Shipping Container for the Aesthetically Minded

Thanks you Curt for the link.

This is the sharpest container I've seen to date. Definitely plush with all the amenities. Unfortunately, they didn't comment on the price.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ieOYtx-2ZM

New Montello Blog

JT and Sandy, welcome to the Montello blogging community! I look forward to following your adventures.

http://trailtomontello.blogspot.com/

I love the looks of that container!

Shipping Container / Earthship'esk Heating Report

On February 24th the temps in Montello were in the high 30's during the day and low 20's at night. I filled the small wood burning stove before retiring to bed around 11 p.m. The stove took five small pieces of wood before it was maxed out and dampered down for a long slow over night burn. I woke up twice in the night literally sweating. Admittedly, I was sprawled on a negative 20 degree sleeping bag and a thermarest pad, but I was sleeping "ON" it, not inside it. By morning the wood had expired and a few coals remained. The inside container temperature was very comfortable, so I didn't add anymore wood to the stove.

We left for a days driving around the valley at about 7:30 or 8:00 a.m. and didn't return until 3:00 p.m. The heavy steel container doors were open all day allowing the sun to shine through the sliding glass door for maximum solar gain. I was excited to return and feel the comfort level inside the container, but was expecting a chill due to the mostly overcast day. Much to my surprise, the container felt just as comfortable at 3:00 p.m. as when we left seven hours earlier.

I attribute this to the insulation board and earth berming on the exterior. I believe the overheating is due to a lack of thermal mass on the interior side of the insulation board. My research indicates that traditional earthships require many weeks to heat up the thermal mass to the point of providing a well regulated interior environment. The next shipping container placed in Montello will include similar construction with insulation board and bermed walls, but much earth will be placed between the exterior wall of the container and the insulation board to deliver increased thermal mass.



I really like the idea of having both types of construction (nearly none and mucho thermal mass). Our current setup works well for our present visitation schedule in the winter. The lack of thermal mass and abundance of insulation allows us to arrive in Montello after a month of being away and quickly bring the room temperature to a pleasant level with very little fuel. Adding the second container with more thermal mass will accomodate a longer term stay and hopefully provide a steady year round temperature with little to no external heat source required (besides the sun).

All of this is still very much an experiment. An experiment that I'm loving! With experience and a good neighbor with a backhoe, I can easily adjust the thermal mass factor over time with minimal effort. It's an amazing feeling to live in an extremely frigid winter zone and know I require very little resources to stay warm. I currently spend $160 a MONTH to heat my city home in the winter. That's about the same price as a cord of wood, which I'd guess to last two winters in Montello! The container is currently so efficient that I am seriously considering a propane heater setup for ease of use and temperature control. I'll keep the wood burning stove and a couple cords of wood on standby!

less fuel = less cost = less labor for $ = more leisure time = TIME FREEDOM!

This is a pic of the propane heater I'll likely use in the container. It manufactured by "Mr. Heater" and is recommend for areas up to 200 square feet. I'll likely install two units at opposite ends of the structure for quick heating and redundancy. One of these units on the low setting (4,000 btu) will operate off of a 100 pound propane tank for 22.5 days without interruption. Preliminary experience (no real science) suggests one 100 pound tank should get me through a long winter with much help from the sun! Winter heating costs ~ $50.

Thank you Augie! - Barrels

Augie, thank you for the barrels. Already planning to use them for compost chambers, solar hot water collectors, and feed barrels! I have a feeling more uses will be thought of very soon. Nice meeting you and your wife and daughter. I'm looking forward to hanging out with you guys in Montello in a few weeks. Thanks again and see you soon!

Bill's store, Jeremy's comment, duct tape and community!

Before proceeding, please read all the comments from my last post (Greening the desert) so you'll have a little background. Bill joked (I think) about opening a bucket store in Montello. Jeremy commented that his store should also offer duct tape. I'm here to say AMEN to both ideas. Case in point....my Jeep. My Jeep is a 1982 CJ7 and I love it. It's a real piece of shit, but I love it. I'll drive it anywhere and trust it to make it all the way. I also won't be the least bit surprised if she leaves me stranded on 233 somewhere in the 100 mile stretch of nothing between Montello and Snowville. As much as I plan on making that drive, it's a statistical certainty!

Duct tape. On my last trip to Montello I was only 2 miles out the door (156 miles to Montello) when my rear view mirror popped off in my hand as I was attempting to adjust it. In any other vehicle this wouldn't be a problem. The redundancy of driver side mirrors resolves this issue. Well, my passenger side mirror was removed shortly after I purchased the Jeep due to rust, fatigue, and the afore mentioned "piece of shit" ailment that it widely suffers from. My drivers side mirror is largely a window dressing that helps me to pass vehicle inspections and works wonderfully at speeds less than 25 mph. 26 mph is the sweet spot (given no head wind) where the mirror folds into the side of the Jeep delivering an amazing view of the black top! No worries I thought. I'll be driving out in the middle of nowhere and the view behind a guy has rarely been as good as the one in front. Problem solved!

