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DeepBass9

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  1. Like
    DeepBass9 reacted to Guss Davey in Shadowed for ages and jumped today   
    Hi
    Dreaming about solar... not because of Escom, but because it's cool stuff. Never got so far to make the jump. The >100K always found another place where it was spend (sometimes on very big white elephants).

    Today, I made the dive and transferred the payment of my first solar system. (With luck on my side, I will be dead before the panels read their end of life)
    Sunsynk 8 6.4 BSL Bull JA Solar 405 Mono's and all the other related goodiest
      A very big thank you to the guys from Power Forum Store for the good prices, good courier costs and excellent service.
    I will start a post on my build so that other can see how a newbie tries to figure out all this nice goodies.

     
  2. Like
    DeepBass9 got a reaction from ___ in Are Vertical Axis Wind Generator worth it?   
    Just check if you have enough wind. There is no power to be harvested in a breeze, you need strong wind. Also in strong winds, wind generators can be noisy and your neighbours might not like it.
  3. Like
    DeepBass9 got a reaction from Johannvdm in Deep Mulching v2.0   
    Seedlings are coming on nicely in the tunnel:

  4. Haha
    DeepBass9 got a reaction from shanghailoz in Essential items in a Solar installation   
    Distribution board that is properly wired. Many topics on this forum on that subject.
    Family that can be trained to use appliances when the sun is shining.
  5. Like
    DeepBass9 got a reaction from Cyon in Electric Quad Bike Conversion   
    I have now changed the gearing to lower than it was before. It still goes quite fast, but is short of power on the uphills, so I am going to reduce the final drive gearing further. Currently my kids can use it, but It won't move my fat butt uphill very quickly:
     
    New video.mp4
  6. Haha
    DeepBass9 got a reaction from Calvin in Essential items in a Solar installation   
    Distribution board that is properly wired. Many topics on this forum on that subject.
    Family that can be trained to use appliances when the sun is shining.
  7. Like
    DeepBass9 reacted to PaulF007 in Diy Hydro Station   
    Ok , so this project has been ongoing for the last three of four years and in fact is still going on we have learned a lot on hydro power and possible pitfalls. but I wont bore you all with the details. Here is what the "final" product looks like. 
    Ps. Not my system , hope to have one going in a year or so - (Need to raise the capital ) 
     
     
     
  8. Like
    DeepBass9 got a reaction from ___ in Big pump on Solar   
    Check how much power the pump is actually drawing. Just because it is rated at 18kW, doesn't necessarily mean it is using that amount. 
  9. Like
    DeepBass9 got a reaction from phil.g00 in Big pump on Solar   
    Check how much power the pump is actually drawing. Just because it is rated at 18kW, doesn't necessarily mean it is using that amount. 
  10. Like
    DeepBass9 got a reaction from francois in Deep Mulching Vegetable Production   
    So how does this apply to suburban gardens? As far as I am aware there are by laws in some cities against compost heaps (if anyone pays attention to by laws these days), but instead of making heaps, just use your grass clippings, raked leaves, braai ash and whatever else you have and spread it over the beds. For a lot of pruned branches etc, hire a wood chipper. This will save trips to the dump with black bags full of leaves, and significantly reduce your water consumption in your garden. Fertiliser costs will also be less as the organic matter holds nutrients, and if you are continually adding organic matter, the nutrients in the soil will increase, your plant growth will increase and you then have a virtuous cycle.
  11. Like
    DeepBass9 got a reaction from Louisvdw in Deep Mulching Vegetable Production   
    After about 4 or 5 years of using this system, the results are visible in the soil. On the top is soil taken from a mole heap outside the veggie garden, and on the right a spadeful from under the mulch. 
    The top is sand mainly, with little organic matter, and that yellow color is limonite, hydrated iron oxides.
    The bottom started off the same but is now dark with organic matter, and full of earthworms. 

