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badflash
10-04-2009, 02:13 PM
So now it begins.
I finally got off my rump and got started. I've been cobbling together the pieces and parts for a while. Got my bender last fall, I've been gathering barrels for a couple of years, got a bunch of wood of of freecycle. This summer I bough a bunch of top rail from home depot.

Here is what I did with the scrap lumber and bender:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/workbench.jpg

Here is the extra top rail and my first attempts at bending:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/toprail.jpg

Looks like I'm getting the hang of it, but boy does it build the upper body strength!

I'll be building a 20'X50' setup covering a small pond I dug a few years ago. That should help with thermal storage. I'll be lining it and extending it. I'll be using plastic barrels for grow beds and kiddie pools for fish as well as the pond. I'll also have some grow-out tanks.

I plan to heat it with veggie oil from local eateries.

jackalope
10-04-2009, 02:53 PM
Lookin good Jack, we're looking forward to more progress pics as you go ;)

Ironfish
10-21-2009, 12:45 AM
Hi Badflash,
It's looking good! Can't wait to see the finished setup.
Yes,I'm still around.
If you need to bounce ideas on the greenhouse, I'll gladly tell you about the goof-ups I made during building.

Ironfish

mpugh5@aol.com
10-22-2009, 09:25 PM
hey good for you :mrgreen: did you feel my tinge of jealously? looking good from over here. i'm still collecting stuff and trying to figure how i'm going to fit mine in east to west in the area i want to set up in. i brought a book called the solar greenhouse which claims 12% more heat that way compared to north -south :o i'm going to have to step it up come spring 8-)

badflash
07-17-2010, 02:31 PM
I finally got off the dime & got started again. The first step is building the pool pads as the ground is not level. Here is the 1st of 3. We built a 10' X 10' frame from pressure treated 2X4's and framed them in with yellow pine planking to hold the sand:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P7180001.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P7180002.jpg

We got 3 loads of sand for free from the town recycle center. This is the stuff they sweep off the street in the spring. Works perfect for leveling a pad:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P7180004.jpg
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P7180006.jpg

My son Jake is leveling the pad with a plank:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P7180009.jpg

Now it is ready for some tarps to protect the pool bottom:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P7180008.jpg

Tarps are down and the pool is unfolded:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P7180010.jpg

Ring is inflated and ready for water:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P7180012.jpg

Smoothing the bottom with 1" of water in:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P7180016.jpg

Jake taking in the results of his hard work:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P7180014.jpg

Filling in progress:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P7180019.jpg

And here it is filled:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P71800011.jpg

800 gallons for not a lot. $25 for the pool. $75 for the lumber. $16 for the tarps. Next step is to clear some shrubs and build the 1st set of beds and get this sucker cycling!

davidstcldfl
07-17-2010, 03:52 PM
Very nice badflash..... :D
The only mistake I saw, was you let your helper sit down... :roll: . Give 'em a 5 min break, and the next thing you know, they are dragging up on you... :lol:
It's about time, you got out of 'that' basement....out into the fresh air and sunshine... :P

keith_r
07-18-2010, 08:10 AM
i was looking at those not too long ago.. what are they lined with?

wolfracer
07-18-2010, 08:22 AM
Looking good!

badflash
07-18-2010, 04:45 PM
i was looking at those not too long ago.. what are they lined with?
They are just thick vinyl.

badflash
07-18-2010, 04:46 PM
The only reason he sat down was I was too out of breath to yell at him. Barely had the energy to snap the picture...


Very nice badflash..... :D
The only mistake I saw, was you let your helper sit down... :roll: . Give 'em a 5 min break, and the next thing you know, they are dragging up on you... :lol:
It's about time, you got out of 'that' basement....out into the fresh air and sunshine... :P

badflash
07-18-2010, 04:49 PM
Started on the grow beds:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/pond/P7190002.jpg
It looks crooked, but it is actually the perspective and the unlevel ground. The stand is solid as a rock and dead level.

