Posted on 10/25/2011 9:07:37 PM PDT by blam
You’re more than welcome, and I appreciate the information in your post from knowledge, experience and different conditions from mine (off-grid, high elevation, sunny, extreme cold, no trees, windy). I wrote a glaring error, however. I also misunderstood “langley” the first time and now might understand (shading instead of lack of sun days?).
I mentioned drying as being expensive with propane (my error). It’s not, really, because of the short duration of usage in a day. Water heating can be (frequency of usage, lack of insulation and thermal mass). I loosely figured propane usage for various home utilities.
Cooking doesn’t use much—maybe less than 4 gallons (< 20 lbs.) per month, unless much baking is done. Water heating is a culprit at 30 gallons or more of propane per month for about three people. ...probably more. That’s with a common water heater. A much more well insulated water heating tank would help propane to go much further.
Here’s the reason for bringing up propane storage and tanks. A thousand gallons of propane used only for cooking might go about eight years or more. Water heating will take a big bite out of that and reduce the period to less than three years.
Because of your mention of drying and my rethinking, I might also go with a propane dryer. We probably won’t be using propane for refrigeration (electric with Sundanzer freezer and fridge instead) and won’t use an electric range, dryer, coffeemaker or water well pump—a gravity-fed water system w/ pump and cistern over 400 ft. up the hill from the power plant. The well pump is AC with generator now (not too bad w/ the cistern) but will use a slower pump powered by a small solar plant in the future (more than a lot of sun days here and savings on plant-to-pump power line).
After doing most other things for energy, we’ll probably go for a propane backup generator here. Propane lasts virtually indefinitely, although generator maintenance should also be considered. It might be used once, twice or never here, and fuel storage longevity is key. If we were to need a generator more frequently or for more than a year or two, I would go with diesel for sure (less engine maintenance but with shorter fuel stability than propane, longer than gasoline).
Thanks for your link to the BatteryMINDer—great for grid-tie systems (most systems) and will keep batteries charged until needed. For off-grid, I’ll suggest the following for those who sometimes see days of clouds (different purpose). Off-grid systems are always charging batteries on sunny days (not an advantage over grid-tied systems).
http://www.solar-electric.com/pomax12vo45a.html
Various models up to 100 amps of charging and does bulk, absorb and float modes. But all who are off-grid and need more charging, go with more PV modules now, while you can get them relatively cheap.
You have a beautiful place, BTW, and you certainly earned it, mentor. Well done so far. I need to get camera batteries but will get a website and post some pics later on, along with some DIY-er stuff and test and weather data promised to others.
As for security, yes. I’ll try to get some info together on DIY, low-cost, automatic camera systems, too (the kind that upload to remote servers w/ software motion detection and the like).
Bump for later reading.
Selco, I have a question. I was stationed in Sarajevo around 1995. I was with the US Army. While I was stationed in Sarajevo I developed skin problems, can you tell me if there were problems with skin problems with others in Bosnia? I still have the problem and no one can do anything about it. ALso, I loved the country and wish I could move there. Can you tell me what has changed in the country since 1995?
MOstar was very small when I was stationed with the US Army back in 1995. Perhaps I didn’t see the whole area but Mejegorie was huge..mostly catholic population. THat was the only place that wasn’t shot up. I travelled all over Bosnia handing out supplies to the Spook Houses.
I don 't like them either...But I'm not descriminating I'll own Romanian, Soviet or Yugo, because my government made sure the mexican cartel got them pretty much for free.
Click on the link in post #2...that may lead back to him...I don't know.
Mostar was a city of 50-60,000 at the time of the siege from what I have seen. Weird, the online “sources” (yes,like Wiki) say Mejegorie is a small villages.
Back to Mostar, there are documentaries about it online you can watch like “Unfinished business”.
You can try contacting him at the original forum:
http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=189395
Again, thanks.
Jo!
ping for later
Add me to prepper ping also please
Ping for later.
Thanks for the post!
My brother says that this may be made up - that there are a number of bloggers that say it is and none that verify the story. Do you know? And if so, how?
It’s useful info in any case.
Bump
bflr
ping
Thanks!
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