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Building the Beast


Unobtanium

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This is going to be good.

It is my plan to create the "ultimate" combat shotgun in a well-finished, sleek, and ultimately durable package while not compromising on function, but rather, using the most effective parts available and applying the best I can find to the project.

 

The property I just bought is pure shotgun territory, due to terrain, and I want a dominant force of a shotgun.

 

1zgxhza.jpg

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Beautiful. I'm in the process of buying a place too. Here's my backstop.

DSC00110_zpsc8113e55.jpg

 

 

I would not not change anything on your build so far. Wishing I had the 2moa T1 and the 500 lumen weapon light head.

 

Very awesome. Our properties are 2 opposites! While I like and appreciate yours, I really really like mine. I find it odd how some people prefer what you have, and some prefer what I have. I wonder why that is? Anyway, it reminds me of Pahrump, NV. I went on a 4-5 mile hike there while out at the Spring Mountain Motorsports ranch, and it looked identical. I appreciated it, but would never live there, much as I suspect you would never live where I bought my land. Anyway, I'm not trying to be critical, just observing the differences in taste. I wonder what accounts for it. Duggan on here much prefers your type of land to what I went for, as well. I just find matters of taste like this interesting.

 

Edited by Unobtanium
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I like the forest as well. We were considering a move to the mountains and commuting to work about 50 miles each way. However, land values in the forest here are quite expensive due to their desirability. Plus you're stuck living in relatively close proximity to others.

 

Out here, the nearest house is about 1/3 of a mile away and I'll be sitting on a little over 30 acres. Plus it is a full established functioning ranch.

 

I've considered upgrading the light, just haven't gotten around to it since I've been saving cash for my house purchase.

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I like the forest as well. We were considering a move to the mountains and commuting to work about 50 miles each way. However, land values in the forest here are quite expensive due to their desirability. Plus you're stuck living in relatively close proximity to others.

 

Out here, the nearest house is about 1/3 of a mile away and I'll be sitting on a little over 30 acres. Plus it is a full established functioning ranch.

 

I've considered upgrading the light, just haven't gotten around to it since I've been saving cash for my house purchase.

 

I bought 35 acres in Northwest AR (pictured). Neighbor is 1/3-1/2 mile away, closest town is 502 people, and is about 3-4 miles away. Closest larger town (50K) is about 20 miles away,all of it nice, paved road.

 

I already have high-speed internet and electricity on-site for when I build.

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Connectivity (terrestrial based high speed internet is a must) is one of the factors that keeps me from living permanently on the land my family has. I need it for my day job. :(

 

You're fortunate to have that type of connection there and yet still be remote. Or is it satellite based high speed? (that's good stuff too, I just can deal with the latency due to some of the specialized work I am involved in).

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Connectivity (terrestrial based high speed internet is a must) is one of the factors that keeps me from living permanently on the land my family has. I need it for my day job. :(

 

You're fortunate to have that type of connection there and yet still be remote. Or is it satellite based high speed? (that's good stuff too, I just can deal with the latency due to some of the specialized work I am involved in).

 

Land-based, the previous owner said something like 8-12 mbps is what it was up to, although he isn't sure, he is sure it's at least 4-6.

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Nice.

Part of my FHA loan requirements is to install a well at the property and add a filtration system so I'm not stuck with swill for water. My site has electric, phone and internet on site. I get 4g on my phone there. It has propane delivered for the water heater and stove, but I plan on swapping that out to electric as soon as I settle in.

 

When they put the house in, they placed it on the north east side of a volcanic cinder cone that is on property. So the house is in the shade by 4:30pm this time of year. Should be about 6:30pm in the middle of summer.

 

I'll be doing a grid tied solar system. So I want to consolidate all my utilities to electric. I won't even bother with a landline. We have some wireless internet access out here that is faster than DSL. My goal is to have a zero balance solar system and a three cubic yard trash bill. Obviously, being Arizona, solar performs quite well out here. I'll replace the roof with a steel roof in a few years with a light color surface to reduce cooling expenses. A solar water heater is another good investment. When the existing central air dies, I'll throw a Lennox XC21 in to cut the electric load down even further.

 

Probably add a Lennox wood burning stove to the place in a year or two. Winters here are really mild. We're lucky to see snow once a year and it usually only stays for a few hours.

