energy saving projects around the homestead..

well when seasoning the top of the grill we quickly figured out the flashing on the fire box doors wasnt going to be sufficient,so we as we always do have improvised. we just keep a bucket of water nearby and dunk them periodically to keep them from catching on fire.

for those of you unfamiliar with seasoning of cast iron its a simple but somewhat smelly process.all you do is heat the cast iron up extremely hot and apply coats of vegtable oil to it sparingly and let it soak in.

when no more rust is evident and she is uniformly blackened and smooth she is ready to be cooked on.



it took several hours to season the old top properly and by the time we were done we had the oven heated up 400 F. without having to move any coals into the oven firebox..



so its another project complete.

my next project is going to be to finish the root cellar,i will post pics of that project as it progresses as well
hope you enjoyed,yall have a great day..

 

Your oven project is inspiring! My partner's been asking for one for a while, I think I'll start watching craigslist for bricks =)

 

oh you will love the oven if you build one..its taken a lil figuring out but we can now get a good bread cooking temperature in it in a little under 3 hours,then it holds that heat for a LONG time..

the root cellar has been on hold because of the stitches in my foot..
that and the panels we intend to use to shore up the side walls and for the roof weigh about 350 pounds a piece..
me and my better half got 1 panel down there by hand last weekend (moved it about 100 yards) and decided we should come up with a plan B for the next 3..
so i am going to build a sled to pull behind the blazer next weekend and drag them heavy sons a bitches down there..

so stay tuned,,should make some progress this coming weekend...

 

hey, just wanted to say the stacking racks for the solar food dryer is really cool. I've seen a lot of racks that have darkish rocks at the bottom of the heat collection chamber to get heat during the day and It'll release some heat at night too.

Also the folks over at big rock commune not far from me have this solar oven built on a trailer frame. it's gigantic. the hitch is on a post in the ground and they welded the wheels sideways so they can rotate it. it's about 5x5 at the outside and the cooking box is bigger than a traditional oven.

needless to say some of those projects are on my list of things to do. I'll try and get pics to show my progess too.

thanks again for all your wonderfull posts hhb and dili

 

I can't believe it took me so damn long to view this thread. That food dehydrator is sweet,I just may have to build one this weekend. Thanks for the link.

 

There is a lot of quality content on this thread. Have you guys ever thought of making a website?

5 to 10 treads like this would make a nice website.

Seriously a lot of people are searching for energy saving stuff these days. I’m sure if you laid something out well you would get some traffic after a bit and maybe pull some money out of it.

 

These ideas are wonderful. Thanks so much for sharing. These are on my list of things to make when we finally are able to purchase our own home.
Love and Light,
hippy@heart

 

thanks all for your kind words.

the root cellar project if FINALLY(none to soon as fall is upon us) all but complete. all thats left is finishing a bit of the cob plastering on the outside wall and retaining walls.

as soon as i compile all the pictures i will post them.this may take a while as that project has now drug on for well over a year.(working on it here and there)

i would not recommend digging a root cellar by hand for anyone that is not prepared for seemingly endless days with a shovel in there hands.
up until completion it was by far the least rewarding project ive worked on.spending four or five hours of constant shoveling and swinging a pick axe only to realize you have a hundred more hours to go is a bit disheartining but in the end it is well worth it..

thanks again for the kind words all,will post new pics sometime..lol

there will be more projects to come..stay tuned..

 

I was wondering what the reflectors in the solar oven are made of?

 

not sure,i guess some kind of aluminum? they appear to be refractors for some type of lighting system.i traded for a whole mess of them a while back.. most everything we use around here is either bartered for or scavenged..

 

I will see if I can salvage something like those, thank you

 

oh my God thats the reason i started going to the farm and forever will be my home in my heart and soul I Love You Guys i cant wait to see yall and the farm soon yall never seem to amaze me blessed be for folks like you I Miss Yall So Much i am so proud to have my life and journeys fall along the path with you everyday your alll with me i Def. wouldn't be were i am if it wasn't for yalls guidance thank you and i love you See Yall Soon

 

this is great i cant wait to get started with these