Another 3 hour run. This time with the new inverter, which didn't make a difference.
By integration, I mean that the water goes into a closed loop. It is collected and reused, over and over. At least that is the goal.
Problems along the way have interfered with the system being implemented on an operational basis. It is still experimental. It may always be that way because this really isn't worth much, as we'll see.
There are only a few hours each day to gather the solar power that will run the system. It may be best to start before daylight so that the amount of water collected is maximized. Perhaps 6 AM to 9 AM would be best. The ending time is about the beginning time when the solar power can be collected in order to recharge the battery.
The condensing part will continue with the mini-split after the dehumifier run in the morning. The mini-split can collect more water than the dehumifier because it is more powerful. The evaporative cooler will run with the water that will come from the previous day's collection from the mini-split, plus any water that was collected from the dehumidifier run early in the morning.
All together, I may collect close to three gallons of water per day. That will run the evaporative cooler for several hours. The late afternoon will probably not have any assistance from the evaporative cooler. It will dry out the inside, and it will go into the collection can outside where the mini-split works, to be used the next day.
So there's the system, for what it is worth. What's it worth? Probably not much. It may not save but a few pennies worth of electricity each day. It's not at all economical. But it's "green". How lovely. The water gets used over and over. How admirable.
The water would be worth more with some other use, but this is sufficient for now. Water on the desert is priceless. Or the same if the water service is disrupted in the city. So there's that going for it.
Saturday, August 31, 2024
Friday, August 30, 2024
The weather really is changing
8/30/24: I did a Joe Biden/Kamala Harris. Oh no! Had to cover up my mistake.
10:54 AM:
It was shut down about 30 minutes early due to threatening looking cloud cover, and a forecast of rain in the morning. This forecast had been changed. Since then, the clouds have cleared. Oh, well.
Something I hadn't been noticing until now. There's a big voltage drop at the inverter. The controller will say 12.9 volts, but the inverter says 11.5 volts. I wonder if there's something amiss with this inverter. It is an old inverter now. Bought it in 2015.
This was about 2.5 hour run. I'd say the battery held up well.
7:16 AM
This looks to be an early fall. The forecast is for rain chances for the next 10 days. Quite the change over the weather pattern just 10 days ago.
I'm going to make a solar power run this morning. That means powering the dehumidifier for at least 3 hours depending upon its state of charge at the end of that time ( or before ), it will be shut down. Then I'll switch modes to recharging the batteries.
10:54 AM:
It was shut down about 30 minutes early due to threatening looking cloud cover, and a forecast of rain in the morning. This forecast had been changed. Since then, the clouds have cleared. Oh, well.
Something I hadn't been noticing until now. There's a big voltage drop at the inverter. The controller will say 12.9 volts, but the inverter says 11.5 volts. I wonder if there's something amiss with this inverter. It is an old inverter now. Bought it in 2015.
This was about 2.5 hour run. I'd say the battery held up well.
7:16 AM
This looks to be an early fall. The forecast is for rain chances for the next 10 days. Quite the change over the weather pattern just 10 days ago.
I'm going to make a solar power run this morning. That means powering the dehumidifier for at least 3 hours depending upon its state of charge at the end of that time ( or before ), it will be shut down. Then I'll switch modes to recharging the batteries.
Thursday, August 29, 2024
Time for a little thinking
8/29/24, 6:47 AM
A bit of fine-tuning needs to take place while the weather does its thing. Got a bit windy yesterday. The seasons are changing. Instead of very hot and dry weather, we've entered a period of sudden thunderstorms and rain.
I've built some structures to keep things dry. It won't do to have electronics get wet. This has worked mainly, but it could be better.
As for running the dehumidifier, I am beginning to wonder if that is a total waste of effort. But I haven't built it the way I need to, so that conclusion is a bit premature.
To repeat, the dehumidifier and evaporative cooler are intended to work together as a type of climate control. The principles are the same, but instead of chemicals, I am using plain old water.
For instance, in any cooling system, there is an evaporating unit and there is a condensing unit. The cooling effect comes from the evaporator, and a warming effect comes from the condensor. The idea is to remove heat from an area by having the evaporator cool an area down, but the water has to come out, which heats things back up. To actually get the heat out, the hot air is sent out a window through a ventilation device. The problem is that my ventilation device is not working properly.
Such an arrangement with water isn't very effective, but it is low energy. Probably can be considered low-tech too. The advantage is that it is lower hanging fruit, so to speak. Any yahoo can do this, so here I am doing it.
1:08 PM
Just completed a re-work of the ventilation for the dehumidifier. Checked it out, and it does seem to be doing much better. There won't be any use of the solar panels, so it will run on grid power to test out the dehumidifier, and there's a change in how the mini-split will work, too. Perhaps I can find out something useful in this exercise.
