New Guy from Yukon Canada

General Discussion
#7

Hey thanks for the explains. Looking now, I do not know why I mistook the lifejacket for a hooded cold weather outer safety vest!
Cloud scraping mountains with lots of sky and surface water - looks like home down here in wet western Washington state. Your “summer”. My 9-10 months of the rest of the year.
Wood powered boats there is an excellant BC published picture book about the 1850’s to early 1900’s mountains and inland rivers steam-stern wheelers used BC, Alaska and the Yukon. Some really terrific, terrifying up and down river running they did with those for frieght and people before rail took over. Updated to wood gasified would be actually doable following the Sweed/Finn 1940’s Balitc sea fishing boats power pattern.
Jet boats? Big block inboards? Well with the BIG gasifier system and then woodfuel barge needed for these fuel hogs old steam boat speeds and capabilitys is what you be back down to anyhow.
Couple of topic threads here on that already.

Regards
Steve Unruh

#8

You sound like a pretty interesting guy and are already in the midst of doing a ot of the same activities/projects I am planning to do in the future. Welcome to the site and I look forward to hearing about your woodgas and other adventures.

Dustin

#9

Welcome Bryon, this is a great community.

#10

Howdy Byron,
I gave it a spin.
What part of the Yukon are you in?
TerryL

#11

Welcome Byron, another hardy soul to live up there, but we wish you the best on your homestead. With a sawmill and shop already in place, and a fab shop at work, you are poised for an additional adventure in wood gas. Life is good! keep us posted.

#12

Hi Byron, welcome aboard. For the smaller engines don’t forget to look into the charcoal world. As someone who needs heat you can make charcoal in a container in your stove and burn it in a simple unit that is pretty immune to the cold. Good place to start…
Best regards, David Baillie

#13

Thanks for the warm welcomes!

Terry thanks for turning that pic, currently my whole life is off my iPhone my computer isn’t up.

Hi David, I assume you mean gasifiers that or big enough to run gen sets and so on? I will look into that further! Great point.

#14

Sorry Terry forgot to mention to yah I’m 20 mins outside Whitehorse

#15

Byron,
Another welcome from another brother from a different mother in WA state!
Glad the pine beattles left you something to mill. It sounds like you’re living in the right place, working at the right place, have the right family situation, and found the right website to expand your horizons… in the right direction!
Woodgas is the natural progression in combustion of biomass. It’s embarrassing to realize how suppressed the technology really is in North America! We should be decades further ahead by now… sorry, that’s the yank in me going on a rant.
We are all here to expand and share our know how, I am very grateful for Wayne’s and Chris’ generosity. With their time, intellect and talent to bring us this thing we call drivingonwood. Not to mention all the others!!! You’ll meet the rest soon enough :slight_smile:
I’ve been offline for a while due to an old truck with an old engine. And thankfully a job that takes all the nice months and gives up the rainy months. I’m working on the truck now and building up the wood supply. Looking forward to more pics of your habitat, family and progress!
Cheers, Tim J

#16

How’s it goin?
How about an update.
Has the snow left ya yet?
TerryL

#17

It’s been a busy winter!!!

On the woodgas front?
I’m still working on getting a truck from a good friend. Duelly, ford, 4x4, flat deck, around 1980’s. He won’t let me buy it I have to work it off lol. This may ill help him around the shop!

Slowly been collecting materials, I just got my scavengers permit for the whitehorse landfill ! This should help cross a few items off the list.
The snow is gone!

As for the new property I got our solar system set up, wife’s happy!!! Running lights washing machine, and laptop don’t need much else.
Working on building my solar hot water system next, and greenhouse extension,

I built a cabin this winter, check out the pics. Going to be a rental, yah for passive income.

Trapping season was cut short due to snow conditions, I didn’t think I would ever stop a swt skandic but I did 6-7 ft of snow no base, spent 17 days building trail, and turned around and went home. That same trail should have taken only 2-4 days max to build, but hay it’s all part of the adventure :wink: so I was unable to start a trapline journal:(

Not much else going on laying low as money is tight, alot to do that doesn’t cost money. Bonus about having your own sawmill. There’s always sawdust that needs to fly.

