Topic: it's not easy being green.

[froglets]

I would like to see more of that chap he went to visit in London(?) who is living green in a 2 bed terrace.  Much more relevant to the majority of us I would think - I've been wondering about solar panels etc myself for my 2 bed terrace.  Looks like there are lots more things I could be thinking about.

[Diana]

There are times when I hate the fact I like football - like tureday evening!

Missed the first half, but saw the second.

Cookie, I agree you don't need that much money to make a difference. I also think it's great to see programmes like that for inspiration.

Froglets - I too would love to have seen more of the guy in London - and also how much it cost.

Do you have to have permission to divert water like he did for his waterwheel? And as it's made or (untreated?) wood, won't it all warp + rot + leak?

[Robert_Brenchley]

Depends on the wood. They used to make ships out of untreated wood, remember. Pine wouldn't work, but cedar contains oils which are as good as a treatment and last a lot longer, and if that wouldn't do it, some other hardwood doubtless would. I wonder what Roman or Medieval waterwheels were made of.

[Larkspur]

Historically water wheels used elm since it does not rot in water (or does so very slowly). It is also the wood which makes up most of a lock gate in a canal. I seem to be out of step with everyone else here since I felt no empathy for these people at all.
Inpartcular I was amazed that a retired Army engineer (implied but never stated) and a physicist who claimed to have done a lot of research should design an overshot waterwheel when by far the most efficient form is an undershot one. ???

[DenBee]

I did enjoy the programme, but I found some of it a bit simplistic, and a few bits irritating.

I particularly liked the bit where they got the "growing expert" in to tell them that the land, which was absolutely covered in stuff rampantly growing all over the place, was good land to grow things on.

I will watch the series (if I remember, cos that's always my problem with the tv, I forget to watch it  ;) ).  But I'll have my bucket of salt by my chair.

They used marine ply for the floor of the aqueduct.

[misterphil]

I tried to watch it last night, but visitors turned up ...

Does anyone have any info on how well the head sink in the greenhouse worked? ... and if it did, how did he build it?

thanks

[Mrs Ava]

The heat sink.....I was ironing so bear with me....

The dug a square pit and lined the sides with polystyrene.  The sides were then lined with what looked like thick foil - shiny side out.  They then hired a rather big machine which grinds down glass bottles into that stuff you pay a fortune for in garden centres to mulch the top of your pots.  They half filled the pit with these glass grindings and then put in some pipework - kinda like an O which laid flat on the glass, with an upward pipe which would protrude out of the top of the pit.  They then continued to fill the pit with the glass (had to pinch the local pubs bottle recycling bank!!  I believe that was as much as you saw.  They then constructed the greenhouse around this pit.  I guess over the weeks we will see if in action, and see if it works!

I don't mind it, I love Major Strawbridge from his Scrapheap Challenge days with his brothers but they are an odd bunch!  I can't quite make out who belongs to whom, and what the hell they are all doing there!  The neighbours must cringe!

[Mrs Ava]

Oh, just really thinking about it...it is good for ideas.  My darling is now trying to work out how to sort out solar power to work an electric heater for the greenhouse over winter.  Also makes you think how you can save water on the plot and the garden.  Thing is, we can all make a difference with the little things.  The more we do, recycle, make compost, use less chemicals and so on, the better things will be.

[Hyacinth]

I've missed it :'( but have enjoyed reading about it here - hope that the I CAN  CAN YOU chappie's got a TV - and is a bit more organised with his viewing than I am - tho. Should give him some great ideas....... :)

[DenBee]

I was a bit disappointed with last night's programme.  I didn't really need to see footage of his wife going to a green festival and pointing out the bins for recycling.  Or rather, since I could see the link to what they did later in the programme, I didn't need to see quite so much footage.  :)

The heatsink idea looks interesting, but I'm not sure I can lay my hands on a cubic metre of ground glass.  ;)

And I suppose I could see that by building the outside shower and laying on warm water generated by heat absorption through a black painted radiator in a kind of "mini greenhouse" they were demonstrating the principles.  But why would anyone want an outdoor shower?   I'd have to be on a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean before I'd even consider risking showering outdoors - and even then I'd probably be too shy.  :D

[amphibian]

Historically water wheels used elm since it does not rot in water (or does so very slowly). It is also the wood which makes up most of a lock gate in a canal. I seem to be out of step with everyone else here since I felt no empathy for these people at all.
Inpartcular I was amazed that a retired Army engineer (implied but never stated) and a physicist who claimed to have done a lot of research should design an overshot waterwheel when by far the most efficient form is an undershot one. ???

