Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Cabin with a Carport

[Bob Heine]

Monica, I see your Drain Spade Shovel leaning on the fence. I have one as well.

In the photo of the north section it looks like you're dealing with a lot of roots. Our yard doesn't have quite that many trees but I invested in a Radius Garden Root Slayer Shovel because the drain spade and trenching shovel were bouncing off the roots.

It's unusually heavy but digging in your root-choked fence line should be a lot easier with this beast.

https://www.amazon.com/Radius-Garden-23311-Slayer-Perennial/dp/B07MGJ1JT1/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Monica, I see your Drain Spade Shovel leaning on the fence. I have one as well.

In the photo of the north section it looks like you're dealing with a lot of roots. Our yard doesn't have quite that many trees but I invested in a Radius Garden Root Slayer Shovel because the drain spade and trenching shovel were bouncing off the roots.

It's unusually heavy but digging in your root-choked fence line should be a lot easier with this beast.

https://www.amazon.com/Radius-Garden-23311-Slayer-Perennial/dp/B07MGJ1JT1/?tag=atomicindus08-20

That looks gnarly. I'll keep this in mind going forward. Normally I use the sharp shooter but I've seen what you've said about it bouncing off some tougher roots. My shoulders hurt already lol



Oh, barbacoa report, Dad said it was good. If Dad said it was good, especially a traditional dish that grandma made, then I'm pretty happy about that. I also enjoyed my barbacoa taco, went well with New Year's eve family visit.

 

[Bob Heine]

Used 2 bags of Sakrete and a gallon and a half of water.

Monica, I assume you are talking about 80 pounders. I also assume you do the 'split in half' trick to open them so you're only lifting 40 pounds at a time.

Google Search

My back and shoulder gave me a sympathy twinge when I read your comment.

If Dad said it was good, especially a traditional dish that grandma made, then I'm pretty happy about that.

Early in life I learned not to judge food on looks or prejudice. I also learned preparation is key. Later in life I discovered sashimi. When I bought too much raw tuna and had to cook it, that tender and delicious meat turned into the stuff I had been eating out of a can. Who knew?

I didn't know my grandparents were poor. When grandma served lamb kidneys I thought they were delicious. The butcher included them for free when she bought the little Sunday roast. When I ordered kidneys in gravy at a restaurant in Germany, a couple of people at the table tried them and regretted the dish they ordered. When a Dim Sum cart at a Chinese restaurant passed our table with something gnarly on it, I always gave it a try. Had I not done that, I would have never known how delicious chicken feet in black bean sauce is.

On the down side, the recipe and cooking process makes a big difference. Liane knew I liked lamb kidneys so she cooked a few and served them on yellow (curried) rice. When you don't split and soak them, all bets are off. Even the dog wouldn't touch them. I tried making chicken feet in black bean sauce and it came out just like Liane's kidneys.

Your Dad's compliment says it all!

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Bob,

It was two 50lbers of Sakrete. I probably lucked out that Mccoys had 50s and not 80s. Apparently the red bag of fast setting Quickrete is hard to find if you're not at Lowe's or Home Depot. The volume of the 80s would go further though. I think itll be ok, the post will go to 5' and be double braced.


I'm glad you mentioned food and finances. There was a comment above that I wasn't sure how to respond to. It was slightly offensive to me as I know that much of the food my family ate was because we weren't rich. Like you, I didn't know it then, but my family was poor. And food was a thing that you made use of all parts so someone wouldn't go hungry. I realize that everyone has different stomachs and squeamishness. And in fact, on this dish I was doing battle with myself to reconcile the start to finish. And I love barbacoa. And I still do after this.

In Japan I tried some weird things. I did shots of live little fish (i forget the name). LIVE, SQUIGGLY FISH.

I eat tripas, but I only like them fried a little crispy and wrapped in a tortilla. I like menudo, but only if I don't make it. I eat cabrito barbecue. I eat liver and gravy. I learned to eat what was served, that's how I was raised. Grandma cooked, you ate it.

I'm glad to have that perspective and I respect there are foods I won't touch. I get there are cultures that eat way different things. And I understand the comment from ybnormal, so I'm not upset, like him, there are things I will and won't touch.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Corner post #2 is up! Took 3.5hrs but it is set and plumb.

