This weeks preps check-in
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Too cool Kate! who is the maker?
We have a whole house Generac too. With lots of propane for it. Do you have a plan how to make it less noisy should that be necessary?
Yes, I plan to not run it during those times.
It's from Amazon, pretty cheap. Similar to this one:
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07T49H...lja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1
It's made in China so I don't know how the quality will be.
Placed an order to top up OTC medicines. I have been unable to replace what we've used for some time and I usually replace as we use items, haven't been able to do that in a while.. First the paracetamol was missing, then ibuprofen. Both are still rationed in some shops so I've been waiting for the pharmacy I use online to have fresh stock.
The noise was a factor in me deciding to bite the bullet on adding off grid solar here. That and the possibility of propane being difficult to get during an emergency. I have a whole house generator with 500 gallons of propane still too though. I just wanted a backup for my backup....
Personally, I think you chose very smartly! My hubby wanted the Generac and I wanted the solar set up. We are still doing a solar set up, but he has a list a mile long before he gets to it. Hoping our time doesn’t run out before we get it done. It seems one can feel the anger in the air these days. Not at home, but in more populated areas.
Thanks Kate! We get so much from China. Was hoping more things will start being made here at home.
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It's hard to compete with slave labor.
I also have 2 small solor systems for the refrigerators and freezers. I'm looking to expand to a large solar system soon.
Nice! You are prepared well!
It is not economical in any way shape or form, but I feel like it was a good investment. Realistically I will get 4 to 5 years out of the batteries. I wish there was a better option on them and it looks like there are some in the works coming before too long. Electricity just makes our lives so much easier that I would prefer to never have to live without it.
There is a better option, use liquid lead acid batteries and learn how to maintain and refurbish them yourself.. you can get 12 to 20 years out of them for not much more than you paid for the AGMs.
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One good thing about the batteries that you can put water in, you can drain the liquid out of it and put it on the shelf indefinitely.
I got the AGMs for three reasons -
One they recharge much faster because they have lower internal resistance. Which means for every kW hour you put in charging, you get more kW hours out of an AGM than a conventional lead acid battery. In a solar system this means you don't need as many hours of sunlight to recharge them. For me it means that when the grid is down, I can recharge them faster on the genny using less propane.
Two they have much lower self discharge and are less prone to sulfation.
And three they are safe to use indoors (with a reasonable amount of ventilation, not in a sealed room).
Not all AGMs are created equal however.
I got the AGMs for three reasons -
One they recharge much faster because they have lower internal resistance. Which means for every kW hour you put in charging, you get more kW hours out of an AGM than a conventional lead acid battery. In a solar system this means you don't need as many hours of sunlight to recharge them. For me it means that when the grid is down, I can recharge them faster on the genny using less propane.
Two they have much lower self discharge and are less prone to sulfation.
And three they are safe to use indoors (with a reasonable amount of ventilation, not in a sealed room).
Not all AGMs are created equal however.
I believe I will be able to fire up the system tomorrow. I’m really excited to get it going. It really wasn’t that much work to justify the time it’s taken but with shipping delays and my work load with the business lately I just haven’t had the energy to work on it as much as I would have liked. Here’s to not burning down the house!
I washed a big pile of green beans and snapped the ends off. The jars are sterilizing in the dishwasher now but as it’s 9pm this batch is going to wait till tomorrow to go in the canner. I love making homemade green beans but with the effort that goes into it I wouldn’t sell a jar for less than twenty dollars! Lol. Even then I’m not sure I’d call it profitable.... I also wanted to make some pickles but just did an inventory of spices and I’m out of mustard seed, dill, peppercorns, ginger and pickle crisp. I have a feeling Im going to have a hard time finding these spices right now as we are in the gardening season. I’m usually proactive and buy things off season but was a slacker this go round.
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I think I finally got my procedure down for roasting coffee in a homemade drum roaster. I found a REALLY good Swiss water process decaf that tastes better than most regular coffees, but roasting it is tricky and I wasted several pounds of it trying to dial it in. Now I can drink several cups a day without losing sleep, LOL.
This last batch came out perfect. It is Sumatra Organic Decaf Mandheling. This is also known as Sumatra Royal Select Decaf.
Some other coffees I've roasted (pan roasted) are Yemen Mocha Ishmali, Yemen Mocha Matari, Kenya Makwa, Java Estate Kayumas, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, Ethiopian Queen City Harrar, Costa Rica La Magnolia, and Costa Rica La Minita Tarrazu. Except for the Yirgacheffe, all of these are single origin small lot coffees that you will probably never find in a coffee shop. Home roasting is the only way to get to try lots of different single origin coffees and most of them are only around $7 a pound.
