NO power

[Bruce S]

Just a quick note to say how nice it is when to alarms start going off telling me AC mains is gone to just flip a switch.

AND A BIG TIP OF THE HAT TO ALL HERE WHO HELPED ME GET TO THIS POINT!!!

Right about 5AM CST the entire south side of St. Louis went dark, due to a fire at a sub-station.

The AC alarms I have on UPS's started getting loud enough to wake us.

Being the RE person I like to be :-), I went down to our little Solar power room, started flipping breakers and TADA, power :-)

How nice it is to be one of only 2 for blocks around to have lights and make coffee:-)

Ahhhhh.

Cheers

Bruce S

PS currently running off a small bank of NiCds, small being 52Ahr, for lights.

36Ahr of SLAs to run coffee pot:-)

[wooferhound]

Too Cool ! !

My DSL modem has been running on solar power for over a year now, plus some lights and fan. The harbor freight panels have been reduced in price and it makes me want another set.

You seem to have gone through the incubation period

Now you are incurable

[Bruce S]

Woof;

 I know :-/ I've got it SOoooo bad now! I want the city to back off so I can put up  a small turbine :-)

You are correct, the panels have gone back down to 179 around here, plus I think there's an online discount email, will need to look.

We just finished the 3rd bank of NiCds and have them sitting waiting for down time to attach.

I do need to say I stole your idea of using a direct connection for the DSL modem, the time was right, the original died and while setting up new one, just wired it up for use on batts.

Cheers!

Bruce S

[wooferhound]

Almost makes you wish the power would go off more often ?!

[electronbaby]

Congrats Bruce :-)

Its a great feeling.

[Bruce S]

EB;

  Thanks, now on to being a builder of 'mills; even if the city tells me to take 'em down or get yet another fine..

I'm liking the renewed interest in wave windings, I have one of Ed's little Lenz ultra-micro mill kits and it still chugs along.

BUT !? Now that this bug has once again put a self satisfying smile on my face I feel like it's time to dive back into the fray of wind.

Having FUN:-)

Cheers

Bruce S

BTW Nice website! good read; I'm especially interested in the WVO sol. I'm trying out blending for the old MB 5cyl

[pepa]

   hi Bruce, thanks for shareing. pepa

[farmerfrank]

Be careful what you wish for. The 50 year old grid is quite delicate for one,and secondly power plants get in trouble if the economy slides much further. The delinquent accounts are up 15% since last year already.

I believe any investment in RE will not be a waste.

[Bruce S]

farmerfrank;

I agree, even though the grid push here is to go underground to slow the falling lines due to ice loads.

Having even just a small independence is very worth while.

It may not even be the pin point's drop to a barrel of oil , but in that 1 time where you can flip a switch and have lights and morning coffee while all others are going "huh?" says volumes .

Cheers

Bruce S

 

[Bruce S]

Pepa;

   The big tip of the hat goes to people like you, Ghurd, the "Dans", Windstuff Ed, TomW,Rich, NTL, DavidHK, valterra and a great many others (I can name them all if I need to) who take the time to answer questions and offer advice that give city bound folk the extra push to put something like this together.

Cheers my friend!!

Bruce S

PS< I finally got the large barrels I needed to start letting the 20+ 5gal buckets of oil to begin the settling process. Much easier than moving buckets/pales around.

 

[tanner0441]

Hi

Could you put a small wind unit on tilt up mast on a trailer? It would not be a permanent fitting, put it up when you need it, take it down when you don't, no point having it up on calm days anyway............  The powers that be may not even notice the ground anchors to stop the trailer blowing about, it is a tempory experimental thing.

In the UK the regs are far more relaxed for tempory experemental things. I had a 27ft by 32ft galvanised workshop up and because it was not on a brick foundation, I was allowed to keep it, it was still bolted down to the concrete floor, and a 32ft by 32ft shed passed scruitiny when I put a cow in it and a load of hay.

Just a thought..

