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| Pedal Powered Water Pump |
The thing is that pumping water on a domestic scale is one of those jobs that does not need electricity. A little equipment and some imagination can eliminate a lot of tedious work, as this video demonstrates.
Friday, 23 December 2011
You Don’t Miss Your Water
My mother was almost 30 years of age when my community was connected to the national grid. I once asked her what she would miss most if mains electricity were to disappear, she replied without hesitation pumping water.
Before electric water pumps many rural Irish women spent a lot of time carrying water in buckets. Water was needed for drinking, cooking, cleaning and washing clothes and bodies. Those who were lucky has a good source of water nearby, usually a well. But even if the well was nearby keeping the households water requirements met was an endless round of drudgery.
The thing is that pumping water on a domestic scale is one of those jobs that does not need electricity. A little equipment and some imagination can eliminate a lot of tedious work, as this video demonstrates.
The thing is that pumping water on a domestic scale is one of those jobs that does not need electricity. A little equipment and some imagination can eliminate a lot of tedious work, as this video demonstrates.
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Maybe We Are Not Doomed
I sometimes despair when talking to the unconverted about peak oil and the long emergency we are now entering, many people refuse to think about any other way of living but the modern way. It’s like we either have automatic washing machines or we have to beat our clothes on rocks down by the river. But recently I came across the James Washer, a simple, well made manual washing machine that would take all the drudgery out of clothes washing.
The biggest problem is getting people to think about other ways we could live. We waste enormous amounts of resources in madcap ways. We use two tons cars to travel a mile, when we could easily use a bike or walk. The Dutch do 25% of all journeys on bikes and they build bikes that last 100 years. The Swedes build houses that can be heated through arctic winters with little more than the body heat of the inhabitants.
We waste huge amounts of resources making short lived, useless crap, when we could make things like James Washers, and dutch bikes, and pedal powered power tools, and solar buildings etc, etc. The real necessities of human life are actually quite modest and can be met without the huge waste that we have right now.
The things that make life really worthwhile are not crap you can buy in a shopping mall, but things like a happy family, good neighbours and good health. Before we got rich in Ireland in the 1990s there was a great old tradition of a ceile house, a house in the neighbourhood where musicians were always welcome and a music session might start any time of the day or night. A few musicians, and dancers and a few bottles of whiskey and beer, and everyone would have a great party and forget their troubles. It got us through some very bad times and put a smile on our collective faces.
We are all doomed in the long run, the sun will eventually fry the earth, but the idea that there is no use in trying right now is one I reject. Who knows how it will play out, but when I hear some people who are peak oil aware saying there is no use in trying because we are all doomed, it reminds me of listening to peak oil deniers. When I try to discuss peak oil with the deniers they parody what I am saying by proclaiming “We are all doomed”. In both cases the reasoning leads to the same result, paralysis.
Dutch Bikes in Ireland
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| The James Washer |
We waste huge amounts of resources making short lived, useless crap, when we could make things like James Washers, and dutch bikes, and pedal powered power tools, and solar buildings etc, etc. The real necessities of human life are actually quite modest and can be met without the huge waste that we have right now.
The things that make life really worthwhile are not crap you can buy in a shopping mall, but things like a happy family, good neighbours and good health. Before we got rich in Ireland in the 1990s there was a great old tradition of a ceile house, a house in the neighbourhood where musicians were always welcome and a music session might start any time of the day or night. A few musicians, and dancers and a few bottles of whiskey and beer, and everyone would have a great party and forget their troubles. It got us through some very bad times and put a smile on our collective faces.
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| Dutch Bike |
Dutch Bikes in Ireland
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| Dutch Cargo Bike |
Saturday, 17 December 2011
The True Value of Electricity
The average Irish home uses 5300 kWh of electricity a year (1) an increase of 21% since 1990. Irish households are profligate users compared to other western countries, in 2006 we used 21% more than UK households, and 31% more than our continental neighbours(2). We used more than our trans Atlantic cousins in the USA where average household use in 2009 was 4800 kWh (3).
