HUG Manifesting Shop

Copper Wire Testing Leads to Fun

2011-12-08T10:03:00.008-06:00

The guys were doing some testing on copper wire and decided that the best way to see their test in action was to create a Jacob's Ladder. Who doesn't love these things? Paul quipped that every lab should have one of these on at all times, just as a matter of principle. At 12,000 volts, the arc was doing its thing happily.

After the tests were completed, you could visibly see the copper dust residue on the inside of the jar. The arc took the copper wire and, in the most scientific terms possible, made it go "poof" in a show of plasma and heat. Sounds fun, right?!

AC Use in Winter

2011-11-18T13:31:00.005-06:00

The Mani Shop was built to retain the heat from the sun in all weather. On hot days or cold it has become apparent that the building design sometimes works too well. People with offices in the center of the building are often times sweating in the dead of winter.
This summer, a water based AC unit was installed to help with this problem. It works wonderfully. However, now that winter is here, an AC unit that relies on ground water will not cut it. So, identifying resources on hand, Mike and Ryan decided that cool air from the outside works just as well as cool water.
Therefore, our resilient team simply cut an insulated opening in an outside wall and connected home made ducts throughout the building. This will bring the cool air into the overheating rooms inside while maintaining the building's initial design feature.

Here you can see that Mike has all his ducts in a row.

Installation has begun.

You can see the opening from the outside here.

Solar Shade: Preparation for the Collage of Sustainability

2011-10-04T14:06:00.005-05:00

In preparation for the Collage of Sustainability (the largest event to take place at the HUG campus), our team has had to make some changes to the atrium. With 150 visitors expected to participate, the atrium was designated the only place large enough hold all of them.

The atrium was initially designed to be a greenhouse, and with the south facing wall made up entirely of heat absorbing windows, it would become too hot for participants to bear. So, a solution was needed before the event began.

We decided that hanging a large piece of black cloth across the south facing windows was the solution we needed. (Some people call this contraption a "curtain.") However, it was decided, that this curtain needed to be done in style.

So, Wayne designed a little motor that would run up and down the metal posts set aside at each end of the cloth. This little motor would roll up the cloth and let more light in. If it gets too hot, the little motor runs down the metal posts and takes the black cloth down with it, creating more shade and blocking out the sunlight.

Here, you can see the little guy working.

Looking out from the inside, you can tell the difference the cloth makes.

A day in the shop

2011-08-03T14:08:00.005-05:00

It's been a long time since I posted an update, so I thought I would post a bunch of pictures about what is going on in the shop today.

First is some control circuitry for the LEnR experiment. The schematic was drawn on the board.

Then, Paul works on the little circuit boards that will hold the circuits. He tries drilling the mounting holes...

But ends up making a very square looking owl face, instead.

But it's OK, because the owl fits in the test rack.

Then he commences the actual circuit assembly.

In another part of the shop, Jake and Jim C are working on a sink for the new garden shed that they will be able to wash plants and vegetables in.

On another table is a replacement water cooling coil that arrived damaged, so we had to get another one coming rather than installing it as planned.

An our resident wizard, Wayne, is busy refining the designs for the new duplex arc, even as the carpenters are building the foundation.

And Jeff is using the CNC router table to cut a bunch of holes into OSB pieces that will hold the under floor sensor conduits in the new duplex ARC.

And just outside the back of the shop, Mark and Dan are spending the day whipping up a replacement outhouse. Normally, we'd prefer a sawdust toilet in properties like the one this is for, but in this case, the usage is so light and the outhouse tank is already in place, that it makes sense.

And, while not being directly a shop project, the sign that Lisa had revamped and gotten installed Friday, got a landscaping make over with a mowing, a wood chip walkway and even some flowers with automatic drip irrigation. It is now very inviting as well as informational.

Self explanatory:

Also sort of self explanatory (especially after ninja attack):

Conditioned Air? Yes Please!

2011-07-05T13:22:00.007-05:00

The Mani Shop has gotten a little bit cooler recently. With RREAL's expansion last fall, we rearranged the HUG offices in the building. This rearrangement made the greenhouse the main hallway and we found that in the summer heat this made the attached offices extremely uncomfortable. With a large area to cool and high costs of operating a concern, a normal air conditioning unit would not meet the needs of the shop. So, a new air conditioner was designed.

Using a furnace blower as the core, we designed the unit to work with cold water instead of a compressor. Using a radiator coil we inherited from an old grocery store, we are able to transfer the cold via an air exchanger to the blower at a rate of 2.5 gallons per second. We get a second use out of the water, too. We divert the water after it's used to help in watering the living garden on the roof via a sprinkler system. Plus, any additional overflow goes to the pond in front of the Mani Shop.

Here you can see Ryan installing the holes for the duct work.

It also recirculates the air it uses. This lets the unit work less often and keeps the air in the building colder, longer. This is very useful because the AC unity can push up to 2000 cubic feet of air per minute. This recirculation cleans the air and with an activated charcoal filter, it helps keep the air fresh by absorbing odors.

It was given a wooden bracket for a brace and was placed in the mezzanine level for easy access and maintenance.

Here you can see the air ducts and water hose.

The system is working wonderfully, now. In fact, on Friday we had several little girls splashing through the sprinkler system on the roof. Sounds like we got it online just in time.

Solar Conveyor

2011-07-01T09:54:00.006-05:00

I am trying out a new way to bring solar heat inside, without using air or water as a medium. From a web search, it doesn't seem like anyone is trying this, except someone patented a solar belt collector way back in 1975!

Here is the inside belt. There are no fans. The belt heats the building through radiation and natural convection.

The powered conveyor roller only consumes 5W, and since the belt gives off almost 500W of heat, the coefficient of performance is almost 100.

The same belt extends outside where it absorbs the sun's energy. The glazing is inexpensive 6mm twin-wall polycarbonate. The belt is made from an EPDM pond liner. It is not as black as it could be, so the overall efficiency of the system is about 40-50%.

The bar has been set for awesome shop signs.

2011-06-29T10:48:00.002-05:00

Lisa's masterpiece.
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Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.

Super King Kong Double Whammy Green Machine

2011-06-01T10:46:00.010-05:00

The Pine River Dam Park has its playground equipment. On Tuesday, Rainbow Play Systems installed the "Super King Kong Double Whammy Green Machine" at the cleared area north of the Pine River Dam, just off of Barclay Ave.

The installers normally take only several hours to complete installation of normal backyard models. However, this model is so large it took them all day, through rain and blustery wind.
It comes complete with a set of three swings, a climbing wall, picnic table and rocking bench, two slides, and four clubhouses.

It took no time before the playground was swarming with kids.

The unit is so large that it barely fits into the prepared 30x55ft area. There are plans to expand the areas around the slides and buoy ball swing for safety.

If you want to see more information on this monstrosity, visit the Rainbow Play Systems website.

Pine River Dam Park Under Construction

2011-05-19T10:33:00.012-05:00

In partnership with Rotary International, HUG has offered to help prepare a site in downtown Pine River for a future playground. The Dam River Park, located just north of the Pine River Dam on Barclay Ave, was in serious need of an overhaul.

First, the derelict exterior fireplace was removed, twelve horseshoe posts were taken out, and around 50 tons of play sand was delivered.

We then took 7 red pines from our property, cut them, stripped them, and hauled them out to the site.

We dug trenches for the logs to be placed in.

Jim measured (twice) and cut (once).

We notched the ends, arraigned the logs into a rectangle and finally secured them so they wouldn't roll.

After the logs were arraigned, we leveled out the sand and raked around the logs to shore up the sand.

The playground equipment will be delivered next week and once installed we will be installing a balance beam from the leftover logs. We should be finished just in time for Frost Free Friday next Friday the 27th.

Solar Panel Carts

2011-04-06T10:15:00.003-05:00

Jake's been kept pretty busy over the last several weeks. RREAL has commissioned him to create a specially designed cart to carry the solar panels they create

After improving on a design that his father made

Jake cut the steel...

welded the frame...

and finished the cart.

