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Author Topic:   Green and less dependent on "grid" corporations ...
RAZD
Member (Idle past 1404 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


Message 16 of 43 (715344)
01-04-2014 7:05 AM
Reply to: Message 15 by frako
01-04-2014 6:54 AM


... I halved my heating costs by exchanging my windows for top of the line shit.
Two more to go (the undone room)
Plus the insulation I've put in the rafters gives me the most snow covered roof in the neighborhood.
If you plan to change some of those out make sure you go for A or better energy quality. Dunno if you Americans have those tags on electrical devices though ?
All new all low energy rated.
U might think about putting a collector on your roof to it can shave up to 80% of your water heating bills off. The only cost you have is exchanging antifreeze every 5 years. But it depends on your weather conditions so ask someone who knows more about this stuff then i do.
That's in the plans down the road. I'm also thinking of having some to heat an antifreeze loop in the driveway to clean off the snow, it would only need an expansion tank rather than storage..
Enjoy.
Edited by RAZD, : ;}

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
Rebel American Zen Deist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.


Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click)

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Theodoric
Member
Posts: 9076
From: Northwest, WI, USA
Joined: 08-15-2005
Member Rating: 3.7


(1)
Message 17 of 43 (715351)
01-04-2014 11:11 AM


New woodstove
Some people do not consider a wood stove "green". But as I have 20 acres and my wife's family has 320+ acres adjoining ours wood is plentiful and free. All it takes is the physical activity to cut, split and stack. Much better than a gym membership.
At my last house burning wood lowered my propane use by over 70%. Since this new house has a "mother-in-law" addition, that my mother-in-law and her son live in(at 51 I have a 7 year old brother in law), I probably won't get near that savings.
Yesterday I had a new stove installed. It is a Lopi Liberty. We had a Lopi at our old house and I was very satisfied with it. It is keeping our side at 70F quite easily on a fairly low burn. Since it is going to be close to -30F next two nights I think I got it just in time.
Here it is in action.

Facts don't lie or have an agenda. Facts are just facts
"God did it" is not an argument. It is an excuse for intellectual laziness.

Replies to this message:
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ringo
Member (Idle past 411 days)
Posts: 20940
From: frozen wasteland
Joined: 03-23-2005


(1)
Message 18 of 43 (715354)
01-04-2014 11:22 AM
Reply to: Message 17 by Theodoric
01-04-2014 11:11 AM


Re: New woodstove
jaywill writes:
... wood is plentiful and free. All it takes is the physical activity to cut, split and stack. Much better than a gym membership.
For physical health a change in lifestyle is better than fad diets, etc. The same is true for environmental health.

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frako
Member (Idle past 305 days)
Posts: 2932
From: slovenija
Joined: 09-04-2010


Message 19 of 43 (715438)
01-05-2014 2:17 PM
Reply to: Message 17 by Theodoric
01-04-2014 11:11 AM


Re: New woodstove
Some people do not consider a wood stove "green".
Well if you cut down less then grows back its green,
But there is a slight increase in the risk of cancer do to a stove like this, breathing in ash particles is not healthy. My central heating runs on wood burning though its a 40 year old Scandinavian furnace i think the original design was for a locomotive LOL, people are throwing out 10 year old furnaces but mine is still running strong. MIght convert it to burn pellets with an automatic feeder though cause going down to fill her up 3 times a day is tedious especially if you are the forgetful sort.

Christianity, One woman's lie about an affair that got seriously out of hand
What are the Christians gonna do to me ..... Forgive me, good luck with that.

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RAZD
Member (Idle past 1404 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


(1)
Message 20 of 43 (716335)
01-14-2014 8:22 PM
Reply to: Message 19 by frako
01-05-2014 2:17 PM


