bigato's journal

Where are you and where are you going?
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Seppia
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Re: bigato's journal

Post by Seppia »

Thanks bigato.
And keep the pics coming they look fantastic.

7Wannabe5
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Re: bigato's journal

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

Your little house will be cute if you fix it up. I was wondering do you have any issues with codes there or can you do pretty much whatever you like?

slowtraveler
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Re: bigato's journal

Post by slowtraveler »

Reading these last few pages of your journal and seeing all those pictures inspired me. Your life there seems amazing. It's a wise choice to be there at this time.

Lots of work customizing the space to keep you active and healthy. Wild tucans flying in the sky. Cute dogs and cows prancing about in the lush mountain sides. No wonder Brazil is the place everyone keeps telling me to go.

Thanks for sharing your journey on here.

reepicheep
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Re: bigato's journal

Post by reepicheep »

Beautiful pictures.

I am in a similar place as you with the hot water situation. I would like to have a way to heat water with the wood stove...without exploding anything.

It's a complicated endeavor, from what I understand.

reepicheep
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Re: bigato's journal

Post by reepicheep »

I was just thinking of this video! I watched it yesterday. He does use a one-way valve.

I think PEX is not rated for fire (:-p), so copper is probably your best bet.

My major questions are:

Can I use one tank and somehow hook it up so that it can be heated with propane, heated with wood-stove heated water, and heated with a solar water heater?

Can I pre-heat the water using the solar water heater and then employ one of the other two methods to get it fully up to temp?

Do I need to disconnect between these methods or can I switch seamlessly back and forth between them, i.e., the solar hot water and wood stove and propane are always all hooked up, but if the wood stove isn't running, I can just rely on solar heat, or I can flip on the propane?

Check this video out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSbETRn7gnM

I am thinking of getting a pretty small tank (for the U.S), around 20 gallons, so I think solar heating would go a long way even in this cloudy climate, especially if I insulate the tank extra. That's twice as big as what I have right now in the RV and I'm actually perfectly happy with it as is.

theanimal
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Re: bigato's journal

Post by theanimal »

I'm looking to do the same thing myself. From my limited understanding, the thing that guy in the video seems to miss with his cabin sled is an expansion tank. While it works without, he is risking a massive blowup and injury. I have a friend with a similar system in his house with a wood cookstove. There is a water jacket on the back that holds 7 gallons. He has a tube feeding back to a larger holding tank which goes to his bath area and another pipe that goes to tubing beneath the floorboards to provide radiant floor heat.

ETA: Woops posted too early. I missed his vent.

reepicheep
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Re: bigato's journal

Post by reepicheep »

So if there is a vent, no secondary tank is needed?

But then there is some water loss that doesn't get cycled back into the system?

Wonder if I could vent into an open barrel in a green house.

theanimal
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Re: bigato's journal

Post by theanimal »

I'm not sure if the vent is a legitimate substitute for an expansion tank. Maybe ffj/riggerjack or someone else with more expertise can chime in if they are following along.

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C40
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Re: bigato's journal

Post by C40 »

I love seeing the pictures. Thanks for posting them :-) :-)

CS
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Re: bigato's journal

Post by CS »

Love the pictures.

niemand
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Location: Woop Woop, Australia

Re: bigato's journal

Post by niemand »

Hey bigato, love the turn your life has taken. Love the pictures too, keep'em coming...
bigato wrote:
Tue May 12, 2020 5:36 pm
These beautiful weeds are growing below my bedroom's window, at my property. I seem to remember that some part of this plant is edible or useful in some way, although I don't remember exactly for what. They are not sunflowers, although they seem to be a wild variety of sunflower.
Looks like Jerusalem artichoke?

AxelHeyst
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Re: bigato's journal

Post by AxelHeyst »

theanimal wrote:
Fri May 22, 2020 9:13 pm
I'm not sure if the vent is a legitimate substitute for an expansion tank. Maybe ffj/riggerjack or someone else with more expertise can chime in if they are following along.
An expansion tank is required (best practice) for a system that is pressurized / closed to atmosphere. An expansion tank is essentially just a heavy duty water balloon with a little bit of air in it, that can expand and contract as the water in the system expands and contracts as it changes temperature. If you didn't have this 'water balloon' in the system, the pressure of the system would fluctuate as the mass of water expands/contracts due to temperature (and possibly other factors).

If a system is "open to atmosphere", e.g. if it has a vent or other interface with open air, expanding water will just expand out towards the atmosphere and the system won't experience high pressures. The "pressure" of the system is set by the atmosphere, an expansion tank wouldn't accomplish anything in an open system.

These components aren't interchangeable... you can't just swap a vent for an expansion tank in a circulation system with a pump, obviously because the pump would push the water out the vent. Open and closed are two different system types. For what it's worth, for small DIY hydronic projects, I always try to go open system if it makes sense, so I don't have to concern myself with pressure issues.

