Letters
Interesting article about generators for
the home (The Shed Issue No. 85) but
there is an aspect about them that I
came across in 2007–2008 that I would
not have otherwise thought about.
At that time I spent about 12 months
in the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste
as part of the NZ Police contribution to
the peacekeeping forces. One place I
stayed at for about three months was in
a remote area on the weather coast of
Guadalcanal island.
It is called the ‘weather coast’ for
a reason and most days the sea was
rough, and the air continuously heavy
with sea spray and mist. A large
generator supplied power for the house
and station. It was secured to a concrete
base with a palm-thatched roof over the
top. It was located about 30m above the
high tide line so often copped the full
force of the spray-laden wind.
One day the generator ‘died’. When
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to deal with it, he found that the
electronics in the control panel were
all but destroyed by the salt air. He
complained that the generator had been
replaced about a year before I got there
for the same reason. He also said that
the bean counters would not listen when
he warned it would happen again and
recommended a proper genny shed be
built about 100m back into the jungle.
Anyway, a new genny eventually
arrived under a huge helicopter and
went straight back into the same ‘leaf
hut’, as we called them.
My point being, if one was living
in similar area in New Zealand
(West Coast, South Island?) surely one
should be thinking about a purpose-
built genny shed?
Murray Stapp (via email)Letters should be emailed to
[email protected], or posted to
Editor, The Shed,
PO Box 46020, Herne Bay,
Auckland 1147.Letter of the month
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MON
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Lette
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of^ theExperience on the job
As a painter and paperhanger of almost
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in the house painting article (The Shed
Issue No. 82). I was apprenticed in 1960,
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from LZT paste (lead, zinc, titanium),
linseed oil, turps, and terebine.
I have also worked in the laboratories of a
major paint manufacturer, and have worked
as a painting and decorating tutor and
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I have kept up with the technology of
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and acrylic. Your house is generally your
largest single investment and as such
needs to be properly maintained to protect
it. While painting your own house is
something anyone can do, a good painter,
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gained from a proper apprenticeship and
subsequent years of working in the trade,
will generally do a better job than the DIYer.
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articles can often be more confusing to a
DIYer because there are too many things to
consider, much like an oldie like me trying to
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Each house repaint, especially older
ones, has its own particular problems that
need to be remedied. There is no ‘one spec
for all’. There are a lot of tips and advice
that a good tradesman could give for a
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transferred in an article.
Arthur Stinson (via email)