Open Source Ecology - Answers

MicroHouse 4 Plumbing: microhouse schematics, plumping,electrical and biodegester

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 05:04:42 -0700

where are the schematics of the microhouse i want to build it my self

this is HAMDI ZAHIR from Sudan

Bakery Oven - Development Infographic: Where can I find a plan to make this bakery oven?

Mon, 06 Oct 2025 03:07:20 -0700

Maybe I’m not looking in the right way but I can’t find the plan for the bread oven

Backhoe - Earlier Versions: I was looking thru the docs.

Sat, 04 Oct 2025 16:52:57 -0700

I was perusing your info to see where you were at and where i might contribute, but everything looks empty. Am i doing something wrong?

Chipper: I cannot find the project and I had an idea

Thu, 16 Feb 2023 11:18:43 -0700

Hi there I am not an engineer BUT I had an idea
Would it be possible to connect this machine to a bike so to avoid power problems such as emissions or batteries or distance from renewable sources?
If people could just use it biking to smash organic waste or small wooden waste or leaves from agricultural works or pruning ect ---

Also wondering if with a dynamo mechanism, it could self-power a sort of accompanied ride or to boost its power to make it usable without too much effort --- could be interesting these chippers get broken easily and it takes ages to repair them :D -- thanks

CEB Press: Soil composition for the Press

Fri, 11 Mar 2022 10:02:54 -0700

Greetings. I am very interested in the CEB press for producing Compressed Earth Bricks to the same dimensions as standard fired clay bricks. I wish to know however if it is possible for a normal mud brick that is pressed in the machine to have similar properties to the clayly ones that OpensourceEcology produced for the micro house?

Getting soil appraised for clay content isn't a problem for me as I am a geology student, however I wish to know if simple mud is a good idea for a insulating, structural brick. By itself or by addition with lime mortar. Thanks for the help.

Best regards,

David

part nº2: Possibility for offline export

Mon, 11 Oct 2021 08:32:34 -0700

Is there any officially supported means of exporting the OSE guides for offline storage?

Official Website: Is opensourceecology.org, or opensourceecology.dozuwiki.com official?

Sat, 24 Apr 2021 11:40:53 -0700

Dear Open Source Ecology,

I find it confusing that there appear to be 2 separate web pages for open source ecology:

opensourceecology.org,

opensourceecology.dozuwiki.com

Which of these pages is the official page? Should they resources not be pooled into a single source instead of split among different sites?

Module - Overall Machine: Can next version be Electric?

Sat, 12 Sep 2020 07:33:17 -0700

Can the next version of the PowerCube be an electric replacement? I would much rather build with a silent motor that I can recharge from my solar panels than a combustion one.

LifeTrac 6: top speed, hauling capacity, and range in miles

Mon, 07 Sep 2020 13:55:17 -0700

What is the top speed, the maximum hauling capacity, and the range in miles with a minimal load?

Dimensional Sawmill: band saw vs circular saw style sawmill

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 05:21:00 -0700

Can we consider a redesign here with a band saw instead of circular saw?

I have seen some discussion given to considering a band saw design here instead of a circular saw design.

Band saw mills have clear advantages over circular saw mills. First, a thinner kerf. The kerf is the width of material that is removed and converted to sawdust by each cut. Band saw mills have much thinner kerfs. Secondly, in the same stroke, a band saw mill produces much less sawdust. We’re talking the difference between a small pile of sawdust and a large mound for a single rip cut. I have not found sawdust in volume to be a useful feedstock for any other process besides preventing plant growth due to its high surface area and nitrogen-hunger.

I currently own a 36” chainsaw mill which is closer to a circular sawmill in terms of sawdust production and kerf size, and I would switch to a band saw without batting an eyelash if I could afford it.

I do not know of any relative disadvantages of band saw mills over circular saw mills but I would like to hear about any that you may know of.

Ironworker Machine: Plans for assembly plates?

