Can testify that Bob makes a big bark if you get close to the Suburban. It is a bit startling if you aren't expecting it. Lol, apparently I can still jump. 
Can testify that Bob makes a big bark if you get close to the Suburban. It is a bit startling if you aren't expecting it. Lol, apparently I can still jump.
In reply to MrJoshua :
Yeah and it's strange because he doesn't bark when someone comes to the door.
I thought I had posted this but we got his DNA results. He's basically a big Mastiff mutt.
We had one of those done for Winter, supposed to be a Chihuahua & Mini -Dachshund. HA! 50 lbs, doesn't bark often but will certainly get your attention because it's loud and deep.
For Toby:
Yo, lil stampies hair game STRONG.
Saw this and wondered if you need a cheap form of heat, even if it was just for the porch:
In reply to preach :
Sorry been a busy day. I saw your post this morning but just now got a chance to watch the video.
That's a neat little stove. I've been thinking of a thermosiphon system loosely based on what Robbie did with his garage.
I was thinking a 6 inch or so PVC pipe painted black. The hot air out of the top would feed an insulated box of sand to store the heat. Then I would have an sand:air exchanger pipe to feed warm air to the cabin with a thermostat controlling a fan for air flow. I can try to draw up a diagram if you want. I think I'll call it Robbie's big black convection system.
I lived the past 5 winters with a Pressa Canario(Canary Islands Mastiff). Similar brindle markings, but lighter brown. Such a sweet dog. Once he knew you were a friend, he'd sit his 120lbs on your lap. Miss the guy
That's an interesting thread. Years ago, I delivered for a furniture store, was in one customer's house that had the perfect piece of property for a thermosiphon. Her house sat on the edge of a steep south-facing slope. She and her husband excavated down eight feet, built a brick patio at the bottom, covered all with a glass greenhouse, with passive vents all along the bottom of the house's south wall, so that all the heat from the greenhouse went into the house. It's a bit daunting seeing people trying to accomplish the same thing with a structure on level ground.
I would think that a tank of water would be more calorie-dense than sand? Interestingly, Aussies in desert areas developed (years ago) rainwater storage tanks that fit between the studs of a house, where in conjunction with a circulating pump and solar heating sheets they do double-duty in cold weather.
In reply to Stampie :
I was not sure if you had something in mind for the interior, that's why I added on the porch. Plus on a chilly night you can cook out there.
I do dig Robbie's solution too!
In reply to Asas_Dad :
I'm not wanting to make it all water proof. My thought process was what can I use that's cheap and easy. Sand. My thought processes normally are that short.
In reply to preach :
That could work. I really need to finish the cabin so that I can build the kitchen deck side. That'll have more room to chill.
I don't know any of you, but feel at some level like I do based on your posts.
Thanks for the sharing (especially Stampie, DusterDB13, and ¯\_(ツ)_/¯), the open dialogue, and the adventures that I get to live - all through your stories.
I can't remember who's building Ferdinand the International cabover, but that's a favourite too, that I've lost track of. (Spelled the Canadian way)
Martin
In reply to martinb9 :
Welcome home Martin. We're glad to have you in the family!!
martinb9 said:I don't know any of you, but feel at some level like I do based on your posts.
Thanks for the sharing (especially Stampie, DusterDB13, and ¯\_(ツ)_/¯), the open dialogue, and the adventures that I get to live - all through your stories.
I can't remember who's building Ferdinand the International cabover, but that's a favourite too, that I've lost track of. (Spelled the Canadian way)
Martin
Mazduece is the guy who did the r63 amg and Ferdinand. As well as several other cool builds.
Stampie... you gonna be working on this in the next week? Or, you gonna be up this way at all? I'd love to catch up and get a drink and share some tales with you!
In reply to wvumtnbkr :
It's been stalled for a month or so while I deal with family stuff and then the holidays. I won't be up this week but I'll get with you and maybe do a lunch or something.
In reply to wvumtnbkr :
Perfect - thanks for the reminder.
