There are definitely Stirling engines used in smaller boats but I have never heard of using solar thermal as the heat source. Even with a low vapor point gas it seems doubtful that you could get very much power out of solar thermal in a small enough package to be portable.
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My neighbor just came over with his tractor to blow my drive way out. I have an early doctor’s appointment in the morning. That heavy spring snow came out of his blower in clumps-- like big snow balls. Had to run in low gear to keep it from clogging ahead of the blower. This storm has been a bugger. The county had started removing their snow blades to go to road work so our roads are not getting the usual plowing. The snow has let up enough now so I can see my shop from the house. It’s spring in Wisconsin. TomC
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A “bomb cyclone” is unleashing in south and north Dakota presently, they say it may drop 18" of snow. Just a little breezy this far to the north of it. I think it will be hitting Minnesota next.
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I hope people out there are all safe 18 inches of snow can be bad enough when it is really cold and light but a late spring storm tends to be heavy that much could easily cause power outages and other issues.
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It came all the way to the great lakes. It was an exciting drive to town this morning. As I sit here I can hear the rumble of big sheets of snow and ice sliding off the roof-- like an earthquake. TomC
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wow that’s almost about as deep as the blizzard of '78 and to think it was about 80F yesterday
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Out in the wood burner checking on cattle. New baby born just as we go under a tornado watch .
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Ca-Ching!!! A little money in the bank. tomC
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Spring Things Doings,
My last year rubber boots crease fold cracked. I/we either rains or nightly cool down, dew-downs need these over 300 morning of the year or suffer from wet cold feet. The $44.usd, made in USA Chinooks last just as long as all of the really good-excellent, super conferrable $100-150. rubber boots I previously used. Muck brand. XtraTuf brand. Sorel. LaCross. And all others. Same-same problem. Bend crease rubber hardening and then cracking. Wettened, cold morning feet and socks. Sucks.
The difference in price buys at least half a roll of needs-fencing stocks. 10 hd Tee posts.
My point fellows is when you do actually live Rural you will always have more driven needs-musts than time-in-the-day; dollars available, month to month.
You gotta’ stretch things out. Make do. Or, do without.
How I’ve come to realize most on public forums are really just living no-commitment fantasy life’s.
They never run out. Of “better” Ideas. Of Ideals. Of Perfections chasing.
No rain today. Hurrah! First in the last 13.
Off to buy another roll of woven fencing to try and keep a wandering neighbors dog off of my property before he learns to chickens chase and kill… HIS owners money/time got used up adding 35’s and new wheels to his Toyota tonka Tundra truck. Before that the winch/brush guard/basher front bumper assembly. Before that the bed liner and hard shell fold-able bed cover. Oh, yeah.Full body Statement overly decals applique’s, and a new full across LED over the cab light bar were the first do-dads.
Yet his cheapest bought big-box store consumer chain saw has already crapped out. Wants to use my woodcutter Stihl 440 Magnum to carve down some 56"+ butt cut-off rounds I gifted to him by request. He wants to make a custom bed head stead.
Nope. Nope.
I do not do Fancies.
I do not do Fashion Statements.
I do not do Artistic Statements.
I do not do Vanities expressions.
And I hate being Taxed to pay for Others do-nothing for me and mine, Expressions-Statements, itch-scratching!!
Know I will get cut and bleed some over that from a measly 3 1/2 foot chainlink “fancy” fence raised up to a dog proof 5 foot effective fence height.
The Tough DO. And survive. Are lucky.
Two different bantee hens did clutch sit through the snows and cold rains. Five hatched for one. Two for the other. Then those numbers fell. One too weak to make it even the first hour. Two creek wettened, hypothermia. Some just could not stay close to their get-about Mommies. Rain wetten, hypothermia. I did find all of these. Down to only two very lively chicks now. No doubt some were kitty cat pick off. All this is a natural weening out.
But years experiences now says the remaining will always be very tough, durable, and “lucky”.
Live a life of always making your own Luck. Be tough. Be durable.
Ha! (sorry to say this) just have to be grass’s mowing late this afternoon. Just havta’. Otherwise it will get too-tall and later the mowers will decks clog up.
I’ll mix up the push-walk-behind, and the rider, works.
Be one sore puppy tonight. OTC pain pills to sleep.
Pain is the very best way to prove to yourself that you are still in a Real-Life.
Fantasists know no real physical pain or danger. Why they learn poor effective true Life skills and techniques. Reset button. Go again.
In Real Life even a flesh wound will leave a nerve deadened, and dimpled down scar area from the tissue loss. Last you lifetime. Reminding you to really do better, always.
Be Real. Bleed a bit to do, learn, accomplish… Be willing to actually live with a lot of self-made pain. That’s Alive.
Be Alive. Be Real.
S.U.
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Well I have to say I must be lucky with my Muck boots because I use then almost all the time here on my farm and just a little while ago I had to order a replacement pair because my foot got wet. When I took off the boot I found out I has worn right through all the botton of the boot. It was 3 years old so I decided I couldn’t complain. I hear people saying they dry out and crack all the time. Maybe it is all the cow manure that keeps mine from drying out? I have no idea but I know rubber boots are the only thing that last more than a few months on a farm.