I've built some structures to keep things dry. It won't do to have electronics get wet. This has worked mainly, but it could be better.
As for running the dehumidifier, I am beginning to wonder if that is a total waste of effort. But I haven't built it the way I need to, so that conclusion is a bit premature.
To repeat, the dehumidifier and evaporative cooler are intended to work together as a type of climate control. The principles are the same, but instead of chemicals, I am using plain old water.
For instance, in any cooling system, there is an evaporating unit and there is a condensing unit. The cooling effect comes from the evaporator, and a warming effect comes from the condensor. The idea is to remove heat from an area by having the evaporator cool an area down, but the water has to come out, which heats things back up. To actually get the heat out, the hot air is sent out a window through a ventilation device. The problem is that my ventilation device is not working properly.
Such an arrangement with water isn't very effective, but it is low energy. Probably can be considered low-tech too. The advantage is that it is lower hanging fruit, so to speak. Any yahoo can do this, so here I am doing it.
1:08 PM
Just completed a re-work of the ventilation for the dehumidifier. Checked it out, and it does seem to be doing much better. There won't be any use of the solar panels, so it will run on grid power to test out the dehumidifier, and there's a change in how the mini-split will work, too. Perhaps I can find out something useful in this exercise.
Tuesday, August 27, 2024
No experiments today
Very dry lately. But rain has arrived, and is in the forecast in the next 10 days. Looks like my experiments may have to go on the shelf for awhile.
Monday, August 26, 2024
Experiments are hitting a snag
8/26/24, 7:01 AM
There haven't been updates for the last few days. Writing a blog has to be a habit, otherwise, the outcome is like before. The blog gets neglected.
Let's not make that mistake again.
Work continues, despite the lack of blogging. It seems that my mosquito control needed a part, so I got it. However, I noticed when I put it in, which is a screen, that my plastic water receptacle broke. The trouble is that it was leaking all over the place, as opposed to leaking into the bucket like I wanted it to.
I tried repairing the old Frisbee. The Frisbee is turned upside down, which allows it to collect water. I cut a notch into the side of the Frisbee, so it would leak out and into the bucket. Alas, the Frisbee cracked. That's what happens with plastic. It gets old, and it cracks easily.
I used some Flexiseal to repair the crack, but it didn't work. This morning, there was water all over the place again, as the Frisbee is leaking where I don't want it to.
I may have to engineer a new receptacle that is like a Frisbee if this thing isn't repairable.
Thing is, I need it to rest on two by fours that the weight of the sand and pebble mixture that makes up the bulk of the home-made water-filtration device. It sits on top of the 5 gallon bucket which collects the filtered water. This is one heavy mother with all that wet sand and pebbles inside of the other 5 gallon bucket being used to house the filter.
In short, this isn't going smoothly.
As for the solar power aspect, I am running another experiment. That's not going like I'd like either. It seems that I gather plenty of power, but there's not enough ways to get use out of it. Dehumidifying and collecting the water will use up the battery for sure, so that leaves out climate control. Now I'm just gathering water with the excess power. And not much water at that. Power is only "excess", because there's not enough power to run the mini-split.
10:43 AM
The fix using flexiseal is working after an adjustment in its position. A four hour run with the dehumidifier on and the swamper off produced NO WATER. It doesn't seem worth it to use it in the summer. Maybe the winter.
There haven't been updates for the last few days. Writing a blog has to be a habit, otherwise, the outcome is like before. The blog gets neglected.
Let's not make that mistake again.
Work continues, despite the lack of blogging. It seems that my mosquito control needed a part, so I got it. However, I noticed when I put it in, which is a screen, that my plastic water receptacle broke. The trouble is that it was leaking all over the place, as opposed to leaking into the bucket like I wanted it to.
I tried repairing the old Frisbee. The Frisbee is turned upside down, which allows it to collect water. I cut a notch into the side of the Frisbee, so it would leak out and into the bucket. Alas, the Frisbee cracked. That's what happens with plastic. It gets old, and it cracks easily.
I used some Flexiseal to repair the crack, but it didn't work. This morning, there was water all over the place again, as the Frisbee is leaking where I don't want it to.
I may have to engineer a new receptacle that is like a Frisbee if this thing isn't repairable.
Thing is, I need it to rest on two by fours that the weight of the sand and pebble mixture that makes up the bulk of the home-made water-filtration device. It sits on top of the 5 gallon bucket which collects the filtered water. This is one heavy mother with all that wet sand and pebbles inside of the other 5 gallon bucket being used to house the filter.
