Electric Power System

I made it up to the land again this weekend for a day trip. I completed the power system while I was there. As I mentioned in a previous post, I wired the shabin so that I can simply plug in AC power from where ever I can get it. So far, that has been exclusively from running my trusty generator. Of course, I want to be more green as well as enjoy some peace and quiet, so I am dipping my toe into solar power. You can see our newly installed PV solar panel above the glass door in the above picture.



The solar panel feeds DC current around to the back of the shabin, where I have set up a low storage shed.  In that shed, I have installed a pair of batteries to store the power. In the picture above you can see the batteries, lots of heavy duty battery cabling, and the small blue and black charger that regulates power from the panel to the batteries.The batteries are inexpensive, sealed deep cycle models from Wal-Mart. They each store 125 amp-hours of power, and are wired in parallel to provide a total of 250 amp-hours of power at 12V. I estimated that amount of power could conservatively power the lights and ceiling fan for about 12 hours of continuous use. It should also be able to power the small fan in the composting toilet for about a month.



I do not use 12V power, though, so on the other side of the mounting panel is an Tripp Lite inverter/charger. This is really the heart of the operation. The battery cables connect to it, as does an extension cord that plugs into the shabin. The inverter itself plugs into the generator, which I have also installed in the storage shed. When I turn on a light inside, the inverter draws DC power from the batteries, and supplies the AC power. If I have the generator on, it pass that power straight through to the shabin and charge the batteries at the same time. My system is really a hybrid. The solar panel, at 15W, is really only enough to keep up with the drain from the composting toilet fan that must run 24 hours. So, primary power is supplied by the gas generator. It is still more efficient than running only from the generator, because i can fully charge the batteries by running the generator for a couple of hours. I can then enjoy many hours of intermittent usage and silent power from the batteries, rather than running the generator all of that time. It also allows me to run the generator while running the air conditioner, which would otherwise deplete the batteries in a short amount of time. If the solar seems to be doing well, I will probably invest in more panels. A reasonably small solar system should be able to recoup our power usage (minus the A/C) during the summer when we are absent for one, two, or more weeks at a time.



I had time for some miscellaneous tasks after finishing the power system. One was covering over the exposed insulation in the shower area. I plan to eventually install a shower in that location, but it now looks like it will be a while before I install the water system. So, I used up some leftover flooring to cover up that wall. Above you see it half done, and the last anyone will see of insulation in the shabin for a long time. I have a few small remaining tasks to complete, and I plan to go up for one more day trip before closing up the place for a few months.

Paneling Complete

I have been up to the land for three days of work so far this month, and that was enough time to finish paneling the inside. Above is a shot of the finished loft.



This shot shows the trim around the doors. In keeping with the rustic appearance, I went pretty basic with any trim. I simply cut down pieces of paneling, as I did for the trim around the windows.



I used some scrap panels to make shelves in the bathroom. The divider wall to the kitchen is only paneled on the kitchen side, leaving the bathroom side with the studs exposed. I installed the scrap pieces in the space between two studs. This should provide plenty of storage space for toilet paper and the composting medium for the composting toilet.



Here is the composting toilet. I have unpacked it, but not installed it yet.

I also has some time to do other little things around the place. I installed the cabinets for the kitchen. Behind the shabin, I set up a small shed to house the electrical systems, which include the generator, inverter, and storage batteries. There will be more on that in my next post. Finishing the electrical system is my next project.

Paneling Begins

I made the trek up to the Shabin again last weekend. This follows a couple of inches of snow we received earlier in the week. I was the first vehicle to travel down our shared private road. The road to our land is 2 miles of ups and downs and hairpin turns. In other words, it was a nail biter.



This was especially true considering the 1500 lbs of wood paneling I was carrying in the back of my truck. At least all that weight kept the rear tires well stuck to the ground. I did not spin the wheels once! For paneling, I am using 5 1/8" wide rustic New England white pine flooring. Flooring for wall? Yes, and I will explain why. The only difference between unfinished pine flooring and unfinished pine paneling is the thickness. Paneling is typically 0.3" and flooring is 0.75" thick. Thicker is better! It feels more substantial when you lean on it, and you can nail a picture right to it. On top of that, flooring costs about the same or less than paneling per square foot.  I believe that is because pine flooring is a widely used product with a decent market, while pine paneling has become a niche product.



The best thing I did to prepare was to buy a pneumatic nailer. This is saving me, because paneling take a huge number of nails and this makes it effortless. I am using this inexpensive Hitachi Brad Nailer and it is has been working great.






