I might be becoming an eco land baron - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

strelnik · #1 09-17-2009, 03:14 PM

I might purchase some land with a large enough building on it to consolidate all my car holdings (and get some more now too?

).

But I digress. The issue: I still don't know if this hangar-like structure has electricity or how it's set up. It must have power, says a friend, because it has a well and a septic tank and toilet facilities. I won't know until Saturday at the earliest.

However, I am still looking at other issues: heating, lighting, tool power, an antenna for radio, insulation, possibly a WVO-powered Lister generator and battreries? Still working on the details and would love info from the group.

One other friend has suggested a 50 foot two station pistol range... hmmmm. But then, I'm so far out in the country with this it's amazing.

This afternoon a friend called. His mom wants to get rid of their RV which has been in the barn 5 years, closed up, pulled out, washed, put back over and over. 200 BUCKS! -- well, it may need fresh fuel. I could live or sleep in the RV and park it strategically to further block the doors.

Guys, if you have suggestions regarding generators and batteries, wind power, heating with wood stoves vs propane , WVO or anyhting else to make my life easier, please feel free.

Mike D · #2 09-17-2009, 03:29 PM

Why am I having flashbacks to the "Unabomber" story?

SwampYankee · #3 09-17-2009, 03:51 PM

Not much to offer but sounds like my dream come true!

If it were me I'd do wood stove and a Lister/Listeroid on WVO and eventually solar.

strelnik · #4 09-17-2009, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SwampYankee

Not much to offer but sounds like my dream come true!

If it were me I'd do wood stove and a Lister/Listeroid on WVO and eventually solar.

This is what I'm talkin' about!
Where/how do I find a small Lister? and what's your idea on solar?
Don't stop now!

Crazy_Nate · #5 09-17-2009, 04:14 PM

Well, if you're looking at renewables, I'd suggest this.

Insulation first. There are plenty of natural materials that have pretty good thermal properties (consider straw bale), while being pretty cheap.

From there, solar thermal. It's really easily implemented. Directly on the building, or through a secondary building and something like floorboard heating with plastic tubing. Direct would be from large (double or triple pane) south facing windows. Whether or not this is entirely viable is usually determined by the amount of insolation in your area, and how well the windows insulate. Basically, you're trying to maximize the net energy in during the winter (and not lose it through the windows as they're nowhere near as insulating as walls can be). A secondary building would be an interesting project, where you'd have a large flat plate collector and a storage tank, with water circulating between the flat plate, storage tank, and the floor of your primary building.

For wind, do a little research on Bergey. They have tilt-up options that are very reasonably priced (even with install), and will pay for themselves within a reasonable period of time. How short or long this period is depends on the wind resources in your area and your energy consumption. Battery arrays are usually kept for backup, or for excess power - from the generation not meeting the demand at any given point.

Beyond that, having a diesel generator as backup for power is good, and having a wood stove (with trees on your land that you can sustainably harvest) for heat is also a good idea. Other options for heating include oil burning, and pellet stoves.

Mike D · #6 09-17-2009, 04:24 PM

The best wood stove I've ever used is a DutchWest. Fantastic burn times and clean burning. It's also available for conversion to propane/LP.

The Swedes make some fantastic wood stoves but they're a bit pricey.

Before you ask,"What does a guy living in Az know about wood stoves?" let me mention I was raised in Indiana and moved to get away from the cold.

strelnik · #7 09-17-2009, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crazy_Nate

Well, if you're looking at renewables, I'd suggest this.

Insulation first. There are plenty of natural materials that have pretty good thermal properties (consider straw bale), while being pretty cheap.

From there, solar thermal. It's really easily implemented. Directly on the building, or through a secondary building and something like floorboard heating with plastic tubing. Direct would be from large (double or triple pane) south facing windows. Whether or not this is entirely viable is usually determined by the amount of insolation in your area, and how well the windows insulate. Basically, you're trying to maximize the net energy in during the winter (and not lose it through the windows as they're nowhere near as insulating as walls can be). A secondary building would be an interesting project, where you'd have a large flat plate collector and a storage tank, with water circulating between the flat plate, storage tank, and the floor of your primary building.

For wind, do a little research on Bergey. They have tilt-up options that are very reasonably priced (even with install), and will pay for themselves within a reasonable period of time. How short or long this period is depends on the wind resources in your area and your energy consumption. Battery arrays are usually kept for backup, or for excess power - from the generation not meeting the demand at any given point.

Beyond that, having a diesel generator as backup for power is good, and having a wood stove (with trees on your land that you can sustainably harvest) for heat is also a good idea. Other options for heating include oil burning, and pellet stoves.

Thanks for all the info, this is what I need.

strelnik · #8 09-17-2009, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike D

The best wood stove I've ever used is a DutchWest. Fantastic burn times and clean burning. It's also available for conversion to propane/LP.

The Swedes make some fantastic wood stoves but they're a bit pricey.

