One thing you might notice about this chronicle is return of embedded videos.
This is mostly because I've been pretty active making them for Youtube of late
and I thought that some of them could do with being here as well. Only those
that are apropos to the diary entry of the day though. There are many more on
my Youtube and
Patreon channels.
But I don't want this to become just a video platform because that's what Youtube
et al are for and for the last 20+ years people have come here to READ
about our exploits. Videos certainly add a new dimension, but you should still
be able to see what we're doing without having to use your
bandwidth to watch a video.
Till next time then, and remember,
Don't Dream it, Be it!
Fri 4 Dec 2020
We will need mattresses for the Cruiser and I reckon that foldable ones will
be best because they can be stored out of the way and maybe even be used as
a backrest in the folded position.
Clarke Rubber have a couple, one is $79 and the other $179 and I can't see
the difference...well yes I can, the cheap one is not in stock. So I think bugger,
what to do now?
Ummm, ever heard of Google?
We found these on Amazon.
Just the ticket I think.
Mon 07 Dec 2020
Shortly after going to bed we hear a massive bang, apparently from the bedroom
roof. I'll check it out tomorrow.
Tue 08 Dec 2020
Chris wakes up (and gets up) at about 5AM, I'm also awake but couldn't be bothered
getting up just yet.
Two minutes later she returns, "There's no power" she says.
I investigate and find that the big inverter has shut down. I start it up and
there's a bang from the DC end but that's all so I think maybe a gecko got fried
or something and maybe the device is OK now. But then I notice that the AC end
is making a strange noise.
This is not the time or place to look into this so for now all I have to do
is swap the power lead over to the backup inverter and go back to bed.
Redundancy is important.
Wed 09 Dec 2020
Did I just mention redundancy?
Guess who had just bought yet another inverter because he was worried that
the old one might fail.
This one is the 5000W version of the 3000W one I installed a few weeks ago.
I think this will be used simultaneously with the 3000W inverter, with that
one being for the house and the large one for the workshop. This means two separate
circuits which will isolate the two halves of the house and maybe with the 5000W
I will be able to run the compressor without the generator. That would be good
because I would often like to use compressed air just for a minute but it's
not worth starting the gennie up just to blow some dust off a tool.
But for now I'll just mount it on the wall in place of the dead inverter in
case we have another failure.
Sat 11 Dec 2020
I'm right back into track making now. The plan is to try and complete the loop
I started all those years ago.
Sun 12 Dec 2020
I am walking past the dead tree that's next to the house and notice some odd-looking
wood on the ground. The tree has been shedding bark of late but this isn't bark,
it's real wood that appears to have been shredded.
I look up and see this.
The tree has been hit by lightening it seems. That was the bang we heard the
other night. Yikes, that was a near thing.
Tue 14 Dec 2020
Time to do some more work on the addition of the new solar panels. To wit the
running of the cable underground and up into the tool shed where the batteries
are.
It's a bit of a bun fight with only one person, but I eventually get the wire
through.
While doing that I smell grey water and have a look at the kitchen drain outlet.
The turkeys have made a perfect dam at the end of the pipe. I wonder if that
is deliberate in order to have a more permanent water supply, or just a happy
side effect of the way they constantly scratch the ground.
Talking of new solar panels, I will replace these five horizontally-mounted
panels with ten mounted vertically, IE, oriented like the new one propped up
in the foreground.
The five panels I remove will then join some others in another array mounted
out on the ground, facing west.
And yet another project, I've planted four potatoes. I don't have much hope
that they will grow but it's worth a shot.
Tue 22 Dec 2020
I buy some steel to make the frame for the solar panels that will be west facing.
The guys at the steel shop know me pretty well by now and they like to chat
so I seldom get out of there in under a half hour or more. Today they tell me
of some price rises coming down the track. Good thing I don't have much more
to do now.
Then I decide to use one of the new lengths to rest the new panels on as I
fix them to the rails. This gives me a straight edge so the panels look nice
and straight, and also stops them from sliding off the roof while I'm fixing
them in place.
Because the previous panels were mounted horizontally the rails are really
too close for the new orientation, and the panels cantilever by about half of
their length. I hope that will be OK.
Wed 23 Dec 2020
Simon (my neighbour) has 12 buckets of fine blue metal he wants to get rid
of. At first I can't think of a use for the material but then I think if the
floor in the forge area.
It looks good and is great to walk on with bare feet. As to how practical it
is, time will tell I suppose.