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UK Self Reliance
United Kingdom
Приєднався 21 гру 2017
This is a channel about trying to do things for ourselves and living self-sufficiently. This is pretty challenging in the UK, where land is so limited. So this is about trying to be self-reliant in whatever ways we can. As part of that, we keep cows, pigs, sheep, chickens and bees and I try and build as much as I can. We've been doing this for about ten years and this channel is about documenting our journey.
Building an off grid workshop - framing the walls ready for wattle and daub
Continuing building the off grid workshop. This is a solo off grid build, using only free, recycled or salvaged wood and materials.
This workshop is part of our approach to self-sufficiency and self-reliance on Fair Close Farm. It's being built off grid using cedar logs. In this video, I make a start on framing the walls, adding windows and getting ready for wattle and daub walls. These will be made out of willow for the wattle and daub using mud, sand, dung, and straw. It's a natural building!
This workshop is part of our approach to self-sufficiency and self-reliance on Fair Close Farm. It's being built off grid using cedar logs. In this video, I make a start on framing the walls, adding windows and getting ready for wattle and daub walls. These will be made out of willow for the wattle and daub using mud, sand, dung, and straw. It's a natural building!
Переглядів: 737
Відео
Making a rustic wooden bench out of a log for the off grid workshop
Переглядів 3225 місяців тому
This video shows me making a rustic wooden bench out of a split log so I have somewhere to sit outside the off grid workshop. I just used hand tools for this.
Can you fit two pigs in a 2004 Subaru Forester?
Переглядів 665 місяців тому
In this video we answer the question everyone always asks - 'can you fit two pigs in the back of the Subaru Forester'? We have a 2004 Subaru Forester (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_Forester) and used it to go and pick up some new Oxford Sandy and Black piglets for the farm. We had a bit of a road trip and visited the Rollright Stones and the Whispering Knights on the way (www.rollrightstones.co....
Putting a roof on the off grid cabin (part 3 - solo cabin build)
Переглядів 1215 місяців тому
This is the third part of a series of solo off grid cabin building videos. I started building this off grid cabin alone a few years ago as a workshop. The idea behind it was to use only free and recycled materials. It's made out of cedar logs, wood scavenged from skips, and wattle and daub with willow and mud. The building is designed to be like a yurt, but with a central pole to hold up the ro...
Building an off grid cabin alone with free and recycled materials (part 2)
Переглядів 1,3 тис.6 місяців тому
This is the second part of a series of videos of me solo building an off grid cabin alone using only free and recycled materials. I started building this cabin a few years ago as a workshop on the farm. The idea behind it was to try not to spend any money on the building and use only materials that I could gather for free, natural materials, and recycled materials. So I built it out of cedar po...
Building an Off Grid Cabin for Free (part 1)
Переглядів 6 тис.6 місяців тому
This is the first part of a series of videos of me building an off grid cabin for free. I started building this cabin a few years ago as a workshop on the farm. The idea behind it was to try not to spend any money on the building and use only materials that I could gather for free. So I built it out of cedar polls, wood scavenged from skips, and wattle and daub with willow and mud. Using free m...
Esse Bakeheart Review - five years of use
Переглядів 4,8 тис.6 місяців тому
This is a review of the Esse Bakeheart (www.esse.com/wood-fired-cook-stoves/bakeheart/) after five years of use. This is a huge cast iron cook stove that retails at about £3,500. It's not cheap. But is it worth the money? I had to change the fire rope on the door, so I used the opportunity to reflect on what it's been like using this stove and using it as our primary source of heat for the whol...
Making Scotch Eggs from our Own Pigs
Переглядів 1287 місяців тому
We slaughtered two pigs the other day and decided to try making scotch eggs with some of the pork mince.
Drone Footage - Flooding in Wolvercote and Port Meadow
Переглядів 4418 місяців тому
Flooding on the 5th of January showing Wolvercote, Port Meadow, and Fairclose Farm, including drone footage.
Fair Close Cows & Sheep in the Snow, 2019
Переглядів 465 років тому
Fair Close Community Farm in the snow in January/ February 2019. Feeding the cattle.
Making a Rustic Wooden Mallet
Переглядів 1585 років тому
I had this beautiful piece of oak in the firewood pile, but as soon as I picked it up I knew it wanted to be a mallet!
