A bloke needs a shed

[Aussie Mike]

The yellow tongue flooring is pretty waterproof. It's got a waxy plastic coating on it. Just make sure you put the cut end at the top and you won't need to worry about absorbing water when you wash the floor. I've left off cuts on the trailer for ages waiting to go to the tip and they stand up to the weather amazingly. A bit of water from washing the floor shouldn't cause them an issue.

Cheers

[muzzza]

Mike - Yellow tongue for wall linings ?? I spend a big part of each day detailing timber framed structures as a building designer, but can't recall seeing 19mm Yellow tongue used for lining a steel shed. Provided you can score the stuff at a good price.....it makes good sense for lots of reasons ! - no framing, so quick to construct with large interlocking panels - very sturdy - pretty good thermal and water resistant properties - ( but I guess you know all that ) Good stuff ! Murray

[Aussie Mike]

I've been buying it for about $36 per sheet or so. It's 3.6m long x 900mm wide so I need 4 and a half sheets per 4M bay wall. So about $160 per bay.

The only downside is it can be bloody heavy and awkward when your trying to stand up and position a sheet by yourself.

The pine lining boards and corrugated iron just nail and screw straight to the yellow tongue walls. It does seem to knock the heat and noise down a fair bit. I also like the added security. It's fairly easy to pull a sheet of tin off a shed to break in but when confronted with the chipboard flooring on the inside it makes it a bit tougher/slower/noisier to break in.

BTW the next update to the shed is a 3KW worth of solar panels on the roof. Should be going on in the next few weeks.

Cheers

[07cob]

Mike

The Yellowtongue is a great idea. I have recently finished lining my shed with 12mm C/D ply and did the same - attached direct to the top hats.



Tony, I reckon you are on the right track with the lining and insulating. I used Tontine sound proofing insulation and am very happy with the result. I did leave the sheets around 20mm off the floor so it could be washed. I was planning on finishing that off with lengths of 50mm Al but not sure I will bother. The ply is reasonably weatherproof as well. All the cabling was run in conduit before lining was installed. I went with the overkill option so no need to run any more later.

Geof

[Chris L]

Mike, what are you listening to during your garage sessions............Sex Pistols, Rage against the Machine or perhaps something a little more subtle like Pavarotti and the Tenors?
Whatever it is, it works..........
Cheers
Chris

[DaveW]

Mike,
You need more room in your shed, put your mill in storage at my place

[sambo]

Love the Monaro Geof. HK by the look of those tail lights and the offset stripe?

[07cob]

Originally Posted by sambo

Love the Monaro Geof. HK by the look of those tail lights and the offset stripe?

Sambo, yes very early HK. Probably a retirement project at this stage as I am enjoying driving it so much, as well as collecting parts here and there.

[Jaydee]

Would you have trouble getting paint to stick to yellow tongue?
JD

[Aussie Mike]

I painted the yellow tongue walls in my old shed. It stuck just fine. The only issue was I painted the wall white and it took quite a few coats to get an even finish.

Cheers

[Tonus72]

Thanks Mike

I plan to paint it but might go with a very light grey... oil-based undercot is the go i am told.

I bought some permastop builders blanket and will put that behind the flooring. I was planning to hang it from the top and just trim out most of the insulation where the flooring screws to the tophat.

Will see how that works out...

Cheers

Tony

[Aussie Mike]

It should look good painted Tony. My old white painted wall added so mich light to my work area.

Reflecting light into the work area is the job of the corrugated iron in my setup. I was surprised at how much brighter it was after putting it up. Especially noticeable at night with the fluro lights on.

I should have got them to put foil insulation on the sides of the shed. I asked the contractors about it but they were't keen to do it. I guess they reckoned it was a pain to do. I'm told that you shouldn't run batts against the colorbond without foil as the condensation can get into the batts. The chipboard flooring will have to be enough.

The latest update to the shed is a green one. I got a 3KW Solar grid feed inverter setup installed. It's on the North-West side of the shed so it misses out on some morning sun but it was pumping out 2.9KW yesterday afternoon on a partly cloudy day. A couple of neighbors have solar systems on their sheds with the panels tilted up on frames to catch more sun but it looks butt ugly in my opinion. You don't notice these unless you are standing in the right spot.



Cheers

[Chris L]

G'day Mike;
Will that system on your shed nullify your power use for the house as well ?
Nice job, looks sharp and doesn't stick out like dogs balls.
Cheers
Chris L

[Aussie Mike]

Hopefully it'll be enough to nullify our electric bill. These days since the feed in tariffs aren't so good it's more about managing your usage i.e. running the washing machine during the day when the PV system is producing good power. It should run the evaporative cooling system in summer and any tinkering I do in the shed during the day (apart from welding of course). It'll also easy run the 1800W motor on the pump for my irrigation.