In short, this isn't going smoothly.
As for the solar power aspect, I am running another experiment. That's not going like I'd like either. It seems that I gather plenty of power, but there's not enough ways to get use out of it. Dehumidifying and collecting the water will use up the battery for sure, so that leaves out climate control. Now I'm just gathering water with the excess power. And not much water at that. Power is only "excess", because there's not enough power to run the mini-split.
10:43 AM
The fix using flexiseal is working after an adjustment in its position. A four hour run with the dehumidifier on and the swamper off produced NO WATER. It doesn't seem worth it to use it in the summer. Maybe the winter.
Tuesday, August 20, 2024
Another run with solar powered dehumifier
8/20/24:
Running this again, but it looks like the same thing. So, I need to make a change.
It needs a ventilation tube custom built to attach to the dehumidifier. Then, the window needs to be fixed up so that the ventilation tube connects directly with it. Otherwise, partially opening the window in order to let the hot air out isn't going to work very well. This is very inefficient, I suspect.
The battery is holding up well. At 4 hours, it was still going strong. I'm going to go for 5 hours this time. The test is still ongoing as I write this. About 9 minutes to go. Incidentally, this easily could be the hottest day of the year so far. I saw a forecast for a high of 106. Don't know if we're there right now, though. Quick update: Nope. It's 104.
8/18/24: This time I ran it over 4 hours. The dehumidifier didn't pull out that much water inside, so that may explain the long lasting run.
I monitored the battery, expecting it to run out of juice after about 3 hrs, like it has been doing. Since it lasted a lot longer, and seemed far away from being fully discharged, I have to scratch my head and wonder what was the difference this time?
If it didn't pull out much water, then maybe it was because it wasn't running the compressor. If it wasn't running the compressor that much, then the battery would last longer.
Not too sure why it wasn't pulling the water out. I collected but a small amount during the 4 hour run.
The read out on the dehumifier said low humidity. But the evaporative cooler, aka swamp cooler, was running. The fans should have recirculated it back to the device, so it should have pulled out more.
Mainly, I'm just happy that the thing didn't run the battery down fast like the last time. The solar panels have been charging that battery for several days with no load on the battery. Maybe it hasn't been fully charged until now.
If it isn't fully charged now, then it will never be. Perhaps that explains the long longetivity. Like I said, I don't know why it lasted 4 hours plus, and could have lasted longer.
Running this again, but it looks like the same thing. So, I need to make a change.
It needs a ventilation tube custom built to attach to the dehumidifier. Then, the window needs to be fixed up so that the ventilation tube connects directly with it. Otherwise, partially opening the window in order to let the hot air out isn't going to work very well. This is very inefficient, I suspect.
The battery is holding up well. At 4 hours, it was still going strong. I'm going to go for 5 hours this time. The test is still ongoing as I write this. About 9 minutes to go. Incidentally, this easily could be the hottest day of the year so far. I saw a forecast for a high of 106. Don't know if we're there right now, though. Quick update: Nope. It's 104.
8/18/24: This time I ran it over 4 hours. The dehumidifier didn't pull out that much water inside, so that may explain the long lasting run.
I monitored the battery, expecting it to run out of juice after about 3 hrs, like it has been doing. Since it lasted a lot longer, and seemed far away from being fully discharged, I have to scratch my head and wonder what was the difference this time?
If it didn't pull out much water, then maybe it was because it wasn't running the compressor. If it wasn't running the compressor that much, then the battery would last longer.
Not too sure why it wasn't pulling the water out. I collected but a small amount during the 4 hour run.
The read out on the dehumifier said low humidity. But the evaporative cooler, aka swamp cooler, was running. The fans should have recirculated it back to the device, so it should have pulled out more.
Mainly, I'm just happy that the thing didn't run the battery down fast like the last time. The solar panels have been charging that battery for several days with no load on the battery. Maybe it hasn't been fully charged until now.
If it isn't fully charged now, then it will never be. Perhaps that explains the long longetivity. Like I said, I don't know why it lasted 4 hours plus, and could have lasted longer.
Saturday, August 17, 2024
Water filtration
Up until now, I haven't used any activated charcoal or carbon or whatever this stuff is. The idea here is to remove anything that might have gotten in that the dehumification may have put into the water. Perhaps it is some sort of volatile stuff that may have gotten into the water. Hopefully, the activated carbon will take that stuff out.
There is no plan against the mosquito larvae except to look out for them once I get the filtered water out. The filtered water goes into a 5 gallon bucket, and is pumped out by an electric pump placed inside of it. Stuff is stacked above it, so it is a pain in the butt to take all that down and clean out the bucket. Eventually, I will need a screen to place over it so that it will keep the mosquitoes out, so they won't be able to lay their eggs there.
