I remember years ago in first grade our school taking two vacation days in February to celebrate the birthdays of President Abraham Lincoln, February 12, and President George Washington, February 21st. We would work on crafts centered around both presidents and display them the entire month of February. Today, schools celebrate Presidents' Day, which complete … Continue reading Winter Storm Nadia is Naughty.
living a sustainable dream
I miss the 1980s Radio Shack
While building the bicycle generator, I wished I could find an electronics component store. I needed a couple parts, a diode and an inline Volt/Amp meter. I checked the phone book for electronic parts and components and an older phone book had a few stores, but in the new phone book, the section no longer … Continue reading I miss the 1980s Radio Shack
It Really Works… Introducing the Bicycle Generator.
For the past few months, I have been trying to build our own bicycle generator. Soon it became a sort of obsession as I tried to take an old exercise bike and convert it to a human powered generator. These past few weeks, I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. … Continue reading It Really Works… Introducing the Bicycle Generator.
Off Grid electricity is NOT free.
I believe I am guilty of promoting free energy on the off grid homestead, and during the summer months it appears that way. However, during the winter months cloudy skies make solar energy creation improbable, and it's the battery bank that keeps the home's electricity going from day to day. When the fog and inversion … Continue reading Off Grid electricity is NOT free.
When the Battery Bank Dies…
At the end of this past summer, our battery bank of seven years decided to die. It was an interesting cascade failure event. One batter cell went dead and could not be revived, then another battery flagged a similar problem. Pretty soon I was isolating batteries that would no longer hold a 6 Volt change. … Continue reading When the Battery Bank Dies…
A Surprise Inside the Wood Stove
One day I arrived home from work to a surprise inside the wood cook stove. My wife was cooking dinner on our propane stove, and left a note for me on the wood cook stove. It was a late fall day, and the chill in the air beckoned for a fire in the wood cook … Continue reading A Surprise Inside the Wood Stove
Ready for Winter and a string of bad luck
These past few months have been full of various trials with our vehicles. Our cars have reached that age in which we have to choose to repair them or sell them. It seems like nothing is going right, but despite all that has happened, I am grateful for my wife, son, our homestead, and the … Continue reading Ready for Winter and a string of bad luck
