A Year Without Summer

The reason I added a wind mill to my battery/Solar system is, that while its dark and or stormy the mill is making the difference.
Though I don't get The wind here I got I the desert, we do get mild wind so it's mild contribution ,never the less it's a contribution .
The wind mill is attached to my shop trailer which has my solar and battery bank, a very consolidated system .
The idea of putting it on the trailer should be obvious .I don't intend on being here indefinitely ,and the next place I may move to might just have a bit more wind . Whether it does or not, I'm prepared .

 

that is an interesting turbine, why did you pick that one? I haven't study wind much, I just remember what a p.i.t.a. windmill repair and maintenance is , so a smaller version that is more efficient is interesting

 

The ice age farmer message is starting to change.
Now the guy Christian is saying we need to take charge of our own personal security, he used to only say "take charge of your food security".

 

This mill is rated @600 watts in 20 mile an hour wind. Though I rarely get 20 mile an hour wind that's ok it only means it might actually live longer than expected .
When/ if I move the winds may be more significant ,but whether it is or not I like what it says about me .
What do you think it says about me ?

 

If I remember correctly a fixed blade wind turbine will only make 25% of rated power at 2/3 wind speed.
So in a 12mph wind you will be making less than 150 watts.
You don't get half power in half wind speed.

 

UPDATE

Freak changes in the composition of space around the sun are about to drive a chain of meteorological events locking the UK into a savage early Arctic freeze, it has been claimed. The so-called solar corona has become dotted with holes on its Earth-facing side threatening serious knock-on effects to the flow of the jet stream and the weather this winter. Temperatures are expected to nosedive towards the end of October bringing ‘substantial snowfall’ across Scotland, northern and central England. It could herald the start of a four-month Polar assault with snow and sub-zero temperatures threatening to grip the nation

This winter is going to be EPIC....

 

Coronal holes are normal I think the only time you don't see them is during peak really crazy solar maximum.

 

@Oltymer & @Thunder5Ranch I would like to know how your green/grow houses are holding up. It has been a few years and I am curious if you have had to replace the plastic. I know that wind, snow and sun tend to weaken some materials. Hoping to get a time frame on how long the material will last.

 

The plastic lasted 18 months before it began breaking down. I replaced it with a new skin, and now remove it during the hot weather and use my greenhouse rows as raised beds in the open air. Then with cooler temps I replace the skin which should now last through 3 growing seasons. You can get special greenhouse plastic that is longer lasting, but the extra expense may not actually be worth it. Still experimenting...

 

I use the SunMaster 6mil 4year warranty film (Guaranteed UV stabilized for 4 years) I typically change it at 5
years at a cost of around $1200 per 32'x96'x14'HC Tunnel. I didn't due anything with the tunnels or the greenhouse this Winter, other than roll the sides up and take the ends off to save them from taking a beating from the wind. When I do change the film at 5 years it is NOT a small job and requires a perfectly calm day and at least 4 friends to pull it over (The rolls of film weigh around 400 pounds) and in even a gentle breeze transform into giant sails. Once the old cover is off and the new on and secured the friends that help typically measure out what they need from the old cover and cut out what they need. I keep a couple of 14' x96' pieces to use for caterpillar tunnels and my much smaller cold frames. Truth be told I don't need to change it 5 years but my insurance requires a change out at 5 years on the commercial tunnels. The pieces we cut out for the smaller tunnels and cold frames usually last another 3-5 years before any noticeable break down starts. I have one cold frame that has been running the same sheet of film for 18 years now and is just now starting to get some brittle going on but it is in a partially shaded low wind area. The 3 big tunnels are exposed fully to the predominant SW Winds and the big Storms that roll through every spring and summer that regularly pack 50-70mph winds so they get more wear and abuse. Even though attached to the frame those sheets are still big sails and the whole frame structure flexes and sways in high winds causing rubbing/friction on the pipes. When you pull the sheets off when changing you see a near perfect grey outline of the frame on the plastic from the rubbing over the years.

Occasionally wind will get under a SW corner and if not caught and fixed SOON it will literally blow the entire East side and North End off of the frame and that = a expensive repair as it requires 96' of new U channel, wiggle wire and treated 1x6 down the side and whatever lumber and poly panels get tore up when the North end goes flying and of course it requires a new $1200 sheet of film as it does not take but a few minutes of flopping around in a 50mph wind with jagged metal and wood to totally shred it.

