Hi Everyone
It’s that time of year again when those dratted gremlins appear from their slumber. I guess it is understandable, but it is also a blessed nuisance, and it always involves the waterwheel and hydro system. As I said, it is understandable, for during the summer months, even thought it might be a bad summer, the rainfall is low, so the subsequent power production is low also. That means the wear and tear on the system is minimal. And then along comes the autumn storms.
We did have some damage during the summer when there were two flash floods separated by only a couple of days. The ground had been very dry, so the water had just run off and not soaked down into the soil. The end result had been damage to the leat banks. Inconvenient, but there were no further consequences as the power was uninterrupted as we have photovoltaic panels.
It is a different story during the autumn though, for not only is there insufficient power from the panels for all our needs as there is weaker sunshine, but the water level is higher and more continuous and more dangerous to work with. Any damage has a knock-on effect and is more difficult to rectify. This time the main alternator bearings disintegrated. Not too much of a problem in itself for we had a spare alternator and spare bearings, so after a swap the damage could be repaired at leisure. Ha ha.
Being autumn time we need more power anyhow, so with the wheel out of commission and the panels giving less power, we had to go back to a petrol generator. In the meantime, I had put by back out again when lifting the heavy alternator, so starting the jenny was a problem. Then when the main battery bank fuse blew I began to wonder if there was more to the whole gremlin hypotheses after all. It certainly seemed personal. It is not easy being green!! But power has been restored.
The usual updates are there. Planting by the Moon and Astrology for Healers and Therapists.
Have a gremlin free month.
Blessings
