
Then they laid the sods on their sides, with the leaf blades facing out to the air.
The roots in the soil would turn to grow downwards into the sod below, locking the whole thing together.
The image shows the cutting process.
Then think of tilting each cut sod so the long 'soil' side is horizontal, and the short leafy side is at the angle of the face of the dyke.
The spades they used were long and narrow and sharp.
Doing this with terrestrial sods would be more difficult, but maybe worth thinking of the direction of future root growth to lock together the roof surface.
cheers Doug
ps. Dr. Sherman Blakney (RIP) was my wonderful chordate anatomy prof, before he got interested in marsh lands & dykes.

Thank you John, this a valuable paper!

A completely different option is an EV with vehicle to load option.

John: If connected to the grid the EG4 battery self heat would be a minimal draw.