Four carts were made overall and several of the older models were touched up. They, now have the capability to carry 50-60 solar panels that can reach up to three thousand pounds. Good work, Jake.

Weekends Over!

2011-03-14T15:00:00.004-05:00

It was a busy day Monday. Jim #1 and Jim #2 descended on the hoop house to begin restoration and repair of the roof. They found several small tears and were able to simply tape them up, but had to patch up a particularly large one.

They used a reinforced plastic and sewed it up with Jim #1 roasting inside the already cooking greenhouse and Jim #2 laying comfortably outside on a raised pallet.

Inside the shop, Jake drew up designs on a solar panel transfer cart for RREAL. He was able to improve on a design his father drew up and began construction on Monday.

At the SPARC, Mark and Doug began installation of the water system.

Also, instead of simply propping in a fiberglass shower stall, it was decided that a base of tile was preferable. Laying of the tile began today, as well.

Solar Food

2011-02-18T11:49:00.008-06:00

Jim's been modifying a design on a solar powered food dehydrator.

The black metal at the base of the machine is set to a 45 degree angle. It collects the sun's energy and turns it into heat, while the polycarbonate window traps the heat in the machine.

Air vents in the base of the unit allow the heated air to rise...

and dehydrate the food on the racks.

Adjust the temperature with these screen vents

Temperatures can reach up to 180 degrees so it is important but easy to monitor the progress with thermometers at the base of the racks and at the top of the unit. With this knowledge, the racks can be jockeyed according to how the food is progressing.

So, with proper placement in the sun, this unit can turn five pounds of freshly picked apples into dehydrated apples in just 9 hours...without the use of electricity!

Jim plans on adding wheels and handpoles to allow for better mobility. There will be more updates on this fascinating project to come.

Solar Plumbing

2011-02-17T13:57:00.012-06:00

Ryan has been working on building a homemade solar drain back tank. This unit allows a non-toxic antifreeze to drain out of the solar panel during down times. If the antifreeze is not circulated properly, it could become corrosive and destroy the panel.

This is what he had to use.

He started with a five gallon bucket with an epoxy coating the interior. He drilled a hole in the top and bottom and removed the handle.

He then took a 1/2" bulkhead fitting and affixed it to the bottom of the bucket through the hole.

Then he cut two pieces of pink foam insulation and drilled similar holes in the center of them.

He used a spray foam to glue the foam to the top and bottom of the bucket, allowing for the tee fitting to stick through.

He wrapped the entire unit in a fiberglass insulation...

And finally encircled the unit with an aluminum sheet casing for a nice finish.

Ryan could have gone online and got a similar pre-constructed unit for nearly $400. However, after purchasing $40 worth of materials from the local hardware store and a half-day of work, HUG has a solar drain back tank of their very own at less than 10% of the cost of buying online.

Now that's buying local!

Retrofit - Week 14

2010-10-17T21:57:00.004-05:00

Well, we are now into week 14 of my 12 week project. Not unusual. While things are taking longer, there seems to be a comforting pattern that things are ending up better in many cases than I had anticipated. The bathroom is looking great. The siding is looking great. The bedrooms are coming together and will soon look great.

After the siding, we are into the interior finishing stages with the windows and the remaining trims. We can see the lights at the end of the tunnel and I'll have to install many of them.

The most visible progress is the siding. All the green siding is complete. The East, West, South, and North Walls, and all three sides of the porch. Crisp!

South side in progress this week.

North Side complete.

However, there is still some caulking and sealing to accomplish. Diligent Mike is taking that on. Good man.

Not Pictured: The red shingles and sunburst because they are still not delivered due to snafus beyond our control. Next week, hopefully.

The Bathroom took shape last week starting with the sanding and clear coating of the floor. Then we could put in the vanity and the cabinet doors. Sweet. Todo: Baseboards, baseboard heater, toilet, countertop, sink, shower plumbing, shower tile, recirculating shower function, lights, outlets, mirror, toilet paper holder, shower curtain rod and curtain. Plus the laundry machines, shelves, trim, lights. In short, you'll see this topic pop up again.

The delayed siding gave us a chance to put the stoops together. Still needs real deck boards instead of old plywood, but it sure feels like an improvement already.

And Shawn put up the wall between the bedrooms upstairs as well as the wall above the chimney brick. This allowed me to spend the weekend wiring light boxes and outlets. Hopefully a good inspection will clear the path for the sheetrockers to hang, mud, and prime this week.

Here is a picture of the West door with the first layer of the polycarb side lights installed.

On the utility front, this here water heater has been converted to a hot water storage tank for my heat pump with the help of a couple hard to find fittings in place of the elements. We have also spent some time this week figuring out the drain plumbing for the recirculating shower. Once that looks photogenic, I'll get you a picture.

Retrofit - Week 13

2010-10-10T22:14:00.005-05:00

13 weeks already??? At least we got excellent weather for this week so we could make bang-up progress on the siding.

Big news this week:

-Siding (how ex-siding!)

One thing slowing down the work is learning how to do the siding with a drainage gap behind it. We're making the gap with furring strips made from black, 4mm, twin wall polycarbonate. Here the picture shows aluminum window screen that will keep insects from inhabiting the space behind the siding.

-Chimney

-East Side

-West Side

-Windows sealed in a flurry of late night paint ladies and ready to install. Guess I don't have any pictures from this week.

-Bathroom sheetrock and painting

-Built the bathroom vanity per Amber's specs. This high class, custom unit has aged-cedar trim made from the boards from the wall, so this will match perfectly. The shelves will be used for baskets and the center space will have a curtain.

And the bead-board paneling is used on the cabinet doors above the toilets, and the panel below the edge of the tub. Can't wait to see it all in place.

-Basement Door and West door and North door, and the door between the kitchen and the porch was made to work nicely. The West door still needs the side-lights placed in.

-Chimney work - the cap on the brick section is complete! And more news: Just today, we got the flue liners in place.

-More exhaust ducting

-Living room beam stained

And late, breaking, news: Bathroom floor sanded and sealed (Pictures coming next week)

Barn raising a hoop house for 10/10/10

2010-10-10T14:09:00.001-05:00

Creating new space for RREAL

2010-10-08T11:46:00.001-05:00

RREAL factory addition

2010-10-08T11:45:00.001-05:00

Underground Air Exchanger II

2010-10-05T07:17:00.005-05:00

Wayne has finished the manifolds, and we have installed the system in the ground. Schrupp Excavating came out to dig the hole, and the whole crew pitched in to help. We installed the tube manifolds on the deep end, and Wayne's box manifolds near the SPARC. We are excited to see how a large scale system will work.

Retrofit - Week 12

2010-10-03T23:17:00.001-05:00

Big news: Siding Prep, Rooflets, New flooring in Addition, Phone wire clean up, Ultra enthusiastic window sealing ladies, Bathroom sheetrock, West door

-West Door: Why does Peter always have this look when dealing with doors? The door looks very nice, now.

More kitchen Cabinets- these are going to be so cool! The island will wait till we get all the big materials moved in and out of the house to avoid any excess wear on stuff.

And Adrien is helping to pick a new color for the shakes and sunburst.

The walls got some great prepping for the siding. These are cute little rooflets.

The addition got the new floor installed. Yay!

And after years of planning, I managed to finally get the communications wires tamed on a punch down block.

A couple of floors above this, I got the bathroom walls coated. The plywood panels behind the washer, dryer, and the shower are all intended to make the plumbing accessible for easier maintenance.

And the most enthusiastic part of the week was Lori Hemminger and her crazy crew of painting ladies who were AWESOME in getting the windows clear coated so they could be installed quickly. Working diligent late hours, they did an amazing amount of painting in one weekend.

RREAL addition II

2010-09-27T14:15:00.002-05:00

The side walls are installed, and the crew is now building the outer walls. They will be dense-packed cellulose instead of SIPS panels.

underground air exchanger

2010-09-27T14:04:00.003-05:00

Wayne has been busy with a prototype of an air exchanger that utilizes the ambient ground temperature for the preheating of air for the SPARC. It will consist of 10 tubes 30' long for the outgoing air, and 10 tubes 30' long for the incoming air. We are still refining the design, so look for more updates.

