Frot n Spec's Navvydrome sponsored 'Donut o Delite' solar heating array.

[frotter]

Ah there you are.
Now you may be aware of the impending project where the Frot Towers comedy inflatable Warm Ring of Joy is to become solarly heated. By the sun.
Well this will be its thread. You may want to follow this, you may not. I can fully appreciate both viewpoints as i am sure there will be times when i wont want to either!
Will there be bodging? (Duh!)
Will there be tinkering?  [stupid TV dog Churchill voice] "Oh yuss" [/stupid TV dog...etc]
Will there be Holograms? Bl33din' hope so!
Will there be Stoveboy?   

Will there be tears afore bedtime?  Would have thought so.......

So far there's THIS! -



Many thanks Ivan and the NavvyDroids!
We'll try not to let you down......

bugg3r.

Watch this space.
 
I luv Naffitron, me!!

[frotter]

Well now we at least have a working donut again - thanks to the pool pixies. They managed to believe me that the pump was dicky and sent a new 'middle' bit. All assembled and workin fine. Hoorah!



The old bit with non-working pump and no control panel may well be pressed into use as a plunge pool... or not.



Mmm - dicky bits...



As the first element to this nonsense then, i will record how much lektrons it consumes per day etc.
Took the reading today boot-deep in luvly fluffy snowy stuff. mmm...

Day0 ¦ Mon 2.2.09 ¦ Reading 1548 ¦ used 0 ¦ total per day 0 ¦ (cold, still)

Ooh wot fun.......

 

[frotter]

Day1 ¦ Tue 3.2.09 ¦ Reading 1559 ¦ used 11 ¦ total per day 11 ¦ (cold, still)

11kw/h? yikes.
best get them toobs bodged up......

 

[Eleanor]

Day1 ¦ Tue 3.2.09 ¦ Reading 1559 ¦ used 11 ¦ total per day 11 ¦ (cold, still)

11kw/h? yikes.
best get them toobs bodged up......

 

And quickly young man before Martin gets his B R K out and summarily ejects you  Your personal consumption exceeds that of all the other Forum members combined  The interior of our shed look just like yours - neatly stacked navvytoobs awaiting erection - been hanging on for the Master Bodger to show us what to do 

Notebook and pencil at the ready for expert instruction 

[Taffyboy]

Young Frottenstein get comforted over his wastefulness of lectrons...

[frotter]

LOL!!
 
Have a giant applaud my good fellow.......




Yes well... the observant among your good selves may have noticed lack of updates here. Everything was going well, new tub being put to good use warming pale ginger bodies in the snow etc..... then t'other day - went to immerse white flesh in joyous warmth only to see 33 degrees displayed on the panel doofer. Hmm? 33 degrees eh? sounds a bit chilly. Pump running, heater turned on, controls set to 'reptile house' hotness. Bah! blimmin heater has clearly packed up. Turned it all off in disgust and trudged back to the Towers snivelling.....
Later that night - Ooh! white stuff descends in much profusion.

Bwgger! £70 Frotpounds worth of newly erected (fnnarr...) gazebo thingy squashed beneath half a ton of H2O. Blimmin 'eck our kid!


Present Mrs F checking for vermin hiding beneath the collarpsed canopy. Well you dont want one o them running up yer trouser leg like a rat up a drainpipe trouser leg. Er..

So project held up once again....

SpeccyThing seems to have got his noggin engaged though, He keeps pulling me gently to one side and beeping excitedly about thermal stores, mixing valves, stainless steel and all sorts of worrying things.

Where will it all end??

 

[Taffyboy]

Being in the industry of supplying big wet things, which you "controlled drown" in for exercise/cool off, and smaller wet things for slow cooking...We get asked for those warmy uppy things a lot, have given up trying to source the myriad of different Chinese versions and now tell partly cooked/freeze chilled customers to contact the original suppliers...

Bl**dy spas....

[frotter]

Ho hum.... the evil purveyors of overgrown piddling pools have told us they wont have any new tubses or parts until at least mid March.
PFF!! Blimmin Chinese blow-up comedy not proper hot tubs, eh?


Looks proper sad dont 'e?




Meantime - Present Mrs Frot, who is normally a very sober individual of impeccably good judgement, muses that maybe what with the economical downturn and everything.... maybe some of those places that sell 'proper' h*t t*bs will be selling some of them for a bit less wonga than previously...................

Anyway - to cut short the bit where copious browsing of the normally very dull non-porn internet happens and wads of FrotPounds are prized from the mortgage coffers of Bank o' Scootlan'........