Big Al
07-19-2010, 06:25 AM
hi badflash, i really like that pool idea, my question is how long do you think the vinyl hold up to the fish. nibbling it and rubbing against it. i'm interested in doing that in my next set up also.its a good idea with lots of thermal mass in a greenhouse for our long winters. thanks Big Al

badflash
07-19-2010, 06:44 AM
I had another easy set pool (snap-set actually) in my basement. It was much lower and only held 300 gallons and had no inflatable ring. The bottom was much thinner. It lasted 2 years before it started to leak. Given that it only cost me $15, I thought it was a great deal.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/snails/pool.jpg

Big Al
07-19-2010, 01:27 PM
hi badflash, yeah that doesn't sound bad at all. so it sounds like 5-6 years or more maybe. by the way its looking good. thanks for the help Big Al

badflash
07-28-2010, 04:05 PM
Finished the structure for the grow bed and added a workbench at the end:

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P7290002.jpg

I also rolled all my 30 gallon barrels down hill. I have enough for 2 more grow beds. I need a bunch more for heat storage.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P7290004.jpg

That is Nikki, our Hound/Border Collie mix. She keeps the bad guys at bey.

JeffW
07-28-2010, 06:39 PM
I also rolled all my 30 gallon barrels down hill. I have enough for 2 more grow beds. I need a bunch more for heat storage.

are they going to be for solar heat from sun light?

badflash
07-28-2010, 08:39 PM
The extra barrels are for thermal mass. The greenhouse gets hot by day and the heat goes into barrels full of water. When it gets cold, the heat comes out to moderate the temperature change. Water is huge when it comes to heat capacity.

wolfracer
07-29-2010, 07:03 AM
if the thermal mass barrels catch any light at all I would paint them black. This will help with the heating effect. Looking good Badflash.

badflash
07-29-2010, 04:33 PM
We pounded in the stakes for the hoops today. 3/4" steel 3' long. Left 1' out for the top rail. These are drilled to stake the top rail to the stakes with pins.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/stakes.jpg

Ironfish
07-30-2010, 05:16 AM
It looks good Badflash! The storage barrels will also need to be black to stop algea growth. I did the same thing with (3) 300 gal. totes. I use them for a thermo sink and emergency backup water. I'm on well water and don't want to pull to much at one time. When I first started I met a fish raiser in Cleveland. He had city water. He kept an extra tank of water and aerated it to get rid of chlorine and told me to always keep enough water to fill a tank in case of emergence.

Ironfish

badflash
07-30-2010, 11:59 AM
Uprights in on the down slope side. You can see what I'm up against. The inside will be terraced for each bed. I have a 5' slope from one end to the other over a 40' run and 2' from one side to the other across the 20' width at the top end.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/uprights.jpg

I'm using a tygon tube for a long distance level. That is what you see hanging.

badflash
07-30-2010, 05:52 PM
Got busy bending the rest of the rails with help from son Jake and his friend Ben:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/bending.jpg

Here I'm supervising the assembly of one of the hoops:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/assemble.jpg

We celebrate the 1st hoop going up!
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/1sthoop.jpg

The hoops are all up and my help collapses:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/framed.jpg

Tomorrow the perlins go in and the frame will be pretty much done.

JeffW
07-30-2010, 06:55 PM
like them hoops.....very slick!

Big Al
07-31-2010, 04:42 AM
hi badflash, it looks very nice. just wait until to put on the plastic what a joy that is. it took 5 of us to do ours. good luck nice job. later Big Al

badflash
07-31-2010, 05:11 PM
Got the 1st set of perlins in.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/1stperlins.jpg

Here is look up from the lower yard:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P8010021.jpg

Unfortunately, the others are too high to work without a 14' ladder. I don't have one, so I'll have to rent one next week.

Here are some details.

Here is how I get the corners vertical:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/corners.jpg

The perlins are secured in the middle with 3" hose clamps:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/middle.jpg

The ends are secured with self drilling 2" screws. I drilled perlin so the screw only needed to go through one wall. Center punch the post so the screw doesn't slide.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/ends.jpg

So far putting up the perlins has been the hardest part of the job.

badflash
08-14-2010, 11:50 AM
Got the 2nd barrel filled with gravel and a bell siphon This siphon has no breather hole and works fine. I only have a 4" drop from the bottom of the barrel to the drain line, so I guess it doesn't need it. No loud noises when the siphon breaks.

I have a 1500 GPH Intex pool pump on the system. It is way over-sized. It draws 300 watts and is really quiet. I just ordered a 530 GPH Intex pump from an Ebay dealer. $35 new with free shipping. With any luck it will be as good as my big freebie.

I put about a dozen tilapia of various sizes in to see if the water is good. I added bacteria from one of my systems to get the cycle going. If I get no floaters I'll add a bunch more in a week.

