Crossy

But that doesn't matter right now!!

Ditto ^^^ It sounds absolutely ghastly!

You have to click the "send" button on the page that says they will send you a code. Check your Spam folder if you don't see the code. Then fill in the code and click "verify code". Caught me the first time. EDIT

Nah, it's gravel, we like the au-naturelle grass-up-the-middle jungle style, it matches the rest of the garden. Once it's dried out a bit, we'll dump another couple of truck loads on to freshen it up ????

Meanwhile, the general level around Bangkok is dropping, slowly but it is dropping. This morning's high at Pak Kret. We now have mud, lots of mud, and rather less water although there are high tides due later this week. Also, many of Madam's koi have been captured and returned to their pond.

Watch the validity of your Tourist Visa. You must use it before the "Enter Before" date on the visa sticker or it becomes invalid.

The river level is definitely dropping here in northern BKK, slowly, but it is dropping. We now have lots of mud rather than lots of water! Of course, there are high tides later this week!!

So long as they are DC rated for the total string voltage and correctly wired they are 100% fine in your combiner box. Many include individual fuses for each parallel string and use an MCB as an overall isolator.

Could this be the place, run by Kevin O'Connor https://www.carkolor.com/home ???? Location, phone etc. on the "Visit Us" page.

I would just use simple mild steel strip from your local steel chap. It comes in 6m lengths but most places will cut it for you. Drill your holes then clean and degrease before prime and paint or, as above, get it powder coated. Unless it's out in the weather corrosion won't be an issue.

If you want backup power then your original idea will do the trick. If your inverter has no grid connection at all then using an ATS as you describe is the way to go, installing an ATS does not require any approval from PEA etc. and if done correctly you can never (try to) power the grid from your inverter. Many "off grid" inverters do have a mains input so they can charge the batteries or power the load from the mains if there's no sun and the batteries are dead. These units cannot export. To the outside world they look like a battery charger, again perfectly legal to install. There is an advantage with going this way as the inverter itself provides the ATS facility. On grid-tie inverters. I've never come across a domestic grid-tie inverter that does not implement island-protection to prevent back-feeding into a dead grid. It's easy enough to verify that your unit behaves as expected. Connect your inverter (with panels of course) to an outlet via a power strip and plug a small lamp into another outlet on the power strip. Pull the plug from the wall outlet. The lamp should extinguish. Easy ????

Always a point of concern. All commercial single-phase ATSs are 2-pole and switch the neutral. Three-phase is another animal altogether, an open neutral on a live system is very bad news. EDIT This is from the manual of a commercial ATS system. The incoming supply is TNC-S with MEN, standard Thai installation, the N-E bond is at the mains incoming breaker. So, when on mains there's no issue. The genset has no N-E link, it's a baby (6kVA) beast. So, on genset we have an IT (floating) system, it actually wouldn't be a major job to add a N-E link at the genset and make it TT. Adding that to my list, although it's been operating for 10 years wired as IT. The inverter is possibly more, er, "interesting". The mains inlet comes directly from the incoming mains supply (after our under/over voltage device) so in normal operation the neutral is bonded. When in EPS mode it's unclear what it does with the outgoing neutral so I'm assuming it to makes an IT supply. The inverter is a transformerless, high-frequency type so I'm loathe to start adding earths anywhere that's not specifically intended to be grounded. From the inverter manual, I see an RCD on the EPS output so there should be a neutral ground somewhere. I just did a test with my patented RCD tester (2W lamp on test probes). Running on mains. RCD trips when lamp connected L-E = PASS. Running on inverter (incoming mains isolator open meaning incoming N-E bond is still in place). RCD trips when lamp connected L-E = PASS. So, whilst I'm not totally sure how the inverter handles the N when in EPS mode, I do know that any RCD protection connected to that output functions as expected.

