Farm Update 24-Sep-18 (partly visual)

Subbu is in a mood to go to Tirupati. His annual pilgrimage. He was saying he did not get proper tickets.  I did not want to therefore load with any other major work.

Finally 3 Phase current is sanctioned. After several sorties, Subbu had obtained the new meter. Now the Eb has to come and give connection from the pole. Upto the pole they seem to have drawn the required extra wiring.  I asked Subbu to call a local contractor to do rest of intra-farm wiring. No compromise should be there in quality as more current is going to come.  Meanwhile Subbu hit upon an idea of making indigenous electric post using 2" pipes to save on cost.  Electric poles are costing very heavy if purchased. (above 7K per pole).

Windmill was fixed and is working fine. However after 3 months suddenly it has unlocked itself. The reason was found to be a silly mistake by Kandan. Earlier Kandan had unwound the rods without holding the lower rod with left hand. This is like trying to open a lid without holding bottle.  the Result is it has loosened a screw somewhere deep inside the well.  Such behavior of people is what makes us develop more idiot proof things in due course.

I spoke to Subbu about what we can do further in agriculture. Presently he claimed he has cleaned the banana patch.  Kandan and his accomplice (One man who has been appointed as body guard to Kandan for a fee. Kandan feels threatened after he hit a thief few weeks back) were given some job. Left alone they would confine themselves to watering the trees and keep quite. I was upset on this and hence Subbu had some work delegated.

I am writing about sustainable farming as a series of articles in Face book in vernacular Tamil.  It has been a long pending due to write something in Tamil for my friends. I started writing about sustainability especially focusing on farm power.  (Wind, CSP etc).  looks like people like it.

There is other reason for writing now.  ABS company called me and told they have a windmill ready and it is occupying space in their factory. They are into bolting business and keep high value items. They want to sell this off quickly to make room for themselves. I promised I will contact some of my agriculture farmer friends. This article of mine has indeed generated interested. Hope it will mature into orders.  If more orders come, I myself want to get involved into design improvements along with ABS.

Meanwhile I am silently working on my low cost verticle windmill project. I just gave order for fresh wings to a workshop. My other project - mechanical amplifier is also taking good shape.

Below are some of the farm pictures as it stands. These are inspiring.

View from behind the windpump rotor blade.

Recently the fuse had burned. This is dangerous. It happens because whatever said, they donot propelry
use rated fuse wires. They tend to use copper wires. I must be strict on this.

Just a random View

Mature coconut

Amla

Sapota patch. Note the climate has started Drying.

Sapota

Jasmine. Nice to see it is bushy. But it lacks manure.

The one and only surviving vegetable. White Brinjal

Need to make pickles out of this. Subbu is not listening.

Jasmine patch

One rod from the well. I wanted subbu to take photo of its tip with pencil.
This is how we exchange information. This picture will allow me
to guage how much is the thickness of the rod.
This is required for me here to fabricate one.  Since he is not having vernier calipher, this idea.
This picture says the rod is 12mm in diameter.

Farm Update 10-Sep-2018

Electricity   :  The much anticipated 3phase power has come to the farm at last.  Several months of waiting and numerous trips to the EB office by Subbu with some disappointments have come to an end.  The EB officials would also make trips around the villages meeting incumbent applicants to collect their tips.

The process is to fix new meter again (paid again), new board, fuses and so on... Each of that will be done in coming days.  I guess now the additional wire in the post for 3 phase had been drawn out by the  govt contractor form the transformer.

I told Subbu to employ a good contractor in the farm to finish the last mile.  We need to pull fresh wire from the gate to the generator room and further to the tank. All will cost a lot of money and some efforts.  The wires are very costly.  We have decided to take it over head by installing few posts.  This is better than burying inside the soil (underground).  We will forget eventually and may lead to other problems.  Being over head will allow periodic inspection, though it will be vulnarable to vagaries of the climate.

Hopefully when everything is done, we can connect back our texmo 3 HP pump and run it seamlessly. That means we can fill the white large cement tank to the full.  This had never been filled properly since the time it was constructed.  If power is drawn upto this tank, then we can also install baby motor to displace water for sprinkler and hopefully a rain fun in future.  The windpump excess water also can converge into this tank.  Ultimately we can then start reducing power usage and worry about agriculture.

Agriculture : I told subbu, let us atleast start growing something for our families instead of aimlessly attempting to grow crops commercially and get disappointed. I want him to send stuff by courier so that I can test all means of sending food over long distances. I told let us first start sending to our known families and friends. Atleast this is the trend I see with organic farmers using social media.  He agreed.

Update on Windpump Amplifier

Today I went to the workshop. I have been rattling now and then, but for one or the other reasons the workshop owners were not available. They generally go out for field work. Or I go in lunch time. Or one of the key guy is missing etc... nothing was moving.

But today was different. All were in place. I spent quite a few hours there. I had purchased a handgloves, round file, a threaded rod of 10 feet, some bolts,  sand paper etc to polish some of the components myself.  I also sent these snaps to Subbu and my wife to impress them that I am serious at what I am doing.

Now around 70% of the work is over.

Rest in visuals.

The completed setup. 70% over

An innovation to allow the cross shaped bar to be removed from top. This is required
for Subbu to further work on this in case. As it is main moving component.
However worry about theft in future.

The moving bolt will further be welded with additional pieces to connect to windpump.

Front view. This will slide up and down.

The rod which is pieced the face plate has allowance to move back and forth to compensate.

Banana is a Loss

The only commercial crop that is ripe and ready to sell is banana in my farm. We started with around 200 trees. I am not sure how many are standing now. How many have been cut.  Because Subbu is in no mood to share that information with me.  He said he has removed substantial portion of banana after giving it off. He has jumped to next action plan already, meanwhile my mind is still loitering around banana and what next.

There is a reason why Subbu is silent.

Banana is not selling well in the market. Attached is a bill from the broker which says Rs. 70/-  (approx 1 dollar) for the bunch of 250 bananas and another rate for smaller bunch at Rs. 30/- (half a dollar). Atleast this is ok.  In subsequent bunches, they got so less price that we had to pay from our pocket for the transport.

Subbu is disappointed, so also me.  After all he had taken careof banana plants for 10 months day and night tending care, watering and growing it to see in full adult hood. When we visited with family we enjoyed that patch very well. Each of the taller than 12 feet are now sold for just Rs. 25/-.  Such is the nature of agriculture.

I must find a way out of this.  Perhaps chips, banana powder.... I spoke to subbu about these just to keep him happy and give hope.  To do that practically is difficult.

Anyway my inner thought says, why can't i take up the job of broker myself. I heared several farmers are giving away banana bunches for loss at this season. If only I collect all of them and sell it at a profit. May be to a far away place after paying toll and transport ?