CHP Woodgas Laundry Challenge

General Discussion
#21

Frozen skivvies most likely won’t pass the wife test. :slight_smile:

#22

Hi Sean, it will for a few reason.

  1. No wife.

  2. My real work clothing gets so dirty that any wife would rather have me wash them out side.

Not to mention that I don not give a hoot about “contest rules” ! :relaxed:

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#23

Ugh you are taking away my excuse of not being married!!

Dawn works really well for grease on my hands I bet it works for laundry but too sudsy for a machine… although we probably should get bonus points for soap making from ash with the system as well lol

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#24

We can probably find you a guest room in a cold place come winter…
My guest rooms don’t have heat so you probably don’t want one of them. Lol

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#25

Sean, I’m with you on the Dawn. I have a small squirt bottle on my kitchen sink with 1/8 cup Dawn in 2 cups water. Use it for general hand washing. It is exceptional for greasy hands cleaning.
Yes, too sudsy for machine wash, had to run the rinse cycle a couple or more times using hot water. Yeah, I only did it once.

#26

I think that would be the best place to start the challenge… Cold, no electric, no heat… a huge scrapyard, some machinerie and wood… lots of wood…

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#27

Pepe You can mix it with water, but I just put it straight in the soap dispenser. The suds are an issue though when you use it in a sprayer as a wetting agent. I imagine it’s the same with laundry… dishwasher detergent works better in the washing machine as that is low suds.

#28

Hey ChrisKy, thank you very much for the two 2017 Argo’s/DOW tee-shirts WITH POCKETS that I received yesterday.
The 2017 T-shirt topic has been closed. So I could not post up a “thank-you” there.

Or . . . . this is a shameless bump up on this topic.
The Annie’s song, "The suns gonna’ come up tomorrow, to-mor-row . . . "
Well fellows . . .
here, the suns not coming up and lasting nearly as long now. Just a few weeks away and it will not be able to outside-line cloths dry at all.
THEN the she’s-who-must-be-obeyed in your lives will be asking YOU the wood-for-powers experts just why the hell you cannot give her clothes washing and drying 21st century easy. The last part of that sun/tomorrow song is, “I love you. I love you.”

Regards
tree-farmer Steve unruh

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#29

Enjoy the shirts Steve! Get some wood-sweat on them. Then wash them off and go again… :+1:

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#30

This topic always catches my eye. In the winter I rarely use the dryer except to fluff. With the blower on the stove I can dry 2 loads a day easy. The challenge elements are separated but they are all here. Wood heating generates the charcoal. The washing machine and blower are running off the batteries washing and drying the clothes… I’ve generated 5 lbs of charcoal today probably good for at least a few kw Hr…
Someday I’ll put it together in the right format. What can I say my little girls love Purple and Pink…

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#31

We have two independent racks like David’s and an accordion type mounted on a wall. This is in addition to a full clothesline outside which is fairly standard equipment around here for people of a certain age or certain bent. I am fairly close without trying for the challenge since I already heat water with a furnace heat exchanger and produce charcoal with the same furnace. If I had a charcoal gen set and a heat exchanger at the dryer I would be complete.

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#32

2hrs, bone dry. I really need to hook up that hot water preheat tank that has been sitting there for 6 months…

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#33

We have a small 400 sqft house. With the wood stove going, our humidity drops and stays at a steady 15%. We don’t own a dryer. Mary hangs our clothes around the house. Our results are about the same as yours, 2 hours. The sheets get hung from the railing at the loft level. I don’t miss paying for an hours worth of energy the dryer use.
David, it’s just two of us in this house. I commend you on single parting two children and doing the same. Kids can go through a lot of clothes.

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#34

David and Bill.
I run 50% interior household relativity humidity in the winter-wet woodstoving IF I mange it.
If mid-continental dry air comes visiting for too long and I fall towards 30% it is just go out walk the dogs in the wet, towel them off and that, my pants, boots and coat will zoom me up quick in our 1300 square feet of heated living space.
Ha! Or . . . just bring in 24 hours worth of wettish fuel wood to warm and dry.
I/we go above 55% relative humidly I just open up the stove air some and heat up a bit more and chimney vent it out. Takes a bit more wood. Cheap for me and no motors blowing/no electricity needed, q-u-i-e-t.

The two god-child girls visit and it is Minni-Mouse pinks and Elmo/Dora reds many changes here.

Regards
tree-farmer for fuels Steve unruh

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#35

In the winter my RH is at 10 to 15%. I have to sleep with a humidifier by my bed or I wake up with a soar throat.

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#36

I try to keep the humidity in the twenties. Usually I just use the old bucket on the stove. I have some 8 by 12, 1/2 inch aluminum plates one under the bucket seems to give me the right level of evaporation; 2 when it’s really cold none in the shoulder season…

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#37

Are batteries allowed in the Woodgas Laundry Challenge? My little 2.2 cu ft washer only uses 0.1 kWh to run a load, plus maybe 0.05 to pump the water, and 0.02 to run the inverter - so running a generator for the hour it takes would be pretty inefficient compared to charging the batteries for a short burst. I am guessing you wouldnt need to burn much charcoal to generate 170 Wh.

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#38

Yes, batteries are allowed. All we’re considering is how the power gets made.

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#39

Use this as a dryer fan on a woodstove maybe ?

edit… to late , i see this already on the woodstove from David…

#40

This topic is ancient, and I’ve lived through a bit of offgrid laundry / water now, so here’s a few thoughts I sent to someone recently…

  • Collect rainwater. I know you have a well, but the rainwater is soft and clean, and requires very little power to pump. PEX from a 12V RV pump to a kitchen sink and washer hookup (COLD only, hot not needed). Greywater drain to outdoors. I can send you details if you go this route.

  • Put in a woodstove and rig it to heat the water. Propane will vanish quickly if you heat water with it. CHP would be ideal of course. This is where you get to scratch the woodgas itch. Of course you want clothes lines near the woodstove (winter) and outdoors (summer) - this has to be part of the offgrid attraction.

  • Hot showers can be had with an on-demand propane water heater. I have a link to one somewhere. Works well paired with rainwater, again drain the greywater outside. Alternatively, just build it as an outdoor shower (my original intention).

  • Fun thought, if she’s REALLY into offgridding the laundry … get a washboard and wringer. You can save 3/4 of the water and clothes actually come clean. For just the two of you, it won’t be overwhelming. We use these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AS7HHP0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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