I Needed An Inverter Sooooo......

So I just made a very smart decision or a very foolish one. I ordered a hybrid inverter for our solar panels. But this inverter was also pretty pricey. I know, I know. Just the other day I was complaining about not having enough money. But I've got 8 solar panels that are sitting out there doing nothing. That is literally a waste of money.

I had some room on a credit card and got the inverter and a battery to go with it. I eventually want to build up a battery bank enough to take care of most of our power needs. Except for big appliances like the fridge and stove. Those would require more wiring then I'm comfortable doing on my own. And, of course, the central a/c/heating.

Hopefully this inverter will work a lot better than the cheap, crappy grid tie inverters I've tried before.

Let me explain. A grid tie inverter plugs into a socket and feeds the power from your solar panels into the socket and into the wiring in your house. Since it's feeding power into your house wiring, your meter has to pull less from the electrical company.

But the ones I got were cheap ones from a country that is commonly known for making bad products. I tried to contact one of the companies and they wanted me to fix it myself. If I had that kind of electrical knowledge, dear, I wouldn't need a grid tie inverter. I would be able to wire everything directly into my fuse box. But I don't so piss off. Sorry, I get frustrated at companies that have crappy products and crappy customer service.

So a hybrid inverter also plugs into a socket but it doesn't feed back into your house's electrical. It works like a standard inverter in the fact that it brings power in from your solar panels and converts it to AC power. A standard inverter can also charge batteries with the help of a charge controller, which is usually a separate unit.

This one already has a charge controller in it. A charge controller helps keep your batteries charged at the proper level and not overcharged and explodable. Otherwise your solar panels would keep feeding power into your batteries until.... Well, I've never seen what happens to an overcharged battery and I don't want to. Hence, the need for a charge controller.

The reason that the hybrid inverter plugs into a socket is so if your solar panels aren't producing enough power to charge your batteries, the inverter can switch over to AC power from the socket and charge your batteries that way. Some people use these inverters to charge batteries without solar panels. Usually as a backup system for areas that the power goes out a lot. But once the batteries are charge all the way, say on a nice sunny day, the inverter will bypass the batteries and give you power directly from whatever power supply is suitable. You can set it to use the panels and batteries first or the AC first. If you run out of power on either, it will switch over to the other.

The trouble I might have with this unit is that it does not feed into the house wiring. The inverter and battery will be in the crawl space under our house (we have a sizable crawl space that I can almost stand up in) so I have to figure out how to get the power into our house. I may have to drill a hole in the floor or wall like they do when they're bringing you new internet or tv service. I will probably have to use extension cords or something like that. Maybe one day when we have a much bigger battery bank, we can get an electrician out to actually wire it into our house wiring. But for now, extension cords will do.

The kids rooms will be taken care of first since their rooms are closest to where the inverter will be.

I'm still really nervous about this because of how quickly the grid tie inverters went out on me. But this is supposed to be a good product and they are supposed to have really good customer service. So cross your fingers for me.

I knew I was going to have to get another inverter. I was looking at the better quality grid tie inverters and they were going to be just as much as the hybrid inverter. But that would have been without the charge controller and grid tie inverters do not work without the AC power. It's a safety feature so you're not feeding power into the grid if there are guys working on the electrical lines. But since the hybrid inverter doesn't feed into the grid, that's not an issue. So you can still use your solar panels and batteries even if the grid goes down. The same way a standard inverter works but standard inverters don't usually come with a charge controller and they can not charge your batteries from the AC outlet.

But basically it comes down to the fact that I was going to have to spend money either way. So might as well get something that can give us power independence but also access to the grid if we should need it. As for the battery, I probably could have run the inverter without one. But that's not usually recommended. And it will give us a longer amount of time before the inverter has to switch over to AC power.

Wow, this was a really long post. I was just going to come on here and say that I'd gotten and inverter and spent money that may end up biting me in the ass. But then I started explaining why and what inverter does what.

