Building the Frame

 After playing around with a few different ideas for the frame, I decided to start with a solid wheel base. For the steering mechanism I am using the largest hinges I could find at Lowes. I drilled one of the existing holes larger to accept the bolt from the bicycle wheels, then bolted it to the 2x6 that acts as the front of the frame.

For the back of the bike I am using the existing suspension of a mountain bike and attached it with a large section of all thread to the 2x3s that run the length of the frame. The suspension rod is attached using an old satellite dish mounting bracket. I still need to check how true the wheels are and if they hold air, but the wheel base is now complete.

A simple weight test showed that it could hold me and my daughter without any problems. Next I need to get the pedals attached and the chain and idlers installed. I also need to finish building the steering mechanism, and reconnect the rear brake and derailer. Once a seat is installed I should be able to drive it as a recumbent bike, after that I will probably work on the canopy, and lights, then install the electric assist after the fact.

I am really happy with my progress so far. Hopefully I will have it fully enclosed and electrified by the time fall hits.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

First steps: Gathering Old Bikes

I put some feelers out on Facebook and had 4 bikes donated by neighbors who were looking to get rid of them. Between the 4 bikes I got enough parts to make 2 recumbent trikes, which is the base for my ebike. I was fortunate to get two bikes with rear suspension. This will make for a smoother ride when I get the trike assembled.

For the frame I am using scrap wood left over from several other projects, including a small pallet. This is just a prototype so I can learn the basics, the finished model will be much more streamlined.

A New Goal- an enclosed ebike!

 

After doing some research into the laws governing Electric Cars and NEVs in my area, I discovered it was going to be a real headache to get something inexpensive for me to drive around town. That was when it hit me. I don't need a Tesla or something like that if I am only going to use the electric car for travel around town, so I started looking at alternatives and discovered a bit of a loophole in the laws for the state of Idaho. 

A Class 2 electric assisted bicycle is defined as having up to three wheels, it can go up to 20 mph without pedaling, but can go faster if you do pedal. It is not restricted in what streets it can be driven on, but must stay to the right as much as possible. These bikes can be enclosed making them usable year round, and may have blinkers, windshield wipers, headlights, taillights, etc... They are not required to be registered, have insurance, or a license, so even my 14 year old son, could drive it!

In August 2019, the state of Idaho passed a measure that defined ebikes as bicycles. That means they can be used wherever bicycles are allowed. This opened a whole new door of inquiry for me, and I started looking around at ebike options.

Some companies are already building enclosed tricycles like the one I had in mind. (See the video above) However, to order one and get it shipped to me was still going to cost quite a bit! So I started drawing up plans and making a parts list, and figured I could build a prototype for less than $500. The major cost being the 750 watt conversion kit and batteries.

The basic trike without the electric assist is known as a velomobile, and is a lightweight, aerodynamic bicycle alternative that has been around for decades. This part is relatively easy to build and can be made with parts available at local stores and thrift shops.

Next week is earth week, and I hope to have the beginnings of my electric car/bike in the works before the end of the week is out!

Eliminating Garbage

I saw this video on Facebook and was very intrigued. The part of the video that I liked best was the fact that she isn't pushing her lifestyle on other people. We should never tell other people how to live, only invite them to see what we are doing and if they are interested help them make the same changes.

I am all for reusable containers, but this video really made me step back and think about taking that to the next level. I have struggled learning the process of composting, but I believe wholeheartedly in it. I will probably start looking into that again now that we are settled in our new house and possibly look at how I could make some of these other changes as well.

Cookies in the Solar Oven

Made some chocolate chip cookies in the solar oven last week, and they were fantastic! Our second batch didn't cook as well because we had some cloud cover move in. But we still maintained between 150 and 200 degrees F. Each batch took about 2 hours to bake.

With a solar oven you need to adjust the direction it is facing about every 15 minutes to maintain your maximum heat.

Tuna Can Alcohol Stove

He uses Heet in the video, but you can also use rubbing alcohol as long as it is higher than 50%, but it will make the bottom of your pot black. Obviously the higher the percentage of alcohol, the more efficient the stove is and the less black will get on your pots.

Original "Cat Stove" Design:
http://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/SuperCat/index.html

Terra Cotta Pot Space Heater

These work really well to heat a small room and they don't cost much to put together, just make sure you have a safe container/surface for the candles. I have seen people put the candles in a pie tin to contain them a little better.

Lee Hite Biomass Briquette Press

Neat idea to conserve wood, or if you don't have a lot of wood at your disposal, you can use shredded paper, leaves, etc. to build up your fuel supply. Combined with a high efficiency stove, like the rocket stove mentioned in the previous post, you could cook and heat for a long time and never need wood. On their website there are diagrams for different shaped molds, including sticks which would be ideal for most rocket stoves.

Clay Rocket Stove

I have known about rocket stoves for quite sometime, but this was the first time I saw one made out of native clay:

Here is the rocket stove I built:



5 Things- A guide to editing your life

Too Much Stuff

I have been maried for seven years now, and I regret to admit that I brought more boxes of "stuff" into the marriage than anything else. We have moved 3 times during that time and each time we had to move boxes and boxes of my stuff. During the last few years, since we moved into our present home, I have come to the realization that I have used almost nothing from all those boxes of stuff.

