chad Christopher

In the future, buckets or nesting containers of any sort, squeeze them with a ratcheting tie strap, once they start to mishape, it will break the vacuum holding them together. It has worked for me every single time.

Hey bob, I have a small permaculture farm south of pgh
About 40 minutes sw of the city.

Brush mower, look online for an old walk behind gravley with a mowing deck, tow behind on an atv or golf cart, a good scythe with 2+ blades, livestock, chicken tractors, sillage tarps, weed wipe with commercial vinegar, fire, reseed with native grasses.

Mark Tudor wrote:
Is there a specific form the installer fills out, or is an invoice part of the form to give the IRS? Reading their rules for the credit and instructions for the tax form, I don't see anything where it says a pro must install it, or what documentation if any to submit with the return (you obviously need receipts to keep for your records, or the audit would be very painful!).

You can just hang onto your recipts, i think the pro install has to do more with grid-tied and SRECs. So you are correct.

Its Its highly unlikely residental systems would be looked into by the IRS anyways.

11kW is pretty big. I would like to believe that I could have installed my 12kW system myself...but.

With the federal tax discount/return (which you can only receive if installed by a professional) I could not buy the materials cheaper. Not even counting the labor. We also have a 7 year maintenance plan and it saved us money on home owners insurance. The company who installed my system also tweaked the system to be more efficient and cheaper than i had planned. Using equipment and programs which I couldn't afford.

All being said...I would equate installing a system of that size, to require a skilled level of roofing knowledge, to at least be familiar with installing a whole home 220 volt system (assuming you're running conventional appliances due to the size) knowledge of local codes, and if you require Suplimenterary heat ditch your gas and invest in heat pumps, and heatpump water heaters.

Any questions lmk. 12.7kw system in sw Pennsylvania.

I've come across this problem before working on a clients home.we constructed a box style gutter out of plywood. Cutting reliefs on the vertical pieces helps bend the shape easier and puts less stress on the box from springing back open. We lined the box with rubber roofing, and then We wrapped the box with coil stock. And painted the under side with a good exterior paint. It's has been 10+ years, I pass the home periodically , and it is still there. Staggering the verticals, from the seams of the bottoms, was enough to keep everything a single uniform shape. ...we attached it to the house with screws and neoprene washers. This particular home did not need gutter guards. But a decent solution is a system that uses a course sponge like material that water flows through, but other debris washes over. My biggest concern was that the ice would burst open the box. But it simply expands UP instead of laterally. I realize this post is 4 years old. But I feel that it's still a relevant problem with old, and natural homes. Maybe it can help someone else.

What about a water being your mass? A DC heating element in a dead hot water heater. You can circulate the water through a nice heavy salvaged radiator. If you want to incorporate it into a rmh, embed some metal coils into the mass.

Look for the name on the bottom of your local billboards, give them a call and ask what they do with the discards. Billboards are rarely pasted up anymore. They are actually giant tarps

Thanks tj, being said..that if the grade is too steep, or you  have THAT much rain...then swales are not the  proper  approach  anyways. I would say that the only  thing that needs a little  engineering, is if you  have  intersecting  swales. If these same swales are rentation basins as well. Things get a little tricky when contours collide. It would  be  rare that this would be required , as creating a  spillway into the  lower basin would  be  a  much safer and  easier idea. And always remember ,it's  SLOW spread, and sink. Not STOP spread and sink.