My current bell siphon design is what I will use for the rest of my beds. 12" long 1" PVC pipe, 11.5" 2" PVC pipe, 2" cleanout cap and threaded plug and a 12" long 4" PVC pipe with a 4" strainer screen. I clamp the 2" pipe in a drill press and using a 2" hole saw I drill 1/2" from the bottom through both sides. This gives a nice big opening in the bottom. I cut a series of 2" holes in the bottom of the 4" pipe and cover that with the 4" screen tube. The 1" pipe fits in a 1" bulkhead fitting in the bottom of the barrel. The 2" cap goes over that and the 4" screen pipe goes over that. I carefully add river pebbles and keep the screen pipe centered.

I have a pretty easy way to clean the gravel. The left over part of the barrel easily holds 1/2 cubic feet of gravel and has an open hole in the back. I also have a garden screen I made years ago with 1/4" mesh hardware cloth that fits into the barrel. I pull a garden hose through the hole and loop it back through so the hose doesn't get away from me.

Turn on the hose, dump in 1/2 cubic foot of gravel, and rinse. Put a bunch in the screen, rinse while moving it around to remove any sand, then dump it in your growbed. The nice thing about these left over barrels is they fit perfectly into the cradles for the growbeds, so I can set them up right next to the one I'm filling. It took me less than 1/2 hour to process a 3.5 cubic foot bed.

wolfracer
08-14-2010, 12:45 PM
Looking Good! All that work will pay out in the end, great project.

Oldandfound1
08-14-2010, 02:31 PM
Saw your hoops going up a while back posted up here. Hope you will send up some progress photos. Over 90 degrees here in Puget Sound today. Too warm for this old boy working outside.
Dennis
Oldandfound1

badflash
08-14-2010, 03:46 PM
I'll post updates on the greenhouse after I get the growbeds in. I need to get some breeder tilapia outside and get some babies before it gets cold. They are too large to breed inside.

I discovered something interesting about the bell siphon. It actually does need the 1/4" air hose to kick at low flows. As it turns out the 2nd bell siphon would only kick once the first kicked and it went based on the suction created by the draining of the 1st one. It would just trickle until the 1st one kicked. Now I need to re-plumb the drain line so that each bed goes into the larger drain line on its own. Otherwise one or the other will trigger early when the 1st one kicks.

Oldandfound1
08-14-2010, 04:25 PM
Badflash,
Read the last post once, and again a few minutes later. Understand I think you had the siphons plumbed to a common drain line. Water and air in it were disrupting the action of other siphon. Correct?
Dennis
Oldandfound1

badflash
08-14-2010, 05:40 PM
Yes, I had a common 1" drain for 2 growbeds going to a 1.5" drain header. If one kicked it would cause the other to kick too, even if they were several inches apart. Tomorrow I will re-plumb so each bed has a separate entrance to the 1.5" drain.

badflash
08-17-2010, 06:36 PM
Didn't work. I think I need a vent pipe between each drain to prevent the suction from kicking the others. The drain is pulling about 6"-7" of vacuum.

badflash
08-19-2010, 05:25 PM
OK, using a vent between each drain works. The only issue I've seen now is that if one barrel is draining it can delay the trigger of another barrel but up to 2", so be sure you have that much room before your barrel overflows. With the fills and drain cycles all being independant, periodically one will be ready to kick just as another is draining.

My vents are just T's with a 4" standpipe.

davidstcldfl
08-20-2010, 03:18 AM
Very interesting .....your saying, when one of the 1" standpipe/drains is flowing into the common 1 1/2 " drain....it still effects the 2nd grow bed ?

I was going to plumb 4 small grow beds...(each bed will only have aprox 7 1/2 gals of water,the rest of the volume being rock)....using 3/4 " stand pipes/drains, going to a 2" common header drain.
I was already planning on a vent, on the common header....like they do on plumbing.
Now I wonder, if I should use a 3" common header ???

badflash
08-20-2010, 09:00 AM
When one bed is draining it fills the drain pipe and makes some back pressure. This prevents the others from kicking until the drain pipe clears. In my case, it only lasts 1 minute, and can raise the trigger point by about 2". I'm using a 1.5" drain. You may not need it with a 3".

badflash
08-21-2010, 05:26 PM
Went into mass production mode today. Finished all the bell siphons and power washed the barrels. I also got 1200 pounds of river gravel (all the pick-up can pick up). After doing the figuring, it only saves me $6.50 a barrel, so I may end up getting the rest at Home depot as the quarry isn't open on Sunday.

Tomorrow I should get all the grow beds plumbed up and cycling. Probably clean Home Depot out of gravel too.

