Daniel Andy

here is my order of projects

Camper

Outhouse

Power shed

Power

Internet

Pole Barn garage/workshop/kitchen

Water collection off the pole barn

Berm

House (move kitchen inside)

Improved toilets

Greenhouse

Garden

Convert power shed to solar dehydrator

Tools wise, I think you'll need stuff to clear land and do large wood work first: chainsaw, axe, circular saw....then internet so screwdrivers and pliers

I'm not sure who this post is for, and maybe everyone has already had these thoughts before. It seemed like a good thought to me but if others disagree then maybe we can just delete this and move on...



First, because it's cheaper. I live on fixed income that could disappear without warning in a given year, so I keep repair skills as a backstop for one day being unable to afford paying for repairs and replacements for some time.  If you can't do your own repairs you are forced to maintain a steady income to pay for maintenance. For a long time I thought this was the only reason for me to know how to repair things.

Second, I just want to. I think it's the right thing to do to keep stuff out of the trash that would be there for the next 1500 years, even if it's cheaper not to.

Third, and maybe most weirdly, I have this idea about "economic freedom."  If political freedom is your ability to support what ideas you want without coersion, then economic freedom is your ability to pay for things because you want to not because you have to.  If you have some part of your life that you depend on to live (it's part of supplying your food/shelter/income) and if you *cant repair it* then you are obligated to pay whatever it costs to whoever will repair it. So the last repair person in your local area can charge any price they want, and do any poor quality work they want, and you are forced to pay them. I want as many of my economic transactions as possible to be things I choose to pay for rather than things I am forced to pay for.  So being able to repair your own things gives economic freedom where otherwise you would be forced to spend any amount.

Posted 7 days ago on the Greenhill Forge youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sv7TBtHcgo

Using water vapor at very low pressure allows it to boil at low temperatures, water vaporizing at room temperature will drop in temperature. Then it uses a brine shower to collect the boiled water vapor to prevent it from driving up the pressure, instead of compressing it.

Having a refridgerator that doesn't require toxic or flammable refridgerants and isn't pressurized seems like a holy grail. Makes it quite safe. You do need a way to boil the water, but heat can come from other sources than fire.

Would love to try this and I can see a few potential ways to improve its efficiency.

it's a similar design to the adsorption refridgerator discussed on this site before ( https://permies.com/t/30590/Intermittent-Adsorption-Refrigerator ) but it doesn't need the adsorber to be removed and regenerated.

Kara Ann wrote:Hi All -
thanks for the encouragement to find a better connection to replace the banana plugs.
The friendly peeps at Pecron support tell me that the MJ32 does not connect with my E2000LFP model.

Maybe there are other options that someone knows of? For now, I have been checking the banana plugs, and the battery end fuse, ensuring they are not getting warm, the wires are safely snugged down, and I am really glad to have the larger energy pool to draw from! I was even able to bake cookies in the little toaster oven - a big treat for a glamping scenario.

Next step will be setting up the Pecron unit to power the pump for the well that was just drilled on the property. Well came in at 224 feet with 33 ft static water. Plan is to use Grundfos SQ ½ hp, 120 V, 5 gal/min model. It draws a maximum of 1,200 W and has a built-in soft start (no surge power demand on start up). The pump will pull water into a 1550 gal tank that also collects rainwater, and will be used for greenhouse / tiny home. Looking forward to running water - a true mark of civilization.

Anyone else using this kind of pump running powered by a Pecron (or other solar similar), with comments on its energy draw?

Interesting. I have en e2400LFP, not an e2000lfp, but i would be surprised if they weren't using the same hardware. Don't they support the same discontinued expansion batteries? I'll double check if it fits mine. If it does fit mine it's probably worth buying just to see if it does fit.

To avoid using the unsafe banana plugs (potential for hot pins contacting each other or shorting through you and other things) you can use the Mj32 plug that it was designed to use.

In addition to preventing live leads from contacting each other or other things, the plug clips it so that it cant be accidently yanked loose or work its way loose over time.

Here is a link to an mj32 plug on amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Circular-Connector-Waterproof-Aviation-Connectors/dp/B0CKSZNN59

I bought one of the pecrons for exactly this purpose because they always discotinue the batteries.

Why did you use the banana plugs instead of the correct plug for that port?  I was able to buy a matching plug on amazon easily but I havent installed it yet.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Personally I'm leery of anything that would stay plugged in to the battery pack. If the thermostat fails it might cause damage.

Can you describe your larger system? How are you charging the battery pack? If it's solar with a controller, could it power a small 12V incandescent bulb directly?

It's charged with 200w portable solar, and yes I could put a 12v DC bulb on it, but then it's drawing that amount nonstop forever.

I could protect against thermostat failure by running two thermostats in series to the heater. Then it would only turn on when both agree and a single failure wouldnt cause an issue.

I have one of those 2.5kwh portable battery packs with built in inverters.  its LiFePo4 so it handles cold relatively well but I'd like to be able to keep it above freezing in the winter. I was going to add a DC heater to one of the USB ports for that purpose.

However i am struggling to find one. Should be a USB cable to a combined heater/thermostat, that will generate heat when below a certain temp.  All my searches get drowned out with USB hand warmers and USB chair heaters which aren't what I need and lack the thermostat.

Left field idea: cast PLA pipes. Poly l
LactIc Acid (PLA) is the plastic used for 3d printing. It does compost but only with sunlight or municipal composting conditions, so long as your pipes stay in a cool dry place with clean water it seems unlikely they wouldnt last you a half century. I wouldnt recommend 3d printing it because thay creates lots of little gaps and holes that bacteria would live in, but if you pour or slush cast them it could work great.  Relatively low temperatures mean a reusable casting wouldnt be too hard to make, even maybe out of wood.

Then, when you replace a pipe...wood chip it and send it to your local municipal composter. Fully renewable.

I dont have answers for how thick the pipe would be or whether it would make sense in materials cost compared to alternatives but I see no reason it wouldnt work. Could be $5-10 a foot in materials though.  If you can find a 3d printing shop they may give you their scrap PLA for free.

Heres a link to a discussion on PLA casting. https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/4l0fla/what_do_you_do_with_all_of_your_scrap_plastic/

Hi Matthew!

I need an easy system to tune heat flows in a passive solar home. Earth berm on one side, greenhouse on the other.  

The problem is that the system will almost never been in ideal thermal balance. The greenhouse is always producing too much or too little, and the house always needs either cooling or heating, and the plants in the greenhouse may need something else.

So you end up with a 4x2 grid of possibilities. See the attached image.
 To meet those needs, there are cooling tubes through the berm, greenhouse vents, and you can drop some greenhouse window shades to reduce incoming sun...are those enough to fill out the whole chart?  Am I overthinking this?