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Is it an indirect circuit (ie. is the water that runs through the solar panels a closed circuit, and separate from the water that comes out of the tap)? If so, wouldn't anti-freeze be an option? Afraid not Muddy. It's direct. The water that goes through those panels is the water that comes out of t...

These solar panels are meant to have a frost protection vlave attached. When the temperature gets below about 3 deg C the valve opens a bit of a dribble from the hot water in the storage tank and into the panels stopping ice frm forming in then and destroying the panels. These valves are $180 to buy...

No idea what the statistics are - but yes, we do have clear skies up here. The wind sees to that... Unfortunately, the sunshine hours are rather short in winter (although it's lovely out there at the moment - had a few snowshowers, a strong northerly blowing, and the sun is out!). So even if the su...

Is there a builder in the house. I'm building an older style solar HWS which mounts the main tank on the roof. Thats about a quarter of a tonne on a roof which already holds at least five tonnes of tiles. I'm building a frame like a heavy table so that the tank doesn't actually mount onto the roof. ...

I do when I am doing the dust mite covers for the mattress and pillow slips. They should be done at 95C in order to kill off any mites. However what is really irritating is the damn things shrink so much it is a real tug of war to get it back over the mattress. I do wonder if they are really effect...

On a clear day I can run the washing machine off the inverter, but it doesn't heat the water, we have washed in cold water for 20 years anyway! Nev Yeah, why DO we wash clothes with hot water? Does it make them any cleaner? Is cold water with some eco-friendly washing powder effective? I would haza...

Cloudy skiess the past few days. Even so the system got comfortably warm. Clear warm day today and the whole 175 litres came up to about the simmer. There must have been a bubble in the system the first time preventing the thermosyphon. Can't think of anything else. In any case the problems pretty m...

Something aroudn the 2000 watt mark and it doens't matter if its a touch bigger. There are limitations of course as it's for domestic use.

There are price limitations too cause I'm on the dole.

I think you might have your work cut out trying to make a 240v heating element do much with only 12v trying to push through it - I think the resistance will simply be too great. Is it possible to get the element out and replace it with something that might work - a 12v travel kettle type thing that...

Just one morre quick note muddy. I know Londons reputation for smog but how clear are the skies in Scotland. Clear sun, not hot sun, is what makes the solar hot water panels work. It can be zero degrees but if its still a clear day and a bright sun the water still comes out of the panels piping hot.

Thanks for that muddy. And believe me, the Australian sun, even down here in the relative cold of Melbourne has more than enough biter to have given me skin cancers and to boil water. I simply hook the garden tap up to ONE panel at a very slow dribble, (about the same as a slow pee) I get boiling wa...

How about a greenhouse with polycarbonate instead of glass? It's more insulating than glass too. Willow isn't supposed to be very good for burning from what I've read. And what is a DP? Dearest Partner? Does it Molly.??? I always understood that glass trapped the heatof the sun beter. Which is why ...

Hello from sunniest Australia

How popular are wind genarators up there in bleak old Scotland. How many have you seen. And how windy is it.

I'm asking cause I live in the officially windiest suburb in Melbourne.

Probably carrotts or beetroot.

Nearly bought a pommie motorbike actually. An eco bike which gave almost 200 mpg. Called a Quasar.