News from Serenity Valley – Episode 5: stuff!

Here’s the latest episode, in which I talk about some of my favorite and/or most useful pieces of equipment. (If you don’t see the embed, the video is on Vimeo.)

11 thoughts on “News from Serenity Valley – Episode 5: stuff!”

Harold can confirm this: your video made me lol. Hope you’re having awesome fun!

Amazing Ryo. At first I was like “really? equipment?” but this was an awesome way to get a better idea of how you live out there, what it’s like, what are all the different aspects that you need to think about. Keep it coming! One question about your freezer: you say that it’s been a real challenge getting enough power for it. How have you been coping with that? Do you just have to shut off the freezer every couple days, or have you found a solution? And could you explain why the solar generated power isn’t enough? Is it because you lose power in the transition? You threw out some #s of demand/supply of energy, and I thought that the freezer demand # (30?) was way smaller than the solar supply # (130? or something?), but maybe I missed a difference in units (30 per hour vs 130 per day)? Anyways, just really interested to hear more about your struggle on that front.

ryochiji | November 11, 2009 at 5:09 pm

Hey Nina,

Sorry it took me so long to reply, but I wrote a whole post based on your question, so I hope you check it out:

https://laptopandarifle.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/qa-electricity/

Reply

Pingback: Q&A: Electricity « Laptop and a Rifle

Great job on the videos. They add to your blog. I am looking forward to seeing videos of your hut as its built.

Great story so far. Looking forward to the videos on building your hut.

Terrific blog. I very much enjoyed this video entry, informative and entertaining.

+1 on the water cubes. We use them at our place, excellent.

I will be checking out the freezer. That could prove very useful during the summer for us.

Thanks for sharing your adventure with us.

Best episode yet!

Hi Ryo,

I just came across your blog yesterday when perusing the Tiny House Blog. I am really enjoying reading about your adventures. It sounds as though you have everything very organized and well thought out. The cool thing about your new lifestyle is that it won’t cost a ton of money to make your little place just the way you like it. You can work a bit and then go out there to relax. You are absolutely right about time being the most important thing to have. I think you are also right about needing human contact as well. “No man’s an Island”, as the quote goes.

I wanted to tell you something I came across that might prove helpful. When you mentioned your cast iron pan, I thought of it. It’s about using a cast iron pot with a lid, heating it up and adding your food, and then taking it off the heat and wrapping the whole thing up in blankets. I guess it is like a type of slow cooker without a heat source. It looked interesting. I have not yet tried it. I believe it is called thermal cooking. Here is the link I found it at on You Tube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ-vgEUWZjc&feature=related

I am sure a solar cooker would also work for you. I need to try that too. Thanks again for sharing your adventures. Take good care.

Heather

Okay, I found you just as you started your 31 day experiment in 2011, and had to start from the beginning. While there were other posts I had comments for, this video is the one that actually got me to leave a note.

Your personality and humor really come through here, and you are cracking me up! (It’s either that, or you’ve been away from civilization a touch too long. *grin*)

The spit solution did gross me out. I suppose it’s fine if you’re alone, but I wouldn’t recommend having a dinner guest clean the skillet. My mom always told us to use dirt if we had a hard time scrubbing food particles from cast iron. Worked like a charm. I’ll have to let her in on your solution for grease.

The REI measuring cup, LED lights that “hang anywhere”, and the fact that you remember and quote the prices of the items was highly entertaining. The quoting of prices is funny because I am prone to doing the same thing. I actually found myself waiting to see how much the next widget was going to cost me in my quest for necessities. Unfortunately, I’m right handed, so I’ll either have to forego the cup, or look like a tool. Crap.

Can’t wait to catch up on the next year, and then follow in “real time”. Thanks for the time and effort. I’m learning – and now I’m entertained! I’ll be sharing your site for sure.