This one took longer than the first post due to layers of sandstone that started about 2' down and continued all the way to 5'. We had to auger a bit, then chip away at it, then auger some more. I used my sharp shooter, I didn't have a rock bar on hand yet (I purchased it on our cement run for tomorrow's work).

Here you can see the layer change to sandstone. All. The. Way. Down. Ended up being about 2" short of 5' but after the battle, close enough, it'll work.




Two bags of Sakrete with water and backfill the hole. I measured the concrete and it filled 3' of space in the hole. Now, I'm only doing a 8" hole for a 4" post so not exactly "recommended". But I'm using a 10' H brace in line with a 10' N brace. I think it'll hold.

I just realized, looks like the post is leaning but, that's an illusion, post is plumb. And well, obligatory shot of the utv. Tell you what yall, this thing has been invaluable to the work done at this scale, which isn't even large. The thought of lugging the tools we had for this job, plus the pipe and two 50lb bags of Sakrete and water?...pshh, forget it.

Well, on to a good nights relax and rest and hit it again tomorrow. Plan is to run string, re-establish the line and get brace posts up. Hoping for 3, might get only 2 if they are anything like today. If it's crazy smooth all 4 on that north section will get put in. We will see.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Well, #3 and #4 installed (only #3 pictured). These are the post braces for the north side.

The day started early, but hit a roadblock, or what felt like a roadblock for most of the good working hours. Since both corner posts were set, I was to start by running string line from corner to corner to mark the line in order to dig the brace posts and dead man posts if all went very smooth. Well, as the string line was set out again, (yall remember the first bit of work that was done to clear the line), as I originally suspected then, the line was not clear and we did not have a visual from post to post and no free hang on the string line corner to corner. Meaning, there was still trees and brush in the way. Got to work cutting back brush and small saplings. And when the line was finally clear, we discovered that the three large oak trees that "needed" to be cut, did not have to be cut down after all. That's a little disappointing as old big trees are hard to come If our neighbor hadn't been so stubborn and combative and allowed us to find the line of site through the property we all wouldn't have needed to bring down trees. But, it is what it is I guess and we go forward.

With the line finally cleared (except for the skin of a large oak tree, that will surely rear it's head when it's time to install the fence) worked on the 3rd post out in the back. About 1.5' down, rocks. I go to pulling out sand by hand and pull out a smattering baseball and softball sized rocks. Once that was clear, it was home free. Not. A few inches below that there was a tangle of roots. They were inch inch and half large so the sharp shooter couldn't get 'em. I grabbed the oscillating tool and buzzed through the roots. THEN the hole was home free. Got to 5', set the post, poured in the concrete and backfilled. A front had been blowing in and dark was starting so it was good to get finished with it.







Really wanting to get to 2 posts for the day, the decision was made to hustle to try to get the 4th post, the brace post up at the front corner. So it was. The first 30" went fine, then the clay hit. It was only 10' from the corner post, and sandstone was expected, but this clay seemed as brutal as the sandstone. Took turns hitting it with the auger then the shovel, auger shovel auger shovel rinse and repeat. Some genius suggested we try the 6" bit instead of the 8". It tore through the clay like a madman. Succes! It was followed by the 8" bit to bigger the hole...not as successful. The auger didn't like slashing through the clay, even with the pilot 6" hole. But, with some wrestling it got through. Ran and grabbed the post and a couple more sacks of Sakrete, filled it up and done.

At the end of the day it feels good at this point with progress. The line had to be addressed so while it was frustrating to "waste" time working on that, it really had to be done. Can't put up a fence if you don't set the line first. This coming weekend is planned for the deadman brace posts and the H and N cross posts to be installed on both corners.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Today was an easy day. Trimmed a tree up along the west fenceline. And threw some jerky on the smoker. This is the first time in this pit. Usually I use a dehydrator and this is the first vhance to actually smoke it.

Oh I threw in a picture of the north line. You can see the treees that were taken down. And how far the lime moved when it was actually straight.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Back with an update, been a couple of weeks. The crazy weather really knocked the works off kilter with everyone, didn't it? I'm very happy to say, after getting the deadman in the ground on both ends and cross braces up, the north side corner braces are done. It's now time to move to the line posts.



