Greenhouse update 10-10-26
Updated: Oct 24
Progress is great! We have gotten a great deal done since our last post.
Here is the to-do list from our last post:
Cut chimney pipe hole
Build 55 gallon barrel stove and run chimney pipe out back wall or through roof
Build back shed
Install vent fan
Wire in a few outlets and lights
Cut hole for wind turbine mounting pipe
Install wind turbine and all its components
turbine
control board
inverter
batteries/charge control
We have completed only the barrel stove on this list. But I did say we made progress. Unfortunately I knew that list was incomplete and it seemed that most of what we have completed is not in the list. Lets create a new list.
The water barrel wall is the first task we have completed. As you see in the picture above, we have built the barrel wall, filled the barrels, and painted them black (mostly) to collect sun heat. Harper's favorite color is purple and we had a quarter can of purple so I thought the stripe would look good and make her happy. I was correct on both points. They have been painted and filled for about a week now and they are not warm. I fear they will require the super heat of summer to get warm and carry that heat through the winter. The other possibility is that the whole wall of water is just a stupid idea that will not effect temperatures at all. Time will tell.
We had discussed the rain collection system in depth in the last post. If you look closely at the picture to the right, you will see the bottom tank is within 8 inches of being full. The top tank has about 6 inches of water hanging out there. At first I thought that the pipe was clogged. I took it apart and found it clear.
Initially I was concerned about sealing the system water tight. It would appear I have sealed it air tight. What is happening is there is nowhere for the air to be displaced. I hypothesized that air would bubble through the pipe from the lower tank to the upper tank as the water flows in. This is not the case. Out of curiosity, after reattaching the pipe, I cracked the union and air began to flow out and the water began to flow again. This could not stay cracked as it leaks water as well as air. Still this did solve the problem of vapor lock. Now how can we get the air to flow without water leaking out. The answer is a snorkel. A snorkel is just a long hose extending from a spot in the system and it terminates above the top tank.
In the photo here, you can see the snorkel hose running from the 2 inch PVC pipe heading up to the ceiling. I have the hose going up to one of the king beam supports where it is held by a u-clamp pipe clamp. There is a hose clamp on the bare end of the tube so it will not slip out of the u-clamp when it fills partially with water. To connect the snorkel to the PVC, I tapped a 3/8in pipe thread into the pipe and used a 3/8in barb fitting. Our rain storm today proves our system is working well with no leaks.
One of the items not on the list from the last post that we discussed, is auto filling paddock water troughs. We have completed two water troughs with mechanical float valves. Once again, I did not get a picture of the trough so I have created a rendition of the setup. For our trough to the west of the greenhouse, we dug a trench from the greenhouse to the trough and buried the hose. At this time, it is not turning off. I have the valve running over the top of the tank and into the water. We need to get it about 2 inches lower. At this time, when the trough is full, it continues trickling because the float cannot seal completely. At some point I will drill a hole to accept the hose about 1.5in below the rim so the float will be lower in the tank. We are turning off the hose valve at the IBC tank for now, and openning it whenever we need to fill the trough. The trough to the south has the hose running through the 4 inch drain pipe we have for greenhouse drainage at the Southwest corner.
Above we have our outflow valve. The green hose exits just below the west door. The black hose runs out the drainage pipe to the south paddock. Hanging over it, also running out the west wall is a 2inch pump suction hose. During garden season, we water the garden off of the IBC tank through a generac water pump.
Without the pump, there is not enough pressure to activate the sprinkler. With the pump humming we get full garden coverage. I have mixed feelings about the generac pump. Ultimately this is our second. The first one had a terrible throttle control that failed and there are no replacement parts available. The carburetor also failed with no replacements available. They updated the pump from 1 inch to 1.5 inches and no throttle control at all. Now it is all or nothing. We added a swing valve to the outflow port to regulate how much water goes to the sprinkler.
Weatherstripping:
Here is one example of Sarah's work. Every gap, every joint now has foam filling it or weatherstripping covering it.
We have also began the back shed. Eventually the back shed will hold two 500 gallon tanks and they will be filled with fish. For now, we are going to get the tanks in the ground and backfill around them. We will then build the shed around it. We are also going to make a false floor and use the shed as tool storage for the time being. At least until I can build the Barn.
The girls need some space. This winter we are going to build Harper a separate playroom in the basement. She doesn't sleep much and keeps her sister and grandmother awake. She will have a small space to be loud and awake at night. That means we need a place for my tools . What we have pictured above is the floor for the back hall. We will have the electrical components mounted on the walls in the hallway. I made the platform 5 feet wide to ensure we have enough room for walking and the equipment.
We have also completed the site work. I filled in around the greenhouse and graded the ground around the east, west, and south sides. I have also graded the driveway and the path up to the greenhouse. The path needs gravel. Today I drove my truck up with pig food in a rainstorm, and I was sliding all over the trail in 4 low. When I graded to crown, I pushed detritus into the tire tracks. The rain saturated it and made a slick mess. The driveway however is fantastic. Last year we had a nightmare clearing snow and ice from the deep ruts. Initially we planned to bring in a couple triaxles of pavement millings or a 3/4 in riprap. Given I can make anything but money, purchasing delivered material is out of reach. I started at the bottom and scraped off the crown. I then went back and forth with the box tines ripping it up and moving the material. I then back bladed it to get it nice and smooth and pitched it by five-ish degrees with hopes water will travel along the edge instead of down the tire tracks. I also filled in the pothole at the end of the driveway. That pothole has been a constant and painful annoyance.
Back to the greenhouse.
We had mounted the east door several weeks back. We kept the glass out and left it for the colder days when the door was needed. Now the glass is in and the door is reinforced with L-brackets at all four corners. When I went back to finish the door, I realized that the inside door handle was broken. The action still worked so I welded a piece of scrap metal onto the action and chiseled a slot out of the framing at the door. Since taking this photo, I have added a handle to this catch.
We are pleased with our progress and have a good chance of getting the back shed completed before christmas. Once the shed is dried in, we will get all my toolboxes up there.
Two days ago, we took a break from the greenhouse and went out to the knife shed. We had all the toolboxes and footlockers of knives stacked on top of each other with all of the display cases Grandpa Chris had purchased for his flea market knife sales. He only went to two flea markets. I have moved all the empty display cases out to the lifetime shed and stacked them up out of the way. We then made shelves the full width of the back wall. During this cleanout, I realized there are still about ten cases of knives I have not touched. They were buried under the empty cases and hunting gear. On the door side of the shed, we built more shelves but terminated them 2 feet from the door so we can, you know, use the door. All of the camping gear is now out of the basement and in plastic storage boxes. Everyone has their own tote with their camping gear inside. This has cleared up two storage racks in the basement. We will begin room construction once we have cleared out enough stuff to actually put up walls.
The other greenhouse related task that we have completed was back at the mill. We have milled 20 2x4's out of white oak for the studs, and 2x6 white pine for the shed rafters.
I am fairly confidant that we have enough rafters, however we will need tons more 2x4's. Super Intelligence ( I don't want to be the enemy) says a rough estimate is 72 2x4's to frame the walls and floor. Another 52 studs will be needed to frame the playroom in the basement. At this time we will also need 425 board feet of planks for the walls of the playroom and another 300 board feet for the three exposed sides of the shed. We will be spending many hours pushing the mill back and forth.
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