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Welcome to Bird Cove - The Logistics of Island Living

How to get to Read Island and Bird Cove

how to get here

 

Getting to Bird Cove from Campbell River

Option 1: By vehicle and private boat - this option....

Option 2: By vehicle and private boat or charter boat

Option 3: By charter plane or private or charter boat.

 

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The pantry

food to bring and use

 

food to bring and use...

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some cooking
The kitchen                                                                    The kitchen again

some cooking

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some cleaning
Bathroom in the bedroom house                              Washer and dryer in the Garden house

some cleaning

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Projects

A project on an "off the grid" island takes some consideration:

  • Planning is essential.
  • The weather has to be a consideration
    • there can be heavy rains and winds from November to March
    April through October is sunny and pleasant though evenings can be cool
    • August can be very dry and hot with fire bans in effect
  • Transportation is a concern. No ferry service is available though the local logging company will barge goods across. This costs money and has to fit into the company's plans.
  • There is a limited amount of hardware available at the island general store. A trip to a mainland hardware store can be costly and time consuming.
  • specialized service expertise is hard to find on the island. Lots of people know a little about a lot of things but specialized expertise or tools/equipment can be hard to come by.
  • The local logging company will contract out for excavation, hauling and grading.

Any project undertaken has as its prime concern:

  • Safety
  • Environmental Friendliness
  • Economics and timing.

The prime factors of any result from a project are:

  • Reliability
  • Servicability (by me)
  • High availability (always available under any conditions).

Project 7 - for summer 2007 - The Power System 
Power System

Existing Setup

Sources

  • 1. Diesel Genset : Kubota D950-B 1800 rpm 8.0 KW Generator.
  • 2. Standby Generator : Portable Briggs & Stratton standby gasoline powered generator
  • 3. Solar PV Panels: Photo Voltaic solar cells-12@50=600 watts 12VDC
  • 4. Pelton Wheel: 4 nozzle water wheel

Circuits

  • 5. Standby Plug-in: Patches the gasoline standby generator into the Inverter-Charger circuit
  • 6. Switch to Standby: Selects current from either the regular diesel powered generator or the standby gasoline powered generator.
  • 7. AC Control Panel: Breaker panel in the workshop. Only has power when the generator(s) are running. Used to power the high consumption/load power tools.
  • 8. DC Control Panel: Integrated into the Inverter-Charger for input of the Solar Panels or the Pelton Wheel and for charging the batteries.
  • 9. AC Control Panel: Integrated into the Inverter-Charger and supplies 120VAC/60hz for appliances, outlets and lights. 25 amp max.

Energy Storage

  • 10. Batteries: 2 banks of 6 batteries. Each battery is 2 volt deep cycle connected in series they produce 12 volts DC. The 2 banks are connected in parallel again netting 12 Volts DC.

Controllers

  • 11. Inverter-Charger: Trace Engineering SW2512 - 12VDC/120VAC/60hz maximum of 25 amps.
  • 12. Remote Starter: Starts the diesel generator when the battery reserve falls below a preset level
  • 13. AC Rectifier: Converts AC current from Pelton Wheel to DC for battery charging.

Outlets

  • 14. AC in Workshop: Outlets in the large workshop area for table saw, planer and mitre saw.
  • 15. AC to Buildings: 120 VAC to lights and outlets in the buildings. Main appliances are a standard Fridge, vacumn cleaners, kitchen appliances and washer and dryer.

Project 7 - for summer 2007 - Septic System 
Septic System

project summary