Living offgrid with small solar system(s)

[Naam]

my wife just came to my TV room and read (internet on big screen).

her comment: "your Sony uses 208 watts, your Samsung used 320 watts!"

then she asked: "@lobotomy?"

i answered: "no, just @Kaaskoop."

[Muhendis]

One of several options, the charger goes between the + of the battery and the cold (non-battery) end of the shunt.

Great graphics there Crossy. How did you do that? But my goodness the current is flowing the wrong way. Is it like cyclones/hurricanes that go the other way North of the equator?

Seriously though, has conventional current from pos to neg become popular again after 100 years or so?

Jingjoe There is a problem with the current flow indication. The device is bidirectional so the arrows should be pointing in all directions........

Thanks M there's more to it than meets the eye, I took a too-quick sleepy look sorry, and I reckon you know your stuff anyway.

You didnt say anything about the graphics/art programme?

Nah! Crossy crib'd it from the web site

[Muhendis]

my wife just came to my TV room and read (internet on big screen).

her comment: "your Sony uses 208 watts, your Samsung used 320 watts!"

then she asked: "@lobotomy?"

i answered: "no, just @Kaaskoop."

Maybe your wife more cleaver than you?

[Muhendis]

It is my considered opinion that the calculated load of 1.3kW or 930 Watts (whichever) is not the true load I suspect the aircon spent quite a lot of time not running having achieved the target target temperature. You need to get one of those amp hour meters to see what is really happening or maybe connect your computer to the inverter to do a bit of data logging if that's possible.

are you joking? none of my systems can power an aircon!

breakdown of the load:

1 TV 70"

1 PC with 3 monitors

1 PC with 1 monitor

1 pair of active speakers

1 transformer 220>110V for these speakers

2 satellite receivers

1 audio system (amplifier only)

1 media player

3 modem/routers

2 desk lamps

i could have reduced the load as i don't watch TV and use my PC at the same time. but i wanted to test the worst load case scenario.

1 pair of active speakers? + mia but she takes mega watts perhaps

[George Harmony]

@naam,

Put this on your bigscreen so your wife can read this most intellegent advice to any farang in thailand:

"i would never invest in a house with indoor swimming pool in THAILAND the way you did, assuming that you have paid for it.....hahahahaha

Now on topic. Bought more panels, not install yet. Anyone have experience with solar tracking, no motor and no electronics?

[Naam]

Maybe your wife more cleaver than you?

only our cook uses a cleaver

[Naam]

@naam,

Put this on your bigscreen so your wife can read this most intellegent advice to any farang in thailand:

"i would never invest in a house with indoor swimming pool in THAILAND the way you did, assuming that you have paid for it.....hahahahaha

please be informed that we never considered any house we owned, especially not those we designed, an investment.

only poor people think of an investment when it concerns the roof over their heads and the walls around them.

[IMHO]

@naam,

Put this on your bigscreen so your wife can read this most intellegent advice to any farang in thailand:

"i would never invest in a house with indoor swimming pool in THAILAND the way you did, assuming that you have paid for it.....hahahahaha

please be informed that we never considered any house we owned, especially not those we designed, an investment.

only poor people think of an investment when it concerns the roof over their heads and the walls around them.

Or very young people, who are hoping the current roof over their heads isn't their last

Once you've decided a house is likely to be your last, or just never sold, who cares about anything else other than it being just the way you want it?

[Crossy]

Nah! Crossy crib'd it from the web site

Actually I linked to it, no cribbing or plagarism.

[img=http://www.keepandshare.com/userpics/k/e/v/i/n2009/2013-01/sb/vam120xa_discharge_01-50825908.jpg]

But it would have been easy enough to knock up in Visio

And seriously, the bickering will cease forthwith or this interesting and useful thread will have to be closed.

By the way, I've ordered a couple of those power monitors, thanks for the link

[IMHO]

Naam; 320 Watts, that's a lot of power for a LED TV or is it plasma? But then again that's a BIG TV and I reckon Plasma un-popularity now might not stretch to that size anyhow. Just out of curiosity what brand/model please so I can keep up with the latest? Happy with the definition?