The next step, measuring and marking off post spacing, the goal of ~ 12' between posts. To help me span the 632.29' distance as evenly as possible, I mathed it to 12.15' between posts, then made a spacer that length using leftover pvc. I was confident I nailed it to within 6". After getting to the end, it was a foot off. Further than I hoped but it'll do. I didn't account for the 1/16" width of each flag wire (51). And the rigid pvc gapped dips and rises in the terrain that the flexible tape measure was able to follow. Not terrible factors but, would have been great to nail it. In total I need 51 post for the north side.





With posts marked out, I worked on the post pattern. With a woven wire fence you have to drive a line post ever 4th or 5th between tpost to add support. The perfectionist in me says the pattern be symmetrical end to end, even though no one would ever know unless they walked and counted the entire line. But I'd know. So, I drew dots on paper and started counting. I drew a pipe post every 4th on each end just off the deadman, and in the direct center of the 632'andchange run. The rest of the line will be spaced every 5th.



With this spacing, I will use 10 pipe posts and 41 tposts. Each 8' pipe post will be buried to 3' and cemented. Each tpost will be driven. While a manual post driver will do the job, it will take a lot of effort and time. I'm considering buying a gas tpost driver to make the task easier. Has anyone ever used one? What was your experience? Would you recommend the tool brand you bought?

I'm looking forward to this next phase. It will finally permanently define the property line and be ready for paint. Once paint dries, it will be ready to attach the fence, which will complete the section. As for paint, I'm still researching which to use. I do want it durable, and frankly overbuilt. With the rest of the fence done that way, I'd like the paint to hold up a long time too. Suggestions? Experiences? I've considered Sherwin Williams marine paint. Not cheap but suppose to be pretty sturdy.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Well after taking the spring months off from building, the North line finally had all the posts installed the weekend of 6/2. Took a grueling two days of essentially hand digging the last 6 line post holes because the post hole auger was not making headway on the sandstone. A rockbar, sharpshooter and physical exertion is what had to be used. Gah it killed me, but dang if I didn't get a solid workout. Eat your heart out crossfitters. Did yall know the 16lb rockbar that feels like 35lbs is actually only 16lbs? I weighed it. Thought for sure it was heavier than 16lbs.

Next I need to get the posts painted before I attach and stretch the woven fence. And I hope to do that in the time I have here and there before going to the East/front section.

Also today, I squared away a rental on a Bobcat Toolcat, post auger attachment and some bits. I took upcoming time off and my plan is to hit the East section and drill all the post holes and get them all set in a matter of days, instead of months. The sandstone is really eating up too much effort and time per post, and that's an area of production that can be upgraded. IMO worth the rental price and I haven't even started yet.

Two-fold, I'm actually using this as an opportunity to check out the Toolcat machine in particular. I initially thought about renting a skidsteer w auger. But for this no left hand situation I have, the joystick controls wouldn't be ideal. I saw the Toolcat, it's configuration and it's specs, and I immediately wanted one. The price tag is up there though. $90k new, $60k used for an unrusted out machine. That's a lot of beans! But spec wise, its up there with a 4 or 5 series tractor, but in a more manageable size and form. It does have it's compromises of course, but it has it's place in the right property.

Anyway, that's the progress. It's getting hot man. I intended to be done in the spring, but the two months off waiting for the bluebonnets and wildflower season really killed my progress working in good weather. But that was my call and I wanted the property to seed out. It's been derelict for years and I wanted it to bloom with desirables to help it's rehab. It is what it is. The Toolcat has AC. Onward.

 

[Bob Heine]

The price tag is up there though. $90k new, $60k used for an unrusted out machine.

Monica, is your ranch a business or farm? Reducing your taxes might take some of the sting out of that price. You've already figured out it's a game changer so making your life better is a worthwhile investment.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Monica, is your ranch a business or farm? Reducing your taxes might take some of the sting out of that price. You've already figured out it's a game changer so making your life better is a worthwhile investment.

