Okanogan 14x24 by a lurker :)

[OlJarhead]

Don't know about water wishers my friend but I bet someone around us would.  Sorry about the work situation!  Did you ever contact EZen?

[OlJarhead]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aubmqc0VpRA
Milling black walnut today

[Redoverfarm]

snow level at 3500' you say?  If so, the ranch is still snowed in.

Good to see you're making it work out there.  I'm still looking for work (again) ...

Say, do you know anyone that is good at finding water (dousing or simply reading the signs)?

Usually not that hard.  I have been doing it fairly well for a number of years.  I just use 2 bronze brazing rods.  Bend a 90 deg handle on each end about 6-8" long.  Hold the rods at an equal distance apart on both ends.  Rest your elbows against your sides.  Grip them just strong enough to keep them from spinning.  Test yourself by walking over a culvert or water line.  The rods will cross each other 90 degrees in the opposite direction when you are directly over the spot.  If it doesn't happen right off try again.  But then again there are some people that are not able to do it.  Don't ask me why. 

[JavaMan]

Usually not that hard.  I have been doing it fairly well for a number of years.  I just use 2 bronze brazing rods.  Bend a 90 deg handle on each end about 6-8" long.  Hold the rods at an equal distance apart on both ends.  Rest your elbows against your sides.  Grip them just strong enough to keep them from spinning.  Test yourself by walking over a culvert or water line.  The rods will cross each other 90 degrees in the opposite direction when you are directly over the spot.  If it doesn't happen right off try again.  But then again there are some people that are not able to do it.  Don't ask me why. 

Yeah, I've tried.  Had a friend that could do it.  Showed me how and pointed out where the water line from the well was here at home, but after he had hip surgery, he couldn't do it anymore.  My theory is the metal in the body does something... and if I'm right, I won't have any luck either with a 250mm rod in my left arm 

OJH - I think I did give them a call or something a while back (that was maybe nearly a year ago) ... maybe I should try again?  can you send me contact info via email?

Milling that walnut looks good!  I still wish you'd had that on the trailer when we felled those trees.  Stay safe!

[Yonderosa]

Javaman: If you're drilling Bill Moomaw (Moomaw Drilling) is the guy I've used and would recommend.  He finds it where it's best and then figures out a way to get his rigs in there, which is opposite of the couple of other drillers I have experience with in the area. 

Another thing I like about Bill is he charges for what he does.  If he only puts in 40' of well casing, that's all he charges for - again, some others charge you whatever they put on the estimate whether they use it or not.

He's saved me some money on the projects I've used him.  The wells are better (volume and static levels) at shallower depths than other wells in the area.  He's gotten that old rig of his into some pretty tight spots that others wouldn't go.  I know of some happy cherry farmers in your area that Bill helped out too.  I wish I could find a guy like him over on the wet side.

[OlJarhead]

Milling this weekend

Black Walnut


Some was pretty challenging


The Results










While not strictly about my cabin build it all ties together as the more I mill the more I learn

[astidham]

very nice!
I love walnut, has a great cutting smell too!

[JavaMan]

Thanks for the tip, Yonderosa!  I did have one of the "local" guys out about 5 years ago (has it REALLY been that long?) and the estimate I got then was $13,000 ... of course he guessed a 300-400 foot well and really didn't look the site over very well (no pun intended).  I should probably resurrect my thread and carry this on over there... Apologies to OJH for the small hijack

Javaman: If you're drilling Bill Moomaw (Moomaw Drilling) is the guy I've used and would recommend.  He finds it where it's best and then figures out a way to get his rigs in there, which is opposite of the couple of other drillers I have experience with in the area. 

Another thing I like about Bill is he charges for what he does.  If he only puts in 40' of well casing, that's all he charges for - again, some others charge you whatever they put on the estimate whether they use it or not.

He's saved me some money on the projects I've used him.  The wells are better (volume and static levels) at shallower depths than other wells in the area.  He's gotten that old rig of his into some pretty tight spots that others wouldn't go.  I know of some happy cherry farmers in your area that Bill helped out too.  I wish I could find a guy like him over on the wet side.

[JavaMan]

The one on the right looks like the one we went to buy over in Port Townsend (I think) to use as a fireplace mantle... 2 full inches thick.  It had two live edges and I trimmed on off (so it would fit against the chimney).

I puit 4 anchor bolts into the chimney blocks, measured, remeasured, and measured again before transferring measurements to the edge of the board and drilling holes.  Beautiful comes in as I'm about to drill the last hole and asks, "Have you ever done this before?" ... hehh ...     "uh, no, but I got it right"...

