Jay Angler

This is somewhat out of my specific experience, but when we get snow, there a many things that *have* to get cleared, as our snow is usually very wet and heavy and often rained on while falling!

Hjg Werdna wrote: Does anyone have a solution to remove snow from panels that are inaccessible with a broom or other handheld device? I don't want to climb on the roof in the winter. I can't reach the panels from a ladder.

I'll back the not climbing on the roof part - but maybe long term planning could involve installing a platform so that you can safely access the panels for cleaning? A concept for everyone contemplating roof panels to consider?

"Can't reach" can mean many things. My first idea reading this, is that possibly when the snow is light, you could stand on a ladder and point a leaf blower at the panels? If you don't have a leaf blower, I would suggest you find one you could borrow for the first try?

I've successfully sprayed off the snow using a garden hose, but this is cumbersome and, depending on the depth of snow on the panels, can take up to an hour to complete.

We have a power washer. That may or may not work faster than the hose. However, power washers have to be stored where they won't freeze, so that needs to be kept in mind. Again, if you don't have one, I'd try to borrow one for a trial.

I've also thought of placing something like pipe heating tape below the panels, but I don't want to introduce thermal stress and cause the panels to crack.

I don't know the difference between pipe heating tape, and the specific roof/eves trough heating tape that my parents had. They had a section of north facing roof where some of the snow would melt and back up under the shingles because ice would form in the eves trough and not melt fast enough. Personally, I still would hesitate using it on solar panels without discussing it with the manufacturer.

It might help if you could attach a few photos, and certainly help if we had more of an idea of the closest distance you can get to the panels. As Hubby got older, he found accessing the chimney for sweeping harder and harder. He decided to splurge on scaffolding that is now permanently installed beside the chimney. Luckily it's mostly out of sight.

John C Daley wrote:... " Dont like the weather, wait an hour"...

Our version is, "If yo don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes or move 5 kilometers!

We frequently have had sunshine on the front lawn, and rain 100 ft behind the house!

.

I think Paul's last line says it all! This is a wonderful experiment. I am *really* glad he's doing it.

The time aspect is very true, however, people who live on small properties who don't have access to much wood, may be very glad to be using cardboard as their main heat source, rather than paying gas or electric bills.

Hopefully some of those people will also choose to plant a few fast growing shrubs so that they will generate a little more wood to go with that cardboard.

This is a really interesting question - I don't know who our citrus gurus are, but I sure hope they are around.

I do know of a Canadian fellow who converted a single variety apple orchard to a poly culture of different apple varieties and plenty of berry bushes and supportive plants, so the concept is sound.

The only catch (if you could call it that) was that the orchard became so much more productive, that his bees became extremely happy and he ended up making more money off the honey than the fruit!

bump

Too many cores in your posts?

Maybe it's time to dump the compost bin and then read all the posts in this thread:
https://permies.com/w/how-permies-works

Lots of great info on how to make wonderful, friendly, kind, useful posts, here on permies!

r ransom wrote:  As if, water garden is to a pond, as a garden is to a field. Both are soil growing things, but a garden tends to have a different level of human participation in design and upkeep.

I do think that as one moves to a smaller scale, it is harder for Mother Nature to achieve any sort of balance.

The former owners of our property put in a "water feature" behind our house, but there were simply too many ways that it couldn't  balance its needs by itself. They had slathered concrete in a natural depression, and eventually it leaked. I tried a simple patch once, but I'm pretty sure that it's leaking again. Makes me wonder if I put a bunch of rocks in the bottom, and dirt on top, whether I could create some sort of "wet feet garden", but I don't know what plants it would support with minimal inputs.

What did the rat say when he saw a bat flying overhead?

"Oh my! An angel!"

What’s the difference between the Christmas alphabet and the ordinary alphabet?

The Christmas one has no L !