The test group of tilapia are doing fine. One jumped out, but I need to screen the pool any way. They don't need to be fed as the pool went totally green a couple of days after I added the fish. Once I put a cover over the pool, the algae will die off and feed the beds.

Started Swiss Chard, Chinese cabbage, and basil. They are up already. Got seed for turnip greens, broccoli, and some cubanelle peppers.

Oldandfound1
08-21-2010, 07:13 PM
Way to go Badflash,
Congratulations on a Start Up.
Dennis
Oldandfound1

davidstcldfl
08-22-2010, 06:10 AM
Sounds like your a busy guy ! :mrgreen:
What 'bribes' work on your helper.... :lol:

badflash
08-22-2010, 07:10 AM
I am blessed with a son that doesn't need bribes. I just ask him to help and he does. It is actually choosing a great wife that does it. :mrgreen:

davidstcldfl
08-22-2010, 07:54 AM
:D

badflash
08-25-2010, 05:29 PM
I ordered the smaller 600 GPH intex pump off ebay. Brand new and $35 delivered. Only 80 watts and it pumps up to about 7'. At 5' I can get around 10 GPM which is plenty for 10 barrels. Even if I have to replace it every year, it is a bargain.

Watch for season close outs of the 8' intex pools with a pump. Probably get them for $50 about now.

badflash
08-29-2010, 06:54 PM
mseaman and his partner stopped by today to see my setup. They left with a breeding colony of black mossambicus. Good to have some locals to compare notes with.

Got my 10 grow beds on line. The $35 intex pump is at its limits with 10 barrels, but they are all cycling. There is a bit of tweaking to do, but I think it will work. It is an amazing thing to watch. Sort of like a living, breathing thing. 10 barrels all filling and draining as they see fit. Every couple of minutes one kicks, so the action is pretty constant.

Hard to believe you can operate a 600 gallon pool with another 200 gallons of grow beds with an 80 watt pump. All of that and only 1 moving part.

davidstcldfl
08-29-2010, 07:56 PM
Hey badflash, glad to hear you've got the Gb's cycling... :D
Don't you have 2 different Intex pumps ? I thought your first one, was a larger size?

Glad to hear mseaman picked up some fish...... :D

badflash
08-29-2010, 08:27 PM
I started with a bigger pump, and went to the samller pump. I want to use the least power possible. If 80 watts will do it, I can go solar.

davidstcldfl
08-30-2010, 06:14 AM
'Solar'...that's a great idea Badflash. It would work 'better', if you moved to 'sunny' Florida... :lol: Of course, our river rock costs double from what you pay.... :roll:

badflash
08-31-2010, 05:12 PM
It all evens out over the year. In summer we get more sun than you, in winter we get less. Storage in the cold spell sucks though. 80 watts is doable with solar, especially if you build it yourself. It would need to be a 250 watt collector with battery capacity of about 200 amp-hours. A couple of golf cart batteries would do it. Collectors are easy to make and cells are cheap on eBay. Basic soldering skills and electronic hookup savvy is all that is needed.

Tweaked the growbed system, tightened up leaky connections, and planted my Swiss chard and Chinese cabbage. The basil is too small. I'll get the rest of the veggies planted soon.

Hotrodmike
08-31-2010, 06:13 PM
Glad to see your up and running . Getting the watts down to using solar is a great idea .
I wonder why people think you can't use solar N of the Mason Dixon :D
Have A Kind Day
Mike

badflash
08-31-2010, 07:32 PM
Good question.

Most people never challenge the consensus. Sometimes you have to swim against the current.

davidstcldfl
08-31-2010, 08:21 PM
I never doubted that solar would work in the land of 'ice and snow'.......
I was just razzing Badlash, like I am now... :P
I'm only doing that, because I grew up 'north' of the MD Line.....and now live in 'sunny' FL where I get cold when the tempeture drops into the low 70's...... :lol:

A buddy of mine always says....if a mob of people is running one way, it's probably smarter and safer to go the other... :lol:

badflash
09-06-2010, 04:37 PM
I put up the side perlins today with the help of Jake, my #2 son. These are a real pain, especially working around the pool & growbed. My advice is to do the greenhouse, then do the AP system, not build over it.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P9070001.jpg

Added some duckweed to the pool and put a couple of RES's in the pool with the tilapia. The float is so they can sun themselves. There is a yellow pine plank strapped to it.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P9070004.jpg

Here's a shot of my 10 barrel growbed system:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P9070006.jpg

My basil seedlings are almost ready to go in:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P9070007.jpg

The Chinese cabbage is growing well:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P9070010.jpg

