Comments Please!

[nomadros]

Hi all.....A wee update. Installed 2 x 200W panels in series on a trailer (still no permit for permanent mounting) and as SunKing said, I only really needed 2. The combined charger/inverter works fine (it'll take min 400w @24v up to 800w @ 48v) and but I'm not happy with the Gel battery (230ah 12v). A few things I've learned.... 1) solar panels actually work, which is news to a newby like me. 2) I need to concentrate on storage first for the next time as that seems to be the major issue as I can get 7 days of fog. 3) Must read up on earthing as that's been bugging me from the off.
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I'll therefore take all this a bit more seriously from now on, but for the moment I have power to do what I need to do. I'll read up before making more posts!

[Paul Land]

Sounds like you got off easy. My County requires permits for just about any permanent solar pv installation. Which is why I have to make sure my panels can be moved or easily removed.

A good reason for permits and inspections is that there are way too many DIY that do not know what they are doing and can get hurt playing with electricity. So you need to have at least someone that is experienced in electrical at least look at the system before it is energized.

Case in point. I can't tell you the number of people here in FL that kill themselves when they try to use an emergency generator. So even emergency power systems need to be looked at.

Licensed Electrical Contractor is a Given for DIY or DIE!

[SunEagle]

If you are doing off grid only and not mounting on house roof ie: shed roof, Rack ect and PV Sys is not permanent connection to house, but connected by 30Amp plug&box(Disconnect) Your town should look at it as Emergency power system. Some places you don't need it inspected. Me and friend did a set-up like that we called for inspection. Sys was looked at and inspector said power side did not need to be inspected it being temp power, just inside house at panel/ transfer switch. He did point out using proper warning labels/ shutoff for fire dept. Every town is different

Sounds like you got off easy. My County requires permits for just about any permanent solar pv installation. Which is why I have to make sure my panels can be moved or easily removed.

A good reason for permits and inspections is that there are way too many DIY that do not know what they are doing and can get hurt playing with electricity. So you need to have at least someone that is experienced in electrical at least look at the system before it is energized.

Case in point. I can't tell you the number of people here in FL that kill themselves when they try to use an emergency generator. So even emergency power systems need to be looked at.

[Paul Land]

They say, "One way to tell which mushrooms are deadly is, they are found in the stomachs of dead people".

and....

All mushrooms are edible, once.


Thanks for the advice, I'll look out for dead people.

I cooked a boar leg in a fire pit for 18 hours, fried up some mushrooms and mmmmmm. I'm thinking passion fruit or pomegranate jus and some honey with crushed hazelnuts and walnuts the next time. This picking stuff up (except the boar) and eating it business is great. The boar was subject to a large caliber round and I hope it's the bad tempered ****** that I had a 4 metre face off with at 04:30 one morning when I was armed with a piece of wood, a steely eye and quite damp underpants..


Paul L, thanks for the info, I'll look it up. They have it on amazon and there appears to be many download sites that appear to be a bit iffy.My next panel project is a biggy so I'll be doing it properly (subject to getting a permit to build the building and a further permit for the panels)

If you are doing off grid only and not mounting on house roof ie: shed roof, Rack ect and PV Sys is not permanent connection to house, but connected by 30Amp plug&box(Disconnect) Your town should look at it as Emergency power system. Some places you don't need it inspected. Me and friend did a set-up like that we called for inspection. Sys was looked at and inspector said power side did not need to be inspected it being temp power, just inside house at panel/ transfer switch. He did point out using proper warning labels/ shutoff for fire dept. Every town is different

[nomadros]

They say, "One way to tell which mushrooms are deadly is, they are found in the stomachs of dead people".

and....

All mushrooms are edible, once.


Thanks for the advice, I'll look out for dead people.

I cooked a boar leg in a fire pit for 18 hours, fried up some mushrooms and mmmmmm. I'm thinking passion fruit or pomegranate jus and some honey with crushed hazelnuts and walnuts the next time. This picking stuff up (except the boar) and eating it business is great. The boar was subject to a large caliber round and I hope it's the bad tempered ****** that I had a 4 metre face off with at 04:30 one morning when I was armed with a piece of wood, a steely eye and quite damp underpants..


Paul L, thanks for the info, I'll look it up. They have it on amazon and there appears to be many download sites that appear to be a bit iffy.My next panel project is a biggy so I'll be doing it properly (subject to getting a permit to build the building and a further permit for the panels)

[Paul Land]

Thanks.... .

I've just sized everything up and I'm only using around 500w max (without compressor), so adding 25% would give me 625w inverter, however once you have something you tend to use it and I can see me charging and using tools. If I settled on an inverter around 1000w could the batteries cope ok with that? I'm wary of small inverters because I've a 300w 12v one in my truck and it craps out when I try to charge various tools.

Just been on a crash course of all this...
so....
panels (4 x 270W talesun polycrystalline at 60 cells per panel as speced above)
batteries (2 x Ultracel 230-12 as speced above @ c10 200ah in series)
charge regulator 24v 30A PWM Must
inverter 24V 800VA Victron Phoenix

SunKing...am I getting better or worse?

