Okanogan 14x24 by a lurker :)

[OlJarhead]

Looks like snow this weekend but we might head up to the cabin to enjoy a three day weekend and get some work on the interior done.

Don't mind the snow at all really, since the insulation is mostly in now and the wood stove works great...course there will be limitted solar production but then that's what the generator is for

Hoping to get up there Friday afternoon (before dark)...so wish me luck!

[OlJarhead]

We arrived Friday at the cabin and were able to get settled in and the place warmed up in the usual fashion.  It's become quite a routine for us now.

Open doors, check solar power, turn on inverter, fire up wood stove, fill and light kerosene heater (when needed), move in and relax around the wood stove until warmed or it's bedtime

The weather was cold but not bitterly so and there was roughly the same amount of snow as our previous visit (6-8 inches) though in some places it was closer to a foot and still in others possibly deeper (I was walking on top of it at times so wasn't sure how deep it was).  All in all another winter trip.


Saturday, after breakfast (Corned Beef Hash and eggs with coffee), we got right to work.  We had to finish off the insulation in the west wall, re-organize our junk and then cut and nail up the paneling.  We finished around dinner time and feeling good about ourselves took some time to relax after a long days work.

Of course this is when I lamented forgetting my jack and coke!


I was much happier with the way this wall turned out and how we did the paneling.  Instead of doing one side at a time for the slanted section, we did both together.  This helped keep everything symmetrical -- at least that's my story!

When we were finishing off the wall however, I was reminded of an 'oops' we'd made when correcting the out of square north wall (some may recall my jeep, a winch and a lot of pulling being involved there)....the gabled end rafters on the North wall weren't perfect.  Why not?  Because someone nailed off the now square wall before checking that it was perfectly plumb floor to ceiling.

Yes, Yes I know, it's not good.  But then it's a cabin right?

Actually, in all fairness it sucks that we missed that and nailed the wall off and left it but it is what it is and only a short portion of the wall was out.  So, in the end we'll forever have a funny corner....but then it's a cabin right?  lol


We got a few inches of snow Friday night / Saturday morning which made things a little interesting but that's why we chain up right?

Actually, on that topic I want to add this:  The first time I chained up the truck (late last year) I put them on the rear.  I did this because I'd read somewhere that some trucks don't have clearance in the front for chains (a friends dodge being one of them).  So rather then risk it I went with the rear.  We made it up to the cabin 'ok' but I didn't like the feel at all!  Nothing like driving my jeep with chains on all 4 or even the fronts.

This trip, having checked and knowing I can put them on the front (though it's tight) they went on the fronts and boy let me tell you!  WHAT A DIFFERENCE!  Yes sir, I know I've preached this before but in our truck it makes a TON of difference.

I cannot tell you how much better it was going up to the cabin and driving on level ground in the frozen snow when the chains are up front.  Try it, you'll like it.

Anyway, I digress!


Sunday we got cracking and insulated the north ceiling and wall (what wasn't already done) and began paneling.  It was a LONG day working on our knees but we managed to get up the 30" from the loft floor to the ceiling and an additional 22" up the ceiling too.


Despite the 'wow' in the corner thanks to the goof up mentioned earlier we are pretty happy with the result!


Nothing like home made pine panel!


I really can't get enough of it!


It also brightens things up a bunch!

Anyway, a couple comments:  insulation!!!  Yes, the ceiling only 90% insulated on the North side and less then 10% on the south side and WOW!  Hardly have to run the stove to keep the cabin warm in below freezing weather!  Heck, I actually had to turn the Fridge up! (to make it colder)!!!  Sweet!  I can't wait to have it all insulated.

Lastly, we realized that we will need between 120 and 200 more 1/2" pine boards to complete the interior and with just 30-40 on hand we've got some milling to do.  SO our next trip will have to be for milling more trees into lumber -- but we have a few that still block the solar panels!

For now
Erik

[Woodswalker]

You guys did good with the insulating and pine board install.  That gable looks very nice - more work involved, but well worth the effort.  Chuckled about the "oops."  Did a similar one building my cabin.  At least I planned ahead, so that mine is on the least-visible end.  Next summer when it gets hot, you'll also notice the difference full insulation makes.

Thanks for the chain-up tip.  I'm from MN, so have installed chains on rear wheels.  Have not owned a 4 x 4 until recently.  Now have a '05 Nissaan Pathfinder.  Totalled my '96 Chev pickup last July on a trip home from the cabin.  Fell asleep at the wheel doing 70 on I-90, E of Moses Lake.  Drifted toward the median, and scraped along a cable barrier until stopped.  Took out a dozen steel posts. Niether me nor the dog (on floor) was injured.  Was my only accident in about 50 yrs of driving.  Patrol gave me a ticket for "driving with wheels off pavement."  Not going to do that again.  Felt like a miracle to be alive.

