Solar Sizzled

via habercisiniz.com

Here's a little household adventure thought I'd share:

Last weekend, all four of us were out in the backyard, moving wheelbarrows of dirt (read heavy, red clay), weeding, moving stones, and just working hard. By the end of the 92 degree day, we we covered in grime and all needed showers badly. Especially the boys.

OLDEST: Streaks out of the shower in under two minutes.
ME: Hmm...What's with that?
YOUNGEST: Goes in for his turn. Point two seconds later: "THE WATER IS FREEZING, MOM!!!!!"
ME: "DH, Did you have any hot water?"
DH:"No. I thought you used it all up with the dishwasher and washing machine."
ME: What century do you live in? "Did you check the water heater?"

Apparently, one of the boys had knocked the hot water heater knob down to ridiculous, so I had to wait for another hour while it heated up something for me. And the conversation about freezing water (and what century DH lives in) turned to solar hot water heaters. Specifically the gravity fed hot water heater, aka güneş enerjisi, of our summer condo in Turkey.

ME: "Let me tell you a little story kids."

Almost every rooftop in Baba's hometown sports an ugly (usually orange) water tank connected to a solar panel. The system heats water very well and thankfully, the villagers don't have to chop down the forest to get warm water anymore. At the summer condo, we had an old-fashioned, gravity fed version. Mersin is steamy in the summer, so hot showers aren't appealing. Why spend the extra money on a pressure regulator?

GAH!

In comes Mommy (the American bride) and HELLO! I practically lose the top layer of my skin the first time I shower.

You see, we lived up on the tenth floor and the gravity thing works a little too well when you're closer to the tank. Cold water from the municipality has more pressure, so I turned it down to let the hot water mix in, and then the hot water took over! I turned the hot way down and then the cold was too strong again. Ever try to adjust a knob after it's been in the same position for nine months? I inched it up and down, up and down, and...you get the idea. The water was nice for a minute and as soon as I got under it, it would change. I think there was a malicious djinn living in that tap!

So for the rest of the summer, I stood outside the shower trying to adjust between scalding and freezing. And since there's no winning that game, I just got used to taking cold showers.

OLDEST: Looks at his dad. "You fixed that, right?"