Bob! I been thinking about you man, hoping you're

I do have my business but I rented under personal this time. Yes, the ability to work quicker is good. And finally I'm in the section of property that I can fit a machine in there to help.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Well yesterday I had fun. I went down to the equipment rental place and looked at the Toolcat up close, even got to test drive it. I want this machine! The closest comparison I can make it is to the UTV. The Toolcat started smoothly with the code system (no key), turned on a dime, had quick steering, like power steering on steroids. The visibility around the machine from the operators seat was very clear. I made driving simple, and it was especially helpful reversing. It had better view than the UTV in fact. The loader hydraulics were smooth with the joystick. The 4wheel steering worked great and it felt so weird. My brain was not computing moving in the crabwalk position

Anyway I'm excited. I'm having them deliver/pick-up it to save me hassle. I opted to rent for a week so I can try it out here and there on the property.

Oh, I guess it's been a year of owning my Cub Cadet mower. I've got 38.5 hrs on it as of today. I've used the heck out of it. What I observed today, is in 3hrs I'm able to cover the area much quick than before. I think it's a testament to the ease of maintaining property when it is in shape and use to being maintained, instead of left to get overgrown and crazy. Thte work is a lot easier.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

With the weather temperatures staying murderously hot, the pond has finally started showing signs of heat stress. A light scuzzy film developed on the surface, the water is a murky brown color and the water temp is rising. I am happy, however, that there is still water in the pond. The first year here under the same conditions the pond went dry. During the spring the 2nd season a treatment of Damit pond sealer was applied. While it did not fully stop all the leaks the pond has, it noticeably helped plug some holes, as evidence I still have water. In the water I've got turtles, frogs, mosquitos and bats. All of them healthy. Deer come by, racoons, possums, stray cats, stray cows and once in a blue moon a ringtail.

In an effort to keep the water and the critters healthy, I have been borderline obsessed with adding a pond fountain. I've wanted to do it a while now but have been halted by not wanting to use electricity. I debated running an aerator off a windmill or a fountain off solar. Well my urge to get the pond under fountain care finally outweighed the power hurdle and I decided to handle it like a big girl and run a corded setup to test the proof of benefit of a pond fountain. The pond when full is about a 1/4ac. It's less than half that now, but still a depth of 5-6' and like I said, still animals in there that I want to keep alive and healthy. I watched a lot of youtube videos, saw a lot of options for fountain kits and diy setups.




I decided to run my redneck setup to just get the water going, it's already under stress and I don't want to waste any more time. I went with the inefficient yet functional option. Bought a 1/3hp submersible pump ($155), enclosed it in a cheesecloth sack, stuck a 100' extension cord ($105) to it in a water tight extension cord protector ($16), ran it to the house and plugged in to a gfci pigtail ($35). For the discharge side I slapped on a 12' leader hose ($20) with my lawn sprinkler attached to the end.

Water temp - 91.9* @ 9:30pm tonight. I will run the pump all night and check it in the morning.

This is by no means the final version. And I am aware I can run a float and plug fountain setup for $500. I'm in my parts for $389 right now. I just needed to get a fountain in the water treating the pond. I'm gong to run this until I get my pvc fountain float glued together (I have all the pvc parts already, scattered in this shed and that shed and my plumbing box, etc. Then I'll float the pump in the center of the pond with the discharge being a capped pvc stack with holes. I am planning to invest in a couple of solar panels to install on the back dam where I'll build a power box. That'll end up being the power source for the floating fountain. But I need to do my specific research on parts for all of that. Electricity, and especially solar, is voodoo to me so I have a learning curve ahead of me. Hopefully for now this cobbled together "fountain" will be good enough to help the pond until I get to the more permanent version.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

This morning's temperature - 84*@ 7:30a. That's a 7 almost 8* difference in 12hrs. The pond scum is gone. That's pretty good relief.

I'm shutting off the pump for the day and will start it up again this afternoon maybe around 6p. I think I'm going to put it on a timer, a 12hr cycle I suppose as I can only setup one on/off time with my little manual timer. The temperature will slowly creep back up, I'm curious as to how much.

Edit 6pm - it crept up alot - 99*. The pond scum bloomed, but not as thick or extensive of surface coverage as yesterday's. Sprinkler should be kicking on any second here. Looking forward to keeping those little turtles cool.

