The Flatwoods
Closes the water loop — the Uktena catchment supplies it, and its greywater output routes back to the food forest. Power scales from hand crank to pedal to low-draw DC; no tier requires a grid hookup.
Why the name
Named for the Flatwoods Monster, Braxton County, WV's own cryptid — something strange that showed up, did its thing, and disappeared as quick as it came. A washer that runs a closed loop start to finish, no grid required, has some of that same quiet strangeness to it.
Supply is drawn from the Uktena cistern cascade or a standard hose bib. Agitation scales with tier — hand crank, foot pedal, or a low-draw DC motor sized to run off the property's existing solar/battery hub without competing for capacity. Greywater is filtered (lint and soap stage) and routed to food forest irrigation, the same destination as the catchment system's overflow.
Tier Ladder
- Settler — Hand Crank Washer: fully manual, no power source, greywater carried out by bucket.
- Homesteader — Pedal-Assist Washer: foot-pedal powered, plumbed through a basic lint filter to a garden diverter.
- Foreman — Low-Draw DC Washer: powered spin cycle, solar/battery-hub compatible, filtered greywater to the food forest.
- Monticello — Whole-Home System: tied into a dedicated hearth's hot water coil, full filtration and recycling loop including toilet-flush reuse.
- Mythic — The Flatwoods: fully solar/battery-hub sufficient with zero grid dependency at any step, cast bronze fittings.
Technical Specifications (Foreman tier baseline)
- Drum: stainless interior, horizontal axis
- Agitation/spin: low-draw DC motor, solar/battery-hub compatible
- Greywater filtration: lint stage + soap/detergent stage before discharge to food forest irrigation
- Power draw: sized specifically not to compete with the property's existing solar/battery capacity
Specialist Sign-Offs Required Before Construction
- Greywater system code compliance — WV greywater reuse regulations, particularly where output is plumbed rather than hand-carried
- Electrical — DC motor sizing and solar/battery-hub tie-in, confirming the washer doesn't undercut other loads on the hub
- Plumbing — hot water coil tie-in at Monticello+ tiers
Open Items
- Greywater filtration stage components not yet specced (filter media, replacement interval)
- DC motor sourcing and exact draw figures not yet pulled
- Pedal/crank mechanism durability not yet tested — needs a build-and-break cycle before Homesteader tier is finalized