"Your life is an occasion. Rise to it"

Pippilongstocking

Now re the crazy um I mean inventive experiments

I read in the sustainable living guru guide about putting plastic bottles over the hose in the garden to heat up water - to make your own DIY panels for solar stuff involving old radiatiors - plastic bottles and sticky back plastic - I'm not really joking, more for effect really.

Thinking laterally - if you had one of those and then a plastic bottle greenhouse you could shower outdoors. perfect (ok maybe that a bit too far....)

Or one of these we had for the camper http://www.justkampers.com/shop/solar-shower-20-litre-j17120.html maybe too much to far?

The book I'm talking about John Seymour - The new complete guide of Self Sufficiency. Page 344 - 345 'Heat from the Sun' - (even referenced huh, you can tell I'm finishing my thesis eh?) he used examples of old domestic radiatiors being used as Solar panels, then fed into the house or bottles over hose then attached to a shower head etc so not too crazy KC - you're a real thinker you might not want the book, but I can copy you the page if you like?

redsquirrel80

Ahh thanks Pippi I knew there was something in the back of my mind about making your own solar panels (think I read about it in the 'Self-Sufficientish' book) but had forgotten it was a radiators that were used

Pippilongstocking

redsquirrel80 wrote: »

Ahh thanks Pippi I knew there was something in the back of my mind about making your own solar panels (think I read about it in the 'Self-Sufficientish' book) but had forgotten it was a radiators that were used

Tis grand to be able to help - I got given that book by my late friend as a birthday pressie this year, so I'm always reading bits of it atm we're attempting to be as self sufficient as possible here and itssuch a brilliant book - and remembered about it with the solar stuff

Morning to you too x

Karmacat

Ooh, Pippi, if you could copy the page for me - scan it? then it doesn't cost anything! - that would be great. The shower thingie you've linked to isn't too far at all, its more or less exactly the same as the Wilko one - personally, I think thats a lot less faff than surrounding your garden hose with water bottles! You could hang it outside, then bring it into the bathroom!

I've finished the raw research at moneysupermarket - not doing any other sites, or I'll lose the will to live. So before I do my sums and find out which alternative is best, I'm off to the CAT website to check what solar stuff they have for sale .... thinks .... I don't want old radiators cluttering up the back garden :rotfl: but I'm really starting to wonder about this now. **must** copy over to my blog, must must. I'll do it tomorrow when the blokes are here fitting the vinyl

Look at this:
http://www.virtualsecrets.com/build-a-solar-panel.html
Definitely a project to research for the winter




EDIT - Pippi, didn't see your post immediately above this one till now, that makes it very poignant. I had the original version of John Seymour's book, which was massive, from the 70s, it was very out of date even when I bought it, but I bet it was a real eye opener at the time. I'm really glad to hear its been updated.

There are these guys on youtube about making solar panels too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zy3ELxwdtE

Part of me is also interested in this because of the profits the energy companies make too: after all, we don't hear of energy companies going bust, do we! Maybe apart from Shell, who were so over the top in cutting corners, they got found out because of fatalities .....

redsquirrel80

*waves to Pippi* :hello: I think my parents have the John Seymour book.. it's quite funny that the life I'm aiming for now is the life they were more or less living in the late 70s/ early 80s. But of course they didn't have the internet to find out and share ideas with lovely people

Karmacat

Wow! Your parents were *doing* it? I didn't realise Squizz - I come from the absolute median/average/middle of the road in that respect!

And I also found these guys:
http://www.heatmyhome.co.uk/buy-solar-panels-uk.htm

To have a play at the moment, I'll order the shower from Wilkos - at £5, I think I'm allowed and when I move to Spain, or live in my winnebago, it will come in handy

Everyone else is hard at work must stop.

redsquirrel80

Karmacat wrote: »

Wow! Your parents were *doing* it? I didn't realise Squizz - I come from the absolute median/average/middle of the road in that respect!

And I also found these guys:
http://www.heatmyhome.co.uk/buy-solar-panels-uk.htm

To have a play at the moment, I'll order the shower from Wilkos - at £5, I think I'm allowed and when I move to Spain, or live in my winnebago, it will come in handy

Everyone else is hard at work must stop.

