Juicing crop feedstock for ethanol

[John B. Slocomb]

When I ran those numbers I came up with firewood, partly because of
the lower cost and hazard of storage compared to liquid fuel. The DIY
mechanical investment was a Sears garden tractor to move it and a
logsplitter, both obtained second-hand and rebuilt. Distilling
methanol from it doesn't make sense to me, the gas to run tractor,
chainsaw and splitter is perhaps five gallons a year.

An extra benefit is using the wood stove to heat-treat steel, which
other heating systems don't allow.

I grew up with forced hot water heat. The coal and then oil furnaces
heated it to 150 - 180 F. There were several zones each with its own
circulating pump, so the system didn't operate when the power went
out. It did work pretty well in an old, poorly insulated house because
different areas had their own thermostats, so for instance we shut off
the upstairs bedrooms during the day.

Gotta go cut more wood now...

jsw

Out of curiosity where do you live. My grandfather heated his house,
in up-state New Hampshire, with wood for most of his life. Granted
that he cut all his wood by hand, but it took him basically the entire
month of October to do it and the "wood shed" was a building about 30"
long and probably 15 or 50' wide and he sawed the cordwood up in stove
lengths before he stowed it in the woodshed. this was a two story New
England house built, probably sometime in the 1800's.

My other grandfather, 60 miles south of the first one, simply closed
off all the rooms and they lived in the kitchen for the winter. That
grandmother cooked on a wood stove so they didn't need any extra wood




John B. Slocomb
(johnbslocombatgmaildotcom)

 

[Curbie]

John,

Power an engine, like I said oil crops and diesels make more sense for
some and which feedstock depends on your location's climate. "FROM
FRYER TO FUEL TANK" by Joshua Tickell is the best
diesel/SVO/Bio-diesel book I've found.

Curbie

 

[Curbie]

Jim,

When I ran those numbers I came up with firewood...

I agree with those numbers for you, but for me there are other
considerations, primarily sustainability and labor. Your lucky enough
to have wooded land so you don't have to wait 30 years grow a fuel
source, sustainability isn't really an issue as long as you allow
nature to replenish to wood you take, but for others that don't have
wooded land the numbers are far less clear.

As you and others have pointed out wood is a pretty labor intensive
fuel source and solar is not, the assumptions and criteria that one
uses to set-up the numbers are dictated by each individual and will
greatly effect the number's results.

It seems to me that any consideration of alternative-energy on a
home-scale must first start with an understanding of your location's
climate and recourses, what might be best for me, may not be best for
others.

Curbie

 

[Curbie]

Jim,

The first thing I looked at was how to need less.

It is far more cost effective to reduce requirements for energy than
to produce it. You're absolutely right, that should be the first step.

Yes, firewood is a lot of work, but it saves a gym membership.

I've had less success with DIY solar, NH doesn't have a good climate
for it in the winter. Second-hand water tanks with a reputable past
are difficult to find and new ones are uneconomical.

The typical wind speed here is less than 5MPH and the soil is glacial
till, terrible for crops. Trees shade my roof half the day, bad for
photovoltaics, good for air conditioning.

I think this is a good illustration of both understanding of your
location's climate and recourses, AND that one particular plan will
not be the suitable for everyone.

Curbie

 

[John B. Slocomb]

I'm in southern NH. The house had electric heat when I bought it,
meaning it was relatively well insulated, and I've tracked down the
losses and improved it enough that around two cords a year is enough,
with warm clothing and some rooms closed off. At that level of use
I've never needed to buy wood, just collect the dead and fallen trees
from friends' properties, land clearing, storm damage, etc.

In other words, you do what the old folks did. Close off the other
rooms and live in the kitchen

But having said that, when I was a young fellow I doubt that many
folks, even in town, heated the up-stairs bedrooms. Most of the older
places I have seen had simple "registers" in the floor to let a bit of
hot air from downstairs in to take the chill off.

It was all right going up to bed, but the first step out of bed in the
morning, with frost on the inside of the windows, was hard to make

My wood sheds are framed with tree trunks and recycled lumber and
roofed with corrugated steel. The floor is old pallets blocked up on
scrap pressure-treated. The roofing and lag screws are the only
expenses and they can be reused.

jsw

Yup. Burn down the building and pick over the ashes to retrieve the
nails



John B. Slocomb
(johnbslocombatgmaildotcom)

 

[Curbie]

Jim,

I didn't feel that you were implying anything, just outlining a
reasonable solution that works for you, I understand that many people
read these threads and having as many options as possible is a good
thing.

Thanks for your time and help.

Curbie

 

[John B. Slocomb]

We lived like that when I was little. In my family the females
tolerate the cold as well as the men, so the heat stayed down.

Actually it's easier now, with better fire-proof wall insulation than
they had, so the temperatures around the house vary much less, and a
great selection of warm and comfortable clothing instead of scratchy
wool. I have a down comforter on the bed, sweat suits and pile-lined
slippers to wear after getting up, and if I it gets really cold soft,
flexible insulated bib overalls meant for hunting and on sale cheap
after the season. However they don't withstand abuse from handling
firewood or working on vehicles as well as stiffer work coveralls.

I do appreciate having an electric water heater instead of having to
get up at 3AM to stoke the furnace so there would be hot water for
showers. I had coal-fired hot water as recently as 1972.

jsw

What's this? Showers every morning? I seem to remember Saturday baths
in a wash Tub in front of the kitchen stove In warm weather, of
course, baths weren't required as one went swimming every day.

John B. Slocomb
(johnbslocombatgmaildotcom)

 

[John B. Slocomb]

Good thing we are communicating long distance over the Internet.

jsw
covered with sawdust and bar oil

As in "d boon kiled a bar on this tree"

But, another viewpoint would be if you were using a crosscut saw and
an axe, not only would you have worked up a "healthy sweat" and
"opened up" your pores, but if you did it every day you'd never have
a weight problem

John B. Slocomb
(johnbslocombatgmaildotcom)

 

[John B. Slocomb]

My father taught me how to use a "misery whip" when I was young,
that's why I have so many chainsaws.

I'd rather keep the weight and both feet. Tired = bad aim.

Besides, it's more fun to tinker and fuss with machines than to do
their work. The bonus is a chance to weld or make something on the
lathe.

jsw

Years ago, when chain saws were a bit rare I was in Maine and came
across a second hand Mcculloch that I gave my father for Christmas one
year. My mother said that he sawed up all the wood on the place, stove
wood, logs, boards.

More fun then an axe even

John B. Slocomb
(johnbslocombatgmaildotcom)

 

[Guido]

I do appreciate having an electric water heater instead of having to
We have an old coal fired gravity furnace that has been converted to run
on gas or coal. It was converted by Grampa during prohibition when he
installed a Distillery inside it to make alcohol as he was a Pharmacist
and they kept busting up the one he had outside.