Electricity is a miracle of the age and yet like so many modern miracles people take it for granted and waste it on an epic scale without thinking. So for this post I am going to try and put some perspective on the real value of electrical power. For this I turn to Lieutenant Colonel Fleming’s U.S. Army War College thesis on Peak Oil (4)
Fleming wrote
“A gallon of gasoline energy content is about 33 kilowatt-hours. In perspective, 33 kilowatt-hours is the equivalent of a healthy male pedaling a stationary bike for 330 hours – if he can maintain 100 watts per hour. If he pedals 40 hours per week, he will generate the same amount of energy as in one gallon of gasoline in about eight weeks”
So one gallon of petrol (as we call gasoline in Ireland) has 33 kWh of potential energy. Average household electrical use is 5300 kWh a year, the equivalent of 160.6 gallons of petrol. Typically up to 60% of potential energy is lost in the generation and transmission of electricity. So to produce the 5300 kWh used by our average household requires the burning of the equivalent of 401.5 gallons of petrol in a power station.
If it takes an adult male 330 hours of pedaling a stationary bike to produce the power in one gallon of petrol. It will take the same male 132500 hours of pedaling to produce the kind of power an average Irish household burns in electricity every year. If we asked our male to cycle 40 hours a week, that would take him 3312.5 weeks (no weeks off) or 63.7 years.
If we paid him a modest 10 euro an hour (and remember that 100 watts is lively cycling) it would cost over 1.3 million Euros in human labour. Right now you can buy this much electrical power in Ireland for 800 Euros. It can be bought for 800 Euros because it is produced with cheap fossil fuels. But the days of cheap fossil fuels are rapidly running out and very soon we will have to start paying the true cost of electricity.
Sustainable Energy Ireland’s booklet “Your Guide to Electricity in Your Home” is packed with electricity saving tips.
http://www.seai.ie/Publications/Your_Home_Publications/Your_guide_to_electricity_in_the_home.pdf
References
(1) The Electricity Supply Board http://www.esb.ie
(2) http://www.finfacts.ie/irishfinancenews/article_1013935.shtml
(3) http://www.carbonindependent.org/sources_home_energy.htm
(4) http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a545047.pdf
Electricity is a miracle of the age and yet like so many modern miracles people take it for granted and waste it on an epic scale without thinking. So for this post I am going to try and put some perspective on the real value of electrical power. For this I turn to Lieutenant Colonel Fleming’s U.S. Army War College thesis on Peak Oil (4)
Fleming wrote
“A gallon of gasoline energy content is about 33 kilowatt-hours. In perspective, 33 kilowatt-hours is the equivalent of a healthy male pedaling a stationary bike for 330 hours – if he can maintain 100 watts per hour. If he pedals 40 hours per week, he will generate the same amount of energy as in one gallon of gasoline in about eight weeks”
So one gallon of petrol (as we call gasoline in Ireland) has 33 kWh of potential energy. Average household electrical use is 5300 kWh a year, the equivalent of 160.6 gallons of petrol. Typically up to 60% of potential energy is lost in the generation and transmission of electricity. So to produce the 5300 kWh used by our average household requires the burning of the equivalent of 401.5 gallons of petrol in a power station.
If it takes an adult male 330 hours of pedaling a stationary bike to produce the power in one gallon of petrol. It will take the same male 132500 hours of pedaling to produce the kind of power an average Irish household burns in electricity every year. If we asked our male to cycle 40 hours a week, that would take him 3312.5 weeks (no weeks off) or 63.7 years.
If we paid him a modest 10 euro an hour (and remember that 100 watts is lively cycling) it would cost over 1.3 million Euros in human labour. Right now you can buy this much electrical power in Ireland for 800 Euros. It can be bought for 800 Euros because it is produced with cheap fossil fuels. But the days of cheap fossil fuels are rapidly running out and very soon we will have to start paying the true cost of electricity.