Edit 1100pm - 88.9*

 

[GirlnAgarage]

This morning 530am - 85*
Interesting that the first 5hrs dropped 14* and the last 6ish only dropped 4-5*.

I been watching solar box videos all night. In conclusion I can make a box or buy a generator to hook to.

 

[Bob Heine]

I been watching solar box videos all night. In conclusion I can make a box or buy a generator to hook to.

Monica, I'm not a solar fanatic but for your pond fountain application it has three things going for it.

1. One time expense (no fuel).
2. Automatic operation in daylight (if something goes wrong it's visible).
3. No timers to reset.

On the other side, a generator-driven underwater LED light show on the floating fountain would be awesome.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Monica, I'm not a solar fanatic but for your pond fountain application it has three things going for it.

1. One time expense (no fuel).
2. Automatic operation in daylight (if something goes wrong it's visible).
3. No timers to reset.

On the other side, a generator-driven underwater LED light show on the floating fountain would be awesome.

Me neither, but yes definitely seems like solar would be a helpful application here. Keep my 'lectricity bill off lol

The lights would be very pretty out there and, based on the last day or two monitoring the sprinkler, the lights would be helpful so I can see the fountain is working....ie, the pump didn't get clogged up.

Can you believe it? My house has a "water feature"

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Last night I setup my pipe prep & paint station. The hardest part is actually moving the heavy things from point A to point B. Got two in before it got late so I went in. Today, I got rained out but going out to move some stuff around to get it all staged. Plus I bought more flap discs.

The big 4" corner posts take the least prep work as they are "new" and still have mill scale on them. But they're heavy. The lighter 2-7/8 x 10s are easier to move around but they're in the worst shape and take more grinding clean up as they were "limited use". I'm gonna focus on the corner pipes as the fence don't get started without them, and I'm in the gate section and need to put those in place too. I don't want to keep the front unfenced for much time.

I'm going with Rustoleum red oxide primer and Rustoleum Professional gloss black.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Alright, I moved some stuff around, repositioned the next two pipes on the saw horses, got the next 3 in line





Also took the time to glue up my fountain float. Hope it floats. Also mocked up is the first try of a fountain spout. It's just a 1' of 3/4" pvc capped with tiny holes drilled in it. I was concerned that there really wouldn't be much to see when I tried it on the pump.





I was wrong. This fountain flew huge! I kinda thought it was too big for the pond. I have a few more caps and plenty of 3/4" pvc, I'm going to experiment with cap designs. I may reduce the pressure by going up to 1' pipe too. But I'll float it to see the 3/4" before I do. I have enough trouble keeping water in my pond, don't want to spray it all out.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Monica, I'm not a solar fanatic but for your pond fountain application it has three things going for it.

Me neither, but yes definitely seems like solar would be a helpful application here. Keep my 'lectricity bill off lol

You already spent your money (at least most of those items are "re-usable) but this is a case for one of those "solar generators". it's a box with electronics and a battery. You plug solar panel(s) into one side and get 120VAC out the other. NOT CHEAP !

DIY version $702 640Wh Milk Crate 2.0: 600W Inverter + Fast Charging + Large Fuse Block

Probably less, because the price of batteries has dropped.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

You already spent your money (at least most of those items are "re-usable) but this is a case for one of those "solar generators". it's a box with electronics and a battery. You plug solar panel(s) into one side and get 120VAC out the other. NOT CHEAP !

DIY version $702 640Wh Milk Crate 2.0: 600W Inverter + Fast Charging + Large Fuse Block

Probably less, because the price of batteries has dropped.

Hey thanks for the link, I'll check it out. I saw some of this guy's stuff

He did a good explanation installing solar lights to his shed. At the end he brings out his Ecoflow generator unit says it'll do the same thing, but like you said, for more money. I'm debating the options - will I hit the easy button and buy a generator unit? Or piece a box together if I've got time and attention span? I don't know, but doing homework for both.

I also saw this dude's stuff and he did a battery-less system

Looked interesting.

 

[theoldwizard1]

A little history on Will (at least as I understand it).

