30x40 Earth Berm Passive Solar in Maine

Started by Bishopknight, October 13, 2008, 09:33:23 AM

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Pritch

Quote from: Bishopknight on May 12, 2009, 05:35:24 AM
I assume you mean the the pex-alum-pex Pritch. Yes you're right, I cant use my regular pex in the actual heater.

Nope, actually I was referring to the 1" polystyrene insulation.  Solar Gary warned against using this in the panels or in the tank.  The other poly-whatsit had a much higher heat tolerance. 

Looking good. 

-- Pritch
"The problem with quotes from the internet is that they're not always accurate." -- Abraham Lincoln

drainl

Love that red stove!  We aren't having much luck with the Craigslist in our area. 


Dog

OMG! I can't believe how much work you get done so fast flying solo! Your house is coming out amazing. That red stove is so cool!

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with this endeavor. It is so helpful seeing how much is involved with this type of project and the creative ways it can be done cost effectively!
The wilderness is a beautiful thing for the soul. Live free or die.

EcoHeliGuy

BK are you still planing to keep us up to date on cost? Have you lost track yet?

I think we all understand its pretty personal, but we like to see a good deal too.

sjdehner

I sincerely admire your hard work. It took Jamie and I nearly two years to get where we are with our house with help along the way. But there are things that in retrospect we'd like to have done ourselves (and will do next time around if we build again).

It's inspiring to see you doing some of these other tasks on your own. I was impressed when I saw you doing your own site work - very impressed indeed!

Keep up the good work and keep posting!

shawn (and jamie)
"Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do" -Wendell Berry


Bishopknight

Thanks Dog. Thats really nice of you to say  ;D

McBane. Heres a best guess cost estimate. Note that tool costs and appliances are not included but make up a good portion of cost.

FOUNDATION
$5000 - foundation ( all costs )
--------------------------------------------
$5000

EXTERIOR WALLS
$1700 - cement blocks, rebar and cement for U-block channel
$300 - Quicrete Structured Bonding Cement
$1000 - exterior framing lumber, plywood & tyvek
$1250 - windows
$400 - labor
---------------------------------------------
$4650

ROOF
$2400 - trusses
$900 - roof sheathing
$1500 - shingles
$200 - roof tool rental
$2000 - labor
---------------------------------------------
$7000

INTERIOR FRAMING
$1100 - R38 attic insulation / strapping
$350 - R19 wall insulation / plastic
$1200 - interior framing wood
$600 - labor
---------------------------------------------
$3250

PLUMBING / ELECTRIC / VARIOUS
$2500 - all electrical costs, including hookup
$500 - Cat5e / Coax / Speaker wire / panel / router / leviton quikport connectors / hdmi cable / av cable / ceiling speakers
$1000 - Drain Waste Vent / Pex plumbing
$200 - Panasonic bathroom fan-light vent
$300 - Labor
---------------------------------------------
$4500

FINISH WORK
$1200 - Drywall
$150 - 10 buckets of Senco Automatic Drywall Screws
$200 - Drywall compound / tape / knockdown mix
$550 - 7, 30" Doors w/ jambs, no trim
$100 - Interior Door knobs
$150 - 36" Fiberglass Entry door
$50   - Entry door Brushed Nickel Entry Handle Set
$700 - Baseboard, door & window trim
$400 - Window hardware and Screens
$300 - labor
$200 - storm / screen door
$1000 - cedar shingling & stain
$300 - Bathroom vanity & toilet
$300 - Bath tile and shower door
$2000 - Kitchen cabinets
---------------------------------------------
$7600

Grand Total
$32,600

P.S: Flooring is not decided / included yet

EcoHeliGuy

Nicely done.

Gives me an Idea for my 30X50 house I'm planing.

I would have to kill someone to get that good of a deal i think.  ???

Bishopknight

Thanks McBane,

Its far from done and I probably forgot a few things but thats the basic raw material and labor cost for the house itself. Having my own backhoe saved me ALOT of money on the foundation and will on the septic and drainfield. It saved me on the driveway and trench for electrical and water as well. I've probably recouped $20,000 of the $25,000 dollar investment in the Backhoe already.

