Author Topic: The Listeroid Chronicles-WMO and Other Listeroid Modifications  (Read 289557 times)

EdDee

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 773
    • View Profile
Re: The Listeroid Chronicles-WMO and Other Listeroid Modifications
« Reply #660 on: September 06, 2018, 12:36:22 PM »
Hey Guys...

Sitting hunched and shivering over my laptop and a cuppa coffee in my fridge office... At my desk its 12.5C... I'm frucking fozen....

Weather is overcast, miserable and raining, I don't know how you buggers can handle the snow, sleet and slush... You can keep it!

Been playing with some demo software on the solar/inverter system for the past few days - ICC (Inverter Control Center) - Its basically a nice dashboard/front end with data logging facilities for the Axpert 5KVA unit I've got hooked up.. Runs on a RaspberryPi and seems pretty damn stable and usable! I think I'll save up a bit and stick some money their way, looks more than capable for what I need...

Interestingly, with the logger running, I have been able to plot my power harvest curves and make a couple of minor tweaks to both settings and installation, power becomes usable here at around 06h30 where the 4Kw array starts picking up some rays and gets about 200-500W flowing into the batteries. The batteries get out of bed at about 08h00 when they have a bit of juice in them and their voltage gets above the threshold I have set, allowing the inverter to come on and start doing some work... This continues through the day, running pretty much the entire place (if there's sun of course...unlike today when its miserable and shitty)... Peak solar I have measured over the past few days has been around 3Kw, enough to run the whole place, offices included, as well as the old power hungry dishwasher... I'm happy with that!

Evening power drops below self sustenance at around 16h00 and it starts being aided by the batteries, this continues on till around 17h30, then the system goes to sleep and we run on the grid... Time to start working on some decent lead acid battery making soon, I think...  But, there is one wee little thing I am planning on before I beef up the DC bottles... I am planning on one more solar string, wasn't sure whether I should make it a morning or evening string, but from the logging I have done, it looks like it will be an afternoon/evening facing string that will come out tops.... Anybody done this yet? Faced a string upwards at midday to see max yield and then horizon West in the evening to see potential capabilities from the same string? C'mon Glort, at least you should be able to gimme an answer!!

If I can extend another hour or so at a Pv output of about 1.2Kw out of the system, I think I will have met my goal!

Enough rambling...

Coffees' getting cold....

Cheers
Ed

PS - My new (old) toy has arrived... An old Landini tractor I am going to rebuild (not restore) and get running again, a largish one... Mechanically, most bits seem present, bodywork is best described as "15 000 rust holes moving in close formation"...

12/1 750RPM/9HP Roid 5kVA- WMO Disposal/Electricity & Hot Water Gen
12/1 650RPM/8HP Roid 4.5kVa - Demon Dino
Chinese Yanmar - Silent Runner with AutoStart
Classic Komatsu 1963 Dozer/Fergusson 35 Gold Belly ...
Bikes,Cars,Gunsmithing & Paintball...Oh yes, a 5Ha open air Workshop to play in!

EdDee

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 773
    • View Profile
Re: The Listeroid Chronicles-WMO and Other Listeroid Modifications
« Reply #661 on: September 06, 2018, 02:17:00 PM »
Hey Glort...

Thanx for coming back to me...

A bit of a "custom" setup I wanna do.... Then again, when have I ever been considered to be "conformist"...

I am happy with the 12 panels facing N at about 30o tilt from horizontal, they work well for the daily power... My power needs are most during the day, about 2kw ave draw (anything that can be bulk pumped, cooled, heated or stirred is on daytime timers to use the sun)... The next little hurdle I am looking at is the "everybody gets home after work" hump... It amounts to about 1.5kw draw total from 17h00 to 22h00 or so...well, no sun at night, so I am trying to scheme my way around getting the last bit of sunset yield, around 16h30 till 18h00 or so as the sun sinks away... I tried going onto www.pvwatts.com but my virus/malware scanner went bonkers, so I just backed out quietly....

The panels I am looking at putting in, in addition to my N facing ones, would be facing WNW approximately at about 20o from vertical/70 from horizontal... Latitude is around 33 deg S, so anybody who can give me a pointer as to what to expect power wise from 3x 335W panels from about 2 hours before sunset through to sunset would be a kind person indeed!...

