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Messages - carlb23

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1
Listeroid Engines / Re: QUIET Exhaust - Listeroid - HOW?
« on: October 27, 2019, 12:11:50 PM »
I took an old 20lb propane tank and cut a hole in the top and bottom.  I welded threaded pipe couplings to both ends and i run the exhaust into one end and out the other.  it acts like an accumulator and allows the release of exhaust gases more slowly.  behind that i have a 2.5"diameter  car muffler and the exhaust pipe goes outside from there.  Outside i transition to a 15" length of 4" pvc that is on the ground with a reducer at the other end back to 2".  You can't hear the exhaust 25 feet away at all.

2
General Discussion / Re: MIG Welder, what to look for?
« on: May 13, 2019, 01:34:46 PM »
i have a lincoln sp170t mig/wire feed welder that i have been using for the last 15 years or so.  Its a nice welder and has never given me a problem.

I recently attached a spool gun to do aluminum welding using argon gas.  I now use the Lincoln mainly as a wire feed machine for steel or spool gun for aluminum since i only keep i bottle of gas and it is argon.

For nicer welds i use a TIG welder.

3
General Discussion / Re: Unexpected panel problem.
« on: February 17, 2019, 11:30:24 AM »
we generate about 30mwh a year with our combined 22.5kw arrays.  We have about 4 to 5 mwh a year we sell back. we also get srec's for each mwh which we sell to the utility for about 250 dollars each

4
General Discussion / Re: Unexpected panel problem.
« on: February 16, 2019, 11:24:59 AM »

Must be a lot of force being generated in those winds.
Pitty the panels can't be made to rotate so they become a wind generator, might make more than the solar output at the right times, especially at night!   :laugh:

I had 5 Kw worth of panels on a ground mount last winter that just sat on 1" tube frames.  Never had a problem all winter, even with some I had just leaning against the bushes. Couple blew over a could of times but other than that, nothing.
I suppose the wind up high where it has a clear run si a lost stronger than across the ground. hence the reason to stick turbines up as high as they can get them.

Where are panels mounted is very open and we get some fierce winter winds that get under the back of the array, but with that much concrete and steel and being so deep in the ground its not going anywhere.  Its design spec is 150 mph.  by that time the house is gone already

5
General Discussion / Re: Unexpected panel problem.
« on: February 15, 2019, 12:55:52 PM »
my 11.5kw array is ground mounted on a tiltable frame.  Its 10' tall and 103' wide sitting on 7 schedule 40 posts each 9' in the ground with 1.5 yards of concrete in each 30" diameter hole.  they have withstood 80 mph winds and the wind gets under them pretty good since they are 5' off the ground.  This array has been on line for 9 years with no movement or problems.
the tiltable mounting was designed by TT solar in the US.

6
General Discussion / Re: snowed in, again
« on: January 20, 2019, 01:53:03 PM »

 Western Sydney forecast to hit 48 today, that`s going to need a lot of AC to cool down.

I can't see that anywhere but i hope not.
48 is the most I have ever been in in my life, Twice, and it's no fun.

Problem there is when it gets over about 35, most AC starts falling off it's curve pretty rapidly. So do solar panels well before that.

I have a hose on the back of the AC condenser with some garden water mist Nozzles that throw bit of a fog into the coils and cools the intake air.  Makes a HUGE difference to the exhaust air, goes from distinctly hot like a fan heater to quite warm but maybe 20o or more drop.
Allows the machine to do it's job and also not trip out on heat overload.  Nozzles use like .5L water an hour so well worth the benefit.

Nice and cool in here so far and haven't even touched the air.  Will warm up from now on as the sun hits the back of the house.  I'm definitely thinking of getting some shade cloth and clamping it to the gutter all along the exposed back of the house. I think that would make a very big difference to keeping the place cooler.

Of course Mrs would go into orbit about that like every other thing that upsets the look of the place despite the benefit.

I have done my bit for the wildlife this morning.  Got the birdbath I found in the over grown Bushes and put it right next to the grevillia all the native birds are at all day and I can watch from my window.
Might take them a bit to get used to it but if it gets warm enough i'm sure they will soon put their concerns aside for a splash and a drink.  Dad has one and refills it 4 times a day in the hot weather. they know where to find it and make the most of it so hopefully will do the same here.

I suspect in a few short years your  condenser coils will be covered in minerals from the water and become much less efficient  as the air flow becomes restricted and the coils are insulated from the mineral deposits. The coils will begin to corrode in the same time period.   I would not put city or well water over the condenser coils.