2010-09-27T14:00:00.003-05:00

HUG and RREAL were honored today with a surprise visit from some VIP's. A delegation from congress made its way through the campus. Here are a couple of photos of the esteemed dignitaries.

Retrofit - Week 11

2010-09-27T11:18:00.007-05:00

It was a little light this week with Shawn gone on his honeymoon. Still, plenty of stuff to write about.

Big news this week: Insulation in the attic, windows in the basement, and wires, sheetrock, and the start of cabinets in the kitchen.

Attic insulation:

Sam had fun with the thermal camera as he found and plugged a number of warm air leaks into the attic on a cold morning.

Later on, Sam had filled a bunch of the attic with a good 30 inches of cellulose. Near the north edge, the insulation has to stack super high in order for the insulation to match up with the old roof line. Pictured here is the insulation dam around the whole house vent.

Kitchen:

This week started with some wiring and a positive inspection.

Then some sheetrock. Because it would all be covered up, I only did one coat of mudding, which was challenging to my sense of craftsmanship.

And some paint.

And then, some cabinets!

-Basement windows came along. This is just a great picture of the fine, skilled carpenters at work.

After the windows were in place, a phantom was seen appearing in multiple windows.

And finally, Peter is pictured here after putting in the first basement window winding up the week by cleaning up.

Retrofit - Week 10

2010-09-19T21:27:00.005-05:00

Very good week. In fact, I believe this makes it ten for ten!
First of all - Obligatory chicken picture. This awesome chicken portrait was taken by Paul. I just might have to post this image to Facebook. Darn chickens did some serious pecking at the pink foam around the foundation. I'm torn between hoping they suffer from that stupidity and hoping they aren't toxic to eat, now.

Now that we got past that, we are into putting things back together again. Here we see the giant vent covers that Wayne so skillfully crafted up. We finally put them into the wall to terminate the air exchange tubes. Last week there was a picture of the perforated tubes wrapped in poly film. We, instead, decided to splice the perforated ends below the ground level to non-perf pipe inside the wall.

The North wall has been full of utilities that we've had to figure out how to install in this wall. Above is a picture of a sewer vent, and an electric box for communication conduit and wires.

Below is Wayne working his magic, again, in the form of a mini, super insulated damper for the combustion air intake for the fireplace.

In other news, as the roofers cut in the ridge vent, I got a chance to check on the settling of the insulation in the spacer trusses. When I blew it in there, I filled it to the top, counting on it settling a few inches to leave a ventilation space. This is what sweet success looks like.

Another success this week was breaking into the old flues from the basement utility room. One came along nicely. The other abhorrent and ill-constructed flue from hell took more work, but was eventually re-appropriated for duct duty. It was a relief, once I saw it, to know that I never actually used it as a flue while we have been in the house. These two flues will serve to bring fresh air up into the bedrooms and to bring hot air from upstairs down into the basement.

One totally awesome pre-rinse faucet arrived. It's huge. It's the big-gun in my dish washing plan. It provides tactical support for the stainless sink and stainless counter top.

The two biggest achievements for the week, though, are the completion of the dense-packing in the walls, and the beginning of the window installation. After months of speculation about what we would use to fill in between inner and outer windows, we were pleased to find that these windows will work nicely immediately adjacent to each other. This is largely because of the fact that both sashes slide and are removable. The big triple sash windows may be different, though. We're still looking into this.

We went through much discussion on how, exactly, to flash and seal the windows and handle the spaces between them now that we're doing a gap between the siding and the drainage plane.
So, on Friday, we went on a window installing rampage. We got all but 4 of the outer windows installed! (not counting the basement windows).

Here is a picture of some very beautiful windows. That amount of south windows should be effective.

And at the end of the day there were several proud carpenters in the house. And right after that, Shawn took off on his long awaited honey-moon. We're hoping to get postcards.

The biggest problem with the windows is that I should've ordered them with a clear sealant instead of plain wood. So I bought some polyurethane and with the help of Sean Muller we got a good start at sealing the wood this weekend.

When it came time to do some wiring in the kitchen and actually figuring out what wires went where, Sam and I ended up tearing out a bunch of sheetrock and learning quite a bit about what circuits went where. We only found about 4 abominations that left me feeling vaguely victimized. Not bad. Like so much else about this project, it's so nice to know that those have been fixed. Stay tuned for next weeks progress.

Retrofit - Week 9

2010-09-13T08:29:00.009-05:00

The big stories this week are the super damper, insulation, sealing up the attic and the ceiling, and getting the Air exchanger tubes ready.

Below is the super damper and the insulation and 14 inch duct that it will feed into.

Here Sam and Pete are installing the super-damper. It fits and looks good.

Here is the ceiling in the addition and bedrooms. Air sealing is a major challenge and of critical importance. Both Peter and I have seen poly film degraded and brittle after 30 years, so we have adopted a double system. First is the layer of plywood on the ceiling that will help support the weight of almost 3 feet of blown in cellulose. The plywood also has a very low vapor permeability. So we sealed the seams with mastic and then put poly film over it, to boot.

After the ceiling, we had to seal the perimeter to the air barrier on the wall. As a backer for the foam, we put in some fiberglass bits. Here Mike looks like he's butchering some wild cotton candy.

Sam.

Feeding the insulation blower is actually not such a bad job. Here we see Peter doing a not bad job on this not such a bad job.

And Mike had to keep busy making use of the cellulose that kept blowing out the hose.

And we had to prep the air exchanger tube ends. Sam nicely built a foam box around each end to provide enough insulation behind them and to keep any moisture off the wall. We decided to wrap the perforated exhaust tube in poly film in order to further isolate the moisture from the wall framing and insulation.

And we also built a foam insulation box around the dryer vent. This serves to isolate the moist air from the insulation and, also, to provide some opportunity to replace the vent tube.

Not pictured: Plumbing and wiring. I accomplished some wiring in the bathroom and also redid most of the copper plumbing with PEX. The lines are much more streamlined, color coded, and fully insulated, even through studs and floors. It's something I'm proud of in a plumbing geek kind of way, but it is not terribly photogenic. Maybe some pictures next week.

Got the West side done!

And we got more roofing installed!

Retrofit - Week 8

2010-09-05T12:32:00.007-05:00

Another fine, fine week. Well, maybe only one fine since Peter was out with his sore foot. Despite that we had productive week learning more about how to dense pack cellulose. All last weekend after trying it out on the east wall I studied dense pack info on the web. So, on Monday morning we did some more experimenting on a small test wall the Shawn and Sam whipped up.

We tried several settings on the machine and a couple different hose ends and a few different techniques till we consistently achieved close to 4 lbs/ft^3. That's a bit higher than we needed, but I'm OK with a little extra at this stage.

Shawn and Sam making a test box.

Shawn and Sam filling their test box.

Sam insulating under a window on the South wall.

By the end of Monday we got the South side enclosed in house wrap. Most of the cavities that are open at the top are still nto filled, though.

On Tuesday, Mike and I worked on finishing the insulation on the East side. Here we see him up on a high plank inserting the tube into each cavity from the top. If my camera was quicker I would've captured some good geysers as the air blowing back would sometimes make the insulation erupt out the top and into his face. Shortly after that he took the rest of the week off for a trip to the cities and the state fair.

Sam and Ethan demonstrate that you can do more then save big money at Menards.

Here is an example of wiring in the dense pack cavity. Nothing special, but it totally met the code about being far enough inside the wall to avoid being hit my nails later.

And here Joel is working on how we'll mount the off-peak meter.

On Thursday our blue steel roof material arrived. Nice. We also got the siding colors finalized and ordered after some confusion with Sherwin-Williams.

Perhaps one of the highlights of the week is Wayne's fabricating awesomeness. He whipped out two of the coolest overgrown duct vents ever for the intake and exhaust of the underground air exchanger. These are going to be great on the side of my house. I will want to paint them, though.

