First problem is the tank train valves hang down out of the insulation and are prone to freezing and breaking. Then, the trans-fill hose between the two tanks was routed from the factory in such a way that about 15-20...Continue reading
A Day in the Life of an Off-Grid Solar Installer
This is our project journal — field stories from off-grid solar installs around Northern Arizona. The 4 a.m. starts, the parts that don't show up, the problems solved on the fly, and a behind-the-scenes look at how these systems actually get built — plus a bit of life on the fringe along the way. Originally posted on the River Daves Place forum; you can read the full thread here.
This week, after wrapping up trailer repairs and waiting for a couple important parts to finally…
This week, after wrapping up trailer repairs and waiting for a couple important parts to finally catch up with us, we rolled to the next job. This time, it’s not a solar installation, but rather wiring a custom off-grid house...Continue reading
Been a crazy, crazy few weeks.
We are in the middle of several jobs right now, the weather hasn’t been always cooperative, and a huge( for us) job that we actually won the bid on some six months ago-but the start of has been constantly delayed,...Continue reading
4:00am, Wednesday morning Time to rise, shine, and rock n roll.
We need to get the trucks out of this job site and move about an hour and a half to the next job-which sits on top of a rocky mountain accessed by a steep rough road that’s just barely passable...Continue reading
I wish pictures did justice to just how steep, rutted, and rocky this little road is-at least for bigger vehicles.
This is the final approach to the customers home-which is another “unusual “ building material-ICF block. Space was tight here, way tighter than the pictures indicate, and level space is scarce-typical for sites built on top of a rock pile....Continue reading
It’s basically what Kevin said-some local put them there to delineate the edge of the road.
Gramps said: why stock tanks along the road???? Click to expand… There’s a very steep drop off into a very deep gully on the other side.
Here’s the tote full of parts, the gutter, and one of Denise’s new friends.
Some random job site pictures and Denise’s new friends “helping” her. 😄😄 Knowing that the weather was moving in, we were in overdrive and didn’t have much time to snap any pictures. By evening time we had the big gutter...Continue reading
Friday morning broke cold and gray, with 2” of snow on the ground and more coming down fast.
Visibility was often only a hundred feet or so. We were immediately concerned that we might be stuck on this job site for days. Driving a small SUV, or even a big 4 wheel drive truck down that steep, rutted...Continue reading
“The front of the truck just slid like 3 feet and I have no control of it!” Came Denise’s frantic voice over the CB.
We were in stop and go traffic-with way more stop than go-on the 89 northbound with snow blowing all around us about a quarter mile south of the I-40. There was snow and slush on the pavement a couple inches...Continue reading
Lest anyone think that we’re just totally against snow, or just can’t handle any kind of bad…
Lest anyone think that we’re just totally against snow, or just can’t handle any kind of bad weather, I present you with the following pictures. 😄😄 Again-there’s a huge difference between big work trucks and small 4×4’s when it comes...Continue reading