Author Topic: An Proto-Teach Éireannach  (Read 32317 times)

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Scruff

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #495 on: December 20, 2021, 09:33:32 AM »
Does MaryB remind anyone else of a semi-retired Indiana Jones?

I was watching this last night.


It's concerning. Now couple what China's up to these days...well...it makes me think covid is the ever so gentle introduction to a decade where we will be challenged.

I've been adopting a low-hanging fruit approach to my energy consumption reduction lately...all things considered not a bad plan..

I can build 98% efficiency systems...now do you want to pay 500% extra for 10% better performance?

QED. I've a workshop laden with "sustainability" hardware that are mostly off or sleeping unless they can contribute something quantifiably useful which is not so frequently this weather.

What I'm being conscious of at the moment is invested time and materials into measurable results. AKA max bang for buck.

Batteries are disqualified.
Winter dead weight. I don't care if it's lithium or lead they're both more efficient than the hardware it costs to use them.
Tested!
Failed!

GTIs and use it or lose give it away donate it to your neighbour {...'s network operator}.
It is the highest impact contribution my solar can have for the network furthermore the fastest ROI, lowest outlay and highest efficiency.
 

I have the powerplant self-consumption further reduced with a 1 hour delay timer on (re)initiate.



20Wh day yesterday and 700Wh backfeed.

I mentioned above that I point panels straight up....actually 15° because that way they're self-cleaning. I optimize for steady day-long input rather than peaks and shorter exposed hours. Ie my array best matches my load profile.

The Xtenders auto-sleeping means that instead of powering their own quiescent they load shed themselves from the battery which allows the MPPTs to put useful power into the battery.

« Last Edit: December 20, 2021, 08:27:57 PM by Scruff »

Scruff

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #496 on: December 20, 2021, 09:54:26 AM »
Wow-wee I shaved 600Wh off the parasitic load I introduced by running a hybrid system instead of a simple GTI...bravo that man!



Spare me! Any eejit could do that with less hardware (like a €50 used GTI).


In other affairs, since I've brought the insulation of the main dwelling up to "the least you can do" spec, pending "for jaysus sake canya not do better than that" spec fund injection inbound. I've reduced the heating demand by 10l of kerosene a day. Oh, good question..equivalent to 100kWh per day. Investment: one week. €500, timber salvaged from the genset-camper truck to be I gutted.



See that copper shim?
Car battery was weak. Like a normal I blamed the car battery not the installation. So I replaced the battery. When I did I noticed the positive was sloppy at max torque so I added the shim. That was worth 6MPG (Uk gallon). Engine was running rich. I could smell it in the exhaust and the oil and the MPG was dreadful...39MPG..~250miles per tank on sticky Winter tyres.
I thought; Go nuts! Splash Out! Change the ground because it's krustier than a badger's backside.

I made it not shyt. (In fairness to Japan; they crimped a 16mm² ground to a tab, then welded the tab to the shell, connected a gearbox on one side and a battery on thuther....'cept 21 years in Ireland takes it's toll on outdoor copper).

I cut off the 21year old krusty terminals and loped off the weather-beaten ingress wicking and ran a fresh 16mm² ground to a new gearbox bolt.
Petrol engines...need good electricity!...I mightov cared sooner if I hadn't spent my life driving diesel.
I tell ya I'm never not buying an NGK plug again.



35l fuel tank.
10.5kWh per litre not used.*
Investment: 0.5m of 16mm² cable. Two battery clamps. Three lugs. 6" of heatshrink. Terminal covers for fancy.
Time: 1.5 hours.


Fuel saving to engine efficiency relationship is non linear....engine goes to 8k RPM and user has a misfortunate case of lead foot. Combustion efficiency gains are consumed initially by improved acceleration improved MPG is after the redline...results are rather more significant than meet the eye.

« Last Edit: December 20, 2021, 10:37:39 AM by Scruff »

Scruff

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #497 on: December 20, 2021, 10:18:09 AM »
1kW fume extraction system installed in the workshop.
Repurposing mostly.



Combined 20" of ducted forced air...I send it out the window.

MMA isn't really an indoor sport..air fed masks are spendier than attic clearouts..

Two of the switches control sockets.



The switch labelled solder turns on the soldering station and the soldering iron tip vacuum fume filter.



Flux...is some awful stuff...


The switch marked weld fires up 1kW of duct blowers..

I haven't tested the MMA results yet.


I'm gonna go about starting insulating that workshop ceiling now....so I'm not using my 1kW incandescent test loads to heat the space...well...reduce the duty cycle anyways...feck batteries...game of soldiers...
« Last Edit: December 20, 2021, 10:43:59 AM by Scruff »

Scruff

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #498 on: December 20, 2021, 10:56:09 AM »
anna nuther thing...I'm deleting those ceramic heating element hobs in the kitchen and putting in an induction cooktop...

I had one on trial and they're the business!

1/3 the cook time, doesn't heat anything except the iron above it..ie: if the pot is half the size of the hob then only half the hob works.

...I had a tabletop one on trial and it was amazing until I stirred to make coffee one morning and turned on the ceramic cooker it had usurped and was sitting on top in a pre-caffeinated fog and melted the bejaysus outtov the fecker..
I reckon that swap oughta be worth 3kWh per day...thereabouts...and less lifetime lost waiting for percolators to perform...which equals more things on my list of better investments than a battery...