I just purchased a new heat pump condenser that i will be installing in april.  It a Bosch Bova 5 ton unit with a seer of 18.  its uses a fully modulating inverter driven Mitsubishi compressor and inverter board with bosch coding.  It only draws about 2 amps on startup and then ramps up via a 85 step program as needed based on load.  It can modulate anywhere from 25% to 110% of its 5 ton capacity. It doesn't use any complicated wiring to control the modulation it sets compressor output based or suction line temperature at the condenser.  it is designed for long low power consumption runs as opposed to a lot of start stops.  with a multi stage stat and variable  speed blower you can get as many or as little BTUs as needed based on outside temps. it can perform anywhere between 1.25 to 5.5 tons depending on load.

They also make a smaller 3 ton model.


I expect with its very soft start amp draw it will be very load friendly.

7
Everything else / Re: Diesel Conversion Project.
« on: August 09, 2018, 01:02:35 PM »
I have a honda frc 800.  beast of a machine runs great and is just a great tiller.

8
Everything else / Re: Changes to Energy Generation
« on: June 27, 2018, 12:59:55 PM »
I always wondered about people like Al Gore and Leo flying all around the world on their private jets to bitch about global warming and the dreaded fossil fuels. Dear Al lives in a huge mansion that eats electricity like candy and Leo is in another part of the world every week or on a diesel guzzling yacht . The Bull*hit "i buy carbon offsets" is just another way of them saying we are better than you and we can burn as much as we want because we are rich. Gore has made a lot of money off his hypocrisy. With today's technology there is no need to fly across the planet in a private jet to have a climate summit why not just teleconference?   
I doubt many of us poor peasants here have ever traveled on a private jet. just my 2 cents.

9
Original Lister Cs Engines / Re: Busy Shop This Winter
« on: March 05, 2018, 01:20:00 PM »
i am happy to say our son and daughter turned out just fine.  Our son is a network solutions engineer group leader for Comcast and our daughter is a Radiologist specializing in Cardiac sonographey and her husband is a Internal Medicine doctor.
I am however concerned for our grandchildren as it looks like parenting today is much harder then we raised our children. We have one granddaughter and one grandson.  Grandson number two is due this in 2 days.  Wife flying out to Olympia Washington tomorrow to be with our daughter for a few weeks to help out.

10
Everything else / Re: More panels!
« on: March 05, 2018, 12:31:55 PM »
Glort,

How many Kw of solar do you have now? 

11
Changfa Engines / Re: I Don't Know One of These From Another - Neat YouTube
« on: February 08, 2018, 10:05:28 PM »
I agree with Glort.   looks like a stock flywheel with a pressure plate mounted to it.  The clutch pedal does look to be in the correct position.

12
Changfa Engines / Re: I Don't Know One of These From Another - Neat YouTube
« on: February 06, 2018, 09:53:18 AM »
i hope he doesn't get a ticket for not having any headlights :police:

13
General Discussion / Re: The Trouble With String Invrters
« on: February 03, 2018, 01:10:35 PM »
Disconnect the new string from the inverter and check the open circuit voltage.  Should be around 44V per nominal 24V panel in series.  If it's  reading no volts, look for a bad connection.  Disconnect each panel's MC4 connectors and confirm open circuit voltage of 44V and short circuit current- I suggest using a meter with fused 20A DC current capability.  The short circuit current should be in the ballpark of your panel's specs or within 75% in full sun. 

That should give you a good idea of where the problem lies.

+1 on what bruce said

14
General Discussion / Re: The Trouble With String Invrters
« on: February 01, 2018, 10:15:57 AM »
Carlb23 knows his stuff but most of us already knew this.  Pulled the DC switch cover off the Sunny Boy 6000 US and there were the fuses.  This unit can support 4 strings and each string has it's own fuse.  Pulled the first one and continuity was there.  Pulled the second one and continuity was 0.  Pulled the third fuse and continuity was there so I swapped it out with the open fuse and a couple of minutes later both strings were producing.  Not a bad birthday present.  I haven't checked today so there's excitement in the air.

Another pleasant surprise was the fuses are $3 each on eBay - free delivery.

What confused me was I couldn't get any voltage reading off the strings? 

Thanks again to you all and I've applied to carlb23 Hawaii fan club.

Aloha

Thanks for the kind words.  If you are only using 2 strings then you already had two spare fuses.  You wont get any voltage off the strings in the dark  :D.   Did you check for voltage where the strings connect to the disconnect or where they go to the inverter? 

15
General Discussion / Re: The Trouble With String Invrters
« on: January 25, 2018, 11:31:13 AM »
once you open the disconnect everything past that is dead but  the string connections going to the disconnect are still hot. Don't forgot to open the ac disconnects as well.


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