permaculture

[johnny gregory <johnnyg8@bellsouth.net>]

Thanks, Lawrence for your support- I will use several methods combined in my
irrigation and rain catchment/direction: keylining, swales, berms, 1/2
v-trenches...

 I did alot of homework on air-heated foundations from Roman hypercaust
systems to newer ones. After all that reinventing of the wheel in my mind
there is a company in Canada www.legalett.ca/ who has done it, is doing it,
and has 8 million square feet of installations around the world. I've been
working with Joshua, their manager who has shared technical drawings so I
can adapt their metal piping system to my plastic pipe ideas (or clay pipe
if I want completely natural and am willing to baby it- clay breaks easily
while being bedded). Matter of fact Josh has been considering a plastic pipe
alternative to metal lately and I may be the guinea pig.I plan to use solar
air collectors amidst the plantings on our greenroofs. Curving plastic or
fiberglass ducting or piping will take that air down below the floors.

 The proven engineering how-to's of using 4" piping in an 8" slab are
already  calculated for us with the Legalett system. My natural earthen
slabs will be hardened using roadbed soil hardeners and compaction. I may
sell some of the enzymes used to others interested. (Ask.)I bought a quiet
electric ground compacter for doing our floors, walks, etc.

  In a well-sealed pipe system according to Legalett there are no moisture
problems in an air-heated foundation. No radon problems either. The air
heating the foundation is completely separate from indoor air. There is no
worry g water under your feet or bed as with hydronic tubing. No subtle
uneasiness... just nice warm floors.

  For readers' info, in talking with a fiberglass ductwork mfr. I learned
that all plastic pipe carrying air in a living space must meet certain (low)
flame spread criteria for building codes. That would not be the case in an
underfloor separate heating system.


On waterstoves (outdoor wood boilers hooked to hydronic slab/baseboard
heaters or or fan forced air furnace systems)...

I agree- Tarm boilers look great. Somebody who used to work for Tarm has a
better one out now but I cannot remember which one- maybe it was that other
you mentioned. I have a used waterstove (oil/wood/coal) made in
Winston-Salem I had planned to hook up to  several solar hot water
collectors. It even has a pool coil in it. I got a Grundfos pump, another
taco pump, created a low amp draw backup oil burner (I believe it draws .2
amps vs. the normal 5 amps). I may add it to my new home or sell it all. All
components are new.

   Wirsbo Aquapex is a finer quality cross-linked polyethylene water piping
for hot or cold water, made in Germany. It is available in Burlington, NC at
Bennett-Hocking Plumbing Supply. If you want to get into it and are in NC I
might loan you my Aquapex tool (the $300 required tool to install that
tubing) or come give you a hand on your project. It's a really neat system
with no soldering as with copper piping. The tool swedges the end of a piece
of pipe open wider for a few seconds, you remove the tool, insert the other
fitting and the pipe's memory returns it to the original shape. Once you get
the knack it's fun and doesn't leak. Amazing. (great for house plumbing,
maybe small gardens- 1" is maximum size so it's not really for farm
irrigation in long runs)

Thanks, Lawrence for the link on the Yeoman's plow points and shanks. I'll
look at it. I had no luck before finding those plows but a friend had one
shank, point and coulter.

  After seeing his Yeoman's and understanding how it works I believe I've
found a better system than Yeoman's for deep tillage and avoiding hardpan in
the Howard ParaTill unit. I may get one in future- that or a spader.

Johnny Gregory
Greensboro, NC