Purchased a 16X20 cabin. Lots of questions.

Started by KN, February 20, 2006, 05:40:50 PM

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KN

Hi all. I finally just closed the deal on this nice little cabin out in the woods and I have a ton of questions and things I want to pick your minds about.

Its 16X20.  It has a propane powered fridge and stove. No heat other than what you bring with you. It's wired it for 120 and also 12 volt. The old owners used a 12v deep cycle battery to power a couple lights and a fan while they were up there.

The cabin is not completely finished yet. I still need to put up some more pine paneling and insulation inside and finish the boxing in the roof edges. It has a shower room but no plumbing at all yet.

The longest duration I will be up there is maybe a week at a time a couple times a year. Other than that I will only be staying on weekends every now and then when I can find time.

I don't think I am going to spend the large amount of money it will take to get power ran up the hill to it just yet. So that leaves me with the 12v power. I still would like to get the shower up and running though. And I need a good heat source.

Options I have looked at for the shower are 12v hand showers they sell on ebay for around 30 bucks. Or a more permanent 12 volt RV water pump. I am not sure how much drain these will have on my one battery that I will be charging at home and bringing up with me?

I have a Honda 2000 watt generator that I can use to recharge it but that could become a pain if I have to do it all the time. I can try to catch rain water or dig a well or put in a cistern but since I won't be up there all the time that may be over kill. I could just haul up a 12-15 gallons of water when I go?


For heat I have a propane powered Bigbuddy heater. I could tie it into the system that is already there. I have used it in my shed when doing work and it puts out some good heat. It says it safe for indoors but I am not so sure about that? Anyone know how safe they are for indoors?  I have also been looking into a wood stove for heat.








KN

#1
Here is a pic of it. Needs deck too huh?



jwv

Congratulations, it's a cool place :bhumbsup Where is it?  judy

glenn-k

#3
When I had a service truck with a shower in it I carried a rectangular 40 gallon tank of water - I used the RV water pump and had a welder/generator for power.

Don't forget that there is a battery and charging system in whatever you drive up there too for emergencies - a bit hard on the charging system if done a lot though.  An inverter can get you 120v from 12v and a big one will also have a charger built in for charging the battery of of the generator.

I only use a 3000 watt back up generator here and run the house on it when there is no solar or wind however I do have a large battery bank that I charge with it.

If one battery is not enough you could step up to 2.  You can get 12v 105 to 115 AH fairly easily.  Keep them on a trickle charger when not in use for long periods of time or they will get sulfated and likely go bad.

Here is some information - I learned a lot from this site.
http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ_Index.htm


tjm73

#4
Nice little cabin.  8-)

I'd just run the Honda generator when you want 120V power, which would allow you to use all the electric things you are used to useing.  Maybe have a couple Coleman lanterns for back up.  My brother has a Coleman 4 or 6 D-cell battery flourescent lantern that you could put rechargables in (got it at Wal-Mart I think) and then when the generator is running you could charge them up and if you need ligth in the middle of the night you have a simple, safe ligth source without needing the geneator fired up.

$20 bucks

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3587531



KN

QuoteCongratulations, it's a cool place :bhumbsup Where is it?  judy


Thanks!
Its on top of a mountain/hill in Southern Ohio.  Sorry about the pic quality. I took it from my phone.

Jimmy_Cason

#6
Quote
For heat I have a propane powered Bigbuddy heater. I could tie it into the system that is already there. I have used it in my shed when doing work and it puts out some good heat. It says it safe for indoors but I am not so sure about that? Anyone know how safe they are for indoors?  I have also been looking into a wood stove for heat.



If it's equipped with a low-oxygen shut-off pilot safety, it can be used safely indoors.
Just follow the common sense rules of keeping it away from combustables and set it on a tile or simular surface.

The place looks cool! I cant wait to see the inside.

bartholomew

#7
Looks like a great little place to hide out. But bring along a couple of battery-powered CO detectors or you could end up having a nice loooooooonnnnnnng peaceful sleep.

