My new website for thermal storage, listeroid, new house, off-grid power, etc.

[Tom Reed]

In fact aren't you supposed be well on your way there? 

[LowGear]

What a wonderful adventure and work of character.  Congratulations.

Casey

[mike90045]

Yeah, about 500 mi away, so only there 1 weekend a month.  Added a concrete spillway to the pond, which gives us another 1/2 acre foot of water storage.  I got the holes marked for the listeroid hold downs, and I'll finish drilling and epoxy the bolts in over Thanksgiving (I hope) .   

Wife has taken on the task of house layout & design, and I get to come up with a way to build it.   Will look into the timber kit like you got.  And thanks for the heater info too.

Good luck getting the listeroid lubed up and running again.   Don't the outback inverters have battery chargers in them, that you can power from the ST head ?

[sailawayrb]

Outstanding Marcus and congrats on making your dream come true!

Recall our previous discussion:

http://www.microcogen.info/index.php?topic=768.msg10571#msg10571

You are way ahead of us.  We are still only in the homestead designing phase and I am using Chief Architect CAD to create the construction drawings (some renderings of current plan attached, 1776 SF house plus 400 SF in guest garage/shop).  We did get our 45 GPM well hooked up to our single wide this past summer, so that sort of felt like some progress.  We had to have potable water trucked in previously.

For those interested in designing/DIY masonry heaters, I highly recommend "Masonry Heaters", Ken Matesz, CR 2010.

Bob B.

[mbryner]

Hi Bob B.

Yes, I remember that conversation.   I was wondering what became of your project.   Very nice drawing w/ Chief Architect.  I like the guesthouse in the garage.   Gives more privacy.   You have a great well, and you're right on the river IIRC.

[sailawayrb]

Hi Bob B.

Yes, I remember that conversation.   I was wondering what became of your project.   Very nice drawing w/ Chief Architect.  I like the guesthouse in the garage.   Gives more privacy.   You have a great well, and you're right on the river IIRC.

Hi Marcus,

Yes, the existing single wide and future house will be 20' above Evans Creek (which will also provide the hydro power).  Our irrigation rights and hydro ram are on another creek that's on our property.  I attached a security camera photo taken from the existing single wide that was just emailed to me yesterday as described the "internet in sticks" thread.  I also attached a photo I took this summer after we cleared some brush from the creek areas.  We coordinated with Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District (JSWCD) and Department of Fish & Wildlife to develop/approve a riparian landscape and maintenance plan.  BTW, these folks were great to work with.  In addition to providing excellent riparian plant and nomow pasture info, they also greased our hydro power approval skids.

We had the well drilled by the seller with 10 GPM purchase contingency.  It actually logged 260 feet deep, hitting water at 220', which produced a 36' SWL and 45 GPM.  Unfortunately, the well is 300 feet from the pump house and the pump house is another 200 feet from the homesite.  So had to dig a 500' long 3' deep trench, and bed a lot of pipe and wire.  I had to dynamite a few boulders along the way too.  The other thing we had to address was that the well tested high for arsenic, which is pretty common in our area if you are fortunate to even find water.  So I had to design, build, and install a filtratrion system to take care of that issue.

The house construction is on hold pending my retirement to avoid having two houses 500 miles apart.  I was hoping to build the garage questhouse next summer, but that is contingent on being able to take 3 months off from work...and you may have read that we (Boeing) are continuing to have problems with our new airplane developments...so I am not very optimistic that I will be able to take this time off  

Bob

[NevadaBlue]

Marcus, you have a beautiful place and the details of the construction are just outstanding. My hat is off to you!

I got my lock like yours, of all places, in an antique/junk shop in Romona CA, years ago. I also have an older one, it came from Germany with my family in 1843 when they moved to the US. It locked the trunk that had all their possessions in it.

[mbryner]

sailawayrb, love those pics of Evans Creek!

NevadaBlue, very cool lock.  Do you use the one from 1843 for anything?

[Jedon]

My project is so similar!
2600SF house ( SIPS with exposed truss system, post and beam ) Designed by me in Chief Architect with input from wife
100 acres in the woods off grid
320ft well pumped 400/100ft uphill to 2600g tank for gravity feed
Harris hydro on 20-120gpm creek at 20psi ( not fully working yet )
800W PV, Lister SR2 and Metro 6/1, Xantrex inverters, 8 golf cart batteries
It's been a challenge and continues to be, like Marcus I have a good job but ain't rich and this took every penny and then some and I do as much as I can myself.
Right now snowed in with 4ft of snow, communications were out Sat and Sun, this morning I go out and the chimney is bent almost off so no fire and it's supposed to be 14F tonight.
Projects projects projects, everything is $500 and a weekend!

[mbryner]

Jedon,  I just spent about 1/2 hour looking at your picasa picture pages.   It's deja vu....   Beautiful place you have.

[Jedon]

Thanks!
I really should upload some new pics showing progress, I've just been taking pictures with my Android phone and posting them to my Facebook, too easy.

[NevadaBlue]

... NevadaBlue, very cool lock.  Do you use the one from 1843 for anything?

Right now it is sitting in my dresser drawer waiting for the proper spot. Maybe a reloading cabinet or something.

[veggie]

Marcus,

That is a wonderful (and challenging) project that you have built.
A beautiful home and a powerhouse to be envied.
Congratulations on a job well done.

In your description of the engine, you noted the speed was 480 rpm. Are you still running at that speed or did you decide to increase it to take advantage of the ST head capabilities? Your sheaves look like they are size for 650 rpm operation.

veggie

[mbryner]

Hi Veggie,

When I'm in battery charging mode, I run at 450-500 rpm which drops the voltage to around 80.   That goes through a bridge rectifier, then solar charge controller.   The slower sound is delightful and it charges efficiently (at a significant loss of HP/KW though).

By removing a governor spring insert and flipping a breaker switch, I go back to 240 V AC mode at 650 rpm when necessary.

Marcus

[XYZER]

I am using Chief Architect CAD to create the construction drawings (some early renderings attached).

My project is so similar!
2600SF house ( SIPS with exposed truss system, post and beam ) Designed by me in Chief Architect with input from wife

Hope this isn't a Hijack....but which version of Chief Architect are you guys using? Will Lite do it or does one need the professional? I use cad every day but not the Architectural type. I played with an old version of something on 5-1/4 inch disks, it was a bit clunky....but that was some time ago...