Colorado Aquaponics
Colorado Aquaponics is one of our newest exhibitors of our upcoming Self Reliance Expo. They offered us a tour of their facility. Here is a brief video showing their setup. Check them out! I am seriously close to pulling the trigger on setting up my own aquaponics setup.
School of Natural Healing
Below is a great presentation given by David Christopher at the Self Reliance Expo. David’s father is the one who started The School of Natural Healing. He offers some great advice about how to heal yourself naturally where there is no medicine.
DELICIOUS Chicken and Pasta Salad Recipe, How To Cook Healthy For $10 or Less
This looks soo good!
www.thecasualgardener.com – - Shawna Coronado andChef Ryan Hutmacher, “The Centered Chef”, prepare a healthy meal for four with a Moroccan Chicken and Pasta Salad Dinner for $10 or less. Each meal in the Living Lean & Green cooking series is prepared utilizing fresh, sustainably grown, organic vegetables from Shawna’s front lawn vegetable garden. In today’s difficult economy, one of the most challenging things to do is to feed our family good, nutritious, chemical-free food for a reasonable price. This need has inspired a video series called “Living Lean & Green; How To Cook Healthy For $10 or Less”. Chef Ryan Hutmacher, The Centered Chef of Centered Chef Food Studios (http cooking with me (Shawna Coronado – www.thecasualgardener.com) in my front lawn vegetable garden. Together, we are creating meals which cost a family of four $10 or less to prepare and features organic vegetables I have grown myself. Our goal is to show the everyday person that it is possible to grow your own vegetables sustainably, then use these vegetables to feed a family of four on the cheap utilizing Chef Ryan’ Hutmacher’s healthy recipes. Sponsored by Aquascape Inc., this ten recipe video series shows vegetables watered with a rain-water cistern and grown at my home in the front lawn of my Chicagoland suburban community — something any family can do to help feed themselves in this down economic time. To learn more about the rain-water cistern go here – http Today’s Moroccan Chicken Pasta Salad …
Easy Way To Clean Oil Spill
Hay is obviously used for several things, but to clean up our oil spill? I never thought of it as a way to accomplish this, but several farmers have. You can not get much greener of a clean-up than this. It works by distributing the hay across the oil spill. The oil then sticks to the hay. The great part is hay floats. So once the oil sticks to it all you need to do is pick it up.
Square Foot Garden
We finally got our Square Foot Garden setup for this year. Our boxes are 4 foot wide by 6 foot long. I wanted to go 8ft, but the 6ft long 1×6 boards were a lot cheaper. We built 6 of these boxes. Plus we still have a regular garden area tilled and ready. This area will contain the vine type foods such as watermelons, squashes, etc.
Anyway, You basically fill 6-8 inches deep, 3 different ingredients evenly. Those ingredients are 1 part vermiculite, 1 part peat moss, and 1 part compost. If you have to buy compost, I hear mushroom compost is the best. We could not find any, so we just used regular compost. Once they are in the container, stir it around to they are all evenly mixed and start planting! As usual, we made this a family event.
We first cut small blocks to use in the corners. Then we attached all the boards to make an easy 4 ft by 6ft square that is 6 inches tall. This is minimum, 8-10 inches would be best.
Next we divided the boxes into three, and added equal parts of the above ingredients.
Once all the parts were all measured out, we mixed it all together.
Once everything was mixed well, we measured and placed nails every foot. We then sectioned each square off using simple string. As you can see from below this gives us 24 squares from each box.
Learn more about square foot gardening by watching this video below:
Egg Shell Seed Starters
This egg shell starter is a very cool idea. My wife saw this in some magazine. You start them indoors. All you have to do is collect egg shells for a while, with six kids it didn’t take too long.
Once you have enough egg shells collected, fill them with good starter mix or the square foot garden mix.
Plant seeds into each shell. Once you have starters just place the shell and all into the garden. The egg shell will compost in.
You can’t go wrong!
Homemade Ice Cream in Five Minutes
Its dead winter, but it is always a good time for ice cream! I find that we carry less ice cream in the freezer during winter months, but there are those cravings that come along. Luckily a quick google search found some cool recipes for homemade ice cream. One of the ones I really liked was from the DIY website Instructables. So all you need is a few minutes prep time, a few simple ingredients( frozen fruit, sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream), a blender or food processor and WHAM! you got some delicious homemade ice cream! If you want good consistency after making it, you will need to throw it in the freezer for a bit. This obviously takes more than five minutes, but it does taste better that way, IMHO.
