Going off the grid, our family story.

[wash11]

While we were at it, we've always wanted a legit weather station. We found a pretty cool all in one from Ambient Weather that ties into Weather Underground online. We were able to add sensors to freezers to this as well that send us alerts if temps go above a certain pre-set. It's easy to geek out on this stuff!

 

[wash11]

Speaking of solar closets....... I've talked in the past about wanting to control heat in there as well as balance to air temp in the house. Modular homes aren't ideal for whole house fans which is something I was really interested in. After a bunch of head scratching and research we found a product that originated from the weed industry. Ridiculously quite yet powerful, able to monitor moisture and temperature, controllable remotely from my phone as well as fully automated once programed- everything a modern grow operation needs. I'm not crazy about the aesthetics of the final install but man is this thing a game changer. At 350 cfm you can open a window from the opposite side of the house and get a legit breeze going. The front bedroom used to be warm and stuffy with both mini splits at the back of the house- problem solved.

 

[mjc]

Speaking of solar closets....... I've talked in the past about wanting to control heat in there as well as balance to air temp in the house. Modular homes aren't ideal for whole house fans which is something I was really interested in. After a bunch of head scratching and research we found a product that originated from the weed industry. Ridiculously quite yet powerful, able to monitor moisture and temperature, controllable remotely from my phone as well as fully automated once programed- everything a modern grow operation needs. I'm not crazy about the aesthetics of the final install but man is this thing a game changer. At 350 cfm you can open a window from the opposite side of the house and get a legit breeze going. The front bedroom used to be warm and stuffy with both mini splits at the back of the house- problem solved.

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Tell me more about the fan.

 

[Mandelon]

We install a lot of those inline style fans for subarea ventilation. I use Vortex Powerfans. All steel, super quiet and super low vibration. Using insulated ducting, with a bit of an S bend in the pipe makes them super quiet. They can move a lot of air. Available in even sizes from 4 to 12 " in diameter.

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

No No No No Joel.... your priorities are all wrong ..... POND POND POND

 

[monkeyswrench]

No No No No Joel.... your priorities are all wrong ..... POND POND POND

Maybe the pond is done, and he doesn't want it fished out?
People like me would be fine...I just feed fish, not good at the catching part.

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

Maybe the pond is done, and he doesn't want it fished out?
People like me would be fine...I just feed fish, not good at the catching part.

Nope. Not done... he needs assistance refocusing on whats important next, lol.

Here this'll help..... @wash11

 

[Shlbyntro]

No No No No Joel.... your priorities are all wrong ..... POND POND POND

so I'm not the only one..... @HubbaHubbaLife you need a hobby! have you tried getting into boating??

 

[SoCalDave]

We install a lot of those inline style fans for subarea ventilation. I use Vortex Powerfans. All steel, super quiet and super low vibration. Using insulated ducting, with a bit of an S bend in the pipe makes them super quiet. They can move a lot of air. Available in even sizes from 4 to 12 " in diameter.

Yeah those inline fans are the ticket. I've been using Fantech fans in my bathrooms for over 20 years now and they work great with virtually zero noise when installed properly.

 

[Mandelon]

I was going to swap them in for my standard bath fart fans. Install the inline unit up in the attic near the vent and run insulated duct back to the existing ceiling box. They should be near silent.

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

so I'm not the only one..... @HubbaHubbaLife you need a hobby! have you tried getting into boating??

Fair point... you're not the first to mention this.

 

[Shlbyntro]

Fair point... you're not the first to mention this.

just busting your balls buddy!

I appreciate the motivation

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

just busting your balls buddy!

I appreciate the motivation

We're solid.... I understand sarcasm.

 

[That Guy]

Amazing work as always!

 

[Crackerbox]

Speaking of solar closets....... I've talked in the past about wanting to control heat in there as well as balance to air temp in the house. Modular homes aren't ideal for whole house fans which is something I was really interested in. After a bunch of head scratching and research we found a product that originated from the weed industry. Ridiculously quite yet powerful, able to monitor moisture and temperature, controllable remotely from my phone as well as fully automated once programed- everything a modern grow operation needs. I'm not crazy about the aesthetics of the final install but man is this thing a game changer. At 350 cfm you can open a window from the opposite side of the house and get a legit breeze going. The front bedroom used to be warm and stuffy with both mini splits at the back of the house- problem solved.

