Pogust

I been running on SRNE 12 kw 3 phase inverter for a year now with minor problems. With the latest thunderstorm it got hit through the incoming AC lines and shut down. It still works off grid if I cut out the AC connection and only run on batteries. That could work during dry sunny season but not so good in rainy season. When they no longer sell this inverter it obviously been problems with it. So need a new inverter soon. I'm thinking of DEYE 15 or 20 kw. The reason for the 20 kw is to get more amps from batteries on each phase without inverter switching to grid or shutting down as the old SRNE sometimes did. I have 12 kw of panels. Missus sometimes use too much amps in the kitchen and together with water heaters it gets above 7 amps on some phase. Anyone see a problem with oversize inverter? Another question that I think was up here earlier regarding DEYE, to connect everything to the backup load connection instead of the using the CT to avoid feeding back to grid. This is how old inverter is connected and that would be easiest to do as cables are already in place. Appreciate your Thoughts.

Have a look at Grundfos. I'm using one for 3 houses and set the pressure between 2,5 and 3,5 bar. There are tables on their global site with pressure and flow charts for the pumps. An old house with glued blue pipes might not handle too high pressure. Pipes do but glued connections might not. They are not cheap, but you get what you pay for. I got a 3 stage pump that holds flow and pressure in all points. https://product-selection.grundfos.com/categories/pumps/end-suction-close-coupled-multistage?tab=categories

Nah, just paint it with latex paint a few times until you get the surface you want. That's what I did and works fine. No need to complicate things...

Hydrogen is made from nat gas and coal. Only a few % from electrolysis. It's not "clean" in any way. The production produces lots of CO2.

If you really want it to last, use Jotun coal tar epoxy as primer and polyurethane as topcoat. But it's rather nasty stuff to work with, you will never get it off anything it touches... That's used for boats and offshore rigs etc.

Yes it makes sense here in Thailand with plenty of sun. Further north not so much. But the solar panels and required equipment is only available through use of fossil fuel like coal and diesel. The global increase in energy from solar and windmills is less than the total increase in energy consumption. Wind and solar is around 3% of total consumption. More data here: https://ourfiniteworld.com/2025/07/14/worrying-indications-in-recently-updated-world-energy-data/

Had a similar experience lately. The inverter suddenly stopped connecting to the batteries. Didn't start a firework though as it was the terminal connecting the DC fuse to batteries that the producer forgot to tighten properly. Now I should have checked the other side of the fuse when I connected to the battery side I guess... Interesting on overtightening Muhendis, I'm always careful on AC connections as the frequency can create vibrations and cause the bolts to come loose. Different on DC it seems.

Tried this a few years ago. Didn't work. I think it's too hot here for comfrey. Or I made some other mistake. They faded away. Buy some and try, but don't count on it working.

The problem with all those small operators is to keep the 50 hertz stable. Without large suppliers like nuclear that has a large "swing mass" there will be problems coming again. A 3 phase system can easily shortcut itself if out of sync. The more small suppliers that connects to the grid, the more of those system failures we will see.

Yes it works, assuming a "village electrician" sometime in the future don't tries to fix a fault in the house and fiddle with something he doesn't understand. Apart from the cost of extra ATS I don't see any meaning in making it more complicated than necessary. The ATS in the old house will do the job to connect to grid if inverter fails. Most of the time when batteries are drained or there is more amps drawn than inverter can handle, the built in switch in inverter will connect to grid without ATS involved. I just like the idea of KISS....

Yes but what if the houses are connected to different phases on the grid? I can see possible problems there with a thai village electrician.. Now there is no problem running DC cables between the houses instead and have inverter in the new house. I have panels and inverter/batteries in different houses. I would keep it as simple and easy understanding as possible with one connection to grid.

Last batch I made was from 80% cocoa and 20% sugar. It turned out quite tasty. I do use a little cacao butter I buy to start with in the melanger (stone grinder) otherwise it is difficult to grind the beans. Once I get started there will be enough liquid from the fat in the beans and I can gradually ad more fine ground beans to the melanger. If I make milk chocolate there will be sweetness from the milk powder and I can reduce sugar to 15% for a dark chocolate.

I did something similar half a year ago and now running on almost only solar for 3 houses. Pays max 200 bht per month. I would suggest you make sure the cable area on the overhead line to the old house is enough to feed both houses if needed. You should connect to grid that way and cut down the new connection. You can only have one connection to the grid from inverter. An ATS is highly recommended. Don't be too stingy om battery bank. If you draw down the batteries every night to their limit it would reduce their lifespan. Just my thoughts..

When this happens I ask Wife to phone Flash and ask where it is. They usually deliver the next day. I think tracking number change when parcel arrive in Thailand, not same as Aliexpress number.

