Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Power system, water system, stupidity and deer.

Well here I am experimenting with the old blogger again. My pictures uploaded alot quicker today, but it seems I still have to relearn things here.  This is just a few pictures to update some progress. This top picture is the electrical system. The inverter will install on the door of the larger white panel. Just a few more things, and I should be in power. I need batteries, incoming generator cable and some solar panels. Just a matter of spending a little cash. Oh ya, a battery enclosure also. I'm sure I will discover a bunch of other little things I need before actually flicking that main switch on.    

And the picture below(since I can't seem to squeeze my text in below it) is the water system to date. It's kinda planned and temporarily connected for now. I did end up buying another one of those 81 gallon water tanks. Alot of people think I'm crazy cause ya only need one tank. Did I happen to mention though, that it is a solar powered house? Just like storing electrical energy in batteries, I am also storing pressurized water in tank storage. This will reduce the number of times that the pump will kick in during the day, or more importantly the evening. I will top the tanks up during sunlight hours or when the generator is running, and I should have lots of water for the evening without the pump having to kick in. If ever the pump needs to run in the evenings, it can all happen pretty easily if it needs to happen, but there just may be times when the power supply is low, and I just want to have the control.  

 The above photo is just me showing the world a little bit about stupidity of a frugal canadian hermit sometimes. lol. A few days ago, I was getting ready to fry me up some bacon and eggs. I put the fry pan on the stove and lit the burner. I like to preheat it just a touch before putting the bacon on. But I went outside for something real quick, and ended up getting a brainwave to go and try out my new generator that I bought last winter, as it has been raining and the batteries were a little on the low side. I forgot all about the frypan on the stove. The genny did'nt start right away, and I also decided to hook up a ground wire to it. Finally got it going. As I got closer to my shack I noticed something beeping, kinda thought it was the inverter. Opened the door and hola. My first reaction was I thought I fried the electronics with the new cheap generator, but boy was I happy to see the fry pan on the stove burnt to a crisp. lol. Poor old dog was in there the whole time. The beeping was the smoke alarm of course, not the inverter. It makes me wonder though, why in this day and age, that a smoke sensor is not built into a stove to automatically shut things down when the alarm is signalled. It would be a really good invention if anyone wants to get wealthy.
I really like it how dinner seems to just show up right on my door step at times. They sure are getting brave around here. I'm sure this is going to be a real good thing when I finally try my hand at gardening. Maybe I'll have to keep being carnivorous instead of herbivourous. Both would be nice. One of these days though, one of these guys, just might jump right into the frying pan.


Disclaimer--IMPORTANT


This is a personal blog, mainly for my own use. I am building a house with my own two hands, but I am learning alot of things as I go. I do not claim to know what I am doing, or if anything I do is even close to being done correctly or safely. So please, if you are planning on using any of my ideas or methods for your own use, please get professional advice before actually following through with your actions. I will not be held responsible for any injuries or damages of any kind caused by information or comments from this blog.

12 comments:

  1. Did the cast iron crack? Hope not. I wish I understood our electrical system better. Yours looks a bit more robust than ours. I understand what you say about trying to "bank" all your resources, especially those that depend on electricity in the winter. - Margy

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  2. Margy that was'nt a cast iron frying pan. It was an expensive, but bought on sale teflon type frying pan. It pretty much melted the inside of the pan. Maybe I will put a cast iron one to the test sometime and see if it does crack. lol. Cast iron for me from now on though. My electrical system is'nt exactly your basic solar setup, but it is still pretty simple to understand if you're in to it. The charge controller is of the MPPT type and is quite alot different from the basic ones. You can bring in alot higher dc voltage than what your battery bank is. The charger will sort it all out in the end. It is supposed to really shine in the colder climates. We really gotta think about storing resources up for rainy or snowy days, eh Margy.

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  3. Replies
    1. Thanks Steve. It's been a big dream of mine long before I actually started.

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  4. One of those critters might jump in the frying pan, so long as it's not smoking!! :) I think you could hook up a flashing light to the outside of your house, with bells and whistles, so when you turn your stove on the light blinks... that way you'd remember you're stove is on when you're outside playin'... kinda like when the deaf community have flashing lights installed for when their doorbell or phone rings. Or, you might just consider cooking outside... at least you won't miss a meal that way. I think your kitchen cookin' methods could get pretty expensive -- you'll have to keep working just to keep yourself in pots and pans. (sorry, couldn't resist) ;-)

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  5. Maybe I should have a stock prod wired to me remotely to give me zap everytime I do that. That should teach me. I think if I ever do it again, I will just volunteeringly give myself a zap or two. I did manage to find my cast iron fry pan now, just incase though. Thanks for the suggestions Lynnanne.

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  6. :-) just be sure to share the photos.... can't wait to see this. lol

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    1. I'm really hoping that it will never come to that Lynnanne. I must have learned my lesson by now hopefully, but if I do happen to do it again, I will take a picture of me zapping myself with a stock prod. lol.

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  7. Hi, I live in Toronto and I've been dreaming of getting away from humanity for a decade now. I've got an education only to realize that I'd probably hate working in my field.

    I'm glad to see that you've almost attained the dream of early retirement. All I have are a bunch of pictures of cottages, DIY manuals on non-conventional building, and articles on hermits.

    Write more about the hermit aspect of your life. That would be more interesting than updates on construction.

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    1. Ok unknown, I will do it. I've been wanting to anyway, but it may be a day or a few, but I will do it sometime soon. I like to blog about my progress on the building part of it kinda for my own purpose. I find myself looking back in my blog quite often to see where I was and compare to where I am now. Thanks for stopping by.

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  8. Good to see you posting again!! I don't blame you on the 2 pressure tanks. I have one of the big ones like that and it's much better with the pump not having to work so much. Doesn't take very long to fill the tank either.

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  9. Hey thanks Annie. I'm sure it will be better this way, especially with my situation when I might not want the pump to kick in at any old time. I have a another 20 gallon tank that will probably end up with the bunch eventually too, but I'll just try these ones for now.

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