I don't know anything about designing for heat sources that could potentially produce steam. Look in to safety relief valves and such. Steam explosions are horrible.

slsdly
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Re: bigato's journal

Post by slsdly »

I figured I should reply on your journal about your cold shower / wanting hot water experience. I have found a normal shower + cold water to be mentally unsustainable as well -- I could do it until the seasons changed, and boom, back to warm water. But a navy shower + cold water is much better. Turn on water to get wet, turn it off to lather soap, and then turn on water to rinse. Not sure if you were already taking navy showers, but it worked for me :). It also makes the process very quick.

horsewoman
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Re: bigato's journal

Post by horsewoman »

I very much enjoy reading along with your rural adventure! How pleasantly busy you are, and with "real" stuff, like building and improving things. I thought of your uncles cows last week when we put our horses on pasture - my Shetland pony nearly vanished in the high grass just like the cows on your meadow!

I seldom feel envy, but at sight of those bushels of bananas I felt a small pang! Bananas are the only thing I break my "no fruit that has been imported from overseas" rule for. I'd love to grow them myself, but this is not possible in our neck of the woods.

Your place is really beautiful, thank you for sharing your journey with us!

7Wannabe5
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Re: bigato's journal

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

My permaculture partner planted some hardy banana “trees” on our Zone 6(ish) urban site. One of our last minor squabbles was on the question of whether they would ever bear fruit. Gardening is really best done solo or with strict division of labor, because there are few enterprises that are more likely to directly reflect the personality of the participant(s.) For instance, if it were mine,your little house would be painted a brighter yellow, and would be surrounded by flowering jewel contrast tone tropicals, and I would be giving great consideration to the aspect from cozy seat on the porch.

Unfortunately, pretty much the only recipe I ever use for extra bananas is the banana bread recipe from the original Moosewood Vegetarian Cookbook. It does last almost forever if frozen, but too bulky for your situation. I think most people underestimate the processing end of the gardening experience. If you haven’t yet read it, I highly recommend “The Resilient Gardener” by Carol Deppe, even though many of her examples would not be applicable to your zone.

horsewoman
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Re: bigato's journal

Post by horsewoman »

The thing is, bananas are not at all expensive in Germany. I buy organic Fair Trade bananas and pay 1,70 - 2,00 Euros for a Kilo, the 2 EURO for Demeter, which is - at least in Germany - the strictest seal for organic food. The bananas are from Costa Rica or Brazil, mostly.
Compared to that, a kilo of organic apples from the Bodensee region (around 300 km from our place) cost 4,10 EURO. This is probably one of the many perversities of globalization! It is of course not completely correct to compare apples with bananas, but since there are no local bananas, it has to do.

DH says it is indeed possible to raise a banana tree in a green house here but he is not so sure that there will be a lot of fruit. It seems a lot of work, for very little yield. So I'll stay a hypocrite when it comes to bananas :)

If I have too many ripe bananas, I freeze them in slices to make vegan ice cream.

Riggerjack
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Re: bigato's journal

Post by Riggerjack »

https://builditsolar.com/

Has all the info you want on DIY solar, including DIY solar thermal panels, calculators, and pump sizing. Everything you need to know to design a DIY system.

Bigato, google "retaining wall" for details on engineered retaining wall practices. This is one of the things you can build so your grandchildren can tell their grandchildren that you built this wall, or you can rebuild it every decade, depending on how you do it. Stone lasts like... Stone. But water goes where it wants, unless you make a better place for it, and eventually, water trumps stone.

Either deal with your underground utilities (power, water, sewer, storm water, future communications) before you build your retaining wall, or build a path (pipes and conduits) to a hand hole on each side. Once your wall is built, you don't want to disturb it.

Proper drainage is part of a good retaining wall design. You can break up your wall, vertically, like 2 three foot walls, instead of one six foot wall. Each offset by four feet, giving you a 4 foot wide dry area to garden, to grow the plants that need dry feet. I'm thinking many herbs, and perhaps some dwarf citrus.

Congratulations on your choice of places to ride out the apocalypse! :D

theanimal
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Re: bigato's journal

Post by theanimal »

Lovely flowers! That's great to see the kids watching/working alongside the adults. In the US, most youth are often segregated away from the adults and remain in their own age group, especially during the school year. I think it's a terrible practice and it stunts possible growth and learning physical skills.

classical_Liberal
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Re: bigato's journal

Post by classical_Liberal »

It looks like you're having the time of your life bigato! Your posts are so much more present oriented with happiness and pride in your life at their core. Whatever happens don't let something take you away from this happy period prematurely.

singvestor
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Re: bigato's journal

Post by singvestor »

So enjoyable to read about the countryside adventure! Seems you are having a great time!

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