Contactors are not inexpensive and the accessories (like mechanical interlocks) can be difficult to come by locally. In fact, I wasn't going to build this unit until I came across this item on Lazada https://www.lazada.co.th/products/i3007531853-s11043074833.html That's a 3-phase "reversing" contactor, but it actually consists of two normal contactors plus a mechanical interlock. At 450 Baht it's an absolute steal, so I bought two, giving me the required 2 mechanical interlocks plus a spare contactor for under a grand! Result! At time of writing there is still stock, so if you're thinking of doing this get in there quick ???? It all just clips together so re-configuring to a group of 3 contactors plus 2 mechanical interlocks was a piece of cake. Clipping it all onto a DIN rail holds it together, although a couple of extra screws into the backplate is a wise addition. IMPORTANT NOTE: As designed, the mains contactor is the one in the centre, ensuring that if it is energised the other two cannot operate. If you re-configure the logic I would ensure that the mains contactor is still the centre one for maximum safety.

It's been a while since we had a thread from Crossy Labs. So here we go with something to make the little grey-cells work. I put this unit together to meet a specific need but the basic design could be adjusted for different scenarios. This design uses relay-logic and commercial timers and under/over units so there's no software to worry about. When developing any kind of transfer switch it is imperative that :- The mains and either of the other inputs cannot be connected to the load at the same time (not good for the inverter or genset). It is vital that it is impossible for the inverter or genset to back-feed into a dead grid (to protect the chaps trying to get your power back on). The contactors used are good for 40A continuous current, this should be adequate for a 15/45 supply if you move your big loads (water heaters) to the non-controlled side of the switch and only run your domestic loads via the switch. Other than cost there's no reason that bigger contactors with the same contact arrangements cannot be used. The contactors are electrically interlocked so that, if the mains is on (and within the required voltage range) neither of the other two contactors can be energised thus isolating the inverter and genset from the load. As a "just in case" backup the contactors are also mechanically interlocked with the same requirement. The mechanical interlock is there as a final safety function (should a relay get stuck or similar), in normal operation it never comes into play. This transfer switch is intended to work with the EPS (Emergency Power Supply) output of our Sofar grid-tie hybrid inverter. The logic works like this:- Mains on = load powered by the mains (the grid-tie inverter is also operating). Mains off = load powered by the inverter EPS output (some loads are shed) Mains off + Inverter off (batteries flat or overload tripped) = load powered by the genset (shed loads are restored as the genset has a bit more oomph) To whet the appetite, here is a photo of the completed unit. And the circuit diagram. Note that there are a couple of differences between the diagram and the unit as implemented due to the topography of our distribution boards. The original TinyCAD file should you want to fiddle with it. 3-way transfer switch for AN a.dsn If that's not scared you off then more details are coming in the following posts.

An epic struggle was captured by our CCTV starring a Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), which figures as it was about 8PM. He spent a full 10 minutes failing to swallow his catch before being spotted by the dogs and flying off (catch still in beak). My Movie.mp4

There's not really much of note going on, level goes up and down with the tide. Not really much overall movement, hoping for a general decrease before the big tides at the end of the month. Madam notes that there were some issues up in Ang Thong when some annoyed villagers who have been flooded for a while decided to share their water with the adjacent village who were (until then) safe behind their sandbags!

Could be an air or CO2 gun, some certainly pack enough punch to kill ????

For tiny systems many don't bother and just DIY. Just ensure that you never go into net-export and that the meter man doesn't see the meter going backwards (assuming you have a conventional disc type meter, electronic meters are a different animal).

If you post on the Thai Biodiversity Facebore group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thai.species.id with location details they will ID for you. Usually, a very rapid response ???? If you don't use FaceBook I'll post the photos if you can give a more precise location.

Generic "Sports Equipment" (HS Code 9506.99.0000) should be 10% duty plus 7% VAT on the declared CIF value. So about $19 if we take $104 as the CIF. Then of course DHL have their fees to add on. The problem is, of course, they have the money so there's really no reason (by their thinking) to actually do anything about giving some of it back. How much is your time worth?

The use of AC rated MCBs on DC circuits has been discussed a few times, but what about mis-wiring of DC MCBs? Check those polarity and direction markings. It matters!

I would certainly clean up any splintered ends with a nice sharp saw. Madam has some mysterious stuff she paints on the cut ends which apparently prevents fungus. I'll try and find out what it is.

I suggest you start a separate thread to discuss this situation. But generally, what you are proposing will work just fine.

Antennas (and associated electronics) of some kind, possibly 5G.