Friday, December 10, 2010

Snowy Solar Panels---Dec Update

This is truly one of the downfalls of solar power in the winter. When the panels get covered like that, they don't charge very much. But then even if I were to clean them off, the sun is'nt shining all that well. I do alot of thinking about how I am going to clean them off when they are way up there on my house. I'm thinking some kind of vibrator system, or maybe compressed air, or maybe just let the sun melt it off. This really is'nt an issue for me right now though. This time of year the generator is usually utilized off and on even when the sun is shining. I use it to warm the batteries up in the old deep freeze. I got the shack all skirted in again for another long and cold winter. When I get more snow I will keep banking it up around the shack for added insulation.
The dirty old Peterbilt truck dash tells alot of info. the far left gauge is a thermometer that is reading -28 Celcius outside. Thanks to the Peterbilt getting tired and having some engine work and transmission issues rectified, I am on about a 2 week break from work to try and get some things done on the house. The old Peterbilt has less than 600,000 kms on it, but that is quite alot for a bush truck, where I have been driving it anyway. If it were mostly on the highway, it would probably have well over a million kms before all this stuff takes place. It's about 17,000 hours on the engine. It's got alot of hard mile on it. It can't seem to be helped with some of the places we go and the weight we haul. The boss offered me a brand new tri-drive, but I turned it down and let the other driver have it. I've had my taste of that, and don't really like it that much for what we do. They are really awkward to get around and also, it will be expected to be busier. I don't want to be real busy at work anymore. Not for awhile anyway.

All the windows and doors are in. I had that done for awhile now, except for the ones way up there.


Recently I have been working on the main loft floor. I always had some plywood up there to walk on, but nothing was cut to fit or secured. I now have it all sized, but still have to glue and nail it all down. I am going to concentrate on getting all my indoor plumbing done soon, as my permit, that I already had to get extended once, expires mid March. It'll be nice to get that out of the way, then get the electrical all out of the way so I can insulate and actually hold some heat in when I am burning propane. I can aim the heater at myself where I am working, and it does help alot, but I sure am going through the propane. It's been in the area of -20c/-8 ish F lately. I'm not going to let the cold slow me down much though, however, the lack of knowledge probably will. I spent most of today (Friday) just planning and measuring. I never was completely sure how I wanted to arrange my bathroom, but I do have a pretty good idea now. I think I'll get the plumbing permit guy to come out next week if he can, cause I have a big list of dumb questions for him. Drains, vents, even chimneys for propane appliances and woodstoves. I think he's into all that too. But now that I know what I am doing, it would be really neat to find out just how to do it. lol. Code, code, code. Anyway, just a little bit of an update for now.



Disclaimer--IMPORTANT


This is a personal blog, mainly for my own use. I am building a house with my own two hands, but I am learning alot of things as I go. I do not claim to know what I am doing, or if anything I do is even close to being done correctly or safely. So please, if you are planning on using any of my ideas or methods for your own use, please get professional advice before actually following through with your actions. I will not be held responsible for any injuries or damages of any kind caused by information or comments from this blog.

19 comments:

  1. Everything looks great Mark! You've got a lot done since your last post. Nice that you will have a little break from your paying job to work on things.
    Keep warm and thanks for the update! :)

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  2. Looking good on the cabin, on the solar panels have you thought about maybe pole mounting them 10' above the ground and not on the roof as an option.. Thx for the update

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  3. Thanks Jeanie. A break from the job is very welcome to me right now. I just gotta take advantage of it while it's here. Hopefully it last longer than it's supposed to, but I know my boss is probably thinking the total opposite of that. lol.

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  4. Thanks Scott. Ya I have thought of that, but part of the reason why I built a tall house was for the panels. I gotta have them up high, because I have trees in the distance that need to be outsmarted. I'll probably have to top about three spruce trees that are pretty close to the house also as it is. I'll figure something out eventually though. I notice the snow on the roof of the house stays there better than I thought it would also. It's probably waiting for me to walk under it, and then.............

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  5. Gotta keep planning for all possible things! Like that falling snow from the roof!

    Looks like you have things under control, my friend! I'm proud of your progress!

    Have a good one, buddy!

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  6. Hey Jim. That snow is clinging to the roof pretty good. I figured that even the slightest breeze would avalanche it, but I know it is just waiting until I least expect it probably. Thanks Jim.

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  7. Looks like things are coming along! Glad your staying warm while you work. And I don't really know what that other truck, the newer one, you mentioned is, but let me just say this.
    We despise the day we decided to buy this new truck. Looking forward to the day we can just use the old '87 Pete. This new one's all electrical and problem after problem that only the dealership can fix. But on the Pete, Malcolm can do it all. SO...good choice on your part!

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  8. for instance...the air pressure alarm is going off as we speak..again. Loosing presure. Got to find parking FAST before we lock up in teh road!

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  9. Hi Hermit. Your cabin looks great! I'm glad you got some time off from work. It's always good to have a lil break in between jobs. It would be great if you had some kind of pulley system somehow installed so that you may be able to raise and lower the pole that the panels are on. Just a thought. Great to see an update. ~Jen

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  10. Hello Sarah. It's a tri-drive. It would be a brand new Peterbilt with 3 drive axles. Instead of a tandem, it is a tridem. They are really ugly to get around with, especially in the bush alot of times. I do like the old one, but I can remember alot of issues with it when it was new also. Hope your air leak was just something simple, like a draincock on a tank or something. Speak of the devil, eh?

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  11. Thanks Jen. I am enjoying some time off. Should break the truck more often I guess. lol. I thought of something like that too, a pole that raises and lowers. We'll get something figured out sometime. I'll probably do some experimenting with it in the summer.

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  12. Run some heat tape around the panels, I have to dust mine off every day where I live.

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  13. an idea for your solar panels: put your panel base on a pole… with a mechanical neck on it… kinda like the old satellite dishes... so when snow builds up, you move it (your panels) to a vertical position, the snow falls off… and you move it back into position to catch the rays. :) just know when you invent and market this contraption and make a million, i want my share of $$ for the idea. ;))

    things are lookin' good! enjoy the time off…
    Lynnanne

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  14. Hey Frann, that could be an idea. There are special heat tapes meant for ice build up on eves that I can remember seeing before. Something like that could be usefull also maybe. Thanks Frann.

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  15. Thanks Lynnanne. I kinda thought of something like that also, but I should be able to do something like that with the panels on the roof. I kinda positioned the house for the purpose of utilizing the sun with the panels on the roof. If I were to put up a pole, I might have to move the house. lol. Not gonna happen. I'm sure I could find some place for it though, if it had to happen. I usually take alot of time and mole things over. I will keep you in mind if I get rich off your idea, but please, don't hold your breath. lol.

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  16. I used to live in Minnasota, just decided I like warmer weather..I thought about moving to BC as there is some cheap land there.

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  17. I am curious about the compressed air to clean off solar panels. In fact, I am going to be investigating this for next winter and hopefully have something rigged up that works!

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  18. Alot of the places in BC are pretty nice Frann. I did'nt know of much for cheap land though. I might have to look into that.

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  19. Hey Solarman. I'm kinda curious about the compressed air idea also. It was just a thought, it might work, and it might not, but I will probably experiment with it myself sometime. If you ever get it all figured out, please don't hesitate to fill me in with it.

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