Okanogan 14x24 by a lurker :)

Started by Oljarhead, September 21, 2009, 02:53:09 PM

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OlJarhead

#500

I've also taken up canning (and being out of work I have the time) and my tomato sauce is to die for!

Also did 20 jars of pears from a friends tree :)

OlJarhead

Alright enough nonsense (probably not)!

The XJ is back (for a couple days) and I'm itching to get back to work on the cabin!  I've got the solar panel rack in the front yard and Josh and I cleaned it and then shot primer and painted (Rustoleum) it to protect it.

I plan to fit the panels and check voltages etc before hauling up to the property and want to drill any holes etc that need drilling before getting to our remote spot -- just to make life easier.

Of course, I have to check the breaks on the XJ first though -- the hazards of driving 500+ miles a weekend 2-3 weekends a month for a year eh?

This coming trip is supposed to accomplish a ton and I'm just not certain I can get it done but here's my list anyway:

First day:
1.  Frame and sheet porch

Second day:
1.  Install Solar Power Rack and panels.
2.  Install battery box and batteries
3.  Power up system
4.  Test power system
5.  Charge Batteries

Third Day:
1.  Finish drilling all holes for the wiring and pull all romex in.
2.  Install receptacles, lights, switches and AC load center
3.  Power up load center and test cabin power
4.  Insulate cabin

Fourth day:

1.  Replace #9 screws with #14's on the few panels I goofed up on the roof (don't ask)
2.  Install Ridge vent and cap on roof
3.  Cut away 2" of the lookout/outrigger rafter away from the chimney (need to get a little more clearance so will cut 2" of the rafter off (it's supported by lookouts) and install a metal strap to cover the gap.
4.  Install the gable flashing (that will finish off the roof)
5.  Fix/Finish the Chimney flashing and install the final brace.
6.  Drink Jack Daniels and Holler at the moon!

Fifth day:
1.  Recover from Howling at the moon.
2.  Finish small items left and clean up.
3.  Prep for return trip

I'm looking at this now thinking "Am I'm out of my mind?!?  I haven't done that much work in one trip in a while but I've got two potential jobs that I'm in negotiations for and while neither of them is ideal for me (they are not located in my home town) they both pay better then not working even after maintaining a second place.  So, while I don't want to take a job 240 or 650 miles from home I also don't want to sit on Unemployment (4 months is beyond my sanity point).  So, if I take one of these jobs (or get perhaps) then I won't be around to work on the cabin so much for a LONG time (6 months or longer in one case) other then maybe a weekend or two (if I get the closer job) which would be better spent with my family ENJOYING the cabin :)

Damn work! haha  If only some would come over HERE!  Geez...


OlJarhead

Slight change in plans ;)

Day One:
1.   Install pole for Solar Rack
a.   Dig 3' hole
b.   Cement pole in hole & Brace
2.   Frame and sheet porch
a.   Set pier blocks
b.   Install posts and beams
c.   Frame floor
d.   Sheet subfloor
e.   Frame walls

Day Two:
1.   Finish Porch (Roof)
a.   Ridge board and rafters
b.   Sheet roof
c.   Felt roof and porch walls
2.   Install Solar Rack and Panels
a.   Stainless screws and rubber gasket
b.   Grounding wire – may need to run over to well for grounding
c.   Attempt to drive ground rod 8' down
3.   Install Battery Box and Batteries
a.   Wire with auto battery wires – to + and then to copper bars
b.   Vent to outside of porch – need vent
c.   Mount Xantrex on wall above batteries
d.   Mount Iota and AIM beside batteries on shelf
4.   Power up System
a.   Test xantrex and AIM
b.   Test iota charger on generator
c.   Consider building generator box

Day Three:
1.   Finish drilling holes and installing romex
2.   Install receptacles, lights and switches
3.   Install Load Center
4.   Power up Cabin and test cabin power
5.   Power to Composter

Day Four
1.   Replace #9 Screws with #14's on the 4 panels (5?)
2.   Install ridge vent and cap on roof
3.   Cut away 2" of outrigger rafter and install metal strap
4.   Fix/Finish Chimney flashing and install brace

Day Five
1.   Finish up left over items
2.   Return home or prep for return

Day Six
1.   Pack up and return home with Tent Trailer




I've also just ordered the copper bar to make my bus bars out of (1/4"x1" x5' - 2ea.).  I plan to drill them and install much like Don's shown us in his pics.  I felt that was the neatest method of installing the bus bars.  Now I just need to find stand offs to use and some pipe insulation.

Tickhill

OJ, you getting the bus bars from Storm Copper? Can't wait to see the pictures of your solar install! Tickhill
"You will find the key to success under the alarm Glock"  Ben Franklin
Forget it Ben, just remember, the check comes at the first of the month and it's not your fault, your a victim.