 

The house currently has a 80' x 30' steel garage on site that I'll be converting to a workshop. It has a full lighted regulation horse arena on site. Along with a horse barn.

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Nice.

Part of my FHA loan requirements is to install a well at the property and add a filtration system so I'm not stuck with swill for water. There is a 740 foot well already on site. It has no sulfur or iron, but lots of lime. I hear electrolysis fixes it? Sadly, it must be replaced, as the pipe broke and dropped hte pump and cannot be fished out. It flowed 8.5g a minute. I suspect a similar well similarly placed will do...similar. My site has electric, phone and internet on site. I get 4g on my phone there. It has propane delivered for the water heater and stove, but I plan on swapping that out to electric as soon as I settle in. I don't know about 4G. I, too, am planning a large propane tank, propane generator, and am planning to run an electric water heater.

 

When they put the house in, they placed it on the north east side of a volcanic cinder cone that is on property. So the house is in the shade by 4:30pm this time of year. Should be about 6:30pm in the middle of summer. I'm not sure what my situation will be. I am on, figuratively, the military crest of a mountain at about 1600ft elevation. the mountain extends to 1750ft or so. East side of the mountain.

 

I'll be doing a grid tied solar system. So I want to consolidate all my utilities to electric. I'm exploring those ideas. Not sure. I won't even bother with a landline. Same. We have some wireless internet access out here that is faster than DSL. My goal is to have a zero balance solar system and a three cubic yard trash bill. I am trying to be able to support necessary items 100% on solar (minimal lighting, fridge, some A/C), ultimately, with the propane generator being the heavy lifter when the power goes out. I plan to burn all of my trash except the metal. Obviously, being Arizona, solar performs quite well out here. I'll replace the roof with a steel roof in a few years with a light color surface to reduce cooling expenses. I definitely plan on a metal roof. A solar water heater is another good investment. When the existing central air dies, I'll throw a Lennox XC21 in to cut the electric load down even further. I don't know much about this. I will ask my contractor to make it as efficient as feasible.

 

Probably add a Lennox wood burning stove to the place in a year or two. Winters here are really mild. We're lucky to see snow once a year and it usually only stays for a few hours. I'm definitely going to have at least 1 large fireplace. I love them. It gets into the teens routinely, from what I understand, in that area during hte winter. When I was up there a few weeks ago, it hit 21.

 

The house currently has a 80' x 30' steel garage on site that I'll be converting to a workshop. It has a full lighted regulation horse arena on site. Along with a horse barn.

 

Seems like we have similar goals! Self-sufficiency.

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Self sufficiency and low cost of living is the way to go. Most of these enhancements feed back into the property value too, so they aren't necessarily losses. Do you have grid access to power? A grid tied solar/wind array is the way to go. Screw batteries. Running a generator work work for emergencies but it will get expensive quick.

 

Water is is always a pain. Few have great wells anymore since nearly every aquifer in the country is polluted. It can cost thousands of dollars to find out exactly what is in the water to begin with. Many items aren't easily detected by sight or smell. How is the humidity down there? You might be able to get by with an atmospheric water generator if the humidity is high. They are a little energy demanding; but they produce perfectly clean water. Having a functioning well is a worthwhile investment if you plan on irrigating anything. Most of those atmospheric water generators only produce about 30 liters a day when operating at peak performance. I believe larger units are available, but the cost and power demands also go up.

 

From my research, that Lennox 21 seer AC is one of the best. It doesn't kick on and off like most central air systems. It ramps the unit up to deal with the demand. It's also ultra quiet compared to most central air units. Another option is going the geothermal route. It might be tough to run on a solar only setup though. If you're building, overkill on the insulation to maximize the efficiency so AC isn't needed so much. 2x8 construction walls or block walls. The metal roof will help a lot. Massive reduction in heat loads if you go with one of the lighter colors. You have a ton if trees, so I imagine that will shade the house some. What I did I I went to google earth and found my place. Then set it so you can change the suns position to show the shadows on the map. It allows you to change thru the different times of the year to see where the sun is.

