Nick Thomas

Both voltage and current vary, although I only knew this from watching them go, not from electrical principles. https://electricalacademia.com/renewable-energy/photovoltaic-pv-cell-working-characteristics/ goes into gory, gory detail, but i'm going to need to read it several times before I understand it ^^. Your inverter will have a maximum it can accept per MPPT anyway, and you light find 16x320W panels is close to, or at, the limit. Check its docs.

MKM were about as overpriced for OSB when I was buying. Fine for aggregates, but bad for any and all wood. Definitely pays to shop around.

The LoftZONE legs are fine, but expensive - and still not particularly stable. I installed them so the solar people wouldn't be messing around standing on the rafters, but they were quite critical of how it moved underfoot The installer was a big guy carrying a big battery through ^^

Downpipe installed. Not quite how I imagined it, but functional ^^

Reading the datasheet makes me think it's basically battery acid? Acid accelerates weathering, so it'll make the wood silver faster, which will make it last a bit longer, I guess. Safety-wise, probably fine after it dries, very nasty while wet? I found https://www.celticsustainables.co.uk/blog/silvery-wooden-cladding-fast/ which has some pics but no word on what happens if you press your face up against a treated section ^^.

Amtico publish thermal resistance (R values) in these technical documents: https://www.amtico.com/commercial/technical/ 1/R = U, so U=59ish for the Amtico Access. I wouldn't lose any sleep.

How's the fake peregrine falcon going, @Adsibob? The pigeons here are still nesting under the solar panels and it's driving me a bit mad. They lay eggs, the eggs roll straight off the roof and I get yolk or fetus all over the front of the house. And then there's the droppings. Siiiigh. I got a mini drone (<250g) and have been flying that up when I see pigeons to scare them off, which has seen mixed results so far. It does make them leave, but doesn't seem to stop them from coming back again. A touch off the original topic, but I was thinking about hiring a scissor lift for a weekend and DIY-fitting something like https://www.birdspikesonline.co.uk/Bird-Spikes/Defender-Bird-Solar-Panel-Spike to the perimeter (the panels themselves are apparently not suitable for fitting wire mesh to directly). These just attach with silicone adhesive, but I have a few doubts about their longevity, and with the eaves at 6M high, it's a slightly scary proposition ^^. Better ideas appreciated.

Something I was wondering the other day - when you contract someone to do work, does / should that contract include a schedule of acceptable tolerances?

Managed to injure myself down at the allotment, so a bit delayed on the plastering indoors. Just finished now; it took 3 bags of lime and all the sand I had left. Phew. Now for a week of checking it several times a day for cracking. Once it's had some time to cure, it'll get painted. I'm thinking whiteish silicate paint outside and earthborn "claypaint" inside - they have an offensively yellow shade which is reminiscent of the straw. Dunno if either will hide hairline cracks, or if I'll need to do something about any that show up first. I still need to get doors on the unit, shelves in, oil all the wood and fit the services too, but that's everything that could be called construction finished. Thanks everyone who made suggestions, checked my maths, or just offered encouragement. It's been a great help throughout!

Hah, just had another look at the screwfix one. The website says 100L mix capacity, but the sticker on the machine says 90L, i.e. same as the belle. Now i'm done with it, I could probably return it for a refund on the basis of false advertising :3.

My *god* that's cheap

Prices have dropped off a cliff recently. The VAT zero-rating was passed on too, which is nice to see. You can get 9.4kWh for £3650, or double that for £5595 - list price, including the inverter. Things are nicer if you can assign the inverter to the solar PV payback period instead - £2200 for a 9.4kWh battery, £4200 for double that. ( https://homeenergygroup.co.uk/lux-ac-battery-storage-hanchu-ess-9-4kw/ ) I've got a measly 3.2kWh battery at older prices and it was marginal as to whether it would pay itself back within its lifetime, but these days it's better-looking. And it all helps to cut down on the amount of gas burnt, of course.

The screwfix one has slightly larger "official" capacity than the belle minimix 150 (100L mix vs 90L mix; 134L drum vs 130L drum). It's definitely full-full at that point though. No idea how it'd look if you had them running side by side.

I've got a screwfix one in the garden right now. Obviously, I'm not a pro, but it's... working. I've put 24x100L(ish) loads through it so far. Mixes fine, no real issues keeping it clean or getting the muck out of it. It has managed to topple over backwards a couple of times, but I reckon that was user error. Working on my own, I'd tip it forwards, then go round the front to fiddle with the muck inside the barrow. It would then un-tip itself and the momentum would take it over. So, uh, don't do that, I guess ^^. No idea if it happens with more expensive mixers too. As for petrol vs electric: I am currently raging at a two-stroke brushcutter that refuses to start. So done with combustion engines.

Yeah, OK. That looks decent enough to me. It'll scrub up nicely. The drainpipe is temporary, eventually it'll come in under the overhang via 92.5' elbows and run down close to the wall.