Thu, 15 Aug 2019 15:23:31 -0700

Do you have any published plans for the assembly plates? Or the pivot plates ?

I would like to try making this unit and would CNC plasma cut those units.

Microhouse: Is the expectation here for the community to be writing the guides?

Fri, 09 Aug 2019 07:33:20 -0700

will the guides be written in a wikipedia like fasion where anyone can edit them and add to them?

Module - Overall CEB Press: What are the compressive strength & modulus of rupture for the bricks?

Tue, 19 Mar 2019 16:49:25 -0700

What are the nominal compressive strength & modulus of rupture for the bricks as per the international building code(IBC2018)?

You appear to be using 555PSI to create them but were you able to test their strength as individual masonry units? Naturally this will vary depending on the composition of the earth used but do you have any typical numbers? I’m curious about passing inspection.

LifeTrac: What was the justification for using 4x4x0.25 square tube?

Sat, 16 Mar 2019 22:57:15 -0700

I can’t find any documentation about what the expected loads and capacities of the LifeTrac. Can you explain or direct me to documentation of the expectations of the LifeTrac? Thank you.

LifeTrac: Status of this project

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 07:48:14 -0700

Hi guys,

I’m very impressed with this project.

Can you tell me why there seems to have been little activity on the LifeTrac project in the last 4-5 years? Have you just moved your attention to the other projects?

Also I think it would be great if there was more footage of the LifeTrac 6, especially doing actual work. From what I can find there’s flashes of it here and there but mostly of the older models.

Also have you thought about opening a Liberapay account?

Regards,

Mark

⟐ Commented October 08, 2018, 7:48 MST

Trencher - Modules: What are the practical limitations?

Tue, 17 Jul 2018 12:39:59 -0700

I noticed that the disc diameter is 6'. This would suggest that the maximum depth of trench is likely less than 3' (ie, radius of disk, minus limits imposed by operating mechanism, plus depth increase due to length of bits). The frostline where I'm located (Canada, near Ottawa) is about 3.5'. To safely ensure that I never have frozen water lines, I'd need a depth of 4' (the depth that all water lines must be run in my area), which would suggest that I would require a 9'-10' disk. I'm thinking that this would be rather impractical.

Was there a consideration of using a chain-mounted bit system more like commercial units use? Why, other than simplicity, was a disc chosen as the trench blade?

Lifetrac 6 - Development: Lower profile Lifetrac with trailer function

Wed, 30 May 2018 09:27:02 -0700

I would like to have a tractor like the lifetrack 6 but that is lower profile and is longer. I want it to not only serve the function of loading, digging, etc but I want it to be a trailer as well. You can think of it as a powered trailer with a frontloader and backhoe on it. Do you have a machine like this - or any plans to modify this one? I will be purchasing land in the desert soon. the land is not very level but I will need to haul material around on it for construction sake, as well as to haul water around to irrigate. I am not crazy about the idea of having a tractor and a trailer - would make it easier to control if they were one and the same. This LIfetrac tractor/trailer must be capable of carrying 10,000 pounds on it - the weight is over 1,000 gallons of water.

⟐ Edited by author May 30, 2018, 9:27 MST

CEB Press: The discussion forum appears to be defunct.

Thu, 24 May 2018 15:14:27 -0700

Is there a new link to a forum where we can discuss our challenges in assembling and operating the Liberator CEB machine?

Module - Roller Guides: Sketches for drawer guides

Sat, 17 Mar 2018 02:08:24 -0700

I have been looking for the sketches with the exact dimensions of the drawer guides. I have not been able to find them, any help on this?

LifeTrac 7 Overall Development: How is it going?

Sat, 17 Feb 2018 13:08:46 -0700

Hi! I met a farmer today that needs a tractor. How is this one going?

On the other hand, do you have anything that can cut down watermelon harvesting time by 50%?

Thanks!

⟐ Edited by author February 17, 2018, 13:08 MST