The screen will go on the shopping list, along with the materials I will need for my lean-to shack outside.
There is no plan against the mosquito larvae except to look out for them once I get the filtered water out. The filtered water goes into a 5 gallon bucket, and is pumped out by an electric pump placed inside of it. Stuff is stacked above it, so it is a pain in the butt to take all that down and clean out the bucket. Eventually, I will need a screen to place over it so that it will keep the mosquitoes out, so they won't be able to lay their eggs there.
The screen will go on the shopping list, along with the materials I will need for my lean-to shack outside.
Friday, August 16, 2024
Dehumidifier and swamp cooler
8/16/24:
Emptied the "evaporative cooler" to find mosquito larvae. Well, there won't be any of that anymore.
8/15/24:
No swamp cooler today while I use the mini-split to run off all that excess water in the cooler. I guess I could have used the dehumidifier. Too lazy I guess. The mini-split can do it better, but it will use a lot of juice in the process.
3:50 PM
Ran the swamp cooler along with the dehumidifier again, but this time without the solar power. It collected 150 oz. of water, which went back into the cooler.
It got warmer in here, alright. But it wasn't all that bad. About 84 degrees. With a nice wind off that swamp cooler, which includes a bit of evaporated water that cooled the air to about 78 degrees, made it all seem like not such a big deal.
There's likely to be a lot of water coming off the mini-split. I'll check that tomorrow morning.
8:44 AM The idea was to limit the amount that the mini-split was needed so as to economize upon its operation. The mini-split uses 1200 watts when the compressor engages, and that is a lot. On the other hand, the dehumidifier uses only 300 watts, and could conceivably be powered with the solar power resources I have available.
But there's a problem with the solar power end of the deal. At present, I don't charge and discharge at the same time. Therefore, if the battery is being used to power the dehumidifier, the solar panels are on stand by. This is the prime part of the day, so there's a problem right there. The solar panels are being lost all during that time.
That could be as much as three hours. A way to improve upon this state of affairs? I could run a pair of wires from the main battery to the lead acid battery, and let the big battery charge the little battery while the big battery is also being charged. This would be no problem to set up. But the little battery could discharge faster than the big battery can charge it back up.
That's another conundrum. The obvious solution would be to add another big battery, and do the same thing. It could work for at least the three hours and maybe a couple more since it is constantly being replenished.
The problem here is that I don't want to keep buying this stuff.
I've got to choose quickly. Time doesn't stand still. Before you know it, the seasons will change.
Emptied the "evaporative cooler" to find mosquito larvae. Well, there won't be any of that anymore.
8/15/24:
No swamp cooler today while I use the mini-split to run off all that excess water in the cooler. I guess I could have used the dehumidifier. Too lazy I guess. The mini-split can do it better, but it will use a lot of juice in the process.
3:50 PM
Ran the swamp cooler along with the dehumidifier again, but this time without the solar power. It collected 150 oz. of water, which went back into the cooler.
It got warmer in here, alright. But it wasn't all that bad. About 84 degrees. With a nice wind off that swamp cooler, which includes a bit of evaporated water that cooled the air to about 78 degrees, made it all seem like not such a big deal.
There's likely to be a lot of water coming off the mini-split. I'll check that tomorrow morning.
8:44 AM The idea was to limit the amount that the mini-split was needed so as to economize upon its operation. The mini-split uses 1200 watts when the compressor engages, and that is a lot. On the other hand, the dehumidifier uses only 300 watts, and could conceivably be powered with the solar power resources I have available.
But there's a problem with the solar power end of the deal. At present, I don't charge and discharge at the same time. Therefore, if the battery is being used to power the dehumidifier, the solar panels are on stand by. This is the prime part of the day, so there's a problem right there. The solar panels are being lost all during that time.
That could be as much as three hours. A way to improve upon this state of affairs? I could run a pair of wires from the main battery to the lead acid battery, and let the big battery charge the little battery while the big battery is also being charged. This would be no problem to set up. But the little battery could discharge faster than the big battery can charge it back up.
That's another conundrum. The obvious solution would be to add another big battery, and do the same thing. It could work for at least the three hours and maybe a couple more since it is constantly being replenished.
The problem here is that I don't want to keep buying this stuff.
I've got to choose quickly. Time doesn't stand still. Before you know it, the seasons will change.
