Solar Hot Water Heater

Heating water is probably one of the biggest line items on your energy bill. The average American family of 4 in 2012 spent between $250 and $550 that year to heat hot water. A cleverly designed solar hot water system can eliminate 50% to 100% of that cost, depending on usage.

DIY Solar Hot Water Heater

This is the “gateway drug” for heating water with the sun. You can build it yourself, in an afternoon, with 20$ in supplies. After you prove to yourself that indeed this solar hot water thing isn’t snake oil, you can move on to more advanced solar hot water systems.

diy solar water heater

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Standing Desk

Standing desks are quickly gaining popularity because they address many of the health concerns brought on by the modern computer desk lifestyle. This article is about the bucket built standing desk which I’ve designed that anyone can built quickly and try out.

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DIY Biodiesel

Few things make more sense in the 21st century than biodiesel. Using old french fry oil to power that cube van is good for every single entry of a triple bottom line.

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Cost of Home Biodiesel

Assuming you can get your hands on a source free oil, which is getting harder but still very possible, you can run a diesel engine for 58 cents a gallon. The most common outlets for a source of free used oil are fast food establishments and oriental restaurants.  Continue reading

Bucket Carrier

If you’re an experienced bucket wrangler you’ve probably at some point become dissatisfied with the stock carrying mechanism that comes with most buckets – its handle.

Fortunately you’ve got options when considering bucket transport. In this bucket carrier guide, I’ll run through just a few of the ways I’ve found to carry 5 gallons of fun around.

Bucket Backpacks

Bucket backpack

Ever noticed that you can squat three times as much weight as you can bench? That’s the same principle behind the bucket backpacks, a rare breed of bucket accessory frequently used by gold prospectors. Continue reading

Bucket Seat

Need a chair? Easy. Just flip a 5 gallon bucket upside down and park yourself on top.

It’ll support your weight, but it won’t feel nice. Buckets in the raw weren’t designed to be sat on comfortably, they were designed to be practically indestructible. Buckets have a lot of plastic ridges and seams which like to dig into your butt. It’s fine if you’re just sitting down for a few minutes, but increasingly painful the longer you sit on one.

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