Filed under Off-Grid Tech …

Feb 06 2012
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Building, Cabins, Off-Grid Tech, Video

Haida Gwaii – Masa Off Grid – 365 day project Webisode Series

I recently found this webisode series on Youtube about a man named Masa, a successful travel writer with an MBA that has decided to live off the grid in a small community on a remote B.C. island called Haida Gwaii (First Nations’ name for were the Queen Charlotte Islands. The community is called Tow Hill and it’s right on the beach and full of amazing creative cabins, built with mostly found materials.

Masa is currently in day 319 of his year on Haida Gwaii, he’s built his cabin and trying to live a subsistence lifestyle, gathering as much food as he can while it’s in season; hunting or growing. He uploads video updates 3 times a week to his YouTube Channel and posts long thoughtful blog entries to the RADx website and his Facebook Page. I encourage you to follow his project and slowly get to know him and his journey as he truly has put his money where is mouth is and left a busy career to sample a totally different lifestyle.

Go Masa!

I’m a big YouTube fan and use it as my main entertainment source, I even watch it on my TV in HD. That’s the easiest way I catch Masa’s videos so I encourage you to subscribe to his YouTube channel and you’ll be notified each time he uploads.

Here’s his first video if you want to start off right:

Cool Neighbor cabins

Masa visits Richard and Frances Riley, neighbors and cabin builders themselves to check out their digs. The couple explains how they’ve put together their own comfy home using recycled materials and timber they found on the beach.

Keep coming back for updates as Masa documents his epic adventures for radX.ca. His new video diary will be published every Tuesday, along with a weekly written blog.

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Jan 19 2012
4 Comments
Mike Basich, Off-Grid Tech, Video

Mike Basichs’ Wood Fired Hot Tub at Area 241

Check this thing out! It’s a pretty rad custom setup for his mountain rock fortress near Tahoe. It’s hard to see exactly how it works but looks like he’s got a spring or a pump feeding a lot of cold water down a waterfall into a cold pool next to the hot tub and there’s also a little stream of cold water that flows around the hot tub to cool beers n such for the bathers.

Now this is what he doesn’t show but I think he’s using a metal stock tank, a kinda small one that’s probably heated with a fire below. The stone and cement work he’s done up there is impressive, I only wish he’s post more videos!

I’d like to setup something like this at Camp Taint outside the sauna, but the project is a ways out.

I used to have a 6′ round, 4′ deep Snorkel hot tub that I got used off Craigslist but I never got our water system out at the property to work so it never made it out there… My neighbor didn’t really like me running that thing in my backyard in the city so I eventually put in back on Craigslist and got twice what I paid for it. Which was still a steal for how much they cost new. Someday I hope to figure something out that doesn’t cost that much since it would only be used a few times a year.

Jan 04 2012
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Mike Basich, Off-Grid Tech, Video

OFF the GRID – Mike Basich – Episode 3 – [video] Finishing Rope Tow

Mike Basich Area 241 cabin

Mike Basich Area 241 cabin

Mike Basich is Off the Grid in what he calls Area 241. In this final episode of the rope tow segment, Mike gets the mothership up onto his property and preps the trees with shivs. With a little help from his friends the DIY specialist gets his new rope tow system in place at a record pace and just in time for an evening debut run. Enjoy and stay tuned for more Off the Grid segments with Mike Basich coming soon!

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Dec 28 2011
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Building, Off-Grid Tech, Video

OFF the GRID – Mike Basich – Episode 2 – [video]

Watch professional snowboarder and off-grid engineering genius Mike Basich, build his famous Area 241 in the Tahoe Backcountry.


More Snowboarding Videos

In this follow up episode Mike dives right in with custom fabrication on the motor he must mount to his new rope tow transmission. Watch Mike grind, weld and work his way through difficulties as he creates the power plant for Area 241′s newest transporter. Using spare parts and old junk is his favorite approach, “… a lot of times you’d be surprised what is just laying around or even in the gutter of someone’s house.” Enjoy Mike’s creative ingenuity in episode 2, The Mothership!

