Thread: BASIC LIST / SUGGESTED ITEMS FOR LONG TERM SURVIVAL

Inspire Wild

Great Ideas And Homestead Survival Brought To Life

Inspire Wild | Great Ideas And Homestead Survival Brought To Life

Monday, October 22, 2012

Fruit To Juice Amounts Equivalents Juicing Chart

Tomatoes
4 medium firm tomatoes = 2 cups of juice
4 medium firm tomatoes = 1 cup of pulp

Carrots
5 large carrots = 1 cup juice
5 large carrots = 1 cup pulp

Cucumber
1 large cucumber = 1 cup juice

Zucchini and Squash
5 small zucchini = approx. 1 cup juice
5 small zucchini = approx. 1/2 cup pulp

Celery
4 celery stalks = 3/4 cup juice

Pineapple
2 medium pineapples = approx. 2 cups juice
2 medium pineapples = 2 1/2 cups pulp

Potatoes
8 potatoes = approx. 2 cups pulp

Apples
6 medium apples = 2 cups juice
6 medium apples = 1 1/2 cups pulp

Oranges
5 medium oranges = 2 cups juice
5 medium oranges = 1 1/2 cups pulp

Mangoes
6 mangoes = 2 1/2 cups juice
6 mangoes = 2 cups pulp

Strawberries
1 qt. approx. 30 strawberries = 2 cups juice
1 qt. approx. 30 strawberries = 1/3 cup pulp

Papaya
1 medium papaya = approx. 1/2 cup juice
1 medium papaya = 1/3 cup pulp

Raspberry
1/2 pint raspberries = approx. 1/2 cup juice
1/2 pint raspberries = approx. 1/4 cup pulp

Pears
6 medium pears = 2 cups juice
6 medium pears = 1 1/2 cups pulp

Passion Fruit
4 passion fruits = 1/4 cup juice


I know this is just a small list of things that can be juiced.... if you would like to share a fruit and it's equivalent amount please do.

The Homestead Survival: Fruit To Juice Amounts Equivalents Juicing Chart

almost free garage heat – just drink a lot of soda

885 comments

I’ve had a few days during the HMX build while I’m either waiting for parts or waiting for something to dry and had some free time. I’m not exactly one to sit and watch TV when I have nothing planned, so I set out on another project.
While I have electricity out to the garage now, heat has been an issue all winter long. Mattar graciously lent me his kerosene heater, which did an okay job of taking the bite off the chill. Insulating the garage would go a long way to help keep the bitter Vermont cold out, but that’s a project for another day.

I decided instead to take advantage of the south-facing side of the garage and build a solar furnace to collect some of that sunshine just bouncing straight off my garage. My dad built one years ago and said he recorded a 110-degree temperature differential between inlet and outlet. And I had enough scrap materials around the basement to do something similar to what my dad built.

I started with some 2x4s and plywood to build a simple box. I’m no carpenter, but I learned that if it’s wobbly, just add more nails.

I actually built the box to certain dimensions, based on what scrap materials I had and on the dimensions of my heat collection method – aluminum cans. That sure was a lot of Sprite. Fifty cans in five columns of 10 will funnel the air upward.

Sealed the box using adhesive caulk, just to keep any heated air from escaping the box.

So you may have already thought, “How can air climb the columns of cans when there’s no hole at the bottom of the can?” Answer: drill press and 3/4-inch bit. Times 45.

The last five cans, the bases of each column, will sit on the bottom of the box and thus will be unable to draw air from underneath, so I poked holes in the sides of each of the five.

Stack the cans with liberal doses of adhesive caulk. Give them enough time to dry.

Once they’re dry, I painted each column with black BBQ paint. Black to best absorb the sun’s heat, BBQ paint to keep from flaking off the cans. At the top, I drilled an outlet hole. I left an inch or two of space between the tops of the columns and the top of the box to permit air to flow out of the columns.

I drilled the outlet hole based on the diameter of some wet-dry vacuum hose I picked up, about 1-1/2 inches in diameter.

At the bottom, I used another wet-dry vacuum attachement that would more evenly disperse the incoming air. Screwed it in at each end, then caulked the seal.

Then started to caulk the columns in place. At the bottom, you can see the inlet hole I drilled. At about this point, I realized that a better place for the inlet would have been through the plywood at the bases of each column. In this location, the air can simply pass over the cans (there’s about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch between the cans and the upper edge of the 2×4 frame) and not really pick up that much heat. If I were to relocate the inlet, it would force all the air to pass through the cans and pick up the absorbed heat. Next time.

Had some red paint left over from one of Heather’s previous projects, so slapped on a couple coats to at least keep the weather off the bare wood.

The caulk is pretty strong. Kept the cans from falling out while I had the box inverted.

Also had some 3/4-inch PVC pipe from another previous project. Bought a couple elbows and T-fittings and whipped up a simple frame to keep the box off the ground and to angle it upward toward the sun. Didn’t give the exact angle too much thought.

Caulked a clear plexiglas cover on the front and sat the furnace out in the sun for a full day over the weekend to see how it would work.

Using some advanced technological equipment, such as this precisely calibrated pyrometer, I determined the intake air temperature, which should have been the same as the ambient air temperature, to be about 80 degrees.

Using the same equipment and methods, I determined the outlet temperature to be about 95 degrees – thus a 15 degree temperature differential. Not 110 degrees, but not bad , considering I didn’t even break $50 in materials – most of that being the plexiglas window.

Obviously don’t have the inlet and outlet attached to the garage – figures that the day I finish the furnace, it’s 80 degrees and sunny and it looks like we’re finally done with winter. Dad recommends wiring a pusher fan at the end of the inlet tube to keep the air circulating through the furnace.