Overall yield from the "evening panels" is not an issue, they would be purely for sunset harvest....

I wonder if there's any "prediction graph" from that site that would give me an idea of what to expect...?

Cheers
Ed
12/1 750RPM/9HP Roid 5kVA- WMO Disposal/Electricity & Hot Water Gen
12/1 650RPM/8HP Roid 4.5kVa - Demon Dino
Chinese Yanmar - Silent Runner with AutoStart
Classic Komatsu 1963 Dozer/Fergusson 35 Gold Belly ...
Bikes,Cars,Gunsmithing & Paintball...Oh yes, a 5Ha open air Workshop to play in!

EdDee

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 773
    • View Profile
Re: The Listeroid Chronicles-WMO and Other Listeroid Modifications
« Reply #662 on: September 06, 2018, 03:43:55 PM »
Thanx Glort,

Got onto the site and did some tinkering at various angles and bearings....

Yep, you're right.... The falloff is too steep to warrant the cost of the install.... Now, if I wound up the Lister every day at 5pm and hooked a spotlight shining onto a mirror, which reflects onto another which illuminates a string of panels..... Naah....would take too long to clean the mirrors each day.......

Lol
Ed
12/1 750RPM/9HP Roid 5kVA- WMO Disposal/Electricity & Hot Water Gen
12/1 650RPM/8HP Roid 4.5kVa - Demon Dino
Chinese Yanmar - Silent Runner with AutoStart
Classic Komatsu 1963 Dozer/Fergusson 35 Gold Belly ...
Bikes,Cars,Gunsmithing & Paintball...Oh yes, a 5Ha open air Workshop to play in!

EdDee

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 773
    • View Profile
Re: The Listeroid Chronicles-WMO and Other Listeroid Modifications
« Reply #663 on: September 21, 2018, 02:16:12 PM »
Hey guys....

Started working on SCFM a few nights ago... (Scary Candy Floss Machine)....

A small bowl, high G centrifuge... If my calcs are right, I should be able to get a max of around 40 000g out of a 95mm dia bowl... The bowl will be doing around 36 000 RPM at that G output....  The containment casing is good 10mm steel, capable of stopping a 9mm or even a 357mag round... I know, I tested it!

The separation forces on the bowl at flat out are about 12 000 Kg, the tensile strength of soft ali is about 20 000kg or so, so it should hold together ok, if not, it will simply make a loud bang and turn to gravel...

The working revs I will be targeting will be around the 18 000rpm mark or lower, sep forces will be about 3000kg, which I am a bit more comfortable with...

Interesting observation...12000 kg sep force at 36000 rpm.... that equates to my bulldozer traveling at 600 fps... well, not quite, but still scary!

At the 18000rpm mark, there is still 10 000g available to play with, even on this small bowl.... It should be quite "interesting"...

If all pans out ok, once I have seen the results of the tests, I will cast and machine up a larger ali bowl, around the 200mm diameter mark. Remember, g forces are proportional to increase in diameter and in square proportion to revs!

So much fun, so little time!!

Here are a few 1000 words to look at....

Keep it spinning...

Cheers
Ed
12/1 750RPM/9HP Roid 5kVA- WMO Disposal/Electricity & Hot Water Gen
12/1 650RPM/8HP Roid 4.5kVa - Demon Dino
Chinese Yanmar - Silent Runner with AutoStart
Classic Komatsu 1963 Dozer/Fergusson 35 Gold Belly ...
Bikes,Cars,Gunsmithing & Paintball...Oh yes, a 5Ha open air Workshop to play in!

