(DF) USING SOLAR ELECTRIC: FINALLY!

The solar panels are up, mounted on top of the well house, the charge controller, battery and inverter are hooked up.  Even with the cloudy skies we have had for the past couple of weeks, and a number of trees which cast too much shade in the evening,  electricity is being generated.  Am I excited?  You bet I am.  Am I disappointed?  Yes, but not devastated.  I have very mixed feelings about how this project is turning out.  Let me explain why.    

This has been an ongoing, pocket change funded project for quite some time.  It has been a matter of researching the concepts, locating supplies and equipment, then one by one, saving up pocket change and purchasing those items.  As the items are purchased and the work is done on each step, that step is added and the next step begins.   

As with any project, good solid information is hard to find unless you are willing and able to pay for the instruction books and videos.  Even then, it is easy to spend the money only to find that the information is incomplete at best, and not suited for those with small funding (experience talking here).  These factors make trial and error a necessary adventure.

In a previous post, I mentioned that my hope was to power my water well with this first set of panels.  That is where the disappointment comes in.  With all the wires hooked up and the battery at full charge, sun shining brightly on the panels and the well pump hooked up to the inverter, I was filled with dread and anticipation as I flipped the switch to start the pump.  With a sinking in the pit of my stomach, I heard a very short lived buzz, then silence.  I had purchased an inverter powerful enough to RUN the pump, but had miscalculated the amount of extra power it takes to START the pump.  This is also the case with my table saw and band saw, both of which have big enough motors to require starting capacitors. 

Now, enough of the disappointment.  The exciting part is that the inverter is powerful enough to fun the computer, as well as several of my woodworking tools such as the planer, joiner and several other power tools that don't require a lot of extra power to start.  This is exciting to me.  Even though I can't run the well from this little system, I can alternate between the computer and tools in my wood shop.  Yes there are bugs to work out (there always are), and mindset changes to be made, but we are one step closer to going off grid.

Water supply is obviously very important, so now it becomes a question of whether to work toward a larger inverter for the existing pump, or to get a 12volt or 24 volt pump that will pull less power without the need for an inverter.  There is, however, only one answer for the more powerful tools.  A larger inverter will be required.  In all probability, the item that I am able to purchase first (larger inverter or DC powered pump) will be the next step.  Between now and then, I am enjoying using electric that does not run through my meter.

I would love to see your input and comments on this subject.  Thank You.

                              

                                                    

(DF) HOMADE SOLAR PANEL UPDATE

I know that some of you have been wondering how things turned out with my cheap homade solar panels.  The fact is that the panels turned out fine, but the hookup is still in progress.  As some of you may be aware, this is one of my pocket change projects, which progresses in stages as accumulated pocket change allows.  During the time between stages, I have been learning more about how the process works, so the time isn't wasted.

Initially, there were two main reasons I decided to work toward going solar.  The first and most obvious, was to cut the energy bills.  The second, based on laws requiring power companies to pay for any extra power that a person generates, was the hope of making a little money.  Lets face it, everyone knows it would be totally sweet to get a check from the power company instead of the other way around, even if the check was only a few dollars.  Turns out that it is not quite that simple.

Obviously, to send power back to the power company, there has to be equipment connected to the grid to convert the power to a compatible form.  This equipment is known as a grid tie inverter.  These are expensive and are supposed to be hooked up by licensed professionals who are trained accordingly.  For the record, I AM NOT that trained professional.  Needless to say, the cost of such a system would be far beyond the scope of a pocket change project.  There had to be another way.

Searching for "another way" led to the consideration of what is called a plug and play grid tie inverter.  The purpose of this device is to convert the electricity to the proper form and send it back to the power company through the wiring in your home, shop, etc, by plugging it into a power outlet.  This sounded great, and best of all, the expense would be manageable.  Awesome, right?  Not so fast.

In the process of researching the grid tie inverter, I found reference to it not being legal to use.  Not legal is a bit of a drawback, to say the least.  My first thought was that if it isn't legal to use it, it shouldn't be legal to make or sell it.  More research was in order, because as much as we rely on computers and the Internet, anyone can say anything on the computer, but that doesn't necessarily make it true.

