On Sun, 5 Nov 2017 14:48:54 -0500, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
.. .
On Sun, 5 Nov 2017 08:09:56 -0500, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 4 Nov 2017 19:00:46 -0400, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:

"Larry Jaques" wrote in
message
om...
On Fri, 3 Nov 2017 12:40:20 -0400, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:


If it's only affected after a power outage, could the start cap
on
the
motor be leaking down?

No, Larry, during an outage I have only the 30A or so max from the
genny to start the motor and that isn't enough to start it under
load.

The way you said it was...curious. "long outage"

This is what that curious-to-you phrase means:
http://www.nh1.com/news/new-hampshir...-in-nh-history
The storm hit on Sunday night and the crews are only now completing
the final restorations.

It's that Globular Swarming, uh, I meant Crimate Change, uh, I mean
Tipping Point again. Leftist scientists say it'll be happening
every
5 years from now on.

We were wrong to doubt Chicken Little.

Ohmigodwe'reallgonnadie. g


I ran the fridge on the UPS overnight, then since we hadn't lost
power
I checked the run time on the 6 year old batteries, which was still
adequate. The solar panels I have now aren't enough to keep up with
daily demand so I took advantage of Home Depot's sale on "100W"
panels
for $99 with free home delivery.

Not a bad price.


They are Grape Solar polycrystallines which get good enough reviews
that lack technical details. I have the equipment to measure and
record their output and will give them a good checkout, and perhaps
buy an MPPT controller if it makes economic sense. Right now MPPTs
cost about as much as another 100W panel without adding as much
output

A PWM controller was included with the $1119 kit I got. 1080w of
poly
solar (6x 180w panels @ $170 ea.) I found a backup "MPPT"
controller
for $26, ($99 now http://tinyurl.com/yajajczf ) so I'll be testing
the
two against each other to see if the pseudo-MPPT gives any better
output. These Taiwanese jobs were the next step up at $300.
http://tinyurl.com/ybvt6mme An Outback Flexmax 80 would be a nice
one
to grow into (with datalogger) but they cost $509. They're good for
150v solar arrays, so I could triple-up panels in series/parallel
for
less loss. Some day.

There's this, if you want to look cool and easy to operate:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0739P1K9Y...a-351132182348

I would all but guarantee that it's not an actual MPPT controller.
(Oh, it says "Not True MPPT". How about that!) MANY of the cheap
Chiwanese units aren't. I'll find out whether or not my cheapie is
real once it's installed. It's likely also "MPPT compatible".


from a small system. My DPS5015 switching regulator can be used to
find and charge at the maximum power point but it won't track
changes
automatically.

Interesting, but sort of a moot point without automation. Or is it?
Finding the MPP of the system might be good for a boost, even
without
the tracking, but I haven't seen any studies on that. I'll look for
some more articles on MPP to see.

If the sky is clear the panel output doesn't change much in an hour.
We are downwind of Vermont's mountains and if it is at all cloudy the
solar output may vary so much that I'd be better off recharging from a
generator.

It all depends on what you're doing with the power. I'll be spending
it as quickly as it's produced until summer comes. Then it goes to
feed the batteries, of which I'll have too few. If you have the
controller for it, you can have excess volts converted to amps for
storage in the batteries at various levels. I'll run a 24vdc bank (of
two), with up to 43v in...if the controller decides to work well.


One of my water heater elements will be solar soon, so that should
effectively drop my electric bill by half. We'll see what 900w will
do in a 20gal tank. I'll run solar all day. The other element is
3800w and I installed a timer (limited to 3hr/day) to bump it to
120F
in the evening when necessary. Now to find sensors to collect data
on
it...

My well-insulated 40 gallon electric water heater draws ~1 KWH per
day, 28 KWH on the bill for September.

Why aren't you using it? (Oh, woodstove heating water, right. Isn't
that hot in the summer?)

I ran 558kwh in the hideous August heat, and only 202 last month. The
overly-long/hot July bumped my Comfort Level payments from $38 to
$43/mo. Half is for admin and half is the charge for electrons. sigh

--
In reality, serendipity accounts for one percent of the blessings
we receive in life, work and love. The other 99 percent is due to
our efforts.
-- Peter McWilliams