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Custom ATV, Unconventional Pruning Tool, Portable Solar Generator & More! | Practical Living Ep. 2
Jan 24, 2024
Welcome to Practical Living, the rural living podcast that educates and inspires those who love hands-on work, off-grid lifestyles, and home improvement. In today's episode, we'll look at a custom ATV, a pruning tool that's not a pruning tool, portable solar generators, and a tractor-mounted wood chipper, and we'll also do a Q&A! Thanks for watching Practical Living, the only rural living podcast you need.
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🕐 Timestamps:
► 0:00 - Intro
► 0:42 - On the Land
► 11:39 - Better Home
► 19:28 - Q&A: Welding
► 21:08 - Q&A: Tyvek Building Wrap
► 24:10 - Q&A: Deck Stain
► 27:23 - Q&A: Water Distillers
► 30:31 - Outro
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Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Hi, I'm Steve Maxwell and welcome to the next episode of Practical Living, the show that
0:17
provides inspiration and information on all aspects of hands-on living, from home improvement
0:22
to woodworking to rural living, gardening, power tools and everything. In this episode, I'm going to be showing you a wood chipper in action, we're going to see
0:31
some PVC shears, which also work great for an alternative purpose, we're going to be
0:36
looking at a portable power station and a bunch of other things
0:40
So let's get going
0:54
So this is a tractor mounted wood chipper that I got about three years ago now and it
0:59
works very well. I thought you might like to see it in action, we've got some old dead stuff to get rid of here
1:06
There's often a need for getting rid of trimmed branches and small trees and dead falls and
1:11
things like that to keep country places neater, so you're going to see this baby in action
1:16
So let's go and take a look. So this chipper is made by a Canadian company called Woodland Mills
2:39
They started off making portable sawmills for people. They've added other things to their line up
2:45
It's kind of an interesting story, two young guys graduating from university, I believe
2:50
here in Ontario, Canada, and then they start this company using their design skills
2:56
I've had this, as I said, for three years. I'm really impressed with the engineering, with the way the blades are pretty easy to
3:05
get at, I'll show you that, get at for replacement or sharpening
3:09
It's also quite safe too. It's got an automatic feed the way you saw, but that automatic feed, it's a long way in there
3:18
You'd have to try really hard to get caught into it. And this control either shuts off the automatic feed, advances it, or if you push it the other
3:30
way, it can take stuff out if you've got a jam or something like that
3:34
Now in a minute, I'll take off this cover and let you see the blades, see where things
3:39
actually happen. But it being a tractor mounted device, it sits on the three point hitch of the tractor
3:47
It connects, it's basically using the power of the tractor in order to power this unit
3:53
And the chute is completely adjustable for direction and angle as well
4:01
So far not a stitch of trouble with it. I have changed the belt and I've put on a fresh set of blades, but other than that
4:08
it's been a great machine. You can make smaller ones. You wouldn't want to put this chipper on a tractor a whole lot smaller than this one
4:15
It's about 60 horsepower and you use most of those horses when you're chipping up some
4:21
big stuff. So just one of the tools that we've got here at the end of Bailey Line Road for keeping
4:26
our place looking good. By removing this one bolt, we can get to the blades
5:15
Now of course, you'd never want to take this off while the thing is running
5:20
You can be completely safe around equipment like this, but you have to be smart too
5:24
So I'll just come around to this side
5:36
So this is the thing that spins. It actually spins this way
5:40
And there's a blade there. That could use some work. It was sharp a little while ago
5:45
I haven't been doing a lot of chipping lately though. So there's blades here and here
5:53
The material comes in here. And this piece of metal here is also part of the cutting mechanism
6:02
It's called the anvil. And that's the thing that supports the wood as the knife is slicing it
6:09
So that has to be adjusted. So it's about a sixteenth of an inch or an eighth inch away from the surface of the blade
6:19
There's some adjustment bolts down there. But it's an adjustment you don't need to tinker with too often
6:25
But this is essentially where it all happens. And on the back here, there are some flanges that create a kind of air movement
6:36
And that's what's responsible for blasting out all the chips and shooting them out
6:43
Pretty simple really, but heavy duty, well built, and the kind of thing that serves us well
6:59
Sound of engine running
7:12
Sound of engine stopping
7:24
So this is my Honda four-wheeler. It's a 420cc machine. I've had it for about three years now
7:31
I really like it a lot just for its engineering. But the real benefit is the fact that I've kind of outfitted it to be a rolling gas-powered four-wheel drive toolbox
