Rain Water Collection System

In the attempts at naming this post as an Update to the original post, I discovered that somehow in all the work being done on the Work Box and the business housed within the box, the traveling for the Kid's sailing, and the general life busyness, I never once mentioned the day the Rain Water Collection System took effect.  The system has been mentioned several times in several posts since installation, but never the installation process itself.  Such an important key, I would even say it is the most important key to the existence of Plan473, yet it was never posted.  Amazing how that happened.  Even more amazing is the fact that this is the only picture available of the original installation.  THE ONLY ONE.  Doubly amazing.

Not wanting to go into too much detail of the RWCS without pictures I will just give a quick summary: the roof the Work Box will have 2" PVC pipe inlets on all four corners of each conex box collecting the rain that will then be transferred to the large 3000 gallon storage tanks.

Having lost our source for RODI water collection, once again yet another side affect of good ol' Uncle Harvey, and our water tanks quickly diminishing, the Planner installed one of the four collection points for the RWCS in the Work Box.  The current water collection point is this 55 gallon drum in which sits a water pump that then transfers the water to the storage tanks via a garden hose.  Not perfect or long term, but functional.  That was June of last year.

Yes, June of last year.  As in 16 months ago.  Several thousand gallons of rain water have been collected via the RWCS through just this one down spout.  Many times throughout the last 16 months, the 55 gallon barrel overflowed as the little pump could not keep up with the amount of water that flowed from the roof.

Having completely emptied one of the 3000 gallon storage tanks, the Planner was beginning to drive us crazy with his hyper awareness of water usage.  Showers! You had a shower last night, tonight it is a 1 gallon sponge bath!

When the initial 2" PVC inlet was installed for the one working down spout, all four corners were drilled out, had a metal 2" threaded pipe welded into place, and then capped.  As it turns out, PVC will adhere itself to metal rust and become impossible to remove.  No amount of handy dandy tricks would remove it.  First it was the standard blue water pump pliers that every household has in its junk drawer.  Then it was a oil filter wrench.  After much cussing and tool throwing, out came the grinding disk.

Removal with the grinding disk was not any easier either.  The hand held grinder did not fit easily against the ceiling.  If held flat, it would not cut the cap in the direction in which it would split the cap, it would only shave it flush leaving the threaded portion still intact.  To properly see what was being cut as it was critical NOT to cut into the metal down spout from the roof, the Planner had to wedge himself against the ceiling and cut at this awkward angle.  It worked in the end, it was just slightly scary in the safety department.

Once a small 2" slit was made, the usage of a large screwdriver acted as a lever, and off it spun.  Sort of.

Having sand blasted and spot painted the roof a few weeks ago, between the rust and epoxy paint, it was evident as to why the PVC cap would not simply remove.  It is good to know that the paint kept the metal insert from rusting into dust though.

The next time RWCS is installed in the Shop Box, something different will be done to eliminate this time consuming step.  What should have been a quick hour or two project, once again turned into in all day affair.  And that was just removing the caps.  PVC pipes still needed to be installed.

Next on the list of steps was to 2" holes into the shipping container deck flooring.  An 8' section of 2" PVC was lined up with the hole in the ceiling and then aligned with the floor using a level. This is not an easy task as this flooring is made with some kind of layered weather protectant and is hard as nails.  Does a great job at keeping cargo safe but can drain a cordless battery in its efforts to remove it.

The cargo flooring is 3/4" - 1" thick depending upon container and is some of the most beautiful wood in its shavings.  For all of the protectant materials inlaid into the grain structure, the wood never carries any chemical smell when drilling, never gives off an oily residue, nor does it ever burn or melt.

Lining up the PVC tubing to ensure straightness with the world not the only consideration into the design of the RWCS.  The tubings must be accessible to repair yet out of the way for work reasons.  They have to align with the flooring substructure underneath and not cramp corner box pockets.  As you can see, even with a test hole drilled, the alignment is not always ideal.  Luckily, this time, the PVC makes a bend directly below the hole and this corner pocket is avoided.

