We cannot drill our way out of this oil crisis. Since 2000, oil companies working in the U.S. have doubled the number of wells drilled per year.
Although increased drilling has added new oil to the nation's supply, it has not done so fast enough to offset the terminal decline of existing fields.
We are going to have to import more of our oil. Period.
Joined: May 15, 2004 Posts: 253 Location: Southeast USA
Posted: Mon Oct 18, 2004 6:10 pm Post subject: The value of PVC
My stepdad has recently been building stuff out of PVC big time, and I have first-hand seen the benefits of it. A lightweight, easy-to-use, cheap building material that doesn't decay easily. Of course, the only drawback is its weakness compared to wood, steel, or brick. What do you guys and gals think about it? _________________ In the long run, men hit only what they aim at. Therefore, though they should fail immediately, they had better aim at something high.-Thoreau
Peak Oil
makes a dandy lightweight greenhouse... I prefer metal however. heavy steel conduit lasts even longer and doesn't suffer the problems pvc has in wind...
And ya can't beat a metal roof...
wow, that just made me think up a great idea.. I wanted to build a greenhouse, but its much to expensive. Im sure I could construct a frame with PVC (larger, heavy duty PVC something like 2 inch), which would be very cheap, and then cover the frame with heavy duty plastic covering.. this would not be a good long term greenhouse but seems like it would be cheap and a fun little project to do..
ill be sure to packup on PVC to store at the farm for uses in the future.. thanks for mentioning it!
Joined: Jul 07, 2004 Posts: 434 Location: Berkeley CA
Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2004 2:44 pm Post subject:
I don't suggest PVC, it tends to slowly break down when exposed to sunlight, which contains higher energy UV rays. For other applications it could be useful, but I don't think it's a good idea to use it for water piping for your drinking water. Try other plastics like HDPE. _________________ my page:
www.myspace.com/peakoil
Joined: Aug 25, 2004 Posts: 85 Location: West Coast, USA
Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2004 5:02 pm Post subject:
Quote:
Im sure I could construct a frame with PVC (larger, heavy duty PVC something like 2 inch), which would be very cheap, and then cover the frame with heavy duty plastic covering
This simple and cheap design is of enourmous value in climates such as the maritime Northwest, where it seldom freezes and solar greenhouses wouldn't get enough sun, anyway. Steve Solomon, author of Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades, says "Even with both ends open, daytime temperatures run 10° to 15°F higher than outside; nighttime temperatures hold 2° to 3°F higher." If you need more heat, build a glass-covered cold frame, or add a heater and make it a hot frame. Any of these options is going to be cheaper and more efficient to heat than a greenhouse, at least in the maritime climes.
I'm actually building cloches for my raised bed garden, but I'm also adding chicken wire under the plastic to keep the critters out. For under a dollar each you can get plastic clips to connect the plastic sheet to the PVC pipe, but I think you might be able to hack something cheaper than that.
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