The Shed magazine February/March 2026 issue 125 on sale now
Going solar
Solar power seems like a great idea; who doesn’t want free power, right? But, what to choose, and what are the pitfalls of solar?
Regular The Shed writer, Andrew Broxholme, has just completed a large solar installation on his property and shares all the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of his solar power journey.
I’m environmentally aware, but am not an environmentalist, so I’ve gone solar for only one reason, because it makes good financial sense to do so, that said it isn’t necessarily going to be right for everyone and its impact on your power bills will depend on where you are in New Zealand and the orientation and design of your house relative to where the sun rises and sets.
I’ve been interested in renewables for many years. I first looked at it while living in the UK. The early systems had promise, but really didn’t make financial sense as the cost of installation and ongoing maintenance wasn’t offset by big enough reductions in power bills. They wouldn’t repay that investment during their service life, which at the time was 15–20 years (maximum).
That’s no longer true, with higher volume, the equipment has got a lot cheaper, it is more efficient, but we have also seen huge increases in energy costs; this, in particular, changes the economics dramatically. That doesn’t, however, mean that you can buy the first solar system presented or recommended to you. Read on to find out why.
Choppers with pedal power
Geraldine High School technology teacher Alan Minnear built pedal-powered choppers with his Year 11 students because he wanted something to capture their interest. He says he initially got the idea for the choppers from another local teacher but then discovered the Atomic Zombie website (www. atomiczombie.com) which opened his eyes to possibilities with the clear instructions available. He paid for and downloaded the PDF files for the two choppers named Vigilante and Overkill that caught his eye.
Because of their relative inexperience, the students basically followed the book for the choppers they built. However, the book gave no measurements, wanting builders to create their own design from the basics.
On the move
Farm life, even on a pocket-handkerchief farm like mine, means that you will need to move stock from time to time. I run a few cattle beasts and a few goats. I plan to get a few sheep soon, too. The issue with stock is moving them. Moving the cattle is a different story but for the smaller stock I could carry them either on the tray of my ute or my trailer if either had a stock cage.
I decided that building a cage could be an easily achievable project and so it has proved. It has value even if you don’t have stock – it certainly increases the options for your trailer. It is a lot easier collecting firewood with a cage, even transporting rubbish, or green waste. In the case of the latter you might want to make the end hinged rather than incorporate a gate to make it easier to unload the waste.
Content categories
Videos
