Starting a new life in Wales

[Vortex2]

Is theft of ground mounted PV a known problem?

[UndercoverElephant]

If you hadn't done it you would have spent the rest of your life wondering what if.

There was no chance of us not doing this. We're doing it now because now is the first time we have the opportunity to do so, financially. It just wasn't an option until now.

[clv101]

Is theft of ground mounted PV a known problem?

I know literally a dozen people with ground mounted solar panels in Wales - never once heard of any PV theft. They are heavy, awkward, and low value! A single used panel is only worth ~£50. There's better pickings in most outbuildings than mucking around with spanners and wires in the dark.

[Catweazle]

Is theft of ground mounted PV a known problem?

I know literally a dozen people with ground mounted solar panels in Wales - never once heard of any PV theft. They are heavy, awkward, and low value! A single used panel is only worth ~£50. There's better pickings in most outbuildings than mucking around with spanners and wires in the dark.

I was thinking of mounting solar panels on top of my shipping container, where they'll naturally fill the step between the top of the container and the barn roof. This should avoid any questions from the planning department and provide a secure weatherproof home for the connected equipment.

[Potemkin Villager]

If you hadn't done it you would have spent the rest of your life wondering what if.

There was no chance of us not doing this. We're doing it now because now is the first time we have the opportunity to do so, financially. It just wasn't an option until now.

Yep understood. Luckily I first made the move here in the 80s when this property and acre of land was valued at, if you can believe it, about IR£20,000. So although what you are paying seems huge in comparison in the end of the day it is only money which you cannot eat!

When you get settled there you must avail of the ferry from Fishguard to to do some research into the edible flora over here.

[eyeswide]

Just to say thank you, everyone, for your replies. There is a lot to think about and I'm just going to work on digesting it for now, and come back with more questions later no doubt.

[adam2]

Is theft of ground mounted PV a known problem?

Not a significant problem AT PRESENT but could be a problem in an uncertain but probably less law abiding future.
Farm machinery, diesel fuel, LPG cylinders, and even livestock are more lucrative to most thieves. Possession of a shotgun is a powerful theft deterrent, as is a large dog.

The market for stolen PV modules is very limited in the UK since positive identification via serial numbers is possible, even years after the event. Stolen modules have to be shipped abroad which reduces the profits. A stolen sheep cant be recovered once it has been butchered and eaten.

I would prefer to avoid ground mounted PV due to future vulnerability to theft rather than due to near term concerns. Ground mounting is also vulnerable to accidental damage, and occupies space that might be needed for other purposes.

There was a spate of thefts of the large transportable solar powered road signs. Sometimes the entire unit was stolen, in other cases the several PV modules were removed.

[UndercoverElephant]

Static Caravan. Cheap as chips to buy, expect to pay £250 - £1000 for a decent 10+ year old 38 x 12ft for guest accommodation or AirBnB rental. Delivery from £250.

There is already one of those on site, though it is half converted into a "lodge". Can you recommend somewhere local to get them from? And presumably they can take the old one away?

[UndercoverElephant]

Is theft of ground mounted PV a known problem?

I know literally a dozen people with ground mounted solar panels in Wales - never once heard of any PV theft. They are heavy, awkward, and low value! A single used panel is only worth ~£50. There's better pickings in most outbuildings than mucking around with spanners and wires in the dark.

OK...maybe it isn't a problem. I'd still rather they were on the roof though. If we need more than fit on the roof then we can put them on the ground.

Where I live now if there was something in my back garden worth £50 then somebody would nick it. No question about that.

[UndercoverElephant]

Is theft of ground mounted PV a known problem?

Not a significant problem AT PRESENT but could be a problem in an uncertain but probably less law abiding future.
Farm machinery, diesel fuel, LPG cylinders, and even livestock are more lucrative to most thieves. Possession of a shotgun is a powerful theft deterrent, as is a large dog.

Yeah, not sure our labradoodle will cut it. Perhaps need to think about getting an alsation or a doberman.

[Catweazle]

Is theft of ground mounted PV a known problem?

Not a significant problem AT PRESENT but could be a problem in an uncertain but probably less law abiding future.
Farm machinery, diesel fuel, LPG cylinders, and even livestock are more lucrative to most thieves. Possession of a shotgun is a powerful theft deterrent, as is a large dog.

Yeah, not sure our labradoodle will cut it. Perhaps need to think about getting an alsation or a doberman.

We've had three Dobies, and would thoroughly recommend them as a family pet. We'll have another when prices come down.

