William Bronson wrote: Is the fiberglass you references supplanting mixed in for crack resistance or separate as a layer for of insulation?
I wonder if guar gum, psyllium husk, or ground flax/chia seeds could substitute for xanthan.
I was thinking the insulation between inner and outer barrels.... I would guess it would depend on how hot one fires the rocket oven as the heat would crack the aircreate... Fiberglass is good up to about 1000 deg and would be lighter and no cracking... But always fun to think about possibilities...
William Bronson wrote: One bag of cement, one bottle of detergent and the bag of xanth gum makes a lot more than one block.
The other blocks you mention are not available locally for me.
I don't think I would use it as mortar, but using it as filler in a conventional block or even a stud wall is very appealing.
Using it as insulation behind a hard firebrick hot face also seems promising.
I fear even the closed cell version would soak up too much water to be a good outdoor wall cladding, but it were sealed, maybe it would work.
What got my interest was the testing against foam board...... some ideas come to mind.
1) how about we modify the rocket pizza oven to air create from fiberglass....
2) what about building an ice house with this as the insulation .....
3) What if this was the outer layer on cobb oven? The insulation should hold heat nicely....
4) Sand battery, use this to hold heat.....
I have already built a foam generator..... so I don't see the great advantage of using the xanthum gum instead of building the foam generator... Yes you don't have to generate the foam, but on the other hand you are paying for the Xanthum gum, which i have found it pretty expensive at least where I buy it.
I am wondering can this replace rockwool....
I have already chopped up lots of styro foam.... I think it would be interesting to build boxes one made with this mixture and compare it to regular air crete to see if one has better insulative values than the other...
I am thinking build a 6 inch box mould, then put in a cup of ice and see which one melts first..
Mike Barkley wrote:Mine is the medium sized one. The stainless steel version. It holds 1/2 gallon if overfilled slightly more than it should be. I can't send a video because I'm not going to make a youtube or vimeo account.
Ok that explains why yours is faster, I have the basecamp model 6 1/2 cups.
Mike Barkley wrote:Mine boils water in about 4 minutes. The trick is to use the right tinder to get that beast flaming fast & hot.
You can't cook in them but you can cook ON them. They now have some nice accessories that allows that. I think they might be new since this thread first posted. Here it is ... Kelly Kettle info.
I find "off grid living" for most is moving from the electrical grid to the propane / gasoline grid.
It seems you move from one grid to another grid....
Through the years I moved up to 5,000 watts of solar, with propane/wood as my back up means. There are cloudy days, and there needs to be plan B for power when the clouds take over...
The advantage we have today is there are thousands of videos on youtube that show how to be off grid and one can learn from the mistakes of others before they go out and waste time energy money on things that do not work.
I don't have a dryer, I found that a powerful fan on my clothes works great for drying them. I also use a dehumidifier to remove that moist air from the room.... This has worked for me...
I think of it as a learning curve, when you do something new, you have to experience the problems to know how to cope with the problems. So perhaps going out camping may help get a good dose of reality of what it is to be making your own power. It can be done, but the learning curve is included.
I have found craigslist already has people posting items to barter, this may be a good place to get started to learn the bartering nack.
Barter can go beyond the items you have, it can also include your skills. Can you fix something that is broken? This may be a skill that others may trade items for, if not they made trade their skills.
For me, I work on computers and fix virus issues, and help with upgrades... When I visit I try to bring produce I have swapped for that they like, so they get the computer fixed and also get whatever I have extra of I have grown....
It takes time to build trust and relationships, the sooner you start and the more you feed those relationships with time the bigger the network and the rewards.
Mart Hale wrote:
As for the stalks, I cut them into 12 - 14 inch segments and plant them 2 -3 inches deep in the fall, so that they can start the rooting process thru the winter time and be ready for spring. I used to store them inside but as I thought about it, that is a waist of time for me as cutting them and putting them back into the ground for my 9A zone.
