Christmas 2011 in Forest Lake

Merry Christmas From Forest Lake and Amanda's Rose

Going Solar

We are going Solar. We live in the 'Sunshine State' and it just makes sense to use that sunshine to heat our water so here is how it works. We had a special 4' by 8' panel installed on the roof. The panel is filled with copper pipes that when full holds less than 1 gallon of distilled water. When the roof panel water gets hot, up to 200 degrees F, it trickles down to an extra tank. Water from the hot water heater is circulated through the extra tank through a copper coil. The hot water from the extra tank transfers it's heat to the colder water from the hot water heater. Then the distilled water goes back up to the solar panel to be heated up again. And so goes the process all sunny day long. The trick to make this work of course are sunny days; the system has one 220 electric backup element to heat water on the cloudy days.

The installer our our system has a family of four and he has not used electricity to heat water for the past two years and has never run out of hot water in that time period. He has had the system for 10 years.

The dark grey container above, contains 8 gallons of distilled water. This water is sent to the solar panel to be heated by the sun, about 7/10 of a gallon at a time and then is returned to the dark grey tank. Water from the hot water heater is sent through the dark grey tank to absorb the heat. The water is not mixed, just sent through in pipes from the hot water heater.

The cost for the system is $5,500.00 which includes a new hot water tank, 65 gallons, the solar panel, electronics to monitor the system and installation. When the system is installed, Florida Power and Light (our electric provider) sends us a check for $1,000.00, the city of North Port sends us a check for $750.00 and the IRS decreases our taxes for this year by 30% of the $5,500.00 or $1,833.33. All this adds up to $3,583.33 in direct rebates. The $1,917.67 we pay will be paid for in less than five years as we use nearly zero electricity (with the exception of two pumps to move the water) to heat our water over that time period.

Some thoughts; hail, cloudy days, hurricanes, shingle replacement, dirty panel on the system and a very hot solar panel on your roof are real some concerns about the system. The solutions are extra strong glass to withstand hail, the panel lies flat on the roof to compensate for strong winds, four bolts hold the panel down for easy removal, you may have to wash they panel once a year and the panel is heavily insulated to protect the roof from excess heat. Northern climates use antifreeze in place of distilled water. Finally, you do need a sun filled South exposure. Google 'Solar World' for more information.


The first report for our solar hot water heater is as follows. I turned the electric breaker off  after the system was installed. The first two days after installation were partly cloudy and the third day was totally cloudy. The hot water in the new tank was at 99F after the second day; we took two showers in that time period with plenty of hot water. The fourth day was totally sunny and the water tank temp jumped up to 127F by late afternoon and the collector on the roof maxed at 147F. A typical hot water heater is set at 120F. This one is set at 140F.

First Report

The sensor that reads the hot water tank temp is located outside and on bottom of the tank between the insulation and the tank itself. As a result, I feel the actual hot water temp may be a degree or two low.

Boating in Florida

The Okeechobee Waterway goes from Fort Meyers (West side of FL) on the Caloosahatchee River to and through Lake Okeechobee (central FL) and then to and through the St Lucie Canal to the Inter coastal Waterway (ICW) at Stuart, FL (East side). The waterway is about 135 miles long and contains five lock and dams. John Dorso and I took a 44 foot Sea Ray on this waterway from Fisherman's Village in Punta Gorda to Riviera Beach. The trip took three days; at the conclusion of the trip the boat was to be loaded on a freighter destined for Australia. Two weeks prior to this trip we took a 44 foot sail boat from Hollywood (just North of Miami) to the same marina. That trip was 51 miles and it took 14 hours as we had to go under 25 bridges, all but one of these bridges had to be opened so we could pass. That boat is also going to Australia. This represents a dozen or so trips we have taken together, some of which went through the Florida Keys, the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, the ICW on both sides of Florida, one to Mobil, Alabama and now this last one through the Okeechobee Waterway in South Central Florida. The boats have varied in value from about $40,000 to $1 million. The pictures are from Google Earth.