7:42
In a sense, especially when I'm out here looking after fences and making sure the water is working for cattle
7:49
Setting some dividing poly wire between the different sections of the pasture
7:55
So come on over and I'll take a look. You can take a look at some of the things I've done
8:00
This machine didn't come with all the accessories you see here. Colpin makes this back rack super helpful
8:09
It's quite deep, so it can hold a lot of stuff. Gas and oil for the chainsaws
8:16
Some fencing tools. Spare batteries for the cordless tools I have on here too
8:23
And I'll show you guys that in a minute. One thing down here
8:28
I got an extension to this trailer hitch to get it out kind of even with the back rack
8:35
That was very helpful too. I have a couple of trailers I pull with that
8:39
And then a chainsaw holder. Super handy. It's a great way to hold the saw
8:50
Because you never know when you're going to need a saw around here. A fallen tree or something that needs to be cleaned up
8:57
Maybe a little bit of firewood cutting. Although I use a bigger saw for real firewood cutting
9:03
Moose Utility makes this. This is quite beefy. I kind of wish that back one was as heavy as this
9:09
It's heavy enough, but this is really solid. It's the same company that makes the plow blade that I put on the front
9:17
As far as stuff I carry. You've seen me using this. Just a pruning chainsaw
9:22
It's great for those times when you're feeding the chipper. Or you're cutting firewood too and you want to just limb some of the branches off the trunk
9:33
This is actually a PVC shear. It's meant for cutting PVC conduit, water pipe, packs, stuff like that
9:46
I'll show you in a minute. It's also a terrific pruning tool. Not for around here so much, but back at the house where you have to do careful pruning
9:53
It's quite useful for that. This is Army Surplus ammunition box
10:03
They make great toolboxes. Not only are they really strong and they don't cost too much
10:08
They've got a waterproof gasket on them. This is where I keep all kinds of things like power sharp
10:16
This actually lets you sharpen a dull chainsaw in about 20 seconds or so
10:23
I'll show you about that later sometime. Some bungee cords. I keep some drawings here as well
10:30
Because I need to know where to put the various fence wires
10:36
To define the pasture and keep the cattle into smaller sections. I found that the only way to lay out things accurately as far as size of chunks go is on Google Earth
10:50
So each one of these points is where I have installed one strand of electric polywire
10:58
To form kind of pie shaped segments. Water is here and water is up there
11:05
So the pie shaped segments all lead to the water. So I don't have to have a whole bunch of water supply everywhere
11:16
I should have got one of these four wheelers a long time ago
11:20
Because it's really boosted my productivity. If you've got any questions about this setup
11:26
I've got a great trailer that I pull behind it too. I can cover that in another video
11:31
Just super useful. I hope you like taking a look at it
11:41
This is what's generically called a portable power station. This particular one is made by Champion
11:49
It's really one of the best I've seen. And I've seen a number of them
11:53
It's not quite out for sale yet. Or it will be soon in a larger way
11:58
But it's a brand new product. And I want to tell you about the product in general
12:03
About the category of product. But also about this unit in particular
12:08
Portable power stations are high capacity lithium ion batteries. That are packaged together with an inverter
12:16
To convert that direct current battery power. Into something that plug in alternating current products can use
12:23
And it's also got a built in charger too. Essentially it's power in a box
12:31
They're sometimes called portable solar generators. Even though they're not actually a generator in themselves
12:39
But they all can be connected to some solar panels. That's one of the biggest and best applications for something like this
12:53
Is long term power that does not require fuel. And does not generate any noise
13:01
So if you've got an extended power failure going on. And gas stations are running out of gas
13:07
And you can't find anything. Maybe you can't even drive on the road
13:11
Because of all the downed trees. If you have access to sunlight
13:15
Then you can keep going with power. Now to be fair. These things don't store a lot of power
13:22
One gas tank in an average size gas power generator. Puts out about 15 times the total power of something like this
13:33
So relatively small amount of power. But like I said it can be recharged
13:38
From a wall outlet or from a vehicle or also from a solar panel
13:42
So that's the advantage. This particular model is designed to accept expansion batteries
13:51
Which just kind of sit on top. There's a cable that connects the two together at the back
13:58
So in this case I would have doubled the capacity. Because the total capacity is about 1600 watt hours
14:06
So 1.6 kilowatt hours. And you get the same amount again with the expansion battery
14:13
