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We've been looking at Kress and Stiga mowers. I wondered if you have any problems with the satellite guidance system when it's near the tall trees at the end of the field.

They had one a couple of years back. Bird flu killed about 90% of them down here. As much as I dislike them, it was really quite tragic and changed the seaside atmosphere a lot. We currently have a rat problem, caused by the nursery not disposing of food in the food waste bins and nappies in the general waste. Every morning I am now cleaning up after the 'feastings'.

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I'm running 3 inverters. 1kW, 3kW and 3.6kW. I take 3.6kW and 1.0kW in to a small consumer unit with C Curve Type A Double Pole Compact RCBO (Bi-Directional) as they feed down the same cable to the house. None of the inverter talk to each other - its crude but no issues. Over clocking the inverter is easy enough. The 3.6kW has 5.8kW of panels connected to it (within voltage limits). I just accept that at around midday a whole chunk of electric could be clipped off. I have over clocked for winter performance, not summer in summer I generate a tonne anyway. The 3kW has export control and can switch the whole array off if the battery is full and I am at my export limits. Our voltage today has been about 245V at some points I was generating 6.5kW.

The mechanicals will always need replacing, that’s just acceptable as things that move wear out. The backbone (such as UFH pipes etc cast into screed or slabs, plus MVHR ducting set into the frame and fabric of the dwelling) is where you should focus concerns of “ultimate longevity”. Most build systems have to withstand 50-60 years of occupancy and ‘use’ but that’s mostly for sub and superstructure; the pretty stuff can be changed retrospectively, and one can assume a full cosmetic makeover (x2) in a 50 year span, to allow for end of life or keeping up with modern taste / style etc.

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Evidently not an original idea, but build to the Passivhaus standard (or close to it as feasible) and minimise the need for high-tech solutions. Though I'd now evaluate summer overheating against forecast climate data for the 2070s, now that it's available in granular detail for the UK. As for long term maintenance costs & durability, the 25-year evaluation of the original Darmstadt passive houses (occupied since October 1991), available here, is interesting. TLDR: Heating requirement: average for the 4 homes remains stable at 8.4 kWh/m²/year (compared to the 2016 German average of 138 kWh/m²/year) Glazing: gas losses from the triple low-e glazing units so low that these can be used for at least two additional decades Airtightness: after replacing the seals of the opening lights, airtightness returned to the as-built value (0.21, from 0.26 pre-replacement) MVHR: no significant contamination despite never having been cleaned, expected to last >50 years apart from filter changes and fan replacement (1 of the 4 MVHR units had 2 fans replaced in 2002 for about €500; all others were still original)

Seagulls need a massive cull too. Had 2 of my kids food out of their hands, and a whole pasty literally as I was about to pop it in the pie hole. Just heard a whoosh and a flap and the damn huge thing was sat on the floor in front of me trying to polish off a steak bake in one gulp. Queue one angry Welsh plumbers right foot and off it went sideways. Cut my sons thumb open and took an entire Big Mac off him. In Asda a few weeks back I had my shopping loose in a trolley and a mate stopped to chat. He said to look behind me, where another flying rat was ripping my shopping apart. It grabbed a 2x 12 slice pack of bacon and attempted lift off. Just before I got to strangle it, off it flew. The beak had gone through the plastic packaging and right through 10 slices of bacon, ffs. These types of vermin are rife and something needs doing.

Cocker spaniel. Mine has seen 2 big bastards off in my back garden. Feckin things are rife everywhere tbh. Running across the roads early evening, largely because lazy twats keep them fed. Neighbours with open compost heaps and allotments don’t help.

The units I referred to would do UPS / EPS in a black or brown out, where the 50hz metronome from the grid goes bye-bye. AC coupled parallel inverters would instantly go into island mode and shut down. Hybrid units would allow the 50hz signal to be created artificially, and then the solar and batteries would perform as normal in a power outage. You can even then connect a genny to charge the batteries simultaneously if you want to use a lot of power / sunshine isn’t suffice. Lots of different products / options / scenarios / solutions. Best to choose inverters that offer export limitation too, as at >253v your inverter is supposed to switch off.