Five Minute Ice Cream [Instructables]
Electrolyte Home Recipe
This recent disaster in Haiti has got me thinking. One of the big problems in natural disasters is lack of simple medical care. Electrolyte drinks are needed to replace fluids after diarrhea, vomiting and certain injuries.
Here is a simple recipe :
… Continue Reading
DIY Solar Panels
One of the things I would like to do is build my own solar panel. With the high price of panels, it makes it hard to get your hands on them sometimes. I found this article explaining how to make your own:
Build a 60 Watt Solar Panel – More DIY How To Projects
Making Your Own Apple Juice
Since we have moved into our new place we are looking at planting our own orchard. I wanted to get some apple trees, among other fruit. I have seen cases where too many apples results in attracting unwanted wildlife or other obvious issues. I ran across a great article that explains the art of juicing to help save those half bad apples.
“As anyone who has fruit trees knows, a lot of fruit goes to waste. Woodpecker holes, worm holes, bug damage and bruises occur on a considerable portion of the harvest. Imperfect fruit will not last in storage and can ruin other fruit it is stored with. A great way to avoid this waste is to make your own juice.
Sharpen Your Peeler with a Paring Knife
Most people don’t realize that their peelers get dull over time. Most people also dont know that you can sharpen them with a simple paring knife. With a simple metal to metal action shown in the video you can sharpen you peelers so they are much more user friendly. Once I saw the video, I tried it and noticed an obvious difference.
This also works for your cheese graters or any other metal blade in your kitchen. Give it a try, you will notice a difference.
Pick up a paring knife from a discount store for about a dollar so you dont mess up a good one.
Got any knife sharpening tips? Post up in the comments section.
How a Bungee Cord Helps to Chop Wood Effeciently
Chopping firewood goes way back. It is one of the essentials for winter survival in most homesteads. Although labor intensive, I get great satisfaction from chopping my firewood. While in Missouri we had several large diameter logs that needed chopped into more managable pieces. Here is a great MacGyver tip that I used when chopping up my winter supply of firewood. I used this while chopping my firewood and it helped a lot. It is super easy, so check out the video:
Urban Homestead
Sorry it has been a while, we have been on our big move back to Colorado. We were very sad to leave our Missouri Homestead, but very excited about being back with old friends in CO. I will some pics soon, we have been at our new homestead for 5 days and we are loving it. I will get you a tour soon, but to keep you occupied, I came across a cool little video. These guys are a little extreme with their outdoor shower, but I like their thinking. Enjoy!
Building Recycled Homes
Dan Phillips from Huntsville, Texas is on a mission. He is building homes using about 85% recycled products. Although some of the features of his homes are a bit odd, his work is inspiring.
Building from Papercrete?
I found this video very informative. You can find more info on building and using papercrete on his site, Makepapercrete.com
How to Survive a Flu Outbreak
How to Survive a Flu Outbreak
Thanks to Survival Spot for info.
Download to PDF, send to everyone you know
1. Stay informed
In addition to taking the precautions below, staying informed as the spread of the outbreak is vital to the danger level at this moment in time. Unlike during the Spanish flu outbreak in 1918, we have access to information as it happens. Check the Google Map below to see where Swine flu has occurred and if it is close to you.
Outbreak Map
2. AVOID GETTING SICK!
Don’t expect that there will be a vaccine for everyone, there is a limited supply
3. Prepare for Quarantine
In a severe crisis, travel restrictions, curfews and perhaps quarantines may be implemented. To be prepared for a situation like this:
- Have 2-3 weeks of clean drinkable water on hand
- Have 2-3 weeks of food (try to get vitamin rich foods, smoothie drinks, fruits etc.)
- Make sure you have proper medication and hygiene supplies at home
- Have at least $100 of cash
- In case of power outages or disruption of services like gas, have your own lanterns and propane stoves for cooking and light at nighttime
4. Isolate yourself
Even if you are a healthy individual, avoiding people and public places as much as possible can prevent or reduce the chance of catching the flu. Since many viruses can be passed several days before symptoms occur, you could be sick before you even know it.