In this particular design you can add up to 10 expansion batteries if you want
14:20
So if you had all those batteries. You would have just about the same amount of stored power
14:25
As in one tank of fuel for a gas power generator. So it starts to get comparable there
14:30
Although 10 of these and this unit would be much more expensive than a generator
14:35
But still the applications are slightly different. And the strengths of something like this
14:41
Are quite different than a fuel power generator. Let's just take a close look here for a minute
14:47
So we switch on the unit here. Kind of boots up. And right now it tells me there's 100% charge
15:00
The battery is not being charged. Now if I want AC power
15:07
Like out of this outlet here. For anything that would plug into a normal outlet
15:11
I need to press the button again. And then I get that little outlet symbol
15:18
And stuff works. Now you can see here. It even tells me the wattage and the voltage it's being delivered
15:31
So it's a 100 watt bulb. I can operate this bulb for just under 10 hours
15:38
It's taking 118 watts. It's delivering 121.1 volts. And drawing 0.9 amps
15:46
So if I had this hooked up to a wall outlet or to a solar panel
15:51
Then there would be an indication that the battery is being charged. And it would tell me how much longer it needs to charge fully
15:57
So three 120 volt outlets. There's a Paralink connection here. Which would allow this to connect to an inverter generator
16:07
Which is a handy thing. Now imagine you're at an RV campsite for instance
16:12
You don't want to turn your generator on. Every time you want to have some lights or something like that
16:20
So small applications can be powered directly by the battery. When the battery drops to a certain level of charge
16:29
The connected inverter generator can be connected to this. And charge it up again
16:35
So it's just a better way to manage power. Which means you don't necessarily have to have your generator running all the time
16:42
Now over here we've got a 12 volt 10 amp outlet. For regular accessory port
16:49
Here's another way of getting 12 volts out. And then there's USB and USB-C
16:54
For charging phones and computers and stuff like that. So a pretty impressive technology
17:00
I've never seen a unit that's quite this full featured. In terms of outlets, capacity and expansion capabilities
17:09
You'll be seeing lots more of this kind of stuff in the future. I think this is the way of the future
17:14
At least for this kind of backup power. Advantages over a regular generator certainly do exist
17:22
And you can use it alongside of a regular generator. Or if you've got to power something small a long way from anywhere
17:30
This is the kind of unit that can work well for you
17:37
Let me show you this tool I've been using for a number of years. I can't remember how long. Ever since they came out
17:43
This is a Milwaukee PVC shear it's called. And the purpose of this is to cut all kinds of plastic pipe
17:52
Which it does quite easily. I mean that's really fast. When you're installing conduit or water pipe or whatever it works great
18:03
PEX pipe, any kind of plastic water pipe works great. It will even cut smaller ABS
18:12
Which is quite something because it's really strong material. But what I actually use this most for is pruning
18:19
Pruning trees and branches and things. It's fast and easy and I'll just show you what I mean
18:25
The tool's offset so I'm going to go around here. Get as close as I can to the trunk
18:34
I've been meaning to prune off these branches anyway. So you might be wondering
18:51
How big this thing can handle. I think it will probably go through that but let's see
18:58
Sometimes it stalls out on big stuff. This is just pine so let's see if it will do it
19:06
Yeah just like that. Now it's cordless 12 volt. It lasts a long time especially with these extended batteries
19:16
And the blades are replaceable too. I've already had to replace the blade once
19:20
It got bent and chipped and everything. But a great tool for plumbing and tree pruning
19:30
Well the first question I've got comes from Ray. And he happens to be a student in my online MIG welding course
19:38
So he's got a question about what he's learning. Hi Steve. Do you start your weld by bringing the wire holder to the workpiece
19:46
Or by advancing the wire feed to the workpiece? It looks to me like the holder is stationary
19:52
And you advance the wire feed to make initial contact with the metal
19:56
Yeah Ray's right. I should give you a little background though. MIG welder is an electric welder that's the easiest of all to use
20:04
You can learn to use one in about 30 minutes or so
20:08
The claim to fame is that it's got an energized wire. Thin wire that comes out of the handle you hold
20:14
So you don't have to worry about feeding another welding rod into the welding zone
20:18
It does that automatically. Some MIG welders can also shield the weld area with an inert gas
20:25
Which makes for a really great looking weld. I like MIG welders a lot and that's why I built my course around that
20:33
You can learn more about the course in the description box. And in the top pinned comment if you want to learn more
