Mart Hale

Nancy Reading wrote:Run a compressor and store extra compressed gas.
Pump water uphill to use for microhydro later

There was an Amish man that bought a railroad car tank.       He then used that to fill with compressed air, and converted all of his tools to air..

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:I wonder, instead of dump loads is there an advantage to disconnecting some panels? Could this prolong their lifespan? Don't know -- just a notion.

The heat of the sun is what I believe destroys the panels, but it is a trade off between long life and the amount of energy you get out of the panel.

One could place the panel to where it would miss the direct heat of mid day,  but that is often where the most energy is,  as one could have it shaded at that time to avoid the temp extremes..

Another option to be considered is to have a couple of panels that would run a water cooling system for the panels,   but this adds complexity and another system to maintain.

Oh,  something I am working on testing, I bought one of these that outputs 65 watts of power via usb  hooks directly to solar panel,   my plan is to have it as a backup to charge my car jump starter and or run my laptop.        I tested last week and I was able to play a movie off the charge stored there,   for me it gives me another option when everything else does not work...

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Outdoor-Solar-65W-PD3-0-USB-C-Plate-for-Laptop-and-Tablet-Paper-Box-Packaging-No-Battery-Required-ABS/20687016061


I was thinking it also could run a fan in the van to blow out hot air....

For this purpose I built a wifi voltage meter for my batteries.      When the batteries are full,  a relay clicks and the power from the solar panels go directly to my heating element in my hot water heater...     I love solar powered hot showers which are automated.


But I have given this much thought with time, and some of the ideas I have had:

1)   Sand battery store heat in sand for later use or even to cook with,  in my testing I had heating elements up to over 700 deg F.      

2)  Store heat chemically.       Using limestone if one heats it to a certain temp it changes chemically.     This can be stored and added to water to give off heat, hand warmers work with this principle.      I know of a gent in Germany that uses the excess solar to create hydrogen which he burns right away to give off heat, I have not gone this route but I found it most interesting.

3)   Distill ....    I bought a still for making essential oils.      At some point I would like to investigate this even thought about making alcohol to burn for heating / run engines.

4)    Use extra solar to dry wood,  I have seen solar dehydrators but consider combining a j tube rocket heater with a standard electric heater to dry wood....      I have seen the Permies rocket heater design and had considered why not put a heating element in it with solar to give yet another option for dehydrating....  

5)    Use excess to power more devices in the home   like doing dishes,   running AC ...      I have been off grid for well over 3 years,  when it is a sunny day I pull more energy from the batteries in the morning to do tasks  that the solar can fill the now empty batteries.....      

6)     grow plants...    charge another set of batteries that can run grow lights, fans, heaters for year round gardening...     The thing is winter can have many cloudy days and one has to have a backup plan for when there is little sun.

7)    I guess one has to get an idea of  how many days a year they have extra power, and to know how much it is so they can know what they can do  and not do....        I have been looking at making syngas as a concept and storing it....      I adore propane because it can store for many years before it is needed...    some fuels can do that....

8)    Run a 3d printer or laser cutter  or CNC to make useful items.

The major problem with batteries is that they do not store energy well for many months at a time, I have been looking for methods of long term energy storage ( years )       I thought you know the extra energy I had from last years summer is all gone, I can't use any of that now....

Courtney Munson wrote:

Mart Hale wrote: Why am I spending so much effort making nutrient rich food, when I can just buy nutrient rich food and consume the amount I need, verses attempting to fertilize my entire farm  into perfect balance for plants?

I have come to the conclusion for the $,  I am much better off buying Moringa  ( very nutrient dense plant )   and consuming that along with minerals and supplements that give me the nutrition my body needs.       This way I can buy the food that is calorie dense and spend far less on my grocery bill than the cost of making "perfect soil"...   and all of the testing required to make nutrient dense food.

Is the "nutrient rich food" you are talking about Moringa?  Is your whole diet based on that and supplements?  Can you verify that the moringa you're buying actually contains the nutrients it claims to?  

