Stimulus check spending wish list, anyone?

[gtaus]

I want to consider solar energy. But there are some improvements to the house that might get done instead.

Hubby wants to get welding equipment, and we'd need 220 in the garage for that, I think.

Solar energy... I live in northern Minnesota and I don't see anyone around here getting into Solar. When I checked into a solar system, I calculated the break even point at about 30 years. We just don't get enough good sun.

Similar problem with electric cars. We have about 6 months of cold, snowy weather. Batteries lose a lot of capacity in -35F temps. BMW has a test plant in our hometown to test how their electric cars work in our cold climate. They have been test driving them here in the winters for at least 5 years. Nobody sells electric cars here, but some people do buy Toyota hybrids (gas/electric).

Last year I bought a cheap 110v flux core welder from Harbor Freight to make minor repairs on my old equipment. I really don't know much about welding, but I have used it a few times and saved myself some repair money. I doubt a real welder would consider it anything but a pretend welding unit, but it works good enough for what I needed.

 

[gtaus]

A nice wish (I probably won't do it). A really nice gas or combo grill and get the gas company to hook up two 100# tanks to it.

Yes, I suppose living in Florida you could use that grill year round. My wife loves our gas grill, but we only get to use it about 6-7 months out of the year. Some of those months it might only be just above freezing, but we still use the grill as long as it is not covered by snow.

 

[gtaus]

Ok, couldn't wait... Used Discover to get the incubator and several more cattle panels for turn out pens. Think I'm gonna make one HUGE one, instead of two smaller ones.

Well, it sounds like a good use of your stimulus money, when you get it.

I am definitely thinking of getting cattle panels this spring. Just got everything out of my trailer and it is ready to go into town and load up something.

 

[gtaus]

I do the same with leaves and grass clippings, but I clean mine out once a month to keep the runs cleaner, and dump it in dips and holes on my property, saving a good portion for the garden areas. Love natural compost for fertilizer/matter instead of chemicals. Not to mention all the entertainment the chickens get out of it.

My idea was to let it compost in place for about a year before harvesting the material. But I did not expect to accumulate 18 inches deep of litter in the run over the summer. I literally have a small mountain of black gold out there to harvest this summer.

 

[Sally PB]

When I checked into a solar system, I calculated the break even point at about 30 years. We just don't get enough good sun.

I don't know if I'd break even in my lifetime, or if we get enough sun to make it worthwhile. (This month has been the sunniest March on record, so far, though!) I'm thinking more of a self sufficiency thing. When we lose power, it can be for days at a time.

Though it might happen in a very cloudy, stormy stretch of weather, in which case, wind power might be a better option...

 

[gtaus]

I don't know if I'd break even in my lifetime, or if we get enough sun to make it worthwhile. (This month has been the sunniest March on record, so far, though!) I'm thinking more of a self sufficiency thing. When we lose power, it can be for days at a time.

Though it might happen in a very cloudy, stormy stretch of weather, in which case, wind power might be a better option...

Don't get me wrong, I am very pro Solar energy. It is just that I'm 60 years old, and a 30 year payback on a Solar investment.... well, you can do the math. If I were a much younger man, then I would be looking into the advantages of Solar, even where I live.

Depending on where you live and how much you pay for energy, sometimes you can get your breakeven point down to less than 10 years. My electric company charges $0.12 per KWh normal rate, but I also have off-peak electric which costs me $0.06 per KWh. It would take a long time for a good Solar system to pay for itself where I live. And did I mention that we are under snow almost 6 months of the year? That could mean a lot of cleaning off the snow required of the Solar panels to keep them working in the winter. So we don't have any solar systems on houses anywhere near where I live.

If we went days without electricity, we could not survive our winters. Just look what happened down in Texas a few weeks ago when they hit freezing temps. Where I live, we call those temps an early spring. But, of course, if we lost electricity, we too would be freezing at home, the pipes would break, and we could be looking at major losses.

I, too ,would be looking at other off grid type options if we lost electricity for days at a time. Certainly wind and Solar systems. Most definitely a good gas/diesel generator. Probably a wood burning or pellet stove to heat the house. Some people have installed wall mounted propane heaters, which require no electricity for operation. I have one in my 3 car garage. They work great, but since they are not vented to the outside, you build up humidity.

Those wall mounted propane heaters are not rated for inside the house if you live in our town. From what I hear, it is not a question of safety. Those propane heaters are so efficient that the local electric and gas companies worked together to ban them via local ordinance as heating options for the house. But, out in the country where I live, some people have them installed in the basement as backups. We can get them for under $200 where I live.

wall mount propane heaters

 

[Sally PB]

Interesting!

We all have propane furnaces out here in our area of boonies. We have a gas powered generator for when the power does go out, and it's saved our butts a few times.

There have been days I didn't go to work so that I could keep the woodstove going, because we aren't going to run the gennie all day. To make coffee, I heated water on the woodstove, put the grounds in it, and let it sit. Strain as needed through your teeth. Cowboy coffee. You learn to savor it when it takes an hour to make a cup of coffee!

 

[CSolis]

Those wall mounted propane heaters are not rated for inside the house if you live in our town. From what I hear, it is not a question of safety. Those propane heaters are so efficient that the local electric and gas companies worked together to ban them via local ordinance as heating options for the house. But, out in the country where I live, some people have them installed in the basement as backups. We can get them for under $200 where I live.

That was another items I was looking at to supplement electric heating. Propane is far cheaper and would heat nearly the entire house here.

 

[gtaus]

That was another items I was looking at to supplement electric heating. Propane is far cheaper and would heat nearly the entire house here.

I don't know if I made it clear, but those wall mounted propane heaters require absolutely no electricity for operation. They have a pilot light that is always on. A thermostat will open and close the propane line for heating. There is no electric fan, so it's just convection(?) heating with warm air rising. That is why some people install them in the basement and just let the heat rise to the upstairs floors.

 

[gtaus]

I just bumped some items to the top of my stimulus wish list. One of my batteries for the lawn mower was dead (after charging) and needs to be replaced. Might as well give that lawn mower the full spring tune up with new spark plugs, oil change, air filter, and gas filter.

I put a battery in my old golf cart and it started right up. Running good. I have been watching YouTube videos on golf cart body work and painting. My nephews crashed the golf cart a few years ago, but I was able to glue the pieces back together. But it is not perfectly smooth and you can see the big cracks. I'm thinking some body work to smooth that all out and a new paint job afterwards.

Well, just some more items to put on the stimulus wish list. All that stuff I would be buying locally and supporting our local fleet store.

Speaking of which, I try to support the local businesses when I can. I think the online companies have really made off well in these pandemic times while our local stores are just fighting to stay open. Don't get me wrong, I'm an Amazon prime member for many years, but I still try to buy locally first.

At any rate, just looking at my stimulus list so far, I still have lots of room for other items. So keep those suggestions coming in. Thanks.