3R Home and Barn Project

[3RRL]

Rob,
I have thought tha chiping is a two sided sword. Sure you don't burn but then you have all this small stuff that dires up very quickly jsut laying on the ground which is basically nice dry fuel for a forest fire. Can catch fire very easy with a spark etc. To me ideal is chipping and then rototilling in the chipped matter. That is what we are going to do this year. Well we are going to try it and see how it goes. Mainly for the thin branches with leaves we are going to lower the brush hog on them, not chip. We will use that power prunners to quickly adn efortlessly remove the small branches from the larger part of the branch and then bush hog the fine branches.

Hi Rox,
I agree with your logic about chipping and tilling it in.
We have a 2,200lb dump trailer that we will fill up when chipping. We're thinking of dumping all the chips into a neat pile where we can use them later for whatever reason.
Using the bush hog is a great idea to shred the smaller stuff too.

 

[3RRL]

Rob,
Do y'all have Copperhead snakes out there? We don't have many rattlesnakes in Southeast Texas, but every once in a while I find a rattlesnake out sunning. But the numerous Copperheads seem to rove out earlier and more often. They can pop out on a winter day when the sun has been out for days. I have even seen one at night years ago, crossing my path to my rabbit hutch.
hugs, Brandi

No Copperheads out here Brandi.
At least none that I know of. I would hate to deal with those silent poisonous snakes like you guys do.
Our rattlers also come out at night, especially in the hot Summer. You have to be careful, but at least they sound off when you get close to them. There are times though, when you surprise one like when you're stepping over a log or climbing up some rocks and that could be a dangerous situation.

 

[Oldchuck]

Hi Rox,
I agree with your logic about chipping and tilling it in.
We have a 2,200lb dump trailer that we will fill up when chipping. We're thinking of dumping all the chips into a neat pile where we can use them later for whatever reason.

Rob, I have the suspicion that a pile of green chips would be a fire hazard, like wet hay. Spontaneous combustion.

Something to be said for this part of the world, NO POISIONOUS SNAKES!

 

[denmansoft]

The fire hazard from a pile of chips is way less than that posed by the pile of brush. Try dopping a match on packed down sawdust. It does not take too easily.

 

[rtdiggr]

I sometimes get startled when a mouse comes out of the wood pile i couldn't imagine a large snake. That bites.

I remember [years ago] cave diving in northern Florida we were told to keep an eye on the watermoccasins because they bit. Not a comfy feeling when your diving or camping


Shane

 

[rox]

Rob, I have the suspicion that a pile of green chips would be a fire hazard, like wet hay. Spontaneous combustion.

Something to be said for this part of the world, NO POISIONOUS SNAKES!

Agee with you on that thought. Actually when spread around and used to mulch around plants that is where I see the real fuel for fire. I prefer small round pebbles with gardening cloth under rather than mulch. I guess Rob and Loretta will figure that out, as I reacall they are installing sprinkers so if they sprinkle the mulch in case of a fire it will reduce the risk. Personally I like smooth medium sized river rocks, sure it costs a LOT more up front but you lay them down once and never have to fuss with it again. OTOH they are going to have a big pile of mulch so I see thier temptation.

 

[germ-X]

Thats going to be one beautiful home in a pretty location. Good luck 3r and keep the pics a coming.

hope everything goes good for you man. it will be one beautiful home.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I don't think that the wood chips are all that big of a fire hazard. If it was, I doubt that the highway dept would use them along the highways, and that is very common here in Southern California. I have been putting about 8" of mulch around my trees for sometime now, and nothing has burned down yet.

Just my experience and what I have seen.

 

[dfkrug]

We've managed our energy use to where it's down below 13kW a day now, sometimes a little more but sometimes a little less too.

13KW-hr per day!? That is very impressive. We are typically at 15-16
KW-hr/day in a smaller house. (We do use an electric water heater,
electric waterbed heater, and 220V effluent pump for our septic system.)

Why don't you use a propane dryer, instead of electric?

 

[3RRL]

13KW-hr per day!? That is very impressive. We are typically at 15-16
KW-hr/day in a smaller house. (We do use an electric water heater,
electric waterbed heater, and 220V effluent pump for our septic system.)

Why don't you use a propane dryer, instead of electric?

Hi Dave,
Well, Loretta was under the impression that an electric drier would be just as good and that the drier would not use as much electricity as it (really) does. After all, our electricity is "free" so to speak. But the darn thing draws a huge amount. Now, the problem of getting a new gas drier is that there is no match to the front load washer since it's a discontinued item. Also, who wants to buy a drier ... hard to get rid of. OR we will have to bite the bullet and pay for another new drier ... what a waste.

So here's what we've been doing.
Loretta now picks the days when it's overcast and we have to run the generator anyway to help the solar get from bulk to absorb. Since our generator is 20kW, it still charges the system and we run all the electricity in the house we want for a couple hours. I don't think this will be as much of an issue as Spring and Summer arrive. We get tons of Sun then.