I was chatting one fine evening with my good friend Brent. As always the conversation was diverse and covered a wide array of topics (good conversations usually do) and during one of these meanderings through the conversational countryside he said, “Dude, you have to check this site out.” Brent hasn't given me a bum steer yet and so I jumped on the ol' computer and he pointed me to www.otherpower.com .
He walked me through some of the projects and experiments they carried out—the hamster powered nightlight, the homemade wind turbines, the endless quotable quips from the main page—and I realized that they had to be one of the featured guests here at Joe-Mammy.com. Combining an earnest easy-going nature with a sense of awareness regarding generating, using and conserving power, the site was both fun and amusing to check out as well as a bit of a reality check for me. (Let's just say that I, Joe, don't have a low electric bill… ever…)
Dan Bartmann, the high and mighty web-deity of Otherpower.com and its various sister sites graciously decided to swap a little Q&A with yours truly. Sit back and be amazed and enlightened:
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Joe Mammy : First off, give me a little background on yourself—why you started using alternative power, where you're from, how your business started, etc.
Dan B : I was raised here in the mountains in northwestern Colorado. My folks moved here when I was three and built a cabin. For the first many years we had kerosene lamps and battery radios. This was in the early '70's. In the late '70's they purchased a small 200-watt windcharger which changed things quite a bit. My mom made 12-volt lamps for every room in the house from 1X2's and tail lamp fixtures from cars. At that time I got my own battery to play with so I had music and power for my “experiments.” Ever since then I've been quite obsessed with renewable energy.
Windpower seems more fun than solar—I like moving parts, and I enjoy the fact that we can build them ourselves from scratch. My interest in electro-mechanical things and windpower led directly to an interest (and quite a personal collection) in magnets. About 7 years ago I started supplementing my income by selling on eBay. I started a small business as a surplus magnet supplier that has grown to a slightly larger small business. I started a website at www.wondermagnet.com where we offer some information and sell magnets both retail and wholesale to other businesses and hobbyists. I still live in the hills near where I grew up and over the last 4 years I, and one of my neighbors (Dan Fink) have been developing a website with a focus on renewable energy and especially wind power. I open my shop a couple days a week to friends and neighbors in the community who are interested in building their own wind power systems. Over the last couple years we've built and installed several machines for folks who live off the grid like we do. Most of the machines we build are documented and I post the information about how we built them, and how they worked out on our website at www.otherpower.com . We also host a fast moving discussion forum at www.fieldlines.com where the main topic is “homebrewed electricity.” Folks seem to be quite interested in the topic.
Joe : You've got such a wide array of things going on: from your websites and businesses to building all the stuff you use to sweet old cars. How do you do it and stay sane?
DB: I just try to keep busy—and I like to take pictures and document my activities on the web.
Joe : You've got some great stuff on your site. Some of the things you obviously do to help provide power, but some of it (like the gerbil-powered nightlight) seems as if you're doing it just to see if it's possible. Which kind of projects are you particularly proud/fond of?
DB: The hamster powered night light was actually inspired by an email my neighbor DanF got from a young lady who was wanting to do something along those lines for a science fair project. DanF offered to help out. We designed a very basic alternator and threw it together in an afternoon. That page has been quite popular. And the young lady who inspired it won the science fair!
My passion is with wind power... I'm probably most fond of the largest machines. Over the last year we've built 3 large machines with blades 15' in diameter, they are quite powerful and so far reliable. I can spend hours watching large wind turbines produce free power... it's lots of fun. There's a bit of a page about that here: http://www.otherpower.com/bigmills1.html
Joe : Have you ever run into a project that you thought there was no way it was going to work that you managed to pull off?
DB: No, I think perhaps I have a short attention span, so I don't take on things unless I feel I can get them done in a reasonable amount of time with reasonable odds of success.
Well, on second thought... maybe an EE degree in college, or certain things on my list of “home improvements.” :-)
Joe : What are some recent projects that you've put together?
DB: The 15' diameter wind turbine we recently installed at my brothers house was fun and so far very successful. There is a page about that here: http://www.otherpower.com/bigmills1.html
We recently put together a 2 day workshop for the Rocky Mountain Sustainable Living Fair in Ft Collins, CO - that was fun. I made a page about that here: http://www.otherpower.com/slf04.html
Joe : I think you guys are probably the poster children for paying attention in high school science class. Do you view what you do as a practical application of scientific principles in a culture of waste or is it a much more pragmatic thing for you in that, for instance, you'd like to use an electronic device and need to find the power to do it?
