DIY

How to Make Ethanol in Your Own Backyard

khallgeisler — Mon, 19 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

If the idea of making your own fuel is appealing, and you have access to loads of sugar or sugary fruit, check out this backyard ethanol brewer. The MicroFueler from E-Fuel Corporation works pretty much like making wine in the garage or hooch in the tub, but instead produces 35 gallons of ethanol.

The unit, which is about as big as the refrigerator in a rented apartment, will retail for $9,995. That price doesn't include any federal, state, or local incentives you might be able to swing. The cost of the raw materials, the time-release yeast developed by the machine's inventor, and the electricity to power the process comes to about a dollar a gallon.

You can make it even cheaper if you do as MicroFueler investor Terry Quinn does and collect leftover alcohol from bars. Ask your local barkeep for the "Hairy Buffalo" or a "Turnpike" to get the slop after a night of pouring shots.

The only rules and regs that apply to homemade ethanol are being a property owner and agreeing to make your hopped-up hooch outside. There are rules against running vehicles on 100% ethanol, but the fuel you brew can be mixed with water or gasoline, just like E10 or E85.

4 Green DIY Alternative Energy Home Projects

jchait — Thu, 01 May 2008 02:19:42 -0400

When it comes to greening your home there's plenty you can do yourself. From simple lighting adjustments, to making a homemade solar water heater, to building the whole darn house, anyone can learn how to do green home projects. It's true, there's a learning curve, but that's good for your brain. Just think how much more adapt you're becoming by tackling home renovations, adjustments, and building yourself.

Here are 4 good DIY projects related to alternative energy and or saving resources.

1. Build an integral passive solar water heater: This project sounds like a tough one, but it's really not that complicated. It's also super inexpensive. Really. Materials include electric water heater tank, plywood box, window glass or plastic, some basic plumbing fittings, paint, pipe and some insulation. Great instructions and an easy read.

2. Build a solar cooker: Four great links that will get you cooking in no time.

3. Build your own small scale hydroelectric generator - a pretty cool fun time project that allows you to create a decent amount of energy.

4. Build an electricity producing wind turbine. Not too hard, but you'll need to locate your own parts, which is not tough if you have access to the internet.

Bonus project - get out: Staying home all the time is no fun. If you'd ever like to leave your house, but hate the gasoline situation then how to make ethanol, might come in handy.

Etsy's Handmade Weddings Offer More Green Wedding Porn

ckane — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 01:00:00 -0400

I've already mentioned the online craft site Etsy as a resource for recycled, upcycled, and otherwise-eco wedding favors and supplies. But green and DIY wedding planners have been abuzz this week over the launch of Etsy's Handmade Wedding Series, highlighting different crafty weddings and wedding skills. So far on the Earth-friendly front, the series has highlighted a recycled and low-budget wedding, vintage wedding fashions, and eco tips with Meghan from Portovert.

Part of this whole nontraditional wedding planning seems to be looking around at other atypical weddings for ideas to pillage or adapt. I already saw one idea I want to steal from Etsy's profile of the recycled wedding: using Bambu single-use biodegradable place settings for the food, made from sustainable bamboo. One super-amazing fun resource for such wedding porn is Offbeat Bride. (Just beware when you're taking inspiration from many scources of creating what's known as a Frankenwedding--a hodgepodge of too many different elements and themes)

This also marks the return of Etsy's Alchemy feature, where you can post to ask for a specific item you'd like to have custom-made, such as a wedding dress or invites on recycled paper. Alchemy works like eBay's Want It Now feature, only you list your ideal price and then potential crafters bid on the item you want to have made.

And now that you're about to get sucked into both Etsy and Offbeat Bride, good luck getting anything else done ever again.Or at least until your wedding is over.

Seedy Delivery

ckane — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:46:08 -0400

I'll state right off that this project is not for the impatient. This is for the crafty folk who have coordinated helpers, and ideally a smaller-size wedding. What I am about to suggest is making your own super-Earth-friendly seedling guest favors out of recycled newspaper, soil, and seeds*.

