6pot said:
You are more self sufficient than us then. At the risk of more or less copying @Stanleysteamer 's question, what do you do for electricity?

We used to get a lot of power cuts and occasionally found that there were only two out of three phases working which is dangerous for the heath of the well pump motor so we have a big diesel 3-phase generator as back up and a small normal petrol one for light duty. Mind you these days it uses almost as much oil as petrol 🤣

I've had to get the supply people out to deal with a floating neutral fault on numerous occasions which really is dangerous. Sometimes I have had to explain to them what it is..... also we are prone to lightning strikes, I'm worried about claiming on the insurance again in case they refuse to cover us any more.

Planning to get solar panels when there is less other stuff to do/pay for.
Click to expand...
That sounds like a real pain.
Asking as a real prole about these things, but why does your well pump have to be 3 phase? Is it purely to generate enough pressure or to raise the watter a heck of an height?
The "floating neutral" thing also sounds well dodgy, not that I fully understand how it can even happen.
We too get lightning problems as we are 600 m up in a mountainous area, but the worst that could happen (he says with everything crossed) is that the internet box would get knocked out, So we disconnect it as soon as we know a storm is coming in.
More of a problem can be the wind called the Vent d'Autan which has been known to blow roof tiles off. I guess we are just a pair of softies compared to you and others on here! Oh and the hailstorms with hailstones the size of cricket balls.
 
6pot said:
Springs! Lucky you, our plants get grey water.

You are right, water can end up being the biggest problem. Some of the other wells near us get no water at all, we only get 300 litres a day but we are very efficient with it.

Re your concrete slab the power of water can be amazing. That and tree roots :mad: Oh, and the wind, we had some very windy weather earlier this year and I had the metal lid for our trailer stored on an upper part of the land (Its a home made affair about the same size as the trailer tub) it was on the ground face down and it was picked up and tossed 30 yards. It somersaulted over one of the lemon trees and demolished a big branch off it on the way.

Sorry back to your point about 10k litres, think an oval GRP tank the length of a common tipper truck like they deliver building materials in. I have taken some photos but thousands of them are on back up discs so it's not that easy to produce them for forum posts!
Click to expand...
You'll have seen my comments about the wind and the storms.
Re the water, I just dug out a water bill to see, we consumed 40 cubic metres of water from the main last year, bearing in mind that we were only here for 6 months of it. The hottest 6 months. But it wasn't all that hot last year. This year has been hotter. Still nothing like as hot as it must get where you are. So 5 cubic metres short of the contents of our pool.
So I can't help but think that the 10 k litres wouldn't last that long. That must be a real drag.
 
Just had the very biggest wasp or similar creature that I have ever seen fly in from the patio.
Enormous thing.
Hugely lucky that W has gone to bed.
Shut it in and went and got the most powerful wasp killer spray we have. It took a few blasts to knock it down. Put it in the cap of the spray with a beer mat over it. It seemed to be dead.
Just went back to look at it, it is now wiggling it's arms and legs!
Flipping thing!
So gave it another blast and covered it back up again.
It has two antennae with like barbs all down them. NEVER seen anything like it.
I'm waiting until it is well and truly KOed before I have a closer look. :eek:
 
IMG_20240809_104613_1~2.jpg

At a intense company board meeting, hand signals and facial expressions are key for controlling their subject.
As landyzone parking attendant, you must give clear hand movement and the use of crossed eyes.
Situation A. The meeting is heated with no results. The LPA assigned will use their left arm, in a swing movement to the right elbow to denote control in progress.
Situation B. The meeting is heated and out of order. The LPA assigned will use a vigorous left arm swing movement and the introduction of crossing of eyes.
On this occasion the chairperson will note your impression and inform the members of meeting current situation.
 
6pot said:
Springs! Lucky you, our plants get grey water.

You are right, water can end up being the biggest problem. Some of the other wells near us get no water at all, we only get 300 litres a day but we are very efficient with it.

Re your concrete slab the power of water can be amazing. That and tree roots :mad: Oh, and the wind, we had some very windy weather earlier this year and I had the metal lid for our trailer stored on an upper part of the land (Its a home made affair about the same size as the trailer tub) it was on the ground face down and it was picked up and tossed 30 yards. It somersaulted over one of the lemon trees and demolished a big branch off it on the way.

Sorry back to your point about 10k litres, think an oval GRP tank the length of a common tipper truck like they deliver building materials in. I have taken some photos but thousands of them are on back up discs so it's not that easy to produce them for forum posts!
Click to expand...
Just to give you a bit of an idea as to how much influence the underground streams and springs seem to have made, here are two "before" pics (taken in 2007) and a few after pics. Taken this morning.
1723199755858.jpeg

1723199775553.jpeg

1723199812989.jpeg

1723199844758.jpeg

1723199869628.jpeg

1723199895236.jpeg

Impossible to give you an impression in 3D. But none of the trees were higher than a couple of feet and all the 47 fruit trees, planted in 2014, were about 5 ft high. The fence line just visible in the first pic had a Cypressia Leylandii hedge planted inside of it in 2008. But two poplars and two weeping willows were planted which have overtaken it in height. The top (well nearly) of the left hand poplar is visible in the top right corner of pic 5.

Here are the WWs. About 4 feet high when planted. The size of the shed gives you scale as that is about as big as a single garage. This of course is the one with the spring underneath it which will have fed and still be feeding the WWs.
1723200688203.png
 
Last edited:
WOOHOO! Got the middle section silencer off me tratter this morning. Was expecting a bit of agg with the front nuts, but after slathering with release oil yesterday they came off with no trouble. Had to do a bit of drilling on one of the rear studs which were cut back yesterday, again no real hassle. Those rubber hanger things usually prove tricky to remove on other cars, and as I was working on the driveway lying on me back with no real space to get hands onto the job, I was expecting some trouble there. But with a bit of the release oil strategically sprayed, they came off without the need for any tools. Fitting the new silencer tomorrow.
Amazed at how solid the original silencer is after 12 years on the tratter. Just deteriorated at the rear flange, along with the nuts which were rotten. Might consider welding a new flange on one day, as a spare silencer might come in handy. Oh, and the release oil I am using has proven to be a good item to have on the shelf, very impressed with it -----
www.screwfix.com

OB41 Multi-Use Penetrating Oil Spray 400ml - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. Long-lasting protection from corrosion and rust with MOS2. Can be used on all ferrous metals. Loosens rust-to-metal bonds and frees seized or rusted metal parts such as screws, nuts and bolts. Ideal for cycle maintenance as well as cleaning brake linkages, bowden...
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