So I think I will stop that here before I start off on another thought tangent. Those are dangerous. Trust me. Take this post as an example. Also, take care and have a good day.

Internet And Job Idea

Didn't do any farm stuff today. Need money to move forward. But we did get the cost of our internet sorted out. So that's at least a little bit of a help. Doesn't improve the speed any but what we've got is at least workable. And I don't have to build a tower for the other internet service. So I actually might be able to use that money to buy the inverter I need for the solar panels. And the solar panels can help us save money on electricity.

I'm thinking of doing pizza delivery as a job. It solves all my problems I would have with other jobs. I'm not standing a lot so that helps my back. I won't be sitting in an uncomfortable office chair so that helps my hip. I just hope it's at night so I can use my days for farm work. If not, I'll just have to adjust and do the farm work when I have the time. A job will give us a little more money to actually get things done around here and help pay off some debt.

So there's a job listing in our area that was just put up yesterday. Last night was when I got the idea. Coincidence much? Or providence? We shall see.

Time to go apply for a job. Take care everybody and have a good day.

Frustrations About Money

Well, projects are at a standstill. We paid mortgage this week (two weeks late) and money is tight. And it'll probably be tight for the next couple of weeks because I would like to have enough money to pay mortgage on time next month. And we have other bills to pay. I really really hate money. Hubby isn't getting any overtime at work which is really hurting us. The overtime he would get gives us a little bit of a buffer to be able to do things. And since I'm not working because of my back and hip problems, that just makes things worse. I feel so frustrated just sitting here waiting for hubby's next deposit and not being of any help.

I've even thought of letting the boy sheep in with the girls. If the girls have babies, I could sell the lambs and at least make some kind of money. But that would mean the girls would be having their babies at not the best time of year. I just do not want to have my girls pregnant at the hottest time of the year and then the babies born when it is starting to get cold again. Just to make some money? No, I'm not gonna be cruel to my animals just for money.

Luckily the pigs should be due in mid June. I'm pretty sure both girls are pregnant so hopefully we'll have several babies for sale after they're weaned. But that won't be until August at least. And I need money now.

I hate this back and forth money bullshit. Excuse my French. But it's bullshit.

Projects that need to be completed?

The duck tractor for one. I've decided I'm going to get a roll of welded wire to finish the top.

Then the rest I'll be able to use as trellis' for my vining veggies. And I'll need u-posts for the trellis'.
Another is a radio tower for a new internet service. Our current service is terrible and they charge us way too much for it. This other service is cheaper and faster. Cheaper being the more important part, of course. The more money we save on our internet, the more money we can use to pay off other stuff or do other projects.

The chicken coop needs a better roof since it still leaks.

I also need to build more chicken tractors for when the baby chicks get bigger and I need to separate the two groups.

I need to build something for the bitties. They're already getting too big for the hanging cages.

Things I'd like to do:

Put a couple of wood walls around the rabbit pen to give them a dry place to hang out. It rained last night and I haven't been able to let them out of their cages today because the ground is still sopping wet.

The expansion of the fencing is going to have to wait until next year. Just too many other things that need to be done.

Hubby brought home some plastic barrels that they were getting rid of at his work. I'd like to cut those and half, fill them with soil and put something like carrots and parsnips in those.

We have 800 watts of solar panels here and no inverter to use said power. I had gotten some cheap grid tie inverters but those died on me in a matter of months. And getting the foreign (not gonna label any countries) companies refused to refund my money and instead expected me to fix them myself. If I had that much electrical experience then I wouldn't need a grid tie inverter. I could just hook my panels up to a proper setup with a battery bank. That is the goal eventually but for now I'm probably going to have to go for one of the more expensive but more reliable grid tie inverters. And those ain't cheap.

Sorry for the ranting. This has just come off as a big whining season. Lots of other things I need and want to get done but require money. But since most people don't read my posts anyway, I'll just look at this post as a personal venting and release of frustration.

