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Comment by George on April 9, 2013 at 10:59am

Jon, I'm a year or two from getting out to your place but looking forward to it.  I agree agree about biomass.  We treat it mostly as waste but it's quite a resource.  

Moderator Comment by Jon Parr on April 9, 2013 at 9:00am

George, Bill, Debra and All. I use wood gasification for heat and electricity, and CO2 boost for plant growth booster and pest control. Wood gasification and biomass is the key ingredient to sustainable life. It is really very easy, and I made a gasifier from a beer keg and scraps from the shop. 

I teach a 5-day aquaponics class, incorporating greenhouse design, wood gasification, rocket stoves, bio-char, CO2 pest control, climate battery (geothermal heating and cooling), pumpless aquaponics, BSFL, worms, aerobic and anaerobic microbial brews, fish breeding, chickens and rabbits, home-made fish and livestock feed, air-lift pumps, solar, and more. Next class is April 29-May 3

www.fishnetaquaponics.com

Comment by Debra Colvin on April 8, 2013 at 10:45pm

Flails.... Dang phone.. I finally found the correct button to post things:P

Comment by Debra Colvin on April 8, 2013 at 10:10pm

Hey! Long time no posting!

I made some progress today on my harebrained hamster/wind powered water pump. ( sorta has something to do with this topic:D) I am woefully not mechanically inclined, so it's taking me forever through trail and error.


This is mechanical pumping, not electrical generation. I've been so frustrated trying to dig up any info I can on this, too. Much if the info is only regarding electrical generation.


the idea was to make it an air pump first, then make it a water pump. I had a dc air pump, and noticed that the diaphragm there is tiny and the out put was good. I had it pumping water for a good 4 hours before the battery died, and I see no reason why a mechanical air pump can't do a similar job.


Right now, I'm thinking the way to go is make the diaphragm of the pump as small as possible for ease of the critter, or just wimpy wind speeds.

Comment by George on April 8, 2013 at 5:42am

never used it, that is.

Comment by George on April 8, 2013 at 5:42am

Yep, rocket mass is heat only.  I'm a follower of wood gas technology but have never actually.    Check out the teslonian man on you tube - also Wayne Keith.  

good luck

Comment by Bill Bailey on April 8, 2013 at 12:22am

I am at a loss on this Rocket Mass Heaters.  I have been researching Alt Energy for a year.  I want my entire farm Green, Organic Certified, and OTG. I have seen BioFuel, BioMass, BioDiesel, Ethanol, Of course Wind, Solar, Wave, Geothermal, and decided on BioMass ... Now I have to research Rocket Mass as this is new to me but it sounds like heat only.

But BioMass can be converted to run a Gen Set, a car engine (any engine).  The reason I am leaning this way is because I am 59 and I am not climbing towers anymore, nor trying to fix a Solar Panel that was damaged in one of our famous Spring and Fall Storms.BioMass can also take several different types of fuel. I plan to use Leaves, Yard Debris and Split wood, and If I can find enough PolyPropylene or PolyEthylene I can shred it and mix it with Debris just before it enters a heated Die ... It will provide a great binder for the Pellets, and burns to a clean pure ash just like the rest of fuel which goes into next years compost bins.. 

Comment by William Kohut on February 15, 2013 at 3:20pm

Jim and Terry, thank you for the  advice and I doing research a few things such as heating, etc. The way my schedule has been and I will start building the chimney and doing a few test burns with the stove to make sure it holds up

Comment by Jim Fisk on February 13, 2013 at 8:47am

Hey William, I would also like to add that coal tends to really stink up the neighborhood. Try for the really dense anthracite coal as that stinks the least.

I have stuck with good hardwoods for that reason and the cost. Just my 2 cents worth. I would hate to see you spend $ on your install and end up hating the smell. We put in an outdoor boiler some yrs ago to the tune of $5K and proceeded to smoke out the entire neighborhood. Not only did we hate it but so did our distant neighbors. Sold it cheap.

Wood gasification stoves are the only way to go for us now, whether commercial cat (catalytic, Google "Steel cat") stoves like the one in our house or home built like the one we use in our AP GH which I based upon Ben Franklin's base burn inventions. Most stove designs waste about 40% of the btus in the fuel. That's a lot. Average coal stove could be close to that and most coal stoves don't hold enough wood to be practical if you decide to pass on the smelly coal. Been there, tried that, Been heating with wood for 45 yrs now. Have fun whatever you decide and be safe above all else.

Comment by NTS on January 19, 2013 at 7:27am

Does anyone know of a hand cranked (manual) pellet feed mill?

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