Making pemmican

7.10.24:

The ultimate guide to foods that never spoil: Long-lasting prepping pantry staples – https://t.co/eFCBfuMfpx https://t.co/HQv6npejlx

— BootsandOil (@BootsandO6892) July 11, 2024

7.8.24

Pemmican was made by Indians back in the day. A warrior could live for a long time on a small amount of calorie-rich food that lasted a long time, needed no refrigeration, and was easy to carry along.

A little light bulb turns on just above my noggin...

Since I've been writing about space travel, a thought came to me. Why make that "astronaut" food when you can just make pemmican? Pemmican would be great for a two plus year round trip to Mars. Or would it? Stick it where the radiation can get to it, and it will keep it from spoilage forever. ( ha, ha)

Rocket stove build

An odysee video from Patrick Remington.

Peter Santenello: He Found Freedom in the Desert

Couldn't help but make comparisons with my land out in West Texas. There's nothing quite like this that I noticed on my visits out to my property. When you encounter anyone at all, it is usually on a one to one basis. There's more plant life. I imagine that there's less rain out in Utah. But it was mentioned that it will flood there at times. So when it does rain, the water can be a problem. Same thing out in West Texas.

There's one town near my place, Sierra Blanca, that's about 17 miles away. It is like any small town. Van Horn is a bit further away. The Big City, El Paso, is about 100 miles away. No comparisons to this place in the video, but he did say something about a place 5 hours away. His place must be way out there in the middle of nowhere.

When he mentions that you're on your own, he isn't kidding. A cop out in West Texas MIGHT show up in an hour, or maybe not at all---same for him in Utah. If something happens, you have to handle it yourself. The guy in this video looks like he can handle a variety of situations. That's what you need in order to make it out in a place like that.

Why Buildings Need Foundations

Practical Engineering channel

I think I've got some of this figured out. How to pour a slab without mixing the concrete, which is a video embed posted earlier. I want to have an open space that also will collect rainwater. That may be accomplished also, but needs a lot of concrete. It can be done, one section at a time.

The open space could be bounded on three sides with my cattle panel quonset prototype. It will be anchored to the dry slab. What goes inside the quonset? Some will be enclosed, which will provide additional floor space. Others will be open to the air, but with screens over them. These may be used as a type of greenhouse. It will shield it from the birds and the bugs, but rain will be able to get through.

The center area will be a rainwater collection area. Rainwater run off will be directed to it, and it can be pumped out into a tank for storage. The area covered should be sufficient to keep the crops well watered. ( I hope)

This plan isn't likely new. I've thought up quadrangles before. This new plan has a few new wrinkles. As with all my plans, it may not be implemented. But who knows what the future will bring?

Off-grid project update, 12/19/23

Something of a mid-course correction.

There hasn't been many posts on this subject lately. The fact of the matter is that a re-evaluation has been underway for quite a while, and other priorities have pushed their way to the forefront. The off-grid project is still on, but it is more of an aspirational thing than a real thing. Always has been that way, but for awhile there, it was the highest priority. I thought of it as sooner rather than later, and now it may be later rather than sooner. Or perhaps the possibility of not at all. It kinda depends on developments.

The weakness of that plan has always been pretty obvious to everyone but me. Consequently, I was out there on an island, doing my thing. This was okay as long as my health was good, and I could work to pay for my whims. But a few things have happened that brought the reality back, and this thing may turn out to be a bridge too far. Money has always been an issue, and has gotten worse since my disability forced me out of the work place.

The land that I bought is still there. I just haven't gone out there. My concern is that I cannot get the job done alone. So it has become an aspirational project as opposed to a high priority project. My efforts have dwindled, so it might be interpreted to mean that it is a failure, and that I've given up on it. But that is not so. It is merely going to shift into another mode for awhile.

That means that I will keep on doing what I've been doing. That is, to learn how to live off the land as I would have to do if I was actually out there. My approach is to simulate it for the time that I would have to actually go out there and do it. That day may never happen. But if it does, II will be about as prepared as you can get without having actually done it for real. Which means that I still don't know what the hell I am doing, but at least I am pointed in the right direction ( I hope).

If I come across some good fortune, things may change. But if that were to happen, maybe I get rid of the land, and move on to other things.

