Solar system Upgrade

[loghousenut]

Koala is loaded. He just calls a guy and then sends a check.

I hear he made all his money in California.

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[sdart]

The wind is too turbulent for small wind turbines here, Rod. Only a huge one would work and we don't want that. But we get more than enough sun to run everything we want.

[Kola]

Koala ?? as in Koala Bear ?? wth ! LOL ! And boy do I wish I had money to hire peeps to do this stuff, I'm getting old. Oh yeah, and another thing LHN, lol.. I didn't make any money in Californy, I made all my money here in Colorado making and moving moonshine and pretending to be a choirpractor' !

Speaking of money. I'll add up the numbers and see how much this entire solar set-up has cost me. A wild guess ? $10-12k plus another $5k for the Honda genny. That's just parts, equipment, wiring, doodads and such.

About my solar frames? I think they are very stable and we get some nasty winds up here at 9000 feet. Again large air gaps between each panel minimize things. Weather forecasts for tomorrow are 50-70 mph winds so 'll be watching - you can bet yur' britches. ( I said britches..not bitches) But....if I had to build these over again? I'd go with all metal -as Double R suggested to me (but I already was making them from wood)

Anyone can put a solar system together, it's not hard and there's plenty of GOOD information available online and in books. Knowing the dangers is key. Rod got me started and helped me along 10-12 years ago when I did my tipi living days and constructed a bare bone solar setup. Over the years I also joined a solar online forum (Outback Forum) and had lots of help from the OB staff and other experienced folks that posted there.

The cost to have it "professionally" done by a contractor/electrician (JUST labor, guessing an easy $15-30k) Maybe more. Need incentive to DIY ? There it is. And the other kicker for me? $38k to have the electric company come in and hook me onto their shitty grid. While they ruin my landscape with their ugly tarred poles. Not to mention those idiotic "smart" meters.

I'll get some more pics up and comments when done but tomorrow I start a big flooring job and that'll set me back. I'm wanting to get out of here and head to AZ for a few weeks dammit.

[loghousenut]

Sorry Kola. That durned cell phone! Seems like the faster I type, the more the rascal edits.

And I was just funnin' about that California money.


PS... It is a perfectly lovely solar system.

[Kola]

Oh I know, all in fun !

recent pic of me and son :

koala.jpg

[loghousenut]

You trimmed your mustache!

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[Kola]

LOL !

Ooops "message too short'

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

[Kola]

Yes ! I got the solar system up and running yesterday.I missed both football games but oh well. I had some problems firing up the new inverter but got some much needed help from a good friend. I'll let it take a nice full day of sun charge then put it to the test tonight,

So...on a bad note I am very displeased with the Outback inverter FXR2524. It hums loudly and since it is inside in the center of my home it can be heard everywhere. A definite transformer hum. And especially at night. I had to shut off the breaker just to sleep. 2000 bucks and a company can't make the thing quiet?I've had a cheap Xantrex inverter and a Morningstar inverter and they were silent.

So I will attempt to soundproof the area but I doubt that'll work. Only other option is to mount it under my cabin (outside) and make some type of soundproof box. I've got about 4 feet of crawl space. That's means making up more 2/0 cables and a lot of extra work. Had I known it would be noisy I would have planned things differently.

HUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[rreidnauer]

Are you sure it's not OHMMMMMMMMM ?

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[Kola]

Ohmmmmm.............as in Ohms Law or for meditation purposes ?

Welp...the good news is that I ran my pellet stove for 17 straight hours and only used minimal voltage. You read that right. From start, batts were at 26.2v and when I shut her down (after 17 run-hours) batts read 25.8v.Shaazaaam !

I was also running my usual stuff, internet router, laptop, a few LED lights and my propane stove which vampires a little bit of juice for the control board. --- Not. Too. Shabby.