Off the grid living

[StoneHeartFarm]

ecard

A good source of info is found in the old mother earth magazines, back before they got slick. Watch yard sales and antique shops. (If you should happen to see issue #1, snatch it. The closest I've been able to get is issue #3.) There's usually an article or two in there about building something handy and I have one that talks about making a tractor from Volkswagon parts.

SHF

 

[Christopher]

CSAW,
A ram pump is simply a bunch of pipe, several diferent valves and an air compression tank. I will TRY to explain how it works. You have a length of pipe, in our case it was 3" steel, and if I remember correctly was 30 feet long, it all depends on the amount of flow you have in the creek and the fall, I think we had 7 or 8 feet of fall. At the end of this is a gate valve then the pump itself, which is just a valve that Dad made with a piece of pipe, a T fitting on the end, one leg off of the T was the valve which was on a leaf type spring adjusted so that it let the water run out until the flow of water pushed the valve closed, which caused a water hammer effect, this compressed the air in the air tank which was simply another length of pipe situated past the valve and vertical, which had a small hole and key in it to let it draw a little air each time, the pipe was capped off which made the air compression tank, I think it was around 4 feet tall. On the bottom of the air tank we had a one way valve which was hooked to the outlet line which went to the house, this valve was to keep the water in the line from backfeeding into the pump. Now, all of the measurements are custom fit to the water source and everything has to be adjusted just so, it is not hard once you know what you are doing, all you do is open the first gate valve to let water to the pump and while the water is running out the clapper valve adjust the tension of the spring with a bolt placed for the purpose, and another bolt to adjust the stroke length ( how far the valve can go up or down) adjust the tension until it starts pulsating by itself, you might have to lift it by hand once or twice to start it, once it is running adjust until you get the best water flow for your situation, ours was one pulse per second. Now as long as it doesn't get clogged with a fish or other trash it will run until it beats itself apart with no further attention, no fuel no cost, nothing, use the absolute best pipe, bolts and valve material ( hard rubber washer or something similar ) and it will last a long time, a neighbor of ours has had his running nonstop for ten years trouble free.
Now you have a real surprise to show everybody who comes by, we never got tired of seeing peoples faces when we showed them!, they couldn't believe it!
One thing more, it must be tied down to the ground somehow, very well or else it will beat itself out of position down the creek, it has an amazing pound, The neighbor had to finally cement his in and bury the lines because it broke all of the pins or anything else he tried, it finally broke the cement, he just put on more cement and it has been working fine. They pack an amazing punch!
I didn't explain it very well, I hope you get the general idea, I wish I had a picture to post
I would be happy to try to describe it better if you need, Christopher

 

[njrqs]

The ram pump thing had me wondering too. I was going to ask for a "please explain" but CSAW beat me to it.

Still got me beat, but I assume here you need running water to power it. Still water is a gas/electric problem right??

 

[Cornflake]

Try these links as well...

http://www.howstuffworks.com/question318.htm

http://www.clemson.edu/irrig/Equip/ram.htm

and/or search the net for "ram pump"

 

[hayden]

I've got a house that's 100% off the grid. It absolutely works, but it requires some attention and planning. It's not completely turn-key and maintenance free, but it's getting better and careful planning will maximize the simplicity of operation. I'm into gadgets so I pay a lot of attention to monitoring the systems operation, but I'm also comfortable paying no attention to it at all and leaving other people using the house who know nothing about the whole system. Anyone walking into the house and using it would never know it's off the grid. I've got a microwave, dishwasher, washer/dryer, radios, tv, vacuum, and the ladies use their hair driers. I even use a MIG welder.

You've found Home Power magazine - it's a great source along with the other references given.

As for economics, from what I can tell it only really pays off in a reasonable way where bringing grid power to your house will cost you $20k+. In my case it would have been $30k. I spend about $20k on the power system I have so I started out $10k ahead, and every month when I DON"T get a power bill, I get farther ahead. On top of that is the satisfaction of it all.

My place has a battery bank and inverter that turns the battery power into conventional AC. The whole house runs off traditional AC so any appliance works just fine. The batteries are charged via solar panels, and I have a backup generator that is automatically controlled by the inverter.

One key to making it all work is keeping your electric consumption under control. To this end, we use compact florescent lights everywhere. The heat is propane hot water and only the controls and circulator pump use electricity. The stove and dryer are propane too, along with the generator. Even the fridges are propane. We have two because the propane fridges are small. All this keeps the electric consumption down and I get by with only 6 solar panels. These are examples of how careful planning goes a long way in making it really work.

