Modern Pioneering???

[MountainDon]

Tough one, Larry. What kind of tree is/was that? Root system? Tap root?

We pushed over a lot of Ponderosa Pines last year using the raised bucket on the skid steer. That worked pretty goof most of the time, but Ponderosa's don't have a tap root; they simply spread out all over. I thought pushing was better than pulling, but then I'm 'gun shy' around cables, chains and ropes under tension as I've seen first hand the damage a broken cable can do. Not pretty.

[BiggKidd]

Don,

I prefer (sp) pushing also get more traction that way. But after trashing two (2) loader buckets in the last year I'll stick with a chain. I am not sure what type of tree that was. I just call them notty pines but Darren told me it was a Fur. It did have a large tap root. This field we are clearing is mostly 95% evergreens. I would guess you know by now I go with gut feelings a lot. My gut tells me this is one of the few places on our land that will perk. If it doesn't that just means we will decide wether we want to move the house or go with a composting toilet. I think at this point my wife and I both would like to put the house in a small ravine or valley on the side of that area. We still would like to have a full basement. I wonder if that little tractor will make it. I plan to use it for everything.

  As to the chains I've only ever seen one break. That was all I needed you notice the backhoe is raised high enough to be in line with me and NO one stands any closer than 1/2 again the chains length. Thats one of the reasons the videos were so bad. The camera messing up constantly didn't help. That would have been a single video if it had been working right.

Thanks
Larry   

[glenn kangiser]

Looks like you were having fun.  The inspector here said that places where trees grow good are many times good for  drain fields.

[BiggKidd]

  We started installing a water line this weekend. We had temporary water from a smaller creek closer to camp. But thats dried up now. Ok so heres the story. We have a creek (Big Creek) about 700 or so feet from our camp.

So first we needed as strait and easy as possible trail from the creek to camp.









We cleared about 300 feet of trail going around the bigger trees. We are using the little craftsman tractor as you see because its easier to jump on and go and with the little trailer carries more IE chainsaws gas oil water, and Savannah & Nickole. Kyrstin was at my moms this weekend. About 30 min before dark Sat.  I started trenching.

   







You can see some rub marks on the trees where it was a tad tight going through the trail. Thats all we got done Friday & Saturday. Other than putting an AC unit in the camper. Yes we ran it off the battery bank. Its been high 90's and low 100's here with high humidity.
 
Sunday we started again at daylight. Got another 200 ft. of trench dug.













We are doing as much as we can with the back hoe but at least 150+ feet are going to have to be hand dug just to steep. The tractor looses oil pressure.

But that was our weekend. I'll post more about it as we go along. Still trying to decide weather to run wire from the power shed or to set up an independent power system. Can anyone tell me what size wire to use to run the pump 8 amp load at 120V figure 800 foot max. The other option is to use that 1200W inverter and batteries I already have. The biggest problem with this is the amount of space I will have to clear for the solar panels.

  One last thing I would like to brag on the LW-7 Hoe. It kicks butt. This is the first time I used it for anything much more than stumps. I dug around 200ft. of trench in about 8 hours 5 in the am gave it an hour to cool off and another 3 hours. The trench is an average 24" deep some a bit deeper when I would get carried away. I know a lot of people hate their LW7 but I love mine. If I was to change it I think first I would run a cooler on it them maybe help out the left & right swing. At 1600 RPM its strong and fast and can run all day. At 1800 its stronger and faster but overheats. Just remembered I need to tighten up all the little nuts on the controls I noticed they were loose as we were leaving.

A very worn out.
Larry

PS Anyone have any experiance with these water filter purifiers that make ground water drinkable?

[glenn kangiser]

Looks a bit labor intensive even with the hoe, Larry.  I think Don may be familiar with the filters,

[TheWire]

If you went with 10ga copper you would have about a 16 Volt drop at 8 Amps.  6ga copper would be about a 6 Volt drop.  I take it the 8 Amps is running current, which means you will have 3 to 10 times the voltage drop when the motor starts.  It may still run OK. 

Here is another idea.  Instead of setting up a solar system at the creek, run 14ga or 12ga underground rated wire and use it to run a trickle charger to keep a battery at the creek topped off to run the pump.  If you run wire, come out of the ground with a junction box every couple hundred feet or so.  That will allow you to figure out where a fault is if you ever have one and you could put lights down the trail if you wanted.    Also consider running another set of wires if you ever want to start the pump with the battery setup by remote control.

You might consider using a 12volt pump instead of the inverter or if you have a big enough tank at the camp, use a gasoline pump and start it by hand when the tank gets low.

[CREATIVE1]

These posts are just great.  If we were younger we'd be doing the same thing. 

Have you thought about building a tree house?  Is your property prone to flooding?