Thursday, August 15, 2024
One hazard to look out for
Mosquitoes. They are attracted to standing water, and will lay their eggs in it. I found some mosquito larvae in the filtered water, which is not good. I wonder now if I have imported any of these into the swamp cooler inside. After today, I will drain the cooler, and then there will be no doubt. Too bad I didn't think of this first this morning. The cooler is filled to the brim with water collected and filtered outside. Woof.
Perhaps a screen will keep them out. It is hard to see how they could get in, but they are small and resourceful little critters.
Yesterday, the experiment resulted in over 3 gallons of water collected. That's amazing.
However, no solar power was used. In order to gather this much, the batteries and the number of panels must be increased. Not interested in spending more money on this. That leaves me with a problem. There's enough power to do this much, but it isn't enough to make the whole thing solar powered.
It would cost hundreds of dollars to get it to that point, and I'm just not that interested.
Perhaps a screen will keep them out. It is hard to see how they could get in, but they are small and resourceful little critters.
Yesterday, the experiment resulted in over 3 gallons of water collected. That's amazing.
However, no solar power was used. In order to gather this much, the batteries and the number of panels must be increased. Not interested in spending more money on this. That leaves me with a problem. There's enough power to do this much, but it isn't enough to make the whole thing solar powered.
It would cost hundreds of dollars to get it to that point, and I'm just not that interested.
Tuesday, August 13, 2024
Update, 8/13/24
4:45 PM
Shut down the experiment after only 1 1/2 hrs. The main battery was discharging faster than yesterday. That's the main reason.
I have to re-think this, and come back to it some other time. This is really not worth all this effort. The conclusion at this point is that if you need electricity to power climate control, you will have to pay a lot. Better to find some other way than to use electricity. Less is more, to put it succinctly.
9:00 AM Over time, this can become something of a routine. For instance, first thing in the morning, collect the water. Run it through the water filter and/or use it to do a pre-wash. Yes, I've got a small washer thing that I've hardly used.
Back at the trailer, it was buried beneath all the stuff I had inside. Since I've been here, it has been buried beneath the stuff I've got in the van. It has been liberated as I've emptied the van. Relatively liberated that is. I'd like to build a lean-to shack in back to stow it so that it is more accessible. Right now, it is by the back door of the van. I have to climb inside to access it. What a pain in the butt.
So, the next project is to build that shack. As for the solar power system, I'll be using that equipment to power my tools that I'll be needing to build that shack. I've got a little power trailer that I can pull around with me which can reach any point on this property. Just bring along the power tools and the power trailer, and get down to business.
It has taken awhile to get to this point. Things are coming along. Slowly, because I move slowly these days.
Shut down the experiment after only 1 1/2 hrs. The main battery was discharging faster than yesterday. That's the main reason.
I have to re-think this, and come back to it some other time. This is really not worth all this effort. The conclusion at this point is that if you need electricity to power climate control, you will have to pay a lot. Better to find some other way than to use electricity. Less is more, to put it succinctly.
9:00 AM Over time, this can become something of a routine. For instance, first thing in the morning, collect the water. Run it through the water filter and/or use it to do a pre-wash. Yes, I've got a small washer thing that I've hardly used.
Back at the trailer, it was buried beneath all the stuff I had inside. Since I've been here, it has been buried beneath the stuff I've got in the van. It has been liberated as I've emptied the van. Relatively liberated that is. I'd like to build a lean-to shack in back to stow it so that it is more accessible. Right now, it is by the back door of the van. I have to climb inside to access it. What a pain in the butt.
So, the next project is to build that shack. As for the solar power system, I'll be using that equipment to power my tools that I'll be needing to build that shack. I've got a little power trailer that I can pull around with me which can reach any point on this property. Just bring along the power tools and the power trailer, and get down to business.
It has taken awhile to get to this point. Things are coming along. Slowly, because I move slowly these days.
Monday, August 12, 2024
Update 8/12/24
8:15 PM
Nope, not enough power to do anything really. Indeed, I may be pressing my luck to go much further with it. I have to say that this move is not recommended.
6:28 PM
The latest run just completed, was from 3:00 PM to a little after 6:00 PM. I'd say it ran for nearly 3 1/2 hours. It powered the dehumifier to produce a little over a half gallon of water.
At present, I'm guessing it has enough power to run a charger that will charge up the lead acid battery. We'll see. I haven't checked on it since it conked out on the dehumifier. I will mention it if it does, but not now. Cuz I just don't know yet.
11:46 AM The solar power system is starting to become mature, as I work out the details one-by-one. Today, I extended the weatherproofing of the system, since certain parts need to stay dry. In the meantime, I am running the system through its shakedown and getting to know its capabililties. For instance, the dehumidifier can be run about three hours before the battery runs down. I may be repeating myself, so I'll stop here. There's another run to do today, and that will begin in the late afternoon.
