Found on a roof

I saw this on a house roof, what is it?

[Richard]

Buddleia.......

[stevehertz]

Yes, it's buddleia. It'll grow anywhere, 'British Rail' despise of it due to the damage it causes to bridges.I'm not sure about the metal erection.

I was visiting the John Lewis Centre in Cookham ages ago this is near it, it has been bugging me since. Buddleia, I am not a plant expert, leave that to SHMBO!
I had a wide lens on the camera, hence the poor resolution. If nothing is found out about the metal bit I will pop round there soon taking a telephoto lens.

[Nickthedentist]

Looks more plumbing/heating than radio/tv, but willing to be proven wrong

[wireman]

Perhaps a planning application will reveal some details.

[Glowing Bits!]

If that's a transmitter aerial, I dread to think how big the transmitter unit itself is!

[paulsherwin]

I agree, it doesn't look electrical or electronic. I've no idea what it's doing on a domestic chimney.

Buddleia is a serious invasive species. People tolerate it because bees and butterflies like the pollen, but it seeds absolutely everywhere and grows into huge tree like shrubs if not cut back.

[G6Tanuki]

It looks to me as if it could be some derivative of a "Slim Jim" type antenna; the thinner bit in the right-side vertical bit being the insulating gap between the radiating element and the matching section.

I too am thinking some form of plumbing job. But two?

[turretslug]

I have a certain sneaking respect for buddleia- apart from the butterflies/bees aspect, it's a reminder that nature will find a way to have the last word....

My initial though was "heat exchanger" but I can't produce a cogent argument as to what for! I do recall as a kid how you sometimes used to see half-hoop hot cylinder vent-pipes brought through the roof on some older properties, but this doesn't seem to fit that one either.

[Hartley118]

I recall seeing something like this on a school that was aiming to reduce its heating costs. It was an outside temperature sensor to modulate boiler temperature according to the outside weather - a feedforward system aiming to avoid the response lag and overshoot of a conventional feedback indoor thermostat system. A frosty night would be detected by the external sensor and trigger an increase in boiler temperature in anticipation of an increased heating demand once the school opened for the day. Such systems are of course nowadays electronic: this might be an earlier electromechanical version.

Just a guess. I may be entirely wrong!

Martin

[Graham G3ZVT]

It looks similar to the vent manifold pipework you see on fuel forecourts.

Originally Posted by G6Tanuki

It looks to me as if it could be some derivative of a "Slim Jim" type antenna; the thinner bit in the right-side vertical bit being the insulating gap between the radiating element and the matching section.

J-pole and Slim Jim antennas were often called Plumbers Delights.

[ms660]

Originally Posted by merlinmaxwell

I was visiting the John Lewis Centre in Cookham ages ago this is near it, it has been bugging me since. Buddleia, I am not a plant expert, leave that to SHMBO!
I had a wide lens on the camera, hence the poor resolution. If nothing is found out about the metal bit I will pop round there soon taking a telephoto lens.

Is it shown on street view, if so where about.

Lawrence.

51°33'38.29" N 0°42'17.05" W Google Earth

You can just see them sticking above the roof

[Heatercathodeshort]

G32 phone mast testing? Buddleia radio controlled distribution system? J.

[ms660]

Originally Posted by merlinmaxwell

51°33'38.29" N 0°42'17.05" W Google Earth

You can just see them sticking above the roof

Thanks for that, got it, Odney Lane just before the bridge.

Lawrence.

[Jon_G4MDC]

It's ugly but it looks like some kind of syphon pipework.

[Silicon]

I was told that modern condensing boilers can have the air intake and exhaust constructed from two separate UPVC pipes because the exhaust is not as hot as with older types.

[Glowing Bits!]

Here's something for people to ponder, what's the chance of it being there to dump excess heat should a coal fire back boiler get too hot?
If that thought sounds crazy, feel free to send me to the asylum.