EcoHeliGuy

Have you thought about just staining your concert floors?

I have seen where people have laid tape down before applying the acid, to make the look of grout lines.


Bishopknight

McBane,

When we poured the foundation, we didn't have the tools we needed to make a perfectly flat surface at the time so we went with a brush stroke rough surface. I don't know if I can pour another layer of cement on top of that and then finish it the way you're talking about. I was just figuring wood and tile floors at some point.

Btw, for those interested in Solar power, I found really well priced AGM ( Absorbant Glass Mat ) Batteries at Northeast Battery in Auburn Ma. I'm a big fan of AGM because of its safer characteristics and hassle free maintenance. Heres their prices:

134 AH, 12v battery = $195 ea    ( $1.45 per AH, $3 total savings over 2 below )
100 AH, 12v battery = $148 ea    ( $1.48 per AH )
88   AH, 12v battery = $131 ea    ( $1.48 per AH )

I already have 4, 88 AH AGM, 12v batteries so I'm looking to add to my bank cost effectively. I'm not sure if adding newer batteries to an older bank is smart or not, but I'm figuring if I ran a 24v system and added one new one to each parallel bank, it probably wouldn't hurt. I'll do additional research.

Northeast Battery
240 Washington Street
Auburn, Massachusetts 01501
United States
Telephone: 508-832-2700 or 800-441-8824
Fax: 508-832-2706
Email: sales@northeastbattery.com
Web Site: http://www.northeastbattery.com

Mike 870

From everything I have read, adding new batteries to an old bank is not a good thing to do.  Never tried it myself though.

MountainDon

Quote from: Bishopknight on May 15, 2009, 11:31:54 AM

I already have 4, 88 AH AGM, 12v batteries so I'm looking to add to my bank cost effectively. I'm not sure if adding newer batteries to an older bank is smart or not

I agree with Mike, everything I've read states that adding batteries to a system that has been in service for a year or more is NOT a good idea. The older batteries will drag the performance of the newer batteries down to their level.

I doubt that it matters if you introduce one new battery to each series string or simply make new parallel strings. It's like inserting a rusty partially clogged pipe into a water system.
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

glenn kangiser

I have heard that adding more within a year does not matter much.

I have 5 year old, 4 year old, 3 year old and 4 months old all working together.  I am going to eventually break each parallel group of batteries out with switches to separate them as a group. Currently I unbolt a buss bar or cable as necessary.

I have recently read that it is best to equalize with them completely off of the system and it matches with my equipment.  I equalize with a DC welder.  Separating them out to equalize will prevent damage to sensitive electronics.

I think it is best to have groups of parallel batteries be of the same age  but if all are up to equalization every so often and SG will come up decent I think they will work - likely not ideal but doable.  This is where good care of the oindividual groups will help - wish I was better at it and gave the batteries the time they deserve. d*
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

Glenn's Underground Cabin  http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=151.0

Please put your area in your sig line so we can assist with location specific answers.

Bishopknight

I should either stick with them or sell them and start over then.

Thanks Glenn and Don


MaineRhino

If you decide to sell, I may be interested. I may need some advice too!

Do you deliver?   :)

Dog

Hey Bk... would you ever consider building a cave? I agree with you about the JD. That is gold. Congrats on a wise decision. You can totally plow in the winter for starters and build AWESOME caves!  ;D

The house looks great. Sorry to hear about having to dig up the rock garden. In future years the garden will be perfect with all that good light! Maybe even this year.

All this Solar stuff seems complicated. It's good to know though. It seems to keep on changing. Hopefully it will catch on.



The wilderness is a beautiful thing for the soul. Live free or die.

Bishopknight

#391
Sure Troy, if I buy those new batteries I'll let you know. Probably wont be right away though.

Dog,
LOL, You mean like this guy?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem=&item=330306913609&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:US:1123

I guess I'd actually consider it if I had a 15,000 sq ft cave  ;D

Btw, I drew a diagram of my plumbing system. If anyone thinks I'm missing something important or has some suggestions, feel free to speak up. Btw, I'm using platforms so I can put everything into a small space that minimizes 90 degree bends. P.S: There will also be valves on the passive batch water heater as well.