Seems she was right.....


Right! Drain that wobbly monstrosity out, come on....





And there it was - gone!


As is customary, the Frotling appears at this point to whisk a few twigs away leaving nout but a sad damp circular imprint.
That'll learn it.....!




Eh? Wassat? New tub to heat you say? Best get drilling summat then.





Blimey! Next thing you know is a gert pickup turns up with two muscled bods and a big old square thing on board.






I really worry for Present Mrs F's state of mind at times.......






I mean, whatever was she thinking fer Gords sake!?




Frotling stands stunned as Xavier (no, really!) steadies the precious plastic square onto its trolley.
In this pic it almost looks like there is a fully operational Belisha Beacon standing guard at the approach to Frot Towers.
The very idea!

 


ALRIGHT!!   Proper h*t t*bs = awesome.

I expect.......

 

[frotter]

Yep - you just plonk it there, Xavier old chap.... Frotling will help by staring at you menacingly....





Over the top? certainly.
Less than half what it should have cost? Yup.
Hideously environmentally unfriendly and expensive to run? Er,   
Ah! What possible better project, then, for a set of splendid Navvycron toobs.


The Frotling, keen as ever, has failed to notice - a) lack of tepid H2O, b) lack of nakedness (his own) and performs far from perfect triple pike tuck with half twist (whatever that is) right onto his perfectly formed hooter..... (like, duh!).






Eh? how many..? 1260 litres you say. Blimmin 'eck... See ya next week, then....






Two cups of tea (very milky, two sugars. But they assured me they werent gay. Or owt.) later.....






Now they tell me all this warm joy runs off 13 amps..... just got to work out where to stick the lectrons in.





SPECCY BLOKE!!!!



"Please state the nature of the technical emergency..."

Oh never mind.....





Later.      Much later....




Mmmm.... mini eggs....






Day0 ¦ Sun 22.2.09 ¦ Reading 1569 ¦ used 0 ¦ total per day 0 ¦ (mild, breezy)

(sorry - i am a day or two behind myself.......... )

Watch this space, horrified ones......


 

[Billy]

Nice rain water harvesting system with recirculating anti slime filter, had a lot of rain to fill it up so quick, you need another one.

[frotter]

Day1 ¦ Mon 23.2.09 ¦ Reading 1585 ¦ used 16kwh ¦ total per day 16 ¦ (mild, still)

Ouch!

Hmm.. well this demands a little sneaky-peaky under the bonnet at the presumably uber thick 'Canadian'  standard insulation....




Yes, i said we need the side off.  Now, woman!   





Hah! Canadian Hot Tub Company my @rse.....
I'd like to see how that gets on at -30...





Thats the underside of the filter housing containing flowing water at around 40 degrees.... thermal losses?


I would have thought so!


So in desperation i racks me brain, like, to remember if we have any insulating material left hanging around the Towers.....


My reward for much scrabbling about in darkened sheds was this mighty (ahem..) haul of 1 small bag of rockwool and 3 small bags of ancient sheepswool left by previous custodian of Frotdor.







Pff! A bit poor but in it goes anyhow......






Er, is that it?  One corner a tiny bit insulated then. 





Methinks a trip to B&Q to see if they still do 2 for 1 rockwool is in order. Blimmin Moovan is 'having a rest' at the mo though so it will have to wait til i've bunged a new water pump in.



Mmmm... wobbly water...





I am hoping stuffing up that base will save loads of loss. ( it flippin better! )
Meanwhile, the following day. (er, today, then...)


Day2 ¦ Tues 24.2.09 ¦ Reading 1598 (+13) ¦ total used 29kwh ¦ total per day 14.5 ¦ (mild, dull)

So only 13 kwh today then. Bargain!

Still luvving the tubbin' though.... 

XX

 

[Taffyboy]

Parboiled one,

most heat is lost through the surface..Think latent heat required for them there water molhecools to leap to freedom..Get a close fitting solar bubble cover type thing to sit on water, under the cover.

[frotter]

Yep - a good point well put...
I have got some reflective bubblewrap stuff left over. Was thinking of making some kind of hat/condom/duvet hybrid. Or summat.

Hmm..

[Paulh_Boats]

Yep floating covers add 10F to a pool - that's what I was told in Arizona. They let the loverly sun in, but reduce heat loss at night and also reduce the expensive chlorine evaporating. So you might get 4C extra.

[Ivan]

Perhaps the B&Q rockwool rolls will float - nice and cheap and a lot thicker than nancy-bubblewrap. Might be a bit itchy, though