- Keep a distance of 3-6ft from others at all times
- Avoid going to public events, avoid large crowds (sporting events, theaters etc.)
- Avoid going out, unless necessary. When you do keep it to a minimum
- DON’T leave your local area!! (Most people who have gotten swine flu were visiting Mexico)
- Avoid eating out; the crowds and the sanitization of utensils could cause infection
- Keep kids home from school, if possible
- Work from home, if possible
- If you have food and water storage, this is the time to use it (some of it), this will reduce your contact with others by avoiding grocery stores
- If you don’t have food and water stored, go buy some.
5. Hygiene
- Wash Your Hands frequently, especially after touching public doorknobs, pens or shopping carts
- Carry Hand Sanitizer, Use frequently
- Sanitize your car, work station and home with bleach or alcohol based cleaners
- Avoid touching common germ sources
- Wear latex gloves when out in public
- DON’T share drinks or utensils
- Wear face masks when out in public; use a mask with an N95 rating or higher
- Wear glasses or goggles (airborne pathogens can get into your eyes)
6. Health
- Get a good night’s sleep, every night
- Buy food from local sources, clean or cook vigorously
- Avoid smoking, drinking, and drugs (they reduce your immune function)
- Start taking Vitamin C, D, Garlic, Elderberry, Oil of Oregano and Echinacea
- Avoid salty foods and junk foods
- Buy and take Colloidal Silver
- Exercise regularly
- Upon signs of infection, avoid others, cough into your arm or a handkerchief and see a doctor immediately (common flu vaccines can have severe side effects, avoid getting sick so you will not have to take these
If you do get infected consider setting up a Quarantine room. This is no substitute for professional medical care but it could be good during disruption of services.
Ultimate Underground Culvert Storage
The Granddaddy Of All Underground Storage Areas
There are root cellars and then there are root cellars. This web page covers an underground storage container made from culvert. This concept is extremely bold in every way. When it comes to underground storage, this may very well be the granddaddy of them all. I am convinced this is one of the finest underground storage ideas you will find anywhere. This page features one of these storage areas, which should help you understand their possibilities and perhaps even get you thinking about what you would like if you designed one for yourself.
Jump within page to…
- A bold new concept
- Easily and quickly constructed
- Quickly set into place
- Inexpensive for the size
- Plenty of room
- Easily adaptable as an underground shelter
- Easily hidden from view – no one even needs to know it�s there.
- Where to learn more
A bold new concept: Whoever thought of this ranks as a genius of the simple. Basically, this underground storage area is made in a culvert that was designed for bridging creeks. Culverts are thin steel pipes that are very strong, light for their size, inexpensive when compared to other types of construction, galvanized and therefore rustproof. They come in a wide variety of sizes, from as small as one foot in diameter to 20 feet in diameter and bigger. Because of the huge size possibilities, culverts can fit into just about anyone�s underground storage needs. Our showcase structure was built into an eight foot culvert, however, many people building this type of shelter are now using ten foot culverts.
Easily and quickly constructed: This photo shows the culvert as it was near the end of construction. It is made from an eight foot culvert 50 feet long. Steel plates were welded onto each end to enclose the culvert. A one foot in diameter vent tube, again made from culvert, was placed in the top of the culvert on each end (not shown). The culvert coming off the top side of the main culvert at one end in the photo is a four foot culvert. Before the shelter was set into place, the culvert was rotated down so the small attached culvert was on the side of the main culvert. Then a length of four foot diameter culvert was welded on which became the entrance way. Before it was set into place, the entire outside surface, especially the welded portions, were sprayed with tar to prevent rusting. The floor inside the culvert was constructed from 2X4s and 1 inch plywood. This was placed in the culvert at the five foot wide point, being about 10 inches above the bottom of the culvert. With the floor at this point, there is slightly over seven feet of head room when standing. Next came the door on the front of the entrance way. Our featured shelter has a small six by six foot porch built around the culvert entrance which has a wooden door to the outside. There is also a second inner door constructed from steel, enclosing the four foot diameter entrance culvert. All that remains to be done is to put in the walls and shelves.
Quickly set into place: The hole for this shelter was dug in one day. The shelter was brought in and set into place with the vents and entrance pipe welded into place the next day, then it was buried the third day.