 

Go go with a wood burning stove rather than a fire place. The wood burners are far more efficient. You'll need a lot less wood to generate the same amount of heat. Since you can control the oxygen to the fire, you can load it up at night and expect coals to still be there in the morning. They're safer too since the fire is contained behind the glass door. Most of the better units from companies like Lennox have blowers on them that'll heat up a house quick. We never even use the blower since it's hot enough from the radiant heat alone.

 

Right now, you can write off 30% of a solar installation on your federal taxes. Your State may have additional incentives. Even with that, a typical setup without batteries is going to run around 30 grand. I suppose it depends how many luxuries you're willing to do without. I would really try to avoid the battery arrays though. They go bad and they're expensive to replace.

 

I just started switching my lighting out from cfl's to the new LED lights. They're more efficient, produce cleaner light and don't have that annoying whining sound. They're also bright from the moment you turn them on unlike the cfl's. They're not cheap though. The LED lights fit in sockets better than the cfl's.

Edited by StrangerDanger
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Self sufficiency and low cost of living is the way to go. Most of these enhancements feed back into the property value too, so they aren't necessarily losses. Since I'm building from scratch, it is doubly smart. Do you have grid access to power? Yes, power on site.A grid tied solar/wind array is the way to go. Screw batteries. Running a generator work work for emergencies but it will get expensive quick. That is the purpose, when power gets knocked out, I want to have a week or so worth of generator.

 

Water is is always a pain. Few have great wells anymore since nearly every aquifer in the country is polluted. It can cost thousands of dollars to find out exactly what is in the water to begin with. Many items aren't easily detected by sight or smell. How is the humidity down there? You might be able to get by with an atmospheric water generator if the humidity is high. They are a little energy demanding; but they produce perfectly clean water. Having a functioning well is a worthwhile investment if you plan on irrigating anything. Most of those atmospheric water generators only produce about 30 liters a day when operating at peak performance. I believe larger units are available, but the cost and power demands also go up. As I understand it, 700 feet of limestone purify the water I will be getting. The last well didn't even use a casement. Solid limestone mountain.

 

From my research, that Lennox 21 seer AC is one of the best. It doesn't kick on and off like most central air systems. It ramps the unit up to deal with the demand. It's also ultra quiet compared to most central air units. It might be tough to run on a solar only setup though. If you're building, overkill on the insulation to maximize the efficiency so AC isn't needed so much. 2x8 construction walls or block walls. The metal roof will help a lot. Massive reduction in heat loads if you go with one of the lighter colors. You have a ton if trees, so I imagine that will shade the house some. What I did I I went to google earth and found my place. Then set it so you can change the suns position to show the shadows on the map. It allows you to change thru the different times of the year to see where the sun is. Cool! Did not know about that. Yeah, I will see what my contractor can do on this front.

 

Go go with a wood burning stove rather than a fire place. The wood burners are far more efficient. You'll need a lot less wood to generate the same amount of heat. Since you can control the oxygen to the fire, you can load it up at night and expect coals to still be there in the morning. They're safer too since the fire is contained behind the glass door. Most of the better units from companies like Lennox have blowers on them that'll heat up a house quick. We never even use the blower since it's hot enough from the radiant heat alone. I like the fireplace for aesthetics, but will likely do both, if it's cost feasible.

 

Right now, you can write off 30% of a solar installation on your federal taxes. Your State may have additional incentives. Even with that, a typical setup without batteries is going to run around 30 grand. I suppose it depends how many luxuries you're willing to do without. I would really try to avoid the battery arrays though. They go bad and they're expensive to replace. Ouch, no solar.

 

I just started switching my lighting out from cfl's to the new LED lights. They're more efficient, produce cleaner light and don't have that annoying whining sound. They're also bright from the moment you turn them on unlike the cfl's. They're not cheap though. The LED lights fit in sockets better than the cfl's.

Yep, I am a huge fan of LED, in general.

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Probably shelving this M4S90 project for a while. None of the stuff I have bought for it fits correctly, or it causes other issues. Lots of money with no results. I am sure it will all get worked out, but until then, or Kip starts making some of the stuff I want, I'm not going to mess with it. Irritated pretty good.

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I am really curious about the parts that you are frustrated with.

The items you took pictures of all looked like quality components.

Any chance you will elaborate about the disappointment?

 

I'll elaborate in time, if the issues are not personal (I doubt I installed the items incorrectly, but it's possible, being human and all) and are not fixable.

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