Powerful message rammed home
Marty Todd is best known in social media circles as the ‘‘Angry Ram’’ guy, thanks to his YouTube postings of the antics of an aggressive ram on his forest block outside Nelson.
But there’s more to his genius. For the past 12 years, Todd has been living off the grid, getting all his power from water turbines made from old washing machines.
Todd has converted an old Fisher & Paykel Smartdrive – a model he says works best – and diverted water from a stream on his property. The running water turns the turbine in the washing machine, which in turn generates all the power he needs for the house.
‘‘The turbine has been running 24/7 since I made it (2006),’’ he says. ‘‘It only stops for an hour every few years when I change the bearings and swap the nozzle diameter during summer when the stream gets low. I like to leave at least half flow in the stream so I don’t impact on the stream ecology.’’
Todd gives detailed instructions on how to convert the Smartdrive on YouTube.
Not surprisingly, Todd is also a whizz at solar power. While hydro power is the only source of power at the Nelson property, the family has a bach in Marlborough Sounds that has 750W of solar panels charging a battery bank – there is no stream there to generate hydro power.
‘‘I prefer hydro power as it is running 24/7.’’
Todd says he is semi-retired. His small forest block requires a few hours work each week, but his main source of income is YouTube, thanks to his Angry Ram channel and inventive ‘‘how-to’’ posts.
‘‘My expenses are very low, having free power, water and no rent, so I don’t require much to live a basic, comfortable life.’’
The Angry Ram posts are still coming, even though the ram in question, Rambro, is slowing down. He arrived at Todd’s forest block as a reprieve from a death sentence – a farmer couldn’t handle the ram’s aggression. ‘‘Rambro is still trolling my trails,’’ says Todd. ‘‘He must be around 15 now . . . He’s becoming more placid in his old age, but I still can’t turn my back on him.’’