Debrief from BM2023

Pain points in previous build/breakdown

To put it lightly, it sucked, but we'll list the pain points here so we can make sure we figure out a proper plan to prevent all of them from happening again.

Here's a high level table mapping out what sucked and what was great as well:

What sucked	What was awesome

Ideas for easy build

The Containers Idea / Aric's contributions

The idea here is that we purchase one or two containers, and we prepare them such that when they are dropped on Playa, we unlock them, pop out solar panels, pop out showers, have a hole at the top for water services to fill our water storage, a hole on the side/bottom for grey water services to pump our grey water out.

The containers would also have a fully equipped kitchen, fridges & freezers, pantry, and storage for dry foods, drinking water, folding tables & chairs, furniture, etc.

A massive tarp could be stretched between the two containers to create shade. We can make this even fancier by adding poles at the top of the containers to make the shade structure larger, and have it slanting down to the sides.

Sundeep's contributions

Get a trailer / container to replace the Reno storage. We then get a company to pick up that trailer or container to drop it off on playa and pick it up at the end.

We talked about getting a box truck, where we would keep fridges and freezers year round. This would allow us to drive it to something like a Costco, buy the ingredients and then immediately stock them in the fridges & freezers.

Buy a shelving system that fits a container we buy, and we then inventory everything we have in storage and arrange in boxes. Everything gets arranged into a grid system, and it should be extremely simple to locate items (even when we're off site, by looking at the inventory management system).

Consider what to do with our brown intercontinental (where we previously had our radio station setup). It is currently full of various items such as our showers, our kitchen tent, shade structure poles & canvases, etc.

We need to secure a reasonably priced storage facility for the trucks/containers. We would be able to leave the Reno storage though.

Sundeep prefers renting vs. owning for the first year. Sundeep want us to vote on the container vs. trailer.

Containers are on the ground which makes it easier with loading and unloading. The trailer is on wheels which makes it a bit more difficult to load & unload, but it is far from the ground which allows you to use the space underneath as shaded storage. Being above the ground would also make it less dusty since it's more difficult for people to access and/or bring mud or dust with them into the trailer.

Sundeep thinks purchasing would be more time consuming right now, and he thinks it's something we should postpone to a later year.

Leon's contributions

House of good deeds is in possession of a school bus that can be retrofitted with shelving, etc. This could become a build event for the camp. Most of the camp are in NYC anyway, but once done, someone would have to drive that bus to BRC cross country.

Discussions about insulation from heat and infrared light were heated, and this idea was considered "not the best"...

Box truck: Leon likes the idea of having a box truck that will permanently house fridges & freezers for the food/kitchen.

Leon brought up the issue of how gasoline is stored, and this is something we need to consider. It is important that when rangers on the playa review our camp, that we pass their inspection. This means we need to review again what their requirements are, and make sure that whatever plan we adopt, that it includes covering this aspect.

Jack on the solar system

Jack put it together last minute in 2022 for various logistics issues. It worked out, but we think we need more battery storage (probably double what we had in 2023).

The radio equipment + antenna (50W) + console (100W) + PC (50W) was a constant 350W power draw at minimum (not including the small A/C). LED lights ran only at night (12 hours roughly) and drew ~200W. In total around 550W. However we won't run a radio station in 2024 so our power requirements are lower.

Jack recommends getting mounting rails for the solar panels to make it easier to deploy.

Sundeep commented on mixing new batteries with old batteries not being a good idea. Jack says expanding our battery bank will cost around $3K, and would allow us to run 24/7 without using noisy generators. In addition, a mounting system would also cost around $3k. Could be less, but this is the estimated maximum spend on both systems.

Jack recommends focusing on ground mounting first, before expanding the power bank, due to the fact we are no longer running the radio station. He thinks the existing power bank could theoretically run the fridges & freezers.