Phil Stevens

master pollinator
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since Aug 07, 2015
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Recent posts by Phil Stevens

Looking great. I guess how much drainage work and gravel underlay you do is a matter of your own risk tolerance. What are the chances of a flash flood sweeping across the property and getting into the building? It looks like your finished floor will be pretty much on grade. If it's above by enough that surface flows can't get in, that should take care of things, because you're unlikely to have persistent wet ground as an issue.
4 days ago
If you're on the east side of the Cascades I'd think you're in a good spot to do earth building. Jim Reiland is likely to have some really good advice. He's located in the southern part of Oregon and knows the climate as well as having massive experience with natural building techniques.
1 week ago
Chainsaw shavings in the coop, with fine biochar sprinkled over every so often. Wood chip and old hay in the run, with biochar tossed in ad lib (this all gets eaten but comes out in the end). We also dump lots of weeds, greens and spent crops in the run and I turn the "pile" so that they can get access to all the wriggly things underneath.
1 week ago
Hurdles made from small branches and reeds with a fairly tight weave, then daubed with cob, would be another way to produce panels.
My armchair diagnosis is the uninsulated riser is the biggest issue. Incomplete combustion is hampering the efficiency of the system and the soot on the interior is an indicator.
1 week ago
Sorry to hear that it's not performing to your expectations. I don't really have any answers, just some observations and questions:

The firebrick riser will mean that it takes longer to reach optimum temperature from startup, but once you get there it should be fine. Is there insulation around the riser?

Have you opened it up to inspect things? Any deposits of ash indicating constrictions in the flow path? Dark stains, soot or creosote would be a definite sign of trouble.

The exhaust path is quite long and friction may be impeding the draw through the system. You mention flames back burning up the fuel in the feed tube...this is not good and sounds to me like it's not pulling well.

The heat exchanger for the hot water will pull a lot of energy out of the system before the exhaust gases reach the mass, especially after you take a shower. This may also slow down the draft and inhibit performance.

We have some senior rocket scientists in the crowd and I'm sure they'll be along shortly to help diagnose the trouble.

1 week ago
Hi Peter, and welcome! I'd suspect intestinal parasites ("worms") if they're eating well and the feed is decent quality. There are commercial anthelmintic drenches and I hate to use them or advise others to go down that path, because they mess up the animal's gut biome and, worst of all, they never eliminate all the worms and the ones that survive pass on their genes. Voila: drench-resistant parasites. It's become an arms race here, especially with sheep.

We had alpacas for 18 years and had very minor worm burdens. The best thing you can do is prevent them from building up by rotating the animals and resting paddocks longer between grazing. Most stock parasites need live hosts within a certain time frame to maintain their reproductive cycle, and if they wait too long they die out because they can't travel very far on their own.

Feeding hay can help, with the extra roughage pushing things along. Feeding tree branches like willow is very beneficial because of the condensed tannins, which the worms don't like. Some legumes have lots of condensed tannins too. Biochar is pretty amazing for controlling parasites...we have seen egg counts drop to zero in weaner cattle that were eating it daily. You can get an alpaca to eat biochar by mixing it with some molasses, lucerne chaff, and salt. This is also a blend that works for sheep. Cattle will eat it straight.
2 weeks ago
William reminds me that the bones don't break down in the compost. I get them back (usually a year down the road) when I sieve the finished product for putting on the garden or into potting mix, and then they go through the fire so that they're easy to crumble.
2 weeks ago
We've been "burying" animals in the compost pile for years. It works beautifully. Jay's instructions are pretty close to my method. We have to trap brushtail possums, hedgehogs, and rats here, so they all go on the heap. So do deceased chickens and ducks, unless they are pets, in which case they get a proper burial under a tree. I figure that is still a beneficial place for the decomposition to take place, since the tree roots will participate in the process and good things happen in good soil.

The local council recently approved an area for natural burials that's at the domain on the edge of the village. Each interment will have a tree planted on top and over time a "forest of remembrance" will be the result.
2 weeks ago
Seems like a lot of trouble to go to versus solid state ignition.
2 weeks ago