Thus began the search for the legality of what I hoped to do.  To say that such information is not easy to find would be an understatement on a galactic scale.  Finding someone who could shed light was not nearly so easy as finding those who could (and would) make it more obscure.  With any search, there are bound to be set backs and side tracks, and one of the more disappointing of these was a clause in the net metering law itself.  Hold that thought for a few minutes>

The only concrete information I could find about the legality of plug and play inverters was that they apparently had not been tested enough and though legal to use, the power company has the option of disconnecting the service if you do.  I never found the actual law involving this, but it was at least a consistent understanding from a number of sources.  The side track, however, made it a non issue.  It seems that the net metering law which requires power companies to pay for extra electricity sent back to them, also has an exemption for electric cooperatives, and you guessed it, my power company is a cooperative.  Instead of paying for the electricity, they are allowed to credit the extra power to your account to cover times when you don't produce enough.  Alright, that sounded good, all the extra power of the sunny summer months could cover the winter months when there is not as much sunshine.  Great, maybe even worth the investment for the professionally installed inverter, even without a check coming in.  NOT SO FAST!!! 

That might work great in some states, but I live in Oklahoma.  Under Oklahoma law, the electric cooperative doesn't have to roll the credit over for a year (like most states), they only have to roll it over for the month.  In other words, extra power produced on a sunny day in August, is only credited until the end of August, and only covers low production days for that month.  Any unused credit for the month is lost, and the power company gets it free. 

Sorry, but the power company doesn't give me electricity free, so I do not intend to give it to them.  Fair is fair. Another option, the one I have chosen, is to use a regular power inverter.  With this option, I can have separate systems for different usage areas, making it unnecessary to run wires for long distances.  It also allows me to get the bugs worked out of one small system before spending the time and money to set up the whole farm.  My first usage area will be the well, which should show a return on the investment, in the form of a lower bill,  in the first billing cycle, and one more small step toward self-sufficiency.  Water is used every day (though we try to conserve as much as possible), and the well pump pulls a significant amount of energy each time it starts up.

Tomorrow, I am supposed to pick up the battery, and I have already purchased an inverter and charge controller.  Today, I finished the final welds on the mounting frame, though I may have to drill a couple more bolt holes to adjust the angle.  Yes, it is getting close to the moment of truth.  As soon as the system is operational, I will post pics and some details of the hookup.   Wish me luck.

(DF) CHEAP, HOMADE SOLAR PANELS: First Try

For many years I have been interested in solar power.  Unfortunately, several years ago, information and supplies were limited and prices were quite high.  Wit lack of information, components and funds, other interests took priority and alternative energy was left to simmer on the back burner.

Not, things have changed.  Information is readily available, components are more readily obtained and, though prices aren't exactly cheap, by shopping around a bit, some decent prices can be found.  Over the last couple of years, I have done quite a bit of research; research that has led in many directions.  As expected, most sites with information are trying to sell something, giving enough free information to spark interest and a price tag for getting enough kno0wledge to make it work.

After looking at several of these sites, I was able to piece together a general knowledge of how solar energy works.  Details and components, however, were more elusive, unless one was willing to pay for the training program.  Being such a tightwad, I was not willing to pay for the information.

One evening, armed with some basic knowledge and a good deal of frustration (mainly involving the local power company), it occurred to me to search for solar cells instead of information.  Most sites were pricey so I broadened the search to include "CHEAP" solar cells.  I found several sites with much kinder prices, but one in particular caught my eye.

A site Called :"solarcells101.com", not only had quite a variety of B grade and damaged cells relatively cheap, but also carried other components.  Perhaps more importantly, they have a free e-book of instructions.  These may not be the most detailed instructions, but 6they seemed to make sense, and the price was right (even for a confirmed tightwad).

With the obstacles of information and components taken care of, that only leaves cash (or lack of it) standing in the way.  While barely making ends meet, it is hard to come up wi8th funding for more projects.  Question is simple, can solar energy be funded with pocket change?  With pocket change being about all that was left after paying the bills, I was determined to find out. I have long had a habit of putting pocket change in a can to build up for emergencies, so I started counting up change.

Before ordering solar cells and such, there were a few tools I needed to acquire.  First round of chance got a soldering iron for putting the cells together and a multimeter for testing Amps and voltage.  I already had most of the other tools needed.