Pray while there is still time

Tickhill

OJ, I used SQD part# PK32DGTA for my bus bars, It will accept 7 - #6AWG - 350kcmil Cu or Al. SQD's Cu bus bar was considerably higher in $$$.
"You will find the key to success under the alarm Glock"  Ben Franklin
Forget it Ben, just remember, the check comes at the first of the month and it's not your fault, your a victim.

Pray while there is still time


JavaMan

Glad to hear you got the ol' Iron Horse (or is that iron mule?)back up and running!  I hope you have a productive time up there!  I know I went up with a long list of things to get done the last time, but barely got anything done - and that probably only happened because of my help (thanks again Frank!).  I think from now on, rather than taking only a 1/2 day off when I go up, I'll take the entire day.  I was still recovering on Saturday from the drive, and work - made it hard.

I know what you mean about the job situation.  I'm guessing the closer job is in my area someplace, so if it is, we'll have to get together for a beer sometime. 

I will be awaiting your AAP (After Action Post) to see how well your panels went up!

OlJarhead

Quote from: Tickhill on September 16, 2010, 04:08:08 AM
OJ, you getting the bus bars from Storm Copper? Can't wait to see the pictures of your solar install! Tickhill

Got it from online metals.  Went to Storm but couldn't find their 'products' section.  Decided that $21.56/ea wasn't bad for a 5 foot 1/4"x1" bar and I can drill the holes in it.

Just need a stand off for it now -- anyone have any good suggestions?

OlJarhead

Quote from: JavaMan on September 16, 2010, 08:28:34 AM
Glad to hear you got the ol' Iron Horse (or is that iron mule?)back up and running!  I hope you have a productive time up there!  I know I went up with a long list of things to get done the last time, but barely got anything done - and that probably only happened because of my help (thanks again Frank!).  I think from now on, rather than taking only a 1/2 day off when I go up, I'll take the entire day.  I was still recovering on Saturday from the drive, and work - made it hard.

I know what you mean about the job situation.  I'm guessing the closer job is in my area someplace, so if it is, we'll have to get together for a beer sometime. 

I will be awaiting your AAP (After Action Post) to see how well your panels went up!

I've had those days/weekends for certain but I keep trying to get MORE done and sometimes we're successful.  Right now the temptation is to just lite the fire and kick back...can't do it.

Couple jobs in Seattle but I'm not keen on it -- though if I do take one we'll definitely have to go out for a beer (Jack for me thanks)!


I can't wait to get the solar up and running!!!!  I'm so stoked but I need to build the porch first since I plan to use it as the battery box (more or less)...

Shawn B

Standoff ideas for copper bus bar:



nylon bolts
plastic/nylon all-thread
solid plastic round rods

don't laugh  ???  rofl

buy a solid plastic cutting board at China-Mart for a couple bucks and cut some small squares out of it for standoffs.

"The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on Earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but only to have the law of nature for his rule." Samuel Adams


OlJarhead

Quote from: Shawn B on September 16, 2010, 12:36:16 PM
Standoff ideas for copper bus bar:



nylon bolts
plastic/nylon all-thread
solid plastic round rods

don't laugh  ???  rofl

buy a solid plastic cutting board at China-Mart for a couple bucks and cut some small squares out of it for standoffs.



That's why this is such a great board!  Lots of great ideas.

I hadn't thought of any of those.

I'm no electrician but I think that wood isn't a good conductor but rather an insulator -- am I wrong there?  I'm thinking that bolting the bar to a wood wall board 6" from the other bar will not provide a path from one bar to the other right?

Standoffs to give you room to work and help isolate the bar.

MountainDon

Wood, when dry, is an insulator. It is not commonly used as an insulator because if wet is can conduct electricity.

So especially in low voltage situations there is practically no danger


Just so you know, a proper insulating electrical standoff does not use pass through bolts. There are standoffs that do have pass through bolts but those are not meant for direct connection to things like bus bars or other live electrical componeents.


The two threaded inserts are just that. separate inserts, one at each end. There is no conductive path through the standoff. Available at Storm Copper, assorted sizes.

Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

MountainDon

I've used nylon or delrin rod stock to make insulated standoffs. Cut a suitable length and drill/tap a hole in each end.

Be aware that nylon is hydrophilic, that is it does absorb water.
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

Shawn B

If you go with the nylon bolts, my experience with them shows that they work best when installed vertically. More precisely when they are not bearing any load, simply holding something together.

I used them extensively when I used to work on induction furnaces, inverters, SCR's, etc.
"The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on Earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but only to have the law of nature for his rule." Samuel Adams

OlJarhead

Quote from: MountainDon on September 16, 2010, 01:58:22 PM
Wood, when dry, is an insulator. It is not commonly used as an insulator because if wet is can conduct electricity.

So especially in low voltage situations there is practically no danger


Just so you know, a proper insulating electrical standoff does not use pass through bolts. There are standoffs that do have pass through bolts but those are not meant for direct connection to things like bus bars or other live electrical componeents.


