Planet Mechanics

In an area known as the ‘frying pan of Spain’, Dick and Jem head to Andalucía in their eco-friendly workshop to help one farmer pump enough water from his well to sustain his cattle. Dick and Jem devise radically different solutions to farmer Jesus’ water problem – Dick harnesses wind power using a traditional windmill pump while Jem pushes his inventive boundaries to the limit with a Stirling engine. But, ambitious Jem may have bitten off more than he can chew, by also volunteering to build a massive solar cooker to make enough paella for an entire crowd at the annual Andalucían festival. While Dick sails along creating his windmill, Jem struggles to pull together a Stirling engine, which uses temperature differences inside a cylinder to move a piston, which can then be used to power machinery – in Jem’s case working a pump to draw water from the well. Will Jem’s ingenuity pay off or will the tried and true windmill pump win out? And, more importantly, can either of these two engineers cook well enough to please the audience with their traditional Spanish paella?

In Water War, Dick and Jem must make England’s most remote youth hostel completely energy self-sufficient. With the only reliable energy source miles away, the pair must use only the natural resources found in the valley to help power this hostel. But where will Dick and Jem find enough energy to generate enough electricity to keep the hostel up and running? Setting out with two very different game plans, Dick looks to generate energy from a local stream while Jem searches for enough wind power to create a high-powered wind turbine. Jem must create wind turbine blades that are each just over one metre long, and perfectly aerodynamic and identical. With Jem’s wind turbine almost complete, Dick must haul 27 reels of heavy-duty fire hose up the mountain to trap power from a waterfall that is nearly one kilometre away from the hostel. By week’s end, they have built a fully functioning and de-mountable Wind Turbine – and a compact Cross Flow Water Turbine. But, will either eco-friendly solution generate enough electricity to keep the Black Sail hostel open?

Dick Strawbridge and Jem Stansfield bring their unique brand of eco-engineering to a farm in Devon in southwest England.

Meet Dick Strawbridge & Jem Stansfield – two eco-engineers who travel around the U.K. & Europe, using ingenuity, resourcefulness & humour to help people lower their energy consumption.