Anyway there is the 32x96 closest to the Cabin that I can zoom in and take a pic from the porch of the Cabin this morning Now that I am on the mend with the Stomach/intestine issue and those pesky big toe nails removed (Which DOES hurt LOL) The tunnels should be back in full operation in 2019 and next winter full of green stuff instead of dead brown stuff ;0) But for this winter was better to just pull the ends off and roll the sides up and let the winds pass through.

The Right side in the picture is the West side and the far end is the South side which you can see by the bends in the pipe and the excess plastic on the South end takes a whole lot worse beating than the East and North side. These frames will also carry a 6-7 inch wet heavy snow load with no problem. More than that and they will start having stress issues and get into the danger of buckling. Pretty rare to see a snow bigger than 8 inches here but if it is forecast to be 6+ I will be out there with push broom heads mounded on extending handles that go out 16' pulling the snow off of them. Worse when you get a ice storm followed by a heavy snow. The ice sticks like glue to the film and allows the snow to build up fast on the plastic instead of sliding off. Anyway that is my oldest big tunnel here at 12 years old and that is that ones third film change on it now. The tunnels at the farm prior to buying this one are still standing and working for the new owner at 20-25 years old...... course the new owner has is not so new now after 12 years lol.

The question of whether to use the high quality SunMaster type films or the lower quality non UV stabilized cheaper films really comes down to your intended use, expectations and value to you. My tunnels average a $17,000 net profit per year each and are commercial use, so for my use it makes far more sense to use the more expensive long life film. If I were just running my cold frames and didn't have the scraps from the big tunnels to skin them, I would probably just use the cheap 6mil that needs changed every year. So again intended use and scale come into play. If I had to change the big tunnels skins every year I would not have big tunnels............. It is a Major job changing out a big sheet.

 

Here is the 'Adam and Eve story' pdf that talks about the pole reversal
the YouTube version was posted by @Brokor on SM here (click on the word 'here' to go to the thread with the video)

'World in Peril' is another book on these disasters


another link on SM with additional info
1816 - The Year Without a Summer

 

Oh spring 2018 was the snowyest spring in 60 years.

 

I've used the 6mil greenhouse plastic and have gotten 8 years out of it. made the mistake of getting supposed 5 year plastic off of eBay it was junk lasted a year have replaced that with 6mil from a greenhouse supplier. Here in coastal SC we get 2 planting spring and fall. Use the greenhouse to put my citrus tress in during the winter and start seedling. People surviving another 3 years without a summer --hold on to your gun the masses of starving people will take what you have. Read somewhere the Florida gulf stream current maybe shutting down if the happens Europe will be locked in a deep freeze. If it gets cold here I finally may be able to grow Brussel sprouts.

 

The windmill and solar are but small contributions to my battery bank but they are contributions nonetheless. If I really need power for something significant I have generators and lots of manure and tanks to make methane gas, I have done it before .
Even wood gas is possible so long as you can find wood after such a long time without summer. The problem is moving things around without machinery or horses. Steam is also a viable source of mechanical power but that too takes energy from somewhere.
When it comes to cold, the windmill is still supreme, so long as you got wind. and of course, a battery bank to store the energy in.
I have been told that in Canada they developed a Darrieus wind turbine that was applied specifically for making hot water.
I don't know how well it worked but it's worth a try. I have greenhouses to build but also I have been collecting grow lights that I can apply if things do go dark and plants can still thrive. I have done some experiments with aquaponics, using fish to add nitrogen to the water and the growing beds to filter the water back to the fish, it works. Though in that event I may be handling the water manually if I don't have the energy to run pumps, again a windmill is good for that too.
I live in southern California wine country where typically we get 100 degree days during the summer months, but it is not unusual for freezing temperatures during the winter even snow as well. Typically not getting much precipitation it is hard to imagine remaining covered in snow, but anything is possible. that being the case and deep snow does occur my house won't stand up to it being a manufactured home and poorly built. (substandard building materials and building practices) It's a cracker box at best.
I will have to move into the steel barn and make that work.

 

While you were out.

 

Nature has a way of combating global warming