I’ll definitely be installing one of these in the next house we build. I like the fact that in spite of the noise you obviously don’t have to wear hearing protection to get full enjoyment out of this power plant.
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Graham, this one’s for you!
Also see: Teledyne Telan 2T Thermoelectric Generator
Here’s an interesting forum thread on TEG power.
Alternative Energy forum, videos, etc.
Lorena briefs the dogs on her upcoming trip to Mexico.
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"The Delta" garden, created from soil dredged out of the overgrown pond.
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The blueberries, after weeding (on the left) and before (on the right).
"The Delta" garden, created from soil dredged out of the overgrown pond.
"The Delta" garden, created from soil dredged out of the overgrown pond.
Our neighbor's pasture with Bald Mountain in the background, November 2007.
Our neighbor's pasture with Bald Mountain in the background, November 2007.
Dale Anderson prepares to make a tricky cut.
Dale Anderson prepares to make a tricky cut.
Dale bucks up the load before dragging it out of the woods for firewood.
Dale bucks up the load before dragging it out of the woods for firewood.
Observing the Veteran's Day wind storm, November '07.
Observing the Veteran's Day wind storm, November '07.
Thanks to an unexpected break in the weather a few days ago, I took the dogs into the woods to search for mushrooms. It is quite late in the season, which usually runs from late September into October, but the chanterelles I gathered with Marshall recently were so tasty that I figured it was worth a try.
We left the cabin and walked north on the Truck Trail for less than half a mile, then crossed the creek on the east side of the Trail and began climbing into the woods. The conditions in this second-growth of hemlock and fir seemed very good for mushrooms but after half an hour I came up completely empty-handed. Continue reading
11 November, 2011 Friday
The rain is heavy this morning and snow is falling in the mountains above us, probably a foot or more every day. An even colder front will move in this afternoon, so we expect to see snow on the Van Zandt Dike, just across the valley from us, and immediately behind and above the cabin, on Bowman Mountain.
It seems like a typical autumn-winter morning and an appropriate time to describe our typical morning routine here at the Sasquatch Observatory. By the way, I call it an “autumn-winter” morning because there really isn’t much to distinguish this weather — rain and 40 degree Farenheit — from most of the weather we experience here between October and April (and sometimes even later, into May and godforbid, as in the last two years, a morbidly dreary “June-urary”). Continue reading
9 November, 2011
Our morning tea-and-toast conversation focussed on our electrical system, and whether or not we can actually reduce our energy use enough to avoid having to add additional solar panels and batteries. Lorena thinks we should consider additional panels oriented to better capture the winter sun. This would almost certainly require mounting panels on the cabin roof, as she does not want to have them in a highly visible spot in the meadow, which is actually much closer to the generator shed.
The core problem in trying to avoid adding hardware to our electrical system is my mother. She cranks the propane fireplace in her cabin to 80F yet often leaves the door open. This means that her refrigerator is often struggling to stay cool. Even though we installed expensive, energy-efficient LED lights in her place, she frequently leaves the closet and bathroom lights on. Second only to the refrigerator is her television — Mom falls asleep while watching TV and the set may be on all or most of the night.
We can think of no practical way to cut down on her energy use. In fact, when I suggested that she try to be more careful with the televison and lights, Mom reacted by turning everything off, as if it is an “all or none” proposition. She tried a similar stunt when I asked her to turn down the heat while the door was left open. “Turn off the propane, I don’t need it!” Continue reading
7 November 2011, Lorena’s birthday
Sunday was a fine autumn day, made all the more enjoyable because I’d finally wrapped up my nagging chores on the 14th edition of The People’s Guide To Mexico. Our revision of the book is a year overdue, thanks in large part to the tremendous block I’ve experienced in actually sitting down and making those changes that require my input. I’ve never experienced such a deep and disturbing reluctance to write as this. What makes it even more puzzling is that once I knuckled down and began the work, it went quickly and easily, literally a matter of perhaps 12 hours of actual research and writing. I did the absolute minimum, of course, but considering that Lorena and Churpa had been much more thorough with their changes and additions, my small contribution is hopefully enough to produce a credible new edition.
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So, to celebrate this milestone and to take advantage of an unusually mild November day, Shannon and I hiked into the Edfro Creek wildlife reserve. Continue reading