It's more of a bug out joint than anything else right now. It's not even a good bug out joint yet. Might not ever get to being a bug out joint because to get that far means a lot of work and money. Or there may never been the need, or there may never be the resources. It is something of a conundrum.

I've learned a lot over the years. But this was a difficult project. More difficult than I figured on. Unfortunately, that seems to be a pattern with me.

The biggest success is in water management. I need to get a lot better at energy management. I need to get a lot better at making things. Finally, I need to be able to grow or find my own food. That is the least developed skill. If I had to live off the land in terms of getting food, I would be in trouble. Managing energy really means climate control. That summarizes some of skills, but not all.

To top it all off, there needs to be some security. You are on your own out there. It would be me against the elements. I think I could deal with that, but people are the biggest wild card. You never know what or who you may encounter out there.

So that is where it stands.

PS: If only I had an army like this! This video reminds me of a scene in the movie "Witness"--Starring Harrison Ford. There was a barn raising scene in which they built a barn in one day. ( or appeared to)

Multiple small generator comparisons for a possible off-grid application

Can you do better than the Honda small generator? This review sets out to answer that question.

Honda generators aren't cheap. But the competitors are. You get what you pay for, if you are lucky and you are careful. It looks like the Honda won the competition.

Bus conversion into tiny house

Comment:

I considered doing something like this myself. However, if I had, it wouldn't have been as nice as this...

I looked at two vehicles. Even test drove one of them. But I didn't buy it. Maybe it was a good thing I didn't. I was in way over my head. I tend to do things like that.

There's a couple trailers that I have. The one I'm currently living in, and one I bought way back in 2015. I assembled it a few years ago, but that trailer needs a lot of work to make it into a really tiny home. A thought of doing this again is daunting, even for the little one. I'm just not good at this kinda stuff.

Anyway, here's the video...

Same guys did a trailer...

Off-grid series and search strings

 

Recently I stated working on the off-grid part of the project relating to growing food. I was amazed at how much research that I already did on this subject. I realized that I had forgotten about this part of my previous work.

With that in mind, I looked back in the blog, and found these links, which are links to other blog posts on the various topics relating to the off-grid project.

Many of the posts are obsolete, so there needs to be some pruning, you might say.

An order was placed for some sawdust and some sand. These can be used to make custom-made soil, which is according to the Mittleider gardening system's directions. I've had that course in a pdf file stored on computers since 2014. It got filed away like everything else.

Separating the wheat from the chaff, you might say.

All right, time to quit fooling around. There's work to do.

Links to the off-grid series

Review of off-the-grid series so far 

It looks like the link above is on the sidebar, and the links below can be accessed through the

above link as well.  Nevertheless, they are posted below:


Table of Contents Food Subseries

Table of Contents: Power and Electricity

Water subseries Table of Contents

 
Construction subseries Table of Contents


Update:  My packages have arrived.  Now what?!

Update:  Going to use one of those videos I filed away in order to germinate from tomato seeds, from a tomato, a tomato plant itself.

After that is accomplished, maybe grow the plant until it produces tomatoes.

Off-grid bldg option

There are complete buildings that you can buy, but that is a bit too rich for my blood these days. This is the cheapest option. The rest could be built out at my leisure.

Footings will have be put into place so it can be anchored.

It may require more than one person to put it together. May need a scaffold. Details, details, details...

Off-grid post, 10.6.20

 

This post is about power. For my purposes out on the desert, a solar power system is contemplated. However, some doubts have appeared on the scene, as it looks like my current little system is dead. Not sick, but D.E.A.D dead.

Replacement parts are not that much, and this little system doesn't do much. But what it does is needed. There are alternatives, but not good ones.

So I need to buy a replacement for it when it is a little over 5 years old, but was expected to last longer than that. This is the source of doubt. If a system doesn't last, then what?

The downside to solar is the high upfront costs. You are expected to recoup your initial investment with free energy over a long period of time. Evidently, this is not the case.

If this is an anomaly, and solar really does last a lot longer than this, it can be justified. Otherwise, what are the alternatives?

