How Much Do We Depend On Electricity?

Today, after I turned my computer on and put a load of clothes in the washing machine the power went out. I went outside and it’s a beautiful blue sunny day. I then check all the circuit breakers inside and outside and see that nothing is in the off position. The little wheel on the electric meter is not running.

I wait 15 minutes and fumble through the phone book trying to find the phone number for the electric company. My vision, not like it was, finds this task extremely frustrating plus phone books put information in places that are wedged between sports arenas and stuff that I would never find a use for. I call and go through all of the "listen to options" select electric power out and am told to call back later for an estimate of when the power will be back on.

I think about the clothes in the washing machine. I think it was on the rinse cycle or almost rinsed and remember when I lived in an apartment with my twin babies. I was always trying to be frugal and when packing up two babies to go to a laundromat was not always possible I would wash the diapers by hand and hang them up in the bathroom.

Today, our water supply leaves a lot to be desired so I bring home water from work and have at least 10 gallons of water set aside. I rinsed out the clothes and after one rinse I knew the rinsing was not going well and my hands would hurt later. I go outside and hang up a clothesline between the trees.

Back inside to get the clothes, the electricity came back on. Immediately I put the clothes in the washer and set it to rinse and spin. And then I put them in the dryer and sat down to write this. The dryer is on less than 10 minutes and the electricity goes out again. I hung the clothes on the clothesline. When I came back in, the power was on.

What would I do without electricity? I ponder this alot and would relish the opportunity to explore living off the land. My husband does not share this enthusiasm, not yet anyway. My one thing that I would like to do before I die is to ride a bicycle and/or walk across the country. I would like to experience sleeping under the stars, having the time to look at things. I would like to make new friends along the way. I would like to forage for food, fish, hunt and cook over burning wood.

I turn the page and there is the microwave to heat up my leftovers. The never-ending computer that is my lifeline to the world. Would I give it up? Yes, I would.

Why? Because I went through Boot Camp and for the duration I learned to live with other people, learned priorities, and the only possessions I had were my clothes. I learned more from being in the military than anything else in life.

It’s time to stop complaining, get off the couch and do SOMETHING!

Ethanol Production for the Do-It-Yourselfer.

Here is something interesting I came across searching for alternative fuel.

A company out of California by the name of E-Fuel has this machine called, Micro Fueler. They claim this machine can refine sugar, water and yeast into Ethanol. The Micro Fueler, “a refinery system designed for home use” can produce up to 35 gallons of pure E-100 per week. Too bad running pure (Moon Shine)  E-100 in you car is illegal in the United States. The Micro Fueler ferments the sugar, water and yeast internally and removes the water with a specially designed micro filter.

Now, they say the initial cost of the ethanol fuel device can be offset by up to 50% by using Federal, State or Local credits and the sugar cost can be brought down with a system of carbon trade coupons. The device can produce one gallon of ethanol from 10 pounds of sugar, which can be a bit pricey. The CEO of E-Fuel plans to purchase inedible sugar from Mexico and distribute it thoughout the United States in an attempt to further reduce the cost of the sugar.

Research has shown that ethanol fuel mixtures higher than E10 but lower than E85, can produce better gas mileage than running regular unleaded fuel. Even in non flex vehicles apparently you can go as high as E65  in a non flex vehicle before getting engine fault codes.

E Fuel is planning to go world wide right out of the starting gate, manufacturing the machine in Britain, China and the United States. And they’re working on a commercial unit that uses feedstock. Personally, I would like too see it use yard waste, switchgrass or any waste product like corn stalks and such. But anything that helps us reduce the use of petroleum works for me.

Apparently the Micro Fueler is for sale now, with a price of $9995.00 and plans to start delivery in the fourth quarter of this year. Now you can get a permit for ethanol production through the Alcohol and Tobacco tax and Trade Bureau and you will have to mix the ethanol with regular gasoline, keeping in mind that most of the regular unleaded already has up to 10% ethanol already in it. You don’t want to exceed 65% ethanol mixture unless you are driving a E85 flex fuel vehicle.

Okay so if you could produce your own biofuel in your backyard, for less than at the gas station, would you?  Thanks for reading!