Start At A then go to Z Purchase 1Copy: Photovoltaic Systems James P Dunlope The book is partnered with NJATC It's Textbook used in PV Lab/Classrooms comes with Cd Rom. It with hands on approach will get you there hit or miss. Sell stuff that does not work for you on e-bay,except batts to $$$ to ship.

[Mike90250]

All mushrooms are edible, once.

[littleharbor]

Of my "things that will kill you" list, I think I've only got tractor tipping, earthquake and zombie apocalypse left to try out.

They say, "One way to tell which mushrooms are deadly is, they are found in the stomachs of dead people".

[nomadros]

Yea, and all the resources and jeopardy spent and exposed in the search effort.

I'm very sympathetic to those who, in effect, say "don't worry about me", but less so for those types who fail to make their wishes clear to first responders/rescuers. Seems arrogant and inconsiderate.

Look peeps....everybody knows me around here and at first I got inspected nine ways to hell because foreigners do daft things and are generally stupid. Everything I do in the nature reserve is officially sanctioned (otherwise jail) and I've built up a reputation as "authentic" with means I'm not an idiot and do things properly and mostly by hand (usually a requirement of any permit I get). I've had the police, fire, rangers and once the jehovah's witnessess even tramped through the woods to try to convert me! I would never put anyone at risk and am now sort of an unofficial eyes and ears in the woods giving reports to the hunters on boar, deer and mountain goat locations, telling the rangers if any "unusual" stuff happens and generally keeping an eye out for smoke and strangers. I even (somehow) managed to get the WRC and the local council together so if you ever watch the Rally de Catalunya (or Rally de Espanya depending on your politics) on tele, the finish and podium of the Pratdip stage is the start of my patch.

Anyway, back on topic, my application to mount 4 panels on my shed has hit the buffers and I've had to produce huge documentation to justify sticking the things on a wall and will probably have to wait another 4-5 months to get a permit. In the meantime, I've mounted 2 panels (thanks to sunking for the info on my minimum panels needs) on one of my tipping trailers and if anyone moans, I'll just tow the things out.

Remember last week I was learning mushrooms, well I'm now flying solo on that knowledge and man are they tasty (and very expensive if you buy them in the shops).

bolet1.jpegbolet2.jpegbolet3.jpeg

Of my "things that will kill you" list, I think I've only got tractor tipping, earthquake and zombie apocalypse left to try out.

[J.P.M.]

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QUOTE]
They can leave me, I can take care of myself...it's everyone else (rangers, fire people etc) that need extracted.


Anybody here remember a guy named Harry Truman who lived near Mt. St. Helens?

Yea, and all the resources and jeopardy spent and exposed in the search effort.

I'm very sympathetic to those who, in effect, say "don't worry about me", but less so for those types who fail to make their wishes clear to first responders/rescuers. Seems arrogant and inconsiderate.

[SunEagle]

.
QUOTE]
They can leave me, I can take care of myself...it's everyone else (rangers, fire people etc) that need extracted.


Anybody here remember a guy named Harry Truman who lived near Mt. St. Helens?

I think that is called death by nature.

[littleharbor]

.
QUOTE]
They can leave me, I can take care of myself...it's everyone else (rangers, fire people etc) that need extracted.


Anybody here remember a guy named Harry Truman who lived near Mt. St. Helens?

[nomadros]

[QUOTE=J.P.M.;n386931]

Would you trade more freedom for not getting flown out in an emergency ? How do all those emergency services get financed ? Pretty expensive I bet. Just wonderin'.
QUOTE]
They can leave me, I can take care of myself...it's everyone else (rangers, fire people etc) that need extracted. They use helicopters for everything around here due to the terrain. Last forest fire, I sat, had a whisky or 10 and a ciggie or 10 and watched the fire planes come in for their bombing runs. They were so near the ground, I could hear the cockpit radios as the went passed. I'm learning what mushrooms are edible this week. I've got about 50 different types and no clue about any of them. Tasty!

[J.P.M.]

Forgetting the fact that the land and house got museum-ed without any notification, the hard part is getting everyone to recognise I now live in museums and getting assorted groups of pencil pushers to look outside their individual mental silos. Anyway for the land, I've now got excellent and professional relationships with all "stakeholders" and what I want is actually about 95% the same as what they want, I don't get "inspected" every 3 months now, everyone that needs keys has keys and my clearing the land (with permit) now ties in with the fire plan clear zone, so if anyone gets trapped by snow or fire they can be helicoptered out. For the house, I've still got problems, funnily enough mostly to do with solar panels. 2 years ago: illegal, this year: mandatory. Next year, they'll probaly be illegal again when someone realises that they didn't have solar panels in the 14th century.

Such are some of the woes when anarchy runs into the realities rightly or wrongly but in any case usually imposed by a pluralistic society.

Would you trade more freedom for not getting flown out in an emergency ? How do all those emergency services get financed ? Pretty expensive I bet. Just wonderin'.

Maybe emergency egress capability will be discontinued when it's discovered helicopters weren't around in the 14th century.

[Robinhood-46]

I should think that your allright for a few years. If someone does point out that they don't think there were solar panels in the 14th century,it will take years of pen pushing and research to estabish if its true or not.