The fencing sounds like a good project. It is also on my list of things to do for my cows. I love the woven fence it is the only fence which actually keeps cows in. 5 years now and the only times my cows got loose is when they manage to knock a gate off. That has only happened a few times.
Good luck with the chickens I keep thinking fresh eggs would be nice but too many wild animals here think the same thing…
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I have puzzled over this currnet rubber boots failure much DanA.
Decades past I too would soles smooth wear, or wear through long before a shaft/sides failure.
Of course these were the wear-all-day actual dairy farmer boots. Quality made. And even back then $$'s.
The back-then the made-in-Korea/Taiwan and cheap one-piece injection molded thermal palstic ones a few hunders of hours crack and delamination failures were an expectation. “You got what you paid for”
But why now do many NOT get what they did pay for?
Almost all name brands now are made-in-China. Xtratuff boot the PNW/Alaska commercial fisherman’s #1 choice then all became low life delaminations hole-in-the pockets once the USA shut down and went to China. They were years and still fight to get that bad name expenses customer useages back.
I have come to believe the Chinese across the board rubber failure are due to body chemistry reactions.
Made in USA the name brand manufatures had to engineer for all possible human body chemisties. Or loose thier name brnad reputations.
Off shore engineered and built only have to cater to the thier/known and please a majorty export market. The 10-20% different are then branded as outlier, weird exceptions.
So says this A+ rh? blooded.
My Mom would corrode all metal watch cases and bands. Kill all didgetal watches. Tick-tick quartz and wind up s OK on a plastic band.
Me? I’m fine with all of theses. But will react and blister with any plastic band. Leather/metals OK.
My points?
Commercially offered up solution had better be as broadly tested out for the widest range of users.
This is a must for rubber boots, comercial airplanes and such.
Wood-for-heat. Wood-for-power. The actual Operator part of it is of such critical importance that, that factor alone is the real base-critical qualifying factor for useabilty.
No matter how many complexities stacked on; and Auto dumbing-downers systems failures points layered on . . . . the user problems will only be made worse.
Woodgasifires are not slip on and wear rubber boots.
And 10 forums later and far too manny books and publications read I have ONLY seen this Operator expernces training and real-use advices availble on the Drive On Wood Premium side.
Because? Only there are the Operator/Users who have had the hundereds/thousands of hours of failures-to sucesses exprences and willing to share about them.
Aint about any friggin’ idealizes system!! WK, or Imbert, Brant, or GEK, Drizzler, BenP variant.
This was NOT what the Premium side was set up to promote. It was set up to get the serious DOers willing to contribute just enough $'s to pay to keep an interactive collection of DOers, Doing, and exchanging about it. Experiences-Useing progressing forward.
Free-for-all, no-commitment woodgas builds-a-better-world fantisizing has been the real dissapoinment IMHO.
“Free!” you do get what you were willing to pay for. Pay bucks and you’d better get something.
Premiun side memberships and you get a lot. That Lot is in the actual users experiences.
Complexity-makers; Fantasy-makers-for-others, will not be itch-scratched there. Entertainment Ohh-Rah seekers, not entertained. Only the truly get hand dirty, Operating under loaded power making catered too.
S.U.
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Ahhh, Steve, I do love your comments,always have, but at first there
was a, “who the hell is this guy” knee jerk reaction, ha, ha. All in a
good natured way.
I truly hope to meet you in person one day. I know, I know, I’ll be 78 on
10-04, better get my ass out to Washington soon. Steve will you send me
your address in a private email? I thought I had it at one point, but I
can’t put my hands on it. Thanks.
Pepe
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Happy Easter to all, please remember what Christ has done for us.
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Hi back Mr Pepe;
Life has long ago taught me on the really difficult things to use an “oblique approach”.
Big 44" to 56" DF round cut off’s from the tall tree butt level can easily gobble up pounded sunk-in 4-5 steel wedges and Still not break down to man handle weight pieces if bulled into trying to brute force them.
Then trying to move a stubborn cow, or hog, or even run-away dog . . . . got’s to side-wise sidled up to the problem.
Getting once-operating, now non-operating engines and systems back to operating and producing . . .
Observe the best-gain points, and work it from there.
Social/group dynamics are the same-same.
Some of what I had put up was due to Net-smack fed-back to me about a certain fellow recently bad-talking the DOW as being an exclusive topics limiting buy-in club. He was corrected on this. He still remains a smartest man in the room, a.h., geek.
Visiting me?
Not much to see. Chickens. Dogs. Cats. And an old; part remaining farm, being one side Urban enveloped.
Once I turn a page; I typically give away distribute out all physical stuff previous to the needing/will-use/will-befit and move on clean to the next endeavor. So . . .other than one disassembled, and hidden in plain sight gasifier and a couple of inverter-generators here not much “woodgasifiaction” to see here. That system can be seen operating in many of BenP,s 2009-2011 videos. Parts I own now I diid photo picture up up on the previous DOW platform that supported a site’s members photo’s album.
