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  • From: John Schinnerer <john@eco-living.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] human powered tools
  • Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 10:01:39 -1000

Aloha,

The bike/stepper water pump is a possibility. Any sufficiently small rotary-shaft pump could be hooked to the bike's rotational output.
However...

Another item that would be extremely useful is a stationary bicycle powered
or stair climber style foot powered chipper shredder that can be safely
opperated by one person or two.

The smallest available electric units use about a 1 HP motor, and from there on up to many many horses worth of electric or gas/diesel power.

So no way one or two "normal" people could power one...you'd need three or more olympic cyclists or a dozen or so "normal" healthy people to run even the equivalent of the smallest home/yard unit for any length of time.

Google

human power output

for links to info on how much power humans can actually generate.
Here's one page that has basic info on this (scroll down past all the HPV pictures etc. to get to that part):

http://www.ent.ohiou.edu/~et181/hpv/hpv.html

What I'd like to know is if any true shredders (machines that cut along instead of across the grain) are readily available in N. America.

Chippers and so-called chipper/shredders commonly sold here are afaik all cross-grain cutters.

Cutting along the grain drastically increases decomposition time for woody debris - that's how Jean Pain got all that brushy debris in big piles to compost so well.

John S.

--

John Schinnerer - MA, Whole Systems Design
------------------------------------------
- Eco-Living -
Whole Systems Design Services
People - Place - Learning - Integration
john@eco-living.net
http://eco-living.net




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