This week we’re talking about alternative alternative energy — ways to run engines and produce power that aren’t the usual solar panels or wind turbines. We go through waste vegetable oil and biodiesel, wood gasification, small-scale ethanol, methane digesters, and a few mechanical systems like wind pumps, water wheels, trompes, and Stirling engines.

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Welcome to the Greenhill Forge Podcast, with Eric from the Greenhill Forge YouTube channel, and my buddy Amal, a fellow builder of many trades.

In this podcast we’ll talk about where the real world meets experiments in alternative energy, wood heating, metal fabrication, off-grid engineering and self sufficiency, so expect discussions about workshops, tools, fabrication, building, homesteading, and what it actually takes to make those dreams real.

We’ll answer a question each week, so send yours to us at https://forms.gle/zNzKTtjDnBEupLBQA

WATCH the podcast on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@GreenhillPod

LISTEN on all your favorite podcast platforms.

See you next week!

_______________________________

CHAPTERS

00:00:14 Overview of alternative fuels and mechanical energy systems

00:00:58 Running older diesel engines on waste vegetable oil

00:02:02 Cleaning and filtering waste vegetable oil

00:03:30 Dual-tank veggie oil conversion with preheating and purging

00:05:07 Making biodiesel from waste oil

00:06:35 Sourcing methanol and its cost for biodiesel

00:07:50 Biodiesel compatibility with modern engines and seals

00:09:04 Mixing vegetable oil with diesel or kerosene as a simpler option

00:13:31 Using multi-fuel generators and military equipment on alternative fuels

00:16:41 Filtering methods and removing water from waste oil

00:19:04 Trade-offs between pre-processing fuel and engine complexity

00:23:54 Rebuildable injectors and choosing older mechanical diesel engines

00:27:00 Running tractors and farm equipment on vegetable oil

00:29:25 Do indirect injection diesels handle biofuels better than direct injection

00:31:00 Availability of waste vegetable oil

00:33:46 Wood gasification and producing syngas for gasoline engines

00:35:56 Small-scale ethanol production from sugar or starch crops

00:37:02 Fermentation, distillation process, and energy input vs output

00:40:34 Using solar heat to reduce energy needed for distillation

00:44:00 Dehydrating ethanol with molecular sieves for fuel use

00:46:57 Separating methanol heads and monitoring distillation temperatures

00:50:41 Ethanol yields per acre and the role of farm subsidies

00:53:35 Methane digesters that turn farm waste into burnable gas

00:56:20 Mixing manure, scraps, and fat as digester feedstock

00:57:45 Batch versus continuous digester systems for daily use

01:02:38 Mechanical windmills and water wheels for pumping and workshop power

01:05:07 Using water wheels to grind grain or run equipment

01:06:48 Trompes that use falling water to create low-pressure compressed air for forges

01:10:05 Stirling engines that run on heat differentials

01:13:55 Listener Question: Advice for starting out today

01:17:25 Tips of the Week: Trade school and trying new things

This week we're talking wood stoves. We've both heated with wood for decades, so this is the stuff we actually weigh when we're buying and using them.

_______________________________

Welcome to the Greenhill Forge Podcast, with Eric from the Greenhill Forge YouTube channel, and my buddy Amal, a fellow builder of many trades.

In this podcast we’ll talk about where the real world meets experiments in alternative energy, wood heating, metal fabrication, off-grid engineering and self sufficiency, so expect discussions about workshops, tools, fabrication, building, homesteading, and what it actually takes to make those dreams real.

We’ll answer a question each week, so send yours to us at https://forms.gle/zNzKTtjDnBEupLBQA

In this episode:

• How to choose a wood stove for your house
• How to size a wood stove to square footage and insulation
• Oversized versus undersized stoves, and why running one too cool causes creosote
• How long to season firewood, how much wood a winter takes, and where to get it
• Primary heat versus an occasional fire
• Secondary-burn stoves versus catalytic stoves
• Steel versus cast iron versus soapstone
• What to check on a used stove, and what a new one costs
• Outside-air kits, indoor smoke, and carbon monoxide safety
• Clearances and getting a stove installed safely
• Listener question: How did you acquire your skills and knowledge?
• Weekly shop tips and tricks

Creosote powder: US: https://link.amazon/B0iKW8VfJ ; UK: https://shop.vitcas.com/cfc-chimney-flue-cleaner.html

WATCH the podcast on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@GreenhillPod

LISTEN on all your favorite podcast platforms.