During the recession, he lost his job and wound up living in a van. Getting anything for "free" was a priority. He scraped up a few bucks, bought some cheap solar panels, batteries and an inverter. Somewhere along the line, he started making videos and posting on YouTube. The rest is history.

It took a long time for him to build a following, but now he has over 900,000 subscribers !

 

[rharman]

< snip >

View attachment 2144713

< /snip >

That looks great. Would be even better if you could tether the float near the center. Oh.... And add some LED uplighting!

I'm happy to add more to your to-do list....

 

[GirlnAgarage]

So here's something that may be a factor for how I build the rest of this. I've been running the fountain at night. I've seen for pond health running it at night seems to clear up the water more effectively. It's too soon to tell here. I run the pond 6p-6a overnight. In the morning it's mostly clear. But the pond scum is coming back during the day by 3pm. I guess the water temp gets back up to help that bloom. It seems like while my temporary sprinkler setup is trying to hold the line, the pond needs more splashes to really start making an impact. I hope once the pump is moved to the center of the pond pulling water from that area, with a more aggressive fountain spray, I may see better results.

To help the pond more, I'd like to add pond dye. It seems almost double edged sword that I'm using a fountain to clear up the pond, but then the sunlight has a great opportunity to spur on the plant nuisances I'm trying to control. So I think that's were the dye helps. Before putting in dye I'm being diligent to choose a dye that won't kill the turtles and frogs. I'm also curious if I start affecting the plant life in the pond, will it negatively affect the food supply for them? I guess it's possible but the other hand maybe they'll be more healthy without the gunky junk in there.

Ok...back to the solar power
If I intend to power the pump with solar, I'll have to run the pump during the day. Otherwise I have to run on stored power at night, right? From all I can find online, a 1/3 hp pump uses about 800 watts. The sticker on the bottom says 4.5amps. I'm running the pump for 12hrs so it's not continuous use and the pump gets a break. If using at night the length of time it'll run is going to be based on the battery capacity, right? How do I figure out how long it'll run? I did some math after reading, and I don't know if I looked at the right formula, but I got about 2.5hrs... but I don't know that I'm understanding correctly. Can yall help me figure that out?

I don't have my heart set only running the fountain at night. It's just what I've seen is said to help the most. I think any water movement at any time of the 24hr cycle would be beneficial to some degree.

That looks great. Would be even better if you could tether the float near the center. Oh.... And add some LED uplighting!
I'm happy to add more to your to-do list....

lol
Lights would be cool. I'll see what I can come up with. I'm gonna float the fountain this weekend and from there I can get an idea of what lights I can use.

A little history on Will (at least as I understand it).

During the recession, he lost his job and wound up living in a van. Getting anything for "free" was a priority. He scraped up a few bucks, bought some cheap solar panels, batteries and an inverter. Somewhere along the line, he started making videos and posting on YouTube. The rest is history.

It took a long time for him to build a following, but now he has over 900,000 subscribers !

I looked at Will's channel, he has a ton of videos. He done good for himself.

 

[theoldwizard1]

If I intend to power the pump with solar, I'll have to run the pump during the day. Otherwise I have to run on stored power at night, right? From all I can find online, a 1/3 hp pump uses about 800 watts. The sticker on the bottom says 4.5amps. I'm running the pump for 12hrs so it's not continuous use and the pump gets a break. If using at night the length of time it'll run is going to be based on the battery capacity, right? How do I figure out how long it'll run?

Amps x hours = amp-hours. Voltage x amp-hours = watt-hours. So you use about 60 watt-hours to run over night. (Power is sold in kilowatt-hour (kWH). Find out what your rate is. It may not be worth the effort/cost to go solar !)

Now is where things get messy. Any time you convert one form of energy to another, you lose some energy. Converting solar to electric to chemical (battery) to electric (to power the pump) my guess is at least 30% loss.

Just a SWAG, but I would shoot for a system that is capable of generating/storing/re-creating (as AC) at least 200 watt-hours !

Personally, I think you are going to need a bigger pump. 1/2hp maybe even 1hp.

Also, if you are thinking of DIYing a system, don't waste you money on lead-acid batteries. They have a relatively short lifetime and you actually can NOT use more than about 20%-30% of their storage capacity.