Using the hand dug well | Watering the cattle
Переглядів 1,5 тис.5 років тому
We completed the well in the summer of 2018, used the sand and gravel to start some hard standing and then used reclaimed bricks to extend it out and create a proper yard. The cattle were brought on for the winter in November. This video shows how the finished well looks and works. Music: Whaling City - Freedom Trail Studio
Digging a well by hand (part 1)
Переглядів 8 тис.5 років тому
We dug a well on Fair Close Community Farm in Wolvercote. This is part of a five year plan to develop a community led and community run farm, operated on permacultural principles. Digging a well and using water that is already in the ground is a key part of reducing our inputs and becoming self-sufficient. Music: 1. Jack Rose - Linden Avenue Stomp (ua-cam.com/video/eFt4PG-y4So/v-deo.html) 2. Si...
Fair Close Farm Chickens
Переглядів 736 років тому
This is the summer routine for taking care of the hens at Fairclose Community Farm in Wolvercote
How to make beef jerky in an oven
Переглядів 5836 років тому
Beef jerky is the perfect snack and the perfect gift for friends and family members. We often have a lot of beef from our cows, so every now and then it's fun to make some jerky. The whole family got involved in this batch. Recipe: This makes a lot of jerky! 3-4kg thinly sliced beef (non-fatty cuts are best. Remove all the fat to avoid the jerky going rancid!) 1.5 bottles of soy sauce 1.5 bottl...
Making Live Edge Oak Cutting Boards
Переглядів 2,9 тис.6 років тому
Making Live Edge Oak Cutting Boards
Cows: the daily feeding and mucking out
Переглядів 2246 років тому
Cows: the daily feeding and mucking out
Great video, thanks. I find cleaning the glass makes a huge difference to heat radiation, just a minor comment, my OCD is getting the better of me, sorry, I love a clean glass to view the fire.
Thanks, I’m considering getting one of these and your great review was very helpful. 👍
How not to dig a well
Can someone explain the point of the top cover? I guess if you want to keep the heat contained you would close it, but for my needs, I think I would always have it open....is there a way to remove it?
It is for heat retention. If you want more heat in the room open it. If you want to remove it, there are two allen key Screws to remove each hinge.
Thank you. Thats what i thought. I would like to see how it looks close up on the hinge when it is removed from the top plate.
@@HBrownFilm I have the ironheart and just serviced it ready for winter. I removed both bolster lids and replaced the M5 allen bolt screws. There is a half round recess in the cooker top that the hinge itself rotates in. Mine also houses a further allen key bolt for removing the cast cooker top. Hope that helps.
Nice relaxing video, I liked the music choices 🙂 looks like a cool project, the roof looks a bit gappy in places though, did you do some of it as butt joints? Is the plan to cover with something else to waterproof or does it just need to be dryish? Wooden shingles are supposed to be a good option for roofing but I think a lot of labour goes into splitting them out
Thanks for this. We've got the foreign/AU/NZ version of the Bakeheart - fewer fire bricks, less efficient, and just one solid ring at the top, defo jealous of the UK version but still love ours. Glad to hear we're not the only ones who struggle to get it lit without smoking out the joint. That oven-as-part-of-the-fresh-air-system tip is priceless! Hadn't figured that out yet, I'll go try that right now. Cheers!
I'm looking for an efficient wood cookstove for just me. I'm in the US. I like Heco and Kitchen Queen 750 too, tho they are huge and US made cookstoves
How large a space would you say this heats? Do you rely solely on wood heat? Thanks
great review, thanks. It's not obvious how you remove the ash. Does the wood just sit in a tray that you pull out the glass door? This would explain the difficulties getting it going, in normal stoves you can let air come from directly underneath from the ash tray to really boost it to get it going. Of course with an oven underneath this is just a limitation they have to work with. I wonder if the direct air feed they offer would help in that regard.
Thanks @jakelesnake4927 The ash just sits in the fire box and you have to shovel it out - I have a little shovel for this. It's best to have a reasonable bed of ash when burning wood so you don't have to empty it too much. I do it every couple of weeks or so, depending on the wood. The main air intake is through a baffle at the front and it can get blocked by ash, but only if it gets to be about 4 inches deep. The newer stoves have air holes in the side firebricks too, which seems like a good improvement.
Great review. Check out UA-cam Info on Esse Bakeheart. So much brilliant info. The wood is everything when having this heater/ stove/ cooktop working to its optimum. I learnt that too much moisture( even cold air moisture on so called seasoned wood, )can cause smoke and make it harder to light the stove. Pivot Stove and heating has heaps of info. I love my Esse. It does everything and more than a bigger hungrier more expensive unit would do. Cheers. Ps thanks for teaching me how to change the door seal!