Chaps. AC or MVHR?

If you're paralleling the inverters and they are grid tied to the house AC, then you can connect multiple inverters, subject to the usual DNO restrictions. Unless there's some quirk of the inverter, they just autonomously pump power into your house/grid. We've got 2 PV inverters and soon to have a battery inverter all running in parallel with no control between them. Just watch out for voltage rise in the house if you're producing alot of power. The DNOs obligation is to limit the voltage at your service fuse to 253v. If you're trying to push alot of power into the grid through undersized cabling within the house, then you might find the house voltage rising significantly!!!

MOT type 1 - I knew it was some sort of aggregate, but always wondered what it meant. MOT Type 1 stands for Ministry of Transport Type 1, referring to a specific, high-quality granular sub-base material used in construction. It is a crushed aggregate mixture (40mm down to dust) approved by the government for creating sturdy foundations for roads, driveways, and paths.

Yes. It’s quite common practice amongst the Chinese stuff. Typically you’ll have a master unit that provides the 50hz metronome to the slave units, linked by the AC signal or a cat 5 cable. Been a good while since I dipped my toes into this stuff, so I expect a lot of the more reputable industry standard manufacturers are also ‘parallel capable’ by now.

Why cable tray? Lots of expense and faff. All round patent band is fine for bunching and laying, and clips are less time consuming than hundreds of cable ties. Seems a massive ball-ache and cost for very little practical return? You’ll need spacers behind the trays to get cable ties in / out, so further projection outwards too. Rows of 38x 25 and 38x 16mm trunking would be quick and simple, using the self adhesive to lay these out and then a few mechanical fixings to corners and joints where you’ll be pulling on them.

I'm particularly looking at the Sigenergy SigenStor Energy Controller 6.0 SP 6.0kW 1-Phase... But a general question - if you're planning more panels than the inverter will handle for max DC voltage reasons - can you simply parallel them? I imagine the software has to be smart enough to do that. For instance, with strings of 11 panels each giving, say, 380 VDC max / 5.4 kWp and an inverter which will accept 550 VDC max, would I be able to run several strings with several inverters 'in parallel'?

>>> Do you mean a whole house ducted system with a main unit in the loft Yeah, that one. I'm leaning towards 180mm foam ducts atm, which sounds like it would work.

Agreed we should advise caution, ensuring expertise where needed. And lots of research. Far too many people assume building is easy. It's been my life for 50 years. It's very few buildings, esp one-off self build, that don't need an SE.

Or cap the tray with 3mm steel?

Do you mean a whole house ducted system with a main unit in the loft, or do you mean like a split system with a unit on the wall. my whole house ducted system used 200mm flexible insulated ducts if that’s what you mean, one to each bedroom and one each in the front room / lounge areas.

You need a 90' wall plate elbow fitting. Have a look here https://www.screwfix.com/search?search=wall+plate+elbow

Kind of contradictory? Easier said when you’re in the industry but when we’re advising first time, novice self builders then what should we actually be saying here? Cautious approach, manage risk, appoint liability, measure twice, cut once.

PCP airgun with a red dot sight

Apple have now removed the option for buying 256gb option ! Clearly they have significant constraints on ram higher bins . Previously it was a 6month wait until delivery , now no option . Saving ram for m5

I'm building an outdoor shower. The things you do when you've finished building a house.... 😁 I've bought a kit online, and am assuming a 1/2" thread to 15mm John guest pipework for the actual water works. However, the rain head is just the shower head, arm with I presume 1/2" male thread.... Then nothing? What part do I need to connect this to the John guest fittings, and also surface mount to hold the rain head? Pic attached, on the right you can see the large bar to hold the shower head, terminating in just a male thread. Second pic is the woodwork, stood vertical, which I eventually want it all installed on/behind. Thanks!