If things weren't so crazy I'd come up.
How'd it go today?
- Thread starter MasterBlaster
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Dave Shepard
Square peg, round world.
The mills and tree cos are the only log trucks. No independent trucks any more.
Burnham
Woods walker
That's a pretty spot, @SeanKroll. M and I camped there for several days a few years ago, enjoyed some very nice hikes.
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flushcut
TreeHouser
Any gold in the quartz?
I was wondering about it. Most quartz is smashed to bits. I wonder if naturally or from prospectors.
flushcut
TreeHouser
Looks a little big to have been mined, but I’m no miner.
Kaveman
Treehouser
As a general rule, if the quartz shows signs of oxidation, which that specimen does, it contains gold. As for how much? You'd have to crush it and process it to find out. Probably significantly less than a gram from that hunk of rock. A dump truck full of that stuff is probably worth the time and effort, but not by much.
flushcut
TreeHouser
And just how do you know it’s not the mother load? Lol
Dave Shepard
Square peg, round world.
The exhaust on my Golf is coming apart. It sounds like I'm in a fog horn when it upshifts.
Kaveman
Treehouser
Science! Quartz, and all the other minerals it may contain are deposited in a liquid state, thus, there can only be a certain percentage of other minerals in suspension within the liquid column. As they settle, they self segregate according to the strongest law on earth, gravity. Over time, more unstable elements oxidize. The deeper into the rock strata the host quartz is housed, the less oxidation can occur. The longer a specimen rock is exposed the more oxidation that will occur. The more unstable the minerals present, the more oxidation that can occur, etc.
David's photographed rock shows low to moderate levels of oxidation. In context with several hundred years worth of desert variety lichen growth, the specimen shows low levels of oxidation. When we consider that gold is likely only as high as 0.001% of suspended minerals, and that the specimen discussed exhibits low levels of mineralization overall, it is reasonable to conclude that the quartz is worth more as a specimen stone, than the value of any contained gold. Thus, it is not worth the energy required to refine said stone in search of mineral wealth.
Thank you for attending this short TED talk on geology. Understand that it is a primer and that the only law of geology I have learned is in consideration of land slides. "If it has slid once, it WILL slide again."
Dave Shepard
Square peg, round world.
I've been studying battery systems a little bit. It looks like there might be some simple options to do what I want, and not terrifyingly expensive (thought not exactly cheap). I've got all the batteries in the garage where it's about 40*. Still haven't figured out what I need to charge and evaluate the health of the batteries. The dead of winter in a heated garage is an ideal time of year to do this.
I've been thinking about the long game with this potential system. Initially, I was thinking of charging off the grid, then having an inverter hooked to the generator side of my transfer switch. Then someone suggested running off of the batteries all the time, and having the batteries charged off the grid. That way an outage would not require having to switch to batteries because I would already be on batteties. Plan C is to charge from a propane generator (which I have, not hooked up). I could run this system staying on the generator side of the transfer switch, with grid backup, I'd, at some point, eliminating the grid. My National Grid (that's pronounced "National Greed") bill is ridiculous, and I can buy a lot of propane, especially considering how little energy I use.
The batteries were a windfall, and would cost about $12k to replace, but after seeing the prices of LiFePo4 batteries, it would only be about $2k to replace the lead acid. In 8-9 years, I'm expecting the cost per kwh to be even cheaper, and the chemistry to be even better than what we have now. Sodium-ion looks very promising, and is here already.
So far, I'm $75 into this project (1 pair of Carhartt double-knees with acid holes, and $25 in diesel for my friend's little International to haul then home), so I think I'm off to a good start. If the batteries last 8 years, I'll save about $13k, without adjusting for rate hikes. Minus hardware and propane, of course. Theoretically, I can leave the grid hooked up on the other side of the transfer switch, as backup to my backup, but the trick they are using is to make their money off of delivery fees and other sneakery, so that might make it not worth having as backup.
I'm keeping battery upgrades, and solar panels in mind when choosing hardware options. I know where there are a couple pallets of panels that are outdated that the commercial solar company left behind at a friend's house... Just dumping the cash into a complete off-grid system isn't necessarily cost effective, I don't think, but scrounging, and having a hatred of The Greed, I think I can make it work.
Many pounds of batteries moved into the garage (my shoulders might be usable again soon):
I've been thinking about the long game with this potential system. Initially, I was thinking of charging off the grid, then having an inverter hooked to the generator side of my transfer switch. Then someone suggested running off of the batteries all the time, and having the batteries charged off the grid. That way an outage would not require having to switch to batteries because I would already be on batteties. Plan C is to charge from a propane generator (which I have, not hooked up). I could run this system staying on the generator side of the transfer switch, with grid backup, I'd, at some point, eliminating the grid. My National Grid (that's pronounced "National Greed") bill is ridiculous, and I can buy a lot of propane, especially considering how little energy I use.
The batteries were a windfall, and would cost about $12k to replace, but after seeing the prices of LiFePo4 batteries, it would only be about $2k to replace the lead acid. In 8-9 years, I'm expecting the cost per kwh to be even cheaper, and the chemistry to be even better than what we have now. Sodium-ion looks very promising, and is here already.
So far, I'm $75 into this project (1 pair of Carhartt double-knees with acid holes, and $25 in diesel for my friend's little International to haul then home), so I think I'm off to a good start. If the batteries last 8 years, I'll save about $13k, without adjusting for rate hikes. Minus hardware and propane, of course. Theoretically, I can leave the grid hooked up on the other side of the transfer switch, as backup to my backup, but the trick they are using is to make their money off of delivery fees and other sneakery, so that might make it not worth having as backup.
I'm keeping battery upgrades, and solar panels in mind when choosing hardware options. I know where there are a couple pallets of panels that are outdated that the commercial solar company left behind at a friend's house... Just dumping the cash into a complete off-grid system isn't necessarily cost effective, I don't think, but scrounging, and having a hatred of The Greed, I think I can make it work.
Many pounds of batteries moved into the garage (my shoulders might be usable again soon):
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