solar book review

SOLAR BOOK REVIEW


Before we start today, a few quick words to the wise. A follow up to last weeks fried corn article. If you are letting the mush sit for only a few hours before frying it ( as opposed to letting it sit overnight ), make sure to get it out of its pan. Boil the water, turn off the heat, stir in the flour, and then let sit about an hour. Then turn the pan over and let the lump fall out. There will still be heat on the bottom and getting it out of the pan lets it dry out better so it slices up without crumbling. A reminder on your watch battery. Do you know how long its been since its been changed? My Timex was running just fine for I don’t know how long. My best guess was four to five years ( it was a Christmas present and I can only estimate when I got it ). The batteries in the Wal-Mart jewelry section are about $4.25 for two. Your watch, if it isn’t a throw away bought in the dollar store, should have a metal back with the battery number stamped on it. My “precision” screw driver set I use to fix my eye glasses had small enough tools for the screws on the watch. Although I believe the gals behind the counter will install the batteries for you. My screwdriver set was only a buck, and now I can install the second battery if need be. This isn’t much of a skill, but it is nice practice doing things for the first time. Just don’t bitch to me if you screw up your watch innards. Speaking of the dollar store, mine seems to be doing better inventory wise. My prediction for its demise might have been premature, but it’s my story and I’m sticking with it. And, by the by, this is a true dollar store. Every thing is a buck. But it is not a chain, just a mom and pop. We have Family Dollar, managed by an old co-worker ( small towns are nice that way, even if Elko isn’t small enough ). Last thing, Sam, I’m going to deposit that check this coming weekend. Let me know if that isn’t a good idea.

*

As I threatened, here is a review of the book “Simple Solar Homesteading” by LaMar Alexander. See his site at www.freewebs.com/simplesolarhomesteading . First, let me say that I still don’t understand why it got two bad reviews in the order page. They complain his directions were too simplistic. Ummm…okay. What was the problem understanding the SIMPLE in the title. If you are a Tim Taylor Type that builds sheds and dog houses in the back yard, plus has experimented with do it yourself solar ovens, okay, then this book isn’t for you. It is for the idiots such as myself that have never done much more than dug around for a few pieces of slop wood, cut them crooked, then hammered them in with grunting and cursing to put some supports under a sagging set of stairs. Once I put together a sloppy, ghetto looking overhang over a front door to keep the rain off as you tried to get inside. It looked like absolute hell, but I can proudly say it never came down under tornado like winds. I need things set out simple because I don’t have the experience building anything. My metal shop class included a piece of sheet metal welded to my palm. I took twice as long to get a bead weld as anyone else. I refused to take wood shop, simply knowing with calm certainty that I was going to sever a digit with a power tool ( this was about the same time I tried a chainsaw for the first and last time ). My auto class left me dazed and confused, and that was with carburetors rather than fuel injection and computers. I have had my head stuck in a book for decades now and like it just fine. Alas, reality dictates I start swinging a hammer sometime before the hammer falls.

*

I don’t think many of you are going to want to order the paper version. It is $20, and another five for shipping. I like it for its large and easy drawings, and its ease of reference. But I think most folks will want to buy the $5 e-book version. There won’t be much you will need to print out. Perhaps you can replicate the sketches on a handy piece of paper. They are easy as can be. So easy, novices can grasp the principle immediately. At the five dollar price, I can’t imagine how there can’t be something for everyone. No, none of it is rocket science. No breakthroughs. But almost all you need in one place, set up so a complete moron can build the plans. So what if you don’t use the wheelbarrow or chicken run plans. What about the methane generator built with two trash cans and some propane piping? I thought that alone was worth $5. The cabin plans for me made the $25 price a bargain. Add in all the others and I was satisfied. But remember, this is for the novice, not the experienced Bob The Builder. Joe and Jane Urbanite wanting to go to the country as cheap as can be but wanting most of life’s comforts, and having no hands on experience, will love this book.

*

The first thirty pages were price lists, pictures and line drawings of a 14x14 cabin with bedroom loft. Built by one person in just a few weeks for two grand, plus windows and doors. I liked the fact that he didn’t rely on scavenged material. If you haven’t noticed, most building projects have already been canceled. There is precious little to glean out there. Just because one person got lucky doesn’t mean we all can. One review complained about the extra cost of the windows not being included in the price quote. Although to be fair, it says right in the ads, not including doors or windows. It is still roomier and cheaper, not to mention much better insulated, than an RV trailer. Well, most RV’s. The cheap ones aren’t being advertised as much as the “God help me, buy this hunk of crap so I can escape by bank loan” ones for five grand and up. With these instructions, any fool can build a stick frame cabin. I won’t follow the instructions faithfully because I want a cement floor for passive solar ( if I don’t build underground ), not a wood floor a foot off the ground, but it still will help me immensely. He covers cabin add ons to increase your square footage. Then a complete 12v system to include panels, batteries and a generator. He uses a lot more wattage than I do, but you can scale up or down on his simple installation instructions. He covers a solar porch and winter solar heaters for each window. I already had these instructions from another book, but that one was $20. You get it here as a freebee.

*

The solar composting toilet is basically a plastic lined pit to store your sawdust toilet leavings under a glass box. But, again, laid out moron simple. The methane generator, the simplest I’ve ever run into. A solar batch hot water heater. Sure, it’s nothing more than an insulated box with glass on top and black painted 2 liter bottles inside. Simple. But it’s a part of the whole, which is only $5. Together, not separately, they are a heck of a bargain. A permanent hot water heater, solar of course. A rain catchment system. Grey water recycler. Tipi greenhouse. A solar food dehydrator. A solar oven. Making your own James Washer for clothes. A clothes dryer, enclosed to keep them out of the dust and rain. A solar dish washer. It is simple, but ingenious. A wheelbarrow, compost tumbler, chicken tractor. The root cellar plans are a reprint of a government publication and the least impressive for me, but it is still another freebee. Info on drilling your own well. Buying cheap land ( hint: E-Bay and tax delinquent ). And finely, a bunch of pictures for examples and inspiration.

*

Buy this book, unless you’ve already gotten the information elsewhere. It is definitely worth five smackers.

END
My wunderbar web site http://www.bisonpress.com/