See you next week!

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CHAPTERS

00:00:00 Seasoned wood, and staying ahead of a two-year supply

00:04:40 Sizing the wood stove to the house: stove size versus square footage and insulation

00:05:15 Oversized stoves, smoldering, and creosote

00:06:08 House insulation matters

00:07:43 Creosote, chimney fires, and smoke exposure

00:10:15 Sizing rule of thumb

00:11:51 Heat distribution: fans, ducting, basement furnaces, radiant floors

00:18:37 Primary heat versus occasional use

00:20:01 Wood use per winter, before and after insulation

00:21:16 Sourcing rounds and chips from tree crews

00:23:17 Single burn, secondary reburn, and catalytic stoves

00:25:01 EPA testing

00:28:24 Intake controls, exhaust dampers, and shutting a stove down

00:31:19 Carbon monoxide

00:32:08 How catalytic converters work, and the bypass

00:37:50 Fuel quality and catalytic lifespan

00:39:16 Hybrid stoves and short chimneys

00:42:53 A flue-mounted catalytic retrofit

00:47:18 After-stove modifications, heat exchangers, and insurance

00:49:15 Steel, cast iron, and soapstone

00:54:14 Repairing cracked cast iron

00:55:54 Thin sheet-metal stoves

00:56:51 Stove brands, regulation, and burn bans

01:10:05 Outside-air kits and indoor particulates

01:13:54 Listener question: How did you acquire your skills and knowledge?

01:18:52 Weekly tip: shop mice!

This week we’re talking about bike-powered machinery. No fabrication or welding required, tho you may find it useful.

Appropedia https://www.appropedia.org/Welcome_to_Appropedia

Prevention and Control of Distortion in Arc Welding (1945) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhyekAvFc68

In this episode:

• A practical guide to turning a yard-sale bike into a power takeoff, built around an upcoming wheat thresher
• How much power you can expect and
• Where to begin the design process
• Gearing, freewheels, flip-flop hubs, steel frames, and how to tension a chain that is never perfectly round
• Belt drive with inner tubes versus chain, including the old chicken rotisserie as a gear-reduction example
• Standing the bike up, bike trainers, a sideways shaft, adult trikes, and the simple option of chaining straight off the front ring
• Multi-person setups, Appropedia, and why twenty people still only add up to a few kilowatts
• Why direct mechanical drive beats pedaling into a battery, and the kosher thresher they built years ago
• A listener question on eco-friendly building materials, plus a shop note on weld order and distortion

_______________________________

Welcome to the Greenhill Forge Podcast, with Eric from the Greenhill Forge YouTube channel, and my buddy Amal, a fellow builder of many trades.

In this podcast we’ll talk about where the real world meets experiments in alternative energy, wood heating, metal fabrication, off-grid engineering and self sufficiency, so expect discussions about workshops, tools, fabrication, building, homesteading, and what it actually takes to make those dreams real.

We’ll answer a question each week, so send yours to us at https://forms.gle/zNzKTtjDnBEupLBQA

WATCH the podcast on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@GreenhillPod

LISTEN on all your favorite podcast platforms.

See you next week!

