Garden Update #2 for July 2011

Well, it finally happened. Our kale was eaten while we were gone for the weekend. And what was left was eaten again a few days later. I suspect it was the rabbits that we see almost every day, as I didn't see any new hoofprints in the garden. I'm disappointed, but it's my own fault really, I should have covered it with netting. So I've planted some more. It only takes 60 days to mature and is cold hardy should winter come very early this year. I happen to like kale a lot, so I planted almost four times as much as I had before.


What's left of my first planting of kale.
Another two weeks or so and it would
have been ready to harvest.


There is a lovely wilted kale salad that we like to make, so there is no need to worry that there will be too much. There is also some green fruit on our cherry tomato plants, which will go quite nicely in our wilted kale salad.

While I was working in the garden, I spotted fruit on the wild strawberry plants that cover a large part of our yard like grass. I tasted some, and they are quite tart--not at all desirable for eating. But they smell very nice and might make a nice fragrance for some homemade soap. We haven't made any soap yet, but would like to some day when the renovation slows down. I've been told that if I want to grow strawberries to eat, I need to get rid of all these wild plants because they will cross with my good ones and ruin my crop. Hmmm... more work to do. These wild plants are everywhere here.

Wild strawberries from the yard. These berries are very
small. That dish is the size of a small cupcake.

Resources
James Russell's Wilted Kale Salad recipe: http://therawchef.blogs.com/russell_james/2006/11/wilted_kale_sal.html

Our Water System

Many people, especially city folk who aren't used to living with a well, are intrigued by our water system. This post is to help them understand what I'm talking about when I mention our water tank.

This system was put in place before we bought the house, and it works reasonably well, allthough I would like to make a few changes to increase reliability and availability.

We have a relatively shallow well--only 75 feet deep with the static level at about 20 ft. However, the well, on average, produces only about 4 gallons per minute (as observed during a flow test during a winter home inspection). That's an average of 4 gallons per minute, that is not a continuous flow. In reality, we can pump about 150 gallons out of the well at a much faster rate before it slows to almost nothing, then resumes again for a minute or two a few minutes later. If pumped continuously, the flow will start and stop every few minutes. This is not ideal for on-demand water use in the home. Furthermore, the well pump requires 120V AC and draws quite a bit of current, making it not feasible to run the well pump off of the house battery bank.

To solve this problem, a previous owner installed a 350 gallon storage tank inside the house. The tank is filled via underground pipes while the well pump is powered by the generator. I actually plug a cord into an outlet on the generator to fill the storage tank. This takes about 20 minutes and I only need to do it about every two or three days, and only sometimes more frequently.


Our indoor water storage tank, next to our efficient washing machine.


To provide pressure in the house, a 12V DC pump pressurizes a small tank to 80PSI. When the pressure in that tank gets down to about 40PSI, the pump pressurizes the tank again to 80PSI. The pressure pump runs off of the house battery bank and provides adequate pressure for household water use at conventional water taps through out the house, including shower, toilets, sinks, washing machine, and outdoor spicket. Hot water is provided with a propane-burning instant (tankless) hot water heater which uses electricity only to light the propane and to power the thermostat. So far it has worked well.

Pressure pump and tank

I would like to make some improvements. The underground pipes are not deep enough to prevent freezing in the winter. This may be because there is a lot of granite in the ground in the vicinity of the house. But it's also because the water pipes enter the well above ground where there is definitely the potential for freezing. I'd like to have these pipes enter the well casing under ground. I'd then like to put a hand pump on top so that we can still get water if something should happen to the well pump.



The insulation on these pipes is no match for the cold
winters here. They need to be underground.



I'd like to replace the 120VAC well pump with a DC pump that can run on power produced by solar panels. That way when the generator breaks down again, we can still get water out of the well.

And finally, I'd like to add some sort of water-level detection mechanism that can turn the well pump on when the water level in the storage tank gets to a certain level and then off again when it's full.

Garden Update for July 2011

feOur tiny garden is coming along quite nicely, except for the peppers. I think they might need more water or something as they always look a little dry by the end of the day. The cabbage looks like it will be ready by the end of the month or so, and the kale is coming in quite nicely.  The tomatoes have flowered. I really haven't put in much effort into the garden at all. Just watering every day and fertilizing once a week.

