Monthly Archives: May 2014

A Big Step

Posted on May 31, 2014 by Jean

Andy has now connected the pumps for the radiant heating coils (in the floor of the house) to the power supplies in his “workstation.” Yesterday he ran solar-heated water at 120°F through the coils in Zone 1 (the living room, … Continue reading →

Posted in Life As a Shared Adventure | 5 Comments

Flowers

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Jean

Needless to say, we are happy to see them. May 30, 2014  

Posted in Life As a Shared Adventure | 10 Comments

Wear and Tear

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Jean

A box of new crayons! Now they’re all pointy, lined up in order, bright and perfect. Soon they’ll be a bunch of ground down, rounded, indistinguishable stumps, missing their wrappers and smudged with other colors. Sometimes life seems unbearably tragic. … Continue reading →

Posted in Life As a Shared Adventure | 13 Comments

Dog Lovers

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Jean

The other night Andy came into my study laughing about this ad. I Googled it and found the TV commercial it was related to. A few days ago bikehikbabe argued that cats are better than dogs. Even if that’s true, … Continue reading →

Posted in Life As a Shared Adventure | 8 Comments

Oh, To Be Four Again

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Jean

May 27, 2014  

Posted in Life As a Shared Adventure | 9 Comments

Thermometer Cables

Posted on May 26, 2014 by Jean

Yesterday Andy ran the cables from the thermometers in the solar panels down to the house so he can read the temperatures there. (The temperatures will tell him when the panels are warm enough to heat water.) All in all … Continue reading →

Posted in Solar Heating | 5 Comments

Rain!

Posted on May 25, 2014 by Jean

We might get some rain Memorial Day weekend! —Local weatherman a few days ago And we did. You won’t hear us saying, Rain, rain, go away, Come again some other day. When we get rain we celebrate. What about you? … Continue reading →

Posted in Life As a Shared Adventure | 12 Comments

A Good Start

Posted on May 24, 2014 by Jean

The heat exchangers worked just fine — Andy was able to heat the water in the reservoir from the solar panels. He has a lot more work to do to optimize the system, so he replaced the mess on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Solar Heating | 7 Comments

Andy’s Turn

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Jean

Peter declared the pipes free of leaks yesterday, so Andy started checking the system. He filled the water reservoir for the radiant heating panels and the two (west and east) drain back tanks with water. He filled the reservoir with … Continue reading →

Posted in Solar Heating | 6 Comments

Almost There?

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Jean

There are two water systems for the solar heating system — the inside one that heats the floors and the outside one that gets the heat from the solar panels. They are thermally connected by heat exchangers inside the drain … Continue reading →

Posted in Solar Heating | 8 Comments