Cheers

[guye]

Maybe you can help me out Mike. I have a 'logic gap' in my understanding of these solar systems.

Assuming you don't have all the expensive batteries storage systems, then I'm told these solar systems won't cover you during a power outage. To me that means the solar power is only pumped back into the grid. And then you get credited at a certain rate (let's say 10c and kWh). The power you actually use is, as usual, charged at, say, 25c a kWh. (So you'd need to product 2.5 times what you use per day to get a zero usage bill. But that's not my question).

My question is, if there. Is no direct application of the solar power into your home, then why do they say it makes sense to run things during the day? Surely it is just a mathematical calculation over the course of the day? Total power generated minus total power used = total billed.

[Aussie Mike]

If there is a power outage the system is designed to shut down. It's a safety thing I believe. If a linesman is working on the lines he won't get hit by any power coming back from the houses.

As for the usage I think the best analogy is you have a "tank" of electricity capacity available at your home. It holds as much capacity as your system produces at that instant. For example All the appliances and stuff in your home fridge, TV washing machine is drawing 2.5kW and your PV system is delivering 3KW. At that moment you are using 2.5kW of that capacity and the rest is fed into the grid. Your smart meter will record that you are producing more than you are using and you will be credited 8c per kW/h as it goes back into the grid (500W feed back in for 2 hours is 1kW/h). You are effectively selling that unused electricity back to the company wholesale.

After the sun goes down the solar system will automatically shut down. Now you are pulling direct from the grid. Your lighting, TV, the oven cocking dinner are all drawing on the grid. You are then pulling electricity from the grid and paying 24c kW/h retail for it.

This is why it can be beneficial to do most of your electric use during daylight hours. Run the washing machine, pool pump etc. Your own capacity to produce electricity is used first and the rest goes to the grid. If you are using more than the capacity of your PV system then the extra is pulled from the grid at retail price.

[Gav]

The other thing to keep in mind is that there are different inverters available too.
Solar cells are prone to overheat and then need to be 'throttled back' to allow them to cool.
A cheap inverter will just turn the system off to allow them to cool where as the dearer ones will back off while still providing a portion of the output.
It may not sound like a big deal, but during the hotter months it will make a huge difference to your ability to produce power.

[Aussie Mike]

Thanks for that Gav. I'll keep an eye on mine and see what it does on a hot day. I've got the Growatt Sungold 3000TL inverter on my system.

Shenzhen Growatt New Energy Technology Co.,LTD

Cheers

[tomcat racing]

Originally Posted by guye

Maybe you can help me out Mike. I have a 'logic gap' in my understanding of these solar systems.

Assuming you don't have all the expensive batteries storage systems, then I'm told these solar systems won't cover you during a power outage. To me that means the solar power is only pumped back into the grid. And then you get credited at a certain rate (let's say 10c and kWh). The power you actually use is, as usual, charged at, say, 25c a kWh. (So you'd need to product 2.5 times what you use per day to get a zero usage bill. But that's not my question).

My question is, if there. Is no direct application of the solar power into your home, then why do they say it makes sense to run things during the day? Surely it is just a mathematical calculation over the course of the day? Total power generated minus total power used = total billed.

In Mikes case it makes sense to use power during the day if hes only on a 8cent tarriff, im the opposite on my shed i have an 8kw german inverter with 39 panels facing due north, my contract with the power company pays 44cents a kw locked in untill 2028.
So for every kw i can pump into the grid during the day means i can buy back nearly twice as much at night, so we run the pool pump and washing etc at night.
I have seen my system pump out 46kw in one day.
We run 4 fridges and 1 of 7 aircons runs 24/7 in my wifes gallery.
So basically our entire property is power cost free and last qtr i got a chq back for nearly 900 dollars, the power company pays me, and when the power goes out which it does here now and then in NQ i plug a 8kw sine wave generator direct into the meter board and power the house back up except the aircons.
I made the decision to do this as part of the building cost when i built our new home myself 3 years ago as i could see where electricity prices are going.
To date it has pumped out over 30,000 kws since it was installed

It should pay for itself in about 7 years

Best decision i ever made.

[stiffy]

Guy's,

Great topic, one I have been researching of late, one as my power bill

is increasing and we are building a new house.

I have heard numerous horror stories, so its good to hear

some positive one's.

Gav, might have a word with you at SF.


STIFFY