I'm really happy that I haven't had to do any serious weeding yet. I know this will make some of my gardening friends jealous, but I'm pretty sure that whoever tended this plot before me must have done a good job of getting rid of weeds. I suspect that when I expand for next year, I may have more weeding to do.

The netting seems to be working. I have seen deer hoof-prints in the garden, and I see deer around the house frequently, but so far, nothing has been eaten in the garden. Maybe we are just growing foods that deer don't like? At any rate, I'm happy the deer are not being pests this year.

Here's a picture of our cabbage and kale:


Cabbage and kale are doing great!



Returning to the 21st Century By Installing a Washing Machine

Almost any washing machine can be used off-grid if you have a good generator. Some washers are more efficient than others, though, and if you want to run the washing machine off the solar panels, more efficient is definitely better.

There are a number of options for washing clothes off-grid, and I'll talk briefly about each of them:

• Fully manual: This includes beating against rocks in a creek (your downstream neighbors might not appreciate this, so not recommended), washing in a tub with a scrubber, the old plunger-and-five-gallon-bucket... You get the idea.
• Wringer washers: I hear these are pretty reliable and quite efficient with water, especially if you do multiple loads using the same water, starting with the least soiled clothes. These machines are typically obtained (well) used, but they are making a comeback and are being manufactured again. They are available with hand-powered or electric wringers.
• Conventional late 20th century washing machines: Most were not built with energy- or water-efficiency in mind. If you want a conventional washer, get a modern one.
• Staber washing machines: These come highly recommended by those living off-grid because they are efficient and easy to repair. However, after reading user comments on the web, it seems to me that they need more repairs (easy or inexpensive as they may be) than a washing machine should need. They also cost more than modern washing machines. If sustainability is important to you or you are so remote that it could take a long time to get a replacement part, seriously evaluate this option.
• Modern high-efficiency washers: Today's front-loading (and even some top-loading) washing machines are very water-efficient, and many are very energy-efficient, too. These modern washing machines do cost more than the least expensive models available, but the water- and energy-saving features pay for themselves in very short order when living off-grid.

We felt that the positive aspects of a Staber washer did not justify the expense for our situation. We opted for the most energy efficient front-loading washer available at Home Depot, which turned out to be an LG WM2140CW. This machine (or previous years' models) was rated highly by users and seems to be quite reliable. Should the washing machine fail we will resort to washing at a laundromat in town or we will use the five-gallon bucket and plunger. We also purchased the extended warranty because it covers power surges, and the store sales person assured us that any mishaps caused by running off a generator would be covered.

Our experience with the washer has been very good for the month that we've had it. Electricity usage is very low and I think I may be able to run it off of our soon-to-be-installed 460 watt solar array during the peak power period. Usually, motors don't work well with modified sine wave inverters like we have, but when started accidentally once without the generator running, it seemed to work just fine. It is possible to install a capacitor to smooth out the starting surge created by many motors. I haven't done this yet, but will investigate if it is needed after I get the solar panels installed. Water usage is also quite good, using about the same or less than would be used by a 10-minute shower. Another nice feature of this washer is its high-speed spin cycle which leaves most clothes pretty dry, reducing the amount of outdoor drying time required.

Water efficiency is also an important factor. Most people don't realize this, but more than one fourth of the energy produced in the United States is used to pump water. When you are off-grid, you need to consider the energy cost of the water you use. If you have a deep well and need to run a generator to pump water out of it, then filling a top-loading agitating washer a few times per load of laundry can cost quite a bit more in fuel than would using a front-loading washer which uses one fifth as much water as a top-loading machine. If you have more water than you know what to do with coming out of the spring uphill from your house, consider yourself blessed, you have some really cheap water. But for the rest of us, the cost of water is an important consideration.

Resources
Staber washing machines: http://www.staber.com/
LG washing machines: http://www.lg.com/us/laundry/index.jsp
Lehmans has lot's of off-grid appliances. Washers here: http://www.lehmans.com/store/Home_Goods___Laundry___Washing?Args=&view_all=&sort_by=

Becoming a Logger

I've never cut down a tree before, but since our primary source of heat is our woodstove, I need to learn how to produce fuel for it. I haven't actually bought a chainsaw yet, but I did inherit a small electric one, which if I use within 50 feet of the generator works ok for cutting up the tree into 16" to 18" sections.