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Dec 17 2011
2 Comments
Off-Grid Tech, Video

THIS MUST BE THE PLACE – Video

COFFER from thismustbetheplace on Vimeo.

Produced and directed by Ben Wu and David Usui,
of Lost & Found Films (lostfoundfilms.com).

THIS MUST BE THE PLACE

There’s no place like home. It’s where we live, work and dream. It’s our sanctuary and our refuge. We can love them or hate them. It can be just for the night or for the rest of our lives. But whoever we may be, we all have a place we call home.

THIS MUST BE THE PLACE is a series of short films that explore the idea of home; what makes them, how they represent us, why we need them.

We’re always on the lookout for dwellings of all sorts. If you’ve come across any curious or eccentric homes, feel free to send them along.

thismustbetheplace.tv
mail@thismustbetheplace.tv

Nov 17 2011
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Building, Off-Grid Tech, Video

Mike Basich – Living Off The Grid – Episode 1 – Building Rope Tow


More Snowboarding Videos

This is episode 1 of a new series called Off The Grid following Professional snowboarder, Mike Basich as lives in his hand made stone house at 7000 feet. Here he is making a rope tow out of a truck axle and transmission. Lloyd Kahn also features Mike’s house in his brand new soon to be released book Tiny Homes, Simple Shelters. I just pre-ordered it!

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Oct 03 2011
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Alternative Energy, Off-Grid Tech, Security, Video

Special Features for your Remote Off Grid Cabin VIDEO

[Video Below]
I posted a log cabin building video from this guy last year. He’s taking us back and showing off some cool cabin features he made. He’s got a creek above the cabin that provides water pressure and powers his micro hydro system powering a single florescent lamp, no battery in between which I thought was cool and interesting. He also talks about how his cabin is weathering having been built like they did 150 years ago with site gathered materials. The cedar roof is keeping the cabin in good shape and no critters have gotten into this one that happens to be perched on the side of a cliff.

I was especially impressed with his security system that uses a FRS radio and a magnetic door switch to alert another radio if the door was opened with in the 25 mile broadcast range. Apparently he lives within 20 miles line of site from the cabin. Not that he has much to steal but I think he just does it to see if anyone ever checks out the cabin which is built in a very remote location on what may be public land.

One thing that I plan on adding to our cabin eventually is the copper coil he put in the stove pipe to heat water for his shower behind the cabin. Hot water heated from the waste heat from a wood stove sounds like a cool and useful way to get clean. Flipping through Lloyd Khan’s Shelter book series I’ve been inspired to build a rustic wood fired sauna in the woods on our property and I think I want to incorporate the shower in the sauna so that you can take an indoor shower/sauna in the winter or and outdoor hot shower in the summer.

Hand Made Hot Water Systems

Hand Made Hot Water Systems

A few years ago I found this gem of a book on Amazon. It’s called Hand Made Hot Water System’s and it’s got to be out of print but the ideas and drawings in it are priceless.

I think it’s 30 years old but it’s got great ideas in there that could save you lots of money on heating your pool, pre-heating your hot water heater or heating your shower directly.

Sep 18 2011
1 Comment
3D Models, Building, Cabins, Off-Grid Tech, Security, Shelter

Little Footprint Big Forest – Container Cabin Contest

A friend just emailed me this great design contest that just happened here in King County. The parks department wants low impact over night structures that are easy to install and maintain for guests in their parks. Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam was  judge!

The challenge is to design an overnight structure re-using a surplus cargo container, which can be staged anywhere in King County Parks’ 26,000 acres of open space, and more specifically, on our forested lands that have minimal roads or utilities.

While I’ve questioned containers being use for building before, it mostly came down to it being more expensive. However in this situation the counties goals fit the containers perfectly. Strong secure structures that can be built off site, have minimal maintenance and have a low impact on the site. I bet they’ll be using an off-road fork lift to place these at site without roads like they mention.

Check out the entries below, they are really creative especially giving the counties requirements. Some very cool ideas to be gleaned from these designs. Hit the link below to read more on King counties page.