Books have been gifted forward. Project evolved parts, unrecognizable, re-purposed. I do not personally support a physically “mistakes” museum. Physical, or photo. Never been an Ohh-Rah expected to be continuously entertained, cultures addict. And refuse to be the Ohh-Rah early-age-yourself, stunting, entertainer.
Want to talk to the real me?
The two Interviewing Steve Unruh youtube videos that Ben Peterson put up a couple of years ago. I spoke from the heart in those. I spoke not in struggled-universal-written English, but my true local-yokel. Ha! Ha! Why they cc translate so poorly.
I will PM you again my physical address ‘cause I still have yours.
I add my personal cell number. They say I still sound OK on the phone. (just jabber a bit too fast, steppin’ on your sentences . . . damn medication)
Regards
Steve Unruh
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The world of economics is my great interest for the last 11 years. The Central Banks pumped money into the stock and bond markets. This free money went everywhere. Over the years, the fracking business lost more than $200 billion. It was free money but, just the same, Wall Street is pulling out.
SHALE STOCK LOSES 99% OF ITS VALUE: Investor Warning For The Future Of The Industry?
We reached cheap-peal-oil years ago. Free FED money is subsidising our fuel consumption, at least for those who can’t DOW.
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Hey Mr Pepe,
Another problem many folks have with my delivery style is that I do not believe in any Absolutes.
And that I do religiously practice Balance in all things.
Fencing building; politics; usable things building and developing; there are no absolutes beyond insisted on contrived ones.
It’s all pretty flexible squishy out in the Real.
Is a real rough and tumble mostly.
Now Balance is something that we make with efforts. Not a natural thing. A purpose made condition to achieve. More constant work to maintain.
Name me any much ballyhooed Absolute and with just one changeable condition factor and I can point out your Absolutely/Always/Never-Ever is forced tilt-fall-over onto it’s ear.
And to Balance I’ve many times been forced to swing hard quickly onto the other side of many boats.
Maybe I’ll vote for a Republican candidate on one election cycle. A Democrat candidate for the same job, the next cycle.
I vote Libertarian candidate in the last US presidential. He was at least a westerner. And to show the big two arrogant parties, you do not, and never will own me and the true Independents.
In the 70’s I was considered an Eco-freak. Did eat yogurt and fruits. Still do. Ha! Today I am called a red-necked carbons promoter. Burn wood. Eat meats, tree nuts, grains gluten’s, meats and eggs. I did back then too. Ha! Coffee/black tea caffeine’s added has been the only real change. Never then. More and more daily now to stir the brain cells. No sin-taxes on these caffeine’s in WA State!
Only Believers, believing give any power to silliness’s.
No one-for-all is ever practical; or usable; or healthy; for everyone.
Nasty human nature thing trying to force everyone to bow-down pray to the same god, or gods, prophets, philosophers, thinkers, expounders, Leaders.
Real life is constant flux change, re-balancing, re-adjusting.
Not all want to be Roman Catholics, Buddhists, Muslims or any other declared formal.
Not all want to be atheist socialists soviets Marxists/Leninists/Stalinist/Maoist/Castro-ist either.
It is just flat wrong to think that there are absolutes in the wood-for-power pursuits.
So I do intentionally nose-tweek and point out when any self-declared Emperors of Woodgasification is standing naked requiring us to Believe, bow down and overlook their naked stoopids. Absolutes easily see-do proven as wrong in woodstove using daily for real.
“Wood Sweats for the Truths” (TruthS are many, non-exclusive. The eat the elephant one bite at a time approchers get sicken by the fly-egged rotting meats before the job is ever done.)
S.U.
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Shucks. I’ve finally been able to work my bicycling conditioning up to be able to do the 3 thrre miles of solid 3-5% grade up the the two Weyerhaueser forest road gates.Then their Net recreation site applying finding out that they will issue no more forest roads non-motorized access permits until July 15th for this area.
So . . . have to vehicle drive the mountain bike the south, than east five miles; or the eight northeast pavements mile to get to the National forest road systems. Up here anymore on the narrow county two lane, no shoulders, deep drainage ditches black tops bicycling is just too damn dangerous imho.
Also . . . so what to do with the $75. usd I’d saved back for the Weyerhaueser permit?
A new wider 3.0" (75mm) back tire?
Or a wood-for-power development?
S.U.
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A little over a year ago, I broke my ring finder and unfortunately it healed with a slight twist. This is my fret hand and severely effects playing my guitar. I have to wrap electrical tape around this finger to pull it in to land in the right place. But even so its a bit uncomfortable and I still can play like I used too. So I decided to go left hand and since I build gasifier systems for a living and can not afford a left hand guitar that is worth buying: Im building one instead!!
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Great guitar. Here is mike Dawes to show you how simple it is to play.
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Hendrix was left handed and played a right handed guitar.
I broke my wrist several years ago, I can’t play for very long without my wrist hurting.
Did you take a luthier classes?
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