Arcandspark's posts

I installed a system for a freind that lives off grid. Three bedroom mobile home, full kitchen, three window AC units, water pump, sat. TV, computers, modern living. Since 1999 they have been enjoying the good live. Now they are having me help to build a 3000 sq ft home on the same site. Currently I have a dual Trace SW4024 inverters with two 24 volt 1500 amp hour battery banks, 22kW generator for back up andsolar panels, and wind generator. I am building a heat exchanger to use the waster heat energy form the generator from the engine coolant, and engine oil which both run about 190 to 200 degrees. This heat will be stored in a phase change tank using about 300 pounds of plumbers solder (tin/lead) which will store the heat for hours and then using hydrualic oil I can transfer the heat from the tank into the house to heat the domestic water heater, and even use it to help heat the house during winter. It is called Co-generation and has been used for decades on ships and large boats. I had planned on using the engine exhust but at around 1200 degrees the cost to store the heat and transfer it becomes much more expensive. At around 200 degrees I can use off the shelf items to control the temperature to a much safer level, around 140 degrees for the transfer fluid which will last much longer at this temperature (years) before starting to degrade. The dual Trace system has been working fantastic since 1999, the only problems have been generator problems. The only advice I can give would be do not use Kohler generators and always use a low RPM unit (1800 RPM) not a 3600 RPM unit.
Capt.arcandspark

I must agree with James, it is not a good idea. There is another article in Home Power that is titled "Things that go Boom" and tells horrior stories about battery problems. The word "Boom" is one you should be thinking about is you are connecting different batteries together. This "Boom" effect can end up costing you lots of money in repairs should the results of your battery system end up going this route. Again, BAD IDEA...  Capt.arcandspark

To be honest the "Best and Safest and Easiest" thing to do is not use the 12 volt alternator, but use a 24 volt alternator. There are a few on e-bay. One of my systems has three 24 volt 1500 amp hour battery banks. I am building a charger using a small engine about 14 to 18HP using a 24 to 28 volt alternator with no less then 120 amps output. Trust me you wiring problems will be much easier and the system will be a lot safer using the correct voltage alternator.
capt.arcandspark

An immediate benefit to owners of all-electric homes is GFX's power-boost; enough to triple the shower-capacity of tank-type water heaters and halve the cost of a shower. For example, if GFX boosts cold water temperatures by 30 degrees, it's feeding back about 10 kW of power; more than enough to triple your family's showering-time and save 2 kW of energy per 12-minute shower. This means if you pay 8.5 cents to 17 cents per kWh for electricity and your yellow water heater sticker shows an efficiency rating (energy factor) of 85%, GFX could save you 20 cents to 40 cents per shower, depending upon where you live and type of showerhead installed.

GFX is an award-winning plumbing product developed under a U.S. Department of Energy Grant; engineered to feed back enormous amounts of energy carried down the drain -- energy equivalent to "2 billion gallons of oil" annually wasted in the U,S. alone according to their evaluation. Adding multi-housing, commercial, industrial, state and federal usage increases potential savings to over 7 billion equivalent gallons of oil per year. In fact, about a trillion kWh (= 3413 trillion Btu) go down America�s drains each year. One Btu is required to raise the temperature of a pound of water by one degree-F and there are 8.34 pounds in every gallon. Every unit of electrical energy delivered to millions of electric water heaters requires about 3.2 times as much fuel-energy be consumed at electric power plants. Millions of archaic gas and oil water heating systems are also very inefficient, as discussed in an A.D. Little Report for DOE & EEI. Consequently, far more than 3413 trillion Btu/yr go up smoke stacks used to produce heat or electricity for the billions of gallons of hot water Americans send down their drains.

According to U.S. EPA standards, if just 6 million electric water heating systems were to be upgraded by GFX, carbon dioxide emissions would drop by more that 20 million tons per year; the amount released by burning 1.8 billion gallons of oil.

http://gfxtechnology.com /contents.html

Its less expensive than a complete solar system, no parts to break or ware out needing replacement, and the data speaks for itself. Soomething simple that works.