[MountainDon]

1. Electrical question. Maybe I missed something in my catchup rush...

First think of voltage drop in terms of percents. For DC systems you'd try to limit the drop to 2% max; AC systems 5% max. So 800 feet, 8 amps, 5% = 4 AWG. 3% drop = 3 AWG. Those are big cables and even bigger price tags High voltge drops = high motor temperatures IIRC.

So is this pump at the creek where the water is drawn? And it's 800 feet from the power. Power you generate yourself? A high efficiency DC pump with its own little solar array or wind generator plus batteries atc. maight be the way to go.   

2. Water filtration. There are treatment units that use special UV lamps to sterilize the water as it is drawn through the filter system. No chlorine or chemicals involved. There are also ceramic filters that use gravity but these are meant for low volume users. Sorry, I seem to have misplaced my bookmarks on water treatment. It is very important though; ground water can carry some bad $hit and make you very ill.

Or like was suggested use a large holding tank and a gas pump to fill it as necessary; although I don't like the idea of using gasoline that way.

[BiggKidd]

Well,

  We forgot the camera this weekend.    Really didn't get much done. Did do about another 100' with the hoe. So now its on to digging by hand. Still have more to do with the back hoe but that has to run through areas we use to drive the ATVs and small tractor down to the creek so I want to leave it until last.

  It looks like we are going to go ahead and set up another small power station there. Which will be good for other things I am sure as the years roll by. Went back to home depot and got 1" pipe and brought the 3/4" pipe back home to take back this week. It looks like using the 3/4" pipe would have cost us almost 1/2 of the flow that the 1" should allow. I got the compass out and we will have to remove some rather large trees to get enough light in there. But thats ok as we can use the wood for either lumber (after we get a mill) or fire wood. Its not going to be as bad as I first thought. The creek runs out of the North to the South. So if I clear from the creek back east and south to the small creek that should give us enough sun in there for our panels. While not having to open up a huge area.  We did start digging out the area where the pump house is going to go. Once thats clear we will start digging up the hill side to where the tractor can get to with the hoe.

  Thanks guys for all the tips and help.
Larry

[BiggKidd]

If you went with 10ga copper you would have about a 16 Volt drop at 8 Amps.  6ga copper would be about a 6 Volt drop.  I take it the 8 Amps is running current, which means you will have 3 to 10 times the voltage drop when the motor starts.  It may still run OK. 

Here is another idea.  Instead of setting up a solar system at the creek, run 14ga or 12ga underground rated wire and use it to run a trickle charger to keep a battery at the creek topped off to run the pump.  If you run wire, come out of the ground with a junction box every couple hundred feet or so.  That will allow you to figure out where a fault is if you ever have one and you could put lights down the trail if you wanted.    Also consider running another set of wires if you ever want to start the pump with the battery setup by remote control.

You might consider using a 12volt pump instead of the inverter or if you have a big enough tank at the camp, use a gasoline pump and start it by hand when the tank gets low.

  Hey thinks for the #s I've never been good at figuring out electrical systems. Looks like we are opting to go with a second power system. We have most of the parts to set it up in hand. This also gives us power down there where later on we would like to build a deak and gazebo.

Larry

[BiggKidd]

1. Electrical question. Maybe I missed something in my catchup rush...

First think of voltage drop in terms of percents. For DC systems you'd try to limit the drop to 2% max; AC systems 5% max. So 800 feet, 8 amps, 5% = 4 AWG. 3% drop = 3 AWG. Those are big cables and even bigger price tags High voltge drops = high motor temperatures IIRC.

So is this pump at the creek where the water is drawn? And it's 800 feet from the power. Power you generate yourself? A high efficiency DC pump with its own little solar array or wind generator plus batteries atc. maight be the way to go.   

2. Water filtration. There are treatment units that use special UV lamps to sterilize the water as it is drawn through the filter system. No chlorine or chemicals involved. There are also ceramic filters that use gravity but these are meant for low volume users. Sorry, I seem to have misplaced my bookmarks on water treatment. It is very important though; ground water can carry some bad $hit and make you very ill.

Or like was suggested use a large holding tank and a gas pump to fill it as necessary; although I don't like the idea of using gasoline that way.

Don,

Looks like we are opting for the inverter set up because it gives up power for other needs down the road. If it comes down to it I can always carry the generator down there to power the pump when we need to pump a lot of water. Still playing with the possibility of pulling some power out of that creek some day.. It sure moves a lot of water. But right now I am in a hurry to get wash water and then drinking water. I have found lots of info on filter systems but first I would like to talk with someone whos done it.

  If you can believe it I had to cut the grass again this weekend. But its starting to die with the lack of watering. So I need to get back in gear and get this finished before my grass I worked my butt off to get growing dies.

Larry

[BiggKidd]

Hi Guys,

  We just got back from a long week at the farm. Had the building inspector up to try and get an address. It looks promising. 