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Hello Joel, could you give a brand or model on those fans? They are perfect for my solar/generator bunker I have.

 

[wash11]

Every time I read this thread a little voice in my head keeps nudging me to the edge.... one of these days I'm gunna jump!

Nice work wash, ask chicken if he remembers Ron and Trish

I finally got around to asking him. All he said is Halloween is coming and you guys probably need your house decorated again .

 

[wash11]

Some pond updates........

This pond takes a back seat to just about everything else. It's the last of the huge projects and certainly the most expensive one. Having the kids move in with us for a year slowed things even further.
We hired a pond consultant out of Scottsdale to help us map out a plan to move forward on and rounded up my dirt guy for the meeting as well. Overall, he said we had a good plan going but should add in a 4" main drain to aid with maintaining the pond. Yes, we could do things with a trash pump as needed but I could see the value in opening a valve and attaching lay flat hose to drain over the bluff with minimal effort as I get older. (remember, i'm 11 years older now than when we first started and some days I feel it). Here's the meeting of the minds.

Over time, our original grade work started letting run off water into the pond which is a no no. Not only from a state and federal standpoint but maintaining a solid ecosystem of fish and aquatic plants is impossible with several large rain events annually. Sediment and water chemistry would be too much to keep tabs on. Here's what it looked like after a couple of back to back downpours.

I can do a lot of basic rough grading with the equipment I have but final grades and slopes that last are best left to a grader, someone that knows how to run it and a laser. There was some nasty caliche to deal with on the original grade, so an excavator was used instead of killing the cutting edge on the grader.

After learning ideal dimensions from the pond expert we cut in the beach areas and shallows for fish to spawn, aquatic plants and of course, lawn chairs. The center will be 6-7' deep with multiple rounded boulders for fish cover but not to get fishhooks caught up on. The consultant talked us into going with a liner for this design instead of using clay and bentonite. The benefits if done right outweigh the upfront cost and allow us to install the main drain for maintenance. I've fought the liner fight in my head too long, it was time to let it go. Initial quote for a 20 year warrantied liner, built to shape is $11000 btw. A load of quality bentonite in the amounts we need is up to about $8000 so the liner pencils out.

 

[wash11]

 

[RichL]

Impressive!

 

[wash11]

Two options on installing this drain.
1. Blow out the side of the pond wall thats 70' at the base and 12' tall, lay pipe then screen and backfill hoping it's still as strong as when we started.
2. Get a million-dollar directional drill rig to punch through the side and pull the pipe in.

Believe it or not, the drill rig is the cheaper of the two options. It's also less invasive and 1000x faster.
A good friend of mine has the contract with Allo in Kingman for running all that conduit for the new fiber optic lines. With patience I'd be able to get a crew up here on a weekend to do this. They finally had an opening and good weather for getting up here.

 

[wash11]

 

[Sandlord]

Thats great to see.
I was wondering if the pond would ever become a reality.
you continue to impress us.

 

[wash11]

Thats great to see.
I was wondering if the pond would ever become a reality.
you continue to impress us.

Slow and low, boss.

 

[Wheeler]

Your Ground beef was great! I'll get to the steaks soon.

 

[JFMFG]

Man this is so badass to see coming along. What an undertaking. Looks like you’re closer than ever. Any ideal finish date now that you have all this completed? Is the liner on order? Hope you and Amy are doing well and enjoying the holiday season.

 

[wash11]

Man this is so badass to see coming along. What an undertaking. Looks like you’re closer than ever. Any ideal finish date now that you have all this completed? Is the liner on order? Hope you and Amy are doing well and enjoying the holiday season.

No planned completion date. We drained the pond savings getting here. We’ll start throwing a few bucks at the envelope here and there starting first of the year for the liner. Having a rough guess on cost gives us something to shoot for. In the meantime we’ll start collecting 2’ boulders as weather permits as well as sand from the washes below. The number of boulders needed is staggering.

 

[monkeyswrench]

What is the thickness of the pond liner, and what is the material? I've seen PVC and TPO used, but that may be different for a food grade type of pond. I still have a handheld seam welder if you need it.

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

Man oh man this is exciting.... been waiting on the pond project. My buddies living on Lake Mission Viejo tell me its a lined pond/ lake as well and seems to work very well over all these years since construction.

 

[TimeBandit]