WWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 77Does Snow Affect
My Solar Panels?
I live in an area that gets a lot of snow
in winter. Will my panels continue to
produce electricity despite the heavy
snow load?Don’t let winter weather discourage you from
going solar! You don’t have to live in Phoenixor Los Angeles to achieve strong solar panel
performance. As you consider solar panels for
your home, remember that even if you live in
the northern parts of the United States, the
worst of winter only lasts three months, so
your days of low sunlight and heavy snow are
limited. And the further from the equator you
are, the longer your days are when summer
comes around — so while you may generateslightly less power in winter months, you can
make up for it with more sunshine in summer.
Solar panel snow problems are usually min-
imal. However, you should know a few things
about the implications of winter weather as
you consider installing a solar energy system
on your home:
1 All solar panels are designed to bear a
certain amount of weight — and snow will notI want to start blacksmithing. What’s the difference
between wood- and coal-burning forges? And can you
really get a wood-fired forge hot enough to blacksmith?We’re hobbyists, but we own both wood-burning and coal-burn-
ing forges on our homestead. We started by building a coal-
burning forge out of a brake drum to begin blacksmithing, and
we now use a commercially built wood-burning forge. We say
“commercially built,” but really it’s handmade by a small home-
schooling, farming family in Oregon (www.WhitloxHomestead.
com). Personally, we enjoy using the wood-burning forge much
more for a number of reasons, although coal has benefits as well.
Coal and propane are the most typical fuels used in forges.
On the East Coast, coal is readily available and therefore more
affordable than on the West Coast. Coal burns more efficiently
and hotter than wood. Because of its efficiency, the volume of
coal needed is substantially less, too. In an hour, you’ll burn
through approximately a cantaloupe-sized piece of coal versus
a 5-gallon bucket of wood scraps.
When coal is burned, tars, oils, and gases burn off, and what
remains is pure carbon — called “coal” or “coke.” Unfortunately,
when we burn coal, we breathe in acrid smoke, our faces and
clothes are blackened, and we enjoy the experience less than
when we use clean-burning wood. Obviously, we could mitigate
some of these negatives with proper air ventilation, but, as hobby-
ists, we couldn’t justify the investment of time and money.
In contrast, when we burn wood, it results in wood charcoal
and continues to burn until it turns to ash. It’s the wood charcoal
that supplies the intense heat needed to weld. Wood tends to
burn cleaner and results in wood ash, which, unlike coal ash, has
beneficial uses in the garden and orchard. Wood also comes from
a renewable resource that we have on our property, and it’s inex-
pensive to obtain — we always have an abundance of wood scraps
that are perfect for our forge. It’s best to use dry wood that hasn’t
been treated. Softwoods become charcoal quicker than hardwoods
do, and they produce less ash. Remember, the smaller the piece of
wood, the faster it will become charcoal, and the more heat it will
produce. Too small, though, and you’ll need to reload wood more
frequently. Try to use fairly uniform pieces that are about 3 inches
on each side or use sticks that are about 2 by 6 inches.Our wood forge has a V-shape that forces the charcoal and heat
to one area, which saves us from having to pull more fuel into
the center of the forge, as we’d have to do with a coal forge. This
saves time and effort and produces a more even heat. This easy
method of fire management keeps the fire from spreading, which
produces the concentrated heat that’s needed to blacksmith. A
concentrated fire makes airflow easier to regulate. Remember that
more air can get a fire going, but it can also put it out or produce
cool spots.
— JC Crone, aka Mrs. WranglerstarThis article is presented by the Wranglerstars, who live on the
Wranglerstar Homestead and run a YouTube channel about modern
homesteading (www.Wranglerstar.com), and who authored Modern
Homesteading: Rediscovering the American Dream (available on
Page 80).Best Fuel for a Blacksmith ForgeBest Fuel for a Blacksmith ForgeBest Fuel for a Blacksmith Forge
Ask Our Experts
Wood-fired forges burn cleaner than forges that require coal.WHITLOX HOMESTEADp 77-79 AOE.indd 77 10/12/16 3:27 PM