Next time the pocket change allowed, it was time to order cells.  To be more precise, it was time to order cells, tab wire, bus wire and (just for good measure) diodes.  For this first order I chose the 75 broken cells Item (it takes 36 cells for a panel that will produce enough volts to charge a 12 volt battery), 20 feet of tab wire, 8 feet of bus wire and 4 diodes.  This choice was made in order to have relatively cheap components for practice.  This order came to $70 which was a bit more than the contents of the change can.  A couple of weeks later, however, the change was cashed in, deposited and the order placed.

A few days later, I was like a kid at Christmas, opening packages and playing with new toys.  At first, I was amazed at just how delicate and fragile the cells were.  Yes, I broke a few before getting a feel for how to pick up such thin delicate items with my large hands.  Soon, this became less of an issue, but soldering such delicate connections took a bit of practice.

I began by soldering tab wire to the bottom (gray) side of the cells, leaving enough tib wire to cross the top (blue side) of the next cell.  As a
point of information, the bottom is the positive side and the top is the negative.

With tab wires on bottom, the next cell is aligned with the first and the tab wire soldered to the top of the second.  Positive wired to negative is called connecting in series, which increases voltage, leaving the amps the same.

This process was continued until four rows of nine cells were created.   A few of the cells were broken to the point that two pieces had to be soldered together in parallel (positive to positive and negative to negative) in order to get the amperage up so they wouldn't weaken the whole panel.  The "repaired" cells were then soldered in just as normal cells.

Four rows of nine were placed side by side, and attached with bus wire, in series just as the individual cells.  Wires were soldered to the bus wires for making connection the panel to the inverter or battery.

Now all the cells were together and they were producing electricity when placed in the sun.  However, a group of solar cells tied together, do not a solar panel make.  Now they had to be enclosed to prevent the delicate little buggers.  There are three basic ways to encase the cells.  One method is to make a metal frame with a pane of glass, place the cells face down on the glass and fill the frame with a resin type substance called encapsulent.  Another method is to make a flat plywood box, glue the cells in it and cover with glass.  The other method (and the one that seemed most often recommended) was to place the cells between tow layers of glass and seal the edges.

Being a tightwad, I chose to use the resources at hand which included a pane of glass salvaged from a storm door and some good, thin plywood salvaged from an old shipping crate.  I cut the plywood to size, treated it with deck sealer which had been purchased at a surplus store quite cheaply.  When the sealer was dry, I attached the cells to the backing with silicone sealer, made spacers from pieces of an old pencil so the glass would not crush the cells, and placed the glass on top.  The edges were then sealed with silicone and later with waterproof tape for good measure.

Though not the most powerful solar panel ever made, the finished

product produces about 2 amps at 21 volts in full sun.  That translates to about 40 watts at peak, plenty to charge a 12 volt car battery or feed back through a grid tie. To make it even nicer, the actual cost after figuring in the remaining parts for future use, was under $60.

Now all that remains is to hook the new panel up and start producing power.  For the next panel, I will use unbroken, higher output cells designed to produce over 3 amps.  The supplies are already ordered (yes, from pocket change)and I can hardly wait to get started.

(DF) WHERE HAS DAVE BEEN HIDING?????

For those of you who have been wondering where I've been hiding, what I've been doing, or worse yet, haven't thought of me at all, I am still here.  Yes, I have been lax in posting, but I am still here behind the scenes while Anna is working hard to hold the site together.  THANKS HONEY!

While I have not been posting, there have been a few things going on.  OK! quite a few things going on.  In short, I have been busier than a cat covering sh__, meeting myself coming back and so on.

During my apparent absence, I have continued to work at the previously mentioned large, corporate department store in order to keep paying the bills.  At this point, I no longer work in the garden center.  I transferred to the claims department at the first of the year.  Lots of new stuff to learn, better pay and a better schedule.  My days off are no longer on weekends when Anna is tied up with her business, so we can actually spend time together getting things done.  The only real drawback (other than having to be there at all) is the blatant, shameful (and yes, I will say it), SINFUL waste of this world class corporation.  It is appallingly clear to me in this department and frankly, it sickens me to the depths of my soul.  Sorry about the soap box ------ ok, sorry is much too strong of a word.