The planks are tongue and groove, and I am blind nailing them, meaning that I nail into the tongue part and the groove of the next plank. So, I start at the bottom of the walls and work my way up.



The work is pretty fast for plain walls, but going around obstacles such as outlets and windows slows things down a lot. Much measuring, cutting, and trimming is required. I did luck out on my first outlet. Notice that the top of the lower plank landed just right so that I only had to cut an opening in the one plank above. None of the other outlets were so cooperative.



I am keeping to a rustic look, and I want to avoid putting up much molding. For trimming around the windows, I simply trimmed down some scrap planks and nailed them around the opening.



Here is a finished wall. I had been debating how to finish the wood, and I was leaning towards shellac. However, I recently saw this fantastic cabin featured in Dwell. I think it my the most perfect tiny cabin I have seen.  Its interior is unfinished New England white pine.That settled it for me, and I am leaving the wood unfinished to age as it will. I can get away with things looking rustic here, and it is certainly the cheapest and least effort approach.



This is the frist time I had been to the land in the snow. It is quite pretty and the shabin is very cozy.

After two days and 16 hours of work, I almost finished the downstairs area. I believe the downstairs will end up being harder than upstairs, due to all the windows, outlets, and divider walls. This pace is not has fast as I had hoped for, but not as bad as a feared. I am optimistic that I will finish the paneling during the next two day trip.

Insulation for Fun and Survival

I ventured up to the shabin this past weekend. The weather was crisp and clear, with the temperature ranging from a high of 32F to something in the 20s overnight. One nice thing about this time of year is that the views get better once the leaves have fallen. I arrived Saturday morning and inside the cabin it was about 40F. I fired up the little heater and got to work finishing the insulation. At the end of the last trip I put up some batts in the walls, just the easy ones I did not need to cut, and had not yet insulated the ceiling. The heater was only able to get the temperature up to about 55F.  If I was going to sleep comfortably that night, I needed to get to work!



I wanted to get the ceiling insulated first, so the first thing I did was to install vents within the rafters. These seem to be made out of the same foam material in which Big Macs used to be packaged. They create an space so that air can flow under the roof from the vents in the eaves up to the peak of the roof. Without that air flow, moisture can be trapped in the space, and moisture ruins the insulation.



Once the vents were stapled in place, then I could start insulating. The insulation in the walls is held in by friction, but the insulation in the ceiling must be stapled to the rafters. This was by far the most arduous part of the process, and it was dark outside before I was done.  However, as soon as all the ceiling insulation was in place, the temperature of the shabin began to rise dramatically. I then spent the rest of the evening finishing the wall insulation and stuffing insulation into all the little nooks and funny shaped spaces.



Morning came with ominous dark clouds moving over head, with occasional snow flakes. During the night, there were high winds and some freezing cold misting rain. However, it was warm and quiet inside the shabin. It eventually got so warm, almost 70F downstairs and 75F up in the loft, that I had to strip the blanket off the bed in the middle of the night. I continued working Sunday morning, framing in the walls for the toilet closet and shower area. The kerosene heater ran out of fuel without me noticing, and I worked inside for 3 hours without the inside temperature dropping noticeably. With the insulation and framing work complete, I am now ready to start on paneling the interior. I have ordered 700 square feet of unfinished white pine, so I expect my next post will show some progress on paneling.

Lights! Heat! Bats!

After a two-month hiatus, I made it back up to the shabin last weekend to do some more work. After opening all the shutters, I uncovered this cute pair of sleeping critters. I would have expected them to take off right away, but one of them opened its eyes and watched me, before flying away after I was out of sight. The other kept sleeping for a couple of hours before disappearing. I will apologize for the quality of my photographs. I forgot to bring a real camera and had to use my iPod touch instead.



It is getting colder, with temperatures below 40 degrees at night, so I now need heat. I eventually plan to install a vented propane heater. My cheap stop gap so that I can keep working through this winter is this kerosene space heater. It did an admirable job heating the uninsulated cabin all night using very little fuel. It is a bit stinky and requires cracking a window to supply it fresh air, so it is not a permanent solution. It did give me some idea that insulating the cabin will mean we can get by with quite a small heater.



I finished the electrical work I started back in September, meaning I wired in one last outlet, lights for the kitchen area, and this ceiling fan. The fan is out in the open vaulted part of the shabin, and did a great job circulating the heated air around the building. The fan was rescued from our house, which is now undergoing a major renovation.