Solar has no moving parts. A generator does. If a generator is used instead, how long does it last? Something tells me that it won't last that long either. In five years or less, it will also need to be replaced. A generator will produce more power though, for the amount of upfront costs. You will need to spend money on the fuel, however.

They both will need batteries. Seriously, you cannot run a generator continually. The fuel bill will be ruinous.

That means a battery system for either alternative. The solar absolutely needs one. The generator may not, but it may be desirable to add a charger to the mix, and let the generator run the charger which charges the batteries. When it is off it saves fuel.

I have a 2 cycle generator already. Yet I have never used it. It will require gasoline and an additive to the gas since it doesn't use oil for lubrication.

This little generator will only output a tiny amount to charge a battery. About the same as the solar panel I've got.

Actually for my own purposes, the generator may be attempted. Meanwhile, I can check out if there's any way to repair a solar panel.

A thought here: There was this off-grid reality show based on the lives of people living in the Arctic. I think it was called "Life Below Zero". In comparison to their problems, mine seems rather trivial. But I'm not yet out in the desert. This little generator can't handle what I will need out there. But neither would the solar panel.

It's a simulation. It's like training wheels for a tyke learning to ride a bike. No reason to get cocky. I've got a long way to go yet.

Techno-metal post

Here's something I saw in an ad. It may be an alternative to digging out my own posts. These are drilled into the ground and the structure is built on top of it.

Off-grid post, 9.24.20

 

Not really an off-grid post, but once again, it is related. This time, it is time to change batteries. The battery I bought five years ago for my off-grid project has finally given up the ghost. Another one is on the way.

While checking the battery, I checked the controller, wiring, and connections. Everything else seems ship shape. Now for the battery to come and it's back to business.

This time I got a smaller battery. Why? I mean, this old one wasn't very big either.

The answer is that no loads are being placed on that battery. The old battery had a real easy time of it. When I first bought it, I knew little about batteries. Now I don't claim to know a lot, but it is more than nothing. Anyway, I tried running a microwave on that little thing while I was out there in the desert. It wasn't nearly enough of a battery to handle a load like that.

Live and learn. Sometimes you find things out the hard way. Capacity is not the only thing.

Battery power isn't cheap. If you try to go solar, then go SMALL. Small ball is all I can afford these days. Even when I had more money, I would be hesitant to add the amount of battery power to live the livestyle of a city feller out in the desert.

For example, the a price quoted on a replacement was well over a hundred bucks. That's plenty of money for something that doesn't do a whole lot. Not even microwave popcorn.

Batteries are rated on what they can do over a period of time. The one I've seen the most of is the 20 hour rate. Even for a 100 Amp-hr battery, 5 amps per hour is not much power.

An a/c can use 1500 watts for a small window unit. For 12 volts, that's 120 amps. Multiply by 20 and you'll need 2400 amp-hrs. Yikes. That's only for the batteries. You need a lot of solar panels to keep them charged. Also, if there's no sun, there's no power.

I'm not keen on solar power. But you gotta do what you gotta do on the desert.

Off-grid post, 9.23.20

The plumbing is essentially done. The next part is to make a filtration system, as the rain water has too much gunk in it.

Perhaps it is well to remember the "KISS" rule. That means to keep it simple, stupid.

Once you start spending money on these things, it can get costly. The idea was to spend almost nothing, if not nothing at all. The idea is to use what materials are available on hand. Not to go around buying stuff.

It looks like a filter will cost some money. It just so happens that the collectors, which are plastic, are starting to fall apart. The sun will do that to plastic.

Something very, very basic can be had to 10 bucks or less. But would it be good enough?

The most basic thing is to store the water in a way that insects cannot get to it. That means a lid. Water could be transferred to the thing and it would sit for a day or two covered up. The dirt and grit will fall to the bottom, and the best water can be skimmed off the top.

It gets more complicated after that, if this isn't good enough.

Off-grid post, 9.21.20

 

This isn't so much about the off-grid project, but it is sort of related. Related in the sense of making do with what I've got.

Recently, I made some plumbing and electrical connections for my washer. It is now more useful than it once was. But I am not satisfied.

