Thistledome where i live

[freedomsailer]

well if this works this is a picture of my cabin

this is my solar panel array
someone in the forum was asking me about it and some pictures so maybe this will work. ;D

[freedomsailer]

picture of how to garden on a steep hillside

another hillside garden spot

and one of my waterfalls in my front yard

[Penny]

What a gorgeous space you have.

Lots of hard work but worth it in the end.

I like your little dog too.

[mnjrutherford]

Love the waterfall! Judging from the arrangement of stones at the top, you built this? I'm VERY interested in your PV array though. I've been working on research and we just can't afford to have an installation, yet I haven't been able to figure out how to DIY. I'm really hoping for the PV roofing shingles. If you have time, I'd love to hear more.

Also, are you pulling power from your waterfall?

[freedomsailer]

at the present time im not, but i have built a waterwheel and a pm alternator that will be installed this coming spring/summer just below the dam, its an over shot wheel because they are much more efficent than a undershot wheel. and yes part of the dam i built myself i only built it up a few feet from the natural falls that was already there of solid rock. it pour off into a 8+ feed deep hole that has been water worn for years and years. ill be glad to help you any way i can on the solar panels, actualy its a simple DIY project. but thats why im here to help an get info from others that live similer to what i do. an pick up some more gardening hints too hehee, never too old to learn new tricks. also im lookin forward to some seed swaps in the future.

[Penny]

Is there anything that you are looking for, seed wise David?

[freedomsailer]

at this present time mostly herbs and things you rarely find in nature because they have become problem pest plants. say sicklepod (sp?) for instance it has almost been eradicated because of the soybean and cotton farming which the seeds roasted makes a wonderfull coffee like drink and was used for years as a coffee substitute by the settlers etc .. yeah i know i got weird taste LOL .. but its all part of being totaly self sufficent, im looking for some coffee seeds and tea seeds also, ive found a few sites that offer them which i plan on ordering and planting some this spring. COME ON SPRINGTIME lets all chant togather .. LOL

[Penny]

I will keep that in mind for you when i start going through my seeds in the next few days.

[mnjrutherford]

I thought it was a natural setting with only partial human work. Beautiful job. Where is the wheel located compared to the fall? We have a tiny creek that doesn't run year round. It's part of the pocossin system so the water is deep and only comes to the surface in heavy rains. Still, we hope to end up with a place at a higher elevation that does have sufficient water to generate power and run a small milling operation as well.

As for the array, let me first ask you how many kwh you can produce with what is in the picture and how much did it cost? Also, how did you go about acquiring the stuff? Was it a kit or were you able to purchase the items individually? From a manufacturer or from a "store"?

I prolly got a hundred more questions... but, I gotta figger 'em out!

[freedomsailer]

they are 15 watt panels 16 of them in full sun they will charge my battery bank at 16 to 18 amps 240 watts total, you can buy them seperatly but i got them from harbor freight in sets of 3's they come with a charge controler and 3 - 12 volt compact floresent lights. toss the charge controler or sell it on ebay its cheap built and wont work when u add more panels. cost per set of 3 is 199.99 when they put them on sale otherwise its 249.00 but if you buy the panels one at a time they are around 75 to 100.00 each just the panels alone, so i found it much cheaper to buy them in sets of 3's. and the 12 volt lights come in handy an very low power useage 5 watts each but gives off alot of light. an seperatly they sell for 10 to 12 bucks each.

[ozarklady]

Wow, and I thought I was gardening on a hillside. I bet your legs get tired fighting gravity as you work there.
The drop of my garden doesn't show in photos, but a 2x4x8 will drop about 2 feet in the 8 foot span, enough to have erosion issues. Consequently, I only go 4' wide, and take my 8' length going with the drop! ha ha
I have drop offs like yours... but haven't gardened there, I made it into pasture for the dairy goats.. they have more legs for dealing with it...
I find your solar array fascinating, are your batteries marine deep cycle? Were they terribly expensive? If you added up the solar, the batteries, and all electric lines, and new wattage appliances or inverters etc... what would it cost a person to transition their house, just say, a room at a time over to solar?

[freedomsailer]

yes i use deep cycle marine batteries wallyworld specials group 29 - 115 amp, i have 12 of them in my battery bank atm. they were around 70 some odd bucks each, i actualy have less that 1000.00 in my total system other than the batteries, they were almost 800.oo by themselves but i did it 3 panels at a time and added batteries as the solar array grew over a 6 month peiord.

[orflo]

Nice place, nice goals!!!That's exactly what I'm establishing over here as well, I've got solar panels, compost toilet, I'm contructing hot-water panels, I have some plants in the garden, and so on.... but my surrounding isn't as beautiful as yours...

[freedomsailer]

ive been living here with out electric bills or water bills for 5 years now (nice to be cutting out the middle man) , im seasoned into it now, its a simple way of life, so intune with nature i even cringe at leaving and going to the little country store thats only 6 miles away. LOL can you say "hermit" hahahaa

[cff]

Great pics - I can tell by the number of yard chairs that you have a great life filled with friends and good food, what more can we ask for?