Inexpensive for the size: The owner of our featured shelter spent $5,000 in 1990 on all aspects of constructing and burying this shelter. (It would cost about $10K now (1998) with the proper blast doors.) He did say that a lot of the wood for the floor and shelves was scrounged.
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Plenty of room: Our featured shelter�s 5 foot wide floor has 250 square feet of surface. Total storage area volume comes out to about 2,400 cubic feet. |
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Easily adaptable as an underground shelter: Our featured shelter has a bed, dresser, small living area, library, and a large storage area. |
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This photo shows the end of the shelter next to the entrance. Note the 4 foot diameter culvert coming off the left just before the bed. The entrance pipe wasn’t put on the very end of the 50 foot long culvert for a very good reason – so the bed would fit. Note also the vent pipe in the ceiling. The owner said he would cut it off close to flush with the ceiling if he had to do it over again. |
We show you the first photo again to explain the two rock towers on top of the shelter. These enclose the vents, and was done this way so kids couldn’t shoot holes through them.
Your underground shelter can easily be hidden from view – no one even needs to know it�s there: With a tiny bit of forethought and planning, the vents could be easily hidden by terrain, in shrubbery, a rock garden, or in carefully placed outbuildings. The same could be done with the entrance way.
Where to learn more: Sharon Packer, a nuclear engineer and the head of the Civil Defense Volunteers of Utah has written a 150 page 8 1/2 by 11 inch book called Nuclear Defence Issues. You should get one if you are contemplating building one of these shelters. This book sells for $25.00 and includes:
- National Security Affairs
- Weapons Effects
- Building the Shelter
- Post War Survival
Mrs. Packer has a new web site. You can get the book from there.
Al Durtschi, E-mail: mark@waltonfeed.com
Home Page: http://waltonfeed.com/
All contents copyright (C) 1996, Al Durtschi. All rights reserved.
This information may be used by you freely for noncommercial use with my name and E-mail address attached.
Revised: 15 Jan 98
Your Favorite Books on Self Sufficiency, Prepardness, and Basic Homestead Skills!
In descending order of frequency, the 78 readers that responded to my latest survey recommended the following non-fiction books on preparedness, self-sufficiency, and practical skills:
The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery (Far and away the most often-mentioned book. This book is an absolute “must” for every well-prepared family!)
The Foxfire Book series (in 11 volumes, but IMHO, the first five are the best)
Where There Is No Dentist
“Rawles on Retreats and Relocation”
Making the Best of Basics: Family Preparedness Handbook
The “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course
Crisis Preparedness Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Home Storage and Physical Survival
Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times by Steve Solomon
Tappan on Survival
Boston’s Gun Bible
Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners
Survival Guns
Boy Scouts Handbook: The First Edition, 1911 (Most readers recommend getting pre-1970 editions.)
All New Square Foot Gardening
When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Emergency
Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills, Third Edition
Preparedness Now!: An Emergency Survival Guide (Expanded and Revised Edition)
Putting Food By
First Aid (American Red Cross Handbook) Responding To Emergencies
Making the Best of Basics: Family Preparedness Handbook
Nuclear War Survival Skills by Cresson H. Kearney (Available for free download.)
Cookin’ with Home Storage
Special thanks to
$1 Emergency Oil Lamp-DIY
Being here in tornado alley we have lost power more than once. Depending on the power company is not the smartest thing in the world. You should prepare your homestead to have adequate lighting in case you loose power at night, or worse-Days! Here is how you can make your own Mason Jar emergency oil lamp for dirt cheap.
During my routine check of our flashlights, I noticed that one of the kids left a light on and killed the battery. Obviously that isn’t good. These Mason Jar oil lamps are cheap, easy, and do NOT require batteries!
Items you will need:
- Mason Jars. I used quart wide mouth jars.
- 100% cotton wick
- Bailing wire
- Wire cutters
- Needle nose pliers
- Olive oil
*Note:
You can find used jars on craigslist or yard sales. The cotton can be from an old sock or similar.
——————————————————————————————————–
- Cut about a 12 inch piece of bailing wire. Using the needle nose pliers, bend the end of the bailing wire in the shape of two circles to weave the wick through. Then bend the wire up in the shape of a “U” so the top of the wick will be about 2-3 inches from the bottom of the jar.