And I did.  Breathed a sigh of relief when the holes went onto the anchor bolts.

Beautiful stuff you got there.  That'll make some nice furniture or fiddles 

[OlJarhead]

I think they planned one or two for mantles also...

But I don't have any   Should have cut them a deal but needed the $$$ to pay for expenses to do the work! lol

[JavaMan]

I think they planned one or two for mantles also...

But I don't have any   Should have cut them a deal but needed the $$$ to pay for expenses to do the work! lol

Not that I'm into that eastern religion stuff, but...

When the fireplace is ready the mantle wood will appear ...

[rick91351]

I think they planned one or two for mantles also...

But I don't have any   Should have cut them a deal but needed the $$$ to pay for expenses to do the work! lol

Good point and a problem with some woods is I want.  Pretty soon you would have a nice collection of slabs and no profit.  Others will come along.....

[OlJarhead]

Good point and a problem with some woods is I want.  Pretty soon you would have a nice collection of slabs and no profit.  Others will come along.....

I thought of doing an extra log for them on a 50/50 deal but it was raining hard and I was soaked.  Time to call it a day!

[OlJarhead]

Back at my place in the woods and the snow hasn't built up too much.  In fact, most of the new snow has melted off already, however I hit the driveway with the tractor and box blade (broken plow for two hours and moved a surprising amount of snow.

The propane was just below 40% when I arrived also, which is awesome!  It was just at 40% when I left a week ago so I'm pretty happy with that.

Now, come on spring!

[OlJarhead]

I decided today would be a good day to change the angle of the solar panels to match the sun which is higher on the horizon now and found this site: http://solarelectricityhandbook.com/solar-angle-calculator.html which helped determine a good angle to set the panels at.
Using my magnetic angle meter makes this VERY easy to do.

I then got into the back room and replaced the little 90mm fan I'd placed over the heater to help push the warm air down into the bottom of the room.

This fan actually moves a lot of air and doesn't take much power to run.  It's basically a big computer fan.  Once the room is finished I'll probably make a more permanent place for it with perhaps some boxing to both protect it and help it move more air.


This 8000BTU vented through the wall heater seems to heat the room quite well and now that I have the fans in place it doesn't seem to run nonstop anymore.  I also have the proper jet for it though I don't know how much difference it will make.  I'll replace it the next time I get into the room but have bigger fish to fry now.


I pulled the instant on hot water heater down and found the crack right away (on right).  Strange that it was at the top rather than lower down.


Better shot of the crack.

I'm going to take it into someone (if I can find someone) who can replace the damaged pipe.  If they can do it for less than the $200 it would cost to replace the heater then I'll have them do it.  If not I'll order a new one and have hot water again within a couple weeks (which would be rather nice).

The propane was at 39% last check and I only used about 1 or 2% in the last week so I'm thinking that all things being equal I should be able to make it into the spring or perhaps even the summer before having to refill the 500 gallon tank which would be nice since propane will be much cheaper then.

I think now, with all that I am doing, I should be able to easily make it through the winter and into the summer with propane to spare in the future.  This year I was trying to heat the room before it was insulated and using a much bigger heater in the beginning before installing the one above.  I'll also get a door installed (still trying to decide if I'll have one made for the room or just make my own).

I was also able to add some bulking material (hemp chips) to the composter and rotate the drum.  It's done just fine in the room since it stays warm enough and since I only use it a couple times a week at most it isn't even remotely taxed out with me living here (I use the bathroom at work during the week).

Now to relax a little and contemplate the rest of the day.  I may go out and do some work cutting logs into smaller logs for the mill and maybe burn a little but honestly I'm kinda in the mood to just listen to music and read   Sometimes you have to do that right?  Though I've also debated some other small projects.  We'll see!

One other thing, I slid three times yesterday on my way down the mountain.  I was in 4 low, 2nd gear and have studded snow tires but the ice was just too slick and the road too steep.  Each time I slid about 20 to 30 feet to a section where there was no ice so I got lucky!  Otherwise the trees an I would have had a more intimate relationship!  Iv'e debated taking the tractor down there and trying to dig up some of the ice but I'm also worried it would slide too much too so may just pass and put the chains on for when I go to work Monday.

[rwilly]

What a great thread!
We have some acreage in the Okanogan as well, in Wauconda. Hopefully we will be able to build something like what you have done.
I love the area.