Sustainable Energy Ireland’s booklet “Your Guide to Electricity in Your Home” is packed with electricity saving tips.
http://www.seai.ie/Publications/Your_Home_Publications/Your_guide_to_electricity_in_the_home.pdf
References
(1) The Electricity Supply Board http://www.esb.ie
(2) http://www.finfacts.ie/irishfinancenews/article_1013935.shtml
(3) http://www.carbonindependent.org/sources_home_energy.htm
(4) http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a545047.pdf
Friday, 16 December 2011
Why Jimmy Carter Was Right
As I write this it is 17.45 GMT on December 16th 2011. According to Met.ie the temperature at my nearest Met station in Ballyhaise, Co Cavan was 1 degree Celsius (33.8 F) at 1700 hours. By now the outside temperature here must be down to zero. The temperature in my kitchen is 21 degrees (69.8 F). A difference of 21 degrees.
A year ago around here the nighttime temperatures were falling to -15 c (5 F). On December 20th 2010 the coldest Irish day ever recorded was at the Ballyhaise Met Station, with the highest daytime temperature of only -9 c (15.8 F).
This winter has not yet produced temperatures this low so it's taking a lot less timber to heat the house. Normally we like to keep the kitchen at a balmy 21 or 22 Celsius on a winter night. But last winter during the very cold weather we put on an extra layer of clothes and settled for 17 c to save fuel.
When it was -15 outside and our target was 17 degrees indoors we were trying to keep a difference of 32 degrees. And the law of diminishing returns applies with a vengeance, when you want a difference of 32 degrees. It takes a lot more fuel than the 21 degree difference I have right now in my kitchen.
When you get to a 32 degree difference every extra degree you want has a huge extra cost in fuel. When we tried to keep our kitchen at 22 degrees instead of 17 degrees during the very cold weather of 2010, those extra five degrees almost doubled our fuel consumption.
The easiest way to save on heating costs is to accept a lower difference between internal and external temperatures, every degree less you accept will result in major fuel savings. President Jimmy Carter in the late 1970s told the American people he was turning down the thermostat in the Oval Office and putting on an extra sweater to save fuel. This is still good advise.
A year ago around here the nighttime temperatures were falling to -15 c (5 F). On December 20th 2010 the coldest Irish day ever recorded was at the Ballyhaise Met Station, with the highest daytime temperature of only -9 c (15.8 F).
When it was -15 outside and our target was 17 degrees indoors we were trying to keep a difference of 32 degrees. And the law of diminishing returns applies with a vengeance, when you want a difference of 32 degrees. It takes a lot more fuel than the 21 degree difference I have right now in my kitchen.
When you get to a 32 degree difference every extra degree you want has a huge extra cost in fuel. When we tried to keep our kitchen at 22 degrees instead of 17 degrees during the very cold weather of 2010, those extra five degrees almost doubled our fuel consumption.
The easiest way to save on heating costs is to accept a lower difference between internal and external temperatures, every degree less you accept will result in major fuel savings. President Jimmy Carter in the late 1970s told the American people he was turning down the thermostat in the Oval Office and putting on an extra sweater to save fuel. This is still good advise.
Friday, 9 December 2011
The Joys of Long Distance Bike Travel
A long car journey is a simple thing, you decide the route, the time you want to arrive and away you go. Barring an accident or a breakdown you are pretty much guaranteed most of the time, to get to your destination without any drama and on time.
A long bike ride is always an adventure, you never know how it will go on the day. The single biggest variable is the weather and in particular the wind. A long day spent riding into a strong headwind is among the most unpleasant experiences in cycling. It’s a remorseless, tiring, morale sapping grind.
On the other hand a day spent cycling with a strong tail wind is one of the most uplifting experiences on a bike. Many years ago as a very fit young man I cycled from Galway city to Cavan in six hours, on a heavy steel bike, with maybe ten kilos of cargo. I took a one hour break in the middle, so in five hours on the bike I covered 100 miles. It was quite a buzz bombing along over the gently rolling countryside at 20 mph, alone with only the road and my own thoughts for company.