My build has been but on the back burner, but everytime I fill up I think about my build. I read through the forums when I can. I will start a thread when I start my build. Ill post the truck when I get it home;)

Thanks for checking in,
Byron

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#18

Nice work on the cabin, excellent dovetail joints!

The bottom pic? Are those arches?
Yuppers that’s some nasty snow that a machine like that Skandic won’t go through!
Here’s a link to let southern folks in on what it is.
Look forward to seeing you’re Ford build.
TerryL

#19

There trusses for the cabin. Built A frame truss out of 8x8 wanted to stick with the theme of big wood for this build. As the timbers or 8x13 for the walls. The roof trusses will be exposed I wanted it to look very majestic, as should any cabin should be:). I took the picture using the panarama setting as the trusses wouldn’t fit in the frame that’s why they look so wonky

I can’t wait to start my build, I pick up Waynes book and flip through it every know and then just at the moment I got to cross a couple other projects off the list, put hopefully by the end of May I got the old ford in the yard.

#20

Yup them sure look like arches to me.
Its amazing what a camera can do.
Nice work Byron

#21

Cabin progress
Floor framed up and two roles of logs down
Doing some experimental chinky
Anybody have a recipe?
In the pic I mixed floor, sawdust, and white paint from the free store
Cheap, and easy;)

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#22

In Virginia we used clay and ashes and some sand. that’s a 250 plus year old family recipe. Our family built a really big cabin for a widowed aunt back in 70’s using the traditional method. worked great.
I would add a modern item and that is some steel wire mesh, honey comb style stapled or nailed to the logs. Pencil size holes in front of that insulation. gives the chinking mix a better hold on the logs.
looks great. I wish I could be there to help.

Denny Mullins

#23

Thanks Dennis,
Do you remember the ratio ?
I read the mesh is not a good idea as it may rust? Maybe alumiun or something similar
I was going to use clay lime and straw. But all I got on my property is sand! Real good perc for the septic field. We dug a waterline in from another well 600 yds, 8 ft of beautiful beach sand

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#24

2 parts Clay, one part wood ash (just the fines) its best to sift it, and half part sand. Old time chinking won’t last forever. It does have to be redone every 20 or so years. Just depended on the up keep.
Or you can go equal parts sand, lime, clay, water. I’ve even heard tell of old timers grand fathers mixing manure in because of the grass. But I never seen it actually done that way.

I think the the modern way now a days is portland cement 2 parts, (replaces the clay), lime half part, and sand half part. I would still use the wire, because its cheap, and galvanized, and just remember log cabin chinking requires maintenance, not much and not very often if you take care of it along the way when problems first start to appear it will last a long time.

Denny

#25

Thanks so much, I’ve been researching everywhere not much real world info. I priced out synthetic chinking I estimated $3000-$4000 for a 16x16 cabin because of the caps. That costs trumps my total build cost including tin, foam for the roof and floor windows door and so on. Then I thought there’s great guys on the woodgas forum someone here will have a idea! Thanks again

#26

Byron: I have no personal experience but a very experienced and knowledgable (~35 years of “natural” professional timber framing/log cabin building) acquaintance of mine suggested:

shred newspaper and/or sawdust, theroughly dampen with concoction of (total 6 parts): 3 parts (half) clay, 1 part wood ash, 1 part fine sand, 1 part lime, enough water to make a “slip”/thin paste. Be sure to wear a filter mask during dry mixing and chemical resistant “vinyl” gloves once water goes in. It will be somewhat caustic while it is wet.

Theroughly mix “fiber binder” (aka newspaper/sawdust) with enough “slip” to theroughly coat everything and make a thick paste. “Paint” surfaces of logs with slip every 10 years, or as needed for conditions. He’s from down south and so he couldn’t make any personal claims for your weather conditions but said “It ‘should’ work ok…”