First Jamie the inspector told me they don't issue addresses until there is at minimum a foundation in. But he said he would meet us and take a look and listen to our plans. So he came out Friday afternoon at 2:00 PM. He took a look around saw what we have done so far and listened with an open mind to what we would like to do. He did tell us that we would have trouble building a log house off the land. Mainly because the materials have to have the stamp of approval from the man.

So heres where we stand now. Jamie is working on getting us an address. The down side is now the county has to name our road since there will be more than two houses on it once we build. Which means that the folks that live there now will have to change their address. Hopefully they wont mind to much and raise a stink.

We also have the neighbor looking at some areas we marked out to have timbered. He is a retired timber cruser. He also has someone lined up to timber 25 acres for him and if the price is right we will have them timber about 10 acres for us at the same time. This is area we had planned to clear ourselves but this will help to speed up the process. This is area we want to use for pasture so its not as importaint that the stumps are gone like many areas we want for garden house etc. The up side is this is fairly hilly area that would be difficult for me to work on.

We told Jamie that we want to homestead until we get the house built he didn't seem to have any problem with that. We explained that in order to build we needed to sell the house we live in now.

Next Nickole and I are now looking at the two story universal plans. This would get us in a place there much sooner. Not to mention a lot less work. But its still not our dream home. But in talking with Jamie I kind of mentioned that we might go ahead and build a conventional house and build our log home later down the road. He gave me the impression that he wouldn't have to know about that house.  Jamie seems like a good guy and long as we are strait up with him he seems like he is willing to work with us. He mentioned that we might have some trouble getting utilities out there but then realized the we already had power and was rather impressed. We are now upto 225W of solar panels. We also mentioned that we were going to get satalite phone and internet and wouldn't be bringing any utilities in, he had no problem with that.

While we were ther we did get the water line from the creek hooked up and running. I am ashamed to admit that we haven't dug all the trench yet but we do have water. We also got the kids one of those little 10' X 30" blow up ring pools and put that up. That takes some of the strain of entertaining them all the time off. Now I have to get all the junk that goes along with a pool ie vac., skimmer & chemicals. But now they are occupied for a while.

We also carried our golf cart up there since no one bought it and I am so glad they didn't. It goes just fine all over the place even up the worst hills we have.


The next big hurdle I see is the health inspector and a septic system. But like all bridges we will cross that when we get there.

So all in all things are moving along nicely. I can't wait to get back this weekend.
Larry

[Redoverfarm]

Way to go Larry. Hope you don't take the kids pool for a water storage tank.  Keep us posted.  I find it hard to believe that they would not let you use your own timber for the house.  Doesn't sound right to me but I am in the part that seperated from Virginia.

[ScottA]

Sounds like you are making good progress. I bet there is a workaround to use your timber. You might have to get an engineer to sign off on your plans though. Inspectors don't like unknowns. With graded stamped lumber they know what works and what doesn't with logs there are too many unknowns. Good planning putting in the pool first so the kids can keep cool while you work.

[BiggKidd]

Way to go Larry. Hope you don't take the kids pool for a water storage tank.  Keep us posted.  I find it hard to believe that they would not let you use your own timber for the house.  Doesn't sound right to me but I am in the part that seperated from Virginia.

Believe me John that using pools for water storage has crossed my mind. But I think the frogs and kids would mind. Yeah the timber thing just seems like more trouble than its worth. There is plenty of space for more than one house so I think thats what we are going to do. The timber has to be cerified for building with a permit. Va has more and more BS rules all the time but I feel the Inspector is willing to work with us and thats all I can hope for. We had planned on building two or three houses there before its all done anyway so this really doesn't put that big a crimp in our plans. We need a place for our families when they get older and it suits us better if they are not right in the same space as we are. Since I expect my mom and Nickoles to end up living with us way down the road. Neither of them has anyone else. Cindy ( Nickoles Mom ) has two other children but they are not real stable in life at this time. That may change. I say with fingers crossed. With 36 acres divided right it should work out and other than the one house built to code to keep everyone happy the rest of what we do will stay our buisness. I hope. If we use the woods as breaks then there is no reason to even see them unless the family is getting together for this or that. I just have to keep this all in mind when we build certain things like the power system. Instead of having two or three seperate systems one central system would be cheaper I think. This will require cordination with things like washing clothes, and running high draw appliances. The only good thing about all this is I have time after building the first house, before I have to start on the next big project.

I am getting the distinct feeling I 've bitten off more than I want to chew.  But when this project started it was a lot smaller than its becoming.

Scott,

  Thanks.  Most everything here has to be approved far as plans go unless its a pole building. Yep thats just what Jamie said about the timber / lumber.

  Had to do more things where the kids could entertain themselves. The pool was fast and cheap. Next I think a swing set. But if they are playing then they arn't likely to get hurt being under foot while building. Nice thing about the pool is we can drain it and move it to different areas while building. That way we can keep an eye on them. Wonder what we can come up with to keep them buisy during cold weather?