Friday was cold, windy, and rainy. The roofers, rightly, did not want to be on a steel roof when it's damp, but they did get some trim put up.

Not pictured, but still pertinent was a visit by Jim Larson, Nor-Son's building science expert. He was intrigued and very helpful. Once we get the windows in we'll do a building tightness test and see if there are any small leaks we can fix sooner rather than later. He has many years of experience finding the things that went wrong and caused problems and I enjoyed getting a deeper appreciation for that part of "high performance". Another outcome of that is trying to figure out how best to keep my thick blanket of insulation dry in my walls, and how to let it dry if it does get wet. The most likely solution is to leave a 3/8 gap between the housewrap and the siding. So I ordered a couple books he recommended by a great building expert and funny author Joe Lstiburek. More next week.

Retrofit - Week 7

2010-08-28T23:22:00.006-05:00

Yeeha, another week of rocking the retrofit! Shawn decided to postpone his honeymoon trip (I think he likes the abuse he and Sam give each other) which was a good thing because Peter was limping on an infected foot that landed him a quiet ("boring") weekend in the hospital. Our very capable crew kept going, though. Monday was all about finishing the framing out of the East wall and starting the South wall. Tuesday and Wednesday were finishing the South and working on the the West. Meanwhile, I was thoroughly cleaning out the attic space above the bathroom after finding some vermiculite insulation. Friday was all about playing with the dense-pack cellulose and sheeting the East wall. The insulation project seemed a bit less experimental after making the acquaintance of Gerard Gagnon, owner of Ace Insulation in Maine, who has done tons of dense packing in "fat walls" with no evidence of settling over time.

Saturday Amber and I met with Nagel-Built cabinets again and gave him the go ahead on some awesome cabinets. Then I did some wiring and plumbed a hose bib for the West wall so the framing can be completed.

On Monday I had to install two of the penetrations through the soon to be dense-packed wall: An air intake for the fireplace to be fitted with a mini-super-damper and an 18" hose bib wrapped in pipe insulation to avoid condensation.

This is what the south wall looked like on Monday afternoon.

Here is Jeff installing some settling sensors to test for settling. The theory is that the top sensors under a dividing ledge will become cold if the insulation settles below it. Next week we'll put some more sensors in throughout the thickness of a section of wall to test the thermal performance.

Here, Wayne puts the final touches on the word's first HUG Super-Damper. It's a 120 square inch opening (that's like a 12 inch duct) with an R30, stepped cone plug with double seals. Oooh yeah! That baby is gonna be the star in my whole-house vent and then close off like no other damper I've ever seen. It'll be on a thermostat that will tell it to open on summer evenings as it cools, or on sunny winter days when I have an excess of solar heat.

Dense-Packing Cellulose:

For absolute novices, I think we did pretty well. Mike manned the blower, kept it fed, and helped track how much insulation were putting into each section of wall to ensure proper density. I mostly ran the blower while Sam and Shawn sheeted the walls. under the windows we blew into insul-web sheeted areas before sheeting.

Here is an example of a cavity filled up to the top of the sheeting so far.

We recommended Selson-Blue for this condition, but Sam thought the "gray look" made him look more like me which he liked.

People powered generator IV

2010-08-25T07:16:00.004-05:00

We have been working on the next generation of prototypes for our generation system. We set up a bicycle-powered generator, and were able to get around 40 watts using a permanent magnet motor. We installed a custom high output generator on the portable pedals and are able to achieve 100 watts with moderate effort. We are going to find a voltage controller for this and set it up for use in the ARC '08

Retrofit - Week 6

2010-08-22T22:34:00.004-05:00

Another good week, even though Peter, of Lofstrom Construction took his long planned vacation. Last week Sam was gone for 3 days and next week, Shawn is off on his honeymoon. That means we have an accidental, but concise test for individual contribution to team dynamics. The team is working well, though, so I have no concerns, it'll just be interesting.

This week saw the boys get all the walls blacked in with ice & water shield and the east wall framed out for insulation.

Here Sam does some detailing on the foam insulation that we are putting there just in case of

settling. We realized we might have to do that under the windows, too.

Here you can see the insulweb mesh that we're using to divide the cavities for the dense packing. Using cellulose in this way is one of the most experimental part of this project. I found myself looking at all the framing and wondering if it was worth it, or if I should've just applied 10 inches of foam board. Five layers of 2" foam board woulda been about $3.50/ft^2 and still woulda needed some good way to support it and have stripping on the outside for the siding. The cellulose is about $1/ft^2 and needs a bit more framework. I think it will work out fine.

Jake and I finished the window well and backfilled it. After putting the rocks in it, we realized that it would be easier to clean out debris that will be falling in during the next phases before we put the rocks in.

Here is a pre-backfill picture showing the dead-men reinforcements.

Chris from Complete Chimney Care got the Chimney got the new stainless steel chimney installed up through the roof. Should be a nice, tight chimney. We still have to cap the whole chimney structure after we get the ducts through the other two flues. And we have to build the structure on the top of the roof before the roofer shows up with the steel.

And we started talking to Nagel-Built cabinets here in Pine River about what He could do for us. He'll have a plan next week to look at.

I also applied for the wiring permit this week. Then just today, as I was beginning the wiring in the bathroom, I decided to pull all the insulation out of that attic space that is now inside the air barrier and an R90+ roof. That little attic can be a Secret Attic Hideaway for the kids.

Retrofit Planning: Pre-Audit

2010-08-18T14:06:00.006-05:00

An important part of planning this deep energy retrofit is understanding the performance of the building before we start. There is a chance that Obama's federal incentives or Cash-for-caulkers may, yet come through, and that looks like it will require a test before and after, too. To address both these, we had Peter Lofstrom of Evergreen Energy Audits do an energy audit for us one chilly March morning.

Here is a little background on the house. We have 3 bedrooms, two baths, and a total of 3608 sq. ft. of conditioned space. It was built in 1978, or so, with 2x6 walls insulated with fiberglass bats. The roof is mostly 2X6 rafters with fiberglass bats, too. The basement is 12" block with no insulation in the outside. Approximately half of the inside of the basement has a finished interior with some foam insulation under it. The windows are nice Anderson casements single panes with a clipped on storm pane. Two large windows in the living room face south and two smaller ones face south in the master bedroom, upstairs. These really help catch some Btus on sunny, winter days.

Energy Audit Results:

Peter did 3 main tasks as part of our energy audit. First, he did a blower door test to measure how leaky the shell of the building was. Then as the blower was sucking cold air into the building through every little gap in the walls, we walked around with a thermal camera to see exactly where the major leaks were. Finally, he compiled our energy bills for the last 12 months into various energy indexes.

Blower Door Test:

We have a relatively drafty 5.92 ACH@50Pa, or about 3087 cfm, which is about average. This is estimated to translate to 300 cfm of natural ventilation in the winter, which provides plenty of ventilation. When we tighten the house up, we'll have to add mechanical ventilation through a heat exchanger. By comparison, the ARC on campus had a 0.46 ACH50, over 92% better.

Thermal Camera Images:

Above is the worst spot we found for leakage. The middle wall of the bathroom was not sealed at the top, so the cold air was rushing in during the leak test. This explains why the roof over that area slowly, but consistently melted the snow on it.

At the peak of the atrium area around the chimney was another problem spot. The roof up there is only 2X6 rafters with a large masonry chimney protruding through it. It's amazing to me that my heating bills weren't much higher, even with the heat pump.

And this is a typical window shot showing the cold air leaking through around the frame, behind the trim.

Heating energy:

The home was originally heated with a centrally located fireplace and electric baseboards on a dual-fuel rate. About 5 years ago I installed an open-loop ground water heat pump and the associated duct work. Because of the efficiency of the heat pump, we were only paying $160 for heat in January, and only $850 per year for heat.

In this graph, you can see the red lines for heating energy, peaking at 2500 KWH per month while the other uses hold near 1500 KWH. During this time, we had about 9122 heating degree days.