I direct seeded some yellow squash and cucumber. Here is the 1st cucumber seeding to sprout:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P9070011.jpg

Here is the little 80 watt power house that runs the entire system:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P9070016.jpg

My faithful work truck shot from inside the structure. I'll be ordering the skin this week. It is a race now to beat the cold weather:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/P9070015.jpg

Oldandfound1
09-06-2010, 05:03 PM
Nice progress Badflash.
Thank for the posting, been wondering how things were going. I know it all takes time, Hope to see your next posting from "inside".
Dennis
Oldandfound1

davidstcldfl
09-06-2010, 05:42 PM
Looking nice ! .... :D

jackalope
09-06-2010, 06:18 PM
:D :D

Big Al
09-07-2010, 04:33 AM
Hi Badflash , looking good and good luck on trying to beat the weather it was only 62 degrees during the day and 44 degrees at night here saturday with lake effect rain showers and the same is predicted for tommorrow. with lake erie being so warm were in for a heck of a winter. i hope you win out good luck Big Al

badflash
09-19-2010, 05:04 PM
My new friend Chris from one of the veggie oil forums did me a huge favor and lent me some scaffold to finish up the purlins. He also gave me 250 gallon of waste veggie oil and sold me the parts to clean the oil, namely a gear pump, heater, drum and centrifuge. Once I get that together I'll have a veggie oil furnace to heat the greenhouse.

So here is Jake and myself using this tower, feeling like Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/pond001.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/pond012.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/pond010.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/pond015.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/badflash/Greenhouse/pond017.jpg

stucco
09-19-2010, 05:11 PM
Nice! That thing would take up my whole backyard.

davidstcldfl
09-20-2010, 03:06 AM
Wow ! That is big....like Stucco said, thats bigger then my backyard.... :mrgreen:
In the last picture, I see a large stock tank. Since you went to the trouble, to roll it down hill....I'm guessing it's going in the greenhouse too (?)

badflash
09-20-2010, 04:29 AM
Wow ! That is big....like Stucco said, thats bigger then my backyard.... :mrgreen:
In the last picture, I see a large stock tank. Since you went to the trouble, to roll it down hill....I'm guessing it's going in the greenhouse too (?)

Yep, I have 2 more down there. Grow-out for fry.

Big Al
09-20-2010, 04:55 AM
hi badflash, that's looking very nice good luck with the rest of your build. nice job Big Al

pniedzwiecki
09-20-2010, 07:40 PM
Badflash,

Your working very hard and everything looks great! I can't wait to see your setup in action. It will be impressive.

Also, be careful on the scaffolding there. That's very high up.

Good luck.

pniedzwiecki

jackalope
09-21-2010, 10:58 PM
I want to use the least power possible. If 80 watts will do it, I can go solar.
<snip>
Storage in the cold spell sucks though. 80 watts is doable with solar, especially if you build it yourself. It would need to be a 250 watt collector with battery capacity of about 200 amp-hours. A couple of golf cart batteries would do it. Collectors are easy to make and cells are cheap on eBay. Basic soldering skills and electronic hookup savvy is all that is needed.

DIY Links? Instructable? Diagramatics? plans?


My new friend Chris from one of the veggie oil forums did me a huge favor and lent me some scaffold to finish up the perlins. He also gave me 250 gallon of waste veggie oil and sold me the parts to clean the oil, namely a gear pump, heater, drum and cetrifuge. Once I get that together I'll have a veggie oil furnace to heat the greenhouse.

I'd like to see some plans/drawings/diagramatics (linky?) w/explanation of the workings of that solar array and the veggie furnace in a new thread when you have some time! I may have need for those in my mobile home this winter, since the power bill keeps going up and wood has been getting scarce lately ;) I'm also trying to put together the hardware to build a wind generator, because the wind blows almost constantly here in GR! ;)

Chrismak
09-23-2010, 08:25 PM
Hey all,

Chris here ....the guy who facilitated in the painting of the Sistine Chapel
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Hands_of_God_and_Adam.jpg

The hand of God guiding you Jack and keeping you safe on that rig. I hope you signed the disclaimer :o
Looking good and your helper is not afraid of heights either. Good job.
Let me know when the skin arrives I might volunteer to come by and lend a hand in return for some
nice Fish & Chips and some good home brew.

Chris

badflash
09-24-2010, 06:42 AM
Chris- Thanks for your help. The info on the Babington Burner is going to cut a lot of time & cost out of my heater project. Probably will burn anything.

