Frugal Friday

[ecosophia]

Welcome back to Frugal Friday! This is a weekly forum post to encourage people to share tips on saving money, especially but not only by doing stuff yourself. A new post will be going up every Friday, and will remain active until the next one goes up. Contributions will be moderated, of course, and I have some simple rules to offer, which may change further as we proceed.

Rule #1:  this is a place for polite, friendly conversations about how to save money in difficult times. It's not a place to post news, views, rants, or emotional outbursts about the reasons why the times are difficult and saving money is necessary. Nor is it a place to use a money saving tip to smuggle in news, views, etc.  I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #2:  this is not a place for you to sell goods or services, period. Here again, I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #3:  please give your tip a heading that explains briefly what it's about.  Homemade Chicken Soup, Garden Containers, Cheap Attic Insulation, and Vinegar Cleans Windows are good examples of headings. That way people can find the things that are relevant for them. If you don't put a heading on your tip it will be deleted.

Rule #4: don't post anything that would amount to advocating criminal activity. Any such suggestions will not be put through.

With that said, have at it!

Comments

Re: Real world passive solar heat

[(Anonymous)]

Forgot to add a "be careful" I put in 2 55 gallon drums of water in my screen-porch-to-greenhouse area -- and they rusted out and caused dryrot on the floor. SO maybe I am the only silly one to use metal drums ?Or, I should have had them on a replacement schedule ? Best I would think after mine is maybe people should go ahead and use plastic drums ? I Put a piece of plywood across the 2 drums of water for a table top to start garden plants on

Atmospheric River

Re: Real world passive solar heat

[slclaire]

Four of the five drums on our porch are plastic. One is metal. I put an anti-corrosion liquid into the metal drum before filling it with water. That was 13 years ago, and it hasn't leaked yet; nor have any of the plastic drums. The porch floor is concrete, so a leak would not be a big issue except that I would want to catch it ASAP if it were the metal drum so I could run the remaining liquid into the sewer system. I don't have trays under any of the plants on the floor so it gets wet whenever I water the plants.

Re: Real world passive solar heat

[(Anonymous)]

yeah, an anti corrosive liquid in my metal drums should have happened. ANd, my room was particle board over redwood decking. Maybe next time, or mostlikely I need to replace with plastic, plastic doesnt transfer heat like the metal drums, but the no leaking bit Im gonna need, I think Azure might deliver empty drums

Re: Real world passive solar heat--zinc preserves steel

[(Anonymous)]

For general interest, they preserve steel that must be exposed to water (like ship hulls or canal lock doors) by bolting a substantial chunk of zinc onto the steel. This sets up an electron transfer in the two metals such that the zinc oxidizes first, and the steel doesn't oxidize--so long as you keep replacing the zinc. Steel water heaters have an 'electrode' that preserves the metal casing of the water heater in the same way. If you replace the electrode in your water heater every 5 years, you need never buy another one.
SO... If you must use a steel drum for your heat-storage water container, find a way to clamp a chunk of zinc onto the underwater surface of the drum.