Steve

[JavaMan]

Some great pictures!  I'm hoping that the road into my place doesn't get much worse than what you're showing there.  I am hoping to get up there the second weekend in May... but that will only happen if there isn't a ton of snow between now and then.

Your pine paneling is looking GREAT!  Looks like you're making good progress.

[Yonderosa]

Looks fantastic!

[OlJarhead]

Let the milling begin!

Probably going to be a COLD rain/slush on us but we're going up to mill some more paneling and blue stain this weekend!  Can't wait!

[sako]

The pine walls look fantastic, maybe we'll see you around town were are going over
this weekend also, four days whoohoo.

[ajbremer]

Your panels look great!

I'm planning the inside of my countryplan 20x30 1 1/2 story walls to look pretty similar to yours. Thank you for taking the time to post such great pictures.

[JavaMan]

Looks great, OJH! 

I'm watching the pass cam at Loup Loup and getting excited - it hasn't been this "melted" this early in years!  I might just make it up there in May like I'm planning.

The savings is beginning for my own mill ... so hopefully this summer I'll have one and begin milling and planing myself!

If no one has said it already, I love the pine paneling    For some reason I always thought it was darker, but it sure brightens up the place!

[OlJarhead]

The pine walls look fantastic, maybe we'll see you around town were are going over
this weekend also, four days whoohoo.

We ought to get together one of these trips -- we'll have to plan for it as we tend to go straight to the cabin and only leave on Sunday when heading back home.  So unlikely you'll see us around town.

Perhaps when the weather improves we should schedule a BBQ

[OlJarhead]

Your panels look great!

I'm planning the inside of my countryplan 20x30 1 1/2 story walls to look pretty similar to yours. Thank you for taking the time to post such great pictures.

Thanks

I love to look at it when I there and when I'm not so I take lots of pictures!  It's one of those things that's like fine art, you just can't help but to stare!

[OlJarhead]

This weekend at the cabin was both good and bad.  The bad part was that my son was sick and fighting off an allergic reaction that might have also given him bronchitis so he was also fighting that off.  So for him the trip was mostly a lay around, sleep, take drugs and relax weekend

At the same time my wife nearly lost a finger on our saw mill (not from the blade) when helping me move a log on it.  She thought she was picking it up and got a finger pinched when she realized she wasn't   Didn't break it though but pinched it very badly.

To make matters more exciting, the composting toilet backed up when it froze on us over night   Had to thaw it completely out before using again...ahhh the life! lol

Clearly we have work to do getting that secondary lou done

Anyway, after arriving, however, we did manage to get a window cased in blue stained pine and installed a dart board.  For those who don't know me (most of you I'm sure) I also run a successful website like countryplans.com -- only mine is dedicated to promoting the sport of darts!  sewa-darts.com or dartplayer.net are the urls to my site.  I used to play competitive darts I guess you could say and still enjoy the game with friends and family (no more dreams of being world number one!  ). 

So putting up a board in the cabin is a natural thing for us

Finally got a board up


Started some interior trim -- that is blue stained pine from an old windfall we milled up.


Closer look at the window casing.


About 300 board feet of blue stained pine we just milled.  Will use in a couple months after its had time to dry.

Hoping to get back soon to start falling and milling a few more trees.  It's time to get enough lumber ready for the remainder of the cabin!

[sako]

Our weekend was a little crazy to,  put a little deck on our shed/mini cabin. Fell pretty hard a few times in the crummy snow.
Your pine in the window looks great, the grains and colors are wonderful. I work for a building materials company and it never gets old
looking at the knots and grains in the wood.
I think we passed you on the a valley road sun. around 10:30, we were going to the shower house by the store.
We will have to do that bbq sometime for sure. I think Karl and Yonderosa are pretty close?

[OlJarhead]

Our weekend was a little crazy to,  put a little deck on our shed/mini cabin. Fell pretty hard a few times in the crummy snow.
Your pine in the window looks great, the grains and colors are wonderful. I work for a building materials company and it never gets old
looking at the knots and grains in the wood.
I think we passed you on the a valley road sun. around 10:30, we were going to the shower house by the store.
We will have to do that bbq sometime for sure. I think Karl and Yonderosa are pretty close?