Well, my dad did have a 'normal' job, but money was extremely tight. They lived in a cottage in the middle of nowhere, rarely had a car, had ducks, chickens, goats, grew veg (my earliest memory is of my dad picking marrows!), made wine, did a bit of work for the people who earned the 'big house' nearby (mostly in exchange for firewood and goats I believe :rotfl:).. lots of their clothes were handmade or recycled from old clothes/ charity shop buys... great times in many ways but also very isolated, especially for my mum who didn't work or drive - I think if the internet had been around in those days it would have made a big difference to her really.

Anyway... be interesting to hear how you get on with the solar shower! There's a company round here who do free solar installations - you get free electricity and they get any extra profit I think. Keep meaning to look into it.. although our sunniest bit is a flat roof which I have desires to turn into a roof garden.....

(work, what's that? :rotfl:)

Pippilongstocking

redsquirrel80 wrote: »

*waves to Pippi* :hello: I think my parents have the John Seymour book.. it's quite funny that the life I'm aiming for now is the life they were more or less living in the late 70s/ early 80s. But of course they didn't have the internet to find out and share ideas with lovely people

Like kc said and wow and brilliant - me too - we're trying our hardest to get back to whats important - funny I'm writing a blog about island living - not that that is funny in itself - but I've lived on a few islands and the first one on the west coast of scotland was very remote (3 ferries a week) if we'd had the internet then it would have been awesome and a tad less lonely.

I thank the greater green (I'd say the lord but I don't belived unless its 'he who should not be named' and in which case I wouldn't thank him anyway would I?) so I'll thank the greater good, universe, mother earth or who'd ever like to stand up and take credit for the good things in life.......................... for you lot - without you all (as I said to L's hubby when I met her) it would be a very isolated and lonely existance and knowing folk are out there tryign to do the same kind of life - on a wee budget - and with other reasons behind it - has made a HUMUMGOUs difference to our lives every day

:A all of you :A

Karmacat

redsquirrel80 wrote: »

Well, my dad did have a 'normal' job, but money was extremely tight. They lived in a cottage in the middle of nowhere, rarely had a car, had ducks, chickens, goats, grew veg (my earliest memory is of my dad picking marrows!), made wine, did a bit of work for the people who earned the 'big house' nearby (mostly in exchange for firewood and goats I believe :rotfl:).. lots of their clothes were handmade or recycled from old clothes/ charity shop buys... great times in many ways but also very isolated, especially for my mum who didn't work or drive - I think if the internet had been around in those days it would have made a big difference to her really.
Wow ... they were really first cousins to Tom and Barbara, weren't they! Brilliant :T

Anyway... be interesting to hear how you get on with the solar shower! There's a company round here who do free solar installations - you get free electricity and they get any extra profit I think. Keep meaning to look into it.. although our sunniest bit is a flat roof which I have desires to turn into a roof garden.....
They're pretty national, Squizz - you have to have a lot of south facing roof to do it, sadly, thats what Eon just turned me down for. What I'll do, is to order from Wilkos so that I can pick it up during that second week of my holiday, when I'm having my staycation I'll let you know :rotfl:

(work, what's that? :rotfl:)

Dunno

Pippilongstocking wrote: »

I thank the greater green (I'd say the lord but I don't belived unless its 'he who should not be named' and in which case I wouldn't thank him anyway would I?) so I'll thank the greater good, universe, mother earth or who'd ever like to stand up and take credit for the good things in life.......................... for you lot - without you all (as I said to L's hubby when I met her) it would be a very isolated and lonely existance and knowing folk are out there tryign to do the same kind of life - on a wee budget - and with other reasons behind it - has made a HUMUMGOUs difference to our lives every day

:A all of you :A

To you too Pippi :A:A:A knowing how much *you're* doing in the green world has excited me all over again for it.

I'm sure you could do a shower thing in your polytunnel though, you know :rotfl:

gilligansyle

Gosh I'm not around for a few days and you lot start talking about showering in your gardens! And it all started because you were looking at water butts. It's interesting though, how the connections happen.

And you're off on your jollidays at the weekend too!