I looked at Will's channel, he has a ton of videos. He done good for himself.

Yes, he has !

 

[RyanE]

First - I've enjoyed following along on your journey with this property. It's always interesting to see how things are done on the other side of the continent.

With respect to your fountain. Is it the decrease in water temperature or the additional dissolved oxygen that is resulting in a reduction of algae? It would seem that creating a spray of water is allowing for an increase in evaporation (of the droplets/mist) and while this drops temperatures (good), it also increases overall water loss?

Would the use of a low pressure "bubbler" instead of the fountain still provide the benefit of reducing algae blooms and not adversely affect overall water volume?

 

[theoldwizard1]

Segue - Lithium (LiFePO4) Battery Cheaper Than Sealed Lead Acid !

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Grabbed a 100' rope from the store. Cut in in half, attached to two side of the pvc float and launched the fountain platform out onto the pond. Anchored it out on some large railroad spikes and will leave it overnight, hopefully no leaks. I'd like to attach the pump tomorrow if it all goes well.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

First - I've enjoyed following along on your journey with this property. It's always interesting to see how things are done on the other side of the continent.

With respect to your fountain. Is it the decrease in water temperature or the additional dissolved oxygen that is resulting in a reduction of algae? It would seem that creating a spray of water is allowing for an increase in evaporation (of the droplets/mist) and while this drops temperatures (good), it also increases overall water loss?

Would the use of a low pressure "bubbler" instead of the fountain still provide the benefit of reducing algae blooms and not adversely affect overall water volume?

Hello RyanE!

Re algae reduction - I'm not 100% if it's the decreased temp or increased O2 that is the leading factor, but I'm leaning towards temps.

I've picked my poison I suppose choosing a fountain over aerator. It seems like it would (from the pool sprinkler videos I've seen), reduce water temps which helps keep bloom down. And add some aeration, and would do so less aggressively than an aerator.

I've been tempted with an aerator setup, instead of the fountain, except my pond is not that deep. It's probably 8-12' max at full level. I don't have the depth of water that needs to be circulated back up. I've also seen cautionary videos and articles of using aerators as they tend to stir up the muck and which in turn increases the rate of decomp which uses more o2, then releases toxins and you end up with a mass fish kill. Now, I don't have fish, anymore. They were killed off the first year...two years ago when the pond got low, turned into a muddy pot hole, and everything pretty much ran out of water and died. Pond was dry for a while. I suspect the fish died from the increased water temp, and also the water evaporating and no O2. I'm not sure in what order but fish died before the water was gone.

Re water droplets increasing evaporation - that is very valid question, it was discussed here at the house too. Would the airborne water particles increase evaporation? Or would the reduced water temp of the droplets keep evaporation from happening..to a degree? That was kind of a toss up and an 'I guess just wait and see' was the conclusion. My thoughts are if the droplets are big enough there is less chance to be evaporated off. So, larger droplets vs a finer mist out the nozzle head might keep the water cool but also going back into the pond instead of evaporating off in the air. Perhaps there's a breakover point on the water droplet size, I just don't know. It was decided that for the backyard experiment I was a 'let's try it and see what happens'.

Weather-wise we are getting a variety of conditions from rains, to humidity to 100* drought heat to rainy again. Beryl went crazy on us in in Texas like a young rodeo bull on in new arena. The weather conditions change the pond quickly. I've got a wet weather creek that drains into the pond, but being in drought conditions the last 3 years, its a fine line between the land soaking up water or running off into the pond storage. But one thing that is noticeable, the water temp moves up or down quickly. My hope is that the fountain adds enough coolness to the water temp and just enough aeration, but not overly aggressive, that it benefits the ecosystem without swinging the conditions wildly. During early spring and late fall the pond is fine, but dead summer it is a mess. I'm leaning towards temps being a big factor. Perhaps consistency may keep stability?

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Amps x hours = amp-hours. Voltage x amp-hours = watt-hours. So you use about 60 watt-hours to run over night. (Power is sold in kilowatt-hour (kWH). Find out what your rate is. It may not be worth the effort/cost to go solar !)