Quinone Batteries
Posting this from Human Induced Global warming is just another conjob for the ignorant.m Message 25 so I'll have a record of it here.
There are a lot of exciting technologies that are showing up.. and one or the other is likely to succeed (much to the oil companies dismay).
Rechargeable quinone battery for load levelling - NASA/ADS
quote:
Rechargeable quinone battery for load levelling
Binder, H.; Knoedler, R.; Koehling, A.; Sandstede, G.; Walter, G.
International Power Sources Symposium Committee, International Power Sources Symposium, 10th, Brighton, England, Sept. 13-16, 1976, Paper. 10 p.
A rechargeable battery system with solid quinones as active masses, which are insoluble in acids, is described. Oxanthranol (anthrahydroquinone) is used for the negative plate, and chloranil (tetrachloro-p-benzoquinone) for the positive plate. Overvoltage is small in the charge and discharge modes even at high current densities. More than 90% of the quinones can be utilized at a discharge rate of 10 h. For a laboratory model with a storage capacity of about 20 mA h/sq cm, a current yield of about 98% and an energy yield of about 90% were measured at a discharge rate of about 10 h. Lifetime does not appear to be limited by deep discharges or quick recharges. After more than 100 cycles, electrodes with chloranil showed no loss in capacity.
And they should be cheaper than metal batteries.

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
Rebel American Zen Deist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.


Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click)

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Replies to this message:
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ramoss
Member (Idle past 611 days)
Posts: 3228
Joined: 08-11-2004


Message 21 of 43 (716336)
01-14-2014 8:32 PM
Reply to: Message 20 by RAZD
01-14-2014 8:22 PM


Re: Quinone Batteries
I was just going to be posting that one too.
THere are SO many emerging technologies. Not all will be successful.
Oh.. and if you are into gardening
Build a $300 Underground Greenhouse for Year-Round Gardening

This message is a reply to:
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RAZD
Member (Idle past 1404 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


Message 22 of 43 (716338)
01-14-2014 8:37 PM
Reply to: Message 21 by ramoss
01-14-2014 8:32 PM


Re: Quinone Batteries
Oh.. and if you are into gardening
Page Not Found
I take care of the house and "she-who-must-be-obeyed" does the garden yard (it's all garden).

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
Rebel American Zen Deist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.


Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click)

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Replies to this message:
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Coyote
Member (Idle past 2105 days)
Posts: 6117
Joined: 01-12-2008


(1)
Message 23 of 43 (716346)
01-14-2014 9:52 PM
Reply to: Message 20 by RAZD
01-14-2014 8:22 PM


Re: Quinone Batteries
We have been needing better battery technology for a long time.
Our current technology level, with lead acid, is not much advanced from what it was in 1890.

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ramoss
Member (Idle past 611 days)
Posts: 3228
Joined: 08-11-2004


Message 24 of 43 (716353)
01-14-2014 11:38 PM
Reply to: Message 23 by Coyote
01-14-2014 9:52 PM


Re: Quinone Batteries
Absolutely.
And, here is yet another potential.. using graphene for supercapacitors
Daily Fusion – Updated On A Daily Basis
Too bad that 'almost ready' might never get to be ready, but I am hopeful.

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ramoss
Member (Idle past 611 days)
Posts: 3228
Joined: 08-11-2004


Message 25 of 43 (718418)
02-06-2014 3:27 PM


And, oh boy, another possiblity for cheap hydrogen production for solar.
http://phys.org/...tomic-scale-catalysts-cheap-hydrogen.html
I would love to see some of this get beyond the lab stage and get into production.

  
Minnemooseus
Member
Posts: 3941
From: Duluth, Minnesota, U.S. (West end of Lake Superior)
Joined: 11-11-2001
Member Rating: 10.0


Message 26 of 43 (730247)
06-26-2014 1:03 AM
Reply to: Message 8 by New Cat's Eye
09-05-2013 9:11 AM


Re: Moose's little place in the woods (and bump/mention of another topic)
Do you live alone? How do you get online?
Alone (+5 cats). I guess my house and "man cave" are one and the same.
I do most of my online at "work". I'm just working part time at nights, cleaning etc. a veterinary clinic. I essentially have all the closed time to do whatever I want, as long as it includes getting the place clean for the next day.
Now, the other topic I just stumbled onto - Living "Green" - Is it possible and practical? Quetzal has a nice message 5 there.
Moose

Professor, geology, Whatsamatta U
Evolution - Changes in the environment, caused by the interactions of the components of the environment.
"Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and will piss on your computer." - Bruce Graham
"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness." - John Kenneth Galbraith
"Yesterday on Fox News, commentator Glenn Beck said that he believes President Obama is a racist. To be fair, every time you watch Glenn Beck, it does get a little easier to hate white people." - Conan O'Brien
"I know a little about a lot of things, and a lot about a few things, but I'm highly ignorant about everything." - Moose

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RAZD
Member (Idle past 1404 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


(1)
Message 27 of 43 (730334)
06-27-2014 11:56 AM
Reply to: Message 22 by RAZD
01-14-2014 8:37 PM