Are you looking to take an existing house off the grid? If so, it clearly can be done, but I think you will find your principals, not economics, drive you to do it. If you are building away fron the grid, thenthe economics can be very compelling.

Any stuff I can help you with, feel free to ask. I love yacking about it.

Peter

 

[billboe]

Hayden, sounds like a great system! How often does the backup generator run?

 

[benewton]

I'd probably love your setup, but I've taken a different path.

'Course, I'll get there slowly, as per usual.

I'm not on the green side, nor do I wish to calculate the effects of turning on the perculator in the AM. I also think that the cost, and limitations, of "energy efficient" appliances, not to mention the problems of getting them fixed, makes them a bad deal. You're correct: the house should be "normal".

My goal is to be energy independent, which makes propane illegal, although, since I've 29 acres or so, wood heat is "required", which is good, according to my doctors: exercise and all...

So, I've currently got my dual SW-4024's up and running on 32 UL-16H's, with the house wired, essentually, in a UPS configuration. Granted, I'm still "on grid", but the basics are in for solar and generator backup. The generator will come first, since, living in New Hampshire, I cannot be sure that four days of backup battery will be sufficient to allow me to live without being "bothered".

According to PSNH, we burn 18 KWH/day, including battery recharge time, and we'll burn more in the future, as expansion occurs. To live a "normal" life, I've gotta provide at least much.

I plan to provide for that amount, and, having thought about this for around 30 years or so, I do know that it costs, lots.

Ah well, everybody knows I'm nuts, but, as the author said, "So it goes..."

 

[hayden]

First a qualifier: This is a second home so it mostly gets used on the weekends.

For the worst three months in the winter I run the generator daily for a few hours when we are using the house. This covers our use and catches up the batteries for the time when we are not there. The house is heated all the time so even when we are away there is power being used for the circulator pump and controls. Other than those three months, the genrator doesn't run at all. The solar mostly keeps up when we are using the house, and totally catches up when we are away. If we were there all the time I'd probably need to double the panels or add some other source of power. I've got a stream that I want to use for a small hydro system. The water flows most in the winter when the sun is low, and in the summer the water flow goes down but the sun goes up so the two would balance each other nicely.

 

[benewton]

Sounds like I should buy it and move!

I wanted hydro, but the cost of land, location, time, and, of course, money, made that impossible.

But microhydro is the only way that I can see that the energy independent method of living is economically possible. I will, eventually, get my electric power for "free", but that will ignore the $50K - $70K of initial investment...

It'll never pay off.

Having said that...

When the dreaded "winter storm watch" comes through, I wander upstairs and look at the wood pile...
So much for heat.

I've got the juice in the battery bank for probably a Beatle's week, eight days, for all important services (a functional bathroom for those who are married to a female...), and normally work via telecommute over DSL, also "battery backed".

So, ensure that there's sufficient beer, and, for her, currently, "ICE", then sit back and enjoy the panic from the Boston stations.

Life could be, and has been, a lot worse.

Besides, after the snow, me and Huey, the TC40D get to play!

Like I said, things could be a LOT worst.

 

[hayden]

Even after the initial capital investment, alternative energy still costs. Batteries, for example, have a 5-10 year life. My bank will cost about $2000 to replace. If it lasts 10 years, that $200/yr or about $18/mo. Still less that a power bill, but not free. Also, the fridge, and other gas appliances end up gas powered rather than electric. It's more cost effective, but not free, And of course that backup generator costs money to run and maintain.

From what I can figure, energy conservation measures have the fastest, most compelling payback. Just using compact florescent lights, turning stuff off, and converting major heating appliances (furnaces, HW, driers, etc.) to direct fossil fuel rather than indirect fossil fuel via electricity can recover costs in a short time (1 year or so) and yield savings from then on. These measures are a prerequisit to alternative energy anyway if you are heading in that direction.

Using alternative energy when grid power is already available is commendable, and I applaud everyone who does it. At the same time, and excluding the energy price craziness in CA last year, I don't see the alternative energy payback justify the change. Hopefully the economics will continue to shift in it's favor - they have moved lots in the past years. In the mean time, hats off to all those who do it on principal. That's how it's come as far as it has.