Nope, not enough power to do anything really. Indeed, I may be pressing my luck to go much further with it. I have to say that this move is not recommended.
6:28 PM
The latest run just completed, was from 3:00 PM to a little after 6:00 PM. I'd say it ran for nearly 3 1/2 hours. It powered the dehumifier to produce a little over a half gallon of water.
At present, I'm guessing it has enough power to run a charger that will charge up the lead acid battery. We'll see. I haven't checked on it since it conked out on the dehumifier. I will mention it if it does, but not now. Cuz I just don't know yet.
11:46 AM The solar power system is starting to become mature, as I work out the details one-by-one. Today, I extended the weatherproofing of the system, since certain parts need to stay dry. In the meantime, I am running the system through its shakedown and getting to know its capabililties. For instance, the dehumidifier can be run about three hours before the battery runs down. I may be repeating myself, so I'll stop here. There's another run to do today, and that will begin in the late afternoon.
Sunday, August 11, 2024
Modern folks are spoiled rotten
8/11/24:
Can't say that I'm surprised at the discharge rate now. It did pretty much the same as before. So, the capacity is about 3 hrs for this dehumidifier, and it will produce about 3 quarts of water. One wonders if this is all worth it. Only now do I think like that. Oh, well.
The system is inadequate for all but the most low energy tasks. It's rather expensive for such small results. Back to being spoiled, I guess.
8/10/24: 3:35 PM
Surprised me how fast it discharged this time. It isn't a straight line thing, or so it seems. The voltage went down pretty fast. Much faster than I expected. Now it is charging.
1:30 PM
Making another run after a few modifications. The idea is to maximize efficiency while maintaining a reasonable level of comfort. Also, an objective to actually run the big battery down and see what it can do. It has amazing capacity, or so it seems.
8:31 AM Continuing with the experiment. Using the battery to run the dehumidifier while the swamp cooler humidifies. Why? Basically to test it out at this point. Don't really need to run anything at the moment. Just want to observe this while it works.
8/9/24: 8:11 AM
Just did some "morning chores" that I deem necessary to run my experiments. This off-grid stuff is a LOT OF WORK. Then why do it?
Good question. It seems crazy. I know my mother, if she were still alive, would say I was crazy. She said that enough while she was still alive.
The point of this is to have something to count on in case of the SHTF, which could occur at any time. Assuming I survive the initial holocaust, I will be able to live off the land and sustain myself.
Not too sure why I would want to survive that though. There was the saying that the livng would envy the dead.
Enough with the gloomy stuff. Another reason is to wean myself off the Big Government/Corporate tit. It is that dependency which is feeding the monster that may consume us all.
The monster being the all powerful government.
Another reason for doing it is that I am an old cantankerous fart.
5:20 PM
A short blurb here to mention that the inverter arrived, and is now hooked up. The big batt is charging the little batt, and it is also running the dehumifier. Until it blows up or something. Cross my fingers.
Can't say that I'm surprised at the discharge rate now. It did pretty much the same as before. So, the capacity is about 3 hrs for this dehumidifier, and it will produce about 3 quarts of water. One wonders if this is all worth it. Only now do I think like that. Oh, well.
The system is inadequate for all but the most low energy tasks. It's rather expensive for such small results. Back to being spoiled, I guess.
8/10/24: 3:35 PM
Surprised me how fast it discharged this time. It isn't a straight line thing, or so it seems. The voltage went down pretty fast. Much faster than I expected. Now it is charging.
1:30 PM
Making another run after a few modifications. The idea is to maximize efficiency while maintaining a reasonable level of comfort. Also, an objective to actually run the big battery down and see what it can do. It has amazing capacity, or so it seems.
8:31 AM Continuing with the experiment. Using the battery to run the dehumidifier while the swamp cooler humidifies. Why? Basically to test it out at this point. Don't really need to run anything at the moment. Just want to observe this while it works.
8/9/24: 8:11 AM
Just did some "morning chores" that I deem necessary to run my experiments. This off-grid stuff is a LOT OF WORK. Then why do it?
Good question. It seems crazy. I know my mother, if she were still alive, would say I was crazy. She said that enough while she was still alive.
The point of this is to have something to count on in case of the SHTF, which could occur at any time. Assuming I survive the initial holocaust, I will be able to live off the land and sustain myself.
Not too sure why I would want to survive that though. There was the saying that the livng would envy the dead.
Enough with the gloomy stuff. Another reason is to wean myself off the Big Government/Corporate tit. It is that dependency which is feeding the monster that may consume us all.
The monster being the all powerful government.
Another reason for doing it is that I am an old cantankerous fart.