The rain water collection effort was stopped awhile back because it is too bothersome to bring the water inside. The idea occurred to me to use this pump to bring it in. For that to happen, a bit more work is required. I made a hole in the floor previously so as to do the climate control experiment. So all the elements to do this project are there. The access to outside, plus some plumbing already in existence, plus this pump. The pump is portable, so I can take it outside, and pump out the containers full of rainwater.

The water can be pumped inside straight to the washer. Then I can figure out what to do next. I think I'd rather have it cleaner, so I think the thing to do is to filter it and return it to the washer. This will take some figuring.

Anyway, I tested the concept today and it was a success. Not the pumping inside. I have to do some preparations before I can do that. I just pumped the water out of the containers on to the ground.

The climate setup had the hose mostly outside. It has to be mostly inside now. This requires that it be pulled out and the plumbing reworked.

That shouldn't be that big of a deal.

The water filtration needs some figuring. As for the water being in the washer, I can drain it out like used wash water. But I will collect the water to be filtered, and somehow get it back to the washer. This will require some thinking, as mentioned.

It's really not an off-grid post, but the setup can be used out there.

That's all.

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?

Off-grid cisterns for water storage

Update:

It would be simpler to use a 275 gallon stackable tank.  These can be had for reasonable prices, and wouldn't be too hard to bury underground.

Update:

To add a little further on this, it is not really for water storage for personal consumption, but it could be.

Not to be posing a riddle here.  The thing that interests me most is that to bury a big tank like that deep enough to be below the freeze line, will also pose an opportunity to use that fact to my advantage.

How?  As a way towards better climate control with a minimum of energy expenditure.  The thing I'd like to avoid is the use of a big generator and all of the logistical problems that that would entail.  If I don't use a lot of electricity to keep the place cool or warm, then that would be a big plus.  It is not in the spirit of being "green", but doing what can be done with what I have at hand.  I don't have a water source, nor an energy source readily available out there.  I have to make do with what is available.

There is a lot of sunshine and there is sufficient acreage and there is the possibility of harvesting rain.  Rain doesn't fall much out there, but when it does, it is in quantities that could support this idea.   That is what I am thinking of working with because that is what is available.

How to implement it?  Well, that the old $64k question, now isn't it?  Money isn't readily available, and this will cost some money.  But time could work to solve that issue.  We'll see.

The original post below:

Fascinating, said Spock.

This may work well with my plans, except it ain't cheap.

Fight the power

 

Today's the day to tighten up some loose ends. A short time ago, I decided to change banks from the too-big-to-fail to a local bank. This involved a lot more than a few words written here. That part is wrapping up, as the move is swinging into the final turn.

As for the rest of my "fighting-the-power" program, I'm still not watching any TeeVee. No TeeVee for a long time now, or it seems like a long time. No football nor sports. Heck, not even Star Trek. I'm really depriving myself for the cause. ( lol )

Still avoiding the Big Box stores, but that is also easier said than done too. Sometimes you just have to use them.

My off-grid project is an even better way to fight the power. If you can separate from the commercialism that is driving the madness of late, all the better. My efforts along these lines should pay off eventually. One of these days...

As for the timing of that, it seems like always two years out. The dates keep moving back. So at some point the date for that event will have to stop moving into the future, and the future will have to become now. But not RIGHT NOW. Nope. Still got a ways to go. Hmm. Maybe next year. Not this year.

The Xbox fits into that. At the moment, I am into that heavily. It may not sound like a serious thing, though. It would be easy to not take it seriously, I suppose.

The project goes on. That is all.

Off-grid post, 8.7.20

This will be an off-grid post, sort of. When this whole project started, there was this need to solve the water problem. There's no running water out there, so a solution for that had to be found. A lot of experimentation followed with a lot of home-made type filters.

There was some limited success with that. Water can be filtered somewhat from a rather filthy state to something that looks like it might be clean. But it isn't really. After that, more needs to be done.

Then there was some experimentation with solar distilling. No working model was ever produced, but it could have been. It remains to be seen how much water can be harvested that way. One thing is for certain, you'd need a lot of glass.

That segues into the easier road---commercial filtration systems. A lot of different types have passed through here---1) Zero 2) Brita 3) Walmart brand 4) Camco ( sic ) and now, 5) Pur.