Martin
I burn coal in my basement to supplement the oil furnace, fans push it around. Once the 3ft. thick stone foundation gets warm it makes a real difference in the house. (upstate NY).
Wood I have to stoke every two hours, coal it's 14 hours, I can go away for the weekend and still have hot coals. I gave a 40lb bag to my son who evaporates maple sap into syrup, now he doesn't have to get up at 2:00 in the morning to stoke the fire.
So, Stampie, is there a bag of coal somewhere in Florida? Just tossing a handful into a hot fire and it makes 6X the heat with no creosote.
In reply to 914Driver :
May I hijack this thread briefly? No, no coal in Florida, except that which is bought by Florida Artists Blacksmiths Association https://www.blacksmithing.org/ Used to be, you could glean some along the RR tracks, but no power plants here still use coal, they've all switched to natural gas or nuclear. And the ideal coal for a blacksmith's forge is pea coal, not the big chunks that would burn all night.
Some years ago, I scrounged a bunch of anthracite coal from the yard of a historic house that used it in coal grates inserted into the hearth of fireplaces. I have no idea how those worked; when I used some in a coal-burning stove, you had to shake the ash down every two hours or the ash would smother the burning pieces. Nice and hot, but required constant attention.
Sadly, coal knowledge, like so much else, has passed out of the public ken.
914Driver, I have a 1970 914-6 that I bought in 1973, so I am 2nd owner. It's all original, but a Porsche shop in Gainesville burned it up welding a replacement floor in the passenger side, melted the fuel line in tunnel, dumped a half tank of gas into the cab. I bought the wreck back from the insurance company. I've told my son it's his to restore. I have all the parts (except some glass), but no longer have the energy or desire.
In reply to martinb9 :
I'm sorry I missed your post with Christmas and all plus wvumtnbkr can be real jealous if I don't acknowledge him first. Thanks!
In reply to 914Driver :
I've got some deep thoughts on this. How do you feel about a solar heater that runs all year around? But it's Florida you say! How about in the summer, fall, and spring you dump that heat into the ground. Kinda like a thermowell ™©. So dump the heat in warmer months into the ground that's already really warm. Then in the winter use that as a thermal bank to help heat the house using radiant heat in the slab.
I like solar. I like geothermal. How deep can you dig in Florida before hitting water? The Regional Airport near you is 151 ft. MSL. (above sea level).
I understand Geothermal works best in the Southwest however I never really researched it for another area.
In reply to 914Driver :
The water table is pretty low. I'm guessing 10 feet or so. The good thing is ground temps are much higher than up north. Just fleshing this out but I'm thinking a 6 inch pipe 10 feet long straight down. Insert two loops of plex down it and fill it with grout including a cap so that surface water can't seep down the walls. Loop A would be connected to a solar water heater running year around. Loop B would connect to radiant loops in the slab. Have Loop B only active when slab temp drops below 70 degrees. Thought is it would heat up the surrounding ground year around. If it's a cloudy day I'd have that banked heat to draw off in the winter. If it's a sunny day the two loops are right beside each other so the grout would act more like an water to water heat exchanger.
I've been in a 2700 sq. ft. home up here that is heated with passive solar. The south wall has four big double pane windows. All the other windows are triple pane. The walls are super insulated, about a foot thick. The house never dropped below 57 degrees the winter it was built and there was no heating system installed the day I toured it in February. It was also built without central AC as it wasn't going to get that hot in summer. We don't get a lot of sunny days in the winter up here, yet passive solar works. I would think you should be able to utilize soolar and heat a thermal mass inside the trailer. I'll vote for water, rather than sand.
Check out the Southface Institute. It's a non profit based in Atlanta that specializes in sustainable building design and technique. Their programs are in depth and very detailed (I've taken a few classes with them). They have a lot of resources- books, classes, web, etc.
One of the best parts about the building sciences they promote is that they have an emphasis on Southern building techniques. (Most books and resources focus on northern techniques like solar heating, without concern for the geographic differences in a climate that is primarily a warm humid climate, not a cold dryer climate).
They've been doing it for over 40 years. They are pretty good at it. 
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