20 miles later I was looking for solutions on the side of the road. I would have paid $10 for some super glue to remount my rear view mirror, but the only thing starring at me was the handiest roll of duct tape I've ever seen. Oh, it took a few stops for minor tweaking, but I effectively raised the driver side mirrors collapse sweet spot at least 50 mph.

Duct tape. Solving problems for men long before there ever was a duct!


Above is a pic I horked from Bill's blog. In the background is Brian's beautiful land with an amazing cloud cover hiding the mountain tops. In the foreground is my beauty all duct taped up for my rear viewing pleasure (the duct tape spanning from the mirror to the hood mount has since been removed and the 26 mph sweet spot restored).

Definitely duct tape Bill. Buckets and duck tape and possibly super glue! Richard, I'll bet duct tape even kills algae!!!

Thanks for all your comments guys. I am really coming to enjoy this community and look forward to meeting all of you in Montello!!!

Greening the Desert - Simple Gardening - Conserving Water

Here are two different concepts related to gardening in Montello that have blown my mind (admittedly, it doesn't take much). First, the bucket gardening system conserves water to such a degree that I think I can grow the majority of my food in Montello without a well. Before I came across this idea, I thought water hauling for gardening purposes would be impractical. This system is not new and many different videos can be found on youtube with greater details relating to the construction process. However, this website is done by a couple of kids and I'm very impressed with their setup...especially the irrigation system that manages most of the watering aspects of gardening with a huge hands off labor saving application. All of their videos are worth the watch if you're into growing anything!

http://www.globalbuckets.org/



Next, how about growing food year round in Montello....even when it's zero degrees outside?! Can you say Walipini? Yeah, me neither...lets stick to reading it. A walipini is an underground greenhouse that taps into the earths stable year round temperature of 50 to 60 degrees just a few feet down below the surface. This idea is very earthship'esk and feels very intuitive. That said, I have no personal experience with it, but look forward to building one in the future. This link will allow you to download a very descriptive document detailing every question I had and more.

http://bensoninstitute.org/Publication/Manuals/Walipini.pdf


I'll definitely be toying with the bucket gardening system this year. Special thanks to "Back Hoe Dude" for the Walipini exposure and the bucket gardening system reminder!

Enjoy. And, I'll see you in Montello.

Shipping Container Pricing / Transport

If anybody is looking for a shipping container for use in Montello, please let me give you a quote. After purchasing my container, I made a couple contacts that gave wonderful pricing. I have since been able to sell a few of these containers and plan on continuing to do so for the forseeable future. I've been reluctant to post anything here out of concern that it may come across the wrong way. That said, I also don't want anyone getting taken advantage of. I know how precious a dollar can be and a dollar saved is a dollar that can be spent on solar panels, water containers, or tools.

One of our fellow bloggers was quoted some crazy pricing (in my opinion) and I couldn't bite my tongue any longer. Please do your research and make other contacts with container suppliers. Then, let me know what you've found and I'll see if I can save you some money. If I can't, then I want to know who you're buying them from so I can too!!! Please let me know if I can help and know there is absolutely no pressure to buy anything from me.

I think I'm headed back out to Montello in a couple weeks. I get giddy with anticipation!!!

See you in Montello.

I love this lady! nice job Dee Williams

I claim some level minimalism in my life. I don't know what degree of a minimalist I am, but I do know when I see somebody that inspires me. For me, I don't think its so much about having fewer things, because I like things as much as the next guy. It's about something else. Take a listen to this lady and "feel" what she has....she obviously goes without a lot compared to you and I (or does she?). But don't focus on what she must go without, really listen to what she created for herself....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6izsZ-tv_V0&feature=related

below is a longer, better video clip of Dee.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZM2G-PfEbc

Montello Blogs

I was wondering today how many Montello blogs there are currently up and running. I've composed a list below of those that I'm aware of to date. Please let me know if I'm missing any, as I'd love to check them out. I'm loving all or your blog contributions and check daily for updates to feed my habit. This really is amazing to me. Thanks guys!

http://montellosurvival.blogspot.com/
http://dwellerofthemontellodesert.blogspot.com/
http://hollarbackostrichranch.blogspot.com/
http://montello-homestead.blogspot.com/
http://creasyjnevada.blogspot.com/
http://montellonevada.blogspot.com/
http://montellovalleyranch.blogspot.com/
http://montelloalpacacompany.blogspot.com/
http://montellooffgrid.blogspot.com/
http://trailtomontello.blogspot.com/