Mary B

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #499 on: December 20, 2021, 01:24:37 PM »
Does MaryB remind anyone else of a semi-retired Indiana Jones?

I was watching this last night.


It's concerning. Now couple what China's up to these days...well...it makes me think covid is the ever so gentle introduction to a decade where we will be challenged.

I've been adopting a low-hanging fruit approach to my energy consumption reduction lately...all things considered not a bad plan..

I can build 98% efficiency systems...now do you want to pay 500% extra for 10% better performance?

QED. I've a workshop laden with "sustainability" hardware that are mostly off or sleeping unless they can contribute something quantifiably useful which is not so frequently this weather.

What I'm being conscious of at the moment is invested time and materials into measurable results. AKA max bang for buck.

Batteries are disqualified.
Winter dead weight. I don't care if it's lithium or lead they're both more efficient than the hardware it costs to use them.
Tested!
Failed!

GTIs and use it or lose it is the highest impact contribution my solar can have for the network furthermore the faster ROI, lowest outlay and highest efficiency.
 

I have the powerplant self-consumption further reduced with a 1 hour cooldown timer on connect time.



20Wh day yesterday and 700Wh backfeed.

I mentioned above that I point panels straight up....actually 15° because that way they're self-cleaning. I optimize for steady day-long input rather than peaks and shorter exposed hours. Ie my array best matches my load profile.

The Xtenders auto-sleeping means that instead of powering their own quiescent they load shed themselves from the battery which allows the MPPTs to put useful power into the battery.



LOL should have been here yesterday for the ground blizzard! Look straight up blue sky but look down the road and 1/8 mile max, often much less on a wind gust... fun of living where there are not very many trees!!!

This was last winter but shows the wide open wind swept prairie quite well...


Bruce S

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #500 on: December 20, 2021, 02:18:27 PM »
Scruff;
Have you noticed any louder humms coming from the induction burner when you're on your own SineWave inverters?
We have the table-top ones, when I fire up the small pure-sine inverter, there seems to be a louder hum than when we're plugged into the City's power.

Cheers on the upgrade
Double cheers on being someone else who still uses a perc!!

Bruce S
A kind word often goes unsaid BUT never goes unheard

Scruff

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #501 on: December 20, 2021, 08:14:38 PM »
Introducing the 1kW plank. This state-of-the-art loft hatch has reduced the workshop "heating" load from 2kW to 1kW since install. 0.6m² of 18mm plywood holding it's own against 5kW of solar in terms of load offset.




We don't get weather like you do Mary B, just harsh humidity and appalling building insulation standards. You sure did pick an interesting place to put big metal things in the sky.

I huseta live on the top of a mountainside a lottov the time in my nomadic days. I wouldn't miss a good storm. Some nights the wind would rock the 3 ton van I was staying in so much twas like living on a boat.



My bricks and mortar home is 150m above sea level (I made sure to check that when we viewed the place to buy). That'll be 80m above sea level when the ice caps enter the oceans. Good wind but it's a long way up because the property is sheltered in a dip. I could go out into the acre beside us to get wind too and that'd have much better and more discrete hydro potential but grid power's too good a deal to make that viable just for power.

Bruce I hear lots of things..phones charging, led dimmers from the cables, SMPS carrier frequencies, I can hear the dimmer circuits in my head torches and the immersion diverter carrier frequency from my powerplant through the inverter that's synchronised to the same grid it's connected to.

I've not tried running it off an inverter..it does sound a bit arachnid off utility. The cadaver still works it just smells like carcinogens when I use or walk past it, compounded by the fan wafting the smell if it's running. I'll try it and see. I often hear inverters make different noises specific to the load, sine resolution would change the inductor noise alright and there could also be an audible resonance between the inverter transformer and the hotplate inductor, as well as switching harmonics (if it's not got magnets it's not true sine...just a digital impression)

I've seen big diesel gensets dance in time to PA systems when the Sound Eejit does a sound check with all the amps on one phase of a three phase machine and no load on the rest. Thinking of an 80kVA machine
 with 70A bangin' techno pulsed output on a single winding loading.   :o

Percolators don't break and you can power them with almost anything that makes heat. I've always found coffee machines to be high on consumable waste and broken inside a year or so of operation. Those capsule things?! ....woeful amounts of plastic per expresso...equal weight I'd say.
« Last Edit: December 20, 2021, 09:25:29 PM by Scruff »

Scruff

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #502 on: December 21, 2021, 09:43:30 AM »
Oh dear!...Did a plank just outwit a battery? feck!  :-*

What about rubber?

Tyres.  ;D Oh I could go on....

My daily's sporting Good Year Vector All Seasons M+S all year round.
Sticky in the cold.



The reason I run all seasons is simple. A Winter tyre performance derating in the Summer is far better than a Summer tyre derating in the Winter. You want a tyre to be optimised for the worst conditions in my opinion.

I've been paying 13MPG for better off-season traction in increased rolling resistance

Say I was to splash out on Summer Tyres....BridgeStone Potenzas inna 13" rim...golly €175 for 4. €100 to build the wheels.
Put them on the alloys I've been storing as a chassis safety net...unsprung weight reduction...