 

 

Congratulations to Hybrid Architecture for their REtain design, which was selected as the winning design of the Little Footprint Big Forest contest and was announced today at the Built Green Conference.

What do 26,000 acres of open space, public recreation and a cargo container have in common?

Conservation. Sustainability. Public Recreation. Aesthetics. Forest Stewardship.

The Situation
King County Parks is looking to balance the natural and built environments to create truly inspirational accommodations that:

* use salvaged and locally-sourced materials
* are economically achievable, both for us to build and maintain and for the public to use
* can be replicated across our 26,000 acre system

Read more about Little Foot Print Big Forrest Shipping Container Contest

The Challenge
King County Parks and the GreenTools Program have teamed up to create a competition that we hope will inspire designers to integrate the principles of conservation, sustainability, public recreation, aesthetics and forest stewardship.

The challenge is to design an overnight structure re-using a surplus cargo container, which can be staged anywhere in King County Parks’ 26,000 acres of open space, and more specifically, on our forested lands that have minimal roads or utilities.

All submittals must be received by August 22, 2011 by 4:30 pm PST.

The Judges

* Dow Constantine – King County Executive
* Stone Gossard – Sustainability advocate and Pearl Jam rhythm guitarist
* Kevin Brown – Division Director, King County Parks
* Art Wolfe – Wildlife and Landscape Photographer
* Eric Corey Freed – Principal, organicArchitect
* Kim Munizza – Principal, Mithun
* Aaron Adelstein – Executive Director, Built Green
* Chris Toher – Executive Vice President and General Manager, Skanska
* Bill Schwartz – Manager, Small Projects – Capital Improvement Program, King County Parks
* Andy Wappler – Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Puget Sound Energy
* YOU! Enter to win a chance to join our all-star judges panel.

Here are my favorite entries:

 

Aug 30 2011
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Building, Off-Grid Tech, Random Coolness, Video

Open Source Construction Project

http://blog.opensourceecology.org/2010/10/global-village-construction-set-gvcs-in-2-minutes/

 

This idea is very cool. I wish I had a shop to build crazy tractors, oh and the know how… Someday!

Jul 28 2011
5 Comments
Off-Grid Tech, Solar, Video

Solar powered water resistant iPod Stereo Video

[View the post on the Solar Burrito Blog to watch video below]
VIDEO BELOW:

I made this cooler stereo about a year ago but it wasn’t really Solar Burrito Blog related until it got the solar panel recently. So here’s a quick run down on this fun project as requested. I wanted tunes on my little boat but I knew it had to be tough and take a few splashes while protecting my expensive ipod or iPhone.

I looked around for battery powered iPod stereos but most were:

  • Not loud enough
  • Not water resistant or water proof
  • Used expensive batteries that had a short life (D rechargeables)
  • Didn’t protect my ipod or iphone from moisture
  • Cost too much

So I thought I could make my own out of plentiful car stereo components. Amps and speakers are all over Craigslist and the internet. I found an JBL amp for $20 on Craigslist to put in my boat the other day.

I made it to be a water resistant portable ipod stereo that was durable and really loud on my 12′ aluminum boat. But with the solar panel it also works great in an off grid or remote camping situations. When we go camping on islands in the San Juans and other boat it only sites with no power. The solar panel allows it to be used indefinitely as long as it gets enough sun and charge time. I set the cooler out on the beach or on another place to catch some good morning sun before I go to bed and as I sleep in the sun rises and gives the cooler some charge during the morning. Around noon I turn it on and try to keep it in the sun as best as possible to extend the battery. It lasts 4-6 hours, depending on how loud it’s turned up and how sunny it is.

It could use a bigger solar panel but this one was free and fits nicely on the handle.

Parts you’ll need to build a cooler stereo / How to build a cooler stereo
- Cooler big or small depending on your goals. Want drinks in it too?
- 18 Amp Hour Battery 12 volt sealed gel cell
- Car Stereo amplifier 2-channel (mine was a Rockford Fosgate Punch 40)
-
- Mini-mic to RCA cable to connect ipod to amp
- Waterproof box – (snapware from Target)

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