howdy everybody! I just signed up and thought I'd say hello! I'm Dave.... have a small country place in upstate NY... currently work down in Philly. I read a lot and kind of tinker around and try different things. I recycle, compost, have a little garden patch, a couple of fruit trees, use a composting toilet, live with minimal utilities compared to most people... use very little water and electricity. my current project is to try getting a very basic pv system put together. I bought some used equipment..... as I said I read a lot... but it does get confusing... and contradictory. I've never handled any of the hardware.... so any suggestions would be helpful. my idea is to start with a small portable demonstration unit to get some hands-on practice... then add on. I plan to attend the MREA fair in Wisconsin next month.... maybe some of you are going? if so, maybe we can meet up somewhere. I'm volunteering before & after... try to keep the fair days open for workshops. well, ttyl! Dave
hey Don.... good to hear from you. things seem quiet all over... guess people are just quietly doing their thing. I used to work in New York City... then last year the company moved our jobs to Philadelphia, PA... Levittown actually.. a suburb maybe 20 miles from downtown. I share a house in NE Philly. even in the city I try to be saving.... keep a compost cup for things like tea bag leaves, shaver trimmings, etc. occasionally I get coffee grounds from work. just gives me a good feeling to give something back. and the tomatoes seem to like it! had a pretty good crop last year... I was giving bags away to friends. I'm set to go to MREA, and hope to make it down to SEE also. that's the plan anyway. like u say, things can change! I posted a picture of the gear I got... 3 old panels, a Trace charge controller, and a meter box. Supposed to be 125 watts total. I don't know anyone with hardware experience, and all the cautions you read make me real cautious, u know? I have to warn u though... I can have a million questions! : ) I've read about starting with pv solar by converting one room.... that's basically my house. I 'live' in the living room. but my idea was to start with one panel just to get started.... enough to run a light and boombox, maybe charge a shaver, toothbrush, cell phone... I've been using a trickle charger on my old van.... but only run the interior lights for a few minutes at night... just enough to get settled. my other experience is with passive solar heating... with the van.. and a small enclosed porch off the kitchen. that's nice to sit in the winter... cozy warm and looking out at the snow! may I ask what you're doing? or are there old msgs covering that? I only read a few so far. well, good chatting with ya.... and anyone else going to MREA or SEE give a shout... maybe we can meet up somewhere. ttyl! Dave
hiya Don..... let me answer myself! had last night off, so I surfed for a few hours..... skimmed thru the old messages.. found your website... and found the Yahoo 12V group. seems you worked your way up system-wise sort of the way I'm thinking... if you're willing to play coach that would be great! I'm with BH Chapters so I'd prefer to post here... so my idea is: start a new subject line, outline what I THINK I know step-by-step, see what u think.. corrections, suggestions........ and anyone interested could follow along and chip in with questions/ suggestions. would that work for you? I've been trying to follow along with articles describing systems people have, got a cd set from HomePower to research (talk about overload!) , got some basic gear to play with, and guess I'm ready to get my hands dirty. ttyl! Dave
David Haig <haig...@yahoo.de> schrieb: hey Don.... good to hear from you. things seem quiet all over... guess people are just quietly doing their thing. I used to work in New York City... then last year the company moved our jobs to Philadelphia, PA... Levittown actually.. a suburb maybe 20 miles from downtown. I share a house in NE Philly. even in the city I try to be saving.... keep a compost cup for things like tea bag leaves, shaver trimmings, etc. occasionally I get coffee grounds from work. just gives me a good feeling to give something back. and the tomatoes seem to like it! had a pretty good crop last year... I was giving bags away to friends. I'm set to go to MREA, and hope to make it down to SEE also. that's the plan anyway. like u say, things can change! I posted a picture of the gear I got... 3 old panels, a Trace charge controller, and a meter box. Supposed to be 125 watts total. I don't know anyone with hardware experience, and all the cautions you read make me real cautious, u know? I have to warn u though... I can have a million questions! : ) I've read about starting with pv solar by converting one room.... that's basically my house. I 'live' in the living room. but my idea was to start with one panel just to get started.... enough to run a light and boombox, maybe charge a shaver, toothbrush, cell phone... I've been using a trickle charger on my old van.... but only run the interior lights for a few minutes at night... just enough to get settled. my other experience is with passive solar heating... with the van.. and a small enclosed porch off the kitchen. that's nice to sit in the winter... cozy warm and looking out at the snow! may I ask what you're doing? or are there old msgs covering that? I only read a few so far. well, good chatting with ya.... and anyone else going to MREA or SEE give a shout... maybe we can meet up somewhere. ttyl! Dave
I seen the pics but let's try to get a little more information on the things you have..
Are there any markings on the panels or any of the things that you have as far as specifications?