20:40
But Ray is completely right. You don't get too close to the metal when you're starting a weld
20:46
You just get close enough maybe half an inch or so. You pull the trigger
20:51
The energized wire automatically advances. And when it gets close to the metal it creates an arc
20:57
And you start welding. So super easy to use. I don't know what I'd do without my MIG welder
21:05
So there you go Ray. This question comes from Wally. Hi Steve how are things
21:13
One of my retirement projects is our cottage. We pretty much gutted it two years ago
21:18
And have been slowly rebuilding since. We're finally getting around to the siding
21:22
A combination of vertical board and batten and shakes. All vinyl. My question is about Tyvek
21:28
When we resheet the outside of the cottage. Two years ago with half inch plywood
21:34
We covered it with Tyvek. Which is a kind of building wrap
21:38
I'm a bit concerned with having the Tyvek exposed. To the elements for this long
21:44
My question is should I replace the Tyvek before residing. Or am I safe to reside over it
21:50
Well technically speaking. Tyvek is a fabric. A kind of a waterproof fabric
21:56
That's wrapped around the outer sheeting of buildings. It's used all the time
22:01
It just helps to stop air infiltration and drafts and things. And it does a decent job at that
22:07
But I don't like Tyvek. And I don't use any of the standard building wraps on my projects
22:12
A couple of reasons. First of all. Last time I checked. Companies like Tyvek say
22:19
Our product has got to be covered in 60 days or less
22:23
Or else it's going to start deteriorating and not work properly. And that 60 days seems a bit conservative to me
22:30
Because I've seen it up for a lot longer than that. And it seems to be fine
22:34
Another problem though is the way it's not breathable. It can't let moisture vapor pass through it
22:41
It's waterproof. It's kind of plasticky. And I can keep water out
22:46
But if water ever gets behind it. You know on the wall side of it
22:50
It can't escape. So that's another problem. And I've seen that happen
22:55
I've also seen a situation where a building wrap. Conventional building wrap was used against OSB
23:01
Oriented Strand Board. It's a common sheathing material. And for some reason
23:06
And I don't know all the chemistry. But the building wrap was tatters
23:11
It was just hanging in ribbons. And it pretty well deteriorated. It certainly wasn't functioning properly
23:17
I've heard some people theorize. That it's the glue in the OSB
23:22
That doesn't react well with the building wrap. I don't know what it is
23:27
My preference is to use a heavier breathable building wrap. It's made by a few different companies
23:35
Cosella Dorkin is one company. That makes a product that I really like
23:41
It's probably about twice as thick as regular building wrap. So it's a lot stronger
23:46
You have a hard time tearing it. But most importantly. It allows moisture vapor to pass through
23:54
So it's kind of interesting. It stops liquid water. If there's a leak. It's not going to get through
23:58
But if water gets behind it. It can dry out. Through this stuff
24:03
So breathability is a great thing. When it comes to building wraps
24:08
This next question. Actually. The same question. The same problem. Has come in to me from two different subscribers recently
24:18
I'll read Fran's note here. But exactly the same situation is happening with Alan as well
24:25
Fran writes. We just had our deck stained this past May. With bare cedar natural tone
24:32
Photos included. Now our deck looks like the bottom three photos. We've had thick fog
24:39
And every morning our decks have been wet. If you wet the deck
24:43
There are white spots that go away. But as soon as they dry. The spots come back
24:48
When we finally get some days of sunshine. Should we put some clear deck stain on the decks
24:54
We're so disappointed. As they looked beautiful for a couple of weeks. Now this has happened
24:59
We've used the same stain for years. And never had a problem previously
25:04
So Alan has the same problem. Same sort of. Some white blotches
25:11
And also some darker areas. Which look pretty poor. I think two things are going on here
25:17
First of all the dark areas. In both cases. In Fran's case
25:22
And in Alan's case. The old finish was stripped. And a deck brightener was added
25:29
To bring up the natural bright color of the wood. And then the stain was applied
25:34
But in neither case was sanding done. And looking at the photos they've sent me
25:39
It looks very much like some of the gray. From weathering. Because the previous finish had failed
25:45
Some of that weathering was not completely removed. Or brightened with the brightener
25:50
And that area absorbs more stain. So it gets darker. I see this sort of thing all the time
25:57
And there's really no substitute. For sanding back to bare wood. On a deck that you're refinishing
26:05
I wouldn't recommend starting that sanding process. Right from the get-go. It's far better to strip off
26:12
All of the old finish you can get off. With some sort of water soluble deck stripper
26:17