I am not sure that I mentioned that I am a massage therapist.  My practice fell off sharply a few years ago through circumstances (and people) beyond my control, and for some time now I have only had a few clients who only schedule a couple of times a year.  Recently, business has begun to pick up quite unexpectedly, giving a glimmer of hope that it may actually pay the bills at some point in the future.  Though rebuilding a practice takes some time away from the farm, it is helping fund some projects and could eventually allow for far more time at home instead of feeding the corporation.

The forge here at Dave's Farm has also been up and running recently.  Believe me, it feels good t be pounding hot metal again.  As an added bonus, a young co-worker is anxious to come out and learn the basics.  Always good to see young people wanting to learn old ways.

Yes, of course, and absolutely, I am still working toward self-sufficiency.  The first order of solar cells arrived a couple of days ago.  Now we will see if I am smart enough to put together panels that will really work.  This will be my first attempt, so maybe we will all be able to learn something from my fumbling.  I will try to post pictures of this process.

If by now, you are asking when I find time to see Anna, I must confess that I don't know how I find that time, but thank goodness I do.  We don't get to spend near enough time together, but what time we have together is quality and very precious.

When you add to all of this, the efforts to prepare the garden for planting, preparation of high quality compost, clearing fence rows for goat fencing, and many other projects, it isn't hard to see some reasons for my lack of posts.  While I can't promise that I will have a great deal of time to write, I do apologize for being so lax in posting.

Meanwhile, thank you for supporting our site with you views and comments.

(DF) SOLAR POWERED CHEESE: alternative energy at it's tastiest

As those of you who raise goats will no doubt agree, when the goat isn't giving milk, you wish she was, but when she is giving milk, there is often more than can be readily used.  This is where cheese comes in.  Making cheese isn't difficult, though some would say it requires close attention to details and precise monitoring of  temperature, and of course, a good cheese press.  I must say I agree with the consideration of temperature control  and I do enjoy a good press, at least I agree when it comes to making specific types of cheese.  Lets face it, if the temperature and method aren't correct, cheddar might turn out to be almost anything, though it would still be something resembling cheese.  The fact is that all that is required to make cheese (at least in theory) is milk, rennet to make it curd, and a source of heat to get it to the right temperature for the rennet to do its work.

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your view, I tend to be more inclined to experiment than to follow a set procedure, though there is usually some thought of what the general goal is.  Sunday morning, the goal was simply to turn the five quarts of goat milk into something resembling cheese so it wouldn't become chicken feed. 

Another major factor for the day was time constraints.  Working overtime during the past week left me with one day off to catch up on all the work around the farm, and honestly, one day isn't even time enough to maintain what has already been done, much less make progress.  I know this post is getting a bit scattered at this point, but if you will bear with me, I will scatter it a bit farther before bringing it all together.

Solar energy seems to be a big topic right now, and I do plan to set up a solar electric system as soon as possible.  However, farmers have always used solar power.  Technically, green leaves are solar panels and roots, fruits, seeds and vegetation are the storage batteries that power life on the farm.  Solar power is also used for heat (some times a bit too much heat, in fact).

Now back to the cheese.  On this particular day, due to time constraints and work load, I needed it to be simple.  How simple?  Simple enough that it would do the work itself and leave me to planting yet more tomatoes, among other chores.  With that in mind, I took the five quarts of milk I had stored in the refrigerator, poured them in a stainless steel stock pot, added rennet and placed the pot on the pump slab in the sun to heat up.  My thought was that the sun would warm the milk, allowing the curds to set, and all I would have to do was squeeze out the whey, add a little salt and eat fresh cheese for supper.  Having never tried this method (or even knowing of anyone who had) my consideration was that if it didn't work out, the chickens would eat well.

Three hours later, when I stopped planting to cool off a bit, I found that the curds had set beautifully.  The curds were quickly cut, placed in a cloth lined drainer and most of the whey gently squeezed out.  A little natural salt was added and a bit more whey squeezed out.  As a side note, my hands are large and strong, making it hard for me not to squeeze out too much whey when making fresh cheese.  This time, however, I restrained myself and the result was the absolute best fresh cheese I have ever made, dry enough but not rubbery. 


You can bet in the future, I will be making use of solar power for cheese making on a regular basis, saving the fire for cold weather.