MountainDon

I'm interested in knowing how you are going to connect the passive heater into the propane fueled water heater tank, given that the propane comes with only a standard cold, hot and drain.



eems to me the cold water pipe should go to the passive. The warmed water from the passive should enter the propane tank via the cold. Plus there should be a bypass loop with (ball) valves to isolate the passive in cold weather.

OR, is the passive system heating water/glycol and using a heat transfer coil to warm the potable water?

I guess there are many possibilities.
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

Bishopknight

Aha, you stumped me. I haven't figured that part out yet. Actually I'm hoping to plumb everything except for the water heater this weekend.

I thought i had seen a few water heaters that allow for passive batch heating, but honestly i need to look more into it. But your right it may just be a copper loop you fill with antifreeze or glycol.


EcoHeliGuy

In my set up, I will have an insulated water tank with heat exchanger in it, the cold water enters this first, heated by the glycol, then leaves the tank and enters the tankless water heater on its way to the faucet, hot sunny day the tankless heater might not even trip on. ::)


MountainDon

If you do use a glycol loop it has to be propylene glycol, the non toxic more expensive stuff.   Ditto on in floor radiant heat systems, IIRC.
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

Bishopknight

#396
This vacation weekend I was determined to get the pump working and pressurizing water for me so I could test the pex lines. As someone with no prior plumbing experience, its been hard trying to learn how to design a freeze proof water supply system from scratch. Hopefully my diagrams and pictures will help some other DIYer.

In these 2 pictures you can see that I have a black arcing poly tube. Prior to placing that, I had a series of 90 degree PVC elbows causing friction for the flow. This rework definitely helps cut down on friction, especially using a 1/2 HP shallow well jet pump.


I actually got up to 37 psi pressure in the system, enough to start testing the cold water pex. There were 2 places it was leaking. A the drop elbows of the bathroom faucets. The good news is that every copper crimping never leaked once. It impressed me that pex was that waterproof ( at 37 psi mind you ). Either way, I am running the supply line 200 feet horizontally from the well so I probably have some air pockets in it that are stopping me from continuously pumping water. It was frustrating because I poured about 6 hrs into it and only had some success.


I did a lot of drywalling, as shown below. As well as some taping and bedding ( starting in closets first ). This took the majority of my time and the taping and bedding will definitely take more time as well. I'm probably 90% done hanging drywall.






















I also had something break on my backhoe this weekend. While I was using the machine, I suddenly heard a loud hissing sound and looked out and saw purple hydraulic fluid spraying out from below the backhoe. I shut down the machine and after some manual reading and diagnosis, I believe either one of the hoses or the valve to the stabilizer arms sprung a leak. I'm hoping its only a hose. The valve would be expensive. Either way its not a fun repair.

HomeschoolMom

You made my morning!  Of course, my fam thinks I am nuts as I was singing, "BK has an update..." d* 
Michelle
Homeschooling Mom to Two Boys
Married to Jason, Self Employed

Wanting an earth bermed hybrid timberframe...just need some inheritance  ;)  Will never have another mortgage again!

Bishopknight

Wait till you see some of the videos I took.   I'll upload them tonight.

Btw, anyone is free to use my concrete block & plank furniture designs  ;D

speedfunk

#399
The bench is pretty damn awsome!  Esp the custom screw driver holder  [cool]

Yeah some days are frustrating right.  At least the plumbing is coming along.  I know what you mean about being on the low end of the learning curve.  I went today to find 2" HDPE black poly pipe for the spring to the spot where I'm going to need the water for the concrete.  Well, try to find 2" poly pipe!  Finally after a good portion of today and a good 3 or 4 hours the other day I found an industrial / commerical wholesaler who sold it and had it in stock ..woot.  He says you want a ball valve , I say um..what are the options and what is a ball valve lol.  What i've found nice about dealing with these guys (along with electric supply company) is that he gave me every connection piece and was very knowledgable.  He sold better quality 160psi (compare to 100 psi, the stuff lowes sold)

Ah can't wait till the pex stuff like you've done.  Special tools etc lol. I've used pex though before and it's really nice.  I did some homework also very safe drinking as well.  Also congrats on all that drywall.  Keep us up to date with how the water is going.