Now I have to dial in some Kenya Kirinyaga, which is also very tricky to roast.
Here is my setup. The bottom part is a turkey fryer. I got the drum and motor for $85 as a kit.
This last batch came out perfect. It is Sumatra Organic Decaf Mandheling. This is also known as Sumatra Royal Select Decaf.
Some other coffees I've roasted (pan roasted) are Yemen Mocha Ishmali, Yemen Mocha Matari, Kenya Makwa, Java Estate Kayumas, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, Ethiopian Queen City Harrar, Costa Rica La Magnolia, and Costa Rica La Minita Tarrazu. Except for the Yirgacheffe, all of these are single origin small lot coffees that you will probably never find in a coffee shop. Home roasting is the only way to get to try lots of different single origin coffees and most of them are only around $7 a pound.
Now I have to dial in some Kenya Kirinyaga, which is also very tricky to roast.
Here is my setup. The bottom part is a turkey fryer. I got the drum and motor for $85 as a kit.
It looks like you could also use it as a hot water washing machine for your laundry. 
I prefer sweet pickles to dill (though I will eat dill pickles any day too, hardly ever had a pickle I didn't like). I made my sweet pickles with mustard seed, celery seed, and white onions. With dill pickles I got this dill pickle mix from Ball that had pickle crisp in it along with all the spices.
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I love the deli style dill pickles, like Claussen and Boar's Head. Regular dill pickles are a bit to sour for me. Bread and butter pickles are the only sweet pickles I like.
I love the cajun Gator pickles, the sweet and spicy ones. I make my own similar version.
It looks like you could also use it as a hot water washing machine for your laundry.
Coffee scented laundry.
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It looks like you could also use it as a hot water washing machine for your laundry.
You're just jealous cause I'm sitting here sipping on some freshly roasted Sumatran coffee, and you're not.
I’ve never roasted my own coffee before. Honestly I’m not very particular about coffee though. I like to mix 50/50 decaf and real though as I can sip it all day without bouncing off the walls.... honestly I usually buy whatever is on sale. I can say I don’t like Starbucks though as it’s too strong for my tastes. My wife says I like brown water as it’s pretty weak.
I was able to buy everything today except the mustard seed. I did get some premixed pickle spices though that allready had it in it. Beggars can’t be choosers. I did a batch of 12 pints of green beans early today and will do some pickles in just a bit now. We ate so much today that I’m not accomplishing much...
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Everybody has their own tastes with coffee. I have never liked even a hint of bitterness (too dark) or rancidity (too old) but my wife can drink coffee that's been sitting in the pot two days.
I like STRONG coffee. It's like a Cajun once told me: "Stick a spoon up in the middle of the cup and if it falls over it's too weak." LOL
"Charbucks" is just burnt which gives it a strong flavor, but it's not a coffee flavor, it's just a charcoal flavor...which many people mistake for coffee flavor, LOL. Every coffee has a sweet spot between sour (under-roasted and/or under-extracted) and bitter (over-roasted and/or over extracted). A good barista that knows what he is doing can dial in most coffees over a fairly wide range of roast levels on a "real" espresso machine to hit the sweet spot by changing grind setting, amount of ground coffee, water temperature and how long he pulls the shot. I shoot for roast levels that hit the sweet spot in an automatic drip machine, but if it comes out too light, then I can adjust for it by grinding finer. Unfortunately too dark for me is not fixable.
I like STRONG coffee. It's like a Cajun once told me: "Stick a spoon up in the middle of the cup and if it falls over it's too weak." LOL
"Charbucks" is just burnt which gives it a strong flavor, but it's not a coffee flavor, it's just a charcoal flavor...which many people mistake for coffee flavor, LOL. Every coffee has a sweet spot between sour (under-roasted and/or under-extracted) and bitter (over-roasted and/or over extracted). A good barista that knows what he is doing can dial in most coffees over a fairly wide range of roast levels on a "real" espresso machine to hit the sweet spot by changing grind setting, amount of ground coffee, water temperature and how long he pulls the shot. I shoot for roast levels that hit the sweet spot in an automatic drip machine, but if it comes out too light, then I can adjust for it by grinding finer. Unfortunately too dark for me is not fixable.
Folgers coffee all I drink
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That's all I drank at one time.
It's like the difference between a steak fresh off the grill, and a steak that was vacuum packed after it came off the grill, refrigerated, and then reheated two weeks later in the microwave. Sure, the reheated steak might taste pretty good, BUT...