Use them like a grown up. Summer tyre for Summer and Winter Tyre for Winter...



So if I do 5k miles a year on Summer tyres using 1800L less petrol a year...€3k at current prices, annual saving of ohh...close to...3.5MWh per year.

Mary B

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #503 on: December 21, 2021, 02:30:50 PM »
Introducing the 1kW plank. This state-of-the-art loft hatch has reduced the workshop "heating" load from 2kW to 1kW since install. 0.6m² of 18mm plywood holding it's own against 5kW of solar in terms of load offset.




We don't get weather like you do Mary B, just harsh humidity and appalling building insulation standards. You sure did pick an interesting place to put big metal things in the sky.

I huseta live on the top of a mountainside a lottov the time in my nomadic days. I wouldn't miss a good storm. Some nights the wind would rock the 3 ton van I was staying in so much twas like living on a boat.



My bricks and mortar home is 150m above sea level (I made sure to check that when we viewed the place to buy). That'll be 80m above sea level when the ice caps enter the oceans. Good wind but it's a long way up because the property is sheltered in a dip. I could go out into the acre beside us to get wind too and that'd have much better and more discrete hydro potential but grid power's too good a deal to make that viable just for power.

Bruce I hear lots of things..phones charging, led dimmers from the cables, SMPS carrier frequencies, I can hear the dimmer circuits in my head torches and the immersion diverter carrier frequency from my powerplant through the inverter that's synchronised to the same grid it's connected to.

I've not tried running it off an inverter..it does sound a bit arachnid off utility. The cadaver still works it just smells like carcinogens when I use or walk past it, compounded by the fan wafting the smell if it's running. I'll try it and see. I often hear inverters make different noises specific to the load, sine resolution would change the inductor noise alright and there could also be an audible resonance between the inverter transformer and the hotplate inductor, as well as switching harmonics (if it's not got magnets it's not true sine...just a digital impression)

I've seen big diesel gensets dance in time to PA systems when the Sound Eejit does a sound check with all the amps on one phase of a three phase machine and no load on the rest. Thinking of an 80kVA machine
 with 70A bangin' techno pulsed output on a single winding loading.   :o

Percolators don't break and you can power them with almost anything that makes heat. I've always found coffee machines to be high on consumable waste and broken inside a year or so of operation. Those capsule things?! ....woeful amounts of plastic per expresso...equal weight I'd say.

Those wide open spaces make this location perfect for VHF and above ham radio! I have great take off in every direction except west over town...

Mary B

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #504 on: December 21, 2021, 02:34:21 PM »
I just run a good all season radial, ones with good winter performance reviews over wet pavement performance reviews. I choose when I have to drive 99.9% of the time and can avoid driving in weather these days. I can't avoid driving on snow and ice... it is 4 months out of the year minimum!

Artful Bodger

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #505 on: December 22, 2021, 03:43:05 PM »
anna nuther thing...I'm deleting those ceramic heating element hobs in the kitchen and putting in an induction cooktop...

I had one on trial and they're the business!
Yep. Did the same in April, but dumped  gas. Daily kWh have barely increased,  but saved 3 bottles of gas this year.
I also saved some old rolls of fibreglass from a neighbours clear out which has topped up my 400m to 500mm over 35m2 of the 50m2 kitchen diner. It keeps that room 2C hotter over night when it's 0 outside.
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Artful Bodger

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #506 on: December 22, 2021, 04:00:05 PM »
The reason I run all seasons is simple. A Winter tyre performance derating in the Summer is far better than a Summer tyre derating in the Winter. You want a tyre to be optimised for the worst conditions in my opinion.
I used to run 6 rims, 4 summer tyres,  2 winter, and swap the front axle out in winter. Didn't find the rear lively in winter.
3 years ago I ran 4 season on the front and winter on the rear, and swap in winter. Just renewed the 4 season tyres, but I've swapped from Bridgestone to dunlop following your ethos. The dunlops have much better winter grip, but in summer stop 4m longer.  I'll have to drive like an adult from now on. Well in the car anyway 😁
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Scruff

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #507 on: December 22, 2021, 10:34:55 PM »
When I was having my first skateboarding (advanced slide) lesson I said to my mentor "Hey look I'm the only one not bleeding!" He said "Yeah! You're not pushing it hard enough!"

Mrs Scruff's diesel has mixed axles. All seasons on the front, Summers on the rear. I've stepped the tail out where mine would have held. Not apples to apples though, mines's got an independent suspension and her's is a shopping trolley with a live rear axle.

500mm!! :o

I just finished the workshop loft with 150mm  :-\, deleted two windows, skirted a door, stuffed bubble wrap in 3  4" engineered through holes and I'm eyeballing the sheet metal roller door with intent next....give me a coupla more years and another pandemic I'll get to that gauge.


I gave my son the workshop loft as his workshop after building a bench with the leftover flooring because he can stand up in it unlike the rest of us and the floor's finally proper...the first two things he asked me for was a bench light and a bin for the stuff not worth fixing...I laughed my ar$e off..he's 6.