Is that Trace item you have a charge controller or an inverter?
The panels that you have are older units but I'm sure they still work. I can't really guess what the properties of them are. If the labels are gone from the panels, There's another way we can get some idea of what they can do but it may get somewhat complicated.(You may get a class on how-to-use a volt/ohm meter if you don't know already.) To get the information "This Way" will require a totally clear sunny day to get specs as best we can..
Usually systems are worked in reverse. You decide what you desire from the system and build it to fit the application. In this case, You have a "Set" amount of wattage in your panels and we need to figure what we can do with it. This can be a great learning experence for you..
After we gauge the wattage, Then we can figure for the charge controller (If we need one) and the sizing of the battery..
The volt-ohm meter will be your "Stethoscope" in this venture. You need to fully understand how one works because you will be using one many times in many situations. The voltage/resistance functions are kinda simple but the current testing may get a bit confusing. I suggest getting a cheapo unit and start playing with it. Focus on checking voltage and understanding the importance of polarity. (+ and -) When testing for current, The probes will need to be moved to different jacks on the meter. The power actually runs through the meter to the circuit and displays the current draw. Just remember to change the probes back when checking voltages again! If not, You will pop a fuse inside of the meter! This shouldn't destroy the meter but you will learn after you pop that fuse 50 times like I did...lol Once you've learned on the El Cheepo, Then move to a more accurate, expensive unit. I might add, Get a digital read out..
OOPS.. I reread some of the above.. 125 watts. If this is the case and if you have the proper controller, We can have some fun! Let's verify this, OK.. (You should still learn that volt/ohm meter though..)
At 12 volts, 125 watts figures to be around 10.4 amps of charge. Check out this site for some calculations.. (Dang pop-ups)
hey Don.... been reading & playing a little. I hold off posting a bit since I don't mean to hog the line, or take too much of your time... also give someone else a chance to talk. anyhow, I only have one panel with me (the one on the right), it's a Trace solar charge controller, the meter set is for current & battery voltage. I have a switched range multimeter (rotary selector dial), with 4 digit display. used one (probably Radio Shack model) years ago, as a teenager i played with electronics kits, built a shortwave radio kit. also picked up a set of test leads with alligator clips on both ends.
while looking around I've found LED's are really coming along! got a single-LED night light that uses 1/3 of a watt.... regular bulb uses 4 watts. also found that u can get LED bulbs as replacements for regular night lights and for flashlights. I went to a flea market over the weekend and picked up 2 mini flashlights.... 9-LED bulbs, take 3 AAA batteries in series.. 4.5 Volts. they didn't work at first so I played with my meter... all batteries were good, then put the battery pack together and tested it. just cheapie flashlights but they're bright!! mid-afternoon looking into one will leave you blinking for a couple of minutes. light up a dark room fairly well, make a good spot reading light. (not advertising but I found them in both Home Depot and WalMart.)
I'll switch over to a new subject line for the pv project. ttyl! Dave
I seen the pics but let's try to get a little more information on the things you have..
Are there any markings on the panels or any of the things that you have as far as specifications?
Is that Trace item you have a charge controller or an inverter?
The panels that you have are older units but I'm sure they still work. I can't really guess what the properties of them are. If the labels are gone from the panels, There's another way we can get some idea of what they can do but it may get somewhat complicated.(You may get a class on how-to-use a volt/ohm meter if you don't know already.) To get the information "This Way" will require a totally clear sunny day to get specs as best we can..
Usually systems are worked in reverse. You decide what you desire from the system and build it to fit the application. In this case, You have a "Set" amount of wattage in your panels and we need to figure what we can do with it. This can be a great learning experence for you..
After we gauge the wattage, Then we can figure for the charge controller (If we need one) and the sizing of the battery..
The volt-ohm meter will be your "Stethoscope" in this venture. You need to fully understand how one works because you will be using one many times in many situations. The voltage/resistance functions are kinda simple but the current testing may get a bit confusing. I suggest getting a cheapo unit and start playing with it. Focus on checking voltage and understanding the importance of polarity. (+ and -) When testing for current, The probes will need to be moved to different jacks on the meter. The power actually runs through the meter to the circuit and displays the current draw. Just remember to change the probes back when checking voltages again! If not, You will pop a fuse inside of the meter! This shouldn't destroy the meter but you will learn after you pop that fuse 50 times like I did...lol Once you've learned on the El Cheepo, Then move to a more accurate, expensive unit. I might add, Get a digital read out..
OOPS.. I reread some of the above.. 125 watts. If this is the case and if you have the proper controller, We can have some fun! Let's verify this, OK.. (You should still learn that volt/ohm meter though..)
At 12 volts, 125 watts figures to be around 10.4 amps of charge. Check out this site for some calculations.. (Dang pop-ups)
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