The trees have leaves and the sky has taken on it’s deep blue yes it finally feels like summer is here.

It stormed something fierce last night and the rain turned everything to mud. As a result I got stuck in the last 10 feet of the drive.

But a local postal carrier came and pulled me out. It’s great when people help each other.

Mid July 2011 will mark the date I attended Eco Fair 360 with the Ogre and I have a lot of writing to document the project for you all to read. There are things that I have picked up along the way that I will take with me for the rest of my life. I’d have no clue how to have attained otherwise.

The beauty that has surrounded the ogre through the different seasons was astounding and I believe it is in the best place yet for this summer.

People often ask how my solar panels did this winter, I tell them that even with the low sun in the sky, my batteries were still charged. I had a blast keeping the panel swept free of snow.

I deeply thank my sponsors for making this last year possible.

I write this article to kick off a series tidying up the official end of the project.

Questions need to be answered. so comment below with your questions for me to address in the next articles!

I bought a plant today to get into the spirit of spring. What are you doing to get ready?

Over the next few weeks I will be going through and adding random clips.

Keep an eye out.

There is a certain freedom that has been granted by living on solar power. It is something that I never plan to give up. My business has taken off and is now involving many other people and I cannot wait to see where it takes us. It is made possible by living free from utility bills and such that I could get my company started on s shoe string budget without any business loans.

I hope you will stop for a second and think about this, “where do you want to be in life”, are you doing what it takes to make your dreams happen or simply working a 9-5 and paying everyone else before you pay yourself?

The sun is out today, the fallen snow flakes have accumulated and now melted away. I spoke at Eco fair 360 last July in the heat, telling people I felt a deeper connection to the weather by living tiny. This winter has been so very true to that statement.

I have never heard the snow falling on my roof or ice breaking off the side of my house and shattering on the ground, but I have now because of living tiny.

…but the sun is out now and I am soaking it in, sitting next to a western window basking in the evening sun Mmmmmm vitamin D

By the way did you change your clocks?

Currently resting in a safe haven of shelter not more than 100 yards through a tree line to the full force of the icy winds racing over a large mega corn farming field. The wind is slamming full force into a wall of trees, pelting them with ice and snow, it sounds like needles.

Thanks to the stabilizer jacks from R & P Carriages the Ogre is holding steadfast in the wind without so much as a shudder, Snow has drifted up to the threshold of the Ogre’s door!

The windows in the Ogre were recycled from some old camper torn apart years ago, not exactly sure the year of camper but it was old. They are aluminum frames and I replaced the glass with plexi-glass from a local glass shop.

The reason I am making note of the windows is, remarkably they are not spewing the wind through the frames at any detectable point yet they have sliding windows!

Toasty in here at 76 degree’s and 17 degree’s outside the Ogre. Enjoy looks like I am going to make it through this winter without a hitch!

Short video to show the condensation in the Ogre and how it flows through the weep holes in the windows to the outside. And then freezes.

Im just heating up some chili and showing off my little Christmas tree.

Seasons Greetings From The Ogre Rv!

What have I been working on lately? Well, I just installed a Fantastic Fan 6000rtba fan from my new sponsors at fantasticvent.com

This thing was a snap to install, and had every part included to get the job done right. All I had to do was follow the color picture instructions and cut a 14×14 inch hole!

It started with a hole

First I took the trim ring and used that to mark out the hole I needed to cut. Then I used my new Porter Cable 18v cordless drill to punch a hole through the ceiling so the blade of my new Porter Cable 18v cordless jigsaw could cut out the square.

No Rest Now! - Its Cold Out There!

The Hole From Outside - See The Gasket?

Fantastic fans, ship with a closed cell phone gasket. I am happy with this because it was very fast and not messy at all compared to using butyl tape.

Cleaning

Had to grab the ice scraper to sweep off the sawdust so the gasket could seat properly.

Fantastic Fan 6000rtba

All that is left is to caulk around the edge and seal the screw holes up with silicone…. you probably want to see what it looks like from the inside too eh?

Fantastic Fan 6000rtba

This thing has it all! thermostat, motorized hood for opening and closing and can switch to manual mode with the knob. 3 speed fan control and reverse, but thats not all. It can also detect rain! if a rain drop hits the sensor it will auto close the hood to keep you nice and dry inside!

The only thing this model does not have is the remote…. but it can be added for a future upgrade kit.

Rupture

Some repairs are needed for the tankless water heater now.

Looking further into the case, I believe the culprit may have been the water pump exerting too much pressure on the lines? I believe that I can adjust back the water pressure on the pump, I have a neighbor that is a heating and cooling installer (I wonder if he would have some sort of a gauge to measure pressure?)

And for those of you who are interested in what the inside of a tankless water heater looks like, here’s a LED lit picture sorry for the blue hue.

Inside the ez101 tankless water heater

So what am I going to do now?

Actually I am going to find an old camper or pop up trailer and salvage a furnace and water heater and several other parts from it and fix this tankless heater for an outdoor shower next summer, (think bamboo or cedar with live plants surrounding it) I might even use it to play around with radiant heating system too!

The Tank

Notice the gauge?! No more wondering when the propane is near running out! Thanks to the Amerigas in Elkhorn Wi, great people here in Wisconsin.