Energy Index - (Heating BTU/SF/HDD) your score is 1.38

We did very well on this. Typical might be 4 to 8 for comparable age style of houses. (Passiv Haus standard is .28) We probably scored well because of our heat pump. Without the heat pump we would probably be in the 5 to 6 area.

Energy Intensity Rating – (Total Energy BTU/SF/Yr) your score is 29,252

Again, we were on the low-ish end of the scale, but not at the bottom. Passiv Haus standard is 38,100 Btu/SF/yr of Primary energy (energy of the coal going into the power plant in my case), which works out to about 14,000 BTU/SF/Yr.

So there you have it. We have a typical house from the 70s that is already much cheaper to heat because it has a heat pump. We're gonna try to get it closer to Passive House, because I'm a bit envious of the houses we're building on campus.

Retrofit: Week 5

2010-08-14T12:59:00.000-05:00

The fifth week of the project started out hot and ended up wet. Nice if you're on a date, not as much fun when doing construction. Still, we have a good list of accomplishments:

Saturday and Sunday: We mostly finished the south window

Monday: Insulated, Sheeted, and blacked in the north half of roof. This is a picture of Monday Morning.

I got some pictures of insulation in the cavity and enough insulation all over me to look like I was molting.

Tuesday: The guys mostly installed window boxes. This made room in the garage. The windows arrived and were stored in the newly empty garage.

Wednesday: Setting more window boxes and then starting the ice and water shield (gummy bear) on the East wall. We decided it was easier to "flash" the window boxes first and then fill in the flat parts of the wall later. Pete had stepped on a nail and had a bit of a limp and sore foot, so we wrapped up a bit early.

Thursday: Did some application of ice and water shield around window boxes before the rain, the gable vent (man way) on the south side got installed, and more than half the plywood on the ceiling in the addition got placed.

Friday: More details about how to do the wall extensions for the cellulose insulation. We were considering how to make it come out looking straight and plumb despite the not so straight actual house walls under it.

Retrofit - Window Wells

2010-08-14T12:57:00.001-05:00

When I started out, I thought I wanted landscaping block retaining walls for window wells. After figuring out what that would really cost, I decided on 5X6 timbers, instead, much like what was there before. The design is for stepping up two timbers and then stepping back two, which leaves a ledge that is half dirt. Hopefully I can get some creeping charlie to colonize the whole thing and turn it green.

Here is a picture of the deeper, south window well in process. I'll add some more photos later of the finished look and the other two that are more complete.

Retrofit - Week 4

2010-08-07T01:50:00.004-05:00

Week Four saw the addition trusses sheeted and coated with a leaky roof underlayment. Sam was first on the scene for several leaky roof moments and taught me some cool new swear words. Then we started clearing the existing roof shingles and overhangs, wrapping it with ice and water shield, and then setting trusses on it. They also got most of the window boxes set in place.

The house looked so strange without any overhangs at all. Luckily, the south side had 42 inch overhangs and lookouts. After adding 12 inches on the walls, it will only be a 30 inch overhang. If I had it to do over, I would've made 42" overhangs after the walls were furred out. Overhangs are awesome.

South side with lookouts and sheeting.

Sam working on removing the overhang so we can wrap the air barrier over the existing decking.

House without any overhangs. This picture doesn't really show how weird it is.

Setting trusses. Driving the lift is tricky for this because of all the trees in the yard.

Built out with lookouts and overhangs. Ready for some sheeting and insulation on Monday (which has to happen in one day so we can get it covered over and keep it dry.)

Summertime labor help.

2010-08-04T13:18:00.002-05:00

Doug and Wayne are mixing cement and pouring a stable foundation for the new gate.

Pam building prototype freezer organizers

2010-07-31T08:37:00.001-05:00

Retrofit - Week 3

2010-07-31T01:29:00.002-05:00

Pictures from the third week:

This is a shot of removing the rafters over the bedroom. It was kinda nice having the open, pergola feeling. Doesn't keep out the rain very well, though.

Water proofing membrane over the cellar entrance

Peter came up with the idea of making boxes for the windows to help align the inside wall with the outside one.

Something seems to be missing.... Oh yeah, the walls and roof where the bedroom used to be.

And after a nice, long day, we have trusses! Sweet!

Garden Gate Update

2010-07-26T16:19:00.002-05:00

The gate is fabricated and painted. Wayne has also fabricated the rails and we are getting ready to set the posts. Jake is shown here applying cold galvanize to the welds, and also shown is the completed gate and rails.

Landscape Changes to the HUG campus IV

2010-07-26T15:23:00.003-05:00

Jim and the grounds crew have been very busy making progress on the landscaping around campus. Things are greening up, and the area around ARC '08 has a different look and feel.

SPARC update, 07/26/2010

2010-07-26T14:59:00.002-05:00

The SPARC is finally taking shape. The windows and patio door are installed, the upper ceiling is finishes, and the attic is insulated. M&M have also roughed in the inner walls. Next step is the plumbing and electrical.

Retrofit - Week 2

2010-07-24T00:44:00.001-05:00

Week two saw some major cool achievements, but I didn't get to see them till Friday because I spent the week hanging out in Denver with many of the best residential energy efficient building experts in the country at a summit sponsored by the Dept of Energy and NREL. What fun company to be included in. It was encouraging that I could hold my own in conversations about building and energy and I learned a lot about the policy and political goings on. I also tried to get any feedback about what I was planning here that I could. It seems like everything looks good except for maybe settling of the cellulose wall insulation.

The major progress this week started on Friday of the first week when we got the steel for the joist hangers for the 4X12 rough sawn beams in the living room. Sam and Jake put in a long Saturday with me to get these things fabbed up in custom widths for each joist.

Then we painted them on Sunday.

Monday and Tuesday the guys removed the old beam and put in this beauty. No sagging there, boy. (Pictured here with temporary walls under the joists)

Then they spent a long day with a 7 foot long beam bender and an impact driver to put all these pretty, black, embodiments of form and function in place. Here you can see Shawn removing the temporary walls. No more staring up at the poorly spliced excuse for a beam and wondering why the joists weren't pulling more on the 3 nails in each one.

Meanwhile, Mike the Mason rebuilt the cellar door entrance and put a foundation under the corner of the porch. Very nice!

And then by the end of Friday, the roof was removed over the living room. Next week: Trusses.

Retrofit Planning: Why?

2010-07-17T23:36:00.002-05:00

Home Remodel Project

Some key reasons why we need do something:

Family Changes - We've added 3 kids since we moved in 8 years ago and we're living out of two bedrooms upstairs, since the kids are too small to want to be in the basement.
Professional development - live the message. The secret to satisfaction is to find something you care about and live your life to show it.
Some issues with the building - some things need work.
Risk mitigation for the future - Economy, peak oil, climate change... Shit happens.

We're enjoying the house. It has great character with the large beams, nice flooring, double sided fireplace, and large, plentiful windows. The location is great - being in town, but totally surrounded by trees, near a pond, and in a nice neighborhood. Heating bills are low, but I'm hoping for performance that will never leave my family or grandkids wondering how they'll heat the place. We want to be stewards of a nice home and the land and not leave an energy suck for another owner. When energy prices rise, we'll be highly valuable if we want to sell and build something else. Retrofits are of critical importance for society and this will be an interesting experiment.

We have a $183K mortgage. We love the location. We like the style, floor plan and the 3800 sq ft of the house. If we could do a near-ARC retrofit here for $100-150K, then we'd be in a good position compared to the price of building new for a home the size we have.

Resilience Goals:

Make the house super insulated and easy to heat
Reduce heating costs and water heating costs dramatically by using the ground water heat pump to heat domestic water like in the NARC only off-peak, too
Retain ability to heat with the fireplace
Retain well in basement and add manual pump option
Enhance cold storage room/root cellar function
Reduce susceptibility to forest fire by increasing space to trees and adding cement-board siding and steel roof
Decrease maintenance issues with new siding/roofing
Increase kitchen efficiency - expanded/counter dish washing space, better dish/appliance storage, more pantry space, easier people flow around island
Make more bedroom space for our children
Increase laundry efficiency by moving it upstairs, and maybe new appliances
Increase hot water efficiency with recycling shower in upstairs bathroom
Make many productive raised bed gardens in yard to take advantage of nutrient cycle in our yard (not part of this project, though)

Retrofit Planning: Drawings and Permit

2010-07-17T23:03:00.001-05:00

When we got to the point of having enough details conceived, I sent some crude hand sketches to Kendra Fjerstad of KDF Design.