 Installing the PVC piping in the back outside corner of the box was easy as it was exactly like the front outside corner, it was a straight pipe down into the floor.  A union to the metal down spout and a PVC all the way out the floor to the underside of the box and it was done.

The inside front PVC tubing to the floor required more forethought and planning. Wanting to ensure there was little water flow restriction due to the bends in the tubing, the Planner doubled the size of the needed PVC diameter as compensation.  With eight total 2" PVC down spouts, water loss over the side of the box edges will now also be kept to a minimum.  Water overflow is always a possibility, it is nature of course. Deluges to occur but these were designed for the average rainfall over the average an amount of time.

What should have taken a less than a day to complete took two but the results are worthy.  Plan473 is two more steps closer to a completed Rain Water Collection System in the Work Box.  There is of course, the Shop Boxes, the House Boxes, and the Kid/Guest Box to complete.  But hey, one step is one step.  Did I mention that these two new down spouts only drain out in the world and are not as of yet collected to the temporary 55 gallon bucket.  Oopsies...

Potted Dancing

A green thumb I am not.  Seeing my last remaining potted olive tree turn yellow and lose all its leaves again this year, I have decided to transplant it.  It seemed to have worked well for the other olive tree way back in May.  With luck, it will work for this one, too.  These poor things have had a rough two years but they are hanging in and I want them to grow so badly.  The olive trees from which I stole these saplings are big, bold, and beautiful.  Plan473 needs big, bold, and beautiful trees.

Poor thing, no matter which direction it is admired upon, it looks pitiful.  The only saving grace is all the grass around it is dead so what little bit green it does have stands out in stark contrast.  As does its yellow leaves.

Deciding where to plant is always an issue.  With Plan473 house boxes still not in production, it is hard to know where to plant that it wont be in the way of the house, affected by the building of the house, or have its growth hindered by the house.  Using the space made available by good ol' Uncle Harvey, the tree which will grown upwards of 25' in height will be planted directly in front of this sable palm.

That is the fascinating thing about nature.  If "native" species are left to their own devices, they can become something more beautiful than one can "manage" into submission.  Cordia boissieri  are trees not bushes, have fruits that while not palatable do make tasty jelly, and are low maintenance.  In fact, they specialize in low maintenance in the watering department.

Mexican Olive trees prefer according to Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, well drained caliche, sand, sandy loam, clay loam, clay, or gravel soils.  With the key word being well-drained, our excessively drought dry soil should be perfect even if not planted inside a shep tube.

Unlike the previous transplant, this baby is going straight into the soil.  Bark mulch was applied to stabilize the fresh dug soil, to allow for an area for water pool around when it is watered, and to help keep the chickens at bay.  In fact, of all the concerns about transplanting, the chickens are my biggest fear.  They are efficient and effective at scratching and I worry they will scratch the soil away. Only time will tell how this transplant will go.

These unknown plants were also transplanted.  The tall middle plant was given to me by The Sailor some months back as he has entire 5' circle planted with them.  Whatever they are they are PURPLE.  My first non red or orange or yellow plant.  I was beginning to think all plants planted were going to be colored ROY.  Doing well to remember to water them, I looked down one day to see sprouts.  Can you image my joy at seeing sprouts?  Sprouts who came willing with no effort emitted, fabulous!  Having been originally been planted within little 2-5" seedling pots, they were all transplanted into the same pot because they do better together than singular and allowed space enough for room to grow.

Having said it once within the last couple of months, I am gonna say it again.  Nature does not give a damn.  Worrying about lack of rain or too much rain, excessive heat or nor not enough heat is a human affliction.  Nature does with it does with no regards to the weather.  Haven't had rain in six months, the plants just do their thing.  If the rain continues to lack and they seem to die, chances are they are just lying dormant protecting their inner selves. 

And when it does rain, just that one inch a week, or thereabouts, watch out because BAM the plants are back.  In full force as if nothing had ever happened.  Honestly, never once before have I seen such detailed flowerings on the Turks Cap.  Never once.