320 Watts max. is pretty normal for a 70" LED backlit LCD. You need to bear in mind that better quality TV's will have 35-100watts of audio amplifier in them, and enough CPU power to run apps like Netflix in 4K, support HEVC decoding and HDCP decryption too. Of course the power rating is only achieved with full backlighting, full volume, running an app, and heavy image processing (high frame rate scaling etc) all at the same time. Nominal loads are much lass than the sticker max.

Edited April 27, 2016 by IMHO

[Naam]

Sony KDL-70W850B
69.5” (diag) W850B Premium LED HDTV

208W

[George Harmony]

If living offgrid, even ongrid, i find the attached 105usd tv projector a better INVESTMENT than a 124k bht led tv with a small 70inch screen.

Nevertheless @naam, please give your opinion of the pump posted on youtube by that thai guy. Will such a dc pump give enough pressure for a good shower, also for you, when pumping from a 6m well to a shower 8m further on ground floor using 1.5inch pvc pipes. We know that 6-7amp were coming in during demonstration so you have to estimate from what u see on that vid.

[Muhendis]

Someone mentioned PV tracking without motors. Initially My thoughts went in the direction of Heath Robinson but then I had a look on the internet and found these ideas.

http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Solar_tracking

[IMHO]

A few years ago I was at an EGAT R&D centre where they showed me a completely passive tracking system based on solar heated water moving between baffles/tanks. I really wish I had paid more attention - perhaps Google can find something similar?

[Muhendis]

A few years ago I was at an EGAT R&D centre where they showed me a completely passive tracking system based on solar heated water moving between baffles/tanks. I really wish I had paid more attention - perhaps Google can find something similar?

Yep they certainly can. Take a look at the link in my last post.

[Gary A]

My wife has a lot of trash trees on her 60 plus rai. She gives some of the trees to the charcoal makers. In return they give her some of the charcoal. That's a lot simpler than trying to use solar for cooking.

[George Harmony]

Thanks @Muhendis.

I try later the simple tracking system with sand or water-weights. I know where the sun comes up and where it goes down. The panels can move accordingly just with weights, like an eggtimer with sand. Most simple solution.

[George Harmony]

My wife has a lot of trash trees on her 60 plus rai. She gives some of the trees to the charcoal makers. In return they give her some of the charcoal. That's a lot simpler than trying to use solar for cooking.

60 rai??? Wow.... systems and I just want to show you an example of a tiny pump like mine which he operates with 20Wp panel.

Think this tiny setup is not suitable for 60 rai though ....hehehehe

[Naam]

batteries and prices

our Mercedes CLS, three years old. battery warning flashes on screen. replacement battery 80ah = 12,400 Baht

[Muhendis]

batteries and prices

our Mercedes CLS, three years old. battery warning flashes on screen. replacement battery 80ah = 12,400 Baht

You have my sympathies. There was once a time when a battery would be good for at least 10 years. Batteries seem to be made like a highly strung thoroughbred rather than the good dray horse these days. They outlive their guarantee then they die.

[Naam]

If living offgrid, even ongrid, i find the attached 105usd tv projector a better INVESTMENT than a 124k bht led tv with a small 70inch screen.

Nevertheless @naam, please give your opinion of the pump posted on youtube by that thai guy. Will such a dc pump give enough pressure for a good shower, also for you, when pumping from a 6m well to a shower 8m further on ground floor using 1.5inch pvc pipes. We know that 6-7amp were coming in during demonstration so you have to estimate from what u see on that vid.

-a TV is not an investment,

-the resolution of a $105 projector is ,

-i cannot judge a pump watching a youtube clip.

-for a good shower i need 2.5 bar/36psi.

