Tom M's posts

sunwarm, you can mount them on the ground if you have that option, to make it easier..... or a hose with warm water might work.... or ajusting to a steeper winter angle (42 +15 ), if possible, so the snow slides off easier once the panels gets some radiation and warms up slightly.

Susi, if you have a storm door with a full glass panel, then open your inside door and let the sun shine in for free heat and light. So you are basically using passive solar.

Wyatt, best to reasearch some passive methods of solar for heating,(hot water and home heating), and cooling, or using DC pumps and motors(and lighting).
This will lower your electric demands greatly, so a system with some PV and batteries, that can be expanded over time, with a small backup generator, may be all you need.  

Omega, instead of trying to heat the water, which takes a lot of energy, all you have to do is keep the water moving. There are usually two methods that are used, a small motor with a paddle or a small air pump connected to a tube with holes to make air bubbles. Both these methods add just enough energy to the water to keep it moving and prevent it from freezing. Both these methods can be operated from a small PV and a battery if designed correctly.

Brain, supply and demand. Now that people are catching on, and most panels are going overseas, demand is increasing, thus bigger bucks for those who need it now!

beerme, it is a turbine that operates at a "low wind speed" (mph).

Bone Scavenger, how old are the batteries and what temperatures are they subjected to? Sounds like they are in a remote location and may not be subject to discharge to fully recharge......

best bet would be to install it in an insulated shed with all openings located on the side away from the house to direct the sound....a good muffler system can also be installed..

debcz9, if the inverter is still good and working fine, why not just deal with a blinking fridge light...if you leave the door open long enough the compressor will kick in and the light should stop pulsing...or use a higher wattage bulb to up the load......

Robert, if you have a 24 V panel why not just get a 24 V controller.....unless you only plan to use one battery....or use a resistor in line with the solar panel output using:

V = RI

...then try different size cranks (eg. ratio's 2:1...two turns of pump for every turn of windmill) to get the performance you want.(hint-use wooden or metal circles....crank length would be radius and can be changed easily)

....sounds like a switching problem in the inverter ..open it up and check and see if there is a fried relay in there somewhere....should be hooked up to the AC input and AC output wires and another set of switches for the AC to DC transformer......

bdellis, just do as the old westerners did, attach the windmill to a pump using a crank. A small cheap drill pump may do the trick. Have one crank arm on the windmill, 2-3 inches in diameter and a similar one on the shaft of the pump. Use a piece of steel rod to make the vertical connection.....or go solar and get a small dc motor used with a pv panel directly or incorporate a small battery.....

...you also mention that you have it set up for input to the inverter OR the panel...did your original setup have all three connected? gen-ac panel and inverter?....

Steve, does the generator have an AC output?... must be if you can put the generator current directly into your ac panel. Does the inverter take a DC current and convert it to AC? ....you may also want to check whatever device it is, on the inverter, that switches to send power to the ac panel, diverting power, and switches on the battery charger on the inverter once the required input limit is reached....

Rick ,..or you could go with solar hot water and install a  heat exchanger coil, that feeds off a solar storage tank, within your plenum, heading out into your ductwork....

Robert, you should just purchase some batteries and an inverter as you suggest....then, set up the equipment you have and use it as a dedicated system for your own personal use instead of trying to feed the grid. Then you can use all the 110 appliances you own from this dedicated system circuit and use all the 220 stuff you aquire or require with the grid connection...thus saving money on your elec. bill....

What is the actual power, (Watts), you are looking for to use with the 220V? The inverters must first cover this power. As with any home electric panel, power comes in at high amperage at 110/120 volts. To get a 220, a suitable double breaker is installed to two post of the incoming current and there are usually two ground or neutral leads coming from the appliance plug to reduce the wire size that connects to the neutral bus in the panel. So basically you are using two 110 volt supplies. Try purchasing one of these breakers and mount it in its own panel/box and use one of your inverters as the 110 supply, as from the street, as long as the power requirement is enough...... Then, though i am not sure, you can try hooking the positive of one inverter to one side of the breaker and the other to the other side and join all the neutrals. Seems if the two inverters are in phase it should work. Using only one 220 breaker in it's own box will reduce any risks of destroying your home panel...if anything crazy happens....  

Steve, what voltage is coming out of the generator?

Avocado, since this is a alternative energy forum, I too would have to say something along the lines of sunour and "stick it in the trash". Why not invest in a PV array for your vast field. It would be totally quiet....

Robert, you may also try looking into transformers that can change 110 to 220....

Tracy, sounds more like a question for the food network, but in my opinion, as an ex-chef, gas is the way to go, both for cooking and economy.....electric oven's temperatures usually vary since the heat source takes time to reach the desired temperature whereas a gas flame is pretty much constant. Gas broilers also give a more even heat over the food within the oven..

cycle, from the sound of your situation, I can't understand why you would want to tie into the grid, especially if the grid is not very reliable. Seems you would be better off getting a regular inverter and some batteries and keep the power you generater for yourself....

Kanaredorah, are the radiators for a steam system or have they been converted to hot water?....if they are steam, then it may be a challenge to try and use solar. If they have been converted, then solar can be used but high temperatures must be achieved..

solarman, what size are the pumps? 1 HP, 3/4 HP? One HP = 750 Watts, so times 12hr = 9000 Whr/day, times 2 = 18000 or 18 KWhr/day. If you are serious about using solar, to make it cost effective, you could change to DC  motors for the pumps and reduce your load. Or reduce the amount of time the pumps are used to lower demand, or use smaller pumps. Other wise you are talking 8hr sun/day x 150 watts/panel x 15 panels to get near the demand of 18KWhr/day plus batteries, controller and wiring......

Arshia, using ballast would work if you have flat roof. If your roof is pitched you definately need to secure the panels somehow. You shouldn't have to worry about penetrations if you use proper sealant in the holes made.....

.....or just mount your panels on the ground...instead of your roof ..

Scott, the best thing to do is set up the panels that you have and get yourself a couple or more deep cycle batteries. If you hook your panels up in parallel, assume 60  watt so, 12 Volts at 20 Amp or so, then you would need a battery charge controller rated for around 20-30 amp. Then you can use the batteries to operate 12 volt lights or get a small inverter and run lines from it to dedicated outlets in your home, tv or lights etc., to run off the batteries being recharged from the panels. Then you will be on your way to cheaper electric bills....

Goliath, there are actually many sites on the internet to which you can get reference diagrams in order to understand how to set up a system. You can also subscribe to some trade magazines that give info. on system setup and plenty of references. If you are in the UK, look up "refocus", a magazine from over there, or Solar Today, here in the states, or the ASES which has links to books for sale. Another way, actually the best, is to look directly at the product's specifications that you plan on implementing, whether it be controllers, PV, wind or other input sources. Once you have all the specifics, on what the product does and what loads it can handle, some basic electicity concepts are all that you need from there, with regards to proper wiring and what not. Simple systems are best, PV-battery-load, and once you start implementing various controllers of course things can get tricky. Learning what these controls can do will give you a greater understanding than any book trying to describe it will. Have you tried the "home power magazine" site? They have downloadable issues that contain many system setups.  

MK, you may be better off with a chemical toilet for your R V, normally used with a storage tank. Most RV stations or camp grounds should have a pump out for a fee or direct sewer connections on site depending on how long you stay. Composting would be a great idea but the main thing, as you said, is dumping the peat when needed, most people wouldn't understand what it is and would consider it dangerous or hazardous, and carrying or purchasing peat on the road may present problems..as far as how often you have to change the peat, of course that depends on usage...some toilets come with an electric dryer that extends the life of the peat.