Mary B

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #508 on: December 23, 2021, 12:16:52 PM »
24 inches of blown in insulation in the house and garage attics. R80ish... walls are 8" thick fiberglass bats in the garage, house is 4" of blown in plus 1" of foil faced foam on the outside(existing construction... do what you have to). Fun of living in an extreme climate! When I doubled the attic insulation it dropped my gas bill by 10% so a worthwhile addition! In the garage it takes very little heat to get it up to shirtsleeve temps to work on stuff.

Scruff

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #509 on: December 24, 2021, 06:07:29 PM »
The Scandinavians laugh at us with our double glazing saying that triple glazing is cheaper in Scandinavia.

We have clipboard warriors going around making holes in the walls for fook nose.
Incompetence isn't fatal thanks to the mediocrity of the climate..hence colder countries have warmer homes.



Shirt sleeves? Last year I started work with 5 layers and did a half hour of jumping jacks with 3.5kVA inverter strapped to my back.

The Irish answer has always been just throw power at the losses!



I wall mounted my 2 x 1kW test loads/lab heater/ coffee maker-maintainer!



These are old-school rock agus roll fixtures converted to 230V from 110V and are actually 20 x 12v lamps in series. They say not for domestic use on the side. Super unreliable...I fix them every fifth time I use them. They've set fire a few times, violently blown filaments, burned their lamp holders and the wires, leaked to earth with conductive dust..you name it!
Europe won't sell me 75W incandescent bulbs anymore.. :( but I can have 40 x 50W no problem!!  ;D ;D
{In my defense it's a heater that's incandescent not an incandescent that heats...100% efficient then!}



I have the makings on another one...I was thinking of a LED conversion but meh...tbd

I made the wall mounts outtov DIN rail. The fume extractor moves air and dust alright...quite a bit...good enough for MIG and grinders...a little underpowered for MMA...but then that's usually an experience in bringing a gun to a knife fight anyway...I have a spare two 8" 300W duct blowers...What's that? ..Oh, Sustainability Fred says it just needs a hood for increased efficiency..


Scruff

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #510 on: December 24, 2021, 06:36:08 PM »
For anyone who didn't click on the Global Warning Link above I'll give you the synopsis. Thwaites Glacier has destabilised. That means that's going to break away from Antarctica into the Southern Ocean in the next 5 years and when it does the sea levels are going to rise about 1 meter, there's a concept known as cascade failure ensuing.
Ocean pH divergence is another whole semi-unrelated but more threatening phenomenon.

We can't stop it we can only slow making it worse.

Hence my recent intolerance for token gestures. For the moment I've crosshairs on domestic grid-tied batteries...indulge me a minute...before we even bother arguing li-ion or lead. There's no hardware out there that I've witnessed with an operational 80% RTE on double conversion. AC -> DC -> AC that also comes with an unfactored often unregistered quiescent. A lot of the modern offerings even come with solar freakin' battery heaters like the Internet dependant Tesla Poowerwall. (300W heat loop...will only install in unoccupied spaces).

A battery is not a power source nor a usage reduction device but they're often priced higher.

Given my solar can't keep up to the demand anyway this time of year. The battery/hybrid inverter becomes a utility load and hence anything I can do in my life that's a utility input or a reduction of energy usage is better for the planet/network/society/environment...?
Best case scenario, at my latitude during daylight saving time rockin' only solar homegrown; a battery or moreso the associated hardware to use it does nothing beneficial for the network unless I turn it off.
Am I oversimplifying?

Curtains Batman!



Better than a battery? Sure! Heat load reduction!

If I turn off a light that's better than a battery....I think interested parties are cashing in in the romanticism of off-grid and saying you can do it too! take your grid house with you!

Off-grid energy isn't greener than utilty...however off-gridders are lightyears ahead on conservation!
You wanna save 20% of the treated water in the world? Make taps foot-actuated!

I'll change the subject now...

...Induction hobs..no brainer! If you remove the pot the thing turns off...occupied hand energy tax waived!...footswitch taps..think about it..

Hohoho...Happy Christmas all!
« Last Edit: December 24, 2021, 09:24:24 PM by Scruff »

Scruff

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #511 on: December 24, 2021, 06:42:38 PM »
We're expanding.

Scruff & Son Protohouse.



The first thing he made was a stop sign that he mounted to the top of the ladder. The second is the pictured hammer.


clockmanFRA

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #512 on: December 25, 2021, 05:06:04 AM »
Love it.

Everything is possible, just give me time.

OzInverter man. Normandy France.
http://www.bryanhorology.com/renewable-energy-creation.php

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Artful Bodger

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #513 on: December 25, 2021, 07:35:17 AM »
Great stuff Scruff.
Anyone else notice what time CM posted today...
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Mary B

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #514 on: December 25, 2021, 12:11:08 PM »
First thing I do when I got out of bed in winter is fire up the pellet stove. I don't run it at night because it doesn't quite get enough heat up to my bedroom and I don't trust it to not have a stupid failure of the control board.

That is a project for this winter is measure on off times of the auger and the fan PWM signals at different settings and build a new control board I can control them independently with a panel mounted control while a raspberry pi takes care of the automatic functions like going from heat level 1 to 2 or 3(each speeds up the exhaust fan a step, and boosts the room air fan speed).