- Bend the other end of the bailing wire over the lip of the jar so the bottom of the wire does not touch the bottom of the jar. This way you will be able to unhook it from the rim and set it down in the jar and put a lid on it for storage.
- Take 8-10 inches of 100% cotton and weave into the circle end of the bailing wire. Use the pliers if needed to tighten the wire enough to keep the cotton from falling out.
- Hang wire with wick over the jar lip. Fill jar with olive oil to just under the wicks end. Other oils can be used, but I know that olive oil does not smell or smoke.
- Let it soak for an hour or two giving the oil to work its way up the wick.
- That’s it. Light it and try it out. Once you are done, grab the wire and place into the jar and place the lid on it for safe storage.
Mason Jar Cake
There may be a time when your food storage is all you have to live on. That does not mean you should just live on beans and rice. While everything is still normal in your world why not prepare your food storage with some food you might enjoy. So for our recent Family Home Evening project we showed our kids how to prepare a cake in a mason jar. This can be stored for two years or more, havent tried it beyond that.
Mason Jar Cake
- 1 Large can (24 oz.) of apple sauce. Or 3 cups of peeled and chopped apples.
- 3 eggs (borrowed from our new chickens!)
- 1 cup of canola oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 cups flour (all purpose)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 cup raisins or chopped dates
- 1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, etc) .I used pecans.
Pre- heat oven to 325 degrees F.
Mix all the wet ingredients first. Then add dry ingredients and mix. Take 4 Quart size jars, or 8 pint size jars if have small family, grease and flour. Fill jars 2/3 full with batter and bake at 325 for 50-60(for quarts). Maybe cook 30 min for pints. Bring to boil a small pot of water to prepare your lids. Place lids in boiling water and turn stove off. Remove from oven and place on a towel ONE JAR AT A TIME. Wipe rim of jar clean, and place one lid on. Tighten it down with ring. Repeat until all jars are sealed. While they cool, the lids will “ping” indicated a sealed jar. Date and label the jars. Be sure to store in a cool, dark pThat is it! Simple and fast. Please only use this as a base, and feel free to change it up. You could add fruit, chocolate, and anything else you can think of.
ENJOY!
Backup Power Supply
Here on the homestead we have had several power outages. More than I am used to, and more than I think should happen. So I went on a search for a backup system for our home. That is when I came across this article on how to build your own uninterruptible power supply and thought it might be helpful to others out there looking for the same thing. Enjoy:
How to Build Your Own Uninterruptible Power Supply
from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit
In the event of extended blackout, you may have critical systems (such as computer or medical equipment) that must remain running no matter what. This guide will yield one scalable uninterrupted power supply system. You may extend it with power generation, or solar/wind/etc. as you see fit.
Most uninterrupted power supplies sold for computers ‘switch’ power, running a small inverter when power is interrupted, then switching back to ‘normal’ power when it’s back on. This one simply produces AC power with a continuous duty inverter and assumes some system(s) will charge the DC battery supply it requires faster than it consumes it. This makes the design simpler and also allows more than one kind of DC power source to participate in charging the batteries.
Steps
- Read all warnings before proceeding.
- Choose a charger that can supply enough current to charge the battery and keep up with the inverter’s load. This will be a fairly heavy duty charger.
- Check RV suppliers for ‘Converters’, designed to run larger RVs if you are making a big system.
- Check solar power sources for “big” whole house chargers and inverters for very large systems.
- If an RV or home converter has an inverter built in, make sure it’s isolated (or can be isolated) from the input power.
- Make sure the charger handles the kinds of batteries you are going to buy.
- Choose only deep cycle batteries. Do not use a car or truck battery, nor a ‘marine’ battery. If you will be using only one battery, a gel or ‘maintenance free’ battery will work adequately. For larger systems composed of multiple deep-cycle batteries, select only wet cells or AGM cells.
- Make sure the batteries are ventilated for escaping hydrogen gas.
- If you buy wet cells, make sure the charger supports an ‘equalize’ charge.
- Lead acid batteries are sold in 6 volt and 12 volt sizes. You will need to connect them in series to raise the voltage, or in parallel to increase the amp-hours available.