Oh ok, I see. I knew I had a learning curve lol Also I checked my rates, its $0.085 (generation and transmission) and $0.023818 (distribution/delivery).

Now is where things get messy. Any time you convert one form of energy to another, you lose some energy. Converting solar to electric to chemical (battery) to electric (to power the pump) my guess is at least 30% loss.


Just a SWAG, but I would shoot for a system that is capable of generating/storing/re-creating (as AC) at least 200 watt-hours !

Personally, I think you are going to need a bigger pump. 1/2hp maybe even 1hp.

Also, if you are thinking of DIYing a system, don't waste you money on lead-acid batteries. They have a relatively short lifetime and you actually can NOT use more than about 20%-30% of their storage capacity.


Yes, he has !

Man there's so much info to digest lol

 

[Bob Heine]

Man there's so much info to digest lol

Monica, I have complete faith in your ability to absorb this stuff. I mean no disrespect when I claim you are a technology sponge.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Oh ok, I see. I knew I had a learning curve lol Also I checked my rates, its $0.085 (generation and transmission) and $0.023818 (distribution/delivery).


Man there's so much info to digest lol

I guess college 50 years ago was worthwhile!

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Well, update on the pond fountain. I floated the pvc flatform last night into today. It was a success, she stayed afloat!. But it was a disappointing view of an algae bloom covered pond by 1pm.



This humid post-hurricane weather is just, blehh! I did run the sprinkler all night but I suspect the cheese cloth got plugged up in the pump like it has been tending too and interfered with the sprinkler output. The bloom level was too high for cloudy weather.

I pulled the floati and started working on things. I attached the pump to the center pvc support, installed the new fountain spout, built a new chicken wire cage and installed a chicken wire sunning deck on top pf the platform.





Next I dragged out the experiment to the pond and set it afloat. Well that's good coverage.

About that time the AquaShade arrived at the house. I dosed up the pond, about 2 oz. Per the specs.


About 20minutes in you see the dye starting to move around the pond.


Amd in an hour-1.5 hrs later the pond was circulating the dye all around. The dye is a good tell how well your water is moving.



Anyway, got the pump up and running, going until 6am. I'm hoping the dye is the other half of my fix, correcting my pond. Will keep it all updated. Hope the turtles and frogs do ok!

 

[GirlnAgarage]

At it again. And today I'm waiting on a soecial delivery.

View attachment 2147514

 

[theoldwizard1]

Oh ok, I see. I knew I had a learning curve lol Also I checked my rates, its $0.085 (generation and transmission) and $0.023818p (distribution/delivery).

So you are paying about $0.11/Kwh. 1/3 of a hp is about 250 watts time 12 hours is 3Kwh, or $0.33 for a month that would be about $10.

Forget solar ! You will never recover your initial cost.

 

[theoldwizard1]

City boy here. You must have some BIG COWS if you need fence posts that big !

 

[DennisK59]

City boy here. You must have some BIG COWS if you need fence posts that big !

Fat cattle can rub/scratch a utility pole out of the ground, let alone walk through a fence like sliced butter!

 

[theoldwizard1]

Fat cattle can rub/scratch a utility pole out of the ground, let alone walk through a fence like sliced butter!

Electrified fence ?

 

[GirlnAgarage]

City boy here. You must have some BIG COWS if you need fence posts that big !

I'm only 5'3", they're all BIG
The cows, and other animals push on things and stuff starts leaning over. I'm anticipating the maintenance in the future will be the woven fence and the tposts. The line posts and corners are hopefully set for life. The soil is very sandy with layers of sandstone and clay. With as deep as I put these, they should be stuck until they rot out.

One of the factors that influenced my build plans was the initial conflict with the neighbor about the property line. With this fence I wanted there to be no question where the corners and lines run. As far as the relationship with the neighbors, it is fine now. It would have been nice to start out at that place with them to save us that detour. But it's all good now.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Electrified fence ?

That may be an option that is added, depending on the type of pressure the fence is seeing, as that will dictate where the electric line is placed. I'll have to wait and see. I'd like to not as that's yet another large project. The total fenceline is 2100'. I know I know, this is GJ and I shouldn't say that. But I'm way behind on projects and it's hot outside.