Thanks @cazzerrella. Absolutely - the wood makes a big difference. I completely agree, these stoves are really efficient!
Thanks so much for your review - always great to find a down to earth review from a fellow consumer not trying to sell the product. We bought our house with less procrastination than choosing a new stove! Thanks again.
Thanks! I know what you mean - we agonised about the stove way more than the house! Still, I reckon this stove is pretty much the only thing I've bought that I genuinely think was good value for money. The heat you get from wood is just fantastic.
so great
Thanks Man! This was great! My old cheap bunnings one rusted out! After 5 years skandia heat n cook. This is def the upgrade version / going to buy an esse like your tommorow!
Glad it helped. I hope it's burning well for you, buddy!
Living the dream👍
Do you season the wood correctly that you scavenge as by the way your glass is so dirty you don't? It's not acceptable now to burn damp wood.
Thank you for your product review.
Any time! I'm a big fan
I think I'd have built a bonfire and rolled the ends of the logs above it, rather than use a ruck of gas to char them. P.S. I have 20/20 hindsight.
You're absolutely right! I was a bit scared of putting them in a fire as I only had a limited number of poles so didn't want to risk forgetting about them and losing one. But I'd definitely do it that way next time - I got through a lot of gas :)
New subscriber here. Happy Easter from Ireland 🇮🇪 . Looking forward to this journey
Thanks for subbing :)
Looks folded steel bodied to me. Even top looks steel as well as doors. Esse description Ironheart misleading.
It's definitely cast iron, mate. It's in the stove technical specs on Esse's website and you can tell if you see one in person. It might look odd on mine as it's pretty filthy and gets a bit covered in ash - that's because I use it all the time and am more interested in using it than having a pretty, perfectly blacked show piece :)
Thank You, been looking for reviews on this for the past two yers
Cheers - I hope it was useful. Let me know if there's anything else you'd like to know about it
I'd rather buy a kitchen wood fired stove / oven & stove top with pressurized able hot water like we used for 10 plus years , They are the best ever They keep the house warm and use near to nothing wood !You can also have them switched over to LPG with easy
I completely agree, @andrewnorgrove6487. I actually really regret that I didn't get the version of this Esse Bakeheart with a back boiler. At the time I didn't think we could fit it in, but I should have just found a way!
I've got an esse columbian, you've got a back boiler (doing rads) 2 ovens and hotplate, it's lit 24/7 atm
It sounds awesome!
@@ukselfreliance8264 yes bud.
@@ukselfreliance8264 I just plumbed mine into rads with an expansion tank to take the heat rise, atm its doing the upstairs rads buy just thermosyphon, I'm going to do a pump for next year. Up stairs rads, 8 get hot. Hot water rises, cool water flows down, on 24 hours
Love the chickens
Watching in March 24
Your channel was recommended and it’s really great
Thanks @rebekahfranks4205! I really appreciate you watching. Do come back - we've got lots more videos planned :)
You have great spirit. If you haven't read them yet, I encourage you to read the Ringing Cedars books. Much love to you all 🌱🌻🌲💚
My kind of mallet. However you treat your Japanese saw (Gyokucho?) poorly.
This is a very fair comment! :)
Thank you, I wanted to do in my farm land, in Tamilnadu, India
is this project still going???
This video was fantastic
Where’s part 2 tho this video?
I'm waiting to
oak is not suitable for a cutting board sorry
How do you know where to dig?
The water table is only about 10ft down for us, so we could dig anywhere on the land and hit water!
What cut of beef do you use
The music is terrible!
Why? it is cool.
There’s no such thing as terrible music, only music that’s not to your taste.
No, grime and drill music is terrible.
Good work guys. Would be interesting to see how you found where to dig.
For us, you can dig anywhere as the water table is about 10ft down everywhere. Our main concern was picking a nice central spot for all the different fields
Could you do this anywhere...?.im.UK to Manchester?
was just thinkin the same thing!
the water table exists everywhere in the world, just depends on how deep you have to dig to find it. As for if it's legal... Just don't get caught!
@@liamholcroft7212 it quite legal.
@@Nellyontheland Ah right, I didn't know, not that that would stop me anyway if i wanted to do this.
@@liamholcroft7212 I suppose if you don't force anyone down there, you can dig down to Australia 😁 I've dug holes for posts. Over night they have filled with water. So some wells need not be deep. It depends on the surrounding higher elevations.
Nice video keep making them
nicely done!