Today I started by picking some trees that were in the way and needed to come down anyway and that were small enough that I couldn't cause any significant damage to anything (including myself) if something went wrong. As luck would have it, both trees were just out of reach of my 50-foot extension cord. So I used a hand saw. The standing dead tree was only about four inches in diameter and the living one was about six inches, so were easily manageable with a small handsaw. Both were birch trees about 30 feet tall or so.

After a minute or so of sawing the dead tree came down. Even with my little handsaw, I made two cuts--the first on the side I wanted the tree to fall and the second cut slightly higher from the back side. The live tree took a little longer because the moisture caused the saw blade to stick a little, and because my second cut was crooked. After the trees had fallen I dragged them over near the generator shed so I could use my electric chain saw to cut them up.

Using a chain saw didn't come naturally at first, but it wasn't hard to learn. I didn't naturally want to keep the bucking spike against the tree, but once I realized how doing that makes it so much easier to manipulate the saw and actually cut the wood, the bucking spike became my friend, and the work progressed much more quickly. I didn't get much firewood out of the dead tree because part of it was rotting. The live tree should give me almost one day's worth of heat on a not-too-cold day.

The trees are now stacked and drying out, getting ready for use next season. I've got a lot of work to do before next winter. Hmmm, I'm going to need a real saw.

Starting Our Garden

Memorial Day may mark the official start of summer for some, but for us it heralds the arrival of spring. Most people around here believe that the last frost has finally passed, and we sure hope so! Even for this area, it has been too cold much longer than usual. Night-time temperatures still dip into the upper 30s, though more often they are dipping only to the low- to mid-40s.

So this four-day weekend was a great time to start our garden, among many other tasks. Our garden is pretty small--only about six feet by ten feet--and took less than an hour to dig the old-fashioned way--with a garden spade. I chose this particular location mainly because it appeared to me that the area had been used for a garden before. I thought that maybe the soil had been amended before, might contain fewer weeds and such, and would be easier to dig. It was certainly easy to dig, and the soil appeared rich and dark. We'll have to wait and see about the weeds.

Our goal this year is simply to learn, so we didn't want a huge garden. It's been decades since I've worked in a garden. My wife has never gardened and isn't necessarily looking forward to it, but is looking forward to eating the produce.

We haven't quite decided what we will grow. We have decided that we will start with plants and not from seed, given the late start we are getting. We planted 4 "Sweet 100" grape tomato plants and one "Stripey" heirloom tomato plant which we will attempt to save seed from, if we can remember. We also planted an orange bell pepper plant and four cabbage plants. Next weekend we'll plant some seeds we had left from last year that we never got to use at our condo and see how they do: some kale, eggplant, and basil. If there is any room left, we may try a potato of some kind, and maybe a melon.

I think the really tricky part--even trickier than getting the plants to survive and produce--will be deterring the local wildlife from eating our food before we get to eat it.  We got some netting that is supposed to annoy deer.  I guess we'll see how effective that is.  I'll also look into planting some plants that deer, and other animals in the area don't like and see how well that works.

Our garden patch. I'll report later how effective the deer
netting is. Under the netting are tomatoes, pepper and
cabbage plants.

A New Roof

Our home inspector told us before we bought the house, that we should replace the roof as soon as we can. At the time of the inspection, there was no evidence of any leaks, so he thought we could probably get by with the existing roof for a year or two. Well, the roof didn't last but another seven months before I noticed several leaks. By the time we actually moved in, the sheet rock ceiling had begun to sag in one area and every time it rained, there were puddles in the same spots around the house.

The original roof was corrugated steel, and we wanted to replace it with a more modern-looking steel roof. The original roof was owner-installed, and looked it. We wanted to the new roof to look good and last long, so we asked for quotes from three vendors who were members of the Better Business Bureau and had good customer ratings. Two vendors responded with proposals, one bid was more than twice the bid of the other. The proposals didn't differ much with respect to the actual work done or materials used, so we went with the lower bid, but upgraded the roofing material used. The vendor proposed using a 29-gauge steel and we asked for a 26-gauge steel. The vendor offered Loc-Rib which features concealed fasteners and a very beautiful profile in our opinion, and we figured it might dent less when small branches fall from the trees overhanging the roof. We chose a dark brown color which goes well with our cedar siding.

Given that there were significant leaks in the existing roof, we knew there would be additional work. It turned out to be even worse than any of us, including the roofer, expected. Most of the sheathing over half of the house had to be replaced. Furthermore, the insulation had some mold, so we removed it while the roof and sheathing was off. One rafter was rotted completely through and was replaced, and the two neighboring rafters were reinforced. All this extra work doubled the amount of work to about four days instead of two, but the end product looks very nice! It feels good to not have to cover things up inside the house when there is rain in the forecast.

