Happy Thanksgiving folks.

Time to start paying attention to that watch again. It's getting to be that short time of year again. I'll look up the numbers and track the time that this location will generate. I figure that even if I need to adjust the angle of panels on that back roof, I'll still be OK. I'd love to have a 360 degree field for an active array, but I'll take the best that I can get. So far, it still looks like that tree is in the perfect spot. I may relocate it during the spring, I'm still undecided. I'll figure it out then. I'll post the times on the site.

Found an interesting chart on water usage. It looks good for quick amounts on common usage items. http://www.wssc.dst.md.us/service/waterusagechart.cfm Over the summer I installed a bucket system that holds approximately 4 gallons. By turning on the hot water and filling the bucket up about 3/4 full, I'm able to get a decent shower with lower water usage. I still need to get better pressure from it, so I'm looking into that aspect, but if I sit in the tub, the pressure is just fine.

I'm still in need of parts for the VAWT, should be able to scam, er, locate the parts soon. Mostly I'm in need of sheet aluminum for the blades. There's a few people I know putting up some siding, so mayhap I can swipe, er, negotiate about 6 linear feet. I'll see...

North facing home. 5 winters with ice and snow in front. I wonder if I can put a big reflector/concentrator in front of my place so that I can melt the ice on nice, sunny days. I'll have to do some reseacrh on it, already found The Solar Death Ray site. I'll need to do some calcs, find some mirrors, build the thing, and then make sure I don't fry anybody in the process. Problems I can see so far: Need to build large enough to be effective, small enough to be practical. Power needs to be concentrated enought to heat snow and ice to above 45(?) degrees. (Somewhat higher than freezing, will ensure that water doesn't refreeze before runoff/evaporation. Runoff, Hmmm. Gotta make sure I don't melt snow and form ice downhill. Somebody might get hurt. Possibility of 'softening' the snow to make shoveling easier (only if only alternative). Lemme look into it. I'll post here an on pasolarhome.com

Set up the post for the VAWT today, will need to make a flange to attach the generator / turbine assembly to. But at least I won't be fighting frozen ground to bury post. Still, I only dug down about 2 foot, so I may need to create a cement base for it. I'll have to see how firm it stands. I'm hoping to have it operational by December. Just a whole lot of stuff for me to do in the meantime.

The house is pretty well sealed up for the winter, just need to get a few more wood strips to hold the window plastic down with. Mostly for the attic.I' thinking of redoing the back window, as I haven't pulled that plastic down in 3 years, and I see some loose areas. And it's pieced together as well. I got the plastic, might as well do it tomorrow. I'm still showing 5/8ths tank of oil, so I'm OK there. Should last until mid December, if it stays sorta mild.

Shine on...

Things are a bit more colmed down lately, and can get back to a few things I've been neglecting. I just found out that the nice old lady who owned the house behind me has died last month, so I can possibly look forward to new neighbors soon. :-( Anyhow, this also opens the door to any of the yard mods I've been contemplating. Like the tree that's dead center. (chainsaw, anyone?) Naaaahhhh, I just removed the clothes line, so Tree-san has an extened life span. (japanese maple)
I've marked the spot for the VAWT pole, and will commence digging in the next few days, once I figure out exactly what size I'm going to make the blades. That will tell me how big the diameter will be, which will determine placement. Just need to not hit the sewer line... What with the few repairs that I've been making to other peoples PC's lately, I should be able to get the first battery next week. That gives me the rest of the whole system, as I already have 2 PV trickle chargers and the charge controller, and enough wire to do the job. yippee. Granted, having some cash would have made things a whole lot faster. But I digress. From what I've seen lately, the turbines at Mahanoy City are coming along quite rapidly. I can't wait to see them start up. I'm going to try to get a tour at some point...

anyhow, time for me to dream on... zzzzzzzzzzzzz