I've already put together an insulated, 40 gal. batch heater for my
'garden shower' (135*F @sundown & 115*F @ sunrise) and lengthened the
wiring in a couple of those little 'garden pathway lights' I mounted
the 'cells' on the roof and the little battery packs/l.e.d. 's were
put in the bathroom's skylight shaft, above the flush, ceiling
mounted plastic panel. So I now have high tech night lights.
This latest project gave me a solar powered radio. I started with a
portable am/fm radio (found in the trash) It used 8 'D' batteries and
at 1.5 volts each I figured 12 volts would power it. I bought one of
those solar cell panels that are advertized to keep your car charged,
when its battery is not used for long periods of time. It did work,
but at medium volume the radio would 'cut out' I figured I was not
getting enough power, so I got another panel. I wired them together so
that both panels 'positives' joined and both 'negatives' joined. I
think this is called in 'series'? Now I can play the radio as loud as
I'd like it. I have the panel mounted on the roof and the wire comes
into the house through a small hole in the alum. window frame. The
radio turns on about 8am and runs till 5:30pm. I'll use it to
entertain my pet parrots, while I'm at work, during the day. I'm sure
if I rigged up a way to 'point' the system into the sun I could get
more listening in, and am already thinking of doing so. This might get use on my weekends at home. This is more
to fulfill my need to tinker than my need for music.
For the high tech crowd here, here are the spec: each panel is a
'amorphous' type and rated at 1.5 watts and 120mA They cost $10.81
each, after taxes. This was a very cool project to put together and
gave me alot more satisfaction than the last $20 I spent on a date,
I'm sorry to say.
Now I'm thinking of a small recirculating fountain for the yard,
solar, of course!
a question: Where will this type of thinking/behavior lead?
I enjoy reading the postings on this site. Can you all
give me links to other sites that are similiar? |
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