Thinking Outside the Box

"Instead of thinking outside the box get rid of the box."
                                                         (Deepak Chopra)

This has to be one of the main reasons we love PUNATICS so much!!  The challenges of living in Puna on the Big Island are of many shapes; most folks on the Continent have no real idea of the learning curve involved when you decide to "move to Hawaii."   It's not all palm trees and white beaches.  Here in Puna life is remote and rural and the terrain is diverse, ranging from full forest to dense jungle.  The people who live here are fiercely independent creative problem solvers.

So, when *SHIT* happens, there's always an opportunity to learn what went wrong, and how to find a "work around" that will solve the problem.  And most often, it does require THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX.

Master & Commander of Parts

Such was the case when the heater on our hot tub died.  Of course we were annoyed, but we had to admit the our electric bill was high.  So, together with our amazing contractor Rob (who is known for getting rid of the box) we came up with a better solution.

Boldly going....

We purchased 500 feet of black heavy-duty irrigation hose which was hauled up onto the roof and strapped in place to utilize passive SOLAR. We found a small, efficient, quiet pump on line to move the water through the pipes. Using a simple garden timer, next we measure the time it takes to heat the water in the black hose so that it periodically flows into our hot tub.  (As a back up for cloud-cast winter days, we have installed a small propane on-demand heater.)

By also adding a couple batteries to our existing solar system, we can now operate all our most expensive equipment through our solar set-up -- including water pump, tub, and refrigerator!!  Net result will cut our electric bill in HALF!

Shit happened -- AND we got to think of a better way to do it!