Container Home: Structural Analysis - 28 February 2016

This was a big weekend. A structural engineer came in to look over everything I have done so far. He said I have done everything right so far. The only thing he found that needs to be done is to install a 6" i-beam down the length of the containers so the roof will be adequately reinforced.

After meeting with him, I began working on the containers again. I finished up grinding down the center metal piece. I then sanded it down and applied primer to it. I also sanded and primed the steel flats that go over the center of the containers. I have laid the steel flats down the length of the container so that it seals off the crack.

Here are a couple of pictures of it.

The third thing I did was to cut out the four inch i-beams to fit into the walls. I had to use my plasma cutter to cut them to the correct length and to fit over the lip at the top so that they have as much contact with the structure as possible. I purchased only two i-beams at first so that I could form them out as templates for the rest. The end walls are different than the side walls. The end walls are 90 degree angles, whereas the side walls are 45 degree angles and are slightly taller due to structural differences. I am going to use these templates to cut out the angles need back home before I bring them over to LBL so that it cuts down on the time required for putting them in place.

The fourth thing I did was to install a fourth solar panel. I now have 60 watts. I showed in the last post how I have the system setup. This time I wanted to see how much the solar panels were keeping the battery charged. Before I changed over the cable modem and router to straight direct current, they would completely deplete the battery by the end of the weekend. Once I changed them to DC, the battery still had more than half of its charge left. When I got home late Sunday night, I plugged the battery into the charger. It only lost 10% of its charge. It now has me seriously rethinking how much total power we will need over there. 

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Container Home: First Solar Panels and Air cooling test - 21 February 2016

It has been quite a while since I was last over at LBL to work on the house. I pretty much quit over the winter as it was just too cold and with the walls not being insulated yet, heating the inside would be very difficult with the size it is.

This time I achieved quite a lot. It was 73 degrees outside, so I thought a really good test could be performed this weekend on the geothermal cooling system I designed. To do the test, I placed a 14,000 BTU heater in front of the 12" inlet pipe and blew the heat in with a fan. I had performed this test before and knew the air coming out the other end of the pipe was cool, but I did not know how cool it was. To make sure it was doing an adequate job, I purchased an infrared laser to get an accurate temperature of the air coming out the other side. Our HVAC guy told me which device to purchase. I set the heater to maximum output and the fan to low speed. I left it running for 30 minutes to make sure it had pushed the air adequately and any warming that might occur would happen. After 30 minutes, I went to the outlet side and shot the infrared laser inside. It showed the temperature was 56.6 degrees. I was very pleased. I also ran a second test of blowing the 73 degree air through it. The temperature came out to 51.0 degrees. It has performed well above what I had expected. I am attaching a video of it so you can see the test that was performed.

Here is a picture I took of the results of blowing the 73 degree air through the pipes and out the other side.

Here is a video of the test:

The second thing I did, which you can see in the last video of the temperature test is to tear out the foam I had originally used to seal around the geothermal pipes and replaced it with caulk. Some of the foam had shrunk over the winter leaving gaps. It is now permanently sealed. 

The next thing I did this weekend was to install the first solar panels. They are temporarily installed. Right now, all of the leaves are gone on the trees so sunlight comes down on the home. This coming spring, I am going to bulldoze the trees down on the other end of the property to permanently install the panels there. That way, the home will still be shaded in the summer from the sun, but the panels will be exposed.

I purchased a kit of three 15 watt panels, which included a 500 watt regulator. These panels are sufficient right now to power my cable modem and router, plus an LED light I installed. I can add four more 100 watt panels to the controller. It was exciting getting the first power installed. Right now, I have to carry them outside when I get there, but I am going to start building the mounts for them to be placed in the ground. Here is a picture of them out back.

This is a picture of the temporary table I have setup that has the cable modem, router, and regulator. You can see the deep cycle battery sitting underneath.

The final thing I did this weekend was to finish grinding down the middle part of the containers where I had cut out the walls. Once I ground down the jagged steel, I then used a wire brush to take off all paint and rust. Finally, I sprayed three coats of primer on it. Next week, I will tack weld the fine strip of steel to cover over the crack in between the containers. This will stop mice and insects from coming up through there. I will also caulk down the edge for the final seal.

I talked to the person who I purchased the containers from, as he is a brilliant construction person who really knows about engineering. He suggested that I use 4"x4" I-beams to reinforce the walls from caving in when we go to bury the containers this spring. This coming week, I am going to purchase twenty feet of the I-beams and consult him before welding them in place. Once I get the beams welded in place, we will then start building out the subfloor, bedroom, and bathroom.

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