David Rygwalski (arcandspark)
(The Dallas Alternative Energy Meetup Group)

I am building a waste heat recovery system that will use the hot waste exhaust gases (about 350 to 500 degrees) to preheat the incoming cold water when the water heater is in use. This will reduce the run time forthe water heater as the preheated water will not need as much energy to get to the set temperature. The is a product from a company call GFX gray water heat recovery that make a product that could be used for just such a use. I am building mine from stainless steel for the duct with copper tubing coils around it.
arcandspark (The Dallas Alternative Energy Meetup Group)

Check out pictures of Walmarts store in North Texas.

http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story;jsessionid=amsGpHeC5xWb?id=34647

captarcandspark

Walmart has installed a 50kw Bergey wind generator on a 150 foot monopole in McKinney Texas and many other solar and alternative energy systems as a beta site for testing alternative energy for 20 furture stores. It is a site to see.
arcnadspark

My friend is building a 2000 sq ft home off grid. I had installed the alternative energy system he is currently using to provide electical power for his double wide trailer. Everything has been working great for over four years. I have a dual SW4024 system with three Hawker 24 volt 1600 amp battery banks. I plan on adding another 4kw inverter for the larger home. They currently use a generator to power the water pump. I want to install a dual pump system that will allow one pump to use the generator and or one to use 24 volt DC. I need advise on the best size pump that can provide 30 to 40 psi for running two showers running at the same time using 2 GPM shower heads and allow flushing the toilets at the same time. The water tank is 1500 gallons above ground. Can anyone help. The former Energy installer had sold the owner a Dankoff Flowlight 2920 pump which was never installed. I do not think it can handle the requirements. They are also wanting to install a swimming pool, anyone have any advise on a solar run filter pump system?

Many Thanks, captarcandspark

A friend wants to install a 600 foot deep well and use an AC or DC submerged pump. I have not installed this type of pump and have not experiance with submerged pumps. I am looking for a pump that is dependable, cost is not an issue. I have 24 volts DC @ 4500 amps avalible also if AC is used, 220 volts AC would be avalible. 600 feet seems very deep to me but that is how deep they have to go to get to the Texas Aquifer and clean water. Also suggestions on filtering of some kind so the water can be used for drinking. I was thinking about 25 micron, then 5 micron then .5 micron cartridge filters with carbon as final filter also with UV light. Reverse Osmosis is no good, it waste to much water for back flush. Any help would be greatly appretiated.

captacrandspark

I am planning on installing a solar hot water system. I want to use oil or some other liquid to runthrough the collector on the roof and then run it through a heat exchager to heat the water. I have seen systems with antifreeze, mineral oil, peanut oil, and some very expensive commercial chemicals that absorb and store heat extremely well but cost over $700 per gallon, (Doupont). What I am looking for is a liquid that will have a long life before it has to be removed and replace. Motor oil and cooking oil will only last about one year before it starts to break down. Antifreeze, about six months. Does anyone know of something that last longer and may also be environmentally friendly? Also anyone with a good heat exchanger design I would be very interested.

Thx, captarcandspark

A friend of mine who lives off grid is replacing his current mobile home and building a 2000 sq ft house. The alternitive power system I have installed will handle the home just fine for electrical needs. He would like to collect rain water in large tanks we will put under ground. The water will be used for live stock, washing cars, and garden. Also emergancy back up supply after filtering and treating. I am looking for information on these devices that keep leaves and debri from entering the tank. They also provide a single dump cleaning to clean out bird dropings and insects on the first pail full before the rest of the water from the roof enters the storage tank. Has anyone used these or seen these devices in use. I am shopping for a trouble free system. Also any information on collecting and using rain water for consumption would be helpful. The internet has many but I would like to talk to someone that is using a system currently.

captarcandspark

I will be purchasing an outdoor wood burning furnace to help heat water with in the near future. I am looking for feedback as to which one seems to be the best. There are so many different manufactures of these furnaces on the market. I would like to here from anyone that is using one or knows of a friend that is using one. I am looking for issues like length of warranty, stainless v.s. steel, max burn time, problems or replacement of parts, ease of cleaning, how well and how fast it heats up. Overall likes and dislikes, and the make and model of the unit. They seem to be very popular in the northern states, and from what I have heard, they really help reduce the heating fuel bills. Any and all input is welcome. I will be installing the unit in central Texas, and it will supply hot water year round and maybe radiant underfloor or radiator heating for winter months, in a 2600 sq ft. home.

