Solar Hot Water!

Using electricity to heat water is wasteful.  A solar water heater provides one of the best returns of any home energy project.

We got a free heat exchanger tank, free panel, and then bought smaller parts like the circulation pump, controller and plumbing.  The incoming cold water from the well is heated in the solar tank, which holds 50 gallons.  The solar tank temperature has reached 160F, but in the picture here it’s just 132F.  Then, water flows into the electric 40 gallon tank.  Mostly the electric heater doesn’t run any more, but if it is a cloudy day it will, so we always have hot water.  We’ve had it running for two billing cycles, and it is saving us about $20/month, or about 200 kWh.  Last month our total was 450 kWh to run the house, well, home office, electric mower, etc.

To prevent freezing, it is a drainback system.  There is air in the outer heat exchanger of the tank.  When the pump stops running, the water in the panel drains back into the tank, and the air flows up into the panel.  For extra protection, the solar-loop water is mixed with propylene glycol (nontoxic antifreeze).

Progress

Some of Kevin’s old hard drives have re-surfaced from the bowels of a forgotten childhood closet. We think they may find new life as book-ends.

80MB circa 1988 on the left,  4GB circa 2008 on the right:

Congrats Andrew and Cassie!

Kevin and I flew to West Palm Beach, FL last weekend to attend the wedding of our very good friends Andrew and Cassie. The wedding was beautiful and we had a blast visiting with so many of our friends; the weekend was far too short.

Here’s the happy couple at the rehearsal:

Kevin and I hit the beach with a few of our friends for a few hours the day of the wedding. (Too bad it was so overcast, cool, and windy. The weather cleared up nicely later on for the wedding.):

This was spotted on the way back from the beach:

Pics from the wedding:

Hijinks on Andrew’s car were inevitable during the reception, with nearly everyone taking part to ensure it would take Andrew and Cassie weeks to undo all the effort. What are friends for, right?

Andrew of course, is a true friend, and gave all of his groomsmen a gift they could all use, an LED flashlight.  This one is particularly good. Take a look at the pictures below. The flashlight on the left is Andrew’s gift, and it has only a single LED. The flashlight on the right is one we already had, which uses three LEDs. Take a look at how amazing that single LED is compared to the three LED version on the right.

“It might have leaks”

…is apparently the extent of Jerry Falwell Jr.’s technical understanding of dams and hydropower, albeit that is a valid point.  Why does his understanding of hydropower matter you ask? Well, because Mr. Falwell (Jr.) and Liberty University have recently entered the hydropower developing business, and are in direct competition with US. Yes, Liberty University is competing for a preliminary permit from FERC with Kevin. I, of course, think this is pretty funny, mostly because there is no way I would ever have guessed that hydropower would connect us any way whatsoever with even a quasi-celebrity such as Jerry Falwell’s son. Also, that dam has wasted water for years with no interested parties attempting to develop, and at the very end of the 60 day period after Kevin’s original submission, LU decides they have an interest an a very small, economically difficult to develop site. I’ll leave it at that, call me if you’d like more explanation. However,  FERC has discretion as to who it awards the permit too, and should LU get the permit, I wish them luck. But I suggest they call Kevin. The design in his preliminary permit will make more GWh per year, plus they are really going to need a controls system:)

http://www.newsadvance.com/lna/news/local/article/lu_applies_for_hydropower_facility_exploration_at_scotts_mill_dam/14409/

Quote of the Day

“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand. “

~Milton Friedman

http://reason.com/blog/show/132198.html

Interactive Unemployment Map

Quote of the Day

“Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
~Abraham Lincoln

Snow Day!

It snowed over 5 inches last night. That’s more snow in one night than we’ve seen in three years of living here. It also rained and inch or two over the last few days,  so everything is iced over underneath the snow. My car is stuck in the driveway; I am completely unable to drive anywhere, so I’m posting this instead of going to work:) Enjoy the pics of our winter wonderland:)

Poor Puppy

My dog has injured his ACL. For the last two weeks, Cody has been favoring his right rear leg off and on. At times, he runs around like his usual overly energetic and clumsy self.  Other times, he acts as if he’s in pain, moves stiffly, and favors that rear leg. Kevin took him to the vet earlier this week, and then took him back today to get x-rayed.

Since Cody is so strong, and can’t relax enough while in pain to let the vet examine his knee, Cody had to be sedated in order for the vet to take x-rays. (Cody was not aggressive toward the vet, he just sat there, its just that even that level of activity doesn’t allow the vet to feel the joint well enough to determine if the ACL is the problem.) I’ve never been sedated or under general anesthesia, but it looks like a horrible experience, not to mention that you have to miss a meal for the pleasure. My poor dog has been out of sorts all night:

The vet was not able to determine if the ACL is completely torn or just stretched. If its completely torn, our options are to go ahead with a $2500 surgery, or leave it alone and just manage activity and pain. If its not torn, it may heal, but we still have to discourage the sorts of activities that might re-injure his leg. So, either way, no more fetch (unless its in the water), no more tug, and no more Cody in the middle with the frisbee.

For now, we severely restrict activity for the next three weeks and see if it heals. Walking will be done on-leash only, and he can’t go to work with Kevin and or get in and out of the truck to go anywhere. (This is really going to cramp Cody’s style). Cody is on Rimadyl for pain (a doggie NSAID) for the next several weeks, and a glucosamine joint supplement for the rest of his life. While he was getting x-rayed, the vet also took a look at Cody’s hips. As suspected, Cody is expected to develop hip problems later in life. His hips are characteristically not well formed, and are likely to develop problems. He’s only 2 and 1/2, but this ACL issue will speed the onset of arthritis, and the joint supplement is about the best we can do to mitigate and delay those problems. The hip problem also discourages paying for surgery now if indeed the ACL is torn. The surgery is not only expensive, it requires a long and difficult recovery plan. At best, if it works, we will buy some period of time before the hip problems set in. It was also pointed out that many people live with torn ACLs and do just fine. (You can still walk and run, it just limits athletic activity, and increases the risk and onset of arthritis.)

So, given the non-life threatening nature of this injury (it is a sports related injury after-all), we are currently leaning towards not doing the surgery. We’re hoping that this heals over the next three weeks, and that Cody can mostly go back to his normal routine.

Quote of the Day

“I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. ” – Thomas Jefferson