[Naam]

batteries and prices

our Mercedes CLS, three years old. battery warning flashes on screen. replacement battery 80ah = 12,400 Baht

correction: price is not 12,400 but 14,200

[George Harmony]

Don't be silly N@@m.

George will be sitting next to it pedaling away on his bicycle generator whilst enjoying a beer or two.

You know what these dutch are like about bikes.

or perhaps he uses his electric drill to power the pump?

Just tested the submersible pump directly connected to a 20wp panel. Did not use proper hose and did not tied it up. Lost a lot of pressure ofcourse, but satisfied after pumping 3m+ high.

So, soon the wet wall with natural tiles for decoration will come soon, water circulates with this pump also for some hydroponics

[Crossy]

George, did you measure the flow rate at 3m head?

Use a clock and a bucket.

[George Harmony]

Half hour ago, here about 15.45 hours , I did the test again. Once more, i saw bubles in the big bucket with water (water source) so it was leaking pressure.

I catch the water in a empty paint bucket of 5kg...is it 5 liter???? about 50 seconds.

The specs of the supplier in Indonesian:

Bekerja pada tegangan 6-15V, Max 18V

Tegangan rata-rata: 12V
Arus 1,2 ampere
Sumber daya minimal 1,5 ampere, agar pompa dapat bekerja maksimal walau pun yang terpakai adalah 1,2 ampere.
Mampu mengangkat air hingga 5 meter atau lebih (semakin tinggi tegangan, semakin tinggi air terangkat)
Debit maximum: 840 liter/jam atau = 14 liter per menit (untuk aliran horizontal, untuk aliran vertikal debit tergantung pada ketinggian air yang akan diangkat)

Tomorrow I will test properly also with 50wp panel.

Here is a demonstration vid of a guy in Indonesia who sell such pumps. He demonstrate as a well pump with 100Wp panel.

Dont understand why he choose a rather dirty environment for a promotion video ....hehehehe

[George Harmony]

batteries and prices

our Mercedes CLS, three years old. battery warning flashes on screen. replacement battery 80ah = 12,400 Baht

correction: price is not 12,400 but 14,200

This oldtimer do not have a battery which i will try next year to change the engine with an electric one and solar panel(s) on the roof.

As you can see @naam, im not a "kaaskop" although i have lived 90% of my life in Europe. Back to the roots now with this 1971 old timer and tiny pumps , yeah

[IMHO]

-a TV is not an investment,

-the resolution of a $105 projector is ,

No kidding

I started out with a ~60K Baht 1080P DLP projector about 18 months ago. After upgrading 2 of my flat panels to 4K sets, my resolution snobbiness got the better of me and I spent 300K upgrading to a 4K projector. I couldn't go back to the 60K Baht one now, let alone a 3.5K Baht one

[Crossy]

Half hour ago, here about 15.45 hours , I did the test again. Once more, i saw bubles in the big bucket with water (water source) so it was leaking pressure.

I catch the water in a empty paint bucket of 5kg...is it 5 liter???? about 50 seconds.

Assuming your container is 5 Litre then 5L in 50 seconds is 6 L / min = 360 L /hr @ 3m head.

Be interesting how it performs with the bigger panel, do measure voltage and current as well as the throughput.

[Naam]

batteries and prices

our Mercedes CLS, three years old. battery warning flashes on screen. replacement battery 80ah = 12,400 Baht

You have my sympathies. There was once a time when a battery would be good for at least 10 years. Batteries seem to be made like a highly strung thoroughbred rather than the good dray horse these days. They outlive their guarantee then they die.

Porsche 928 bought 1978, sold 1989 with original battery.

wife's Thunderbird bought 1996, shipped from Florida to Germany in 2004, new battery 2008.

[George Harmony]

Talking abt batteries. I just read this abt powerbanks:

if you are using a 5000 mAh power bank and use it regularly, 500 charge cycles will bring down its capacity to about 4000 mAh.

Another 500 cycles will bring down capacity to 3000mAh or not?????

http://phoneradar.com/understanding-power-banks-charge-capacity/