- 12 volts = 2x6V volt batteries connected in series
- 24 volts = 4x6V or 2x12V batteries in series
- When connecting series-parallel, connect pairs of batteries in parallel and then connect those pairs in series, not chains of series batteries in parallel.
- Do not mix different kinds of batteries. Newer batteries added to existing sets of batteries will be as worn as the originals very quickly.
- In larger series-parallel setups it’s a good idea to swap batteries around every year or so.
- Batteries that are shallowly drained (cycled) will last a long time, while batteries that are deeply cycled will have shorter lives.
- A fully charged, new 12 volt battery is 12.6 volts at rest (each of six cells is 2.1 volts).
- A fully charged, new 6 volt battery will be at 6.3 volts at rest.
- When a 12 volt charger is operating on it, the voltage will be higher. A float charge (maintenance charge) for a 12 volt system is 13.5 to 13.8 volts; active charging requires at least 14.1 volts. You may see it go as high as 16 volts when charging, depending upon the charger. After a full charge, if the battery is not going to be float charged, the at-rest voltage will slowly return to the nominal full-charge voltage.
- A discharged 12 volt battery is 11.6 volts at rest. A discharged 6 volt battery is 5.8 volts at rest. The voltage may temporarily fall below these levels while powering a large load, but should return to a point within the nominal range after a 1-hour rest. Over-discharging to less than 1.93 volts per cell at rest will permanently damage your battery.
- Batteries can be measured with a voltmeter for an approximate state of charge, but many dead batteries can hold a ‘shallow charge’ which drops off rapidly when current is drawn. You’ll need to test them with a ‘live’ load over a series of hours to verify them.
- A regulated 12 volt power supply can not fully charge a discharged 12 volt battery, but it makes a good float charger if the output voltage is correct (again, 13.5-13.8 volts for a 12 volt system). Check the water level in the cells often, and replenish as needed with distilled water.
- Choose an inverter.
- Rated for continuous duty at substantially more power than you think you’ll need.
- Enough ‘peak’ current to handle motor starting loads, which can be from 3 to as much as 7 times the rated running wattage.
- Inverters are available for input voltages of 12, 24, 36, 48, and 96 volts, and a few less common voltages. The higher the voltage the better, especially for large systems. 12 volts is the most common, but in no case should one consider 12 volts for a system of greater than 2400 watts output.
- Some of the better inverters have a built-in 3-stage automatic battery charger and transfer relay, greatly simplifying the system. These inverters are well worth the extra money; if fact they save money overall, as the built-in charger is a bargain compared to the price of a comparable stand-alone charger.
- Get cables and fuses and other hardware to interconnect batteries, charger and inverter.
- These should be very heavy gauge, well made, and as short as you can fit it all together with.
- Consider spending just a bit more for a bus bar interconnect with big dividers, instead of just ‘wires everywhere’. It is tidy and helps prevent accidental shorts. It also makes it easier to remove defective batteries.
- Wear protective gear and observe safety precautions.
- Don your eye protection.
- Wear protective, non-conductive gloves if possible.
- Remove any jewelry.
- Securely attach the charger cables to the deep cycle battery, noting polarity.
- Prepare the charging system. Plug the charger into the wall and power it on. Make sure it begins a proper charge cycle, and make sure the inverter is powered off.
- Attach and test the inverter if it is separate from the charger. Hook up the cables to the batteries, noting polarity. Turn the inverter on and test it with some suitable AC load. You shouldn’t see sparks, smoke, or fire at any point. Leave the inverter on with a load similar to your planned load and allow the battery to charge overnight. This will test that the charger and load are a good match. In the morning, the battery should be fully charged.
- Dismantle the test rig.
- Design a tidy enclosure. This could be shelves in a shed, or a very large container. This will hold the batteries, charger, and inverter. Generally the charger and inverter should not be right next to the batteries where escaping gas can get to them. If so, it can shorten the life of the electronics, or ignite gases from sparking if vents are blocked. Some partition should be installed and separate air circulation should be provided for the charger and inverter. Alternatively, mount the charger/inverter outside the battery box. Once ready, install the components into it.
