Off-grid post, 4-15-22

Today was the day when everything was completed and under more testing. That is somewhat of a contradiction. "Everything" means that the stand is completed. Aside from some very minor touchups here and there, the stand is completed. The panels are emplaced on the stand, and operational. Therefore, the test was to see how much output I could get out of it. Trouble is, the sun didn't shine that much today. Therefore, I have to try it again.

Even so, I was able to do a lot of things. I ran every lite in the trailer, for instance. The ones with the old style energy hog design, which will get hot to the touch. You know from the heat that it is using a lot of wattage. These haven't been rated by yours truly, but I'd reckon it to ba about 20 watts. I had 4 of these running all at the same time. That is nearly as much as the swamper will use. So even on a cloudy day, the panels can run the swamper and still charge the battery.

That's not the thing that worries me. What happens if there is too much output? I'd have to flip the switch to the off position. Seems like a huge waste if I were to have to do that. By the way, I installed a switch that cuts out the solar panel output to the controller. When the switch is off, the battery doesn't get charged. Nothing can be run off the controller either. In fact, running anything will eventually run down the 12 volt battery.

I'd like to see if I can do some exotic stuff. Would it suck down more juice if I ran something on the 24 volt, and tha voltage drop was greater on that while it was being charged? Or would it simply try to draw everything off the 12 volt? If that is the case, nothing too much greater than 100 watts will cause too big of a voltage drop. If such were to happen, the 12 volt inverter would issue a warning noise, and then shut down.

The other inverter should be employed instead for heavy loads. But that doesn't mean that the extra wattage will go into the 24 volt via the inverter, you see. The charger will pull a little over 100 watts. You can run the charger on it, and charger both batteries. If you pull some heavy work off the 24 volt, it will just take a little longer to charge, that's all. At least, that is what I expect.

The "heavy" load will be limited to no more than 500 watts total. That's because the 24 volt inverter is limited to that. That's not enough to do all that much, but I am thinking it might be worth a try to run the egg cooker device. It uses only 300 watts. Besides eggs, it might cook small meals too. But there's a trick to that. Anyway, that could get interesting.

The dehumidifier uses about 300 watts. Using the swamper and this thing in tandem would max out the inverter. Don't know if I'd push it that hard for long. Cooking something doesn't take that long. The dehumidifier needs to run for hours on end.

Basically, I testing it all out to see what I can do with it. Mainly, I just want something that can be useful. If it can cool the place down and cook small meals, that ain't too bad.

Off-grid post, 4-13-22

When I left off last, only one panel had been tested. They're both working properly. Also, there is a deficiency in the stand that needed correction. Maybe that has been addressed, but I didn't seek an opinion. Come to think of it, I didn't the first time either. Not that I mind, don't you know.

The thing is, I wanted the stand to serve as a shade as well. The advice I am getting suggested leaning it at an angle. This doesn't work for me, so perhaps at the risk of being too stubborn, I'm going to stick with that part of the plan.

My solution is the simplest and easiest to implement. That too could be a fault. We'll have to see on that one.

As for the test, it seemed to bring forth some issues that I am going to have to address. There is always a way that I could be screwing up. If there isn't a way, I think I would invent one.

The issue is what happens with all that power if it isn't being used? The juice has to go somewhere. One thing that I'm a bit worried about is if that juice is being converted to heat somewhere. That wouldn't be good.

There's going to be 300 watts going into that battery. That could generate enough heat to cause a problem. There is a potential solution, which is an option that I haven't considered until just now. That is, attach a load directly to the controller. That controller has that as an optional connection. When there's more juice than the battery can handle, the juice has to go somewhere. Therefore, the extra juice just runs something. Meanwhile, it can charge the battery. The extra juice can run the inverter. Ha! Let's see how that one goes.

There's more to this project that I had bargained for. Seems like I've been wrestling with it for a while now. Eventually, I will get this done and begin to enjoy the benefits of it.

Off-grid post, 4-11-22

 

Busy day today. The 10 gauge wires came in, and I hooked them up promptly to the outside 12 volt RV battery. It seemed to go much better than before. In fact, I charged up the 24 volt battery using it, and as I type, the 24 volt battery is running the swamper. It is a warm day, and I needed to cool down. Checking the humidity shows that it is too high, meaning that I need to get some fresher, drier air into here, but that is for another time.

I have an excuse to run the a/c. I feel that I've earned it.

While I was doing all this, the solar panels arrived. Promptly, I opened that box, and began to test them out. By the way, my solar stand for holding these panels is said to be flawed in its design. So my design has to be modified. I wanted to lie them flat, but I am told that the weight cannot support it properly. Maybe it was the wood, or maybe it was the concept of lying them down. I need to get that clarified. If I were to change the wood to something more sturdy, maybe the concept could still be made to work.

Only one panel got tested. The sun was too much for me to test the other. I called it a day.

The test went well. Sometimes these things don't work, which makes a test necessary. It seems that something else didn't work with one of my orders. I thought I ordered a 15 foot extension line, but I got one for only 5 feet. Don't know if this was my fault or theirs. Later on that one.

All in all, I'm satisfied with things. Things didn't go 100% according to plan, what ever does? It's shaping up slowly. Glad I decided to "small-ball" this one. Going big too soon would have been a mistake.

The Charismatic Voice

She is a professional. I noted a few songs that she analyzed, but that is as far as it went. Finally, I wanted to know more about her. Here we are.

Unfortunately, the left is more into this kind of thing than the so-called conservatives. I note that a leftie is advertising on YouTube on her channel, and I realize that once again, we are being aced out.

Though what this girl says is true, it is also true that the left is abusing the living crap out of the situation in the country. What I'm getting at is that this skill she is trying to impart can be used for good AND evil. The left is well-practiced at their art. We, those on the conservative side, need to wise the hell up.

But too many don't recognize the significance of what she is saying here. As a consequence, we could all suffer for it.