Hi James, I came across these maps today and they may be of interest to your Canadian readers. The parent web page Natural Resources Canada has a key sub page with a lot of great info like GIS map data, insolation calculations, photovoltaic potential, et cetera. Thanks for your great blog! – John R. in Canada
In keeping with our well-entrenched philosophy of redundancy, we now have five ways to cut firewood at the Rawles Ranch: 1.) A reliable (but noisy) Stihl 024 gas engine chainsaw with a 20″ bar, 2.) An assortment of felling axes and mauls, 3.) an early-1900s vintage 1-1/2 man saw, 4.) A Makita electric chainsaw that can be powered by quiet a Yamaha 2.8 KW inverter genset carried in the back of our utility ATV, and 5.) An even smaller Black & Decker 18-Volt cordless electric chainsaw. (The latter lacks the muscle for anything more than cutting saplings or for limb …
James Wesley: While the compact fluorescent bulbs are good at saving energy, even better are LED bulbs. I know they are expensive, but they are coming down in price and can be had at very reasonable prices on eBay. Not only that, but they “burn” cool to the touch and contain no mercury. A broken CF bulb practically warrants a HAZMAT crew! L’s last even longer than compact fluorescent bulbs and are made of plastic so there’s no worries about breakage. I’m building a solar power system for my home, and plan on switching to LEDs. – Dave, RN
Good Day James, I have been a daily reader of your blog for who knows how long and enjoy it everyday. I am not an electrician, but I did check with a good friend who has his PhD in electrical engineering. Should him this paraphrase of D.P.’s post regarding System building note and he said: “Bull.” Per the National Electrical code Article 250 on grounding, “You’d- Better ground your system” if something happens to him or his house regardless of how he is powering it (solar, grid tie in, wind, et cetera) if a fire or electrocution happens to him …
So, you’ve been wondering if you should be buying some photovoltaic (PV) panels to avoid the darkest of ages? And you have some specific questions: – how many panels do I need? – which type of panel do I need? – what’s it going to cost? – what about an inverter? – what can I actually get done with my energy? In this post I will try to answer these questions, having gone through the process myself in the last few years. My hope is that by relating my journey, it will help some of you make the right decisions …
I found myself in a rather uncomfortable and vulnerable position. Hurricane Frederic hit Mobile, Alabama in September 1979. I thought it was going to be exciting. In fact several friends of mine had a party the night before Frederic made landfall. There was no preparation made on my part for this hurricane. I had no anxiety and could have cared less. At the time I didn’t even have a gun. I had barely a quarter of a tank of gas in my car. I did not have a battery operated radio or a flashlight. There was very little non-perishable food …
Hi Jim, Just finished reading the post on extending battery life. The writer hit it on the head when he talked about pulse charging batteries. As a matter of fact there is a company out of Hayden, Idaho (in the American Redoubt) which makes microprocessor-controlled desulphating battery chargers. John Bedini has been designing these chargers for many years, and has now made them commercially available. His company is called Energenx. I have three of his heavy duty chargers for use on Trojan batteries. The chargers have a charge cycle and a desulphate cycle where they charge and discharge several times …
Many preppers believe that batteries should play a prominent part in their preparations. For a variety of reasons, they are probably correct in that assumption. From what I have read on this blog they also generally believe that their batteries will reach end of life (or at least have a greatly diminished capacity) after 3-5 years. This is understandable but not necessarily correct. Since deep cycle batteries are not cheap its also an expensive assumption. This submission deals with how to extend the useful life of various types of rechargeable batteries. There will be an emphasis on DIY [from very …
James: The Problem Sleep Apnea has been a recent topic in the blog. My wife and I both use one of “the machines”. And although it is true many people just simply cannot get use to using them, others like us can no longer get a good nap or full night’s sleep without one. So, what do we do if some yahoo hits the pole in route to his (with your permission Mr. Rawles) “hid-e-hole in Idaho”. Our choices were to stay up all night waiting for the power to come back on or …. Nothing! Sleeping without “the machine” …
Off-Grid Origins Residential power systems – particularly the inverters that provide more popular Alternating Current (AC) voltages, standards and connections – are a far cry from their primitive ancestors of only a few decades ago, when hobbyists and off-grid home or cabin owners needed a fair amount of electrical expertise, as well as tolerance for not-quite-ready-for-mainstream technology and performance. Increased world-wide demand, dramatic improvements in the semiconductor and microprocessor industries, economies of scale, improved safety standards, regulations, plus diligent and competitive engineering have all contributed to the superb home inverter offerings available today. From it’s infancy as an inferior, pioneering …
Mr. Rawles: Today is Wednesday, July 4, 2012. I am writing from a small town in central West Virginia and I would like to share some thoughts, observations, and lessons from the recent Derecho windstorm experienced by the mid-west and east of our great country. As I sit here, we are in day six of total power outage caused by a freak storm that came with little or no warning. Power may not be on for another four days. I have been a long time reader of your blog and have lots of lists and plans but sadly my …
Hi James, I too have chosen DeWalt, but went out of my way recently to purchase a 12 volt cordless drill. My reason being that the rechargeable batteries will eventually degrade. 18 volts is hard to come by without stacking small cells together in series. But 12 volt batteries are ubiquitous in all kinds of shapes, sizes and capacities, and can be pressed into service easily with a few feet of wire. – Ray K. Dear James. I just want you to know that we appreciate what you do ,the information you provide is priceless,and don`t start my day without …
Several readers have asked me what brand of cordless power tools I use. A few years back, I settled on DeWalt brand 18 Volt DC tools here at the Rawles Ranch. This company seemed to offer a very wide selection of very sturdy and reasonably priced tools with long battery life. The only drawback is that their spare batteries are fairly expensive. (Although their batteries seem to have a much longer service life than most of those made by competitors.) Since then, I haven’t regretted the selection of DeWalt, since they keep adding tools to their line, and a they’ve …
Prepping is full of assumptions. We prepare because we assume that something could go wrong in our lives and that it is our own responsibility to take steps to assure that we come out smelling like roses. Others don’t prepare because they assume that nothing could go wrong in their lives and that someone else will take care of them. We buy long term storage food because we assume that there will be a food shortage in the future. Others barely have enough food in the pantry because they assume the pizza place will always be able to deliver and …
I never realized how dark and eerie our house could be. Even at night, there were usually two or three nightlights casting their brave glow to prevent midnight mishaps. But on this evening, there was no electricity to power this smallest of luxuries. Another thing I noticed as I kept vigil over my sleeping loved ones by emergency candle light was the extreme, echoing silence. There was no fan humming in my son’s room. There was no whir of the compressor cycling on and off in the refrigerator. There was no air blowing through the central air unit of our …