  Larry

[Redoverfarm]

Larry there is probably saw mills in the area that cut logs for homes to sell in kits. I know there are several in this area.  Might check with them and work a trade for timber for logs that are approved.  Or even see who does their certification and have your logs done by them. Just a thought.

Sounds like a very ambitious project more than originally posted.  The only thing I can say is to take one step at a time and make yourself confortable first and then if you have the energy and resources go after the others.

[glenn kangiser]

Let the fun begin.

Thanks for the update, Larry.

[BiggKidd]

Larry there is probably saw mills in the area that cut logs for homes to sell in kits. I know there are several in this area.  Might check with them and work a trade for timber for logs that are approved.  Or even see who does their certification and have your logs done by them. Just a thought.

Sounds like a very ambitious project more than originally posted.  The only thing I can say is to take one step at a time and make yourself confortable first and then if you have the energy and resources go after the others.

John,

  Thats a great idea. I'll have to see who supplies log home logs and see what I can do. Thanks.

  Your right its more than I had planned and with some issues (health) it is a lot to take on. I don't know what else to do. My mother in law nearly had to move in our home a week or so ago due to problems at her home. I think all thats ok now and haven't heard any more about it. I wish I could quit worring about the rest of the family and concentrait on just us but that doesn't seem likely.

Here lately it seems like the whole world is on its ear trying to decide weather to get back up after a knock out punch. I have had less work this summer so far than I ever remember. People are just trying to hang on to the money they have. No ones spending much outside the home for extras like we provide. Might be time to find a new line of work....

  Thanks for the tip about the logs. I'll keep you all updated as I learn more.

Larry

[glenn kangiser]

Work is a whole US problem as they have pretty well destroyed the economy.  Hope it works out for you Larry.

[BiggKidd]

Hi Guys,

  We had to stay home this weekend and part of the week. First due to the holidays and second to have our AC warrentied. It crapped out with two years of full coverage left. So they have to replace it. Soon I hope its hot in here.


  But since we were home and trying to keep things going we ordered the two story universal 20 wide plans. Now to figure out if we can afford to have a full basement too. That would be awesome. I can't wait to get the plans in my hands. Now I'm off to look for one of the water filtration units.

Hope everyone is having a great day.

Larry 

[BiggKidd]

Hi All,

We got our plans from John very quick. Of course the building inspector was on vaction. So I just got to talk with him this AM. Heres what I found out. Before we can get our building permit we have to get well and septic permits. The building permit is cheap enough @ $0.10 a square foot for living space and $0.04 for porches and decks. But its a $50 application fee for the septic & well and then the state gets about another $500 in fees on top of that. These are the prices for a owner builder permit in Lunenburg.

The down side is that this morning the inspector tells me that we might not be able to get permits because not everywhere perks in the county. OH great. I 'm about at the point where I'm going to just build what I want and let them fine me after the fact. But as my wife says that still doesn't help with the address. Jamie (inspector) tried to get us one without a house but his boss put a stop to that, says that we have to have the foundation in first. Which puts the screws to getting Kyrstin in school there this year. We are still looking for ways around this if anyone has any ideas. Even better school starts there two weeks sooner than it does here.  So we only have about three weeks to get something done.

I'll post more as I find things out. When we have access to the net.
Larry   

[Redoverfarm]

Larry arn't you already living in the camper.  If you can show that you have a residence on the site then you should be able to get the address on that irregardless of the new foundation.  Done all the time here.  A house is a house whether it is a camper or mansion.

[BiggKidd]

John,

  We are living there part time. But they don't consider that a home. I'm sure its just a money thing. They want thier cut!!! I would love to be there full time NOW. But still have to sell my house in the city and make a little money from time to time. Need to get some work going there ASAP. Then we wont have much holding us back.

One thing that stinks is we wont have internet for a while after we move.

Thanks
Larry   

[nickolekidd]

Hi guys I know I don't write on here often (I let biggkidd do it) but I made a bunch of phone calls this am and one of them was to the elementry school in Victoria. The lady I spoke to was really helpfull and when I explained our situation she said she didn't see a problem with us enrolling Kyrstin for next year even with out an actiual address. She told me to pick up Kyrstins records from here and bring them out when we come back. I have a meeting for next week.    I was so excited I had to call larry at work and put him in a better mood too. So school starts there Aug. 25th, Where hear it's sometime after 1st of Sept. So we are Really Happy all the pieces are finally falling into place.  Looks like we are moving into the camper for the time being but hey we'll be able to get more work done while we are there instead of running back and fourth. Now to sell the House in Richmond..... Keep your fingers crossed for us.


Nickole

[glenn kangiser]

That's great, Nickole.  Glad things are looking up.  We enjoy hearing from you.