It was a long day of cleaning our Aquacell crates we need for Energy Module Number 3. Like before, each one had to be split apart and then each half jet blasted with high pressure water to wash out the dirt, spider’s web and plant matter!!
Our large pile of Aquacells has somewhat shrunken, we have now used 98 crates out of the total of 200!
Stack-of-Aquacells-Jun-8th
We ran into the evening in order to have all the crates washed and ready for tomorrow assembly in the Number 3 hole. Phew!
We finished digging out the third hole. We then inserted two parallel wooden side rails into the ground, set exactly at the required depth (minus 1.7 meters below ground level) and use them to scrape away the final excess sandy soil by moving a plank of timber between the rails.
Shaun-collapsed-in-Module-3-Hole
Then we compacted the whole area using the petrol motor driven vibrating plate, put in more sand and compacted again. Then we did a final scrape to get a nice flat and level surface to begin the building up of the energy module itself including its insulation layers.
Module-3-Hole-Finished-1
Module-3-Hole-Finished-2
But tomorrow, it is the messy job of taking apart and cleaning 48 Aquacell crates!! Phew!
Here’s today’s timelapse
Our old dumper truck wouldn’t stop when the stop button was pulled – a real ironic case of a Stop button causing a Stoppage!
Dumper-Stop-Handle-It-should-pull
Dumper-Stop-lever-on-engine
The cable from the spring loaded pull knob had come adrift. The cable is very similar to any brake cable found on bicycles and any vehicles, which is connected to the cylinder head of the diesel engine to open a gate valve to disrupt the compression chamber’s integrity so the fuel cannot be pressurised, and cause the next explosion to drive the piston down again, thus stopping the cycle of the engine.
We will have to surf the net for a spare part, hopefully we can find someone who has a new bit, or else, we will have to make a new switch mechanism to achieve the same job!!
P.S. Found a new part, a complete knob and cable for £10, should be delivered Wednesday.
For the start of the week, we started on Number 3 Energy Module this
afternoon (having had other commitments in the morning) by marking out the
boundary of the hole to dig. This one is much larger, measuring at 7 metres
long by 3 metres wide and the usual depth of 1.2 metres. This module stretches
across from underneath the kitchen, passes under the hallway and finishes up
under bedroom 1. It will hold about 8400 litres (about 1840 gallons) of water.
Module-3-Half-the-hole-dug
Here’s today’s timelapse
Today, we finished off the 2nd Energy Module! We put on a lid of PU foam boards of a variety of thicknesses (90-120 mm) and we used the off cuts from the side insulation as well, and then we pushed into the tank the two pipe conduits for our temperature probes to go down, plus also two water connection points, just like the previous Energy Module.
Module-2-Completed
It is a bright gleaming structure in the glorious sunshine we had today!
We then filled around the edges and on top with the sandy soil and compacted it down and levelled it all off. There is no evident now of ever having these water tank buried underground, apart from the funny looking pipes sticking out of the ground!
We then thought that we had better peg out red and white warning tape around the four corners of each Energy Module so we are reminded of where they are and not drive over the top of them accidentally with the mini-digger or dumper truck!!
Module-2-Outline-marked
Today, we put together 30 plastic crates to form the 2nd energy module (out of the 5 in total), wrapping it up in pond liner rubber sheeting.
Module-2-Wrapped-up-and-waiting-its-warm-jacket
We have started filling in the gap with sand to secure the entire unit and then we will put on the final 100mm thick layer on top of the module tomorrow.
Today, we had to split apart a bunch of the Aquacell crates to wash out all the accumulated dirt and growing plant matter!! We needed 30 crates to build this particular Energy Module, 2 layers of 15 crates.
Pile-of-auquacells-2nd-Jun
Module-2-30-Aquacells-waiting
Then, we had time to cut and fit 2 layers of insulation boards to form the base for the Aquacell crates to sit on. Each layer was made of 120mm thick boards, making a total of 240mm thick of PU foam.
Module-2-Insulation-on-bottom-of-hole
Tomorrow, we will put down the rubber sheet and start assembling the crates to make the water tank.
This afternoon, we finished off getting the second hole ready for the next Energy Module. The bottom is now lovely – flat, level and smooth as a baby’s bum!!
Module-2-Hole-ready-for-tank
We also “drilled” down to insert the temperature conduit pipe underneath the tank, using our vacuum cleaner!
Module-2-Temperature-sensor-conduit-hole-drilled-2
Tomorrow, it is the job of cleaning 30 Aquacell crates!
Last night, we had well over 40mm (1½ inches) of rain in about 6 hours. There is lots of puddles everywhere!
Module-2-Rain-washes-soil-in-1
May-2016-Heavy-rain-subsistance-1
We will have to put up an even bigger and deeper barrier to stop their rainwater from getting into our land.
At least, our new swimming lane done a great job of holding back the water and there is no sign of any problems along its length. Phew!
We were working on the 2nd energy module and digging the hole for it, when Shaun managed to do it again!