The two threaded inserts are just that. separate inserts, one at each end. There is no conductive path through the standoff. Available at Storm Copper, assorted sizes.



This would be my preference -- where can they be found Don?


MountainDon

They can be found behind my bus bars.   rofl

or at Storm Copper, and probably other places I don't know about.  I used their part number, 1100-A1. Their prices include shipping and handling so the per unit price drops a lot as the quantity increases.

Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

Shawn B

Erik,


If you have the time to cut, drill, and tap then these would save you some money over the pre-made "genuine" one.


http://www.fastenal.com/web/products.ex?N=0&Ntk=Search+All&Ntt=nylon+rods&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&searchBox=1
"The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on Earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but only to have the law of nature for his rule." Samuel Adams

OlJarhead

Thanks all!  I'll order the Storm product since it's only $26 for 12 of them :)  That ought to be plenty for what I'm doing.

AWESOME

OlJarhead

Scored three double paned aluminum windows - 3x3's for the porch today :)  All free with no cracks and 2 have screens :)

Then was informed I can have all the rest of the windows from the house too :D

One is a 10'x5' window and two are 6x4.5' -- I think they would be great for a green house!

I plan to scoop them all up and store them in the shed at the cabin so I can use them for other projects down the road :)

MountainDon

Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

OlJarhead

Quote from: MountainDon on September 17, 2010, 10:33:41 PM
great deal!



Amen!  I'm pretty stoked.  Picked up the 3 windows yesterday and all are in excellent shape.  Now I'm just trying to get my head around the solar power and porch framing -- I want to complete both in 5 days!


OlJarhead


OK the wife was harassing me about my porch and cabin drawing because I actually drew most of the porch board by board so you could see it from any angle (all framing).  It looked, she said, like the porch was holding the entire cabin up since I didn't have the foundation on the cabin -- sheesh...

But it gave me an excuse to play with sketchup some more :)

So now the cabin AND porch have a foundation (sans bracing).

This program is fun to play with but when I was using Mastercam years ago it was far far superior!  I could easily have drawn the cabin framing in Mastercam on an old Pentium 133 faster then I can draw it now in Sketchup with a 2700 and 2 gigs of ram!

Sketchup just isn't that bright a program but for free one shouldn't really complain :P

OlJarhead

I used a rafter link Don posted in another thread: http://www.blocklayer.com/Roof/GableEng.aspx to calc my porch rafters (thanks Don).

With a 4:12 pitch the rise is just under 2 feet which should be perfect for what I'm trying to do provided I remember to make my walls 7' tall -- it is a porch after all.

I plan to build this porch with 2x8 rafters (now don't laugh!  I expect snow to be dropped on the roof unlike the cabin's 2x6 rafter which I'm not worried in the slightest about) and will install rafter ties (bottom 1/3rd right -- so a little above the wall should be ok in order to give more head room if I hand a light off of one).  Here is my materials list...see anything missing please poke me!

Thanks
Erik
1.   Posts – 4x4x8 PT – 3ea
2.   Blocks – Pier Blocks with saddles – 6ea
3.   Beams – 2x8x12 – 2ea
4.   Braces – 2x4x8 PT – 6ea
5.   Joists – 2x6x8 – 8ea
6.   Flooring – ¾"x4x8 T&G – 2ea
7.   Studs & Plates – 2x4x8 – 40ea
8.   Headers – 2x6x8 – 2ea
9.   Sheeting – 7/16" OSB – 5ea
10.   Rafters – 2x8x10 – 6ea
11.   Ridge board – 2x10x8 – 1ea
12.   Roof Sheeting – 5/8x4x8 OSB – 3ea
13.   Roof Felt – 30lbs – 1ea
14.   Wall Felt – 15lbs – 1ea

Don_P



Keep playing with it, I've been quite impressed, there are shortcuts... I only drew one rafter on this sketch, made a component out of it and placed duplicates on 16" centers, etc. This is a plan I've been working on, the heavy timber trusses are supporting a ridgebeam. The hidden view is allowing me to trace the load paths. The drawing has 9 layers at present that can be turned on or off to look through and modify the building. Most blueprint shops support it.

OlJarhead

Wow Don!

I have been fighting with the way it allows me to move things and cut and paste...getting something on centers is like a nightmare for some reason.  Maybe I need to play with it some more eh?

WEATHER!!!????  What the.....

It's COLD and WET in the Northwest (even in the desert) and it looks like Winter has arrived (just skipped the Fall all together).  Temps at the cabin are down in the low 30's at night (or mids) and temps during the day are in the 50's and chance or rain is "bring a raincoat".

Ducks in the desert are wearing boots and carrying umbrella's and I'm supposed to get to work on the cabin!?

Sheesh...looks like it might be wet work next trip -- good thing the wood stove is in!

considerations

I like rain...but I like autumn better.