Anyway, I'm going to go watch some stuff and finish my crochet project. Maybe if I'm able to sleep better, it'll help my back and hip and then I might be able to get at least a part time job. If I could even get something for a couple of hours, that would help. K, take care all and have a good day.

Day 2 Of Duck Tractor Build

So I got at least most of the build done today. Like the hinged top that will be my access to the back of the tractor. And instead of making the wire go all the way around, the wall on the far left will be a framed wire, hinged door.

I've got all of the wire held on with pieces of scrap wood as you can see in the picture. Except for a couple of spots on the far wall. The left wall, as I said, will be a door.

Don't know yet what I'm going to do with the rest of the top. I know at least part of it will be some scrap wire I have. But I don't have a piece to cover the whole area. So I have to see how big of a piece I DO have, and then figure out what I'm going to cover the remaining area with. The only other option is to buy a whole new roll of wire just for that small area. I do have lots of left over chicken wire. But I really don't want to use that. Most predators can get through that if they work at it.

Yes, I know. A determined enough predator will get through even hardware cloth or welded wire. But at least with those, they'd have to work at it all night, if not days. Most predators aren't going to put that much work into it. There are easier things to catch elsewhere.

While I was feeding everybody this morning, I left the hose on for a little bit to give the pigs a muddy place to lay. Pigs don't sweat or pant so they need the mud to keep them cool.

Also, here's a nice picture I took this morning of the morning dew on some wild strawberry leaves.

Anyway, time for dinner. So as usual, take care and have a good night.

Building A Duck Tractor

Today I started building another chicken tractor. Or actually, this will be a duck tractor. My big muscovy drake picks on my chickens (my poor rooster is almost out of tail feathers) so I need to get him out of the pen. Instead, I'm going to put them in this tractor and put them out on pasture. But just the muscovies. The cayuga hens will stay in the pen with the chickens.

My tractor that the chicks are in is 6x6. This is 4x8. We'll see if this design is any better for moving around. I did get some wheels today for the 6x6 tractor though.

I also want to let the muscovies keep their eggs and see if they'll hatch me some babies.

I'm gonna have to finish it tomorrow though. I don't have enough wood to do a couple of slats on top. Which sucks because I already bought the wire. But I really don't feel like running back into town for the third time today. So the tractor will have to wait until tomorrow.

Not sure if I'm going to get a tarp for it like I have the other one. The ducks aren't going to be in there full time and will be able to roam around every day. But like most other things, I'll adjust as I go.

K, gonna go for now. Take care all and have a good day.

Moving The Compost Bin And Pepper Update

Today I'm working on moving my compost pile into the chicken pen. I have future plans for the area where it currently is. (Probably way way in the future at the rate that I'm able to afford to get things done.) But first things first, I have to clear the area.

The chickens are enjoying going through what I've already taken out of the compost pile.

I'm also going to put my seed pans in one of the raised beds and put a blanket over it so the seedlings can adjust to the bright sun. The nights for the next couple of weeks are supposed to be above freezing so they should do ok in their pans with the hoods on at night. I might even take the lamps from the chicken tractor and use them in the bed for the seedlings. The chicks are fully feathered and don't need the lamps anymore.

I unfortunately lost some of my bell pepper seedlings. My own fault of course. Since the days since I planted them out have been chilly, I haven't uncovered them at all. So I also didn't notice that they were getting dried out. I should have known better because these seedlings aren't going to have a lot of roots in the soil yet. But I'm going to have to restart those seeds. My banana peppers are doing ok. I did lose one but that's to be expected.

Ok guys. Time to get back to work. I've only moved two loads out of the compost bin (none of it broken down enough to be called compost) and plenty more to go. Take care and have a good day.

What I've Been Up To

A couple of days ago I had a headache that wouldn't go away. I had no desire to do anything. I didn't sleep but a couple of hours that night either so the next day I was too tired to do anything.

The next day I started making a bed frame for my older son. I say started because just when I was on the last cut, the cord for my saw got cut. I saw that it was a bit curled in one direction and was curling towards the blade. I kept pulling it away but it only took one time to swing right into the blade and it was cut in half. I ended up finishing the job but using a hand saw to cut the last board.

