Thursday, September 17, 2020

Off-grid post, 9.17.20

 



The games are getting a bit stale now, and so it is time to put some ideas to work. As those who read this blog may know, I am against all the mask-wearing that's being imposed upon us---even in the supposed reddest of the red states--Texas.

When I went to the laundromat to do some clothes, I got some static about not wearing a mask. Rather than make a scene, I just left the joint, and haven't been back. But that left me with a problem. How to do my laundry now? Not all laundromats will impose the requirement, so I went to those. But there's a better way--- don't use their equipment. I have a washer. But it wasn't hooked up to the plumbing. Now it is.

Besides improving my plumbing around here, I got an idea to help cool down the joint in the heat of summer. This doesn't even involve a lot of digging. It is so simple that it amazed me that I didn't think of it before. The idea is to use insulation on the roof out there. Some R-10 solid looking stuff may be the ticket. It isn't cheap, but to actively cool it with water in the hopes of distilling clean water off of it is a very labor- intensive solution. This should be better.

So when I build my roof over the joint out there, it will be insulated. Why insulate it?

The metal gets hot in the sun, and then transmits the heat below. Even if you are in the shade, that metal will make things hotter than you know what. The insulation will help keep the shaded area cooler. The main idea is to avoid using an AC out there. There is no power, so you need a way to keep cool without drawing a lot of power. This will reduce the need for an AC and electricity.

The other ideas I have will help even further. Even though it will take a lot of digging to put a water tank down below, I think it will be worth it. It will also given some temperature moderation as well. That's the idea. The only electricity will be a water pump and a fan, which I am using anyway.

It shouldn't be too uncomfortable out there, and I may not even need to go into town to do the laundry. How 'bout that?





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