Temperature and rain can also impact your progress and morale on a long journey but nothing trumps wind.
Your physical and metal state will also have a major impact on a long bike journey. Starting a long journey well rested, and in good shape, is very different to being tired and suffering from a cold. If the journey requires several days on the bike, you must pace yourself. It’s no good to do 100 miles the first day, finish exhausted, and then be unable to go more than 40 miles the next day. Better to pace it and do 70 miles both days.
The key to covering very long distances on a bike is to keep the pace low enough that you never get tired, and to cover the distance by spending a lot of hours on the bike. Make full use of your gears, find a sustainable rhythm and keep it going no matter what the gradient. Slow down enjoy the journey, experience the countryside, its sights, sounds and smells. Take lots of breaks, eat well.
Nothing beats a bicycle for exploring country. You are moving along at a modest speed, out in the open, sitting up, you feel every little rise and fall in the land. You will feel the slightest gradient in your legs, if uphill the increased strain, if down the reduced strain. After you cycle over a tract of country you will know its shape intimately. After crossing it in a car, you hardly know it all.
A long bike ride is always an adventure, you never know how it will go on the day. The single biggest variable is the weather and in particular the wind. A long day spent riding into a strong headwind is among the most unpleasant experiences in cycling. It’s a remorseless, tiring, morale sapping grind.
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| The Great Western Greenway |
Temperature and rain can also impact your progress and morale on a long journey but nothing trumps wind.
Your physical and metal state will also have a major impact on a long bike journey. Starting a long journey well rested, and in good shape, is very different to being tired and suffering from a cold. If the journey requires several days on the bike, you must pace yourself. It’s no good to do 100 miles the first day, finish exhausted, and then be unable to go more than 40 miles the next day. Better to pace it and do 70 miles both days.
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| A Bridge on the Greenway |
Nothing beats a bicycle for exploring country. You are moving along at a modest speed, out in the open, sitting up, you feel every little rise and fall in the land. You will feel the slightest gradient in your legs, if uphill the increased strain, if down the reduced strain. After you cycle over a tract of country you will know its shape intimately. After crossing it in a car, you hardly know it all.
Thursday, 1 December 2011
The Raleigh Oakland Reviewed Part 2
When I last wrote about my Oakland in September I had done about 3000 km on it and I said it was due a full service. Well the road to hell is paved with good intentions, it did not get that full service. In fact it got no service at all.
In the meantime I kept cycling and put up over 2000 km more on it. But last week the bottom bracket (BB) began to squeak and developed some play. I stripped it down and discovered it was worn. So I changed it for a new sealed BB, which I bought in Halfords for 20 euros. Time will tell whether this low cost BB is good value.
When changing the BB I gave the bike a full service, so she is now fully roadworthy. I bought a tool kit from Halfords for 37 euros which had almost everything I needed for the service, except the tool to remove the cassette from the back wheel. This I also got in Halfords for 10 euros.
It probably took me five hours all told to do the service, I was learning as I went along and proceeding with extreme caution. Now I know how to do it and I have assembled a full tool kit, I could probably do a full service in an hour and half.
The chainwheels are showing a lot of wear but with care I should get another few thousand kilometers out of them. If what I am reading is right when I change the chainwheels I will also need to change the chain and the rear cassette.
Total cost of the Oakland so far (excluding accessories) 300 euros to buy, new back wheel 35 euros, new set of brake pads 3 euros, new bottom bracket 20 euros. Throw in a little grease and lub takes the cost to about 360 euros. Not bad for over 5000 km traveled.
I still love this machine and have no intention of changing it for a more expensive bike.
