In the previous installment we went through tips on determining how much wood? This time we’ll talk about how all chainsaws are not the same.
When it comes to cutting firewood, the old way is not the best. Its hard on your back and arms using any kind of 
hand saw. Chainsaws are a wonderful tool for those who choose or must heat their home with wood. All chainsaws are not equal as we’ve found through experience over the years. It seems that we wasted, or overworked ourselves the first 5 or so years with my ignorance in this topic.
In our early experience, it took a long time to cut
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With a site named genverters.com you’d think that this topic wouldn’t be covered very much. Really we promote starting with a genverter system and building it into your dream solar / wind power off grid solution. However, with 
our 11th year off the grid a series of events have me nearly living the alternative – generator only power! UUgh!
The two week absence from updating this site came about from two highly unusual
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Have you ever seen some of thos spectacular lightning bolt pictures in books? Ever just watched a powerful lighning storm a night. I it is awe inspiring at a distance as a spectator, and terrifying if its too close. If you live in a lighting prone area, its best to study up and know about proper grounding and basic protections you can add to your off grid building projects.
Yesterday afternoon, July 31st will be burned in my memory as I prepare for a large, high pressure technical task.
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In another post we shared our not so successful composting attempt in 1,000 worms can’t be wrong. Now as a tribute to our fallen little workers, I thought it would be appropriate to review what compost is, and one of the faster ways to create it for your garden and plants.
Compost, why?
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[Welcome to Arild as our first guest post! If you are interested in adding your original content on genverters.com, just email and I'll get you the details - M]
Along with Solar power; LED have been getting a lot of media attention lately.
The good points about LED are: very low current consumption compared to any other light source with a few exceptions we will deal with later.
The old complaint of color quality have largely been solved. Early white LED were admittedly not so great compared to a halogen light or fluorescent. They tended to be dimmer .
Recent developments in camping lights, flashlights, and
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Doh! hate when that happens
Off grid, or at work, its always important to be conscious of your safety in whatever activity you do. You must watch out for the rationalizations and shortcuts, because eventually you will get bitten! What happened to me this week is a prime example of how a short two hour task can turn into a six hour ordeal.
I was working in the field preparing to setup a new customer’s Internet service. I did the usual pre-install walk around with the customer to determine their needs, and to select the best location for the outdoor equipment and where to run Ethernet cables. This one should be easy I thought, I only have to
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Purchasing the right solar charge controller is an important decision for your power system. The right choice will be flexible and grow as you add solar panels and other components. As I mentioned in a previous post about MPPT charging, this is the most flexible choice.
I’ve looked over two popular MPPT charge controllers from Outback and Xantrex. Next month I think I’ll select the Xantrex XW MPPT 60 amp controller. Yes it costs more, but it will produce slightly more power from the exact same solar panel array. Here are my reasons for the MPPT style choice, and for the Xantrex unit:
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Fire 12 miles away
The extra wet spring has given way to hot dry and windy weather around here. Last week a major fire that consumed 20,000 acres or more started last week, and now is the time to get serious about clearing the brush and grass around the ranch!
Tractor Dreams…
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What is a shunt, and why would you need or want them in your genverter or off grid power system? Technically, you can make, store and use power from you off grid system without a shunt. Doing so would be like putting on a blindfold and having your friend in the passenger seat give directions as you drive across New York city. Yes, possible, No, not recommended!
A shunt is a resistor
In the electronics world, it is normally called a current shunt. Shunt resistors come
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As you may have guessed it, this is one of those posts where I show you what not to do. My thumb is not green, but is colored green wanna-be. Compost is the richest fertilizer you can use. You don’t need to buy commercial fertilizers when you use this natural one. Compost is the results of decaying organic material like leaves, grass, or kitchen scraps.
Our first attempt
It was about seven years ago, and I thought I had read up on all the details. Well, ask the worms … I missed something. I built our little compost bin out of some scrap 12 x 12 x 2 boards and made a nice little bin
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