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It seems as though we are trying to build a cathedral foundation to hold an
outhouse. It isn't like I'm LIVING in the hangar, nor am I there working all day every day. Sure, lights when you are elbow deep inside an engine are nice, but hardly bleeding edge solar design. What? Ten fluorescent fixtures with 80 watts of bulbs each? A drop cord with another 20 watt fluorescent bulb? Perhaps a hand drill twice a day WHEN you are working in the hangar? As to the compressor, drill press, grinder etc., a gas generator for the few times a month you need them is quite in order and certainly less expensive in both the short and long term than gearing up for 100% solar for the peaks. And, if you design the system correctly, letting the gas generator run for an hour every time you fire up and letting the batteries take a full charge from an inexpensive battery charger can add to the output of the solar system. I've done a little digging and it seems that Great Plains has the best pricing on solar panels. Harbor Freight has a little better pricing, but I need something that I can reliably get month in and month out (I'm the guinea pig for about 50 hangars) and I can never rely on Harbor Freight to have what I need when I need it. My best guess after doing a little educated digging is that I can come up with a system I can live with for a little over 1 AMU. (For those of you not on the aviation newsgroups, an AMU is a measure of money used to disguise the true cost of airplane ownership from other ... ummm ... family members who might think that clothes, food, and other nonessentials take priority over flying. 1 AMU = $1000US.) Jim In order to make an intelligent decision and design an economical system, your very first step has to be to estimate your electricity usage as accurately as possible. In addition to adding up your daily consumption in kWh or amp-hours, you also have to consider peak loads. And, especially since you may be using a compressor, you will also have to consider the startup surge -- with a compressor this may be five to ten times the running amps. That information should be decipherable from the motor face plate. |
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On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 10:29:12 -0800, RST Engineering (jw) wrote:
My best guess after doing a little educated digging is that I can come up with a system I can live with for a little over 1 AMU. (For those of you not on the aviation newsgroups, an AMU is a measure of money used to disguise the true cost of airplane ownership from other ... ummm ... family members who might think that clothes, food, and other nonessentials take priority over flying. 1 AMU = $1000US.) "Aircraft Monetary Unit?" I've heard that a boat is a hole in the water lined with wood, into which one pours money. ;-) Do airplane people have a similar saying? I have only a little bit of experience with airplanes - I logged 4 hours in a Cessna 150 before the local flight school got shut down because of fuel considerations, and I've sat in a DC-9 simulator, and had a simulated airplane ride where I drove, but I've never gotten into any of the cameraderie, like one would do as a skydiver. Yeah, that's it - the best experiences I've ever had with airplanes has been either abusing them or jumping out of them. ;-P But, do airplane guys use the term "money hole" like boat and house owners? You can't "pour" anything _up_, you know, albeit I have heard that humans were created by water to transport itself uphill. ;-) Cheers! Rich |
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Rich Grise wrote:
You can't "pour" anything _up_, you know, albeit I have heard that humans were created by water to transport itself uphill. ;-) How about suck, as in "an airplane is a rather small hole in the sky made of aluminum or cloth and wood that sucks the money right out of the owner?" -- Peter |
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Rich Grise wrote:
But, do airplane guys use the term "money hole" like boat and house owners? We drill expensive holes in the sky |
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Boring $100 holes in the sky ... going fifty miles for a $100 hamburger ...
standing in front of a fan tearing up $100 bills ... dozens more. Jim "Rich Grise" wrote in message news ![]() I've heard that a boat is a hole in the water lined with wood, into which one pours money. ;-) Do airplane people have a similar saying? |
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I've heard that a boat is a hole in the water lined with wood, into
which one pours money. ;-) Do airplane people have a similar saying? An Airplane is a large mobile fan into which the owner is obliged to throw handfuls of money (to watch it blow away). David Johnson |
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On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 10:29:12 -0800, "RST Engineering \(jw\)"
wrote: It seems as though we are trying to build a cathedral foundation to hold an outhouse. It isn't like I'm LIVING in the hangar, nor am I there working all day every day. Sure, lights when you are elbow deep inside an engine are nice, but hardly bleeding edge solar design. What? Ten fluorescent fixtures with 80 watts of bulbs each? A drop cord with another 20 watt fluorescent bulb? Perhaps a hand drill twice a day WHEN you are working in the hangar? It's not a matter of building a cathedral foundation, but rather trying to design the least expensive foundation. But I guess if you're going to light 35 hangars with ten fluorescent fixtures that are on for a few minutes each day, you won't need much. As to the compressor, drill press, grinder etc., a gas generator for the few times a month you need them is quite in order and certainly less expensive in both the short and long term than gearing up for 100% solar for the peaks. Very reasonable, and what I would suggest depending on how much the surge is. Of course, that means you'll have to have wiring so that those items will plug directly into the generator, rather than going through the inverter. And, if you design the system correctly, letting the gas generator run for an hour every time you fire up and letting the batteries take a full charge from an inexpensive battery charger can add to the output of the solar system. It is extremely inefficient to bring the batteries up to full charge using the gas generator. Batteries charge more slowly as they approach full charge. Better get a reliable generator, then. I've done a little digging and it seems that Great Plains has the best pricing on solar panels. Harbor Freight has a little better pricing, but I need something that I can reliably get month in and month out (I'm the guinea pig for about 50 hangars) and I can never rely on Harbor Freight to have what I need when I need it. My best guess after doing a little educated digging is that I can come up with a system I can live with for a little over 1 AMU. Ron (EPM) (N5843Q, Mooney M20E) (CP, ASEL, ASES, IA) |
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