She sent back some questions and then made some very nice drawings.

On a project like this, planning is paramount. I am keen to document this well in order to help anyone else crazy enough to try it. I also needed to convey the plan to the building inspector in order to get a permit. It worked.

Here is what we expect the outside to look like. The sunburst is kind of a Hug Home thing. I like it.

Deep Energy Retrofit: Before Pictures

2010-07-17T12:52:00.000-05:00

Before we started this remodel, this is what the house looked like. It was a quaint saltbox style with old, red paint on it. It was built in the late 70s with 2X6 walls and 2x6 roof rafters and fiberglass insulation. When we got the place 8 years ago, it was heated with electric baseboards and a wood fireplace. about 4 or 5 years ago we put in a ground water heat pump on dual fuel with the fireplace as a backup. That paid for itself quickly.

This is the view of the East side. The single story section on the left is where a new second story will be added to make a couple bedrooms. The big brick chimney will be removed and replaced with a stainless steel chimney that won't bleed out heat so bad in the winter.

On the West side the cold, drafty main door will be replaced with two doors and my toes won't be as cold in the winter.

The north view here shows our candidate for the worst chimney in the world. It will go away. Unfortunately, we'll lose the cedar shrub, too.

Retrofit - Week 1

2010-07-17T00:30:00.001-05:00

Allright!! kick off time. We got the project started Monday morning the 11th of July, by convening the team around the drawings and figuring out the plan of action. The Key players are:

Peter Lofstrom of Loftstrom Construction near Brainerd. He is the site supervisor and main go-to guy when it comes to figuring out how to make things really work. He is energy savvy and detail oriented when it comes to making a tight building. He was also the energy auditor who did the pre-audit and he'll do the final tests, too.

Shawn Beseth -Experienced framer, very local, and luckily for me, looking for work closer to home, even if it is temporary.

Sam Nelson - My brother in law with some good construction experience and also in between projects.

Mike Newbold - Another brother in law, fresh off of helping build his own ARC home, who is actually working for Resilient Properties Management, but this project is his assignment as an experimental deep energy retrofit.

Turns out that because of the schedule for the trusses, we decided to strip the siding for a day or two before Schrupp Excavating was available to excavate around the basement walls.

House minus the siding. The guys made quick work of this part of the project.

Below is 120 sheets of 2" foam and 1000 feet of corrugated poly pipe for the air exchanger.

We'll also put in an experimental, ground tempered air exchanger consisting of 6 corrugated tubes buried down at the foundation level almost all the way around the house.

We ran into a few little issues, like any remodel does. Some pretty good rot under the North and West doors that had to be fixed.

Second, the porch was not made with a foundation, it was slab on grade, which changed the way the way we decided to insulate around it. Then during the excavation, we cut the wire to the garage. Not biggies, just par for the course.

After that, the excavation and foaming went well. Schrupp's guys are awesome.

Around the East side, we had to deal with the cellar door. It had to be pushed out a foot to match the new wall, and it needed a thermal break to the basement walls. So we made a few cuts and the excavator made quick work of it, so the masons could rebuild it.

And this is how the air exchanger tubes look assembled.

Canopy weights

2010-07-08T16:19:00.002-05:00

The market crew was having a problem on windy days. Their canopy tents kept thinking that they are kites, much to the frustration of those who were underneath them. Wayne had a great idea to fabricate some weights, which attach easily to the corners of the canopies and keep them in place.

New ARC'08 solar panels Installed!

2010-07-08T16:05:00.003-05:00

M&M worked hard to get the trim done on the new solar panels. Now it is up to the engineering crew to design and finish the indoor plumbing and connect it to the existing system.

Landscape Changes to the HUG campus III

2010-07-08T16:01:00.002-05:00

Jim and the crew has been busy on the campus grounds. The landscaping is finally taking shape and prairie wildflower and grass seed has been planted on the west end of the Mani-Shop. They are now working is front of ARC' 08.

Garden Gate

2010-07-07T16:24:00.003-05:00

As part of our new landscaping, we are fabricating and installing a new gate to access the front of Old Main and garden. The new gate will be 30' long and nearly 7' tall. Wayne desinged the gate with a sunburst pattern, and is in the early stages of fabricating it.

Long term freezer storage

2010-07-07T15:59:00.004-05:00

Pam is up on an internship for a few days and is working on the storage shelves for our long term freezer storage. She teaches CAD at Rochester Technical College.
She is seen here fashioning the prototype out of twin wall polycarbonate.

SPARC update, 07/07/2010

2010-07-07T15:35:00.005-05:00

In spite of all the rain, M&M have been making good progress on the SPARC. The walls and roof are up, and the the trusses are all installed. The crew was busy today with cutting the rough openings for the windows.

Freezer "basket" design

2010-07-01T09:21:00.001-05:00

Landscape Changes to the HUG campus II

2010-06-09T10:50:00.006-05:00

Schrupp excavating arrived this morning to do the bulk of the earthmoving for our new landscaping plan. They are building up the new bus parking area, and removing the gravel from our old parking areas to make way for the gardens and walking paths that will take its place.

SPARC

2010-06-09T10:29:00.006-05:00

Work has finally started on our latest house, the Small, Practical ARC (SPARC). Mark, Marlon, and Dug are raising the SIPS panels, and hope to have the outside walls in place this week. The SPARC is a 3 bedroom, 2 story, 1140 square foot home that is meant showcase the best that resilient living can be.

The Three-Legged Signpost

2010-06-01T07:16:00.004-05:00

Paul and Ryan were deep in a brainstorming session when Janna came in with a problem. She needed a portable sign post for the farmers market right away, and wasn't sure how to build it. Of course the gentlemen dropped what they were doing to help a lady in distress, and in no time at all, had designed and built a neat little folding signpost for Jenna.

RREAL's panel gets certified!

2010-05-25T07:09:00.002-05:00

Jason and the team at the the Rural Renewable Energy Alliance (RREAL) have finally achieved SRCC certification for their hot-air solar furnace. These are the panels which are installed on the Mani-shop. Here is RREAL's press release:

"The Rural Renewable Energy Alliance (RREAL), Minnesota manufacturer of the Solar Powered Furnace (SPF), recently received notification that the SRCC (Solar Rating Certification Corporation) had completed testing and certification of its solar heat collector. The patent-pending SPF solar collector was submitted for testing in 2007 and fully certified for use in the United States in April of 2010.
SRCC certification has a number of significant benefits for RREAL and its SPF. The first and most important benefit is that consumers can rest assured that the SPF solar heating system will operate as advertised because the efficiency and performance of the SPF solar collector has been independently verified. The second great benefit of SRCC Certification for RREAL’s solar collectors is that systems will now qualify for incentives and rebates. These incentives can help pay some of the initial cost of a SPF solar heating system. While there are currently no tax incentives for solar air heat at the Federal level, many states, including the state of Minnesota, offer incentives. State and local incentives vary from place to place, but often include one, or more, of the following; state income tax credits, cash rebates, sales tax exemptions and property tax increase exemptions. Minnesota is one of the few states with a cash rebate for solar air heat up to $2000 for single family homes and $4000 for multi-family dwellings. Detailed application instructions for Minnesota residents can be found at the Minnesota Department of Commerce website.

SRCC determined that RREAL’s Solar Powered Furnace is the most efficient and solar collector on the market. RREAL can now produce the most cost-effective solar heating systems with the lowest initial investment, shortest payback period and highest overall return on your investment. "

Congratulations, RREAL!

Landscape Changes to the HUG campus

2010-05-21T08:12:00.002-05:00

We are making changes to the campus landscaping in order to improve traffic flow. We are also looking forward to the added greenery and gardens that we will have room for. The photos show Jim moving gravel from the west side of the mani shop to the north side.