The scaffold is pretty stable as long as it is on level ground.

Chrismak
09-24-2010, 06:07 PM
The babbington may be helpful info for others. I don't want to hijak the thread so maybe you could start a new thread on heating or something.
Some useful info herehttp://aipengineering.com/babington/Babington_Oil_Burner_HOWTO.html
This is an altfuelfurnace subgroup that covers Babington burner technology.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/altfuelbabington

Chris

gosmith
09-28-2010, 04:38 PM
:arrow: Badflash,

Thanks for all the great info and pics. Can't wait to see it all done.

I too would love to learn more about building home-made PV solar panels. More info please! :P

:arrow: Jackalope,

Here's a couple of links for home-built wind turbines that may be helpful.

The first is to Hugh Piggott's great site for home-built wind generators if you're interested in building one that won't fly apart in the first big wind storm that comes along. Hugh's designs are about the best there is and time tested too. Everything built from readily available materials, including the permanent magnet generator.

http://www.scoraigwind.com/

I attended one of his workshops a few years ago and we built 4 all together, one of which was featured on CNN Heroes 3 years ago when it was donated, then installed by a non-profit group (Blue Energy) in a remote village in Nicaragua along with a satellite link to allow internet access to both a hospital and a school. First electricity ever in that neck of the woods.

There's a ton of info at that site and it can be a little confusing 'cause he's got so much on that home page. But you should be able to find links to some of his free plans and schematics near the bottom of the page in a section called "Quick links to older stuff on this site".

The other place you need to know about is Other Power:

http://www.otherpower.com/

They are followers of Hugh Piggott and the best/cheapest source for the rare earth supermagnets you will need for the generator. These guys also have some free plans and also will build whatever parts you might find difficult (for a fee, of course.)

Hope this helps. Best of luck with your wind project. MT has a great wind resource, as I'm sure you know, and it's a shame more people there aren't taking advantage of it. As much as people seem to love wind turbines, very few places actually have enough wind to make them worthwhile.

G

badflash
09-28-2010, 07:20 PM
gosmith - I won't publish until I have something that works. I am an electronics tech by trade, so what is easy for me may be "huh?" for others. I'll break it down to basics before I put anything out.

What I know is that there are several components. The solar cells, the charger/controller to be sure the battery doesn't get screwed up, and the inverter to make AC power. Each one seems simple. I don't know why they cost so much.

gosmith
09-29-2010, 05:29 AM
Badflash,

Yes, sadly the cost of PV solar continues to be high. Installed systems in my area are running around $8 per installed watt at best, meaning a very modest 1KW grid-tied rooftop array will ding you a minimum of $8,000, usually more. Most U.S. home owners need 4-5KW to really make a dent in the power bill. Off-grid systems are $12 to $15 per watt because of the battery bank. Paybacks here in the not-so-sunny Pacific NW run around 20 years or more, even with federal and state incentives. If you can come up with a way to drastically lower the costs, the world will beat a path to your door.

G

JCO
02-06-2011, 08:17 AM
Badflash, how goes the greenhouse build with all the snow, ice and freezing temperatures? :mrgreen:

badflash
02-06-2011, 08:36 AM
I'm on hold until I get a melt. I didn't get the skin on in time last fall before the snow it. Haven't seen any green since before Christmas. I'm supposed to get a bonus from work, so I'm hoping it will pay for the skin and lumber. I figure I have 2 grand to go.

JCO
02-06-2011, 10:49 AM
Let's see, that figures out to be $$$$.$$. Does that about cover it :?: :lol: :mrgreen:

badflash
02-06-2011, 11:08 AM
Actually, I figure when I get it all done, the greenhouse, pools, plumbing and beds will be about $6,000. The yellow heat furnace will be another $2500. I just got my bonus and it will cover it. :P

JCO
02-07-2011, 05:47 AM
What are the requirement guidelines to get a loan :shock: :o :lol: :mrgreen:

rfeiller
02-07-2011, 01:46 PM
looking forward to seeing your greenhouse completed. when does spring hit your neck of the woods?

looks like spring is here already in San Jose, CA, exciting time.

jackalope
02-07-2011, 05:18 PM
I'm looking forward to more pix of the build - $6 grand huh? That's about $5.999 more that I can scare up today :lol: :lol: Can't wait until you get it up and running.

jackalope
02-07-2011, 05:19 PM
gosmith, thanks for the links!

keith_r
02-08-2011, 06:51 AM
spring? what's spring?

finally got a digi camera, gonna try to take some pics tonight