sagraiasolar's activity

This is for making frames that you trap in the half of a double opening window. The latching side is closed onto the frame and that half window is left open. The frame is a slat sandwich with the wider slats slotting into corresponding window recesses. The corners are half overlap joints - just glued. kit required:- a few lengths of slat about 25 x 5 and also 20 x 5, a hobby staple gun, tape measure, pencil, PVC glue, nylon mesh. clamps and/or a Black and Decker workmate, Stanley knife. Lay out the first layer of the frame on a rectangular table and staple the corners. Staple on the mesh and trim off the excess. glue on the other frame. Typicall to fit you drop into the bottom slot on the window, push into the frame then slide over to pick up the slot on the side of the window - then close the latching window to trap your frame. There - Robert's your father's brother.

Bunterboy sounds spot on with his calcs.  I've just had a top up today - Vulcangas - Eur 0.72 plus IVA Thank goodness we only do this every two years... the price appears to be going up rather fast. I have to say that if I was going to do this all over again I'd put in my own modest 500 litre tank and then be able to get quotes for a fill up.  I get really annoyed every time I have a fill up because I know that GPL for a car top up is miles less.... I wonder if I could have a tank in the boot of the car and take it to the garage for a top up... that would make me feel pleased everytime instead of angry. The other dodge, someone in the trade told me, is that they like to get the pump running as soon as they arrive so that the gas is aerated after going down ones bumpy drive.

There are quite a few diggers available round here - Umbertide - but perhaps you cd let us know your rates in case you are much cheaper than everyone else.

Valerie,  You mentioned that you are thinking of installing an Xcel heat bank. I'm the agent for Xcel heat banks in Italy so maybe I can help. The answer to your 'how to get one' question is that if you discuss it with me I will do a specification and quote for you to order on. There are a few of these around your patch and you'd be welcome to come and see a working example. You mentioned having both a stufa and a cooker connected to the heat bank and while this is not technically difficult I doubt if it is worth the extra expense... usually one or the other is sufficient. The cheapest solution is to have a gravity circuit from the heat source to the heat bank which might go on a little stand to give it some height. Whatever water pressure you have now will remain virtually unchanged as it just passes through a heat exchanger on the way to your shower. You sound as though you've read the 'Heating Guide' already but if you'd like me to send it to you just PM me.

Have you had a look at the gorgeous Gilera Runner?  They use the same engine as the Vespa GT250 and they go like stink. More to the point they have enough power to haul you and your shopping back up the hill.

I'll try to answer briefly but if you want greater depth there is a free heating guide on www.heatingitaly.com  If you find the pdf file is a bit big just PM me and I'll send you a lighter one. Basically you use a heat bank - big tank of water - to integrate the two cheap energy sources; wood and solar... properly balanced you will be able to go ZERO GAS with obvious savings. After that there is a deal with GSE that enables you to collect loads of EU money for being ecological with some photo voltaic panels.  To take my system as an example: the 4.6kW car port today would cost 28,000 odd and would make about 4,000 worth of free electricity and payments to me from the production meter every year. Your old meter is replaced by a bi-directional one so you get paid for exporting to the grid AS WELL AS FROM THE PRODUCTION METER.  It's got nothing much to do with heating really... more like a cash machine in the garden that pays some bills for you. My panels have already hit over 5kW and it's not even summer. The combined tariffs come to about half a Euro per kW.hr straight in the old sky rockets - Muhatma Ghandi or what? If you want to be really crafty you can go even further by multiplying your free electricty with a heat pump but I'll leave Badger to take up that one.

I see many warnings going out about the cost of heating. I think I should chip in to say that paying huge heating bills is a voluntary thing. It is perfectly possible to install excellent heating systems that by using the cheapest heat sources - solar and wood - have minimal 'gas free' running costs and indeed by using the solar photovoltaic offer available even these small costs can be matched by income to give an absolutely free heating system. Come on out - the water is lovely!

 While a total energy bill of about €6,500 is normal for many people it is certainly unacceptible but fortunately avoidable. With 5% inflation the cumulative consumption over 20 years will be over €200,000. As the solution is so simple there is no excuse really. As 'badger' suggests, just connect a wood burning stove and some solar panels to a heat bank and your gas bills will disappear. Even nicer, if not essential for bigger houses, is to have a heat pump... the writing is on the wall for gas and the future is electric. Now if you had PV electric panels to help run the heat pump you would almost certainly be nett ZERO COST on all energy and therefor all of that €200,000 will remain in your pocket.

 I think it would be good to make clear that wet solar panels do not cost €thousands.. about €2,000 actually - and they are very effective partners to wood burning stoves, leading to almost ZERO GAS systems. The PV panel deal is also good because of the cash returns... I have a 4.6Kpa car port so I have already jumped through all the hoops.... I have promised to report back when I am sure that my entire system is indeed ZERO COST. I have described how this is done on www.heatingitaly.com  Before that chap complains again I really don't mean this as a commercial plug... my goal is just to make everyone aware that there is a better way to think about the topic... and for the record - I have been taking the time to help on this forum for a long time and never made a penny from it.

 If there was a thank you button to this post I'd press it... very useful. I always thought that duty free gear bought once through the 'weigh in' was not part of the 10kg limit. Clearly they are out to catch those of us who still think so.  Can you imagine the scenes at the desk when someone has just bought his Christmas malt whiskey and is told to chuck it away and then go to back of the queue in which he has just stood for half an hour. These guys never stop thinking of ways to wind up the punters... one of these days some competition will come in and we'll have our revenge