Crossy

Orbiting solar was the next thing when I was an apprentice in the mid 70s, like fusion was going to be commercial within 30 years ... https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19770010746/downloads/19770010746.pdf

The worship of diesel generators (Onanism) can never end well! FactoryPureCummins Onan SD 7500 7.5kW Generator 7.5HDKAL-3 Commercia...Cummins Onan SD 7500 7.5kW Generator 7.5HDKAL-3 Commercial Mobile Diesel 3-Phase 120V/240V New. Authorized Dealer. Free shipping on generators. 2 year warranty.

5kg of Italian sausages, ground mixed, stuffed and linked. Being a lazy person I got ready made seasoning mix off Lazada. https://www.lazada.co.th/shop/k7bim60u Came out pretty well, from the testing I think I'd use a little more than the suggested 25g per kg of meat, but it's a matter of taste (and the flavour should mature as they dry in the fridge before freezing). This was my first try with collagen casings and I'm a convert, they don't stretch and link like natural casings (so out came the twine) but they're so much easier to use and fill. The casings I got say no need to soak, they just worked.

@kwak250 How many watts of panels do you have at present? How much room do you have for more panels? Which inverter do you have? You certainly need more panels before you need more battery, and panels are much more affordable. But you may need another charge controller or even inverter to get the best out of them.

25,000 BTU is going to use about 2.5kW when the compressor is running (is yours an inverter type?). The cheapest option would be that you could add 2-3kW (4-6 500W panels) of grid-tie solar to offset your daytime usage but it would need it's own 20A circuit back to your distribution board and should be the type that throttles so that you don't export to the grid. Once you start adding energy storage (batteries) things can get rather more costly. In engineering it's a well known principle that if you make something foolproof a better fool will be along tomorrow

Here we go, a quick and dirty illustration. For easy maths let's have a 20A wire and 20A breaker! Our 20A circuit is on the line in the first diagram. Add a 10A solar plug-in source (second diagram) we're still OK, highest current is 20A Add a third 10A load, we then get one section at 30A, the wire will be getting warm but there's no over-current protection in that branch. Then, coz nothing's gone pop yet we add another 10A load and another 10A plug-in solar!!! Our 20A wire at 40A is not going to be happy, and no breakers have operated.

The wires get hot no matter which way the amps are flowing The risk is when you get several high power loads AND a couple of fairly high-power solar things plugged in to the same branch. There's the possibility of overloading the wiring with the associated risk of conflagration but there's no over-current protection actually in the current path. People can (and will) keep plugging stuff in coz the breaker doesn't open! I'll try to do an illustative drawing.

There are literally dozens of small grid-tie micro-inverters on Lazada etc. Add a suitable panel or two and a bit of DIY and you're good to go. There are limits to using an outlet to feed into your house wiring. I wouldn't go over about 1500Watts and use a circuit that doesn't have any high-power appliances, so no plugging into the kitchen. It might be worth looking up the UK regs. regarding plug-in solar and sticking to something similar.

Update from the Pathum Thani area. Needed to top off the Ranger, two PTT stations had no diesel, the third limited to 500 Baht which actually took the tank as full as makes no odds. Got to get family from the airport this afternoon, so I suspect I'll be doing the rounds again to top off.

CCTV can be a legal minefield due to the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) B.E. 2562 (2019) if it's covering anything other than your own property. You can install CCTV on your own property for security (protecting your home, family, assets). This is usually treated as a “personal/domestic activity” exemption under the PDPA. So a camera covering your gate, driveway, or front yard is normally fine. If your camera faces the street, these principles apply: Legitimate purpose Must have a clear, reasonable purpose (e.g. security) Not for spying, harassment, or unnecessary surveillance Proportionality / minimisation You should avoid capturing more than necessary e.g. Angle the camera to focus on your gate, not the whole street Outward facing doorbell cameras are generally acceptable No unreasonable intrusion into privacy Thailand recognizes a general principle that filming others can infringe their personal space and rights Businesses must post CCTV notices under PDPA! For private homes: If purely domestic → usually no notice required If capturing public/others → posting a notice is recommended (and sometimes expected for compliance). Our cameras came with CCTV "Warning" notices, they are still in my desk draw.

Meanwhile, I just got back from our local PTT, Pathum Thani. Signs up on diesel pumps "waiting for delivery", they were only running one pump per island but no restriction on quantity.

Just remember what hippos do when threatened! Now that would be CCTV worth seeing! cheetah.mp4

I do admit that the cynic in me was wondering if this was a ploy to get us to complain so they could install an electronic meter, "sorry meter very old, you should have new". It does look like my fears were unfounded. That said, when (not if) they do install an electronic meter our usage will go from 3-4kWh per month to exactly zero! Not that I intend messing with them of course

We got our power bill at the usual time on the usual date (today). However, the amount was not usual!! By a factor of about 10. I checked the meter and took a photo. The "latest meter reading" on the bill wasn't the same as the meter, Mr MeterMan had fluffed up. Trotted down to the local PEA office, after an abortive start coz they've moved. Madam talked to the lady operating the queue-ticket machine, seemingly we didn't fit any of the labels so were ushered directly to a desk. Nice lady on the desk looked at the bill and my photo, took a copy of the photo and vanished out the back. Literally 5 minutes later she's back with an amended bill which I paid. No suggestion of a new reading or anything! Smiles and wais all around, the drive home took longer than the office visit!

Poll created, so if you have an opinion please voice it.