The Amish are often portrayed as anti-technology Luddites, but in fact they often accept non-electrical forms of technology, as long as they can remain "off the grid" and independent.
The photo shows a home-crafted gas-powered ice cutter used to harvest lake ice for non-electric iceboxes.
The photo shows a home-crafted gas-powered ice cutter used to harvest lake ice for non-electric iceboxes.
The diesel engine burns fuel to drive the compressor that fills the reservoir with pressure. From the tank a series of high-pressure pipes snake off toward every corner of the factory. A hard rubber flexible hose connects each tool to a pipe. The entire shop runs on compressed air. Every piece of machine is running on pneumatic power. Amos even shows me a pneumatic switch, which you can flick like a light switch, to turn on some paint-drying fans.
The Amish call this pneumatic system "Amish electricity."
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Minnesotastan.
It raises two issues with me - firstly is it right to try to con god like this, and secondly, is he that easily fooled?
Not that I belive in a god anyway. It's just another puzzling aspect of religion.
They use small gas engines left and right, and "mainline" diesel power engines, as well as minimal electricity for when they absolutely need it.
They are a bit more liberal about what "need" is though.
It stays out of the house, and they cannot have fixed electric lights, refrigeration, phones, or radios on the property, but are okay with renting it from neighbors.
They cannot use engines for "motive" power, they must pull with horses or a person. They use the old time manual reel lawn mowers, if they keep a lawn.
They are perfectly okay with hiring out certain jobs to people that do have equipment and can operate it.
We also live near a "sect" of Mennonites, which can have tractors, but can only use them for field work or their PTO power, never at the same time, and would sooner do "hand" tasks with unpowered tools.