EdDee

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 773
    • View Profile
Re: The Listeroid Chronicles-WMO and Other Listeroid Modifications
« Reply #664 on: September 21, 2018, 02:17:06 PM »
And a few more...
12/1 750RPM/9HP Roid 5kVA- WMO Disposal/Electricity & Hot Water Gen
12/1 650RPM/8HP Roid 4.5kVa - Demon Dino
Chinese Yanmar - Silent Runner with AutoStart
Classic Komatsu 1963 Dozer/Fergusson 35 Gold Belly ...
Bikes,Cars,Gunsmithing & Paintball...Oh yes, a 5Ha open air Workshop to play in!

mike90045

  • Mendocino Metro
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1594
  • Mmmm BBQ
    • View Profile
    • Mikes Solar PV page
Re: The Listeroid Chronicles-WMO and Other Listeroid Modifications
« Reply #665 on: September 22, 2018, 03:10:30 AM »
I would worry  (ok, I do worry) about a home cast, thick aluminum bowl having casting voids.  You can't magnaflux for that, how do you inspect for it ?

EdDee

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 773
    • View Profile
Re: The Listeroid Chronicles-WMO and Other Listeroid Modifications
« Reply #666 on: September 27, 2018, 10:08:06 PM »
Hey Guys...

And now, as per usual, something completely different and way off track....

As you might remember, I set up a small solar/pv/wind/bunchashite system a little while back....

Here is a temporary gateway into the monitoring and logging system that will give live feeds, I don't know(as per usual) if it will work, but give it a prod to see what's happening...


http://www.digipoint.co.za:85/emoncms/dashboard/view?id=12 for Simple View
http://www.digipoint.co.za:85/emoncms/dashboard/view?id=13 for Quick View
http://www.digipoint.co.za:85/emoncms/dashboard/view?id=14 for Lotsa Gauges
http://www.digipoint.co.za:85/emoncms/dashboard/view?id=15  for Graphs and Trends
http://www.digipoint.co.za:85/emoncms/dashboard/view?id=16  for Graphs and Gauges

I don't know how bandwidth will hold up, I don't know if you will be able to access it, I don't know whether ....etc, etc, etc.... But I do know it works on my internal network, hope you can see it too!

Be kind about the graphs and layout, its still a work in progress.... Ah, what the h3ll.... Give it to me straight, I think I can handle it!

Keep on shining...

Cheers
Ed
12/1 750RPM/9HP Roid 5kVA- WMO Disposal/Electricity & Hot Water Gen
12/1 650RPM/8HP Roid 4.5kVa - Demon Dino
Chinese Yanmar - Silent Runner with AutoStart
Classic Komatsu 1963 Dozer/Fergusson 35 Gold Belly ...
Bikes,Cars,Gunsmithing & Paintball...Oh yes, a 5Ha open air Workshop to play in!

mikenash

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 955
    • View Profile
Re: The Listeroid Chronicles-WMO and Other Listeroid Modifications
« Reply #667 on: September 27, 2018, 10:32:13 PM »
Ed, it works perfectly.

it's a work of art and a thing of beauty

If it opens OK with out steam-driven internet down here at the Bottom of the World - then it's probably visible everywhere

(Right now I would guess some National Energy Taxation Agency is searching for your street address . . . .)

EdDee

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 773
    • View Profile
Re: The Listeroid Chronicles-WMO and Other Listeroid Modifications
« Reply #668 on: September 27, 2018, 10:38:40 PM »
Thanx Mike!

Compliments graciously accepted!

One thing I can't understand though, is the lack of pv during the night.... The earth is round and turning, that's why there's day and night... The sun is always shining somewhere....why can't the panels just get it right?

Cheers
E
12/1 750RPM/9HP Roid 5kVA- WMO Disposal/Electricity & Hot Water Gen
12/1 650RPM/8HP Roid 4.5kVa - Demon Dino
Chinese Yanmar - Silent Runner with AutoStart
Classic Komatsu 1963 Dozer/Fergusson 35 Gold Belly ...
Bikes,Cars,Gunsmithing & Paintball...Oh yes, a 5Ha open air Workshop to play in!

broncodriver99

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 477
    • View Profile
Re: The Listeroid Chronicles-WMO and Other Listeroid Modifications
« Reply #669 on: September 28, 2018, 01:27:25 AM »
That is one slick setup. Nice work!

EdDee

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 773
    • View Profile
Re: The Listeroid Chronicles-WMO and Other Listeroid Modifications
« Reply #670 on: September 28, 2018, 08:38:18 AM »
Hey Guys,

The inverter I am using is an "AXPERT" 5kva - It is a glorified mains/solar input ups. Besides the regular solar stuff type connections, it has a serial as well as a usb port...