Before you ask,"What does a guy living in Az know about wood stoves?" let me mention I was raised in Indiana and moved to get away from the cold.

I'm going to continue to research the wind and the stoves, after insulating. More details Saturday night.

I don't even know if this place has a concrete floor. If so, I'm looking at how to reduce the effect of that concrete and the moisture it collects!

t walgamuth · #9 09-17-2009, 06:41 PM

A damp floor will rot a car in a hurry. What kindof roof does it have?

daveuz · #10 09-17-2009, 06:59 PM

A few of these guys are from MI. Don't write it off coal too quick. Coal stoves are great if you need to leave for long periods of timeplus you an dial them down in warm weather and no smoky exhaust. Some good info on heating your water with them also. Be sure to check all the topic sections. I believe there is info on wood , geo ect. http://nepacrossroads.com/forum-74.html .

Medmech · #11 09-17-2009, 07:04 PM

Governor GranHolm will personally condemn your property if it does not have utilities, that how we roll in the The Peoples' Democratic Socialist Collective of Michigan.

Personally I would look at wood stoves on craigslist, there are lots of people upgrading to take advantage of the tax credit on wood stoves so there are many very good stoves at attractive prices.

strelnik · #12 09-17-2009, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Medmech

Governor GranHolm will personally condemn your property if it does not have utilities, that how we roll in the The Peoples' Democratic Socialist Collective of Michigan.

.

Well, Pilgrim, in that case, she will have to condemn 3/4 of the cities in Michigan.

No one says I have to have utilities on land where I store something.

PS if anyone has info on coal stoves, let me know. I have saved all that coal from when I was a bad kid during Chritmas.

SwampYankee · #13 09-18-2009, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strelnik

This is what I'm talkin' about!
Where/how do I find a small Lister? and what's your idea on solar?
Don't stop now!

I'm fascinated by solar. I've looked into it a fair amount but living in a Historic District the chances of me ever getting approval are darn near nil. I have looked into it for our company. Even though it is in the same Historic District we have 40K sq.ft. of flat roof just begging for something. The cost difference between a home/hobby use system and a light manufacturing-type application is exponential so we've been slow to proceed on that end. Technology is getting better and the price on systems is slowly coming down so who knows?

At one time I had a bunch of files of stuff on Listers/Listeroids and burning WVO, I'll see what I can scape together. In the meantime, here are a few sites:

http://www.f1-rocketboy.com/lister.html
http://www.cybernet1.com/mcquaid/GenSets.htm
http://www.oldstylelisters.com/

There's a guy in Hartford who's either had this particular one, a 6hp w/4kW head,
http://hartford.craigslist.org/tls/1369322967.html
for sale for a l-o-n-g time or he's buying the Listeroids and gensets and selling them as a package because the price has held at $2500 for probably a year. There is a fair amount of CL embellishment but it's a decent price for it. If it was in my budget I'd pick one up for future use but it's not in the cards right now. My dream is to have an off-grid vacation camp somewhere up on a lake in the north Maine woods someday.

Medmech · #14 09-18-2009, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strelnik

Well, Pilgrim, in that case, she will have to condemn 3/4 of the cities in Michigan.

No one says I have to have utilities on land where I store something.

PS if anyone has info on coal stoves, let me know. I have saved all that coal from when I was a bad kid during Chritmas.

Does it have existing utilities?

http://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/atq/1364987540.html

I still don't understand why they placed the show "The Colony" in LA, they hired actors rented space while they could have simply put them in Detroit.

strelnik · #15 09-18-2009, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SwampYankee

I'm fascinated by solar. I've looked into it a fair amount but living in a Historic District the chances of me ever getting approval are darn near nil. I have looked into it for our company. Even though it is in the same Historic District we have 40K sq.ft. of flat roof just begging for something. The cost difference between a home/hobby use system and a light manufacturing-type application is exponential so we've been slow to proceed on that end. Technology is getting better and the price on systems is slowly coming down so who knows?

At one time I had a bunch of files of stuff on Listers/Listeroids and burning WVO, I'll see what I can scape together. In the meantime, here are a few sites:

http://www.f1-rocketboy.com/lister.html
http://www.cybernet1.com/mcquaid/GenSets.htm
http://www.oldstylelisters.com/

There's a guy in Hartford who's either had this particular one, a 6hp w/4kW head,
http://hartford.craigslist.org/tls/1369322967.html
for sale for a l-o-n-g time or he's buying the Listeroids and gensets and selling them as a package because the price has held at $2500 for probably a year. There is a fair amount of CL embellishment but it's a decent price for it. If it was in my budget I'd pick one up for future use but it's not in the cards right now. My dream is to have an off-grid vacation camp somewhere up on a lake in the north Maine woods someday.

I will know Saturday what the deal is and we'll see. Keep the info coming. If the guy were not so far away, I'd be looking there soon.