I should mention that inasmuch as one would think these as fun pleasure trips, which they can be, but rarely are, every trip has presented us with unique challenges. The most recent trip we encountered 15 to 20 mile headwinds for two days as we traveled at 15 knots which put us facing 30 plus mile winds for 10 hours a day in an open cabin. On two of these trips we lost both engines. In one case the boat slammed hard against a railroad bridge tressel due to a very strong tide and winds in the same direction and the second instance we were 100 miles West of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico just at sundown in 6 to 8 foot waves. We have lost our lights in the darkness of night. JD always has his tools and ingenuity to solve our problems and we have been towed just once, for about 50 yards when, to the surprise of the toe boat captain, we got the engines running and we were on our way. But, we have docked next to boats worth millions, famous boats owned by very rich and famous people and have seen unbelievable homes and their yards; homes that are as big as hotels along the ICW. Baby, this ain't Town Lake, in Frazee. Coupled with the 28 different rivers I have traveled in my own boat, it has been a great ride and I have learned a lot about winds, tides, rip tides, markers, shoals, wrecked boats, boating rules and the dangerous mystique of the high seas. It has been very interesting! JD has been a very challenging and excellent teacher!

Gett'en Back to Florida.

What a wonderful trip we have had so far; we loved I40 through North Carolina. Just absolutely beautiful. Today we took the Paula Dean tour in Savanna, Georgia. Now we are in Jacksonville, Florida where tomorrow Holly will go to the Florida Quilt Show and I will go on a bike trip. Her quilt took second place and $200 in prize money!

We are at the Lake

After the Minnesota State Fair 2011, Jeff and the kids came to the lake!!! Needless to say, they caught lots of fish.

Hola Boys and Girls

Just a note to let you know that we are now in Frazee as of September 1, 2011 and we are living at Al and Nora's apartment. The plan is to move to Wymer Lake this week. We will head to Florida Sept 17. We have renters in Oakdale who have signed a one year lease.

dA Red Banana

Fishing in Florida 2011

Holly with a little 'Sheaphead' caught on Gasparillia Pass. It was too small to keep, but we did land 10 different species of fish on this day, two of which were keepers and Holly landed both of those; a 'Pompano' and a 'Spanish Mackerel'.

What a Day of Fishing in Florida's West Side! April 2011

We did some fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. Jeff got the biggest shark; Jen caught two sharks I suppose that makes us the perfert host! And Holly landed a large bulhead that we missed a picture with Holly, as a dolphen (porpus) distracted us during her catch and it skipped of her line just as we were about to take the picture. The gator picture was taken on the Myakka river.

Bugs in Mexico

The Hot Tub is IN!

 We started this process in early January and the project was completed at the end of February. The trifecta is complete. Jody, Jeff and we all have a 'Tub.'

Some Old Pictures!

Jeff and the entire family sent me some old slides and a digital converter that converts slides to digital. The first three pictures are around Lake Michigan on the Michigan side. What do you think? O yes, the hot tub is coming! I think, hope ....

Everglade City and the Everglade National Park

We had a fine day in Everglade City with Dave and Roxanne this past week. Everglade City is the start of the Everglades National Park. It is 99 miles from Everglade City to Flamingo by boat. That may be my next boat trip. The boat pictures were a little ride we took with the Park Service. Nice picture of the porpoise.  O yes, the pictures of us are from The (famous) Rod and Gun Club where John Wayne and others stars and the likes of us were there. And yes, Dave still makes super great steaks on the grill!!

One very hard puzzle that Jody and Todd gave to Holly for her Birthday. Let see is she 29 or is it 39, I just can not remember. This was a very tough puzzle to complete. We always were saying that this piece should be easy to find, but it never was. Thanks to Todd and Jody and Kids for our great time trying to finish this thing. Now we move on to the hot tub installation. More to come!