In a big blue dodge?  Not sure if that's the truck but I passed someone going the other way and for whatever reason I couldn't help thinking I should know them....the guy driving was looking at me while I was looking at him lol

What showers are those?

Sorry to hear about the falls!  That sucks, the ice and slush can be tough at times eh?  But being out in the woods is always good

Now I just need to get back in a week and a half and get back to logging some trees and milling them up and maybe case another window or two

Cheers

[Karl]

We definitely want to get together this summer.

Right now we're living off your pictures since I'm on a project in Belfast.  Looks like the snow hasn't been bad at all and we could have gotten in if we'd been around.

I think sako's talking about the showers in the meadow that Sun Ranch members share.  Anyone know if others can use them for a fee?

-Karl

[oifmarine]

Looking good MARINE!   

Semper Fi

[OlJarhead]

We definitely want to get together this summer.

Right now we're living off your pictures since I'm on a project in Belfast.  Looks like the snow hasn't been bad at all and we could have gotten in if we'd been around.

I think sako's talking about the showers in the meadow that Sun Ranch members share.  Anyone know if others can use them for a fee?

-Karl

It's been deep enough to make you glad you have 4 wheel drive and chains but not so deep that if the 4 wheel drive quits you have to turn back

I'm hoping to head back this coming weekend if all goes well.  Have to do some falling and milling to lay up some lumber for late spring and summer

[OlJarhead]

Looking good MARINE!   

Semper Fi

Thanks MARINE!

[Toyotaboy]

OJh,

I've been watching your thread for awhile. Very impressive. I just started my thread it's the 24x24 Northern Wisconsin Cabin.

The reason I'm contacting you is about the composting toilet. We have to put one in due to DNR issues. What make and model do you have and what

problems have you encountered? The big question is how often do you have to empty it?  How bad is it when that has to be done?


The other question if I can ask, is how much did your solar system cost? How many watts is your system? My brother wants me to wire it for a generator ( he's

an electrician and thinks solar isn't worth the time or money).  I think that's his union viewpoint.

Thanks!

P.S. You know what MARINE stands for don't you?  My Ass Rides In Navy Equipment  (Hee Hee)!!!  I'm a a former Naval Photographer E-5! West Coast Navy.

Wimmie

[MountainDon]

The biggest drawback to composting toilets is that the composting action stops when the temperature of the compost material drops to about 50 - 55 F.

[OlJarhead]

OJh,

I've been watching your thread for awhile. Very impressive. I just started my thread it's the 24x24 Northern Wisconsin Cabin.

The reason I'm contacting you is about the composting toilet. We have to put one in due to DNR issues. What make and model do you have and what

problems have you encountered? The big question is how often do you have to empty it?  How bad is it when that has to be done?


The other question if I can ask, is how much did your solar system cost? How many watts is your system? My brother wants me to wire it for a generator ( he's

an electrician and thinks solar isn't worth the time or money).  I think that's his union viewpoint.

Thanks!

P.S. You know what MARINE stands for don't you?  My Ass Rides In Navy Equipment  (Hee Hee)!!!  I'm a a former Naval Photographer E-5! West Coast Navy.

Wimmie

Thanks   I'll answer below (might be easier).

1. What make and model do you have -- Sunmar centrex 2000 AC/DC -- this unit has the central tank/composter and we installed one commode -- it can take more then one.

2.  what problems have you encountered? -- not really any serious problems but here is what we've experienced:  The DC fan should be allowed to run at least enough to dehydrate the unit sufficiently.  SO rather then just while you're at the cabin it's a good idea to let it run while you are gone if you or the family use a lot of water and return frequently.  We have gone every two weeks most of the time so leave it running in the warm months full time. -- The only other issue really is the freezing of the unit.  Ours is installed outside of the cabin in a small shed that is not insulated yet.  The sewage pipe is insulated but we and heat taped but we only run the heat while there.  So, this winter it's frozen up on us (and last) when someone doesn't make absolutely certain that it's fully drained before leaving for a couple weeks (leaving means no heat tape and no heat in the cabin with sub freezing temps).

3.  The big question is how often do you have to empty it?  -- Hmmm...I'd guess I emptied it maybe 4 times in 18 months?  Seriously.  It's amazing how much composting the waste reduces it!  Light use may only require emptying once a year, twice at most.  Whereas our level of use means it must be emptied (two drawers anyway) in the spring and then a couple times over the summer I guess....and maybe a drawer or two in the fall -- but this year I will empty more in the fall to allow more holding capacity.

