Quiet today. It dumped about 4-5″~ of snow last night so theres not alot of noise outside right now. Im wearing my Sorels (pac boots, ‘pacs’) since the snow comes up about halfway to my knees and wearing regular boots without gaiters would be a wet drippy mess. The felt liners in the Sorels, when worn by themselves, make the most outstanding household slippers Ive ever worn. I may have to get a few extra liners just for the purpose of wearing them as slippers.
=====
Little ditty on the news abouta company developing solar power technology that is five times more efficient than what is currently used. The article says current efficiancy is around 6% and this new stuff is around 30%..and its off a material that also works on non-visible light like infra-red so you could actually generate electricity from heat sources. Coolness. I really, really, really need to immerse myself into a study of these sorts of things..esp. just the fundamentals (watts, amps, volts, line drop, AC, DC, batteries, etc..)
=====
Im also reminded that another glaring deficiency in my abilities is my utter lack of knowledge when it comes to things automotive. Limited slip? Differential? Transfer case? Lift kit? May as well be speaking ebonics. I have certain ideas about what I want in a vehicle, then its just a matter of putting such a rig together. In an ideal world I’d take the thing apart completely so id know how everything works and relates to each other. In fact, one of the LMI is involved in such a project..he has a trapezoid of welded steel he calls his ‘jeep’. Its just the frame. He’s building it from the frame up and I really think that would be the way to go. Realistically though, what I’d probably wind up doing is buying an older vehicle (Ford, Toyota Land C., etc) and tweak it out. Thats what I love about some of these older 4-wheel drive vehicles that have a cult following – the aftermarket parts abound. Dual tanks? No sweat. Removeable doors and windshield? We can do that. Gas can rack? Piece of cake. Winch? Of course.
=====
Having used up all the lumber from an earlier shelving project/disassembly, the shelving project in the bunker has come to a halt. Most everything now has a place, but I want some better organization. For example, right now alot of stuff simply sits on the shelves in milk crates with labels attached to them…not a bad way to store things, actually, but Id prefer a more protective ontainer system. Ammo cans in various sizes are almost perfect except for their weight. The gamma-sealed buckets work very very well except their round shape and limited size have their own drawbacks.
=====
Remember the radio relay station from earlier this year that me and the girlfriend were looking at? I wonder what its like up there now with all that snow.
Notes From The Bunker
While 30% is an improvement over current technology, that 6% figure is not for monocrystalline solar cells. [which are 12-14% efficient open-market, 23% efficient lab as single-photojunction.]
I’m not sure what the efficiency for amorphous silicon cells is. It’s less than the monocrystalline stuff. But a shadow won’t kill an amorphous cell’s voltage dead as a doornail.
Remember the radio relay station from earlier this year that me and the girlfriend were looking at? I wonder what its like up there now with all that snow.
It’s the only time of year you’d be able to get water up there.
You forgot to mention that you look like a cute little elf whilst wearing the liners. 😉
You really strike me more as the diesel type, for a number of reasons:
You can cut diesel with kerosene to improve it’s low-temp performance; you can substitute biodiesel anywhere diesel can be used; propane injection can be easily added to diesel engines to improve both power and MPG. If you wanted to, you could add a secondary fuel system to run the thing on plain old vegetable oil, though you’d still need to start and warm up the engine on normal fuel.
Diesel and biodiesel store nearly as easily as kerosene, and I know you’re a fan of that. Diesel engines are also good in that they are very easily upgraded to get better power and MPG, which you can’t say about gas engines.
An 80’s-vintage diesel Blazer or Suburban would be perfect if you wanted an SUV. I don’t recall Ford ever offering a diesel Bronco. Early 90’s Dodge pickups with the 5.9 turbodiesel Cummins 6BT are readily available on Ebay for sub-$7000, and often less than that.
There’s always the engine swap idea as well – a Cummins 3.9 4BT (often used in Chevy box vans and Isuzu NPR’s and such) could be adapted to almost anything, if you felt like going that route. I’ve even seen a Jeep Grand Cherokee converted to a 4BT.
For around-the-house shoes, Uggs are great. Unfortunately, they’re a bit pricey and all the Britney wanna-bes are wearing them now.
The article on those panels were bullshit. They didn’t achieve 30% efficiency, they simply stated that under optimal conditions, they might be able to. If you want to get up to speed on some of this stuff, have a look at Home Power magazine. I don’t hug trees like many of their readers do, but there’s a lot of neat information in there. Also, they give away each issue for free in PDF form though it’s still proper magazine that shows up on newstands.
As for vehicles, I currently have a late model, full size half-ton pickup with a standard cab and 2wd. I have frequently found myself in situations where I’ve needed 4wd and have gotten by on luck and driving skill. Another thing that annoys me is that I have no in-cab storage space for things like a bug-out bag. It’s my intention to replace it with a 4wd extended cab Dodge with a Cummins turbo diesel. Through ’97 the 12-valve Cummins got 20-26mpg. This is for a 3/4 ton pickup with way more towing capacity and almost 10mpg better fuel economy than my existing pickup. I suppose that’s the nature of diesel, plus if I get the space, I can make my own bio-diesel for about $.60/gallon.
time out
and review your survival booklist for your home libary. try used book stores on stuff you don’t know. why wait for the local libary to burn down? Wildflower
Diesel…
… for non-SUV type vehicles, VW’s diesels do a nice job, as to the early 80’s Benz’s. Good if you want a second vehicle (non-suv) that has fuel compatibility with the suv (and better fuel-milage for highway trips, etc). Plan on doing [or learning to do] the work yourself. Dealers are pricy and don’t see enough of ’em to usually do a consistently great job.
Diesels can also run on heating oil [post-teotwawki], mixed with K-1 and/or anti-gel when used in the winter. Waste oil can also work, but only in older vehicles, as it has metal bits that’ll trash new high psi injectors.
Compression ignition will elimate a major source of RFI in the vehicle as well (no spark plugs, etc.). Around here they start reliably at -20F (actual, not wind chill). And, you have the opportunity to learn a _lot_ about them, easily, when you’re doing all the work yourself.
Biodiesel does have some issues with the extreme cold. There are new anti-gell addatives that seem to work with BD100 (100% biodiesel, 0% dinodisel). Some older cars can have problems with BD as the BD can melt fuel lines, replacing the fuels line with the correct (newer) kind of rubber/plastic/metal/whatever solves this problem forever.