How I built an electricity producing Solar Panel Several years ago I bought some remote property in Arizona. I am an astronomer and wanted a place to practice my hobby far away from the sky-wrecking light pollution found near cities of any real size. In my attempt to escape city slicker yuppies (you know the kind, the ones that like to blab loudly on their cell phone while they work on some business administration degree in a cyber cafe somewhere in Trendyland.) and their light pollution, I found a great piece of remote property. The problem is, it's so remote that there is no electric service available. That's not really a problem. No electricity equals no light pollution. I built a wind turbine to provide some power on the remote property. Here is a video of the solar panel set up and in use on my remote, off-grid property. Let me state up front that I probably won't be able to help you out much if you decide to build your own solar panel(s). So what is a solar panel anyway? After a while, I came to some conclusions: seller. Oops!
Build a 15,000 rpm Tesla Turbine using hard drive platters Here's a project that uses some of those dead hard drives you've got lying around. In the Tesla Turbine, air, steam, oil, or any other fluid is injected at the edge of a series of smooth parallel disks. The fluid spirals inwards and is exhausted through ventilation ports near the center of the disks. A regular blade turbine operates by transferring kinetic energy from the moving fluid to the turbine fan blades. To build a turbine like this, you need some dead hard drives, some stock material (aluminum, acrylic), a milling machine with a rotary table, and a lathe with a 4 jaw chuck. Wikipedia has a good review article ( as well as articles about Nikola Tesla the boundary layer effect ( and Reynolds number ( (which determines if the fluid flow is laminar or turbulent).
Laying out the Building Lines For Your Natural Building « Natural Living School Site Preparation After you select your site, and have a plan and design for your building, then you are ready for site preparation. The first thing to do is make sure you clear the site where the building will be located. This means removal of trees, shrubs, large rocks, stumps, or anything that may be in the way of the construction. If there is a lot of plant life, you may choose to transplant it, or if it’s just grasses you may just mow it down or weed whack it. If you are planning on having a living roof, you could use the top soil and the plants on your roof, as long as they don’t require lots of space for deep roots. Laying Out The Building Lines For the purpose of keeping things simple, lets look at two options. For a round structure; First, pound a stake deep in the ground where you want the center of your building to be. The trench for a round Sauna we worked on in Aurora Or. Then remove the top soil and set aside for future use. Batter Board Diagram for your Natural Building
DIY Vertical Garden | How To Start | Gardening Tips ‘n Ideas A DIY Vertical Garden Example Ever since coming across Patrick Blanc’s vertical garden I’ve been interested to observe how this technology might transform the home gardening scene. I mean, it’s only a matter of time before we begin running out room for gardens to grow on a horizontal plane. For most home gardeners the concept isn’t a new one. The reason: Whereas all our other vertical gardening exploits centred around plants being grounded in the soil, the vertical garden has absolutely no dependency on the ground. But for most home gardeners, Patrick Blanc and his artworks are far beyond the comprehension and resources available to them. However, as we have already experienced with increasing gas prices our conservative views of the world may need to change. So, here’s a challenge for us all – myself included. A few helpful links to get your DIY Vertical Garden started The basics of a DIY Vertical Garden The frame is basically the support for the vertical garden. Conclusion
How I built an electricity producing wind turbine Several years ago I bought some remote property in Arizona. I am an astronomer and wanted a place to practice my hobby far away from the sky-wrecking light pollution found near cities of any real size. I found a great piece of property. The problem is, it's so remote that there is no electric service available. That's not really a problem. One thing I noticed right away about my property is that most of the time, the wind is blowing. Let me state up front that I probably won't be able to help you out much if you decide to build your own wind turbine. Since no one seems to be reading the FAQ, I will answer the No. 1 question I get many, many times a day right here up front. Update: Here is a video of the wind turbine in operation. Update: Here is a video of me assembling and setting up the wind turbine on my remote off-grid property. I started the process of designing my wind turbine by Googling for information on home-built wind turbines. . Finally!
DIY Solar Still How To Make Your Own Distilled Water Make your own distilled water from stream or lake water, salt water, or even brackish, dirty water, using these DIY Solar Still Plans. With just a few basic building materials, a sheet of glass and some sunshine, you can purify your own water at no cost and with minimal effort. Distilled water is not just for drinking, and it’s always worth keeping a few gallons of it on hand. Clean water free of chemicals and minerals has a number of valuable uses: • Always refill the lead-acid batteries used for solar energy systems or automobiles with distilled water • Water delicate plants like orchids with distilled water; minerals and additives like fluoride or chlorine that are present in most tap water can harm plants • Distilled water mixed with antifreeze is recommended for car radiators, as it’s less corrosive • Steam irons become clogged with mineral deposits unless you use distilled water How to Make a Solar Still The operation of the distiller is simple. 1.
DIY IKEA Shelf In-Home Aquaponics - Planted Space Dubbed "Malthus," this Ikea-hacked project by Conceptual Devices pieces together a 100g fish tank, plastic grow beds, a pump and piping onto an IKEA Broder shelf, with wheels. Malthus is designed to be an in-home unit, and to grow one meal a day, a portion of fish with a side of salad. If you don't know yet, aquaponics is basically hydroponics + fish in a sustainable loop. Forming the width of two small refrigerators, this in-home aquaponics system is designed for "the next generation kitchen or living room," hoping to grow food right next to where you cook it. All elements of the unit can be found in home improvement stores, the shelf and structure are from IKEA, the water pump, LED strips, mechanical timer, and tubing can be found readily in any retail chain. Malthus #01 was built late last year for the Nordic Environmental Social Sciences Conference, and now sits in the Zurich office of Conceptual Devices. Have your own DIY aquaponics setup you'd like to share with us?
How to Turn a Pallet into a Garden Good news and bad news. I had planned to film a short video showing you how to make a pallet garden, but the weather didn’t cooperate. I was stapling the landscape fabric onto the pallet when it started drizzling and got really windy. So keep reading my pallet loving friends, instructions on how to make your own pallet garden are just a few lines away… Find a Pallet The first thing you need to do is–obviously–find a pallet. Don’t just take the first pallet you find. Collect Your Supplies For this project, you’ll need the pallet you found, 2 large bags of potting soil, 16 six packs of annual flowers (one six pack per opening on the face of the pallet, and two six packs per opening on the top of the completed pallet garden), a small roll of landscape fabric, a staple gun, staples, and sand paper. Get Your Pallet into Shape Once you’ve dragged your pallet home, give it a once over. Let the Stapling Begin! Lay the pallet face down. Now for the sides. Now for the Fun Part–Planting!