Welcome to:
Homestead System Specifications!
The Solar System!
Although the industry standard seems to be moving toward large inverters with AC wiring through out the house, I still like our approach matching voltage selection to appropriate tasks. We do this using a small inverter with battery charging capabilities and a generator (converted to propane).These coupled with a moderately sized battery bank and 12 50w solar electric panels (and associated charge controllers) allow us the flexibility to respond to energy use in ways that fit our lifestyle.Some things require little electricity and perform better on DC circuits. Fluorescence lights for example operate flicker free using DC. TV, VCR's, computers and small appliances use small amounts of AC, which the inverter can supply. Washing Machines, Microwaves, and power tools use considerably more and warrant starting the generator.
Since we always seem to have dirty clothes when electric use exceeds stored electric reserves we simply start the generator, do a load of laundry or two and charge the batteries at the same time. Right now while I'm typing this on our computer my sons are playing Nintendo and the inverter is not getting warm. (a sign of energy loss!) Heavier loads make our poor little inverter hum, buzz or heat up depending on just how heavy they are. It is these loads we rely on the generator to provide power for.
Refrigeration is provided by a Sunfrost 12 volt refrigerator/freezer.
'06 We retired our sunfrost and now have a propane refrigerator.
| I've just cleaned the snow off the upper solar panels! | |
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The upper solar electric panels get snow covered,
but the ones that go across the front rarely get covered up!
The Glazed unit centered in front of the lower solar electric panels is the This unit has been through temperatures of 28 degrees (F) below zero! |
Getting Into Hot Water!
Again we seem to be out of sinc with the rest of the world! Our hot water is supplied by a Copper Cricket, a passive solar hot water heater. Able to initiate thermo-siphoning, it requires nothing but sun and water to operate. Unfortunately this company went out of business, due to loss of product endorsement, I believe. The unit we have incorporates an isolated non-freezing fluid in the external roof collector, which has withstood temperatures of 28 below zero! The vacuum tube models that got the endorsements freeze up in extended periods of frigid weather, according to my sources.In our locality the fall is often quite rainy, with extended periods of overcast skies. We utilize an on demand gas water heater to augment hot water production during cloudy weather.
Celebrating a much maligned creature!
America seems to be the land of rumor and innuendo and the goat has has been the butt of many unfair decrees. It seems to me that the dairy industry expends a lot of energy trying to make cow's milk resemble goat's milk natural state!We have been keeping goats for the better part of 25 years. Lately there has an increased interest in some of the soft cheeses goat's milk is so revered for. My lovely wife, Danette, makes feta, ricotta, and fromage blanc. Many people don't make it home with the cheeses we give them because they manage to consume a couple pounds on the way home!
Well here it is March 14 1998! The last week in Febuary ten goats were born here on the farmette. One older doe died after delivering a little doe-goat. Her last hurrah. The baby doe is nursing on a beer bottle and doing well.
| Here's Little Orphan Annie at about 45 days | |
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Annie's been real patient with us and has nursed on her beer bottle regardless
of what we put in it. She's been given goat milk, store bought milk, powered milk, and lamb's
replacement milk, all of which disappeared without comment. Notice how the Black Cat makes Annie look like she's casting an extra shadow! |
Bovine Ramblins!
Also in the mix on our place are a couple of jersey milk cows! When we first got Bessie we thought we'd be making cheddar cheese But both our day jobs got more demanding shortly after we made our second cheese. So after she freshened and we had made a couple cheeses we decided to buy an extra calf for her to nurse! You can pay a lot for a baby calf. Or you can buy a breed no one else is interested in. It seems that dairies often sell their bull calves shortly after birth Well when I went to the dairy they had three bull calves and said they were $35 or three for $100. So as we had lots of goats milk at the time I went ahead and got three! Danette having nursed our two boys thought it was too much but Bessie seemed to handle it pretty well! After a couple weeks she was even licking them (a sign of ownership). Marketing them has been somewhat disappointing but we're not in for the money. Good thing too!Well Lucy had a heifer last night!(Sept 15,1997) It seems like she and the Bull must have finally gotten together just before we took him to the butcher's. He took his first and last truck ride on December 17 and Lucy gave birth to a heifer on September 15, almost nine months to the day!
This past spring ('99)Helen (the above mentioned) heifer had a bull calf in early April I believe. She occassionally lets one of the extra bull calves we bought for the other two cows nurse on her too.
Organic Gardening!
Catch as catch can best describes our gardening in the last few years! Rock Phosphate, Dolimitic Lime, and Green Sand, Composted Manures(of all sorts!), Wall-a waters, and Remay crop covers are all occasionally used with mixed results!Organic Farming!
By an extreme stretch of the term "Farming" we include this section! More to come!Organic Website Manufacturing!
Rarely content to sit and watch others I've been learning some HTML, updating my silly little page and making other little pages. To many it probably seems frivolous, but as I'm becoming intolerant of much of the dust and fumes associated with conventional building techniques, I thought it prudent to diversify and see if there is a market for a
There does seem to be some interest but mostly for freebies so far! As I don't have much experience one would expect this but some of the pages I've made don't look too bad, although with the small amount of surfing I've done I'm certainly not fully aware of what's out there. I have a copy of HotDog 2(a HTML editor) but I write most of my HTML using Notepad, practicing what I've recently learned from the online HTML tutorial I'm studying. So what you see is bound to improve!
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Here I am at the Library checking on the status of a web page. Note: I'm sitting in front of one of the shelving units I helped manufacture, deliver and install! |
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| Some of the websites I've been posting! Sheer volume counts for very little! (individual documents posted):
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I'm actually getting paid for The Pocahontas Times, Recordorium.com and Power Communication's west coast site!
About 10 paying clients. With more in the wings and works.
Strange but true!
Co-existing with an in-house (occasionally) Mid-wife!
This is undoubtedly my greatest challenge!
Perhaps I'll have time to explain later!Living with a high school sophomore !
Not to be sniffed at either! Matt has been playing in most of his high school soccer team's games so far this season! If he can keep his grades up he may continue to do so.'06 -Matt has been attending a communtiy college in Lewisburg and is planning on transfering to WVU
Our baby!
Oh won't he be tickled to see himself referred to this way! Clay is in seventh grade and is proving to be quite good on the soccer pitch too!'06 Clay has been attending WVU and is currently in Korea for a semester.
Oddly enough he appeared on a Korean sit com shortly after his arrival'molater
Mike
(poke me in the eye to return to:)
Mike's Solar Homepage
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Orange Blossom Special