Fibreglass roof

[jimbeekeeper]

Thas a cool shed brosville. Is that stack on the roof for a wood burner?

 

[Brosville]

A friend gave me a small pot belly stove and stack - works too well - even in the depths of winter after about 20 minutes it's open the door/windows time!

The "witches hat" to stop water ingress into the chimney is a stainless steel bowl (boot sale, 30p) attached with a rebent metal coathanger

 

[BKF Admin]

AH,shed porn.
You cant beat it !!

 

[Tom Bick]

That is a wicked shed Brosville looks like you have got it all sorted.

 

[roche]

Is the pole coming up out of the ridge for a wind turbine?

 

[Brosville]

I hoped you hadn't noticed that......... it's actually a couple of feet behind the shed (not a good move to mount turbines on buildings, not least because of the bearing noise that transmits into the structure!), and it's stood there awaiting the addition of a turbine atop it (which I've got), but haven't quite got round to doing.... The pole has gone 'orribly rusty, so it's going to be replaced with an ally one before the turbine goes up!

 

[Stiffy]

I hoped you hadn't noticed that......... it's actually a couple of feet behind the shed (not a good move to mount turbines on buildings, not least because of the bearing noise that transmits into the structure!), and it's stood there awaiting the addition of a turbine atop it (which I've got), but haven't quite got round to doing.... The pole has gone 'orribly rusty, so it's going to be replaced with an ally one before the turbine goes up!

Also they tend to kill anything that flies near them too, and are not a very 'green' method of producing energy!

Would be interested in how much power you get from your solar panels?

 

[jimbeekeeper]

and are not a very 'green' method of producing energy!

Yes, so much for you been a green'ie with you wood burning stove, LOL

Now stick a bunch of tubes through that stove and fill them with water, allow the pressure up to about 10bar, then you can use the steam for a turbine...proper energy

 

[Tom Bick]

I have always been led to believe that wood burning stoves are reasonably carbon neutral.

I have been collecting all my offcuts of timber now so as to keep me warm from my stove over the winter I also run two radiators from it with a gravity fed system last years cold winter total heating cost £100 I treated myself to a bit of coal.

I once boiled the water in the pipes and that produced a bit of steam.

 

[jimbeekeeper]

I have always been led to believe that wood burning stoves are reasonably carbon neutral.

.

Just winding bros up.

I burn allsorts on ours, scaffolders give me all their damaged and off cut boards, + endless supply of pallets.

But this will end when move to new place, so need to hitch up with new source.

But they do have about 3 millions tonnes of coal on site

 

[Tom Bick]

Something about free heat on a cold winters night that makes it so much warmer.

 

[Brosville]

Someone else who's bought the nonsense claims of the "anti-wind" lobby- properly sited turbines are less dangerous to wildlife than plate-glass windows, motor vehicles and power cables - there was a case where a lot of birds got shredded in the US, but they had put them slap bang on a migration route in a gap in the mountains.......... I've got several friends who've had turbines for years, and nothing has come to a sticky end because of them (it really is an urban myth put about by "wind haters")
Just for the record - roof-mounted wind turbines do NOT pay back (for several reasons, mostly turbulence), but "Big Wind" most certainly does - without any subsidy - witness the likes of Warren Buffet investing gazillions...(after hydro power and solar hot water, probably THE greenest energy resource we have)
The PV panels you can see are 3x55watt panels - these - http://www.navitron.org.uk/product_detail.php?proID=33&catID=126, which give around 9 amps at 12v on a sunny day- there's another single panel around the back of the shed, and they're feeding 2 separate battery banks - one of 440 amp/hrs, and one of 660 amp/hrs.....
As for the woodburner - believe it or not "biomass" or wood is looked upon as "sustainable", hence a "green" form of energy - I tend to burn old offcuts from hivebuilding and other wood bodgering with the occasional log, bits pruned off the apple trees etc.......
At present I'm underusing the power produced - (hence I'm not rushing to get the turbine up)- it powers the shed lights, sounds, computer and my power tools, and is used as a backup system for when we have a power cut (which is fairly often) - if the power goes down I attach a small (150w) pure sinewave inverter to one of the battery banks, and run an extension cable into the house, which is sufficient to run some lights, computer, modem and tv until the power comes back on.........

 

[Poly Hive]

Ever been to the Outer Hebrides?

Now if there was a place in the UK where the turbine would work it should be there.

In all of Harris and Lewis we saw two, and they were on Council buildings.

I found that very curious.