It also has to monitor the fail safe temperature sensors so it can shut down if the hopper goes empty or there is a vent blockage(ever pick a half cooked rat out of an exhaust blower impeller? I puked!) and it over heats. The current control board glitches once in awhile and it has smoked up the living room by shutting off the exhaust blower before the stove has cooed down...

Artful Bodger

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #515 on: December 25, 2021, 05:13:01 PM »
That'll be the Italian design then.I looked at one recently and the exhaust fan only ran at one speed. For more heat throw in more pellets.  The blower was manual and left on 2 out of 3. The blower was jammed and yet it still lit and produced heat relatively well. The holder for the exhaust over temperature sensor had long since disappeared and it was lying on the base.
On the plus side it had a pellet hopper over temperature sensor. I can't help feeling if the pellets are too hot then the sensor should probably call the fire brigade.
I wouldn't recommend the pi to monitor over temperature as they are prone to crashing like any microprocessor,  and even with a watchdog to reboot it, a lot can happen in the 20s it is restarting. Maybe a hardwired ultimate shutdown if the pi doesn't catch it.
Nice winter project.
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Scruff

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #516 on: December 25, 2021, 06:51:28 PM »
Is it over yet?


I'd go bimetallic switch triggering. You can get very accurate solutions. I avoid micros, I can't fix them with a screwdriver.


I shouldn't be picking on batteries really..

Is every bar and restaurant in your area tripping over themselves to install atmospheric heaters for their outdoor dining revitalisation of the economy?



What's that in the ceiling? 30kW global warmers? ..per premises?
149 billion metric tons per year of ice shedding from the Antarctic...just saying...

Are all your croissants wrapped in plastic these days too?


I've notions of an engine coolant, diesel hydronic, diesel hydronic/air hybrid system for the truck space and water heating, with shower water recirculation option, 24V PWM solar diversion (with manual proportional latched on control) & grid backfeed. Based around a colorifier I think..maybe some exchangers,..so far it's a big pile of junk Eberspachers and a substantial portion of the house's DC coupled solar rig...at least I told myself that when I bought those panels....I'll probably just pony up for another 4 panels...now I went and trenched them in 50m...2024 project....too soon for an Ark yet...
« Last Edit: December 25, 2021, 07:07:20 PM by Scruff »

Artful Bodger

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #517 on: December 26, 2021, 06:25:17 AM »
Is it over yet?
Christmas or the planet?

I'd go bimetallic switch triggering. You can get very accurate solutions. I avoid micros, I can't fix them with a screwdriver.
Good idea with the bimetallic.
I can type with a screwdriver. You're just stuck in the last century  ;D

I shouldn't be picking on batteries really..
Yes you should. Pet hate of mine too, particularly li-on

Are all your croissants wrapped in plastic these days too?
No. But I did watch someone walk into a shop the other day, swerve the hand gel and rummage through all the croissant container and pick out the biggest. I can't imagine why the covid figures are going through the roof.

Gas patio heaters are definitely banned here. Not sure about electric ones.
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Mary B

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #518 on: December 26, 2021, 12:06:25 PM »
Is it over yet?


I'd go bimetallic switch triggering. You can get very accurate solutions. I avoid micros, I can't fix them with a screwdriver.


I shouldn't be picking on batteries really..

Is every bar and restaurant in your area tripping over themselves to install atmospheric heaters for their outdoor dining revitalisation of the economy?



What's that in the ceiling? 30kW global warmers? ..per premises?
149 billion metric tons per year of ice shedding from the Antarctic...just saying...

Are all your croissants wrapped in plastic these days too?


I've notions of an engine coolant, diesel hydronic, diesel hydronic/air hybrid system for the truck space and water heating, with shower water recirculation option, 24V PWM solar diversion (with manual proportional latched on control) & grid backfeed. Based around a colorifier I think..maybe some exchangers,..so far it's a big pile of junk Eberspachers and a substantial portion of the house's DC coupled solar rig...at least I told myself that when I bought those panels....I'll probably just pony up for another 4 panels...now I went and trenched them in 50m...2024 project....too soon for an Ark yet...

Still need a micro for the pwm to the blowers(with a control I can use to tweak it to match atmospheric conditions, 30 and humid burns different than -10 and 20%... maybe even figure out the curve for temp/pressure/humidity change and make it automatic. Since it runs on outside air it DOES affect the burn!

Mary B

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #519 on: December 26, 2021, 12:09:51 PM »
That'll be the Italian design then.I looked at one recently and the exhaust fan only ran at one speed. For more heat throw in more pellets.  The blower was manual and left on 2 out of 3. The blower was jammed and yet it still lit and produced heat relatively well. The holder for the exhaust over temperature sensor had long since disappeared and it was lying on the base.
On the plus side it had a pellet hopper over temperature sensor. I can't help feeling if the pellets are too hot then the sensor should probably call the fire brigade.
I wouldn't recommend the pi to monitor over temperature as they are prone to crashing like any microprocessor,  and even with a watchdog to reboot it, a lot can happen in the 20s it is restarting. Maybe a hardwired ultimate shutdown if the pi doesn't catch it.
Nice winter project.

I will keep the current Oh CRAP sensor that drops power... if that happens my house will  get smokey until the fire pot burns down... I draft out the wall, no vertical rise to create a chimney effect. Well fresh air intake to exhaust is a 2' difference... it drafts a little bit if the wind isn't hitting that side of the house. Which is rare in winter...