captarcandspark

We plan on installing Geothermal HVAC system in new house being built off grid. These units are so efficient that where a 3 ton air to air unit is needed, a 2 ton Geo unit will be more than large enough. Data has shown that these units actually reduce your electric bill by half in every case, and in some cases even more. One million dollar Dallas home was retrofitted with Geothermal and the electric bill went from averaging $1000 per month to under $400 per month. I am looking to hear from anyone that might have one of these units or have seen one installed and hear the pro's and con's about Geothermal. Many of the H.U.D. homes now being built in Dallas area are having Geothermal systems installed and the the data has show the average cost to both cool and heat an 1800 sq ft home is about 3 to 4 cents per day over a two year period. Other data had shown inteh Dalas area average electric bills of $33 per month. I am also looking for companies that install these Geothermal system in the Central Texas area.

captarcandspark

I am just about finished with a proto type dump load I made using peltier thermocouple devices. These little items are just what the doctor ordered. My alternative energy systems usually are installed in a shed or seperate room. This area gets very hot in the summer time and very cold in the winter time. These peltier devices can provide cold air for cooling in the summer and hot air for heating in the winter. I can use the dump energy for the wind generators and solar panels to power the peltier devices and provide cooling and heating where needed. During the summer time the energy shed is hot and I try to keep the temp below 95 degrees the peltier units can provide freezing temperatures on their cold side and their hot side can get above 120 degrees easily. Has anyone else done any experimenting with these Peltier Thermocouple deivices??? Today you see them on e-bay where they are bing used for keeping the CUP chips in computers from over heating. They use about 12 volts at 20 amps for full cooling effect but run with any amout of current provided. My though is most diversion loads can only provide heat, like load resistors and water heater elements. These can provide cooling which can be used for other issues. Just thinking out loud.

captarcandspark

Anyone own and use a wind generator that is larger than 800watts? I would like to know how you like or dislike its performance. Looking for issues like how much noise does it make when its spinning, does it auto gyrate on spin down, does it really help provide power for your system, how high is your tower, is there problems with icing in the winter and vibration on start up, what was the total cost of the installed system, are you happy with it or do you wish you would have gotten a larger unit? I am looking to install a system around 1kW to 3kW and want to here about any or issues good and bad before I spend the money.

captarcandspark

I saw a picture of an inverter for sale on e-bay. There was a large capacitor installed that was wired across the plu and minus DC inputs. Has anyone ever done this and if so WHY? Is the cap acting as a stiffing capacitor like the ones used on 400 watt and larger sound systems in cars. Is it suppose to help filter charger ripple? I cant fugure out why someone would install a large cap on the DC inputs of an inverter, the invert was a Trace SW5548. I am hoping to learn something. If it is to act as a stiffing capacitor, it would have to be at least 1 farad or 2 farads in size if it were to be able to do much of any help as a stiffener. The battery bank for an SW5548 would be hugh in size and should be able to do ten times better job itself than the 2 farad stiffener could do. The only thing I can figure is it might be used to help filter out ripple from a battery charger. Surges and spikes that might appear on the DC side would be better filter out using an iron core donut. Can anyone help shed light on this subject? It is helps in some way, then I may want to start installing them on my systems.

captarcandspark

One of the first things you could do it to replace your (air to air) air conditioner with a geothermal unit. It can cut your AC cost in half or less. Check out this web site for examples of systems and their saving. Some show annual heating and cooling cost of a dollar per day.

http://www.geoexchange.org/publications/factsheets.htm

Other than adding insulation and geothermal HVAC systems you will end up spending hugh amounts of money up front by going solar. The payback does not start for a number of years. There are some tax credit incentive in Texas for going solar but nothing like what you get in Claifornia. One other thing you can do is to replace all appliances with the ones that have the Energy Star lable. They really do same lots of electricity.

captarcandspark

I have installed a few systems in Texas. One near Corsicana it had lots of wind. The person I was working for at the time put up a homemade tilt up tower with an 800 watt windseeker generator. After the initial installation and wiring he did not need my help or assistance anymore. It ends up the wind generator ended up providing to much power. The person that was incharge of the install did not use a unit called a diversion load controller, which after the batteries are charged up, the extra power is diverted to another load to keep from overcharging the batteries. It ended up destroying about $5000 worth of batteries from overcharging and the wind twisted the tower inhalf and smashed the generator to the ground. I would recommend wind power for your application with a small back up gas or propane generator. Be sure to use a tower that is rated to handle the windloading for the wind generator you are going to use. It might sound confussing but bottom line is, get someone to help with you installation that knows what they are doing. Also be prepared to spend some money. When it comes to wind or solar power, even starting off small is expensive. If you have lots of wind I would use it over the solar panels any day.
arcandspark