  12. Like
    DeepBass9 reacted to AlanH in Victron Quattro fed by 21kVA Generator   
    OK, here some feedback.
    Lockdown made the whole process slower but I am currently at the a stage where the Generator can service my load and stays connected to the Victron.
    When inspecting the genertor I found the coupling plate between motor and generator was cracked all round and that was the first main issue.
    After I had that sorted the motor was smoking and missing so I had the injectors overhauled. This together with advancing the pump timing got me to a sweet spot on the generator.
    Now it will connect to the Victron and charge batteries and service the load, but I still have an issue with my SMA connecting at the same time.
    I also had to set the LOM to disabled which I don't want to do. So for now it is set to SAFE mode until I can identify the issues.
  13. Haha
    DeepBass9 got a reaction from Marcel Cerdan in AGM batteries, midpoint and balancing   
    If you don't hear it, YOU MAY BE GOING DEAF!!!!!! LOL.
  14. Like
    DeepBass9 reacted to Chris-R in AGM batteries, midpoint and balancing   
    Hi Marcel
    Balancing your batteries is of utmost importance if you are using lead acid/ agm / gel batteries. We have discussed this quite a few times on the forum already. All these types of batteries requires balancing, irrespective of the brand name. A set of batteries not equalised / balanced, will have a shorter lifetime than those balanced, and you will almost always end up with a battery in the bank, collapsing before the other 3 partners. We all know that it is not viable to replace 1 battery in a bank of 4, hence the need for a battery balancer. I found that the HA-02 balancer is doing a fine job in doing this and hence the reason for my distributing it in South Africa. I have sold many of them to the forum members and has never had anyone complaining about them not doing the job.
    Point is you have to balance the batteries, no matter what device you choose to do it with
    Hope this is of some use to you.
    Chris-R
  15. Like
    DeepBass9 reacted to LMthethwa in cellular towers   
    Scrarfussi,

    Apart from the cost factor there are many other reason, most related to why Cell phone companies are struggling to get sites built as quick as they would want.

    1) No one wants a tower next to their house or estate. now consider a tower and turbine combination.
    2) Tower loading limitation (load of amount of installed equipment on tower vs structural design integrity), space requirement for standalone turbine, let alone the unknown regulatory framework for turbine in residential/urban areas.
    3) Wing span consideration for a turbine size that would be required to carry the load of a typical cell phone tower site.
    I wonder whether there would be any interference to the RF equipment on the tower due to the proximity of the rotating blades and whatever harmonics would emanate from the turbine.
    Lastly, give us South African time, we will figure out something worth repossessing from that turbine infrastructure .......cheap passing shot I know!!!
    LM
     
  16. Like
    DeepBass9 reacted to mmacleod in Dyness vs Pylon   
    I find this a tricky one.

    What I like about pylontech is that they are clearly a solid product, they're generally known to be good with quite widespread usage, with independent tests in which they do very well and outperform a lot (most) of the other lithium batteries tested. I'm very happy with the one I have now and strongly considering to just expand with them, they're a solid product.
    I feel like I can buy a system that will use them right now, punch the numbers into my ROI formula to see what ROI will be like over 10 years and expect them to actually last 10 years, and that if they don't there's a reasonable chance (assuming I install them decently) that they will be replace under warranty and/or that the company will still even exist to do so.

    A 20% discount on the other hand is nothing to sniff at and if I could get the same thing for 20% less its definitely at the very least tempting.

    Dyness on the other feel like a harder to quantify risk.
    Yes there are the rumours that the people running it were previously at Pylontech, but even if that were true what exactly does that mean? Are they the people who made pylontech a success or did they leave because they were problematic or pushing Pylontech to be lower quality for cheaper parts and higher profit? How would I know? How much is this connection really worth in reality?
    The BMS is apparently the same, maybe that's true.
    What about the cells though? Are the cells the same quality or are they maybe sourcing lower quality cells?
    Do they even have the same quantity of cells? I see the Dyness 2.4 apparently weighs 22kg while the pylon 2.4 apparently weighs 24kg - could the difference in weight be that the pylon 2.4 actually has more cells and reserves some extra capacity to help them last longer (never reaches as low a state of charge) which in effect means the Dyness won't last as long?
    Which then brings me to question, if Dyness batteries start dying 6 or 7 years in will they be around to honour the warranty, or are they going to vanish.
    Do Pylontech maybe cost more because they reserve some money for warranty replacements, while Dyness are just yet another battery company (in a long line of battery companies) that are going to vanish from the face of the earth before anyone needs to claim?