- Make the connections. Runs of cable should be kept fairly short. You need easy access to every battery to check, so clean and tighten cables. For wet cells, you need to be able to easily take every top off to check fluid levels and get distilled water into them. Make sure the inverter is grounded. You may ground it to the ground wire on the charger’s input AC, or use a grounding rod driven into the soil.
- Supplement alternatives where beneficial or necessary. You may supplement or replace the charger with solar, wind, etc., connected to their own applicable charge controller. This can keep the power running far longer than it otherwise would, even indefinitely. Also, you may supplement the charger with a generator. Attach a truck alternator to a small internal combustion engine, use a generator with 12 volt charging output, or unplug the charger from its AC outlet and then use a ‘regular’ AC generator to power the charger.
Tips
- Do not plug surge suppressors into the inverter. It is isolated from the grid and outside.
- The UPS can be located outside.
- Install an inside and outside outlet through a wall connected only to each other. You can plug the UPS inverter into the outside outlet (with a ‘gender bender’ extension cable) to power the inside outlet.
- Disconnect and isolate an indoor circuit from the main circuit breaker panel. Route the wire out of that box through one of the punch-outs or remove it, and connect it to the inverter, providing conduit to shield as applicable. All plugs/lights/smoke detectors/etc. on that circuit will be powered by the UPS, so test and make sure nothing ‘extra’ is connected to it.
- Run conduit and/or get fancy as you see fit, relative the permanence of your solution.
Warnings
- If you’re not a very safe electrician, don’t try any of this.
- Grounding the inverter is not optional.
- If power goes to outside outlets or near water, either buy an inverter with GFI and ground it, or add GFI to it.
- The AC output from the inverter can kill you.
- The DC current from the battery can burn you. A ring that gets between ‘hot’ wires can amputate your finger.
- There is enough DC current in a battery bank to stop your heart.
- Do not wear watches or jewelry when working on the batteries
- Wear eye protection when working on batteries
- Shorting batteries can cause blinding flashes, blow wrenches into splinters, even cause the batteries to explode and spray sulphuric acid and hunks of plastic everywhere.
- Provide proper ventilation for batteries. Trapped hydrogen gas can ignite and/or explode.
- Don’t mess with the circuit breaker panel if you’re not a really very good (and very, very safe) electrician.
- Worked on the please use it shoes
Things You’ll Need
- One or more deep cycle batteries
- One 12 volt battery charger
- One heavy duty inverter
- Battery cables
- Eye, face, and hand protection (for handling batteries)
Related wikiHows
- How to Make Your Own Electricity
- How to Achieve Energy Independence
- How to Convert a Computer ATX Power Supply to a Lab Power Supply
- How to Construct a Simple 5V DC Power Supply
- How to Diagnose and Replace a Failed PC Power Supply
- How to Run Your Desktop off Dc Power
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Build Your Own Uninterruptible Power Supply. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
The $10 Compost Bin
When my wife gives me a chore to do, I’m all about efficiency. Sometimes I take my time and overdo a job. Sometimes I am flat out lazy and want to hurry it along so I can get back to my hammock. Today I was feeling the latter. So here is how YOU TOO can build a $10 compost bin in 10 minutes!!
So the first thing I needed to do was plot it out. I wanted it semi close to the house (too far, and you won’t take it out). It has to be far enough away that you dont attract flies and such to the house. I chose a location that had fence already up on two sides. This helps support it without the additional expense of more framing.
Next you need to choose supplies. I have seen these done with old barrels, I have seen them made with old pallets. I say use whatever you have laying around without it being too much a eye sore. I personally found some old wood plywood sheets laying behind the barn. There were four sheets that were all the same size. Perfect!
Things you need:
- Drill with drill bit and screw driver bit
- Plyers
- Wire Cutters
- Corner Braces
- Bailing Wire
- Door hinge
I laid the pieces up against the fence and eyeballed the fence post. I then drilled two holes, and used the bailing wire to secure the wood to the fence post. I did this one the two sides that had fence. Once that was completed, I took the corner braces and put one high and one low for extra strength. I then placed the third board up and used corner braces to secure it. The last board is where you can get as fancy or cheap as you want. I have seen people mount metal fence post to it and just pound it in the ground. I opted for the “custom” door hinge that way we can easily swing it open. And there you have it, nothing fancy, nothing pretty. You $10 compost bin completed in 10 minutes, now back to the hammock!