My understanding is that an overshot wheel is far more efficient and does not require fast flowing water. Overshot wheels convert flow into torque far more efficiently (upto 65% for wood), whilst an undershot wheel is less efficient (upto 35%).

[Fingle....]

Agreed.

[Larkspur]

Historically water wheels used elm since it does not rot in water (or does so very slowly). It is also the wood which makes up most of a lock gate in a canal. I seem to be out of step with everyone else here since I felt no empathy for these people at all.
Inpartcular I was amazed that a retired Army engineer (implied but never stated) and a physicist who claimed to have done a lot of research should design an overshot waterwheel when by far the most efficient form is an undershot one. ???

My understanding is that an overshot wheel is far more efficient and does not require fast flowing water. Overshot wheels convert flow into torque far more efficiently (upto 65% for wood), whilst an undershot wheel is less efficient (upto 35%).

You are quite right. I must have still been asleep ::)
Still  can't relate to the people or like the programme though.

[Deeds]

They live just down the road from me.  It will be interesting to see how they come through the  coldest winter in Cornwall for over 20 years.

There is little sun in Cornwall in the winter, far too much cloud cover owing to it being a narrow peninsula,  It will be very interesting to see how the heat sink works in winter - I have my doubts knowing the local climate. They also don't know the size of the slugs and snails down here yet that tend to shelter in the crevaces of old granite walls, like the one they built the greenhouse against.  ;D

On one small note regarding the re-roofing of the house, when they said the cost was over £50,000 and it would have been nearer double in local slate - absolute piffle, local slate is only marginally more expensive then the imported stuff they used, and even cheaper still if they used reclaimed local slate as I did, and it looks better, and is surely greener.  I have a feeling the builders saw them coming, as they often do with 'incommers' who apparently have money to burn ;D.

I am still trying to work out who all the people are, for instance who is the woman who grows all the veg?

I'm with Larkspur on this one, and most of the locals.

[RSJK]

  I have a feeling the builders saw them coming, as they often do with 'incommers' who apparently have money to burn ;

The question to ask ...is it there money or is it are BBC licence money

[Mrs Ava]

Figured they must be close to you Deeds after their fish and chip lunch in Mevagissy.

Okay,  Ihave a question regarding their Bio-diesel.  At first, I thought it was a good idea....it may only be marginally cheaper, but that isn't the idea, the idea is burning veggie oil is better for the environment, HOWEVER, surely having to cook the oily liquid over night isn't being very eco-friendly, unless they are heating it using solar power/water power/sustainable wood burnings or whatever??

[RSJK]

Did not look to me that they were using any of those methods to cook the oil to me Emma.
                     :-\ :-\

[DenBee]

On Discovery RealTime there has been a series called Down on the Farm, which dd2 and I have watched and enjoyed.  It's about a young couple who bought a run-down farm (in Wales I think).  Without any of the fuss and palaver of this chappie and his family they did all of the following:

Installed a ram-pump in order to supply spring water to the house
Kept and pigs to turn over some land, and fattened and had them killed for meat
Grew their own vegetables, starting from scratch on a large plot of previously uncultivated land
Built a large greenhouse on the site of an old barn (I didn't see the finished greenhouse)
Built and installed a wind turbine
Converted a van to run on old vegetable oil

And lots of other projects.  I think the series may have finished now, but knowing Discovery it will be back.  I preferred it to this programme on the Beeb, because this is too showy and a bit daft.

[Larkspur]

Hi DenBee, I agree, Down on the Farm was a super series with lots of interesting, clearly "green" projects, no apparant throwing about of money and no mysterious experts or whatever making intermittant appearances. The projects were clearly explained and all eminently sensible. I particularly liked the ram pump since I know quite a bit about the old cast iron ones but didn't realise there were modern versions.
I hope they repeat it, indeed I hope Discovery make a new series.
Talking of Real Time programmes Forgotten Farm anyone?

[DenBee]

I forgot that was on.  Though I was a little put off by the trailers featuring the people involved as "characters".  I prefer sensible people to characters.  ;)