_______________________________

CHAPTERS

0:00 Bicycle-powered equipment and the wheat thresher build

0:51 How many watts a person can actually put out

2:07 Start at the implement and work backward

3:24 Power takeoff: rear wheel or straight off the crank

4:29 Keeping the bike’s gears, freewheel vs cassette

9:46 Flip-flop hubs and a final-drive ring on the other side

11:43 Steel frame over aluminum

13:01 Derailleurs, horizontal dropouts, and chain tension

15:28 Belt drive: rim as a pulley, inner tubes as belts

18:38 Gear ratios and the chicken rotisserie

25:00 Chain tensioners and which side of the chain is loaded

27:32 Geared one-way drive vs fixed forward-and-back

31:46 Sideways shaft takeoff

34:14 Adult trikes as a ready-made shaft

37:09 Standing the bike up and locking the steering

40:24 Bike trainers as a stand and power takeoff

44:18 Simplest path: chain straight off the front chainring

46:13 Safety with chains and chainrings

47:07 Multi-person power and shared shafts

52:39 Appropedia and scaling human power

57:25 Mechanical drive vs electricity, and why solar changes the math

58:58 The kosher wheat thresher

1:02:43 Recap of the practical options

1:04:19 Flywheels, a pedal bench grinder, and line-shaft shops

1:07:10 Listener question: eco-friendly vs conventional building materials

1:17:37 Tips and tricks: weld order and distortion

This week we’re talking about building for longevity — what actually makes a house last 20 years versus 500. We compare modern American stick framing, European masonry, traditional stone, and natural building methods like cob, rammed earth, and straw bale, and why water, airtightness, climate, and skill matter more than the material itself.

In this episode:

• Why old buildings are still standing and modern ones often aren’t
• How American stick framing works, and how it has changed
• Tight houses, moisture, mold, and the “Ziploc bag” problem
• HRVs, wood stoves, negative pressure, and indoor air quality
• Rain screens vs older tar-paper-and-siding assemblies
• Repairability vs 25-year wall warranties
• Speed, year-round building, and the trades skills gap
• Why buildings fail as systems, not as single products
• Modern European masonry and brick-as-rainscreen construction
• Dry-in time, cost, and US vs UK labor
• Brick veneer problems, window upgrades, and out-of-plumb stone walls
• Maintenance: masonry vs wood siding
• Long-lasting roofs: slate, clay tile, and standing seam
• Traditional stone, field stone, and lost mason knowledge
• Laying stone on its natural bed, and orienting wood the way it grew
• Natural building / “hippie building”: cob, rammed earth, straw bale, earthships, earthbags, and papercrete
• Thermal mass, overhangs, drainage, and climate-specific design
• Permitting, insurance, and hybrid builds
• Question of the week: the tool you most regret buying
• Tip of the week: spend money on tools that need to be precise

_______________________________

Welcome to the Greenhill Forge Podcast, with Eric from the Greenhill Forge YouTube channel, and my buddy Amal, a fellow builder of many trades.

In this podcast we’ll talk about where the real world meets experiments in alternative energy, wood heating, metal fabrication, off-grid engineering and self sufficiency, so expect discussions about workshops, tools, fabrication, building, homesteading, and what it actually takes to make those dreams real.

We’ll answer a question each week, so send yours to us at https://forms.gle/zNzKTtjDnBEupLBQA

WATCH the podcast on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@GreenhillPod

LISTEN on all your favorite podcast platforms.

See you next week!

_______________________________

CHAPTERS

00:00:00 Intro: Building for longevity

00:02:22 Modern American stick framing

00:05:16 Tight houses, moisture, and the “Ziploc bag” problem

00:11:04 Wood stoves, negative pressure, and indoor air

00:14:38 Rain screens: how wall assemblies actually last

00:19:16 25-year warranties vs easy repairs

00:22:19 Speed, seasons, and the skills gap

00:24:06 Buildings are systems, not products

00:25:33 Modern European masonry

00:27:01 Dry-in time, cost, and labor

00:31:26 Brick veneer, repairs, and out-of-plumb walls

00:37:01 Low maintenance vs hard to get right

00:42:11 Roofs that last: slate, clay, and standing seam

00:49:19 Traditional stone, field stone, and lost knowledge

00:52:32 Natural bed, grain, and why orientation matters

00:55:34 Hippie building

00:56:56 Cob: Devon tradition vs modern cob

01:00:42 Climate, skill, and how natural building fails

01:05:03 Good feet, good hats, and keeping water off

01:06:16 Thermal mass: desert gift, cold-climate problem

01:08:49 Rammed earth

01:14:22 Straw bale, earthships, earthbags, and papercrete

01:18:16 You will never build a perfectly watertight house

01:19:42 Permits, insurance, and hybrid builds

01:23:10 Question of the week: the tool you most regret buying

01:28:47 Tip of the week

This week we’re comparing the small machines that actually get used on homesteads, hobby farms and small properties: compact tractors, skid steers, walk-behind tractors and mini excavators.