Now we need to remove the ceiling and the remaining insulation, remove any existing mold, and install new insulation and a new sheet rock ceiling.  I'll probably remove the existing ceiling myself as well as install new insulation. But I'll probably hire someone to install the sheet rock on the cathedral ceilings. I just don't like holding heavy objects over my head in precarious positions.

Before: Leaky and ugly

After: Dry and attractive

Energy Efficient Lighting

The typical incandescent bulb is a better source of heat than it is of light. In a few situations, a low-wattage heater is what is actually desired, but when you're off-grid and needing light, you don't want to be wasting electricity on something you don't want.  Fortunately, these days there are a plethora of lighting options, some of which were not a viable option just five years ago. Our off-grid house had 60W incandescent light bulbs in the four recessed lighting fixtures in the living room.  I'm guessing the previous owner didn't want to pay the higher price for dimmable compact florescent bulbs. Before purchasing dimmable replacement bulbs, I looked at my options.

Incandescent
Not really an option, in my opinion as I'm looking for something more energy efficient.

Halogen
Halogen bulbs use 20% to 30% less electricity for bulbs producing the same amount of light.  Like Incandescent bulbs, halogen bulbs produce full spectrum light, and they are reasonably priced.

Compact Florescent
The standard in energy efficiency, compact florescent bulbs use about one fourth the electricity of incandescent bulbs producing the same amount of light.  While they tend to cost quite a bit more than incandescent bulbs, they last significantly longer and are generally more cost effective in the long run. Some positive aspects of compact florescent bulbs: long-lasting, low power consumption, available in various color temperatures from warm to daylight, and they are available in dimmable models (make sure the packaging mentions the bulb is dimmable, otherwise it is not).  Some negative aspects: compact florescent bulbs contain toxic and hazardous materials (mercury) and must be disposed of properly, many (i.e., most cheaper and/or older) bulbs do not produce full brightness immediately, and dimmable bulbs cost quite a bit more than regular compact florescent bulbs.

LED
LED bulbs strive to be even more efficient than compact florescent bulbs. In reality, I found that the more affordable models (they are much more expensive than compact florescent bulbs) consume about the same amount of electricity as compact florescent bulbs producing the same amount of light. LED bulbs don't contain any toxic or hazardous materials. Until fairly recently, LED lighting tended to be extremely white or too yellow and provided a very unattractive light color for most residential applications, in my opinion. LED lighting manufacturers seem to have figured this problem out, and fortunately many models are dimmable. Generally, LED light bulbs last at least as long as compact florescent bulbs. The major drawback remaining is their price. However, prices are slowly coming down and in a few more years will probably be not much more expensive than compact florescent bulbs.

So what did I get? Since I was looking for efficient bulbs that were dimmable, I went with LED lighting. Because compact florescent bulbs don't produce full brightness immediately, I don't want to have to adjust the brightness again once the bulbs achieve full brightness.  Halogen bulbs didn't give me the increase in efficiency that I was looking for.

How well do they work? They work pretty well with a few caveats. When running off batteries with a modified sine-wave inverter, there are a few problems. The dimming range is significantly reduced. The brightness can be varied only slightly around the bright end.  Dim a little more and the bulbs start blinking. I have a theory as to why this might be, but since I really don't know, I'll just leave it at that. If someone can explain why these bulbs are behaving this way, please make a comment below. I did notice that when the generator is running (which produces a much more conforming sine wave) the dimming works great and I can get the bulbs to go much dimmer before they turn off completely.

The actual bulbs I got were the least expensive LED bulbs I could find at Home Depot that were comparable to a 60 watt incandescent bulb. That particular bulb happened to be an Ecosmart model. It claimed a warm- to bright-white color temperature and that it was dimmable. There was also a model from Philips which cost $5 more per bulb.  I decided to save the $20.

More LED lighting options are becoming available all the time, so try them out!

Incandescent bulbs on the left, LED lights on the right. Notice
the more defined circle of light projected on the floor by the
LED lights. There is a definite cone of light coming from the
LED light vs. the incandescent  bulbs.