DB: I was good in science class in high school. College was not for me—I lasted about half a semester. I do have strong feelings about the way our society gets and wastes its energy—I really believe that “energy” is responsible for some of the very best and very worst things going on right now in the world. I believe we do need to move in a new direction. So that may be a part of my inspiration in pursuing renewable energy. A bigger part however, simply has to do with the fact that I do live off the power grid, and I do need the power! Furthermore, I'm very interested in electrical and mechanical things of all types. I am certainly not a political activist—I do what I do because I think it's fun and I can see that others are interested.
Joe : I love the quote on your main webpage: We are a group of alternative energy enthusiasts who want to spread the message that It's EASY to make your own power FROM SCRATCH! Otherpower.com's headquarters is located in a remote part of the Northern Colorado mountains, 15 miles past the nearest power pole or phone line. All of our houses and shops run on only solar, wind, water and generator power...not because we are trying to make some sort of political or environmental statement, but because these are the only options available. And we refuse to move to town..
However, since it is an election year and everyone's weighing in on everything anyway, what kind of political or environmental policies would you like to see changed or put in place?
DB: I really think our country needs to stop subsiding fossil fuels with $$ and lives—it's very short-term thinking in my opinion. I think it's sad that we are so far behind other nations in the pursuit of conservation and renewable energy. We could do so much better. We need to make folks aware of the real cost of the energy they use, and we need to encourage conservation. We need to subsidize the development of renewable energy in this country. We need to make folks realize that energy is expensive and folks should pay the price for that which they use. I have a family of 3 and we use about 100KWH of homebrew energy/month. That includes power for my shop. In town I'd pay about $8/month if a coal-powered plant supplied that power to me. And the funny thing is we have everything everyone else does—we just don't 'waste' power. We use efficient appliances and we turn them off when not in use. During sunny, or windy days we run our larger loads (laundry, vacuum cleaner etc...) and on cloudy still days, we conserve. But we always have running water, lights, a radio, and the ability to work online if needed.
Joe : Free rant: this is where I like to let you just go off on a topic of your choosing. Give it your best shot:
DB: I think I'll pass there... "If you can't say something nice don't say anything at all...."
Joe : What's your dream car
DB: I like the Model A Ford a lot—so simple, neat looking, and still quite usable today. I can rebuild a Model A for less than any newer car (except perhaps a VW beetle which is similar in its philosophy). Even after 75 years, parts are easy to find and inexpensive. They are absolutely charming and affordable and usable on today's roads and streets. I've put lots of miles on Model A's over the last few years. So perhaps, all things considered, it is my favorite. I'm also very fond of old Volvos. I've had perhaps 100 or more of them and I used to work at a Volvo repair shop. I am, however, rather sick of working on cars these days and find myself only fixing things when they absolutely need it . I've also become allergic to motor oil—probably due to over-exposure. So I don't find myself restoring or working on cars much anymore. There is a fun page about my Model A Tudor and my brother Matt's Jaguar XK120 here: http://www.fieldlines.com/other/Ford.shtml
Joe : According to your site, you're also a musician. Any particular styles or artists that have influenced you?
DB: Lots... I like most types of music and have many influences. When growing up, without electricity in the '70's, I saved my $$ and got an old portable wind up Victrola and started hitting the thrift stores to gather old Jazz 78's. I still collect those. I play mandolin and guitar—I like old Jazz, folk, bluegrass.
I don't play much rock and roll but I do enjoy it. I collect records from the turn of the century to the end of it all (when CD's came out). CD's don't seem to work real well for me, they scratch too easily! I have lots of good friends involved with music too and should use this opportunity to plug their bands.
Our good friend Brad Folk is head of the “Open Road” Bluegrass band; they do a wonderful job—very good music and very good stage show. It's kind of like a throwback to the 1940's. They have been quite successful for a Bluegrass band, and I can honestly say they are my favorite bluegrass band. Check them out here: http://openroadbluegrass.com/
Brad also works for us at wondermagnet.com when he's not on tour.
Our good friend, neighbor and employee Dan Fink is involved with a trio, “Dog Mountain Band”—they do a good job at playing old time string/folk music. Dan lives nearby so I pick with him all the time. http://www.dogmountainband.com/biography.html
And of course I've been to my share of “Dead Shows”—and they were definitely one of my favorite bands ever. (Jerry's not dead, he's just missing you know...)
Joe : It looks as if you've got a pretty tight-knit group keeping everything running. What's the best thing about being able to work with friends and family?
DB: We can be honest with each other, we do each other favors, we help each other out. There are times of friction where normally you'd probably find it easier just to “fire” somebody, but for the most part it works out really well.
Joe : Any words of wisdom for the kids at home?
DB: Sure... don't watch too much TV (it wastes power and rots the mind)
Turn the lights off when you're not using them!
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Drop by Dan's website at http://www.otherpower.com and get more information on conservation and do-it-yourself alternate energy sources.