We’ll go through the real jobs — clearing, grading, digging, gardens, compost, firewood, moving material — plus what to rent vs buy, implement cost and swap time, PTO vs hydraulics, fuel, maintenance, where these things get tippy or annoying, and what we’d buy first if we could only afford one.

In this episode:

• Which machines are usually rented vs purchased
• Compact tractor (about 25-40 hp) as the most practical first machine
• Mini excavator as the strongest second machine for digging and tight garden work
• Why mini skid steers / dingos rarely earn their keep on a homestead
• Skid steer strengths (lift, attachments, speed) and weaknesses (price, fuel, visibility)
• Walk-behind tractors for small-scale market gardening
• Implement storage, used market and DIY builds
• Dealer vs cheap import, plus the US sub-25 hp emissions cutoff
• Listener question: starting welding
• Tips of the week

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro: best small machinery for homesteads, hobby farms and smallholdings

00:51 - Start with the job: raw land vs established property

01:26 - Heavy clearing and big root balls. Rent, don’t buy

04:46 - After infrastructure: when owning a machine starts to make sense

09:51 - Compact tractors, skid steers, walk-behind tractors and mini excavators

11:00 - Mini skid steers / dingos: great on job sites, poor homestead fit

13:55 - Tipping and stability (mini skids, then tractors)

14:13 - Compact tractors: Swiss Army knife, balance problems, counterweights

19:01 - Walk-behind tractors: cheap entry, high labour, fast implement changes

21:34 - Mini excavators: digging, gardens, drainage, compost, reach vs travel speed

33:01 - Skid steers: power, attachments, fuel, visibility, implement swap speed

35:07 - Tractor vs skid steer: pulling, road legality, cost, fuel, maintenance

43:53 - How implements are powered: PTO vs hydraulics

45:39 - Maintenance, parts and how hard each machine is to work on

48:45 - Buying strategy if you can only afford one machine first

52:51 - Size, emissions (sub-25 hp) and dealer vs import brands

55:45 - Audience question: how to start welding

01:00:51 - Weekly tips: stop procrastinating simple jobs + make test pieces

01:04:37 - Wrap-up

_______________________________

Welcome to the Greenhill Forge Podcast, with Eric from the Greenhill Forge YouTube channel, and my buddy Amal, a fellow builder of many trades.

In this podcast we’ll talk about where the real world meets experiments in alternative energy, wood heating, metal fabrication, off-grid engineering and self sufficiency, so expect discussions about workshops, tools, fabrication, building, homesteading, and what it actually takes to make those dreams real.

We’ll answer a question each week, so send yours to us at https://forms.gle/zNzKTtjDnBEupLBQA

WATCH the podcast on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@GreenhillPod

LISTEN on all your favorite podcast platforms.

See you next week!

This week we’re talking about the most valuable skills that we've learned along the way, and we answer a listener question about buying tools as a beginner.

_______________________________

Welcome to the Greenhill Forge Podcast, with Eric from the Greenhill Forge YouTube channel, and my buddy Amal, a fellow builder of many trades.

In this podcast we’ll talk about where the real world meets experiments in alternative energy, wood heating, metal fabrication, off-grid engineering and self sufficiency, so expect discussions about workshops, tools, fabrication, building, homesteading, and what it actually takes to make those dreams real.

We’ll answer a question each week, so send yours to us at https://forms.gle/zNzKTtjDnBEupLBQA

WATCH the podcast on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@GreenhillPod

LISTEN on all your favorite podcast platforms.

See you next week!

Welcome to the Greenhill Forge Podcast, with Eric from the Greenhill Forge YouTube channel, and my buddy Amal, a fellow builder of many trades.

In this podcast we’ll talk about where the real world meets experiments in alternative energy, wood heating, metal fabrication, off-grid engineering and self sufficiency, so expect discussions about workshops, tools, fabrication, building, homesteading, and what it actually takes to make those dreams real.

This week we’re covering our favorite metal shop tools and answering a listener question about insulating old stone buildings.

We’ll answer a question each week, so send yours to us at https://forms.gle/zNzKTtjDnBEupLBQA

WATCH the podcast on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@GreenhillPod

LISTEN on all your favorite podcast platforms.

See you next Friday!