New ARC'08 solar panels

2010-05-21T07:38:00.004-05:00

We spent the better part of the last two days installing the new hot water solar panels inthe ARC '08. Marlon and Dan installed new trusses to reinforce the wall, and to bring the panels out from under the overhang, which will expose them to more sunlight in the summer months.
Wayne designed the mounting system and plumbing. Jake, Jeff, and Ryan put a lot of effort into hoisting the panels up and mounting them according to plans.

solar powered sprayer/waterer complete!

2010-05-17T14:00:00.002-05:00

We added a broadcast sprayer -accumulator, and pressure switch to the solar powered sprayer/waterer. Everything works as planned, and we are now using it for various chores around the campus.

The not-so wise young owl...

2010-05-10T16:32:00.002-05:00

We were informed today that the young owl's wing was too broken to repair, so they had to put him to sleep. We hope that bringing him down there will help the raptor center in their mission of understanding these beautiful creatures, and how they fit into our world. R.I.P., young friend!

The not-so wise young owl - UPDATE

2010-05-06T14:53:00.002-05:00

This is from Scott this afternoon:
"The owl was delivered to the Raptor Center in good condition, awake and
aware.  They didn't have a status on him yet when I left, but you can
call 612-626-3784 to get status information on him.  Just tell them that
it was a great horned owl dropped off May 6th at 1pm.  They suggested to
wait 1-2 days before calling.

They also request (but not require) that donations be given to help pay
for the birds care."

Here is the  web address to make a donation:

http://www.cvm.umn.edu/raptor/donate/home.html

You can also mail or phone a donation at:

To mail your donation
To mail your donation, please send your check or credit card number (with expiration date), along with your name, address, and telephone number to The Raptor Center, 1920 Fitch Ave., St. Paul, MN, 55108.

To make a donation by phone
Call Amber Burnette at 612-624-3391.

The not-so wise young owl

2010-05-06T09:53:00.003-05:00

We had an unannounced visitor today at the mani-shop. A young Great Horned Owl was found by Barb W. outside of the greenhouse. It appears to have a broken wing, so we assume that it hit the greenhouse window. We decided to send it to the Raptor center at the U of M. Scott was heading down there today, so as of this posting, the young visitor was speeding on his way. We hope that they are able to treat him and release him to the wild. We will post updates as we learn more. Good Luck, young friend!

Whoops! Too Hot! Part V

2010-05-05T16:14:00.004-05:00

The new solar panels have finally arrived. Paul, Ryan, and Wayne have been busy designing the mounting system. The next shipment of polyurethane adhesive has also arrived, and we finished injecting it into the SIPS panels to ensure that the OSB is bonded to the polystyrene. The results of that endeavor aren't pretty, but we are now reasonably confident that the strength and integrity of the walls have been restored. The photos show the repaired wall, Wayne's design prints, and the new solar panels. Also shown is a sample panel that is on loan from RREAL to help with our mounting design.

People powered generator III

2010-05-05T16:11:00.002-05:00

We installed a new generator on the pedal assembly. This one has a higher output. We were able to get about 50 watts of output without too much effort. We will continue to work on improving the output of the generator.

water preheat on air exchange.

2010-05-03T11:49:00.003-05:00

We had a brief but intense brainstorm on air exchangers this morning. Paul would like to try a system which would use water to preheat the incoming air. The system could also be used to cool the air in the summer. We are currently looking at two different systems: the first would use small radiators to isolate the water from the air, and the second system would allow water to contact the incoming airstream. More calculations and design work needs to be completed before we can begin to prototype either design.

Solar-Powered Sprayer

2010-04-30T14:54:00.003-05:00

The solar sprayer became operational today. Jim and Jake were able to get out and fertilize the trees that were planted a few weeks ago. Jim told us that it was working great, but we are already coming up with ways to improve it. The photos show the sprayer, Jim spraying the trees, and Jake towing the trailer.

Brainstorming!

2010-04-28T16:44:00.002-05:00

We walked in this afternoon to a swirling tornado of ideas from Paul and Ryan as they were brainstorming the latest version of the HUG air exchanger. We ended up ordering some small air to water heat exchangers and some small filters so that we can build our first prototype.
Wayne was busy designing and building the prototype filter housing. The photos show Ryan and Paul working on their ideas, the rough drawings on the whiteboard, and Wayne's filter housing.

Death of a good tree(s)...

2010-04-27T16:31:00.008-05:00

It was with a heavy heart that we decided to remove the ailing red pine trees that surrounded ARC "08. The stress from construction, and the unusually dry spring, lowered their defenses to the point that fungus and pine bark beetles were able to get a foot-hold in them. Upon the discovery of the beetles, we knew that we had to remove them before more trees became infected.
Jim and Jake are working hard to finish the job and ensure the safety of the other trees. Felling the trees is a difficult proposition because of the the ARC and other structures in the vicinity. Jim's experience is really coming to play here in making sure that the trees drop right where they need to. The photos show the ailing pines, the small holes made by the pine bark beetles, Jim running the chain saw, and Jake operating the Cat.

Kathy's World

2010-04-27T09:34:00.003-05:00

The shop has finally revealed a super-secret project that Wayne has been working on. During our weekly meetings, there are several references to a mystical place called "Kathy's World" Wayne and Ryan did extensive research, and finally found that it existed on the same orbit plane as Earth, but diametrically opposite in relation to the Sun. Based on their calculations, they have come up with an accurate model which was presented to Kathy at today's meeting. Kathy was impressed, to say the least, and told us that it was the best thing that has ever come out of our research facility. Now, when Kathy says; "in my world," we know exactly where she means! ;)

Tree irrigation

2010-04-26T15:10:00.004-05:00

Jim and Jake spent Friday morning running some irrigation to the new trees that we planted last fall. It only a took a few hours, and they had the thirsty trees soaked in water.

Super Wayne to the rescue

2010-04-22T23:20:00.001-05:00

Wayne had an idea that saved us a whole lotta diggin. To turn on the irrigation water, we need to stick a 6 foot long wrench down a pipe to an underground valve. We learned that the pipe was bent, preventing the wrench from reaching the valve. Wayne's idea: Rather than digging up the valve to straighten the pipe, put a universal joint on the wrench so it can follow the bend.

He welded the joint in place within an hour and voila! We had irrigation before the afternoon was over.

Forest maintenance update

2010-04-16T16:19:00.000-05:00

The pine forest is nearly half thinned, and we have quite a pile of mulch and tree tops. It is going very well, and they expect to be done in early May. Jim has been busy marking trees and keeping our tree equipment maintained and running well. Shawn has been helping him to stay ahead of the mulching. The photos show Jim maintaining a chainsaw, the pile of tops, and the the thinned out forest.

The Buzz on the new bee hives

2010-04-16T16:10:00.000-05:00

Shawn has been busy finishing up the new bee boxes in advance of our new incoming colonies. We had only one colony survive the winter, and are planning to add four more. The new bees are a strain from Russia, and they are hardier and well suited to our climate. The new colonies will be here in early June. Jim is our resident bee expert, and is excited for the new season to finally "bee" here!

solar powered sprayer/waterer II

2010-04-16T16:06:00.000-05:00

The assembly is starting to come together on the sprayer/waterer. We installed the solar panel , and the hose reel today. It should be operational by next week. The photos show the hose reel, the solar panel, and the location of the battery.

People powered generator II

2010-04-15T16:44:00.000-05:00

The belt arrived today and we were able to turn the generator with the pedal assembly. We achieved 12 volts with moderate effort, and so we will move on to designing a circuit to control the power that we make.

People powered generator

2010-04-14T16:05:00.000-05:00

Mike was working today on a pedal powered generator. We started with a pedal assembly that was donated by Erika O'Brien. We are adding a permanent magnet motor to use as a generator, and a regulator system. When it is finished, a person will be able to sit in their favorite chair and power their computer while burning calories. Pedaling to watch TV will also be an option. The photos show the crude prototype that we are building to test the output of the generator.

Video Coming!