Ron

[OlJarhead]

Old man winter refuses to give up!

[OlJarhead]

What a great thread!
We have some acreage in the Okanogan as well, in Wauconda. Hopefully we will be able to build something like what you have done.
I love the area.

Ron

Then I'm not far from you   Just south in fact.  Another member of the forum now owns the General Store in Aeneas Valley too.  Perhaps this year will be the year of the get together! lol

[OlJarhead]

I think the snow on the roof is a sign the R31+ insulation is working


Nothing like a big red tractor to remove the fresh snow with


The sun came out and I was inspired to shoot some pics while out turning on the well pump


195watt solar panel I use to power the well pump.  This is a 24v panel and the cost was around $200 plus shipping...in other words, the cost of this panel with a charge controller is only slightly more than a Costco 60watt panel and controller.  Hence my suggestion in another thread to not bother with Harbor Freight or Costco panel setups.  Better to just go to sunelec and order 1 or two panels like this and make your own.


I spent a lot of money getting to this point.  First it was about $260 for the 60watt Costco solar panel/charger set up plus the $100+ I spent on a switch and timer and then batteries etc all of which didn't do the job...I finally did more research and went with a solar pump charge controller from Backwoods Solar and this panel from Sunelec and what-do-you-know it works like a charm

Only issue I've had is with the float valve which had the wires cut and now which my be stuck in the 'low' position but I can get to because the top of the cistern is frozen solid....no worries, spring is coming!

[OlJarhead]

One thing about having a BIG inverter is that it has NO PROBLEM running the shopvac (or a skillsaw etc for that matter).

My old 2500watt inverter just didn't have the oomph needed but the 4000watt pure sine inverter does and will peak at 12000 watts to get something powerful going   Heck this thing could run an AC unit if the batteries had the juice!

Speaking of the batteries I definitely think this will be the year I replace them.  They just don't have the power reserves to run the inverter etc all day when the clouds are out and the generator has to come on at night to top off the batteries.  I'm thinking Trojan L16's and only have to decide if I'm going to run one 24v string or 3.  Everything I've read tells me that 3 is not only fine but could be an advantage because if you install cutoffs for each string than they can be shut off if a cell goes bad leaving you with two to continue to run the cabin on.

I'm also looking at doubling the capacity of the bank and while the solar panels won't have the power to charge it fully in the winter I can make it a year and then get a new string and charge controller to add solar charging capacity.

[OlJarhead]

Ended up with another 6" of snow today and had to get out and move it off the road.

I would not be able to live here without my tractor! 50hp and 4wd with ballast in the tires and it moves the snow like a pro


Backblading is the only good way for me to plow since I busted my snow plow but this works pretty well.



That box blade is about 18" tall so you have some idea of the snow depth and what I'm moving.


The driveway here is about 15 to 18" deep on either side.  About typical in January but not usually this late in the winter.


The road has turned to ice below our driveway and it's TREACHEROUS so I've chained up the truck and will have to take it in 4 low tomorrow.  It's going to be a nail biter! 

[rick91351]

Can you hang chain all the way around.  I got 'dem never been where I had to.   

[OlJarhead]

Can you hang chain all the way around.  I got 'dem never been where I had to.   

Yes and I've had to several times but one of my front chains is broken (ok they aren't 'front chains' but I have some on the back so what else would I call them? lol) so I left them at home telling myself I needed to fix them 

Perhaps I ought to do that this summer! 

[OlJarhead]

Note to self:  Always check that the inverter kicked over to sleep mode correctly and will 'wake up' and charge the batteries if needed when the generator comes on.  Seems last night after I went to bed the batteries must have dropped below the threshold and the generator came on and ran for three hours but the inverter/charger didn't wake up so the batteries were pretty low this morning.

Luckily I set the generator to come on early and there was plenty of power this morning an I was able to reset the inverter and adjust the generator to come back on.  It will now run for 5 hours giving the batteries a full and deep charge - something they need because I've had very little sun lately.

Life off the grid.

[OlJarhead]

The snow is still coming down and we got another 6" today (or more) so I had to chain up to get home and then get the tractor out and plow for a couple hours.  That got me to the private road which is still another 2.7 miles from the pavement but at least I can get there easily now! 

Still haven't put extra lights on the tractor or I might have plowed down to the road but with the chains on I can pretty much go anywhere as long as the snow doesn't get too deep.

I think I've got about 2 feet of snow now too!  Which is really good for the water table   Now lets hope it doesn't just suddenly melt off and cause flooding!