Color abounds, new growth appears, and all is right in the world.  Plants hang with heavy limbs due to excessive blooms.  Birds and bees abound and life has moved forward again.  No thoughts given to once previous dry dormant conditions and countless hours worrying on the lack of rain.  Just day to day coloring the world with beauty.

And with the fresh rains, comes the mushrooms in all shapes and sizes.  Some are here today, gone tomorrow.  Others, like the above pictured, take a full week to reach maximum growth and large enough to house an entire collection of LEGO minifigs.  Mushrooms can be seen in potted plants, against trees bases, out in the wide open, in the compost bin, and hidden in dark damp spaces under heavy foliage.  The only place they are not seen are in the chicken run.  Mushrooms sprout in the most random places and amazingly are never once scratched away by the chickens either.  Once established they do not have to be relocated, transplanted, or protected to live, they just live.  Earthy, native, and beautiful.

Harsh Conditions

Living at Plan473 can have harsh conditions.  Salt air, salt soil, hot salt, dry salt, humid salt, and wind salt.  See where the harsh conditions are revolving from?  Aside from salt damage, normal wear tear, and excessive usage, and age all affect day to day routines.  Unfortunately, "normal" is not standard across users.  As I am typically harder on all products than designed specifications, my normal destroys itself much quicker. Every week a new item is added to the ever growing list and every week we try to remove an item. There are days when the list seems endless.  Living in harsh conditions requires constant diligence.  Constant meaning when something breaks.  Not constant as in ahead of the game.  No time for prevention, we handle conditions as it happens.

Like this $20 million dollar spoon repair.  Plan473 does not believe in excess waste.  If ain't broke, don't fix it.  If it is broke, fix it . If it can't be fix, try to replace with used before buying new.  This spoon is irreplaceable. Not only because it has memories attached to it but because they simply don't make it anymore.  Some people out there would shelf this spoon and only admire it for its antique value.  Well that is stupid.  It is a spoon, a damn good spoon at that, so it will be used.  Until is breaks that is.

And break it did.  Luckily grandma's spoon broke in the best possible way and could easily be fixed.  Easily if your husband has an aluminum welder, aluminum rods thin enough for this material, and the means to weld without making gobbly-goup welds on the teeny-tiny handle. Most people say they can weld.  Welding aluminum is something all together different.  At least that is what the aluminum welders will have you believe.  Aluminum welding takes patience and care and skill.  Good thing the Planner has all of the above as my welding skills are not to this level, yet.

The Planner easily fixed my beloved spoon and even shined to its original beauty at a cost he told me of $20 million dollars.  When ask if he took payments, he just laughed and said payments are $1 per meal.  Holy Moly! At $1 per meal at maybe 400 meals per year worth, it would take 50K years to repay.  Guess he thought my credit was good.

Harsh conditions effects everything.  Inanimate or not.  Here it is the end of September and while the majority of people are watching leaves change and busting out winter gear, South Texas still remains in the throws of late summer heat.  In fact, I would venture to say late September and early October heat is worse than dry hot days in August.  In August, everyone knows it is supposed to be hot.  In September, ones' minds drifts to fall activities which leads to winter activities which then leads to cooler weather thoughts.  This train of thought is bad for the mind as it is still upper 90's with 10000 percentage of humidity. Unfortunately for the doggo, she does not know of this human calendar we base our lives around.  All she knows is that it is still freaking hot.  Wonder what she ponders as she sits with her nose against the fan?

Some harsh conditions are brought upon themselves.  Such as this chicken, or used to be chicken. Nurple, the second acquired rooster has been warned for the last few months that if he did not stop chasing hens, his days were going to be numbered.  Well, his number came.

One.  One less chicken.  One chicken in a pot.  Having no experience with homegrown chickens, this is the second time I have boiled a rooster with less than stellar results.  If tough, dry birds are the result of free range chickens, some additional thought will have to be given for new pullets purchased next February.  Chickens at Plan473 are not pets, they are pest control and with a small egg production. This is not happy eternal home for chickens.  When their purpose is no loner needed or they can no longer fulfill their duties, their number will be called too. The assortment of hens currently in house are multi-duty birds meaning they are not full meat bird nor full duty egg birds.  I am hoping in January when the older birds are thinned out for the new birds in February, their meat is more tender than this stuck in your teeth, chew on it for hours, stringy rooster.