They make non-toxic ones. You can use that to water your gardens or your lawn
26:21
And then after it dries. After you've pressure washed that gunk off
26:25
Let it dry. Bone dry. And then sand it with an 80 grit abrasive
26:29
Ideally in a 6 inch random orbit sander. That's a handheld sander
26:33
But it's pretty powerful. And it can cover a lot of ground. So that's the solution
26:39
Or rather the prevention for the gray streaking. That these people are having trouble with
26:44
But also I've noticed that. Unless a deck finish is fully dry
26:48
And that can take 3 or 4 or 5 days. It can be susceptible to whitening from moisture
26:56
It's almost like it absorbs some of the moisture. And it makes it look cloudy and white
27:00
Now in my experience. If you leave things alone. And let full drying occur
27:05
Once wet weather stops. That problem will most likely go away. At least it has in my experience
27:12
So that's the issue with decks. And as I said. It's a fairly common problem
27:18
But sanding. That's the way around it. Now this question comes from Gail
27:25
Hello Steve. My husband and I enjoy your newsletters. We always read your newspaper column in the Ottawa Citizen
27:32
Thank you very much. We're interested in one of the Aquanui water distiller systems like you have
27:38
My husband had some questions. And you might be in a good position to answer
27:42
We're outside of Smiths Falls, Ontario. And we're wondering what sort of duties, taxes and brokerage fees we'll encounter
27:48
If we go ahead with a purchase. Since the distiller is made in the U.S
27:52
Maybe it's covered under a free trade agreement. Many thanks. Look forward to hearing from you. Well. Yes
27:59
I own an Aquanui water distiller. If you've seen my other stuff before
28:03
You know that I really value drinking distilled water. There's lots of reasons for that
28:08
I think it's a health boost. I know from my own experience. And my family's experience
28:14
It offers benefits. Some real benefits. Even if you live in a situation where you're not concerned about contamination of your water
28:23
Like where I live. There's not a factory within 100 miles. And my well is 143 feet deep in limestone
28:29
So it's pretty pure as water goes. But it also has a lot of minerals in it
28:33
And believe it or not. Waterborne minerals of that kind. Non-organic, non-chelated minerals
28:39
Can cause problems in your body. I won't go into that now
28:43
There's lots more information about my feelings about distilled water. And my experiences on my website
28:49
As far as importing one of these things goes. The best advice I can give you
28:54
Is to open up an account with a broker. Who can bring these things across the border
29:02
A customs broker. If you just say ship by one of the regular couriers
29:07
And they handle the customs brokerage. They can and usually do soak you for very high prices and fees
29:16
I happen to have an account with an outfit called Near North Customs Broker
29:21
I'm just a little guy. I might import something once every couple of months
29:27
I'm not a big account. But they still take really good care of me
29:31
They're very efficient. They've never made a mistake. And their fees are certainly reasonable
29:37
Far more reasonable than courier companies for the actual brokerage. So that would be my recommendation to you
29:44
And as far as the company goes. I've had great results with them
29:48
They make this product right in the U.S. They're on the ball
29:52
They have excellent customer service. I've had my unit for I can't remember exactly
29:57
Maybe three or four years now. And it gets a lot of use. Not only does my family drink water from it
30:03
But it automatically produces water enough that I can share it with neighbors and things
30:07
So it gets a lot of use. I did have an issue with a burned out element
30:11
Maybe a year or so ago. Parts were easy to order. They were reasonably priced
30:17
It was easy to fix. So all in all I'm a happy customer
30:21
And I can certainly recommend that brand. And that way of getting the product into Canada or any other country that you might live in other than the States
30:29
So there you go. Any questions you'd like answered on the show
30:33
Email me at steve at stevemaxwell.ca And I'll do my best to answer them
30:39
Make them part of the show so you can see for yourself. Also don't forget to enter the contest giveaway
30:46
I've got a brand new DeWalt 8 inch pruning chainsaw to give away
30:50
Entering details are in the description box. And the top pinned comment down below
30:56
And if you like what you see here. Consider signing up for my free Saturday morning email newsletter
31:03
It comes out each week. More than 30,000 people get it. They love it
31:08
And I think you will too. So go to bailylineroad.com That's my website
31:12
And it's easy to sign up. In the next episode of Practical Living
31:17
I'll show you how I divide cattle pasture into smaller sections for better productivity
31:22
You'll learn about two unconventional ways to get inexpensive wood for fine woodworking
31:28
And I'll show you the first cordless pressure washer I've seen in action
31:32
See you next time
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