Tom M's posts

David, you could change to propane and have a tank installed if you wanted to change from oil. But in reality, you pay the same per BTU no matter what fuel you purchase. It all comes down to being more efficient and reducing your usage if you want to save money. Think of passive gain for heat and lighting, closing off rooms at night, insulating drapes for windows and between rooms and of course solar hot water and hot air for heating and PV for lowering electrical demands.

Sam, if the epoxy doesn't hold. Since those panels have many tubes, you can just eliminate the tube that leaks. Just cut it and seal the end, either with a plug and hose clamp or melt it together, and then seal the opening for it at the header/s the same way, (you may be able to solder the header end/s closed). 

Sam, there are several ways to repair the panel if the manifold is copper. If the hole is large or blown out from freezing, you can cut out the problem and replace the tee and pipe using slip couplings. If the holes are just leaks or small pinholes, you can just clean the area very well down to the bare copper, then solder over the hole. (You can do this with large holes too if you can solder well.)
  If the rest of the unit is rubber or plastic, be sure to disconnect the manifold first, if possible, or cover it with a very wet rag to protect it from the heat from your torch. 
 Or lastly, clean the affected area and use some type of epoxy.
 

Travis, if the connectors don't match, and your a do it yourselfer, you could do it the old fashioned way. Cut off the connector and run the wires directly into the junction box. Or use your own wire, unless that too voids the warranty as James mentioned.
 To bad these manufacturers feel that way about using their connectors. Another way to get more money from the consumer, especially in a business that should be user friendly. 

Paul, this may sound crazy, but perhaps you can use the power of the river, if it is sufficient, to run a wheel that could drive a piston pump, to deliver the water. Something like a regular hand pump from a shallow well. Just like the idea of using windmills in the old west, and still today, for pumping

Yes, those alternators can produce large amounts of current but only at high voltages and very high RPM's....not at the 12 volts you operate at, and I am sure you don't reach up to the 1000's of RPM's needed...

Sarcasm will not make your product work any better....

I've been there...that's why I can see, just from the pictures, that there is no way that system can produce what you claim. Also, why are so many links on your site hardly ever working? And, I am not stating my facts from ignorance. And I am not affiliated with the Altenergy store. I am a Mechanical engineer working and dedicated to the renewable energy market and have thoughorly studied, designed and installed these technologies. We have not heard one iota of any of your credentials. Do you have any? If your product is what you claim it is, it should speak for itself, and it shouldn't need your constant defense on it's behalf. Be honest. 

hopefully not your reprodutive one...because we do not need promoters or products such as yours to insult the renewable energy field...

...your system...duh!

Troy, make sure you print out previous posts here to help you in your endeavor, especially those that include the math behind the fraud. Basically they show the amount of current needed to supply the power he claims and the wire and battery sizing required to transfer and store that power. These amounts do not match his design. We got him to stop replying after those posts because you can't deny or argue with the math if it is done correctly and this seems to be the only argument he won't continue.

Jeffery, before you invest in a large system, what I tell homeowners who want to reduce their electric bills associated with pool pumps is that first you should minimize usage. Determine how much water you pump can pump. Gal/min etc. Then figure out how many gallons there are in you pool. It should then be easy to see how long it would take to filter your pool twice. If it comes out to be less time than the time you run the pumps now, you might be able to reduce filtering time. Then you can add an appropriate sized timer (Watts) and filter the pool at night, when it is cooler, to make the pump run more efficiently.
 Filtering the pool while it is being used, especially with kids stiring it up, is usually the best time. Just turn the filter on manually while it is being used.
 After time notice your savings and usage and then you can probably purchase a smaller, move affordable PV system if you still choose to.

  Yes some of the older system's components did fail. I've seen fried controller boards, sensor wires, pumps etc. The control you mention that failed in the past is basically what you are purchasing now, the differential controller. Todays controllers are a lot better. And I've seen stuck check valves from system neglect. Proper maintenance will prevent that. There weren't too many system installers and service people back then, up until now, to do it, if you couldn't do it yourself.   
  Your original question was about power to the pump. The main reason I mentioned including a battery, along with a PV charge controller, (something like the Moriningstar, "Sunsaver" series), is to ensure that the pump has enough power to circulate the fluid. Especially on start up, when the system continually surges from rapidly cooling panels. The pump is drawing maximum power each time. Not having sufficient power could promote early wear and tear. As I mentioned, just use the wire coming from the positive load, off the charge controller to the pump, as the source of power you are switching with the differential controller.   
   Hopefully everything works out okay for you, just be careful with an open loop, especially in Northern NH. You could still use glycol as the agent going up to the panels. (I assume you have an external heat exchanger with a reservoir/drainback tank). It would help on freeze protection and cleaning of the lines and panels.

Since James figured I could help, I guess I will try. First you should have done a little homework before purchasing the PV powered pump with the system. I checked other sites for the cost of the March pump and they were pretty expensive compared to your regular Taco or Grunfos pumps. If you truly wanted to use PV to power the pump, you could have purchased a small battery and controller along with a small inverter and regular AC pump at pretty close to the cost of the March pump alone. Since you live in northern NH, a differential controller should be a must. It would have freeze circulation and other features to ensure your system would operate as efficient and safely as possible.
 You mentioned you are purchasing a diff. switch to run off the PV. You still may run into the same probem if the unit runs directly off the PV, where shading from clouds or whatnot could cause adverse effects on proper water circulation.
  I think the best thing for you to do is to incorporate a battery and charge controller into the system. Use the diff. switch to switch the load lines from the controller to the pump. Use the PV to charge the battery and then at least you will have enough power coming from the battery to operate the pump correctly and consistently as needed, instead of intermittent or fluctuating power from the PV alone.

