So, you want aircon, because of 1 or 2 days of the year when it's a bit warm.
There are 3 solutions
1. Shut up and put up. Sleep during the hot part of the day, and keep the windows shut and the sun off the rooms by shutting the curtains. After all, you keep the heat in during the winter with the same idea
2. Move to a really hot country, then move back to a more temperate climate.
3. bodge something up.
OK there is a 4th option, buy something, but you can't justify buying something for a few days a year, which will cost a lot to run, then sit in a corner getting in the way, then won't work after a few years and will end up in land fill.
An old dehumidifier is perfect for me, as it doesn't use very much energy, but conversely doesn't give much cooling either - say 800W in theory, but I doubt I achieve that as the evaporator isn't finned. And I can (only) run it off surplus energy on the solar panels.
I don't know much about aircon, but luckily a pal does. A bit of advice and bodgery later and voila. A window rattler, as they are known in the trade.
The view from outside
The view from inside. Blue Peter would be proud.
Changed oil and filter. Checked all round. Need to lubricate hinges et al.
126748km
The wood had been dumped on the ground, so it was time to re-stack it on pallets. I got quite a few pallets and after 4 hours, voila
This is what it looked like before
After its been covered in some attractive blue tarpaulins, you'll never see it.
After about 6 morning's work, I've chopped enough timber to last about 3-4 years, which is about 6 stere. The wood stockpile is reduced in size, but there is still a lot left. I've been cutting up the smaller bits in general, as these will rot the quickest in the coming years. Each load into the wood shed has been alternated round and split to make sure it stacks better.
The pile did extend to the tube on the left, at about 1.5m high.
Since Allan made the parking bigger, I've been left with a lot of soil to move. It's an area in shade until midday, so slowly, with the trailer and Harry, I've been moving the soil to fill in the old drainage ditch. There's been about 5m3, and the ditch wasnt that big so we now have a bit of a hill.
Simple but efficient.
I've seen something like this before, built out of fence posts and portable. The problem I have is that my chainsaw blade is only 350mm, so a freestanding one would have a narrow base and may not be too stable. I could fit stabilisers, but I'm not intending to cut too many logs from trees, so an ad-hoc one like this does just fine.
About a stere an hour can be cut. If they are small diameter they go straight into the trailer and onto the woodstore. If not, splitting adds a little more time.
Maybe I need a bigger chainsaw...
There are 5 release points on the line cover. The cover clips on at the front. There is a clip immediately behind the spool (big one), 2 smaller ones to the side of the spool and two stiff ones at the rear. Release the rear ones first, and hopefully the middle one will come loose. The ones on the side are minimal.
With the spool facing you, remove all the screws and ease fast the red angle adjustment lever. Remove motor etc as required. The spool is glued onto the spigot. Once off, the motor can be stripped and the bearings pulled (2 long screws). Brushes are easily accessible 5x8x20mm. 24 segments on commutator. Top bearing marked WT00 698Z. Resistance L to brush is 5.9R, L-N 22.0. Same with N. (Isotech meter)
Small drop of oil put on bearings
Reassemble and glue long motor screws and spool.
This was the first strip from new (2007) as there were no marks on the plastic. Minimal grass inside.
The view from outside