Were I to do this again, I’d first make the furnace larger. As I recall, Dad’s measured something like four feet on each side. Obviously, the more surface area, the more heat you’ll pick up. Second, as mentioned above, I’d relocate the inlet to the back of the box to direct all the air through the cans. Or at least I’d cut a piece of aluminum to act as a baffle and prevent the air from rising straight up. Third, I might use those small soda cans I’ve seen in the grocery stores lately, just to get more surface area.

Fourth, I’d finish the build at the beginning of winter, not the end.

UPDATE: Welcome, MAKErs. I appreciate your comments and suggestions on improving the design of the box. I also appreciated the comments over at a similar project page on Instructables. Version 2.0 will be a lot better, so thank you all.

UPDATE UPDATE: The response on this has been fantastic. Thank you all for your comments and feedback. If I didn’t have the HMX to finish, I’d already be working on the next version of this box. By the way, I’m no engineer and only have the vaguest understanding of thermodynamics. I know how old cars work, that’s about it. But common sense tells me to build this thing bigger, to insulate it, to add a fan and to snake the air sideways as a few of you have suggested. Keep sharing your ideas and your successes in building your own boxes.

UPDATE (22.June 2010): I’ve taken many of the below ideas into consideration and finally finished a second version of the soda can solar heater. From 180 cans, I’ve so far achieved a 120-degree temperature differential.

UPDATE (7.April 2011): One of our readers, Bohdan Zograf, worked up a translation of this post into Belorussian, for those of you who would prefer to read it in that language.

almost free garage heat – just drink a lot of soda | Hemmings Blog: Classic and collectible cars and parts

Homestead Survival
Happy Thanksgiving Homemade Pumpkin Butter Recipe

http://homesteadsurvival.blogspot.com/2012/10/happy-thanksgiving-homemade-pumpkin.html

http://www.fourseasonfarm.com/index.html

Tiny House Design
Love to see folks that do fairs and markets building tiny house trailer stands. This is a four-season mobile farm stand.

http://www.fourseasonfarm.com/farmstand/index.html

Tiny House Design
Dan is making great progress on his latest tiny house and making how-to videos along the way.

http://tinyhomebuilders.com/Blog/2012/10/17/on-to-the-interior/

Tiny House Design

Clothesline Tiny Homes in the News!
http://www.hlntv.com/video/2012/10/18/clotheline-tiny-house-tour-making-it-america

See their website: http://clotheslinetinyhomes.com/

Monday, February 22, 2010

Root Cellar

We decided that our little farm needed a root cellar to store our produce in. For those unfamiliar with the term, a root cellar is an underground room that acts like a natural refrigerator, maintaining temperatures in the mid 30's F in the winter and mid 50's in the summer.
Step one: Dig a hole in the ground. We are fortunate to have a local gravedigger who is a real artist with a backhoe. He can carve a hole with straight sides almost within an inch of what you ask for.

Step two, pour a concrete footer. Then start laying blocks. About 320 went into this 8 x 8 foot cellar.

Almost finished here. Now, for the fun part, pouring a concrete roof. A simple flat slab wouldn't do, for you want condensation to run off to the sides. So, I created a plywood from with an arched top. The arch would also create a stronger roof. It also created a very strong form.








I built the form in the shop, then dismantled it.
The arches are 1/2 inch plywood pressed into dadoed grooves in the 2x4's. This created an extremely strong structure.

Satisfied with the form I reassembled it on the root cellar walls.

A nice snug fit, supported by 3 vertical 2x4's on each side. (Not shown in the picture are 8 pieces of 1/2" plywood approximately 6" x 23". These were installed after the plywood sheets were added. They are used as extra reinforcing ribs by wedging them between the plywood sheets and the top of the 2x4's.) Next, the plywood, a sheet of plastic and lots of 1/2 rebar. Lots of rebar. Rebar is cheap, so why not? If this were a flat 4 inch slab, the calculated load rating is around 250 pounds/square foot. More then enough. But it is arched, and up to 5 inches thick. Also the rebar extends into the walls a foot, and are cemented in place. Not sure what the load rating is now, but it is certainly more than adequate.

18 half inch rebars on 8 inch centers. Strong enough!
Next, add a perimeter to the form and pour concrete. About 4,000 pounds worth. I expected at least a little deformation of my form, for all that weight was being borne by my 5 arches, but there was none! Impressive.
Not taking any chances, I did not enter the cellar until I was confident the concrete was fully cured.
Removing the form from inside was not difficult, for it was designed for easy disassembly and re-use.

A view of the top before the entrance was completed and the cellar covered with 2 feet of earth. The wood at the rear is covering the ends of the rebar to prevent injury. They will be part of the reinforcement for the entrance-way.
I poured the roof in 3 sections, for that is the most concrete I can handle working alone. The seams are nearly invisible from below, and are waterproof. It was not difficult creating the arch in the top using standard concrete. The radius of the top arch is about 6 inches larger than below.


The arched ceiling is as glossy as a counter top, thanks to the plastic sheet I laid over the plywood.
See light reflecting off ceiling in picture below left.
Below Right: Add stairs and doors at top and bottom, and you have a fine root cellar, ready for lots of fruits and vegetables. Currently we are storing apples, carrots and potatoes, and we are pleased with the results.

This project took a few months of evenings after work over the summer. It was cooler then, and the mortar did not dry too fast. All concrete and mortar, about 8,000 pounds in all, was either mixed with a small mixer, or by hand.

Robert's Projects: Root Cellar

Robert's Projects

My various projects that may be of interest to others. Dedicated to my brother Stan, Apr 16, 1955- Dec 4, 2010

Robert's Projects