Also rescued from the house were the cabinets I installed for my mud room project previously posted in this blog. I believe I will be able to use all of the cabinets to create the shabin's kitchen as well as general storage for stuff in the living area. I spent much of my time moving the cabinets from the truck into the shabin, and then reorganizing the piles of tools, hardware, and other stuff that had collected around the shabin into the cabinets.  As space is a premium, this was necessary, despite having simply set the cabinets temporarily on the floor.  Once I have the interior insulated an paneled, then I can start hanging cabinets on the wall.



And, speaking of insulation, I also brought up all the insulation and started work on installing it. I found a relatively new product that is not made with fiberglass. As anyone who has installed fiberglass insulation would know, the old stuff is very itchy and it take days for any glass fibers to work their way out of one's skin. This stuff feels like cotton and is a joy to work with. It is otherwise identical to fiberglass in its insulating properties and installation method. Because the shabin was conventionally framed with 2x4's that are 16 inches apart on center, I am able to just press the insulation batts into the voids between studs.

This was just a quick trip up at mid-day Saturday and returning mid-day Sunday, but I fell like I got a good deal of work done. My next trip will be to finish the insulation and, hopefully, get started paneling the interior.

Shabin Electrical Part 1

As mentioned in the last post, I was able to spend an entire weekend working on the shabin. I got enough done to warrant two posts. After finishing the loft railings, I got to work wiring the shabin for electric. My original plan was to wire the cabin for 12 volt DC power. The shabin will be off-grid, so the idea was to store power in large batteries, much like an RV.  As I got closer to actually doing the electrics, I switched to 110 volt AC. Technically, 12V power is more efficient for battery power, since the electricity is not converted. However, there are significant drawbacks. Because of the lower voltage, the current, measured in amperes, is higher. The higher current also larger energy loss over distance, which is dissipated as heat, not a good thing.  To alleviate that requires thicker and more expensive wiring.  Additionally, 12v fixtures, form switches to light bulbs, are specialized and more expensive. Finally, there is very little literature available on the best ways to wire 12v.

On the other hand, AC power is ubiquitous and all the necessary parts are cheap and plentiful commodities, and the knowledge on proper techniques is common and freely available.  AC is much more appropriate for moving power over longer distances than DC, which requires thicker and thicker wire as the distance increases. Therefore, AC allows me to move the batteries outside of the cabin.  The approach I took was to treat the shabin as one big AC appliance that I plug in. So, I ended up going with common household AC wiring



And here is the plug. This was the only unusual component I used, a 15-amp 110v AC inlet (inlet being the opposite of outlet, of course.) This was the one item I needed to order online. With this approach, I am free to use any power source, generator/solar/wind/grid, as long as it is converted to AC and has a power cord.



The rest of the electrics are standard, starting with the breaker box, which is where the power flows to first  from the inlet. I have done home wiring in the past, but this is the first time I had wired a breaker box. It was a bit daunting, but I read up on it and it turned out to be easy.  Typically, the most dangerous thing about the breaker box is the always-on high power line coming in from the grid. In my case, I was assuredly safe as long as I did not plug in the inlet while I worked.



Victory!  This was the first outlet I wired.  It is just below the breaker box. I plugged my gas generator into the inlet, and the circuit tester plugged in to the outlet lit up just as it should. That was a good feeling.



That good feeling was tempered when I nicked my finger with a knife shortly after this success. This would not be notable, expect that I forgot to pack the first aid kit. Lacking real band aids, I had to kludge together a paper towel and duct tape.



I continued to wire the rest of the cabin on Sunday. Since I want to insulate the walls, I ran the wires on the inside edge of the framing members.  This is done by snapping a two chalk lines one inch apart along all the studs of a wall.



I used my circular saw to cut 1/2 inch deep grooves at each chalk mark, and then used a chisel to create a notch in each stud. The wire is run and secured in the notches.



The wires are protected from penetration from future nails or screws which metal plates.



By the time I left on Sunday, I had wired in all the outlets, the bathroom light, and the loft lights as shown above. I had to stop when I ran out of wiring, so on the next trip I can finish the minor remaining tasks of wiring the kitchen overhead light and the living area ceiling fan.

Shabin Loft Railing

I went up to the shabin this past weekend by myself, while Lizz entertained an out of town guest. This afforded me two full days of work, and much was accomplished. The first thing I did Saturday morning was to finish the cable railings for the loft. As shown above, there are two railings.  Twelve cables run the width of the loft and protect the opening to the living area below.



Since the stairs run up through an opening in the loft floor, I wanted to prevent accidental falls into the stair well. For that, I ran cables perpendicular to the ceiling, which is set at 45 degrees. The cables also have the effect of eliminating the bounce originally present along the open end of the loft.



Here is the view down the stairs.  I think the railings turned out quite snazzy.