Okanogan 14x24 by a lurker :)

[OlJarhead]

One thing I'm considering is placing some R10 foam board on the outside of the cabin, north side, over where the water lines run.  I find when it's below zero out it's harder to keep those lines from freezing unless the cabin is pretty warm (70+).  I wonder how much of a difference that would make?

I'm also considering boxing in the P Trap for the tub which runs under the cabin.  If I box it in and insulate with R10 foam (2 or 3 layers) and leave the floor insulation out I'm wondering if the heat from the cabin will keep the box around the P Tramp from freezing even in sub zero weather?

Thoughts?

[MountainDon]

For the question regarding how much R-value would be needed on the exterior of the wall read this.

It depends on the climate zone rating for the location. The srticles point is to determine the amount of exterior insulation required to make the inner face of the foam stay warm enough to prevent condensation of moisture from the interior air.  Of course the article is premised on the idea that the building is heated as a full time residence, or at least kept warm, above freezing inside. But I would think that once your interior is warmed then the thinking in the article should apply well. 

Insulating under the p trap and not above should help. But the air space under the floor / above the insulation will be very slow to warm up unless there is some air exchange.

[OlJarhead]

According to the article R10 will be more than enough to prevent moisture build up and I don't have any plastic on the inside (kraft faced bats and drywall in this case) so it should be able to dry to the inside just fine.

This leaves me to think R20 will be more than enough and perhaps even R10 to provide the added insulation needed to protect the pipes.

For the box I've wondered about that myself since cold air goes down to the lowest point which would be the box.  One thing I could do / consider would be to build the box longer and put a small register at the other end with a 12v fan I an flip on to run warmer air (circulate) though the box to warm it up. 

[OlJarhead]

Fuel shutoff/switch replaced   New battery, new grips, new fuel line and paint removed from 90% of the body.


Running and driving well (considering it sat for a few years I'm happy with that -- over the moon really!)

Now to recover the seat, replace a few nuts and bolts and maybe some fuel lines, possibly rebuild the carb and replace the muffler and tear the brakes down as well as some paint but I have all winter

This $200 machine is more like a $1000 machine today (maybe more) since I also replaced the tires and shocks several years ago (and battery as well but that one was toast).  Still, it's a lot cheaper than a new one and continues to provide us with a great little ATV to use at the cabin

[ChugiakTinkerer]

Two yards of black upholstery vinyl does wonders for an old 4-wheeler seat.  I did mine a couple years ago and its holding up great.  There were a few guys with videos on Youtube showing how they did theirs.  Pretty much just vinyl and a stapler.  Kind of like a fresh coat of paint, it's a cheap fix that has great return on investment when it comes to appearance.

[Colorado Eric]

OJH - Thank you so much for the excellent documentation of your build and all the fun you guys have out there. Took me about 3 weeks but I went through each and every post! You sure know what you are doing. This gave me so much inspiration and served as a learning tool for everything from tractors to solar. Family and I have been looking for around 2 years here in CO but haven't pulled the trigger on any parcels yet, these awesome builds just get me more and more excited. Just want you to know there are still loads of us eagerly following your progress. Thanks again!

Eric

[OlJarhead]

OJH - Thank you so much for the excellent documentation of your build and all the fun you guys have out there. Took me about 3 weeks but I went through each and every post! You sure know what you are doing. This gave me so much inspiration and served as a learning tool for everything from tractors to solar. Family and I have been looking for around 2 years here in CO but haven't pulled the trigger on any parcels yet, these awesome builds just get me more and more excited. Just want you to know there are still loads of us eagerly following your progress. Thanks again!

Eric

Thanks Eric (with a 'C')   I'm glad someone still enjoys my foibles! ha!

Good luck and stay motivated!  I love being out at the cabin and often reflect on those early trips staying in the tent trailer trying to get the box framed up!  Now I'm dying to get back to finish the porch walls and get some more work done around the place this weekend   It's hunting season but only thing I'll be shooting is the nail gun

Cheers
Erik

[OlJarhead]

Two yards of black upholstery vinyl does wonders for an old 4-wheeler seat.  I did mine a couple years ago and its holding up great.  There were a few guys with videos on Youtube showing how they did theirs.  Pretty much just vinyl and a stapler.  Kind of like a fresh coat of paint, it's a cheap fix that has great return on investment when it comes to appearance.

Thanks ChugiakTinkerer, I'll have to check that out!  I was trying to find foam but without it I can get a seat cover for $30 on ebay that is a staple on form fit one.  I may do that.

[ChugiakTinkerer]

I actually did the foam too.  Picked something up at a hobby shop, probably Michaels.  Two types of foam worked good for me.  Heavier stuff on bottom and some lighter stuff on top.  Spray adhesive onto the seat, then spray adhesive onto the first layer of foam to attach the second.  Trim to the preferred shape with a bread knife.  I was probably all in for less than $50-, and a replacement seat was over $300.