After weeks and weeks of asking for Just One Inch, the weather finally responded.  One inch (maybe more) in a sudden, random, mighty downpour.  Lasting less than ten minutes, everything was caught off guard.  By the time windows were shut it was over.  By the time the chickens made it to the safety of their coop, it was over.  Water on floors and running down windows and doors is easy enough to clean up.  Water off a chicken is not like water off a ducks back.  Water off of a drowned chicken, not my problem.

Some harsh conditions are brought upon from incorrect care and are irreparable.  Designed for "outside" usage, these chairs are just a few short years old and they have already meet their final days.  Probably not designed for Plan473 outside conditions, they probably should be stored inside when not in use and not left in the harsh direct UV for 12 hours a day.  If I had a sewing machine, new seats could maybe be installed.  But alas, I do not have a machine, nor do I want a machine.  With that, the chairs were scraped to the metal bin and new chairs are being sought after.  Aluminum chair so they last longer.

Some harsh conditions are brought upon from excessive wear.  As stated, I am very hard on my equipment.  When companies design new products, they should call me to test its strength/durability/wear-ability.  Understanding businesses only continue to grow and make money when new products are sold, old products therefore have a built in lifespan.  But don't you hate it when the product you love is no longer sold, or has been modified, or replaced and the "new" product is subpar?  This seems to happen with a greater frequency.  In the last five years, I have switched bluejean companies because the companies keep changing to follow trends.  Whose trends?  Not mine, nobody asked me what I want or in this case don't want in a jean.

Living in salt in a metal box really does requires constant diligence.  Knowing and doing are two different things.  As I said, Plan473 is more of a handle as it happens.  Coming into the work box and finding rusty water on your cardboard boxes is one of those this needs to be handled right now kinda situations.  We both new the spot on the roof was thin and would need replacing but since it has not rained in months and months, the immediate need was not warranted.  Now, is a different story.

After fixing the hole in the roof, the Planner moved along to a hole in the side of the box that was discovered months ago.  While just the size of a pencil tip, the hole did not cause immediate need for repair so it was left alone.  Once cleaned and prepped for welding, the hole grew to the size of an eraser head.  Still nothing major.

A simple 1"x1" backing patch was placed on the inside on the box and the Planner welded a quick tack to seal the hole from the outside.  The whole process including cutting the patch took less than ten minutes. Then he moved to the second hole four panel groves down the wall.

Let us just say after ten minutes, I gave up holding the red hot patch and went to cook dinner.  Welding gloves and hoods could be seen and heard being thrown across the yard. Dinner came and went and the hole was still there.  After a cool down and some tasty grub, no not the nasty chicken, the Planner attacked the hole again and 30 minutes later he was done.  Why one project goes so well when the next goes to the crapper is beyond me.  Same wall, same patch material, same welder, same weather.  Two different results.  Glad that was done.

Another project that came as a sudden we need to fix this now was the chicken coop.  The Kid came in from collecting the eggs to inform me the box was a wet mess inside.  After cleaning out the wet mess (I guessed the rain came from the south and blew in the side window as that was the side that was wet) and while laying new bedding down did I discover the true reason for the wet mess.  A broken roofing sheet.

Can't say that I am shocked.  The sheets are two and half years old, and since good old Hurricane Harvey, are in full exposure to the sun and all of its UV harshness.  These roofing sheets were not designed for these conditions.  Luckily, the Planner had left over sections from when the coop was built so this was a quick, easy fix. Yeah!

In fact, the hardest part was collecting the broken pieces.  When attempting to remove the old broken sheet, it shattered into about a million shards and went everywhere.  It will takes weeks to collect.  Boo.  I hate half finished projects.

Ha! Half finished projects.  It seems everything right now at Plan473 is in a state of half finished projects.  Working on a project such as Plan473 might always be in a state of half finished.  Living with harsh conditions results in the state of half finished projects.