Static caravans are best bought from private owners whose vans have become too old to be kept on holiday parks, most parks put a maximum age clause in - to keep the parks smart but also to sell new caravans. Once a caravan is past the set age it's often worth next to nothing, regardless of condition, as the owner is forced to remove it. I can give you the name of the man who delivered ours, he was very good - our access if tricky and only a 10ft wide van would fit. 12ft would have been cheaper and better.

Dobie outside: https://ibb.co/K95PgSV
Dobie at home: https://ibb.co/5YQ4WLz

[UndercoverElephant]

Static caravans are best bought from private owners whose vans have become too old to be kept on holiday parks, most parks put a maximum age clause in - to keep the parks smart but also to sell new caravans. Once a caravan is past the set age it's often worth next to nothing, regardless of condition, as the owner is forced to remove it. I can give you the name of the man who delivered ours, he was very good - our access if tricky and only a 10ft wide van would fit. 12ft would have been cheaper and better.

Yes please do send us his contact details.

[kenneal - lagger]

If you are going to be vegetable gardening raise your beds and use a no dig system. Good for the production, the soil and again for the back!!

I don't think that is going to work for us. I am expecting the soil to be relatively poor, and compacted, as well as poor-draining. We will need to do quite a bit of work to improve it, and we won't have access to vast amounts of compost. Although there is a very large pile of horse manure on site.

No dig is a nice idea, especially if you start with good soil and you aren't planning on doing it on a very large area.

You have just raised all the points that I would make in advocating for a raised bed system in those circumstances. They are all reasons for installing raised beds to get your soil depth improved, improve drainage and avoid compaction. You generally require soil to be dug two spits deep, two spade depths in plain language, so you arrange your bed depth to suit. Break up the soil under the bed, install your grey water drainage pipes and then fill with that heap of horse manure that you have. "Et voila", you have your drained and irrigated veggie garden.

If you are really short of soil dig the top soil from the paths between the raised beds into the raised beds. If you are still short of soil look at Hugelkultur where logs and rotten wood are incorporated under soil and straw to provide nutrients long term. Logs and straw placed at the bottom of beds to rot and covered with soil will raised the plants to a suitable level.

We have used oak boards, offcuts from trimming Greenheart lock gates, exterior grade ply wood, bottles (short term only and limited bed depth) and concrete garage panels to form our beds. The free 22 mm ply used in our polytunnels and the concrete garage panels have worked best for us. The concrete panels are about 450 mm high and set 150 into the ground give us a very usable 300 high bed. I have run a 50 x 25 treated tiling batten around the top to hold the 1200 long panels together and it also means that we can screw in hooks to hold nets down or fix polythene or fleece in place.

[UndercoverElephant]

If you are going to be vegetable gardening raise your beds and use a no dig system. Good for the production, the soil and again for the back!!

I don't think that is going to work for us. I am expecting the soil to be relatively poor, and compacted, as well as poor-draining. We will need to do quite a bit of work to improve it, and we won't have access to vast amounts of compost. Although there is a very large pile of horse manure on site.

No dig is a nice idea, especially if you start with good soil and you aren't planning on doing it on a very large area.

You have just raised all the points that I would make in advocating for a raised bed system in those circumstances. They are all reasons for installing raised beds to get your soil depth improved, improve drainage and avoid compaction. You generally require soil to be dug two spits deep, two spade depths in plain language, so you arrange your bed depth to suit. Break up the soil under the bed, install your grey water drainage pipes and then fill with that heap of horse manure that you have. "Et voila", you have your drained and irrigated veggie garden.

If you are really short of soil dig the top soil from the paths between the raised beds into the raised beds. If you are still short of soil look at Hugelkultur where logs and rotten wood are incorporated under soil and straw to provide nutrients long term. Logs and straw placed at the bottom of beds to rot and covered with soil will raised the plants to a suitable level.

OK, thanks for the input. Basically I have to wait until I have actually started digging to see what we are going to be dealing with in terms of soil. Some areas we might consider putting vegetable beds in are currently overgrown with brambles. I remain skeptical of no-dig methods, but I don't have to make any decisions now and we may end up trying both methods and see what works best.

[clv101]

No dig is great, all our beds are no dig. Our raised beds all started with a bale of straw in the bottom. No dig does require a lot of cover material - we make a lot of compost, mostly from poultry houses and grass cuttings. We have in the past imported manure and municipal compost (by the ~5 tonne load).

Digging is a mugs game, hard work and doesn't benefit the soil.