Hot Water System
Currently still moving towards a low-tech hot water system.
The first incarnation tested is an outdoor shower system using tap water from a hose. The hose is "Y"d with one side going to the cold valve and the other through 300 feet of hose lying in the sun to the hot valve. The shower-head has a "water-saver" washer that restricts flow, and this allows an easy 5-10 minutes of shower time. The main use is to wash off after swimming in the ocean. This works well, even on somewhat cloudy days.
I've also built some test panels to see how well they work -- one is a coil of 65 ft of pex inside a concrete pad painted flat black (for thermal mass). This gets up to 140°F easily, but does not have a long flow time before it cools. The other is a 6 ft parabolic reflector with black painted iron pipe collector that gets up to 160°F easily, but has a shorter hot water flow time. If I cover them with e-glass they should both improve.
The next stage would be to build a reservoir system, using a 55 gal drum with a coil of pex tubing inside to carry the (high pressure potable) hot water and the rest of the drum filled with saltwater running through the solar collector system to heat the (static pressure) reservoir. The would be powered by a small pump linked directly to a small solar panel (they sell as kits) so that the hot collector water is pumped when the sun heats it, heating the reservoir and thus the coil inside it.
More thermal mass, so should have more flow time.
The salt water is to provide non-toxic protection from freezing (should work here - we rarely get cold enough to freeze sea water). If the panels are mounted on the roof then I can circulate some house air through the backside.
I have a lot of PEX left over from my radiant floor heating system that I can splice together.
The collector could be improved by using recycled hot water "heatilators" with the fin-tubes painted flat black, that were removed from the house (to restore it to more historical 1795 accuracy).
The reservoir heat transfer coil could be improved by using copper tube ($$$).
With the drum inside (in the attic?) and the only outside parts are the collectors, I should be able to supplement if not replace the hot water system/s (hot water heater and boiler both use gas).
Hopefully I may be able to use this system to eliminate the boiler and combine with the hot water heater to have gas backup to the solar system.
Enjoy

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
RebelAmerican☆Zen☯Deist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.


Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click)

This message is a reply to:
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Stile
Member
Posts: 4295
From: Ontario, Canada
Joined: 12-02-2004


(2)
Message 28 of 43 (730371)
06-27-2014 2:20 PM
Reply to: Message 27 by RAZD
06-27-2014 11:56 AM


Re: Hot Water System
RAZD writes:
and the other through 300 feet of hose lying in the sun to the hot valve
Nice! Great idea.
I just recently realized that only 60% or so of people turn the water off while brushing their teeth. Who are these idiots who run the water right in front of themselves while not using it in any way for 2-3 minutes? The thought of it makes my mind cringe.
Which means, simply by shutting the water off while I brush my teeth... I've been energy efficient and didn't even know it!
Keep it up, RAZD. I think it's cool hearing about all the crazy stuff you're doing with this place.

This message is a reply to:
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New Cat's Eye
Inactive Member


Message 29 of 43 (730379)
06-27-2014 4:44 PM


Wow, you guys are all going green and we're over here building computers that suck up all kinds of watts to power multiple video cards to mine virtual currencies.

  
Theodoric
Member
Posts: 9076
From: Northwest, WI, USA
Joined: 08-15-2005
Member Rating: 3.7


Message 30 of 43 (730459)
06-28-2014 10:37 AM
Reply to: Message 28 by Stile
06-27-2014 2:20 PM


Re: Hot Water System
No one is allowed to run water mindlessly at my house. The only septic system we can have is a holding tank. It is 4000 gals and in a home with 2 women, two boys 8 and 5, and me we have to have it pumped a little more than once a month. At $200/pump it irks me when people run water purposely down the drain.
The reason we can only have a holding tank is that we live in what we call "clay country". The soil around here is heavy red clay. As a matter of fact the city of Superior, WI bought land around the corner to mine clay for their landfill. Because of the clay we can not have a conventional septic system. We could not even get approved for a mound system. People I kn ow a couple miles away were able to put in a mound. At $20,000, I can do a lot of pumping and it won't be approved for here anyway.

Facts don't lie or have an agenda. Facts are just facts
"God did it" is not an argument. It is an excuse for intellectual laziness.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 28 by Stile, posted 06-27-2014 2:20 PM Stile has seen this message but not replied

Replies to this message:
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