Oakland Reviewed Part 1
Oakland Reviewed Part 3
Oakland Reviewed Part 4
Oakland Reviewed Part 5
Oakland Reviewed Part 6
In the meantime I kept cycling and put up over 2000 km more on it. But last week the bottom bracket (BB) began to squeak and developed some play. I stripped it down and discovered it was worn. So I changed it for a new sealed BB, which I bought in Halfords for 20 euros. Time will tell whether this low cost BB is good value.
 |
| My Raleigh Oakland fully serviced |
It probably took me five hours all told to do the service, I was learning as I went along and proceeding with extreme caution. Now I know how to do it and I have assembled a full tool kit, I could probably do a full service in an hour and half.
The chainwheels are showing a lot of wear but with care I should get another few thousand kilometers out of them. If what I am reading is right when I change the chainwheels I will also need to change the chain and the rear cassette.
Total cost of the Oakland so far (excluding accessories) 300 euros to buy, new back wheel 35 euros, new set of brake pads 3 euros, new bottom bracket 20 euros. Throw in a little grease and lub takes the cost to about 360 euros. Not bad for over 5000 km traveled.
I still love this machine and have no intention of changing it for a more expensive bike.
Oakland Reviewed Part 1
Oakland Reviewed Part 3
Oakland Reviewed Part 4
Oakland Reviewed Part 5
Oakland Reviewed Part 6
VP Components BC-73 68*118mm Bottom Bracket
Halfords Bike Tool Kit
Bikehut Freewheel Tool
A Bird in the Hand
Until a few years ago I owned two guns. I had to sell them when I was really stuck for cash as I could not afford the license fee and the gun club membership. I originally bought them to hunt game for the table, but with all the costs involved I was not making them pay.
Fortunately living in the countryside I have not had to give up eating game, as many of my friends and neighbors are hunters. Some of them just hunt for recreation, they never eat it and some of them shoot more than they eat. So at this time of year there is a surplus of pheasant and duck in my area. A few of my neighbors will often drop in a freshly shot pheasant or duck when they are passing. In return I give them a bottle of whiskey at Christmas.
If you live in an area where there are hunters try and cultivate this kind of relationship with them. This is the cheapest and most convenient way to get a regular supply of game.
A lot of people hang game for a few days before plucking and gutting it. I puck and gut right way and get it into the fridge. If you have never plucked and gutted a bird try YouTube, see below for some links. It is a primitive and visceral business and you may make a mess of it the first few times. But the only tool required is a sharp knife and with a little practice you soon get the hang of it. Needless to say take extreme care with sharp knifes and always cut away from yourself.
I usually cook game the next day. I parboil for 15 to 20 minutes and finish it off in a Pyrex dish in the oven covered with tin foil, this keeps it from drying out.
Unlike buying meat in a shop you never know what wild meat will taste like. The flavour will vary depending on what the animal was feeding on, its health and age. At worst the meat may be tough, but at its best there is nothing to beat wild meat for flavour. And wild meat is all lean.
I never use any kind of flavorings or sauce, just the meat served with a few spuds and veg and a little butter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmoTthxTnv8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_BVYOhCocw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0ddDzGGtiU&feature=related
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| Shot at dawn Nov 30th |
If you live in an area where there are hunters try and cultivate this kind of relationship with them. This is the cheapest and most convenient way to get a regular supply of game.
A lot of people hang game for a few days before plucking and gutting it. I puck and gut right way and get it into the fridge. If you have never plucked and gutted a bird try YouTube, see below for some links. It is a primitive and visceral business and you may make a mess of it the first few times. But the only tool required is a sharp knife and with a little practice you soon get the hang of it. Needless to say take extreme care with sharp knifes and always cut away from yourself.
 |
| 5 minutes later ready to cook |
Unlike buying meat in a shop you never know what wild meat will taste like. The flavour will vary depending on what the animal was feeding on, its health and age. At worst the meat may be tough, but at its best there is nothing to beat wild meat for flavour. And wild meat is all lean.
I never use any kind of flavorings or sauce, just the meat served with a few spuds and veg and a little butter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmoTthxTnv8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_BVYOhCocw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0ddDzGGtiU&feature=related
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