There has not been any tests with reverse osmosis. That could be next, goodness sakes. It seems like an endless number of these experiments sometimes. Maybe it is just for amusement, or whatever. Anyway, these latest things aren't working as well as one would like. But there is some pretty nasty stuff going through them. It was necessary to do something about the water. The well-water seems to accumulate matter over time, and it gets into everything. This is an attempt to deal with that issue.

The Zero filter does get it to zero. However, the others do not. The downside of that is that the better the filter, the less time it works. Hence the pre-treatment with lesser filters. The cleaner the water is going into the Zero, the longer it will last. It needs to last. If you take really dirty water, the thing would have to be replaced so often that it isn't practical.

For a system out there, it would have take run-off from the roof and clean that to somewhat useful water that could go through a Zero. Actually, the experiments with rainwater suggest that a run-through with the Camco filter might get some pretty clean looking water. It would take an investment in some equipment in order to give that one a try.

The water idea with a stock tank would end up with some dirty looking water. Most of that would be solids that wouldn't settle out. Those would have to be filtered or use a reverse osmosis system on it. Maybe a solar distiller system could be employed.

An idea would be to use the water for cooling. It would be distilled off the roof, and the condensed water would drip into a collection area. That would entail a glass covering over the roof. Tricky idea. It would be like killing two birds with one stone, though. A cooling effect and cleaner water, wrapped up in one neat package.

At this moment, the swamp-cooler has cooled down the interior by 10 degrees over the last 2 1/2 hours. The swamp-cooler is no air conditioner, though. That's why there is a need for shade, and maybe some additional cooling up on the roof.

Well, that's all for now.

Sunflowers growing wild

These were growing a few miles from here. From the pic, it is not readily apparent how large these are. If someone was standing there in the pic, they would have to look UP in order to see the tallest ones. Yep. Over 6 ft. tall. Big suckers.

Maybe I got the identification wrong and these aren't sunflowers. If they are not, they sure do a great imitation. I've heard of larger ones than these. Most of the sunflowers around here are a lot smaller. Lots of Indian brushes, too. However, the season for those is in spring. They appear in the spring, but these big suckers are here NOW.

This is all a part of my self-education program. It is necessary to learn what kind of plant life there is out there in the desert. It is a new thing for me, for in the past, I would totally ignore these kinds of things.

Another short comment before I close. It has been an ongoing thing that I have been doing since I bought the land, yet I still don't know much. I need to accelerate this process. Six years and I still don't know very much.

Anniversary

It is six years ago today that I bought my property out west. At least I still have it even though there is nothing on it yet. Correction: There is some wreckage of a previous attempt at building a shack out there.

It has been a long haul, but I am getting there. The xbox was a part of that plan, if you can believe that. Thanks to this thing, I know a bit more about handling the trailer than I did when I started. It may not seem possible to learn it this way, and it doesn't mean that I know how yet, but I have a running start.

By the way, I haven't been blogging on the other blog lately. Rather than keep two blogs, I may take that blog private. Updates on what is going on may be found here if I think about it. I have a tendency to spread myself too thin. One blog is enough.

Now that I have that out of the way, let me expand upon this a bit. The property was obtained in order to go off the grid. It is easier said than done, like a lot of things.

Given the current events, it is all the more clear why this was a good decision. It would be better to get out of the big cities. I got out a bit sooner than I figured on, but that is a blessing in disguise. How I got here is not exactly the way I would have chosen, but that is the way the old cookie crumbled.

If I lived out there today, my groceries would have to come from a small time operator. The "big box" store chains would not be interested since it is so far away from where all of the people are. As my next step in preparation, I won't buy my groceries from the big chains anymore. There is a grocer down the road a bit. I'll get my groceries there for now on.

Eventually, I may not have to buy groceries. I should be able to grow my own food. How 'bout them apples?

That concept can be expanded. Even though I got the xbox before I got this idea, I'm going to stop buying stuff from the big operators. That would include Microsoft, if at all possible.

There are still alternatives. Maybe not in the future the way things are going. But you can still disengage from Corporate America.

Corporations are in the pockets of the Democrats now. That's an added motivation for doing this.

Trump's tax cut for corporations doesn't look any better to me now than it did then. In fact, it looks worse.

I'm not abandoning Trump. But he isn't perfect. Nobody is.

That is all.