Jeff, glad I could help. As far as charging by the Watt, It reminds me of my plastering days. Customers or contractors would ask, How much per board? It is to tough to give a flat rate that way. That board could be at ground level or 30 ft in the air. What would take an hour on the ground for one man would take all day with several men up high. You have to look at the sight to see what is involved in order to determine materials and labor.
 Another aspect of installation is whether you purchase installation gear from a dealer or have the smarts to design your own and purchase from a cheaper source such as a hardware store.
 Also think about charging per Watt. If you installed ten 15 Watt panels it would take you ten times longer than installing one 150 Watt panel. So how can you justify that?

Bob, that may be a tough find or fix. If it is just a timing circuit, there is a company you can find online that sells a cheap one, Altronix. Have you pulled the board to check it out? If something fried out you may be able to spot it and replace or repair it. Or check for bad wiring to it or sensors.

Jeff, I charge according to time and materials. The easier the installation and the fewer materials the cheaper it gets. I do it this way in order to help promote the technology, since I feel the only way this stuff is going to catch on is for people to see it in action and the only way customers will purchase a system is if they can afford it. I've had customers tell me that they had quotes of up to $15,000 for systems that I can install for $5-6000.   
 Most other companies have a flat rate and tend to install on roofs which can bring the cost way up. Others will sell you only the basic components at high cost. One example is Shu.... Solar. He sends me flyers trying to sell me two SHW panels, an 80 gal. tank with pump and gages and an expansion tank for over $6000 plus shipping. Then you have to purchase everything for the installation separately, pipe etc., somewhere else. This drives material cost way over what I do a complete installation for. Then add labor costs.
 So to answer your question, charge accordingly, keeping the customer and promotion of the technology in mind, keep it simple, and be honest.

John, you can find and price SHW panels, controllers and sensors here at the alt. energy store, as far as pumps and other related parts, you should be able to get them at your local plumbing supply. You should be able to find system schematics on the web to help you with what you will need for the installation.

What is the elevation between the pond and the field? It may be best to install a holding tank at or near the pond at an elevation that would provide a gravity feed to the field. One half mile would still be a lot of pipe, but still may be more affordable than a large pumping system. Small DC booster pumps, with dedicated PV and perhaps a flow switch, along the way may work out for the hilly areas.

Bob, what part is broken?

Another bad thing about the new tankless heaters is the fact that you have endless hot water. If you can stick to your 5-10 minute showers, great. But most people, or kids if you got them, will tend to stay in the shower longer, all day if possible, and thus use more energy than normal. They can also be good for baths or large tubs, but once again, tubs or worse yet jacuzzi tubs, can hold one or two tanks of hot water. If you really want to save on hot water, and since this is a RE site, try considering solar hot water.

....you got it!

Jon, yes there is a tax credit for SHW. It used to be $1000 a year for 4-5 years then it was cut down to $2000 for 2 years. This is the last year for that deal. It is not the tax credit that I speak of though. With a large PV system, you can sell excess electricity back to the big guys at whatever rate they want to give you. And if you do not produce, they don't pay. You cannot sell hot water or hot air back to anyone. This is why they cannot make money off of it and do not promote the technology. And these technologies are a lot cheaper to buy and install and require very little, low cost maintenence over their lifetime and can save you a lot more money over time and have a faster payback. 

That's all great for PV. What about solar hot water and passive gain for heating and lighting. The government, along with many others, overlook these technologies only because once installed, they cannot make any money from it or regulate it. Too many focus on cars and PV to save energy. Homes use much more energy than these together. You drive a car for an hour or two a day, but you live in your home 24/7 using heat, hot water and lights. If you could reduce or eliminate these bills, you would save a lot more money then the extra few mpg's and large, unaffordable, grid tie, PV systems government are pushing for.

Dan, check with your local plumbing supply. They sell a product called Cryotek. It is specifically made for use in heating systems and it is what I use in SHW systems for it's heat retention properties and it's non-toxic formula. Mimimum mix is 50/50, but I usually use near 100% initially to allow for losses when servicing or if leaks occur.

Toni, have you tried your local welding shop? They may be able to fabricate a door for you...

Craig, I don't think that a tankless would have the heating capacity to be used for heating. A normal oil burner will put out a continuous 150000+ BTU's to heat water for heating at temperatures around 150-180 F. Though you would get some heat, it would not be enough to heat a house. You may also have to modify it to be used with a thermostat.

Andrea, all you need is something to keep the water moving so it does not freeze. You can either use an air pump to introduce bubbles to move the water or some type of device that will stir the water. A small DC air pump, water pump or motor attached to an arm or paddle, driven by a small PV cell or battery should do the trick......

...looks like we got him thinking.....

Yes and that 1200 Watts of power would translate to 100 amps at 12 volts which is the upper limit on your battery for one hours use. If it were 12000 Watts then your battery would have to supply 1000 amps.....