All the pipes in the 100+ year old building I'm living in use good old lead, it hasn't seemed to affected OMG monkey's everywhere!!!gg3 wrote:Re. radiators in your incoming water line:
DANGER there is LEAD in the solder joints in those things and there may be a risk of it leaching into your drinking water.
Automobile radiators were used as components in illegal distillation systems during prohibition and there was a serious problem with lead contamination of the resulting alcohol beverages.
Regarding lead in a pond, a couple lead sinkers in a pond would probably contaminate it more then an old radiator. But I do agree, that lead free is the way to go.gg3 wrote:If you use a radiator hooked up to a nearby stream, you could also be discharging lead into the stream.
This is an item that absolutely requires a) lab testing of the water output, b) development of sources for safe radiators that can be standardized: a specific manufacturer and part number.
It's going to be factors of ten lower then a radiator compressor pump. A solar powered pump, dam pressure or regular water pressure should all use much less energy then a standard air conditioner compressor system.gg3 wrote:Note also, the power consumption to circulate the water between a radiator and a storage tank, needs to be factored in.
Yeah and don't eat the yellow snow, thank you gg3. Anyway rapidly used chlorinated warm water doesn't cause a problem in the water pipes in my building. But ideally this set up would use a pond and if it's water from a pond back into a pond, I think it's pretty worry free. Worst case, the system would require lots of cleaning filters and have to be reamed out once a year. But anyway, wouldn't it be cool to have fountains in a pond that also keeps your house cool!gg3 wrote:Last but not least, lukewarm water is a notorious breeding ground for bacteria and biofilms (slime) inside water pipes. You do not want to be drinking untreated lukewarm water.
Darn you Bas! If my wife reads this I'm going to be stuck using that fan Cleopatra style all day when it's TEOTWAWKI!Bas wrote:
....also, I read in ancient manuscripts that people used to exploit the shade from trees or other things in order to keep cool. Pretty clever when you think about it actually.
gg3 wrote:Hand-powered fans are nice but the problem is that there is a slight net heat gain by the body due to the energy expenditure (even though it seems slight) of using them. Their effectiveness depends entirely on the ambient temperature being far enough below body temperature, and ambient humidity being low enough to allow evaporation of sweat.
Here, you could have a little ventilation shaft that allows the air to go out, but a screen would prevent bugs from coming in, and of course this can be closed during rain, etc.
TreeFarmer wrote:In a well insulated and well designed house I bet that would keep 1000+ sq ft cool.
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