Mart Hale

Also,   I also do aquaponics, often use the water from my aquaponic systems in my hydroponic systems.

I have grown in Kratky for some time, and I follow the creator of the system on Youtube.

I highly recommend this channel on youtube, as he is very creative with Kratky combining hybrid systems with dirt / without to grow plants.




I have moved more toward the hybrid systems as I have from my own experience found that there are elements in the soil that the nutrients I have tried just don't provide for the plant.

Love Kratky, and love the results it provides.

What fertilizers do you use in your systems if I may ask?

I tried soil blocking, but my homemade soil mix did not work very well with it,   because of that I moved on to another method.

Instead I have switched over to this method with solo cups and wicking rope.

I have had good success with the method so I have expanded.        My plan is to get the plants going in solo cups then move to grow bags for air prunning.      I like this method as I don't have to worry about keeping the right  moisture level for the plants.

Sand battery  with ducting.....

I was looking at this and was thinking this would be cool to test with forced air from a rocket stove...

Looks like this is another option for heating the oil in oil pan..

https://www.amazon.com/1190X-Magnetic-Machinery-Vehicles-Surface-Thermostat/dp/B0DQ6Y18PR?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.LkeJPjOcGgxVtkjDTeOBn8p4jWbS4_wBZq5Q6TZ45WtXSEn1wdvCOMu_sjXNakOirdegmsYs_CW2sDhGVcYTCEI19jFCsqX9lbppZFe0Mh98VZeLZEE6GUlHbZlUM9O14hp1XyrrSesthK11zx9n8u5Wt2hQqM-Ta_c7wyltIzkT4vIitGOsW-Nst2YF4DCu2MIgemw2K7zrazIoW9vZVCD_ncdQ8iS-vpEuvdoFgpg.-01jLZSbviBeCwe1wesltdZ03aUnc-UtvDrbbJc06Qc&dib_tag=se&keywords=magnetic%2Bblock%2Bheater&qid=1770186733&sr=8-14&th=1

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Another option: drain the engine oil and bring it inside to warm to room temperature.

That's what they did in WWII when they were ferrying aircraft over the pole to the USSR. Otherwise the planes would have been impossible to start.

I had a  Ford LTD car  in Indiana,    I bought a heater that went into the oil dipstick slot and it warmed the oil...    it worked very well for me.

This looks to be an example of such a device.

https://www.amazon.com/All-States-Parts-S-P/dp/B01N6EJRJW?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.L9tefDa4w5NgGM8KXS8xLp_ZBjJCKmTCvByAKdX5QzaAwqHvRMeRnui91vBWCvYzGBs76BZwWWqie3BnsMqgyNlpattlw8gnmNGmcqSRp7ypQ8SgauqXHm80XlO7AdtlBm3GX5oXcLF1jG6S1ZVHPcKbxaK_OWUhv3KFxWbwKoYic6TfvynxAu5sy-ho6NYiyhLumjrWnXN6qiJgp4bvQQb2vyt_jZedOwDg5wCl-J4.blmW66IfZ2xMUWZ7PgV77639c7icomJYdmn-OQAOsI4&dib_tag=se&keywords=dipstick+heater&qid=1770186472&sr=8-1

Hi,
Can I borrow 20 dollars?

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Here's an interesting study of 100 first-generation Nissan Leaf battery packs (the ones with the bad reputation) with an eye to reusing them for static electricity storage. This suggests PV solar to me, though it could be used for distributed grid support as well.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590116824000031

My home is off grid using EV batteries.      Lots of videos on youtube on how to do this...

https://batteryhookup.com/collections/more-featured-products

First gen batteries chemistry are not as good as more recent batteries.     Junk yards are another place they can be harvest from.

This project now producing 800 watts +   of energy for battery.    

Very impressive.

Trick I found,   Instead of two d batteries for the instant hot water heater,  I replaced the two D batteries with 1 18650 battery.       I pull it out like once a year recharge, and off to the races I go.