Good morning!!!!

[jbrumberg]

Billy-

Thanks for the feedback. I do not think the soap&water really works. It may make things worse. I left detergent out of the process today. This new stove is "light years" from my old Ben Franklin stove.... a very different kind of burn and more controllable. The wood I burn is stored 'well' (tarp/cinderblock off ground) and well seasoned (+1 year). I used to burn 1.75 cords/season with the old stove. For many reasons I may only burn .75 cords the way temperatures are going. Who knows?

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Some pics from today
A nice sunset
Bringing in some pellets
Tracks from the electric crew last night, i dont mind, they got it fixed.
My little creek running good. Undercutting some trees.

 

[Looking4new]

I cleaned my wood stove's front pane today as well with the stove's wood ashes/water paste and scrub until the thumbs start complaining. Then I wipe it down with soap and water and then wipe it down with a wet paper towel. I have yet to find a cleaner that works as well. If anyone knows of a cleaner my thumbs would appreciate it. Frequent cleanings and burning relatively hot seem to minimize the tar buildup. It looks like for the short term I will be using it daily.

I have never cleaned the glass on either of my two woodstoves, so I cannot be of any help. I just burn a hot fire.

12°F and going down to 2 below zero. Getting cooler out overnights again.

 

[toppop52]

41 headed for 32, decent December weather. I still have a bad feeling about January.

Great pictures BEF, I should have gotten one of the full moon rise tonight, it was a gorgeous Cold Moon.

 

[mostly_gas]

Jay, Rutland Products Hearth and Grill Conditioning Glass Cleaner with Silicone. After 2 or 3 uses the glass does clean easier

 

[Buppies]

Toppop I think you have reason to worry. Glad you and Ellen have each other. Just got back from long trip glad to be home

 

[mostly_gas]

Good evening all. 45F to start, clear, calm wind. Wind was moderate, sky clear, and high temp was 58F. No bike ride today, worked on wife's Christmas present new laptop, had to update first :mur: Then had to make a run to Sherman, got some bike stuff for stocking stuffers and wifey was able to knock some stuff off her list. Got new under cabinet lights from Lowes, put one up tonight, and she id happy with it :cool2:
David how do you keep the acid out of the pool?
Buckeye, good to hear your power is back.
Billy, it is amazing how easy a small mistake can be a major pain to rectify
prayers for all

 

[Eric Salop]

Good morning all. The rain is coming down quite hard, making it too dark to see outside at the moment, so I may as well have an early breakfast myself before going out to feed the flock. No one else around so I should be ok to sneak at least one mince pie too.

BEF, thanks for the varied pictures. It is always fascinating to see what life is like in other places, especially nice ones like yours.

Our daughter and family are on there way over and our son says he will be here early in the afternoon. My wife seems to have been baking continuously for the last couple of days and friends have given us a locally reared, 18lb turkey. Everything seems to be about in place for a great Christmas. Hope you all enjoy the holiday too.

 

[sodamo]

David how do you keep the acid out of the pool?

Thanks to my concrete guy, George, that is easy. The pool is actually the highest elevation, all slope and drain from there. As for applying right next the the pool I’ll just use a barrier to block any over spray.

 

[sodamo]

RNG.
Just a few thoughts regarding power. Being completely off grid we have a bit of experience.
You mentioned batteries. Plain batteries not of much value unless you are talking just DC use. You would need an inverter to convert to AC. If you consider batteries, then you’d likely want a solar system. I’d be curious how you might protect the whole system from fire danger.

I’m facing the generator fuel challenge currently. My primary generator is diesel and also have Honda 7000, gas backup and 10kw military. Gas means humping 5 gallon cans. Up until Oct I was able to get diesel delivery, but Walt went out of business leaving choice between 2 entities One has a 300 gal min, the second 400 gal min. Technically i have to have a double walled storage container with appropriate fire department permits. I quit looking when I figured $5k minimum. First company insistent, 2nd not. So I’m in the process of setting up capability to store 550 gallons for second company and hope for a Jan delivery. But I can’t say this is a good long term solution as the delivery company could refuse at anytime saying i don’t have proper storage.
Not only am I no longer eager to keep humping 5 gallon containers, I’m also concerned about when I can’t, especially when I’m dead. So perhaps the solution is propane. Definitely no problem with delivery, we already have a 250 gal tank for the house, but about 200 feet from where generator would reside. So my diesel project has morphed into a diesel and propane project. Some interesting LP generator choices. in many ways, a nice 1800 rpm model would be my choice, but definitely out of budget. As you have found out, these guys don’t sip the propane at over 2g/hr. Just for laughs, my last propane delivery was $5.54/g.
Another thing I recently learned many generators specifically exclude off grid use. Generac and Kohler currently only have 1 warrantied model each in the more affordable, standby type. average life expectancy about 4000 hours. My current choice is leaning Generac Ecogen 7163. My current usage is about 400hr/yr. once installed, I’d sell my big diesel and split use among the Generac, my 10kw military diesel, and the Honda.
As for propane requirements find the installation manual for your model of interest. The Generacs have a table listing requirements. Most will require 10-12 inches WC which is normal secondary regulator pressure. Due to distance from tank I need 1” pipe from tank to the regulator, then 3/4.
Was glad to read about you tank’s fire survival. If you don’t bury a tank can you increase survival by surrounding with a concrete block wall?