    So in short, is Dyness cheaper because they have a more efficient manufacturing process and thinner margins, or are they cheaper because they are selling you less and/or have a less sustainable?
    I wish I knew that answer to that, I have no idea only questions.
    And so it becomes a matter of, take the "safer" but more expensive batteries and have a longer ROI, but be more likely to actually ROI for sure.
    Or take the cheaper batteries and have the possibility of a faster ROI, but run the risk of having no ROI at all if the batteries go poof a few years in...

    Still thinking about it myself, but I tend to be conservative on these things, for now I favour pylontech, I really like that theres detailed independent testing data as that is something I can really trust to some degree, though I hope someone comes up with more detailed and certain information on the dyness.
  17. Like
    DeepBass9 got a reaction from Fuenkli in Deep Mulching v2.0   
    For v2. 0 I'm going to expand and try on a bit of a larger scale. I have ploughed up and shaped about another 0.2 Ha, and the idea is to use this for summer tomatoes and other veggies, as well as some Indian corn and sweet potatoes.
    The first step is to cover the ground with straw to stop any further evaporation, and start building the soil. I have some assistants to help me here. I should have enough leftover straw from the feed bales to cover the ground completely by spring. 
     



  18. Like
    DeepBass9 got a reaction from ___ in Running completely off grid   
    That also explains why everything on a farm if fixed with a bit of baling wire. The logic is either a 50km round trip to Magalies, where they may have what I need, or 120km to Kdorp or Rburg, or what do I have handy? Here we go, baling wire, sorted! (for the moment).
  19. Like
    DeepBass9 got a reaction from Clint in Deep Mulching v2.0   
    There is another thread on deep mulching, and I have been doing that for a good few years, and every year the soil gets better, and the plants grow better. Here is the current winter's veggies:
     


  20. Like
    DeepBass9 reacted to phil.g00 in Solar Borehole pump experiences   
    I'd like to see a photo of what you come up with, like I say I have this project in my future as well.
  21. Like
    DeepBass9 reacted to GVC in evt geyser correct installation?   
    Have you checked the direction of your non-return valve, as it can only open with the direction of the flow? If it is installed the wrong way around then it will definitely not pump. Or possibly as @Chris Louw has pointed out, your pump may be too weak to open the valve. Maybe remove it for a test?
  22. Like
    DeepBass9 got a reaction from Fuenkli in evt geyser correct installation?   
    Thinking about it, how are those 'vacuum relief valves' supposed to work? On my high pressure geyser I have on both the inlet and outlet as per spec, but It takes a long time to get all of the air out of the tank, and get hot water to the Mrs' bath.
    Not if the pump is trying to push air out of the way.
    There can only be 3 reasons why it doesn't work. Leak, blockage or air bubble. Must be one of them!
    I was doing some piping with copper pipes, and the one supplier puts little rubber bungs at the end of the pipes to prevent damage, one of them found its way to inside the pipe, and after soldering it all up beautifully, then cursing and swearing for a day, that there was no water flow, I had to pull all of the pipes apart again and eventually found the problem.  
  23. Like
    DeepBass9 got a reaction from Fuenkli in evt geyser correct installation?   
    Are you sure you don't have a big air bubble inside the geyser? Is there a way to bleed the air out somehow? Your problem sounds like what happens when my borehole's water tank empties and air gets into the geyser. Its a sukkel to get the air out as the geyser is the high point in the system. Those air valves don't work very well always.
  24. Like
    DeepBass9 got a reaction from Clint in Lava Slow Combustion fireplace   
    I don't have one but apparently you can get thermoelectric fans that you just put on top of the stove and the heat makes them turn. Anyone tried one of those?

  25. Thanks
    DeepBass9 got a reaction from Tiens in Solar Panel   
    I'm sure you will find someone to buy your old ones. People are often looking for odd sizes that aren't made anymore. Maybe even me, I have to up grade my solar borehole pump sometime, so will be looking for panels. Post the specs and age under the classified and I'm sure you will have some interest. You are unlikely to get anywhere near what you paid for them though as the prices have come down so much. 
    As an alternative you could get a separate MPPT for your new panels, and just run in parallel with your old setup, unless roof space is a problem. 
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