Scruff

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #520 on: December 26, 2021, 06:12:06 PM »
Christmas or the planet?

The month-long celebration of Capitalism with a premise of theological significance. I woke up with the theme tune to Sonic The Hedgehog in my brain, it followed me around all day.

Until we start playing with singularity tech, I don't think we can do much to the planet other than making it inhospitable to the residents and a mite grumpy.



You're just stuck in the last century  ;D

Moore's law ended. I'm not putting adblue in my diesels. Don't underestimate percussive maintenance..it's a feature..
Haveya noticed my twentieth-century hardware keeping pace despite their age?

I shouldn't be picking on batteries really..
Yes you should. Pet hate of mine too, particularly li-on

Is it the pointlessness of them that bothers you?



The complete lack of (empirical) operational data?
The market's naivety regarding Non-Unity Efficiency? Compounded by their reluctance to measure and document it from an end-user installation which includes all the variables (embedded losses and parasitics) using impartial metering?

The irony of them being the inverse of their intended purpose?
That there's a nil-sum-gain grant for them because cubicle warriors drank the kool-aid?

The lack of appropriateness compared to load matching your array size and orientation?

That most of them don't work in a powercut and disconnect the solar from the installation while they're down?

That a battery requires an internet connection? Guess what happens right after a powercut in many parts of the world....

That the manufacturers are calling them "AC batteries" with a straight face?

I think there are instances they might be suitable. If you can thermally manage them for low upkeep and you have significantly more generation capability than load... ??? {Edit...but they're tiny and expensive...so if you oversize gneration are you gonna fit it inna 1kWh bucket?....Chocy Teapot Evo. Award worthy?}



If it's all the same...and it's definitely not...more solar less battery. It's often a choice between would you like to double your generation capacity or triple your payback time?

Ok, ok I'll be a good sport and kick 'em while they're down....
Better than a battery options nearby..lemme see...um...tough one..


Insulate the water tank...



I know I can do better...volume is more of an issue than standing losses to be fair.

...wrap tape around the pipe lagging.




Halogen oven.
Twice the efficiency of a conventional oven and a smaller volume. I only use a conventional oven when this yolk is full. Had it 5 years.


Robot Cow.



It makes this stuff.



...because how is filtering protein through a cow efficient? Less methane in the atmosphere. Less deforestation for burger trees...maybe..

I could get a new fridge with another A on it!

Run Air Conditioning...ha...nope, not necessary here!

I could stop taking the tractor to the shop to get bread....





I can't imagine why the covid figures are going through the roof.

The organic caltrops from the People's Republic that's currently securing them a monopoly on world trade and a smokescreen for operations in the South China Sea? It's a trixy one alright.
 
Gas patio heaters are definitely banned here. Not sure about electric ones.

Sadly gas ones are better. They don't come with the conversion inefficiency to make fire into high tech electrickery from fire mostly then transport it a coupla hundred miles. 30kW electric in the ceiling is 60kW of fire in the powerplant.
« Last Edit: December 26, 2021, 07:19:39 PM by Scruff »

Scruff

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #521 on: December 26, 2021, 06:28:11 PM »
I just have an aversion to writing code with anything smarter than a switch or a transistor MaryB. I always find another way AB's not wrong.

That thing I mentioned about proportional on control...I had to test the theory.


I reckon I can implement a Manual (proportional on) - Auto (load diversion) voltage selector switch on the TS VSense input.
« Last Edit: December 26, 2021, 07:31:00 PM by Scruff »

clockmanFRA

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #522 on: December 27, 2021, 04:10:50 AM »
Christmas day morning and there is a knock knock on my front door.

Its a French friend down the road who has just blown up his cheapo Chinese 96vdc to 240vac main Inverter.

The last few months they have been struggling with not having enough PV to charge his battery bank.

He has a Kuboto 3 phase decent size generator unit, but its second hand and the cabling inside has been well messed with.  So he now has a 3 phase Forklift lift battery charger, but its 48v - 60vdc, and again its real old and its a mess inside.

He's local and good at Log Cabin building, so i lent him a Powerjack Chinese job that i had for examination and experimentation many years ago,. 48vdc to 240vac.
I have a spare OzInverter that i will install for him but only if i am happy with all the interface gear.  So yep he has now splashed the cash and got a  Tristar and a classic200 for his PV and another 12 panels arriving. Now he is doing proper cabinets etc, to house stuff properly and proper cable and cable connections and cable management from batteries and equipment.

I wrote this document quickly on Christmas day morning, with a French translation and laminated it for his Mrs and teenage girls to read and to explain.

....................

External Power generation sources, Generator and battery charger.

Winter, low light conditions, low wind, and you require another source of electricity to keep your batteries charged.

When your main source of 240vac is an OzInverter or other 48vdc to 240vac Inverter running from a bank of 48v batteries that are charged from specific Solar Chargers, or wind turbines that are connected directly to the battery bank and DC Diversion controllers that charge the batteries but divert excess power to dump loads.

Some basic RULES regards using/interfacing external power generation source.