[OlJarhead]

Cool

[OlJarhead]

A few years back (or more) one of the boys broke my splitting maul.  I couldn't find the right handle but bought a similar one that ended up not fitting but came with the epoxy to secure it so I tried using that witht he old handle and it mostly drained out the bottom.  So the ax sat for a while until I finally found some epoxy I thought would work and finally got it done.


This has been a good ax and I'll see if the new epoxy works this weekend.


My old (6yrs) Harbor Freight compressor has treated me well under the rough conditions I've used it but the cover and handle were made with cheap plastic and broke.


I've epoxied them back together and bought a new handle for it but can't bnuy the cover nor the broken fan on the back.


Then I found a Rigid at HD for $129 so I bought it.  It's got an 8 gallon tank vs the 10gallon on the el cheapo and is almost have the HP but gets to 150psi quickly vs the el cheapo which can only do 100psi.  It's also got two outlets and apprently has a much better warranty and reputation.  I'll use this one as my 'portable' and use the cheapo in the garage at home until it quits and I buy a new one.


Getting closer with the old ATV too


Plan now is to rebuild the carb and fix the bumper.  Then replace the headlights and recover the seat as well as redo the brakes.  Then it should be ready for many more years of use

[OlJarhead]

So far the axe has held up nicely though I didn't use it much.  The new compressor, a steal at $129 if you ask me (HD) is working like a charm and I'm, thinking better than the 4hp 10gal HF cheapo.

I managed to get the walls framed and sealed as well as covered in 15lbs felt this weekend so I'm ready for phase two which will be to insulate them and to place some bird screen in the eves above and then stuff insulation in them also.  Once the walls are fully insulated and the ceiling as well I'll get the ceiling sheathed though I plan to install a heat vent and some insulated heat duct to the outside wall for the future solar can heater I plan to build this winter.

I also got the last piece of roofing on but it's too long and is only temp anyway so I'll leave it.

Should be able to post a few pics tomorrow.

[OlJarhead]

Inside wall of the porch (now that it's framed and sheathed).


I used 1x6's I milled up this spring and sealed them up with foam where there were gaps


Unfortunately the framer didn't think to match the rafters to the walls of the original porch  so there are wider walls up top but that just means more insulation right? lol


15lb felt covering all the walls.  I'll side it later


Still work to do but I'm happy with this.


Last bit of roofing on.  I didn't trim it but it will come off next year anyway.

[Gary O]

luvin' this thread

just thought I'd say Hi

'Hi'

oh,

and how much are you able to use that solar set up?
Folks around here aren't too hep on solar, even though some have quite the set ups

[OlJarhead]

I use it all the time.  Mine is a little undersized for the winter but I don't spend as much time up there as I did when I lived there so it isn't much of an issue and the backup gen works great.

Frankly I love the solar power I have and it's pretty well sorted now so almost maintenance free (hope I didn't jinx myself!).  I added water to the batteries yesterday but they didn't need much at all.  The caps I put on the batteries were well worth the money!

Maybe next year though, I'll add the next 40amps of charging power to set me up better as I use about 8% of the bank in one night of use (about 52AH of use).  This means I can only go two days without a charge from the sun so my battery bank is a little too low at 660AH.  Should really be about 880AH but I make due and with 60amps of charging I'd get the bank back up in a shorter period of time so it would work better in the winter with just two hours of real charging.

[OlJarhead]

So I have a problem with my water I'm scratching my head over.

Last year I blew out the lines with an air compressor.  I remember my neighbor saying he used only about 50psi to do so as higher pressures could cause problems.

Then this spring when I turned the water back on the cold side was low on volume at the kitchen sink but fine in the bathroom sink and tub,  but my hot was just fine.  My main line comes into my back room via a 1" pvc pipe and splits into two 3.4" feeds.  One goes to my cold header and the other goes to my hot water tank (instant on).  I have a shut off valve on the hot water side so I can remove the hot water tank without killing the water.  Then the hot feeds into an identical header (as the cold) and via 1/2" pex to each tap.  My cold also feeds via 1.2" pex to each tap.

I lived with the cold volume this summer as it wasn't that much of an issue but a couple weeks ago I blew the lines out again and when my wife and I went back to the cabin this past weekend and I turned on the water I had almost NO volume on two taps (kitchen and bath sink) but fine on the tub (lowest point in the system).

I think I put closer to 90PSI the last time I blew out the lines (DOH  ) so am not sure what that would do.

This weekend I blew the lines out again but at 50psi again.  When I did I noticed it took a while to get the air past the main valve and I went long and pushed it all the way to the cistern as it took some time to get water back to the frost free (which is before the main). 

Is it possible I've created an air lock in my cold water header?

[OlJarhead]

I should add that I installed things this way to give max volume to the hot water heater as it barely runs with the water pressure I have which is not much over 20 lbs.  With the tank set at low pressure it works though and I can get VERY hot water with decent volume.

[OlJarhead]

Also, when I blow out the lines what I do is I blow them out by the kitchen sink tap.  I hope the compressor up to the tap and turn on the cold (with the main valve off) and open up the bathroom sink and blow the lines free, then close the bathroom tap and open the tub.  I repeat until it's just air coming out.  I then turn off the cold and open the hot at the kitchen sink and repeat the process.  Once that's done I go to the hot water tank and open it's drain valve and blow out the lines inside the tank (instant on).