That’s interesting. We live in Growzone 10b, and I have never had any success when I plant them in fall. When I do that, they don’t develop any roots. That’s why I have switched to planting in March, an advise I got from a gardener friend. I wonder why you can do it that way, when I can’t.
I am special LOL
Some suggestions.
I have put over 10 inches of wood chips on my soil about 6 years ago which has all composted and mixed with the sand so the higher humus in my soil might be a factor... I have heard the soil can be very very poor in your area, that also may be a factor, I have only certain areas of my land that the cassava does well in, In those areas I am putting more and more cassava, We have seen temps of down to 25 deg in this area, so that may be a factor, or it could be the variety of cassava that may play a role. But all 4 varieties of cassava I have work with this method.
Mart Hale wrote:I think this is the first time AI was useful for me....
Knowing that grating the cassava so that it has more surface area to help get rid of the bitterness sure makes sense...
This answers the question about why I have never tasted any bitterness in my cassava flour. I peel them, cut them, wash them and then cook them in water, before freeze drying and grinding.
The freeze dryer is going to pull out the moisture......
What I am now thinking of doing is 1) boil the cassava in instant pot till soft, 2) remove cores. 3) blend in vitamix adding water, put in fridge for a day... Bring out strain thru cheese cloth.....
When I get off my diet, this looks like the path I want to travel down. The bitterness in mine is an after taste, not terrible, but I imagine with dumping the water, and increasing the surface area I will see huge improvements..
Thomas Skipper wrote:
@martin hale
"I am in Florida, I have 3 different varieties of cassava."
What are the varieties that you grow? Also, do you cut the stalks down now, and save them to replant next spring?
Also--- cassava should never ever be washed from coming out of the soil-- it has microbial activity on the outside of the root; keep this intact and place in a dark well vented area and it will keep for weeks on end... No washing or waxing needed... I learned this from The Reid Nursery in Deland, Florida...
Looks like I have 4 types...
Togo
CMC 40
Yuca Manihot Esculent ( the one I got from Africa off Ebay )
One I got from David the Good, I don't know the variety..
As for keeping the tubers, I don't pull it from the ground then store, I only pull it when I am ready to cook it, but I have room to do that.
As for the stalks, I cut them into 12 - 14 inch segments and plant them 2 -3 inches deep in the fall, so that they can start the rooting process thru the winter time and be ready for spring. I used to store them inside but as I thought about it, that is a waist of time for me as cutting them and putting them back into the ground for my 9A zone.
I have not tried the fermenting method, I have heard of that being done, but I have no experience in doing it. I am curious about it as I have heard others doing it with tree spinach.
I actually don’t remember the variety LOL. I have grown and cloned them for so long, that I honestly don’t remember what I started with. As for being bitter, I haven’t had that experience.
This year, we are actually moving the plants to a permanent bed, so the plants are secure from gophers and rats, and we can install irrigation. This also means, that I can harvest as needed, instead of doing a full harvest each time. I am also hoping this will mean larger roots.
Where did you get your casava tubers? from?
Originally I got them on Etsy. They are pretty expensive though, which is why we want a dedicated space for them. We usually harvest in March and plant again right away, since it’s just a question of cutting the branches into 11 inch pieces, and then just put them back into the soil. It has to be in spring, so the plants can grow big, before the weather gets colder. Otherwise they won’t develop roots. We do this in March. It’s a kind of strange, that it doesn’t grow from the tubers, only from cuttings.
As for the tubers, you can also get those on Etsy, but keep in mind, that the tubers go back very quickly.
Thanks for that info..
I am in Florida, I have 3 different varieties of cassava. It is at this time of year I cut them and plant them in the ground for next years crop. I like to pile up leaves at the base of the cassava. I am making myself learn how to cook and use these, I started with just a few sticks of these now I have to keep looking for space for where I can plant them. Having a crop that I can just plant and walk away from is awesome.
I tested another variety of cassava, and it is not as bitter as the other Togo variety... This is after 2 years of growth, it was enough to fill my insta pot.