That day I also did a little more weedeating. I took a video of what I've gotten accomplished this winter. You can see that here https://www.instagram.com/p/Bhc46cuAy5z/ on my instagram.

The other day I also turned the rabbit cages upside down.

I usually take most standard methods of doing things and make them my own. This combines the cage method and the colony method. I open the cages in the morning and the cage doors act as ramps. The rabbits are allowed to go in and out of the cages however they want. Each cage still has a water bottle. But they have a plate of pellets and a flake of hay in the run that they can share. Each cage also has straw in it for bedding and I can give the girls extra for making nests.

Before I was able to lay the cages upside down, I had to clean out the manure that had collected under the cages. This is how much I got. Now I need to spread it in my garden beds for fertilizer for my veggies.

But that's about all I've done. I've take the push mower and run over some of the cut down grass, sapling stumps and sticks. But I can't just run over the stumps. I've got to stop and gently lower the mower over most of the stumps so it can cut it up into bits instead of the mower getting damaged or stalling from trying to take the whole stump at once. This is tedious and time consuming. And since most of our property is slanted, it's also tiresome to push the mower uphill. So I've been making slow progress.

But that's ok. I'm mostly just trying to clean up what I've already cut down and it doesn't have to be done immediately. I can get it a little at a time.

Ok, I've only got an hour left before bedtime so I'm going to go watch a movie and do some crocheting. I'm working on a project that will hopefully help me sleep better. But I'll show you that when I'm done. Until next time, take care and have a good night.

Garden Plan

I didn't get anything really done yesterday because it rained most of the day. I did get my banana peppers planted in the bed though. It was actually supposed to get pretty cold last night so I put either jars over them for frost protection or the top half of 2 liter soda bottles. I then put a blanket over them. Today we'll see how they did. I feel pretty confident because I've already had my bell peppers planted like this for a couple of days and they're doing ok.

In the picture above is my garden plan for this year. It is not to scale so you will have to excuse that. You can see where the banana and bell peppers are. I've also already planted the potatoes. The strawberry and asparagus beds are permanent since those are perennials. All of the boxes to the left that are similar sizes, are raised beds.

Next I plan on starting my kale seeds, kohlrabi, red romaine, cucumber, okra and pumpkins. I also need to restart my eggplant seeds because the seedlings that came up just aren't doing well. They are very weak and the leaves are very pale. I don't think the seeds were old so I'm not sure what happened there. Maybe they didn't like being in the house this long. Don't know. When I go to the store later, I'm going to see what varieties of eggplant seeds they have.

Most of this is already established garden beds. The spot where the zucchini and cream peas will be located will be slightly new. I need to bring in some bags of soil since my compost bin doesn't really have much compost. (I don't turn it or add greens/browns like I should.) But I'll have to bring the soil level up a bit in that area. I'll kind of create little mounds where each plant will be to keep most of the roots out of the clay ground. I'll show you how I do then when I actually do it.

Now, most of this is behind our house. The area where the tomatoes and pumpkins will be is actually on the side of our house. An area where the pigs were for a little while and they dug up the ground. I don't know if this will become a permanent garden area or not so I don't know if I'm going to bring in any soil there. I might just dig a hole for each plant and put soil in that. Then put straw or something to try to keep the weeds down just for this year.

But then again, the garden in the back can no long be expanded because it's surrounded by the animal areas. So eventually I was going to have to expand to the side of the house anyway. I don't know. We'll see. Like everything else, it's a work in progress.

K, time to go feed the animals. Take care all and have a good day.

Sheep Hair, Bantam Chicks And Temporary Roost

Sheep hair on the fence from them rubbing against it.

I let the chickens explore the boy sheep's area today. I might do this every day just to give them more space to roam.

The bantam chicks had a day of exploration in the coop.

A temporary roost for the larger chicks until I can fashion something a little sturdier.