The step-by-step directions are on the Seeded blog, in the post titled Roll Your Own, including photos. While the finished product may at first seem a little pedestrian even for a green wedding, you can easily dress it up in one or several ways. Instead of the typical black white and read all over newspaper, you can use the pink papers that are found at larger newsstands, or dye the paper to match your wedding colors. (Food coloring should do it.) Or if your wedding colors are bold, it might be more effective to just tie up each little pot with twine, raffia, or ribbon in the appropriate color.

If all of this seems just too much to take on when you're already busy planning a big event, numerous seed-embedded tchotchkes are popping up on the market (to be featured in future posts). But with this project, risky and involved thought it may be, you can give your guests plants that are already growing, at one of the lowest prices around, and you can choose whatever plant or plants you want to give.

*I am aware this is one of the crunchier suggestions I've ever made.

Top 10 Ways To Save on Your Heating Bill

Marcus — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Winter is upon us. The days are cold and short; the nights are long and dark. And the sight of your energy bill strikes fear in your heart.

Don’t just sit there – start slashing away at the high costs. Here are the best places to start.

1. Turn down your thermostat.

Sure, it’s cold, but that doesn’t mean you have to make up for it by turning your apartment into the steam room in a Turkish bath house. If you turn the heat down just two degrees, you’ll save about 4% on your energy bill, and reduce your carbon emissions by 6%.

2. Seal the cracks.

A little DIY draft-proofing works wonders. How? Close all your windows and doors, and light a candle or a stick of incense. Wander around your place, taking note of where the smoke drifts. These are your problem areas. For doorways, a simple door sweep should do the trick. For other solutions, check out this how-to site from The Dept. Of Energy.

3. Lower the temperature of your water heater.

Not only can you adjust the temperature on your thermostat, you can also lower the temperature of the hot water generated by your boiler. Many water heaters actually heat water too high so that it has to be balanced with cold water for comfortable bath and shower temperatures. This is wasteful. Lowering the temperature a couple of degrees can mean big savings.

4. Insulate those pipes.

Simply wrapping insulation blankets around the hot water pipes leading into your boiler can result in up to 10 percent savings on energy bills. They’re cheap, easy to install, and available at any Home Depot.

5. Don’t dawdle in the shower

Some people just love to take their sweet time in there. And believe me, I understand the solace and calming effect a good, long shower can have on the psyche. What I would recommend is incorporating your time of meditation and reflection into a different part of your morning routine where running water is not involved.

6. Turn on a fan

A strategically placed, slow-rotating fan can significantly bolster the effect of your radiator or heating ducts. It will distribute heat throughout a room, keeping everybody warm, and maybe even helping to compensate for those pesky draft spots you’re still trying to figure out how to seal (see #2).

7. Fireplaces need special attention

Fires in fireplaces are not very effective at generating heat – more heat flies up the chimney than into the room. If you must have a fire, consider investing in an Eco-Fire Super Grate, which should significantly increase your fire’s burning efficiency.

8. Put on a sweater.

Wear layers- a T-shirt, outer shirt, sweater, and a hat- (a large percentage of your body heat escapes through your head). Bundling up works as effectively as insulation in your home’s walls- and it’s free. Besides, it’ll be a perfect opportunity to finally get some use out of all those wooly cardigans your Aunt Mildred’s been knitting for you since you were six years old.

9. Invite your friends over

What better excuse to throw a dinner party than the need to huddle together for warmth? The more people in an apartment, the higher the collective body heat. Perhaps you could try initiating a weekly “No Heat Potluck” with all your closest, eco-conscious pals?

10. Get your heating system checked out before the cold sets in.

Sometimes, spending a few bucks at the beginning of the season to have your old, fussy boiler inspected to see if it’s running efficiently could end up saving you a bundle in the long run (if you live in an apartment, you can probably even convince your landlord to do this, free of charge).

If these Top 10 Tips to save on your heating bill are just too hard, we suggest you move to a warmer climate. And don’t forget to write to us at RiverWired –we may move, too.