That's one thing that we had to work with this last trip, the tank wasn't full but the mountain of 'stuff' that was frozen made it almost unusable until I thawed it out....very tough.

4.   How bad is it when that has to be done? -- no big deal really.  Honestly, it's not bad at all and you get used to the whole 'experience'.  But seriously, it isn't all that bad frankly.  Not much smell at all.

Only other issue is flies around the tank (when it was not enclosed etc) but I treated with Diatomatious Earth (sp) and usually that's enough to keep them down.

As for the solar I'd guess I have about $4000-$4500 into it (off the top of my head) and while I should really have a bigger battery bank it does work well for us   In the summer I can run the fridge 24x7 without even batting an eye   So it's always cold and ready when we arrive back at the cabin again.  However, in the winter it's touch and go, but that's what our $300 genny does for us   Just crank it up and let it charge the batteries for a few hours and we're good to go.

So, wiring for a generator is kinda what we have   The generator is hooked to a 55amp Iota battery charger so I can fire it up and charge the battery bank when needed but I've only had to do that maybe 2 times in the last year or more....it's not a very common occurrence.

Erik

PS.  I'm installing a Privy for those winter visits just in case the composter gets frozen up -- if you can't do a privy, consider having a port-a-pot as a back up jut in case it's been 5 below and everything is frozen solid!

[Toyotaboy]

Thanks OJH,

That was the same model I was looking at. What drainage is needed? I didn't think that united needed drainage. I'll have to recheck your thread.

I plan to put the composting bin in the basement crawl space area below the cabin. I'll insulated it too. I could run the fan off a single battery with a solar battery recharger when I'm not there.

Thanks

Wimmie

[OlJarhead]

Thanks OJH,

That was the same model I was looking at. What drainage is needed? I didn't think that united needed drainage. I'll have to recheck your thread.

I plan to put the composting bin in the basement crawl space area below the cabin. I'll insulated it too. I could run the fan off a single battery with a solar battery recharger when I'm not there.

Thanks

Wimmie

Comes with a 1" hose (or maybe 3/4") that you run to a French cess pit for excess drainage when the unit is heavily used.

If you won't have AC power other then solar or a generator then it's possible to do away with the AC/DC model and go 'non-electric' -- then just install a PC fan into the 4" vent stack pipe and save a bunch of money   Actually, the salesman at Sunmar suggested that but I went with the AC/DC model so I could run the heater/dehydrator and AC fan with the generator in colder months or under heavy use.  Truth is, I use the genny for that more often then to charge the solar bank.

[OlJarhead]

Looks like I may have solved my cistern filling problem

For the longest time I've been trying to solve the problem of filling my cistern with solar panels, batteries, a controller and a timer/relay.  The idea was that I could set the timer to run the well pump for an hour a day pumping about 80 gallons per day and that after 10 days I'd have the cistern full (from nearly empty).  Then I could adjust the timer to match usage.

However I ran into some problems!  When first deployed I left the cabin secure in thinking that the cistern would be filled when I returned only to discover that something went wrong and the batteries were completely drained in my absence and little water was pumped.  Thinking the pump was faulty I rebuilt it, then replaced it but still the problem occurred.

I finally decided that maybe there was something wrong with the cheap Costco solar panels I'd rewired to 24vdc (instead of the original string setup of 12vdc/60watts) so I dismantled the system and waited to resolve the problem.  Then I discovered this:

P-LCB-7: 7 amp input includes connection for water level:

LINEAR CURRENT BOOSTER by SOLAR CONVERTERS
Tracks maximum power point of solar modules. Used with DC pumps powered directly by solar modules (without batteries) makes pump start and run slowly in low light of morning or overcast, when it otherwise would not start.

With this and a 190watt solar panel (24vdc) I could run the pump without batteries.

Furthermore, the LCB comes with two connections for a float valve.  You can wire the float even if it's 300 feet from the LCB apparently (confirmed by Backwoods Solar technicians).  So, by adding this: http://www.deanbennett.com/mechanical-float-switch-for-fill.htm

I'll have to run some small gauge wire to the pump to complete the circuit but once in place it should run the pump whenever the water is lower then 'full'.

I'm pretty excited because panels are running $1/watt at Sunelec right now!  So I'll be order all the parts this weekend and as soon as the ground thaws I'll install the float etc.

With luck I'll be able to keep the cistern full without having to turn the pump on manually or check the cistern visually.  I can then run a line to the cabin and one to the orchard and get my trees planted!

[Toyotaboy]

OJH,

Thanks for the info on the composting toilet. I'll check out both models.