PH

 

[Brosville]

They really do work well up there, but even down here in the relatively windless south, if they're properly sited they'll still pay back quite quickly.
Sadly the "roof mounted chocolate teapot" fiddle caught many people out, and did the wind industry a great disservice by giving the "antis" ammunition - they really didn't work, but loads of councils keen to gain green brownie points invested in them (as did our present prime minister) - the company "Swindlesave" has now thankfully gone broke..........

 

[Poly Hive]

I think you missed my point.

PH

 

[Stiffy]

Someone else who's bought the nonsense claims of the "anti-wind" lobby- properly sited turbines are less dangerous to wildlife than plate-glass windows, motor vehicles and power cables - there was a case where a lot of birds got shredded in the US, but they had put them slap bang on a migration route in a gap in the mountains.......... I've got several friends who've had turbines for years, and nothing has come to a sticky end because of them (it really is an urban myth put about by "wind haters")
Just for the record - roof-mounted wind turbines do NOT pay back (for several reasons, mostly turbulence), but "Big Wind" most certainly does - without any subsidy - witness the likes of Warren Buffet investing gazillions...(after hydro power and solar hot water, probably THE greenest energy resource we have)
The PV panels you can see are 3x55watt panels - these - http://www.navitron.org.uk/product_detail.php?proID=33&catID=126, which give around 9 amps at 12v on a sunny day- there's another single panel around the back of the shed, and they're feeding 2 separate battery banks - one of 440 amp/hrs, and one of 660 amp/hrs.....
As for the woodburner - believe it or not "biomass" or wood is looked upon as "sustainable", hence a "green" form of energy - I tend to burn old offcuts from hivebuilding and other wood bodgering with the occasional log, bits pruned off the apple trees etc.......
At present I'm underusing the power produced - (hence I'm not rushing to get the turbine up)- it powers the shed lights, sounds, computer and my power tools, and is used as a backup system for when we have a power cut (which is fairly often) - if the power goes down I attach a small (150w) pure sinewave inverter to one of the battery banks, and run an extension cable into the house, which is sufficient to run some lights, computer, modem and tv until the power comes back on.........

Sorry to say this but you are talking rubbish, believe the 'green' hype if you like but look at the facts and not at what Mr Gore and his cronies are purporting.

The silly argument about them not doing as much harm as windows etc is a non starter. We are supposed to be better educated today and to look at what we are doing to our surroundings, so why put something in place that is being proven to harm wildlife.

Oh, and before you reply saying I don’t know what I am talking about, as part of my work I am employed by HMG to look at the effects of these things on birds and bats and although this is a three year study the results so far are not looking good.

As professional ecologists, the study we are undertaking on behalf of the tax payer has to be robust and peer reviewed, it is also scrutinised at every step of the way by the wind turbine companies and quite rightly so.

On a lighter note I am glad the panels seem to be producing energy for your needs. I am also currently (excuse pun) working on a site where they are planning on installing acres of panels. These also have a payback in the amount of mercury needed to produce them. There are also concerns about wildlife with these as insects and birds have been recorded mistaking the rows of panels for water!

 

[Hivemaker.]

Careful you don't get geese, swans and ducks crashing into that shed roof Bros,looks much like a pond you know. H G, you say.....arn't they all for nuclear.

 

[Silly Bee]

Why don't they design turbines omni-directional?

 

[Brosville]

Stiffy, hate to tell you, but I've worked within the renewables industry for some years, and presently run a renewables forum - I've professionally costed medium sized wind installations and can assure you that they really do pay!

-wind works, wind pays, the nonsense about bird slaughter is just that, utter rubbish - far more die from the causes I've already mentioned
I'd suggest you read up the real experts on the subject (Paul Gipe would be a good start point)............

There have been reports as to damage being done to bats, but it would again appear to be a matter of poor siting of turbines, not that they are particularly any more dangerous than many things we accept as "normal"....

 

[Brosville]

ps
"So, while wind farms are responsible for the deaths of some birds, when put into the perspective of other causes of avian mortality, the impact is quite low. In other words, bird mortality at wind farms, compared to other human-related causes of bird mortality, is biologically and statistically insignificant. There is no evidence that birds are routinely being battered out of the air by rotating wind turbine blades as postulated by some in the popular press"

from here - http://www.awea.org/faq/sagrillo/swbirds.html

IF properly sited, losses are indeed insignificant in comparison to other dangers...........

As for "omnidirectional" turbines - they do exist, but are generally nowhere near as efficient/robust or effective as the more conventional types, and require higher windspeeeds before getting up and boogying..........