Solar-Powered Electric Fencing
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #147 • May/June, 2014
A new electric fence attached to older traditional wood fencing
More and more people are turning to electric fences as the cost of standard metal and wood...
Converting a Gasoline-Powered Rototiller to Electric
By Glenn Willis, Jr.
Issue #87 • May/June, 2004
Several years ago my sister and her husband had an 8-horse gas-powered rototiller that went belly up. They fussed with it a bit, but couldn't get it...
Prepper power! Part 1
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #136 • July/August, 2012
The interesting thing about being a "prepper" is most preppers don't want anybody to know they are one! No doubt many fear they will be ostracized...
Solar power trailer Part 2
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #109 • January/February, 2008
In Part I of this article in the November/December 2007 issue, I described the many uses for a solar power system that could be made totally...
Water pumping windmills
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Issue #90 • November/December, 2004
Standing tall like a giant sunflower in a sea of undulating prairie grasses, or in any rural setting, a windmill is a thing of beauty. Not only are...
Keep the Ice On
By Jeffrey R. Yago, P.E., C.E.M.
Self-Reliance, Fall 2019
When I ask most people why they own or are looking to buy a generator, most will say it is to keep a refrigerator or freezer operating....
Design calculations for no-head, low-head waterwheels
By Rudy Behrens
Issue #17 • September/October, 1992
(This is the second of our three-part series on waterwheels. The third installation (Issue No. 18) will deal with overshot wheels. -- Editor.)
For those of you who are...
Power-up bag
By Jeffrey R. Yago, P. E.
During any emergency or related power outage, the most important electronic device you need to keep operating is your cell phone, at least as long as cellular service is...
You could furnish an entire homestead at Lehman’s ‘Non-electric’ Hardware Store
By Don Fallick
Issue #47 • September/October, 1997
Let me state my bias right at the beginning: Lehmans Hardware has been advertising in Backwoods Home Magazine for a long time, but I made my first purchase...
Hydronic woodstoves
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #105 • May/June, 2007
Do you realize there is an entire field of woodstoves that the general public rarely hears about, even though there are specialty woodstove stores in every...
Solar Building Design
By Steven Heckeroth
Issue #63 • May/June, 2000
Solar building design has been used since ancient times. In the more recent past, it has been more or less ignored as impractical, complicated, or too expensive. Incorporating...
What if the electricity GOES OFF?
By Michael Hackleman
Issue #55 • January/February, 1999
Just as everyone was getting ready to throw the party of the century and millenniumout with the old and in with the newsomeone springs Y2K on us. Power...
Solar-powered chicken coop
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #132 • November/December, 2011
Pre-manufactured chicken coop with roof-mounted solar module
I am sure many of you have raised large flocks of chickens for years as a normal part of rural...
Energy class: Part 2 — Understanding your electric bill
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #112 • July/August, 2008
In Part 1 of this series of articles, I hopefully made you aware that your home's utility costs should be more of a concern than what...
Keep those gadgets working after the power goes out
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #84 • November/December, 2004
The recent 2003 northeast electric grid failure taught the residents of many large cities what most rural residents learned years ago: Lights, air conditioners, televisions, stereos,...
Sunny Solutions for north slope applications
By Michael Hackleman
Issue #61 • January/February, 2000
Solar-powered pumps have proved their worth for many installations worldwide, anywhere under the sun. However, in the northern hemisphere, a year-around spring located at the base of a...
