First we had to clear the ground of tiles and weeds, and more weeds, and all the weed roots, and then all the roots we didn’t see the first time. 6 wheelbarrows of gravel smoothed the surface off and then we just had to prise the kittens away from their reflections and put it into place.

The first kettle boiled in twenty minutes and there’s another one on as I write, which seems to be going quicker as we get better at angling the beam. Cooking does take a bit longer, and although a sheet of metal laid in the beam began to buckle and melt, when it’s warming a large pot the whole thing won’t get quite as hot as it would on a hob, but it’s great as a slow cooker. Things take a little longer, maybe you have to plan ahead a bit more, but a free replacement for your gas cooker sounds like the future to me.

Tabua chain-saw massacre

Just cutting down an olive tree.

Who the hell is that?

Putting on the first kettle.

The angle is adjusted to hit the spot.

Free cooking for life.

Cooker’s set up and the kettle’s on …

Waiting for the kettle to boil, it took 18 minutes!

http://www.appropedia.org/HSU_Bike_powered_washing_machine

We’ve got the bike and the washing machine, just need some help to put them together!  Any offers?

More pedal-powered technology at http://bikesnotbombs.org/app_tech

Sim, os nossos painéis foram instalados, produzindo 24 volts para a bateria banco e, em seguida, convertidos para 220 volts para o sistema elétrico da casa.

Almost all the sockets, lights and wiring has been finished and we now have a washing machine running in the adega.

Quase todos os soquetes, fios e luzes, foi concluída e agora temos uma máquina de lavar roupa correr na adega.

Yesterday, we were turning things on and off, to see the numbers change on the controller panel.

Ontem, fomos virar as coisas de vez em quando, para ver os números mudança no controlador painel.

This morning the sun is pouring power into the batteries, after we climbed onto the roof to clean the panels.

Esta manhã o sol está despejando potência para as baterias, após a nossa subida para o telhado para limpar os painéis.

We have some very interesting lights in the house and they all have LED lightbulbs with a maximum power of 6 watts (very bright).

Nós temos alguns muito interessantes luzes da casa e todos têm LED lâmpadas eléctricas com uma potência máxima de 6 watts (muito brilhante).

Writing in portuguese is not easy for me. But I will persevere and learn (thanks google translate!)
Yesterday I bought a teenage reading book, also to help with my portuguese.

Escrever em Português não é fácil para mim. Mas vou perseverar e aprender (graças Traduz Google!)
Ontem eu comprei um livro de leitura adolescente, também de contribuir com o meu Português.

After a quick look at plans on the internet, we had to have a long look at what junk was lying around, that could be used to make the reflective flap.

A old metal panel from a dead computer did the job, pop-rivetted onto hinges which were screwed onto the back of the box. Covered with tin foil, and protected with copious amounts of sellotape, does the job of reflecting the suns rays into the box.

And it works! Just made a cup of tea and some leek and potato soup.

The shiny back flap could be improved, as we come across materials that would work better. Some designs use a mirror, although I wonder if this might be too hot in the summer and dangerous to eyes.

And our original perspex top was tinted, so that didn’t work. Luckily we had another broken sheep that will do for now, but when we find a proper replacement we will use that.

Quite amazing really. Its april and we can cook using the sun’s rays – in July and Aug this contraption will probably boil water quicker than a gas cooker. And we have recently ordered a parabolic solar cooker, after finding a cheap supplier in spain, although if we had an old satellite dish and some aluminium sticky tape (such as we used to seal the insulation in the roof) we could build our own one of them too.

Solar Cookers / Fornos Solares (Portuguese website):
Tá-Sol, Fornos Solares e outras curiosidades

COOKING WITH SUNSHINE
Author – L. Anderson
Complete guide to solar cuisine with 150 easy recipes to start you off and give you the basic principles

PRACTICAL PHOTOVOLTAICS
Author: R Komp
A comprehensive guide to the theory and reality of solar electricity, also a detailed installation and instruction manual. Lots of good technical and practical stuff – enough to construct.
£14.95