Brian

[Jeff]

Congrats!!! I go from month to month wondering if/when they'll shut my power off. Usually they'll wait until it's ove $100, but this year it took 4 months to reach $80, and they came to cut it off! Glad I had the backup, but Because of health conditions here, they had it back on the next morning! Problem is, I keep getting it lower every month. Pretty soon, it'll be just the $17-19 fee just to be connected to them! I'ts presently averaging $22/month though. 1 set of H.F. panels just isn't enough! I do have almost 900 amp-hours storage now on mains, 2-3 car batteries on seldom used lights, and 3 "good" batteries with one dead cell, so they're good for 10v and those 9v items!

Keep up the good work & show them what's what!

[ghurd]

I always wanted the porch light on RE.

Maybe an automatic circuit to turn the porch light as soon as the grid went off.

Let the neighbors wonder! hehe.

G-

[KurtJ]

Good Deal! and it is always so much easier to get the wife to agree to more panels once she realizes that she will be the only one at work that could "do her hair and make-up" they get the bug too...just for different reasons ;O)

[valterra]

Garsh, Thanks for the kind words, Bruce, especially from someone who I consider to be an expert on stuff!

I like helping people, especially when they really want actual help instead of validation of their bad ideas.  :-)   I didn't know anything about this stuff just a few short years ago, so I certainly remember what it's like to be new and overwhelmed.

That's why I don't act rude to the new kid at Burger King who's trying to put my complicated order into their computer.  I've been on the other side of that counter listening to some lady sigh at me.

[esc]

That is just what I just finished making, a trailer mounted tilt up tower.

http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2008/11/11/213333/08

[Bruce S]

tanner0441;

I sure wish I could. Here in the "city" I got cited for having a canopy up for more than 30 days without a permit :-(.

However I am thinking your idea can go a long way in a slightly different way. I do have a portable basketball hoop that's been around long enough for the city to ignore it. Using that, I will erect a smallish 'mill put it up during windy days and lower it when not. I can hide guy wires in the yard and just say they're horseshoe stands if asked :-) ALL will be better when I cover the last part of the yard with privicy fence.

Thanks for the thought

Bruce S

[Bruce S]

Rural;

I like your positive thinking!! use what ya got !! perfect.

One day they'll come to shut it off and you can say "SO?" didn't need it any longer anyway :-)

Being on grid can make one lazy in a sort of way, but let the lights go out and it's a different story.

Cheers!!

Bruce S

[Bruce S]

esc;

 I read your story from beginning to end. Your's too is one of insperation. You lost almost everything and just kept on going doing with what you had on hand and coming out all the better.

Hats off to you !!

Bruce S

[Bruce S]

KurtJ;

You bet! the wifey is all for this stuff, but gets miffed when the city sends yet another "candy gram":-(

SOooo we smirked while heading out the vehicles, backup light on, hot coffee in hand.

The lights were both pretty blue LEDs and those cool little floro's from Lowes, the 6Vdc ones. Even with the not so good PDU from H.F. they light up real nice !! and the amount of light when everything else is out is awesome :-O

Cheers

Bruce S

Yep on the Congress!, which is the what? side of progress?

[Bruce S]

G-

I'm thinking of using your Mains switch on in reverse, have a porch light work with real on/off switch and a LED based light sense no mains and switch to on.

There are a few rechargeable flashlight/torches out there that work this way.

Thoughts?

Bruce S

 

[richhagen]

Congrats on the working power system.  Try not to show it off too much by opening the curtains at night and such when the power is off to all of your neighbors.  We had a brownout in the area immediately around me yesterday.  I was getting about 76VAC from the mains.  Fortunately no motors fried, but the regular flourecsents would not start on it, so I ran a lamp on a cord from my inverter.  Rich

[esc]

Thanks, but it really wasn't as bad as all that.  The house that was washed away was not my primary residence, but a vacation home.  I'll miss it, but it hasn't had much effect on my day to day life.

Actually, it has given me an excuse to rebuild, from the ground up, with RE in mind.  So in the long run I expect everything will work out for the best.  

[ghurd]

You have mail.

G-