Another thing to try is test your email from your phone.... That would at least let you know if it is your router or if something is on the laptop not working...
I would shut down the laptop and bring it back up and see if it still has issues. Or see if you have internet, or you can find the key combo for turning on / off wifi.
>> The old reboot the machine which fixes 90% of problems is in effect ;-)
Ok I finished reading your message and I now see you rebooted the machine a few times..
Next I would goto your internet browser and see if this machine can get to any web page on this laptop, IF your internet connection is by wifi that would let us know if you have a working connection...
Another thing to check is if you can connect to your email directly to the email server provider via web interface.... That would determine if your thunderbird program is working or not..
Cooking up some togo cassava!
I discovered I could rub the skin off with my fingers so no need to peel, only rub..... First time I have tried this variety
Ever since I started playing with thermal mass with my sand batteries, I became much more aware of how small changes = big results over time.
Being able to log the outside temp and plot that on a graph and being able to overlay the outside temp to that graph was most valuable to get the big picture.
It seems to me that the standard damper could be designed better to stop airflow... but on the other hand don't want CO2 build up. I guess your move to stopping the air entering the rocket probably best option.
William Bronson wrote: I think ceramic fiber insulation give the best performance out of anything available so far.
People who build forges use some costings which seem to be effective safety barriers.
Growing up in the 80''s I was expecting to have a power armor exoskeleton with a layer of space shuttle tiles by now.
I'd settle for the tiles at a reasonable price!
You may want to watch this guy he does experimental coatings for furnace applications...
I watched the video again...... ( from the first post ) and I do believe they are using a fan to push the flames.... The reason I say that is you see flames shooting out the cracks on the top of the stove.... this is not normal as it would normally just go out the chimney...
I think a fan would be a good addition, but if they got the flames that big they should also show how they got them....
I bet this would work great with sawdust..... Something I would be interested in seeing is if the air coming in would be at an angle if a vortex could be created.....
Would be useful for creating charcoal as turning off the air would be easy with this design...
I spent much time trying to use rye flour to make rye bread.....
I did not like Rye bread because the flour would not rise very well.
My solution...... get rid of the rye bread, and use standard bread flour, and throw in the caraway seeds with the bread, I get the taste of rye bread with a large fluffy loaf of bread.
We started a biotech business because of a failure in the gift economy.
For his science, makes molecular markers in his lab. Because part of his work is federally funded, he is required by law to make them available to others in his field (he can't squash others' science by not sharing technology). He is not required to give them away; the university can also license his ideas and products to be sold through the free market. Back in 1995, he got a phone call from a colleague and friend:
I became aware of this system when I watched the film "The internet's own boy"... I then became aware of all of the research that has been done with our tax dollars that you have to pay a fee to get... Research that was created with our tax dollars.....
I was very impressed with what Aaron did in trying to liberate this information, but not impressed what the FBI did to Aaron. There are information gatekeepers...... there seems to always be a toll.... even if you already paid for it to exist.
Gab
https://gab.com/home 100% Free speech which means there are literal Nazi's on the site, after I blocked about 150 accounts and went to the groups I was interested in it became usable to me.
Facebook, was on, but after I found it was a Darpa project decided to abandon ship.
MeWe
Started going the way of Facebook and collecting way too much data.
The big road block with the lithium cells you are looking use is lithium cells of this chemistry cannot be charged at cold temps. Most BMS have temp protection in them for when it is cold they will shut off charge to the batteries to prevent damage.
To get around this some battery packs come with built in heaters that will heat the batteries to a level that charging can start.
There are chemistries of Lithium batteries out there that can deal with the cold, but normally they are more expensive as I recall.
I would recommend youtube channel "Will Prowse" as he tests batteries, BMS to see if they deliver what the label says they do, many times they do not.
I also recommend looking at a site called "battery hookup" they sell used batteries at good prices. David Poz on youtube has done conversions of golf carts with different types of batteries.
Those are some places I would recommend checking out.