1.     DO NOT connect the 240vac generator power to the OzInverter 240vac output. WHY? Because the generator, (except some very expensive and sophisticated generators), has a fluctuating HZ frequency depending on load and therefore CAN NOT synchronise  with the OzInverter 240vac HZ.    Note, The OzInverter can AC couple and handle back charging from GTI’s, ONLY   (GTI Grid Tied Inverter).

2.   The Generator will always want to be TOP DOG, So keep its power and cable connections on different circuits and use a Generator Change Over Switch, ie ON OFF ON, to go from OzInverter 240vac to Generator 240va.   Note, Some generators and some expensive 48vdc to 240vac inverters have synchronising circuits see specifications on the main Inverter you are using.

3.   Using a Generator 240vac connected to a Forklift Battery charger that outputs 60vdc.
DO NOT connect the battery charger DC output to the same positive and negative terminal of the battery that the OzInverter is also connected to.
Charge a 48vdc battery String , and leave other strings running the OzInverter…….. ENSURE that the cables from this string of batteries you are charging are completely disconnected from the main OzInverter connections.  THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT WHEN USING OLD AND UNTESTED BATTERY CHARGERS, AND UNTESTED GENERATORS.

Why?   Old Forklift battery chargers over their life get hot and the windings of the internal transformer can be damaged and when they get hot, can short the winding counts and give transient spikes to the DC output. Also an untested used Generator could have a phase that intermittently shorts, or is incorrectly wired and the centre neutral connection could intermittently have a phase going to neutral.  So unless certified tested by a competent person, I do not recommend Used/old generators or forklift chargers.
 
Although we have input protection on the OzInverter, excessive transient spikes could damage the control board as the Ozinverter struggles to modulate the PWM,  and although the toroid we use is highly efficient, starting and stopping a large toroid is very difficult to control and can lead to permanent damage of the circuits
.



Anyway Scruff managed to get him some good Kruas & Naimer switch gear, that i can install.   I dont like Mole grips keeping connections together.........aaaaaagggggghhhhhh.

If you are wandering, NO i am not doing this OzInverter etc install for nothing but nor am I doing as a Buisness, this is a one of occasion and i bloody well told him so.!

And No i dont make the OzInverter to sell, however i do sell the 3 main PCB's and the book that tells and shows you how to make a OzInverter.


 

Everything is possible, just give me time.

OzInverter man. Normandy France.
http://www.bryanhorology.com/renewable-energy-creation.php

3 Hugh P's 3.7m Wind T's (12 years) .. 5kW PV on 3 Trackers, (8 yrs) .. 9kW PV AC coupled to OzInverter MINI Grid, back charging AC Coupling to 48v 1300ah battery

Bruce S

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #523 on: December 27, 2021, 09:39:04 AM »
Still need a micro for the pwm to the blowers(with a control I can use to tweak it to match atmospheric conditions, 30 and humid burns different than -10 and 20%... maybe even figure out the curve for temp/pressure/humidity change and make it automatic. Since it runs on outside air it DOES affect the burn!
Mary B;
Since ECMs are getting easier to get and pretty good with being speed controlled. Will you be swapping into one of those?

Bruce S
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Mary B

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #524 on: December 27, 2021, 12:20:48 PM »
Christmas or the planet?

The month-long celebration of Capitalism with a premise of theological significance. I woke up with the theme tune to Sonic The Hedgehog in my brain, it followed me around all day.

Until we start playing with singularity tech, I don't think we can do much to the planet other than making it inhospitable to the residents and a mite grumpy.



You're just stuck in the last century  ;D

Moore's law ended. I'm not putting adblue in my diesels. Don't underestimate percussive maintenance..it's a feature..
Haveya noticed my twentieth-century hardware keeping pace despite their age?

I shouldn't be picking on batteries really..
Yes you should. Pet hate of mine too, particularly li-on

Is it the pointlessness of them that bothers you?



The complete lack of (empirical) operational data?
The market's naivety regarding Non-Unity Efficiency? Compounded by their reluctance to measure and document it from an end-user installation which includes all the variables (embedded losses and parasitics) using impartial metering?

The irony of them being the inverse of their intended purpose?
That there's a nil-sum-gain grant for them because cubicle warriors drank the kool-aid?

The lack of appropriateness compared to load matching your array size and orientation?

That most of them don't work in a powercut and disconnect the solar from the installation while they're down?

That a battery requires an internet connection? Guess what happens right after a powercut in many parts of the world....

That the manufacturers are calling them "AC batteries" with a straight face?

I think there are instances they might be suitable. If you can thermally manage them for low upkeep and you have significantly more generation capability than load... ??? {Edit...but they're tiny and expensive...so if you oversize gneration are you gonna fit it inna 1kWh bucket?....Chocy Teapot Evo. Award worthy?}



If it's all the same...and it's definitely not...more solar less battery. It's often a choice between would you like to double your generation capacity or triple your payback time?

Ok, ok I'll be a good sport and kick 'em while they're down....
Better than a battery options nearby..lemme see...um...tough one..


Insulate the water tank...



I know I can do better...volume is more of an issue than standing losses to be fair.

...wrap tape around the pipe lagging.




Halogen oven.
Twice the efficiency of a conventional oven and a smaller volume. I only use a conventional oven when this yolk is full. Had it 5 years.