For logging, I am using a RaspberryPI 3B? (The bloody versions of those things confuse the sh!t out of me) ... It is the RPi with the built in wifi... A 16gb micro Card for O/S and data as well as a 16Gb USB for backup...

The software is all open source, SolPipLog for the data collector, and Emoncms for the database and dashboards... It was a bit tricky to set up, but well worth it in the end... (Even a lugnut like me managed to puzzle my way through it after a couple of hours...)

That's about it!

There is lots of invo and vids about setup and doing the "Dashboards" .... Have Fun!!

Cheers
Ed
12/1 750RPM/9HP Roid 5kVA- WMO Disposal/Electricity & Hot Water Gen
12/1 650RPM/8HP Roid 4.5kVa - Demon Dino
Chinese Yanmar - Silent Runner with AutoStart
Classic Komatsu 1963 Dozer/Fergusson 35 Gold Belly ...
Bikes,Cars,Gunsmithing & Paintball...Oh yes, a 5Ha open air Workshop to play in!

dax021

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 220
    • View Profile
Re: The Listeroid Chronicles-WMO and Other Listeroid Modifications
« Reply #671 on: September 28, 2018, 03:30:10 PM »
Hi Ed, if you haven't come across this site yet, it's worth a look. powerforum.co.za.  Lots of good stuff, but I suggest Glort refrains from this forum as it will drive him batshit.  Too much anal 'follow the leader" norms.  In saying this, I have learnt a shitload by wading through the relevant stuff.  I also run an Axpert, the 3Kva version though.  I think they're called PIP 4048 in Australia   

BruceM

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3054
    • View Profile
Re: The Listeroid Chronicles-WMO and Other Listeroid Modifications
« Reply #672 on: September 28, 2018, 06:15:30 PM »
Great data charting, Ed.  It points out one mystery-  what is the source of your 1000 watt baseline load 24/7?   It's so consistent it's baffling.

veggie

  • Keep Calm and Start the Lister !
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 843
    • View Profile
Re: The Listeroid Chronicles-WMO and Other Listeroid Modifications
« Reply #673 on: September 30, 2018, 02:23:14 AM »
what is the source of your 1000 watt baseline load 24/7?   It's so consistent it's baffling.

 Heated toilet seat !   ;D ;D ;D
- 6/1 GM90 Listeroid - Delco 33si Alternator
- Changfa R175 - Lease/Neville Alternator
- JiangDong R165 Air cooled - 2 kw
- Changfa S195 (Waiting for a project)

EdDee

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 773
    • View Profile
Re: The Listeroid Chronicles-WMO and Other Listeroid Modifications
« Reply #674 on: October 01, 2018, 10:52:26 AM »
@Dax: I am a member there....agreed, re the point of Glort not signing up.... What's the bet he does!! (Ok if he does, how long do you think it will take to become a "black sheep"....  :angel: )

@Bruce: Off the top off my head: 150W to 250W of vivarium heaters, 250 to 500W of servers+security+surveillance+pabx, Multiple, probably dozens of wall-cockroach cell chargers left plugged in and idling by the girls, 3xTV/Entertainment systems on idle, 2 fridges and a large chest freezer, one flatlet with multiple electronic gizmos and a fridge... To name but a few!! If it was just me, probably an idle wattage of around 200-400W.....MAX!

@Veggie: nope that baseline is the economized charge rate for that hidden sex automaton that's on permanent charge ... They're so easy to turn on too! (Pity I can't get it to turn into a beer and pizza at midnight though...)

@Glort: Interestingly, I am running my PIP4048 with the "AussieView" firmware patch....Works great too!

Cheers
ED
12/1 750RPM/9HP Roid 5kVA- WMO Disposal/Electricity & Hot Water Gen
12/1 650RPM/8HP Roid 4.5kVa - Demon Dino
Chinese Yanmar - Silent Runner with AutoStart
Classic Komatsu 1963 Dozer/Fergusson 35 Gold Belly ...
Bikes,Cars,Gunsmithing & Paintball...Oh yes, a 5Ha open air Workshop to play in!