When this process is completed I open the cold again and go open the main valve and then the frost free.  When air comes out the frost free I know I'm pushed the water past it and close the main valve again.  When water comes back out the frost free I know it's operational and I go shut off the compressor and remove it from the lines.  I open the lines and make sure there is no pressure in them and then close them.

[OlJarhead]

Suntech    STP300 - 24/Ve    Poly    72    B    300    0.52    $156

Found those at Sun Elec.  They put out 35.9Vmp and 8.36Imp so if I get six of them I should be looking at ~50Amps of charging power from them (I'll run them series/parallel so I'm only feeding the Outback controller with 72vdc and 50amps or perhaps 108vdc if I run three in series and two sets in parallel) which when combined with my 3 current panels running on the Morningstar controller will provide me with the total capacity I really needed all along (should be put right about 70Amps of charging power and the battery bank is 660AH).

I plan to get the Outback FlexMax FM80 for these which negates the need for a separate controller to turn on my battery box fan (I believe the FM80 has a 28vdc feed coming off it just for this use).  I'll need racking for the roof of the deck as well as cables, a combiner box and another break in the main DC panel but otherwise install shouldn't be much of an issue

[OlJarhead]

Still working on getting my order placed and may be milling this weekend which will help (probably mean I'll get the roof mounting hardware and get the panels on the roof sooner rather than later).

I've come up with what I think will be a sufficient battery box idea (I'll draw something up).  Basically I'll finish boxing in the batteries, then I'll put a 'roof' or lid on them facing away from the electronic (since I haven't moved anything yet) that I can remove to work on the batteries.  This lid will slant towards the south wall of the porch (front) where the vent will be located so any hydrogen gas should then be sucked outside by the new fan I'll order soon (all controlled by the Outback flexmax 80).

This will allow me to finally seal the room up tight with insulation etc so that I won't waste any heat inside the room which I hope to provide via a solar can heater which I estimate should produce around 9000BTU's.  The solar can heater will be placed at the front of the porch just under the eves and tilted at 63degrees to match the sun on the winter solstice.  It will be fed by an insulated duct from under the porch that I plan to box in (later) with R10 foam and plywood and it will feed the room hot air through the same type of insulated duct boxed in via R10 foam to reduce heat loss as it passes the 3 1/2 feet of open space before getting to the enclosed porch.

[OlJarhead]

Picked up a 1" T, 1" water hose (3/4" ID 175PSI hose for water lines), connectors for those and a brass tap.

My plan is to cut the 1" PVC main coming into the cabin and place the T fitting into it, then run the Tap off the T so I can drain the cabin lines into a bucket as well as out the taps.  It will give me a place to blow the lines out the taps from the main also as well as a place I can attach a hose if I want.

I'll then remove a section of 3/4" PVC that goes to the hot water tank and add in the hose as it's flexible and will allow removing the tank and replacing it in the future with much greater ease.

I'm hoping, by doing this, that I can eliminate the issue I'm having which appears to be a vapor lock as I don't have this issue on the hot side which I can drain and blow out from the tank (vs just taps).  With luck I'll get my volume back on the cold side.  This will also allow me to blow out the lines thoroughly without having to blow out past the main which I will have off but not free of water (on the house side) since I have heat in the back room which will keep the main from freezing while I'm gone.  I'll just have to turn the main valve back on and water will be right in the back room ready for use vs having to blow the lines out past the main valve like I do today.

Confused yet?  Maybe I'll draw it up

[OlJarhead]

The cistern (left) is a 325 gallon tank and is about 50 feet above the cabin.  The main line coming down is a 2" line that feeds a 2"x1 1/2" T for the Frost Free (off the 1 1/2" leg) and is reduced to a 1" line where the main valve is for the cabin (so the frost free always has water pressure).  The 1" main comes into the back room and rises about 3 feet where it goes into a T that feeds two 3/4" PEX lines.  One that rises to the cold water manifold between the water heater and the bathroom, and the other into the hot water heater (instant on) which in turn feeds a hot water manifold behind the tank where the cold water header is.  Then 1/2" pex feeds each tap.

With the new tap (green below water heater) I will be able to shut off the main valve outside and then open the tap draining the lines inside the cabin via gravity.  Then I can put air pressure on the lines via the sink tap or the tap in the back room (same one) and blow the water lines out via that tap or vise versa.

[astidham]

Could your frost free be the culprit?  A buddy of mine has went through about 4 of them,  some how developing a leak at the bottom.

[OlJarhead]

No becuase the problem only impacts the cold side and not the hot and both are fed from the same 1" main past the frost free.

[OlJarhead]

Just spoke with SunElec and have a quote coming for three CSun 305 watt panels (VMP44.7vdc IMP8.97Amps), Outback FlexMax FM80 controller, Midnight Combiner box and breakers and cables (of course).

This will take me to over 70Amps of max charging