I'm wanting my land to provide for the health of me and my children.  I don't have reason to trust the claims of far away actors as to what nutrients their food contains given the well document problems of soil degradation around the world.  Supplements have their own problems.   Further, the global economy is extremely fragile.   It doesn't seem like we can rely on these things long term to sustain our health or that of our children.    I'd rather stockpile bags of rocks and oyster shells.

Also, I'm curious what you mean by "calorie dense" food.  The implication is that it's calorie dense food that is not nutrient dense?  Why would you eat that?  My understanding is that anytime we eat food that is not nutrient dense we are taxing our bodies and taking time off our lives by making our body digest things that don't contain nutrients.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you but your approach seems misguided and not really permaculture either.

I have come to verify Moringa by the results of how it helps people..        Research it and look at the data for how people who have consumed it have improved in health.     Sorta like people found out vitamin C works so well against scurvy, to me the results are over whelming.





My diet is gmo free / organic /  what I can grow,  I start with calories, then nutrition, then minerals, then enzymes.      

As for permaculture,  it really is not the guiding force in my life this is true.     I am more into Christianity as my base of beliefs and direction.      Permaculture has great aspects of community, sharing methods of growing food, but I do not see it as the final direction for my life.     I like testing the various methods permaculture has made, it is like six sigma for growing food  ( obtain a yield )  ;-)

The vision you have for building soil that is for future generations is very noble indeed, but do your children want to farm?         I love the chop and drop method of permaculture,   and the founders Like Sepp Hotlzer, and "the one straw revolution"   these ideals of working with nature is far far better than traditional ag.

I read Steve's book,  did the Logan lab thing, and used the soil amendments..


I feel that unless you have a clear defined goal, you can't hit that goal.      

Thus,   one needs to do plant tissue testing.....

But after long thought I have come to this conclusion......      Why am I spending so much effort making nutrient rich food, when I can just buy nutrient rich food and consume the amount I need, verses attempting to fertilize my entire farm  into perfect balance for plants?

I have come to the conclusion for the $,  I am much better off buying Moringa  ( very nutrient dense plant )   and consuming that along with minerals and supplements that give me the nutrition my body needs.       This way I can buy the food that is calorie dense and spend far less on my grocery bill than the cost of making "perfect soil"...   and all of the testing required to make nutrient dense food.

I store mine in the freezer, then I make toast out of it after I pull it out.      

I always prefer fresh bread, but this is second best for me.      Here in Florida bread molds fast, this is the best option I have found for me.

I cheat to the third power.....

I run 3 bread machines...    

1 loaf gets used right away, and the other two loaves go into the freezer.    

So little time to load and walk away, faster than going to grocery store.

Ac Baker wrote:

Mart Hale wrote:So...   I have taken some sweet potato slips i start rooting in my 5 gal bucket air bubbler, then  I put them in the wicking rope setup with air prunning pots.    

I have successfully grown one and a half sweet potato plants this year (the "half" is a plant that may or may not be alive, having been dug up .. probably by badgers .. about a dozen times since July!!).

I'd appreciate thoughts on how to take & keep cuttings from the sweet potato plants, to become my slips to plant next year.

I am lazy.     Each year when I harvest I save about 20%  of the sweet potatoes I harvest and I plant them back in the ground for next year, when they produce vines the next year, I then trim them back to make slips after they come up.       But I am in Florida :-)       There are many good videos on youtube on making slips

Coydon Wallham wrote:If they are partnering with the Amish and not just exploiting the name, this sounds promising. However, when the marketing starkly contradicts itself between products, I'd hesitate to order anything online from them.

Efficiency – SunStar appliances use an exclusive Keota DC compressor sized specifically for the appliance for faster cooling on start-up, combined with ultra-thick polyurethane wall and door insulation, making each appliance super-efficient.

SunStar Vs Conventional Household AC models:

No inverter required! – SunStar operates on solar and DC systems, and automatically detects and functions using 12v or 24v battery banks

and the model you originally linked:

Input Power 115VAC

If you read thru the tread above, I mention 2 models.    1)  with no electricity.    2)   with electricity.

Choose as you will.