So what is the big deal you ask? I have had to store all those boxes the past seven years and haven't used ANY of it. Those boxes have cost me time (each time I did try to find something), money (we had to buy a shed to store them in when we moved into our current home), and energy (each time we moved). This week I have determined that I will get rid of as many of those boxes as I possibly can, so I can use that space for things we do use that are crowding the house and yard (my tools, bicycles, etc...).

As I see it less stuff should equal more time, money, and energy.


My plan to accomplish this:

Keep 5 things or less from each box, then photograph/document the rest and throw it away.

Really all I am storing are memories. Memories don't have to take up that much space! A picture of some project I made in Cub Scouts or 4-H is just as good as the project itself. Pictures can be stored on a computer or in a scrap book which takes up much less space than the dozen boxes my memories currenly occupy.

I didn't learn to live without clutter until I was in college. I served a two year mission for my church after getting my Associate's Degeree and lived in some very messy appartments. When I returned to college I tried to live with as little clutter as possible, but my past was sitting in all these boxes still filling up my life. In order to focus on the present and plan for the future, I need to take care of my past. So that is the plan for this week, to take care of my past so that it can stop haunting me.

Solar Oven Redesign

Here is a redesign of my solar oven. After looking at how my parents set up theirs, these modifications seemed appropriate. It reaches roughly the same temperatures (roughly 175° - 200° F) without any insulation, so I imagine if I were to insulate the outside of the box now it would probably go higher and reach a more appropriate cooking temperature.

My previous design was precarious at best and difficult to use. The idea here is simple, and efficient.
I removed the insulation and cut the box at a 45 degree angle (ideally you would want this to compliment your latitude so the sun has a 90 degree angle of entry.) I lined the inside with aluminum foil, and spray painted the non-glazed side of six tiles. These hold heat extremely well! I put nails into a board at the correct spacing to hold the glass firmly against the opening of the box. This box is big enough to fit our smallest cookie sheet. To cook something I can now tip the glass forward without assistance and set the tray in the oven.

We have successfully done quesedillas, bread pizza, and cheasy garlic bread in this oven.

For future improvements I hope to build a weatherproof outer box and insulate it. I also plan on mounting the glass properly, and perhaps build it so the back of the oven opens more like a traditional oven, that way I don't lose heat everytime I lift the lid.

Wind Turbine = Electric Motor?

I recently acquired an old wind generator from my Dad. He had some high winds come through and beat the blades right off. They don't make replacement blades anymore, so he let me have it. It also has some sort of controller which I hope can be adapted to a motor controller (hook up the generator on the receiving end instead of the generating end). I will post pictures once I get a chance to go through the documentation.

Solar lights from a bottle.

Here is a nifty way to reuse bottles to make lightbulbs. They are using this in electrically strained areas around the world.

Homemade Air Conditioner

The air conditioner in our van went out, and it would cost more to repair than the van is worth. We are headed to Washington state next weekend, so I went and found plans for an alternative air conditioner. This set up cost me $30 because I already had the fan, ice chest, and inverter.

I am including this on the blog because this type of A/C can be used in electric cars.

I hope to test this out before we take the actual trip, and I will let you know how well it works. Reports on-line for this type of A/C is up to 20 degrees F cooler.

Parts:
(Prices are rounded off to the dollar)

Ice Chest (Already owned)
Car Fan (Already owned)- $10
400w Inverter (Already owned)- $35
Fountain water pump- $15
10 feet Vinyl tubing 1/4in ID 3/8in OD- $4
10 feet copper tubing 1/4in OD- $8
2 hose clamps (1/4 in)- 85 cents each.


Method:
Put 2 gallons of water in the ice chest with lots of ice. The pump circulates the ice water through the copper tube which the fan blows past, there by circulating the cool air through the vehicle. This may also be used to cool a small to medium sized room in a house.

Edit:
This worked well for the kids in the back seat, but up front we were still quite warm. I would recommend a bigger fountain pump than what I used. It had trouble keeping a steady flow of water through the copper tube because it was topping out the height the pump was designed for, a larger pump would not have had this problem.

Electric Scooter Tune-up

Finally got around to fixing the electric scooter that had a blow out on us in Rexburg. I was on my way back home (5 miles south of town in Lyman) when the rear tire went out as I was going down University Boulevard to 5th West.

I checked the batteries to make sure they would charge last Saturday, they miraculously did after no use and no maintenance for 2 years. Then last night I pulled the rear tire assembly appart to find one tiny hole in the innertube. It was the tire wall that took the beating, so I could have had this fixed right after the tire went out. A new tire is $25 from the website (www.x-tremescooters.com, we own the x-360 model.) The brake needs replaced as well ($29), but that can wait. It is just over a mile to work with 2 uphill stretches on the way home. I will take it for a test ride tonight to make sure it will make it the distance. I am going to assume the battery life has been somewhat depleted as a result of its lack of attention and use.

Electric Car links

The following is a list of handy websites. Most of them are for electric cars, however, some of them are for other energy saving ideas and products:

http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_solar_used.html
http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/
http://www.green-trust.org/products/
http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/
http://www.sunvee.com/
http://www.eaaev.org/index.html
http://www.solarhome.org/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=90
http://www.arttec.net/Solar_Mower/index.html
http://www.homepower.com/home/
http://www.electroauto.com/catalog/dcmotors.shtml
http://e-volks.com/index.html
http://www.sunnev.com/index.html