5:20 PM
A short blurb here to mention that the inverter arrived, and is now hooked up. The big batt is charging the little batt, and it is also running the dehumifier. Until it blows up or something. Cross my fingers.
Thursday, August 8, 2024
Beating the heat
9:44 AM
This is the hottest time of the year in these parts. Yesterday was over 100 degree F. The climate control in this location is actually quite good. You only feel it when you go outside. It feels like you're stepping into an oven.
So my efforts are along the lines of how to improve upon this. Well, you can't do it by much. But maybe it can be made more energy stingy. I put a watt meter on this ductless mini-split set up, and it will pull about 1200 watts when the compressor is engaged. There's some room for improvement right there.
Not to say that it's inefficient. Only that when it does kick in, it is a pretty heavy draw on electric current.
If the time it spends in the on mode is minimized, the energy stinginess factor increases. That would usually entail a higher thermostat setting. As I type this, I am looking at the readout. It is set at 27 degrees Celsius, which is about 81 degree F. The compressor kicks in ocassionally. If it ran all the time, that would not be what I'd want. I will keep the thermostat as high as I can get away with in order to minimize its use.
While the compressor is on, it is drawing water out of the room, which makes it drier inside, as well as cooler.
So I collect the water, and re-use it in my swamp cooler. The swamp cooler will evaporate water, and the dehumidifying function of the mini-split will draw the water back out and dump it outside in my collection bucket. This makes it a closed loop for that water. It so happens that I have another dehumidifier that I salvaged from my trailer when I moved out. It uses about 300 watts or so. So if I run this dehumidifier more, it means the dehumidifier on the mini-split will run less. That will make it more energy stingy.
The dehumidifiers pull out a LOT of water. More water than the swamp cooler can use. So I have an additional source of water unless I can run that swamper more often. Anyway, the plan is to hook up the solar power station to the dehumidiifier, which means that it doesn't use any grid power at all. The solar panels should be able to run this dehumifier almost all day while the sun is up.
I haven't got it all set up yet, but I'm getting there. I ordered another part from Amazon, and it will arrive tomorrow. When I hook up everything, the dehumifier will run on solar power for most of the day. This will reduce the amount of work that the mini-split will have to do in order to keep me cool and comfy. It will do so at the mimimized use of grid power, I hope.
5:00 PM
About noon-ish, I got an idea to run an experiment. The dehumidifiers were working, and the swamper was working, so why not put it through its paces? It seems that I can maintain a reasonable comfort level with the swamper going full blast and the mini-split set at its highest temperature--32 deg C. That's on a hot day with the temp above 100 Deg Farenheit.
It produces a bunch of water, which will require some way to use it. Recycling through the swamper won't be enough, because the swamper can't keep up. At 32 deg C, the mini-split runs about 1/3 of the time. If that holds, then solar power might be running about one half of my energy needs. It should make a dent in the electric bill.
Nice experiment, but I don't have my part from Amazon yet, so I cannot hook up the big battery and run it off solar power yet.
This is the hottest time of the year in these parts. Yesterday was over 100 degree F. The climate control in this location is actually quite good. You only feel it when you go outside. It feels like you're stepping into an oven.
So my efforts are along the lines of how to improve upon this. Well, you can't do it by much. But maybe it can be made more energy stingy. I put a watt meter on this ductless mini-split set up, and it will pull about 1200 watts when the compressor is engaged. There's some room for improvement right there.
Not to say that it's inefficient. Only that when it does kick in, it is a pretty heavy draw on electric current.
If the time it spends in the on mode is minimized, the energy stinginess factor increases. That would usually entail a higher thermostat setting. As I type this, I am looking at the readout. It is set at 27 degrees Celsius, which is about 81 degree F. The compressor kicks in ocassionally. If it ran all the time, that would not be what I'd want. I will keep the thermostat as high as I can get away with in order to minimize its use.
While the compressor is on, it is drawing water out of the room, which makes it drier inside, as well as cooler.
So I collect the water, and re-use it in my swamp cooler. The swamp cooler will evaporate water, and the dehumidifying function of the mini-split will draw the water back out and dump it outside in my collection bucket. This makes it a closed loop for that water. It so happens that I have another dehumidifier that I salvaged from my trailer when I moved out. It uses about 300 watts or so. So if I run this dehumidifier more, it means the dehumidifier on the mini-split will run less. That will make it more energy stingy.
The dehumidifiers pull out a LOT of water. More water than the swamp cooler can use. So I have an additional source of water unless I can run that swamper more often. Anyway, the plan is to hook up the solar power station to the dehumidiifier, which means that it doesn't use any grid power at all. The solar panels should be able to run this dehumifier almost all day while the sun is up.
