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ArkPak battery box review

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Just before Christmas, I received a device called an ArkPak. It’s referred to as “The world’s most advanced battery box”. And that is exactly what it is, it’s a portable battery box, inverter, smart charger all in one.

It is pretty simple/easy to work, the battery fits right in, the cords/cables are color coded and easy to hook up, I liked the LCD screen. Once I installed the battery and turned it on, it asked me if it was a new battery, I answered NO, it then took a few seconds then told me the charge condition of the battery, it was sitting at 84%. I like the fact that it has the ability to tell me about my battery condition, that is a very important thing.
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February 2, 2014 No Comments

Battery desulfator review part two

A couple of months ago, I began testing a battery desulfator called the Wizbang Plus, it’s a simple device that you attach to your batteries, it creates an electric pulse that essentially “knocks” the sulfation off of the plates inside the batteries. Sulfation is the reason why batteries eventually fail. They hold less and less of a charge until they need to be replaced.

When I first hooked up the desulfator, I used it on 2 separate systems, an older battery on one and newer batteries on another. On the older battery, I’ll say that it seemed to work better, I could see a significant difference, enough that I am going to keep it hooked up, it is a slow process though. …

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February 1, 2014 No Comments
Communities

Living inside the box

04 This absolutely falls under the “How cool is that!” category… I have seen lots of sheds, workshops and homes made out of shipping containers, some are buried in the ground, most just sit on the ground, some people are creative with them and create an entire home out of multiple containers. Most can be found in rural areas of the USA…

This has to the the most interesting one I have seen to date. These folks owned a small (read TINY) lot in NY, after lots of work and convincing, they created their home with several of these containers stacked up, it’s modern looking, it’s sleek, it’s clean and it works!…

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January 12, 2014 2 Comments
Communities

Living off-grid interview

03I watched this video just a few days ago, it shows how someone can live off-grid without living in a primitive manner, of course this takes money, it’s a tradeoff, it’s possible to go off-grid on the cheap, my hubby and I are proof that this possible. But if you do have some money to invest, you can live every bit as “normal” as anyone else who lives on grid.…

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January 9, 2014 17 Comments
Communities

A tiny house for Macy

This Is What Happens When A Woman Gets Sick Of Divorce And Mortgages. And It’s Brilliant.

Macy Miller is an architect from Idaho that had a BIG dream about a tiny house. She had always wanted a place of her own, but the thought of a mortgage sickened her after she lost her home to foreclosure after getting divorced. So, her dream revolved around building a compact, but beautiful home. For two years, Macy worked on the 196 square-foot home, dedicating her free time to building the small paradise. Finally, construction has finished on her little hideaway… and it’s hard not to be jealous of this place, no matter how small it looks on the outside. After all, it only cost about $11,000.

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January 5, 2014 7 Comments
Communities

Old fire rescue truck conversion into an RV

Some guy bought an old fire rescue truck. What he turned it into is pure awesomeness.

This Reddit user’s dad did something with a hunk of junk that quite possibly made him the coolest person on the planet. He decided to buy an old fire rescue truck that was formerly used by German fire departments and tinker with it. However, he wasn’t interested in restoring the vehicle or keeping it as a collector’s item… instead, he did something much cooler with it.

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January 3, 2014 2 Comments
Communities

Stock up on LED lights now!

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Christmas is over and the after Christmas sales have started, one thing to grab up now before they all vanish is LED light strings, yes the ones that are sold for Christmas lighting, they are being marked down right now, stores have to make room for the next big holiday, meaning that you can get some major bargains right now.

All month long, I have been looking at my local Alco store (it’s like a small Target/dollar store with less stuff), I have been eyeballing the LED Christmas light strings, but have been biding my time knowing the price would drop dramatically after Christmas. Sure enough, a few days ago when I dropped in, I made a beeline to the back of the store for their Christmas section, I saw the sign, ALL CHRISTMAS DECORATION 50% OFF, that’s all I needed.…

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December 29, 2013 1 Comment
Communities

Grilling in the sky castle

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I love cooking, nearly anything, but until very recently I have kept my cooking adventures within the walls of the sky castle, a few weeks ago I got bit by the BBQ/grill bug. It all started out innocently enough, we had a small, very small table top charcoal grill, it wasn’t really large enough, but it was a good start. Next we dusted off the tall smoker that could be used as a grill by moving the charcoal pan up to the top, it wasn’t much better than the smaller grill, but by then I knew I really wanted to have a more permanent setup so PB went to work building a grill for me.…

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December 27, 2013 No Comments
Communities

Nine last minute DIY Christmas gifts

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In this last weekend just before Christmas, some of us are still behind on gifts, and often there are extra friends, family and such who would appreciate a heartfelt, handmade gift. Thanks to the internet, there are loads of ideas on making quick and inexpensive DIY gifts, and more importantly, there is still time to put some of these together before the big day!…

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December 22, 2013 1 Comment
Communities

How to make a frugal and festive Christmas dinner from the pantry

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Aside from the gifts under the tree, one of the big expenses of the holidays is the food.  Nearly everyone finds that their grocery bill is up this time of year.  You’re hosting parties, putting together a no-holds-barred Christmas morning breakfast, and making a gigantic feast for friends and family.

Stop!  You don’t have to go broke to enjoy the holidays!  It doesn’t matter what the neighbors are putting on their table this year.  Particularly if the money is stretched thin, there are lots of ways to make your dinner frugal, but still festive.…

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December 15, 2013 No Comments
Communities

Winter wonderland

PICT0001We had a very pretty day yesterday, it was one of those rare days that was cold but not so bitter that you didn’t want to go out. My friend and I had to go into town in the morning, it had been foggy, windy and cold overnight, we didn’t know what to expect in the morning, there was a chance we couldn’t go into town. We woke up to this sight, a winter wonderland of ice crystals that had grown on the windward side, growing in furry spiky delicate ice crystals.…

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December 8, 2013 No Comments
Communities

Have yourself a thrifty little Christmas

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There are a lot of reasons that sensible people want to step off  of the materialistic rocket ride that is the standard North American Christmas.  Maybe they don’t want to create children who are never satisfied and always want more, who always yearn for that next edition of the iGadget of the year.  Perhaps they have suffered their own personal economic collapse and just can’t afford it this year.  They might just want a sense of peace and contentment that you can never buy from a store.…

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December 8, 2013 1 Comment