Resources
EcoSmart Bulbs from Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com
Philips Lighting: http://www.lighting.philips.com/us_en/consumer

Off-grid Cooking

You might not think there's much to think about when getting a stove or oven for an off-grid home.  You might think all you need to do is just buy a nice, reliable gas stove and be done with it. Well, not quite.  Did you know that most gas ovens these days come with an electric heating element that draws over 350 watts the entire time the oven is on? That can draw your batteries down faster than you expect.  If you do a lot of baking or broiling, this electric load should be seriously considered when sizing your alternative energy system, including the battery bank. Gas ovens that use a pilot light are still being manufactured, but with a pilot light gas is continuously being consumed (however minuscule amount that may be), and these stoves tend to be short on features. You could also use a wood cook stove, but do you really want to heat your whole house in the summer time?

Fortunately, there are a few ranges out there that have electronically lit pilots in the oven. The pilot light is lit only while the oven is working so no gas is consumed when the oven is turned off, and since the pilot is lit with a spark (similar to modern gas burners on the cook top), only minimal electricity is required to light the pilot.  Two makes of ranges that I discovered are Unique Gas Products and Premier Range.  The Unique stove runs off a 9-volt battery for ignition--very nice if you have a minimal electrical system. The premier models come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and option levels.  I like the window option for the oven, as well as the 5th burner option. Both makes of stoves also allow the burners and ovens to be lit manually, using a match or other lighter, if the need arises. We chose a Premier model because of its more modern appearance and the options available.

We were able to special order a Premier stove through our local Lowe's store.  It happened to be on sale and by buying installation we got out of paying sales tax and a delivery fee (our Lowe's store wasn't all that local).  The first stove arrived at the store all banged up so the store ordered another one that looked much better. Unfortunately, after the stove was installed, we discovered some problems.  The burners were nowhere near centered, and this stove also had some dents and scratches on it in visible places near the floor.


The burners were nowhere near center and couldn't be adjusted.



Maybe Premier stoves need a bit more protection during shipping.

I got nowhere trying to have the defects remedied using the manufacturer's warranty (at Lowes' suggestion). Repair centers said I shouldn't have to deal with such issues with a new stove and recommended I have the reseller replace it.  So I went back to Lowes and they agreed to replace the stove.  The third time seemed to be the charm.  This one looked and worked fine. The installer even completely assembled and adjusted the stove before bringing it out to make sure it didn't have the same problems as the previous one. While something as simple as a stove installation didn't go as smoothly as it should have, I'm glad everything worked out in the end and that Lowes came through and made everything right.

Update 14 March 2013
After using this range for about a year and a half, we have noticed a few things that we wish were better, but given our choices we'll just have to accept. We run off of propane which seems to produce a little less heat than natural gas. Sometimes when baking, times have to be adjusted a little to make sure it's done. Also, if I had to buy again, I think I'd get the sealed burners for easier cleaning.

Resources
Premier Range: http://www.premierrange.com
Unique Gas Products: http://www.uniquegas.com

Noises at Night

It's pretty quiet around here.  Even during the day, the most we hear is some chirping birds, a woodpecker, and occasionally the hum of a neighbor's generator in the distance. So when we heard something at our front door a little after midnight last night, I was a little apprehensive, and my wife was scared.

We know there is wildlife in the area.  When we came looking at the property before buying it, a moose got up and left as we parked. There is also plenty of evidence on our property that moose and dear abound. So after the noise at the door stopped, we peeked out the living room window to see what it was.  It was dark outside except for the light of a waxing crescent moon hidden by a few clouds. But that was enough light to see a bear wandering down the driveway.  A few seconds later, I saw her cub. I guess now that spring has finally arrived, the bears must be looking for food.  We don't have much here yet, but it looks like we need to be very careful about controlling smells.

We've been sleeping in the living room by the fire since the last week was very cold at night.  But since it was warmer this week, we decided to immediately move our beds back upstairs and away from any food stuffs.  These bears were definitely heavy enough to push their way through the front door if they wanted to. 

This must be the noise I heard at the
front door in the middle of the night.

Fortunately for us, while we lost two hours of sleep, the bears didn't bother us the rest of the night.  But it did bring a lot more questions to mind, which didn't help us get back to sleep any more quickly. What would we do if a bear did get inside the house? Can we compost our food waste without creating a bigger bear problem? How will we keep animals from eating or destroying the food in our garden?  Should we get a dog? Should we consider getting a firearm?

It sounds like there are many topics for future posts deriving from this episode.