Robot Cow.



It makes this stuff.



...because how is filtering protein through a cow efficient? Less methane in the atmosphere. Less deforestation for burger trees...maybe..

I could get a new fridge with another A on it!

Run Air Conditioning...ha...nope, not necessary here!

I could stop taking the tractor to the shop to get bread....





I can't imagine why the covid figures are going through the roof.

The organic caltrops from the People's Republic that's currently securing them a monopoly on world trade and a smokescreen for operations in the South China Sea? It's a trixy one alright.
 
Gas patio heaters are definitely banned here. Not sure about electric ones.

Sadly gas ones are better. They don't come with the conversion inefficiency to make fire into high tech electrickery from fire mostly then transport it a coupla hundred miles. 30kW electric in the ceiling is 60kW of fire in the powerplant.

I am at 44.6 North, -95.3 West and this time of year with the cold air and sun reflection off the snow I can gain a couple KWH a day into the battery. Sure it isn't summer charge with close to 9 hours of sun a day but it is above what I use to idle the radios/transmit occasionally/run the 2 chest freezers. Currently just dump it to a heater in the living room that blows down on the uninsulated floor. Offsets the heated floor mat under my chair LOL that draws about 150 watts for 14 hours a day.

Scruff

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #525 on: December 27, 2021, 10:06:43 PM »
...that's why I'm not a fan of mate's rates CM...my professional advice would be to bin it and start over.
Ever notice these favours cost six times the time?
I'm sure that genset is neutralised, earthed and RCD protected.

Feather in the cap for Solar MaryB. Solar panel cell cold temperature uprating +1%Voc per 2°C below 25°C.
Cell temperature not to be confused with atmospheric temperature...I've noticed my cells are 70°C in direct sunlight under the glass in 20°C atmospheric.
Wind Chill helps loads...I build holes wind channels into my ground mounts as a feature.
..still won't power a solar freakin' battery heater so lead's still a favourite.

DC Coupling is King this weather on the northside of the planet. I'm gathering a kWh or two a day and if I could rely on snow being a feature I'd reconsider my point the array at the clouds strategy definately. We get a week or two some years.
I've lived onna 150W panel anna 1.2kWh battery many a Winter. I had some very tenacious diesel-electric solutions. After a decade of tinkering I was able to pull enough from an alternator to ram C2 into a golf cart battery.
I gave them 7 months of solar/dock TLC and 5 months of abuse every year...they're still tippy-top...if thirstier than they husta be.


The purpose of the diverter logs is to emphasise that if I had a grid-tied battery absorbing this, instead of a 100% efficient diverter{minus ~50W spill to grid threshold to eliminate false triggering with CT inaccuracy} ; this is the excess I couldn't use on demand with a 5ishkW Array at this latitude.

 

except with ~25%RTE losses - quiescent for a (battery + hybrid inverter) - minimum spill to grid threshold {always some} times local lecky unit rate times (Z)years = battery ROI¿

I'll keep a monthly update I think. It pulls it's weight after the Equinox.

I'd say we spend 9kWh a day heating water.
If I install a battery + a diverter then it's ~9kWh per day minus this figure on water heating load before I can charge a battery with cascade excess and get short-changed.

With the national renewable "grant" support for installers and suppliers I've seen green warriors get the whole package. 6kW solar, hot water diverter, electric car, electric car charger diverter and a battery...hand over fist.
...made me the cynic I am...

« Last Edit: December 28, 2021, 08:42:39 PM by Scruff »

Scruff

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #526 on: December 27, 2021, 11:17:09 PM »
 ;D      ;D              ;D

I have a suitable application for Li-ion!! Something Lead can't do with more capacity per buck taking names in the snow!

What....yes, it is electric drive!..no, I invented it!

Most expensive energy in production:
The alkaline primary cell!



~€500 per kWh

I'm sure you're all especially familiar!

Not on my watch!

What? Oh, ok, yeah...extra lights too!



Powerbank + boost reg all of them!!



Powerbank hits the 2.1A Current limit with dual track motors in revese stall so I dialled the motor voltage down 2V as an Ohms law...Scotty! get me a 3A Powahbank!



Weight reduction. Regulated output. Rechargable. 5V Led Bling. Lowered centre of gravity. Go-Faster potentiometer {boost reg}. No trip to the shop to get AAs.



Artful Bodger

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Re: An Proto-Teach Éireannach
« Reply #527 on: December 28, 2021, 12:37:53 PM »
You're just stuck in the last century  ;D
Moore's law ended. I'm not putting adblue in my diesels. Don't underestimate percussive maintenance..it's a feature..
You not noticed how much the computer works when you type REALLY HARD

I shouldn't be picking on batteries really..
Yes you should. Pet hate of mine too, particularly li-on
Is it the pointlessness of them that bothers you?
Well, it's partly the uselessness when cold (they dont mention that in the car range claims) and partly the pathetic amount that is recycled.

But finally, a use for li-on. You should scale that up and make a bigger one.  You might like to think about making a bigger battery. It would be just stupid to weld a load of small ones together....

Did you son ever get his toy back  ;D
2012 1.1kW PV + SMA SB1700. 2021 740W PV + 600W Hoymiles MI600