Chuckca

#8
Also take a look at and consider www.lehmans.com .They cater to non-electric and Amish communities.  Another site that may be helpful is www.omick.net .I beleive someone from CP posted his site once before.  One more site www.backwoodssolar.com (talk with Scott).


mattgg1

I recently discovered this forum and read your post.  Congratulations on the cabin!  

I see it is located in southern Ohio.  I have been looking for land in southern Ohio for more than a year to build a cabin on.  Could you elaborate on where in Ohio your cabin is located?  Thanks.

KN

QuoteI recently discovered this forum and read your post.  Congratulations on the cabin!  

I see it is located in southern Ohio.  I have been looking for land in southern Ohio for more than a year to build a cabin on.  Could you elaborate on where in Ohio your cabin is located?  Thanks.


Its in Adams county. There are some good deals on land down there but you need to be careful of riffraff in some areas I suppose. You might want to check out //www.rurret.com They have some good land I looked at in Pike county. I was going to go with them but I could not pass this place up.


Heres a pic of the "prettiest out house in the county". A qoute from the last owner.

KN

Quote
Quote
For heat I have a propane powered Bigbuddy heater. I could tie it into the system that is already there. I have used it in my shed when doing work and it puts out some good heat. It says it safe for indoors but I am not so sure about that? Anyone know how safe they are for indoors?  I have also been looking into a wood stove for heat.



If it's equipped with a low-oxygen shut-off pilot safety, it can be used safely indoors.
Just follow the common sense rules of keeping it away from combustables and set it on a tile or simular surface.

The place looks cool! I cant wait to see the inside.

Yes it has one. I guess it works.. LOL

I will work on getting some inside pics. Some of the paneling still needs done and the loft is not finished yet.

kev_alaska

We put a remote cabin in this last summer and are running an Orbis propane heater for the place. Indirect vent exhaust, no propane moisture discharge, good efficiency. We have a couple of the Coleman tent fans that run on "D" cell batteries to move the heat from the loft to the floor. We use propane lights for illumination and generally carry water in. For a hot shower, look up Zodi or Hot Tap propane systems....

Backup systems are battery powered lanters and coleman fuel cooking items...

Bouncer

If you go with a RV water pump like me mine takes a max of 10amps at 12V. for 5.7 gal.


mattgg1

Quote
QuoteI recently discovered this forum and read your post.  Congratulations on the cabin!  

I see it is located in southern Ohio.  I have been looking for land in southern Ohio for more than a year to build a cabin on.  Could you elaborate on where in Ohio your cabin is located?  Thanks.


Its in Adams county. There are some good deals on land down there but you need to be careful of riffraff in some areas I suppose. You might want to check out //www.rurret.com They have some good land I looked at in Pike county. I was going to go with them but I could not pass this place up.


Heres a pic of the "prettiest out house in the county". A qoute from the last owner.


Thanks for the information.  I will certaily follow up with Rural Retreats on the property they have listed.  How did you find your property in Adams County?  Also, how many acres of land came with the cabin?

Jimmy_Cason

Quote
I will work on getting some inside pics. Some of the paneling still needs done and the loft is not finished yet.

You know us.... We want to see it before it is finished!  And then pat you on the back when it is done!

KN

Quote
Quote
I will work on getting some inside pics. Some of the paneling still needs done and the loft is not finished yet.

You know us.... We want to see it before it is finished!  And then pat you on the back when it is done!

Ok here is a pic of the loft and cealing that needs finished.

I am going to need some kind of permanent ladder to get up there. I thought about building something my self. Maybe out of some logs.


KN

Quote

Thanks for the information.  I will certaily follow up with Rural Retreats on the property they have listed.  How did you find your property in Adams County?  Also, how many acres of land came with the cabin?

Its 12.5 acres. If your looking for land just search the tradingpost and there are many real estate companys that cater to southern ohio and have some good land listed.  Countrytyme.com and steves-realty.com are two that I can think of right now.

Jimmy_Cason

#18
The support column near the window for the ridge beam is close to the way I framed for my second floor support beam.
It looks like it is 5 2x4s nailed together to make the support column.
I had planned on doing a single 2x12 ridge beam. The double beam you have there looks very strong.