I have eight BP-585 85 watt PV panels never used still in boxes, asking $325 each if you purchase
four. Siemens H50's 50 watt panels never used asking $175 each.      arcandspark contact at drygwals @ airmail.net

I have a GNB 24 volt 2400 amp hour AGM battery set up that is in very good condition, has more than ten to twelve years of good life left. First $500 takes it. Four cells with connecting cables, each cell weights 440 lbs.  Arcandspark contact at drygwals @ airmail.net

I have a 48 volt Hawker battery set up ( thats eight 6 volt 1500 amp cells) never used still in the crates with hardware and cabling. They last for around twenty years. I have used them for all my alternative power installations with excellent results.First $1500 takes them. Dallas Texas area, four 750 Kilograms crates plus one 350 Kg crate with hardware and cables.  arcandspark contact at drygwals @ airmail.net

Contact Ecotech in Grande Prarie Texas, Mark schultz (owner) can provide you with construction plans and or engineering drawings of different size tilt towers. Make sure it is properly engineered or have lots of property insurance so if someone gets hurt when it falls. I am not trying to be funny I am serious about the insurance.    Arcandspark

I am just about finished with a proto type dump load I made using peltier thermocouple devices. These little items are ust what the doctor ordered. My alternative energy systems usually are installed in a shed or seperate room. This area gets very hot in the summer time and very cold in the winter time. These dump load devices will provide cold air for cooling in the summer and hot air for heating in the winter. I usually use outdoor Christmas lights to help keep the AGM and SLA batteries warm during the winter, but this waste energy. Now I can use the dump energy for the wind generators and solar panels to power the peltier devices and provide cooling and heating where needed. During the summer time teh energy room is hot and I try to keep teh temp below 100 degrees (Texas) the peltier units can provide 25 degree differance in temp from their cold side to their hot side. I will use water or anti freeze heat exchange to remove the heat from the hot side and that will run to a water heater exchanger and help to heat hot water for the living area... If you are interested keep in touch for test data on the first proto type.   Arcandspark

I am working on a great dump load. It uses peltier thermopiles to convert the exta energy from wind generator or solar panels into cold air for cooling in the summer time and or hot air for in the winter time. Thses are small units that can be built to dump 72 watts to over 500 watts, what ever your need. The extra power will power the peltier devices and cool the power room that I install the inverter and batteries in for the summer time. The temperature differance is up to 25 degrees from the cold side to the hot side. I am just about finished with the proto type.

Arcandspark

How large is the generator you are wanting to use. The tower or tripod will have to be able to stand the wind loading the the generator propeller can cause. Like a small 400wat windgenerator can have a windloading of up to 18 square feet. So you will need to have a tower pole that can handle that or it will come down on a windy day and can hurt something or someone.

It all has to go, lightning static disapators, ac and dc volt meters, amp meters, breakers, cable connectors, switches, buss bar, disconnects, generators, Trace equipment, you name it, if it has to do with alternative energy installations I bet you I have it and its all for sale. Contact me for a complete list of items. arcandspark contact at drygwals @ airmail.net

I have eight BP-585 85 watt PV panels never used still in boxes, asking $375 each if you purchase four. Siemens H50's 50 watt panels never used asking $190 each.
arcandspark contact at drygwals @ airmail.net

I have a GNB 24 volt AGM battery set up that is in very good condition, has at least ten years of good life left. First $600 takes it. Four cells with connecting cables, each cell weights 440 lbs.
Arcandspark  contact at drygwals @ airmail.net

I have a 48 volt Hawker battery set up ( thats eight 6 volt 1500 amp cells) never used still in the crates with hardware and cabling. They last for around twenty years. I have used them for all my alternative power installations with excellent results. First $1800 takes them. Dallas Texas area, four 750 Kilograms crates plus one 350 Kg crate with hardware and cables.
arcandspark  contact at drygwals @ airmail.net