More Electrickery

Tues and Weds 10-11 January 2012

We have the three new solar panels from Dieter, designed to operate the new batteries brought back from the UK by Shrimpy.  The new system will initially just be plugged into the toilet, to see how much electricity it needs to run.  This is a crucial bit of info just now, as we have to decide whether to continue with a compost toilet in the house build, or put in a soakaway - which needs to be done when the foundations are dug out. 

So Dave and Rob spent Tuesday constructing a big wooden gantry for the three new panels, built deliberately large to allow expansion if needed (and affordable).  But first, I asked Dave to look at the inverter in the second battery box, because it had clicked when I tried to plug in the computer that morning.

Dave changed the fuses, and evicted an enormous orange spider and tried it again and it flashed and he evicted a second orange spider, leg by leg, but it still wouldn't work.  So now we have panels wired up to the batteries, but no inverter to access the electricity.  Frustration just ain't in it!

 

 Pieces of the frame made up

 ... and assembled. 

Just a larger version of the chicken house (seen to left).  

We're going to need some mega-chickens to go in this one.

 The workforce to be reckoned with.

 Then we went to George's to see Sue and Robbie home from Thailand in matching tailored gold suits.  While there we saw Helen, who promised us more chickens in February, so we've got to get building a better chicken house if we're going to keep this lot alive!

 Attaching the panels to the frame.  Dave getting into the spirit of working in Greece - every worker needs at least one person to watch them work.