Some years ago I planted a number of cocoa trees. Most for fun, why not when I'm in a tropical climate suitable for cocoa. They grow were well and are now producing fruits. So next step was to read up on chocolate production. And buying necessary equipment to make chocolate myself. I have now made 40 batches of around 2 kg each and starting to get the feeling for it. Fermenting and drying the beans was the challenge in the beginning when I didn't have so large batches of beans. It was a test for fun, but as the production now exceeds my consumption by far there might be an opportunity for Wife to start a small business. We have given away most to friends, but increasing prices of cocoa butter make it difficult to continue without some money back. Cocoa butter was 400 bht per kg a year ago, now it's almost 2000. We could supply chocolate of various cocoa and sugar content to interested persons in small amounts. For batches of 2 + kg we can do them to order regarding % of cocoa and sugar or other ingredients. Not much profit in it mostly for fun. It takes around 5 hours work to produce a batch from beans to bar. Let me know if someone is interested. Cocoa fruits

Phosphoric acid is commonly used to dissolve lime scale. Available on Lazada. Dilute to 10-20%. Good in bathroom if you have that problem.

A bit late reply I'm afraid but didn't look in here earlier. I installed 12 kw of panels and a SRNE hybrid 3 phase inverter 3 months ago. Together with 42 kwh of batteries. I have all 3 phase in 3 houses. Tried different setups. First with totally off grid and a ATS to connect to grid if needed. That wasn't so good as it is a manual switch and generate a short cut off that cause problems to some electronics like routers. So set it up with inverter direct connecting to grid instead and switch when over the 4 kw each phase allows. Now I don't see the switch over any more. When I have 2 kw storage water heaters it seldom triggers the switch. Happened at Christmas when plenty of cooking, and sometimes when using welders but that's only short time. For the last months the PEA bill was about 90 bht. So I don't really see a need for 3 inverters unless heavy long time use. A few hours of connecting to PEA for backup gets a lot cheaper than 2 extra inverters. And the less complexity in the system, the safer it is.... Just my thoughts about it...

Fruit fly problem. I have it too. You can try traps but need the proper pheromone to lure the flies in them. I catch lots of mango flies with them. https://www.lazada.co.th/products/fly-reusable-traps-fruit-fly-traps-fly-catcher-outdoor-i4800957482-s19843284860.html https://www.lazada.co.th/products/codin-stock10-orchard-drosophila-i5013035860-s21186981524.html

Those are melipona stingless bees. You can't put them in a hive for european bees. They need small hives that you easily can make yourself. Look here for info: https://www.landuum.com/en/the-lab/the-melipona-bees/ https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Meliponiculture%3A-Stingless-Bee-Beekeeping-In-Chuttong-Chanbang/ed20a04e65532b5c61afd69e55f88facfffe699a Could be a good way to get pollination here. Not so much honey from them though. You can divide them similar to other bees and get more colonies once you have one strong to start from, if you want honey from them. It also depends on local flora. They need flowers producing nectar, otherwise you have to feed them some sugar so they don't starve during dry season. I will try a couple of colonies myself, thank you for pointing to the seller! You can find hives here too https://shopee.co.th/กล่องชันโรง-ขนาด-A4-กล่องผึ้งชันโรง-ชันโรง-ผึ้งจิ๋ว-ชันโรง-ผึ้งชันโรง-กล่อง-กล่องชันโรง-ผึ้งจิ๋ว-i.41337900.14496362178?sp_atk=f5ada149-e63e-49ca-8da7-a3b6d72d6f90&xptdk=f5ada149-e63e-49ca-8da7-a3b6d72d6f90

Well, if you are going keep bees you have some learning to do. I'm an ex commercial beekeeper and can probably give some advise. Firstly what bees do you plan to have? The asian bee apis serana or european bees apis mellifera? Big difference in how you treat them. Asian bees are more difficult but will survive better. Do you want to keep them for honey or pollination? The flow hive is not a magic solution to beekeeping. It will gum up fairly quick due to propolis bees use seal all cracks in their hive. It probably works for a short time only. If you use apis mellifera you will have to treat regularly with chemicals to keep them alive. The varroa mite will kill them off otherwise. Can you post a link to the site where bees are for sale? I'm thinking myself of getting a couple of hives for pollination purpose. But use normal hives that I can manage without problems. Will build the hives myself from available wood. Happy to help you get started, bit be prepared to read up on beekeeping....

Ants farm the mealybugs. They suck up the sweet excrement they produce. So keeping ants away helps. Soapy water is another tried method.

Try detergent, it will block the breathing tubes and suffocate them. I use 1 dl of liquid dish wash detergent for 20 liter water. It takes away the surface tension in water and allow the water to penetrate the tracheae. I also use wood vinegar, charcoal distillate mixed in.

Just make sure you buy 15 or 20 cell battery packs! And buy 2 of them as the trimmer with cord will need plenty of power. Like this one, not saying it's good just to show what batteries you need. https://h5.lazada.co.th/products/tanzu-tz-lm-2000-8-bl-i5021553315-s21229442921.html? I found the makita battery fitting best as there are plenty of tools and batteries available. De Walt might have their own system where cheap batteries don't fit and you must buy the more expensive original.

I did find them on a mango tree daytime. A whole bunch of them on a new shoot. About 8 mm long bright shining blue with club antennas. Didn't get any useful picture as it was windy that day. I'm practising permaculture and use only manure, compost and plenty of mulch. The reason for sad looking trees is that those bugs eat away every new shoot so trees have only old leafs. The few mangos they haven't found (yet) are looking healthy. If I see them again and get a good picture I will post it.

Calopogonium mucunoides