2010-04-14T15:59:00.000-05:00

Happy Dancing Turtle recently purchased a high definition video camera, a 27" IMac computer, and professional video editing software. We at the mani-shop are excited to have this opportunity to bring HD video to the blog. Please check back often for updates!

Active window shutter update 04/14

2010-04-14T15:52:00.000-05:00

Wayne began work on the next generation of window shutter today. We fired up the CNC router and cut a prototype track design. We are trying to simplify the assembly and reduce the number of moving parts.

solar powered sprayer/waterer

2010-04-07T15:52:00.001-05:00

Jim is getting ready to spray a fungal solution on the roots of all the newly planted trees. We did a bit of talking, and came up with a way to build our own portable sprayer/watering rig that is is solar powered, and mostly using parts that we have stored around the campus. This will be very versatile. It will also be a big time and labor saver. Shawn was busy setting the tank to the trailer this afternoon.
To be continued...

Active window shutter update 04/07

2010-04-07T15:43:00.000-05:00

We spent some brainstorming time today on the next incarnation of the active window shutter .
Paul, Ryan, and Wayne are looking for the best design that is able to work in the most situations.

Forest maintenance.

2010-04-05T15:57:00.000-05:00

We would like to welcome Jim Etzel to the Mani shop! Jim and Shawn have been working hard to thin out our pine forest. The red pine is growing too thick and unless we take some trees out, it will start to die off. We brought in a local logger and he is removing the trees that Jim is marking. We are mulching the tops, and looking at projects for the short pieces. Nothing will be wasted. We are then going to plant forage trees and edible plants in the clearing we created. The photos show Jim marking trees, Shawn making mulch, the thinned out forest, and the landing that the loggers are working in.

People powered house part II

2010-04-05T08:28:00.000-05:00

The following list is some of the ideas we have for our "people" powered house:

1. Composting toilet

2.Gray water recycling
a. filtration
b. plant beds
c. Plant/garden watering

3. Low-pressure water system
a. 12 VDC electric pump

4. Ultra-efficient washing machine

5. Indoor clothes drying rack, or line
a. Japanese inspired

6. Cooking
a. L.P.
b. microwave
c. steam
d. focus primarily on fresh, non-cooked diet.

7. Steam generator
a. heat
b. cooking
c. hot water

8. On-grid electrical, but able to sustain off-grid
a. solar
b. wind
c. human generated
1. pedal
2. elliptical
3. hand

9. Recycling shower
a. wash/lather cycle
b. rinse cycle

10. Low powered lighting
a. LED
b. fluorescent

11. Water sources
a. well
b. rainwater
c. ground sources
d. filtration
1. plant filled tanks
2. conventional wound filters
3. charcoal filters
4. sand/ gravel filtration

12. Water heating
a. L.P.
b. solar
c. electric

This list is by no means complete. We could like comments and ideas from everyone. Please feel free to post!

People Powered House? Part I

2010-04-02T16:34:00.000-05:00

We spent Friday afternoon brainstorming the feasibility of a "people" powered dwelling. Basically, what we are looking at is an ultra-efficient, ultra-low carbon footprint home that includes the ability to generate electricity and sustain the occupant without the requirement of being on-grid.

F.I.R.S.T. robotics Competition

2010-04-02T13:01:00.000-05:00

Ryan spen the last half of the week in Minneapolis attending the F.I.R.S.T. robotics regional competition. The Pine River/Backus school district has entered a team, and Ryan is a mentor. This is the first year for PRB And so far they are holding their own. Both Ryan and Wayne mentored this year. The photos show the team at the Mariucchi Arena. Go Backwoods Engineers!

NHARC water systems III

2010-04-01T16:22:00.001-05:00

We finished the plumbing to the well today. Now it's up to Dug to connect the main system to the the plumbing that he has been working hard to finish. We used a larger than normal pressure tank, due to the large family size. The photos show the completed fitting tree and tank.

Active window shutter update

2010-03-31T16:53:00.000-05:00

Wayne was working on the gaskets for the prototype today. We discovered that the motors are just on the borderline for compressing the gasket material. We are looking at a different motor or gearbox assembly. We are also looking for a way to disengage the drive system for manual opening.
The photos show the gasket material, and the dual shutters installed.

NHARC water systems II

2010-03-31T16:25:00.000-05:00

We spent the afternoon working on the plumbing again in the NHARC. We reinforced the shelf for the water tank, and installed the fitting tree that Paul put together the other day. Ryan set up a wood frame for mounting the pumps and plumbing for the water heaters. The photos show Ryan working on a heat exhanger, and the installed fitting tree. Also shown is the heat pump/ water heating assembly.

NHARC water systems

2010-03-31T08:42:00.000-05:00

We spent most of Monday afternoon working on the NHARC water systems. Ryan was busy plumbing in the water heaters, while Paul worked on the pressure tank.

Better seals than Sea World.

2010-03-30T16:33:00.001-05:00

Wayne is installing the first attempt at seals on the prototype window shutters. No Orcas here, though.

Modified mushroom core drill

2010-03-29T16:50:00.001-05:00

Wayne modifies these up with a stop for Dave.

Narc water systems

2010-03-26T15:41:00.001-05:00

Active shutter update

2010-03-24T16:56:00.000-05:00

Wayne installed the panels into the frame today, and was able to perform an operational check. The assembly performed as planned, and we are now ready to install the gasket material on the panels. The photos show Wayne installing the panels.

We had a visitor!

2010-03-24T15:57:00.000-05:00

Mike's son, Sean, came to visit today. Sean is hearing impaired and attends the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf, in Faribault, MN. He is normally at the MSAD campus during the week, and hasn't had an oppourtunity to see what we do here at HUG. He is home this week on spring-break. He had a great time recycling some of our old equipment, and just following us around for the day. Thanks for visiting, Sean!

dry composting toilet

2010-03-23T16:57:00.000-05:00

We decided to remove treatment plant beds from the greenhouse in the Cob Cabin. We installed plumbing to route the excess water from the dry composting toilet to the actual septic system. The photos show the composting toilet and the diaphragm pump mounted to it.

Active window shutter

2010-03-23T16:45:00.000-05:00

Wayne was busy today on our active window system. Basically what it will do is turn the insulating value of an R5 window into an R50 wall. The photos show Wayne assembling the coverings, and the the frame that he will be installing them into.

CNC projects

2010-03-22T16:52:00.000-05:00

Wayne was busy today on the CNC router, making the guide tracks for the automated shutter prototype. He also made Ryan a new loom for creating the tubing coils for our prototype heat exchanger. The photos show the completed tracks, the completed loom, and the CNC router in action. Also shown is Wayne in the process of programming a run.

Air quality

2010-03-22T16:40:00.000-05:00

We have just received a few AIR-STAT air quality monitors. The AIR-STAT is a microprocessor controlled device that continuously monitors temperature, Humidity, VOC's, and odorous gases. Paul has been testing them this afternoon, and finding that they are fairly sensitive to odors and air contaminants. The photos show Paul testing the monitors. Also shown is Paul and Scott brainstorming the best way to integrate the monitors with the HUGNET system.

Whoops! Too Hot! Part IV

2010-03-18T16:24:00.000-05:00

We removed the remaining insulation and realized that more inspection is needed. Most of the insulating panels were adhered to the ice and water barrier, and many of the solar panels were warped. The photos show some of the heat damage to the insulation and barrier, and the wall with all of the panels removed.

Water Pumps

2010-03-17T17:00:00.000-05:00

We are beginning to test various hand water pumps for use as a backup on the ARC houses. We would like to find the best performing pump that is reliable and affordable. The photo is of a PVC pump and our test barrel.

Custom Machining

2010-03-16T16:58:00.000-05:00

Wayne was busy yesterday with fabricating some adapter fitting out of brass for the NHARC heating system. We are finding that our old machine lathe is not quite up to to the task of precision prototyping anymore. Wayne was able to harness his considerable talent and get the job done. We are now evaluating rebuilding this machine, or procuring an new lathe. The photos are of a partially finished brass fitting.