I haven't got it all set up yet, but I'm getting there. I ordered another part from Amazon, and it will arrive tomorrow. When I hook up everything, the dehumifier will run on solar power for most of the day. This will reduce the amount of work that the mini-split will have to do in order to keep me cool and comfy. It will do so at the mimimized use of grid power, I hope.
5:00 PM
About noon-ish, I got an idea to run an experiment. The dehumidifiers were working, and the swamper was working, so why not put it through its paces? It seems that I can maintain a reasonable comfort level with the swamper going full blast and the mini-split set at its highest temperature--32 deg C. That's on a hot day with the temp above 100 Deg Farenheit.
It produces a bunch of water, which will require some way to use it. Recycling through the swamper won't be enough, because the swamper can't keep up. At 32 deg C, the mini-split runs about 1/3 of the time. If that holds, then solar power might be running about one half of my energy needs. It should make a dent in the electric bill.
Nice experiment, but I don't have my part from Amazon yet, so I cannot hook up the big battery and run it off solar power yet.
Wednesday, August 7, 2024
Update, 8/6/24
8.7.24:
The solar power system seems to be working okay. The water filter seems to be producing cleaner water than before. There's progress. It's going to rain tomorrow, so I need to improve upon my protective measures to keep the electronics dry. Update to the update: Weatherization complete.
8.6.24:
Made a cover for the battery and electronics. They're not supposed to get wet. It does tend to rain around here.
The trouble came when the sun came out, but the battery didn't seem to charge. I suspected a problem, so I started diagnosing it. Changed out some parts, but it probably wasn't necessary. The battery didn't charge because it was already charged.
I could have discovered this if I read the instructions. That does help sometimes.
Monday, August 5, 2024
Update, 8/2/24
8/5/24:
It is scheduled to arrive sometime this afternoon. The battery, that is.
The only thing I need to do is to swap out the battery that is hooked up now. The panels have charged the lead acid battery up to full, so the system is working. Once the LifePo battery gets here, the settings have to be adjusted, but that is no biggie. Shouldn't take too long now.
Update to the update: It has arrived. It is also installed and charging. It won't make 100% charged because it is so late in the day. We'll tee it up, and go at it again tomorrow.
8/4/24:
Getting ready to hook up the big battery once it arrives. Scheduled for tomorrow. Things have a way of getting complicated, though. A shipment was screwed up, so how to handle it? It turns out I could fix it, or send it back. I decided to fix the problem, because I didn't want to wait around again for parts. What was the problem? These guys reversed the polarity of a connection which can fit only one way. The fix was to cut the wire into and splice it back together again.
The fix is where the complexity came in. It's a bit of a shaky fix. Hopefully, it will be suffiicent for the job that I will call upon it to do.
It is a lot easier to think up a plan than to execute it. Interesting days these days. Lots of frustration, but eventually it seems to work out.
8.2.24
Parts for the solar power system keep dribbling in. Almost everything is here now, except the battery.
While waiting for the battery, I set up the wiring, and tested it with a voltmeter. Everything is just about set.
Also, the water experiment continues. I just wish the thing would leave the water cleaner, not dirtier. The filter doesn't filter too well. That's all for now.
It is scheduled to arrive sometime this afternoon. The battery, that is.
The only thing I need to do is to swap out the battery that is hooked up now. The panels have charged the lead acid battery up to full, so the system is working. Once the LifePo battery gets here, the settings have to be adjusted, but that is no biggie. Shouldn't take too long now.
Update to the update: It has arrived. It is also installed and charging. It won't make 100% charged because it is so late in the day. We'll tee it up, and go at it again tomorrow.
8/4/24:
Getting ready to hook up the big battery once it arrives. Scheduled for tomorrow. Things have a way of getting complicated, though. A shipment was screwed up, so how to handle it? It turns out I could fix it, or send it back. I decided to fix the problem, because I didn't want to wait around again for parts. What was the problem? These guys reversed the polarity of a connection which can fit only one way. The fix was to cut the wire into and splice it back together again.
The fix is where the complexity came in. It's a bit of a shaky fix. Hopefully, it will be suffiicent for the job that I will call upon it to do.
It is a lot easier to think up a plan than to execute it. Interesting days these days. Lots of frustration, but eventually it seems to work out.
8.2.24
Parts for the solar power system keep dribbling in. Almost everything is here now, except the battery.
While waiting for the battery, I set up the wiring, and tested it with a voltmeter. Everything is just about set.
Also, the water experiment continues. I just wish the thing would leave the water cleaner, not dirtier. The filter doesn't filter too well. That's all for now.
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