Starting Planting In The Garden And Some Roaming Time For Some Of The Livestock

Didn't do anything majorly exciting today. Planted some bell pepper seedlings into a garden bed. Put some pvc pipes for hoops and put a blanket over it so they didn't get scalded by the sun. I had to weigh down the corners to keep the wind from blowing the blanket off.

I also let the pigs into the sheep area and they seem to have behaved themselves. When we first got the sheep, the pigs would chase the sheep away from the feeder. But I'm wondering if they're used to them now. I still put them back into their own area for bedtime though. Not sure if I'll let them in the sheep area often. Everything's just starting to dry out but still wet in some areas so the pigs are still pretty much digging everything up that they can. Maybe once the grass starts growing more and they have more to graze, then I can let them back in their more.

Some bees were visiting my friends beehive today. Not sure if they were checking it out as a future home or if they were just trying to get at the honey. I guess we'll see if anybody moves in. I really hope I can catch a swarm or two since I can't afford to buy more this year.

I also let the bunnies out into their pen today. I didn't take a picture because they were mostly just hiding under their cages. Also not sure if the male mated either of the females. But I'll probably let them out tomorrow too so he'll have plenty of chances. Of course, I still put them in their cages at night for safety's sake.

More Fencing Done And Pictures Of The Animals As I Worked

I was able to expand the sheep area a bit today. Took me all day. Not because it was hard. But just because when I let a bit of length off of the spool, I then have to pull it through the hooks of the step in post ALL THE WAY AROUND the pig and sheep areas. Then it loops down to the next line and I again have to pull in through the posts in the other direction.

There are 5 lines of wire that go completely around the sheep and pig areas so I had to let some of the length off the spool, pull it through the posts all the way around, 5 times. (Once for each line.) Then pull out some more length and rinse and repeat. If I pull out too much length the wire tends to get tangled and I have to stop and unravel it. So I only pull so much out at a time.

But I did get some pictures today while I wondered around in circles. Like this morning when the nest boxes were very busy. There are two nest boxes but everybody likes to lay in just the left one. Sometimes I'll find an egg in the right one. Sometimes I'll find them in a corner on the floor. But I think those instances are only when the left nest box is already full of chicken.

I've also inadvertantly created some monsters. I started throwing a couple handfuls of feed into the pen after I give them their breakfast. Thought it was a nice thing to do for those chickens that kind of get pushed out of the way at the food bowls. Now I've got a small group that comes to the fence every morning, waiting for their hand outs. But this extra food does distract the ducks and guineas too and gives my big rooster a chance to get some food out of the food bowl.

The sheep have started to shed their hair. These sheep are dorper/katahdin mixes they shed their hair every spring instead of having to be sheared like other breeds of sheep. If you didn't know better though, you might think that something had been murdered here.

In the afternoon everybody enjoyed laying in the sun. The pigs took a nap and the chickens took dust baths. Including the babies.

I didn't get done with the fence until well after the sun went down. And I'm not completely done yet. There's still more wire that needs to be let out and pulled around. More step in posts that need to be bought and/or moved. Expanding the sheep and pig areas slowly can be a real pain when I keep having to move things and rewire the fence.

Foolish hubby said I should have just done it right the first time. Yeah, for me to be able to do that will cost us thousands of dollars. We've got almost 6 acres and I just almost have a fourth of that fenced with the electric wire. Not to mention the fact that I want to fence the perimeter with welded wire. So yeah, that's not getting done anytime soon. Just gotta do a little bit at a time.

Anyway, it's bed time and I'm exhausted. Take care all and good night.

Pig Fence And Pretty Spider

Ok, so today I did some fence moving. Still need to finish it tomorrow. But now the pigs have a bigger area to destroy, I mean enjoy.

And after.

Different view.

I still have more wire also. Might use the rest of this to give the sheep a smidgen more room.

Last, but not least, I found this interesting looking spider on one of the step in posts. Her thorax is so red that it looks like somebody painted her.