Dick Smith purchases

[Crazy Steve]

I was lying on the couch this afternoon when a Dicksmith Cataloge was thrown at me...

And I saw a Inverter for $90 and a 5watt Solar panel for $50.....I had a dirty old spare Batt in the shed.....(Thinking to myself FREE POWER ! !) Well of course not free silly maybe just a one off payment for now...:)

I rush down to the Powerhouse in Manukau and brought one of each....

They are now Charging my Laptop/Push bike and two cellphones at the same time.....

Any guesses for how long it will last ? ? ?

Crazy Steve..

[Winter]

probably not long enough to get your $140 out of it..

Maybe over 40 years?

[nodrog]

lol, post a proper photo of that bacon wagon in the ditch, looks hardcase.

[EJK]

probably not long enough to get your $140 out of it..

Maybe over 40 years?

I dunno. The hole in the O-Zone layer is quite big these days... :niceone:

[Crazy Steve]

probably not long enough to get your $140 out of it..

Maybe over 40 years?

Really ? ?

But the Solar panel was only $50....Comes with a 5 Year warranty...

Thats $10 a year for 5years...365days divided by $10...Equals 0.027 3cents perday...Seroiusly how much power does a Laptop etc use in a day ? It must be more than three cents...

Also I can use this inverter and Solar panel while camping..Or at the coldkiwi etc....? ?

Crazy Steve..

[PirateJafa]

Why would you charge a bicycle? Sounds a bit like me plugging my shoes into the wall.

Apart from the chuckle-potential when friends try to borrow the bike.

[Slyer]

Headlight or digital display I'm assuming.

[Crazy Steve]

lol, post a proper photo of that bacon wagon in the ditch, looks hardcase.

Here ya goooooo.

[Crazy Steve]

Why would you charge a bicycle? Sounds a bit like me plugging my shoes into the wall.

Apart from the chuckle-potential when friends try to borrow the bike.

Its an Avanti Electra....

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?ed=true&id=201299105

It runs on a Battery..

Crazy Steve..

[chester]

I might swap my triple for an avanti electra hahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahah ahahahaaha :sick:

[alanzs]

Why would you charge a bicycle? Sounds a bit like me plugging my shoes into the wall.

Well were else would you plug them?

[mikeey01]

I was lying on the couch this afternoon when a Dicksmith Cataloge was thrown at me...
And I saw a Inverter for $90 and a 5watt Solar panel for $50.....I had a dirty old spare Batt in the shed.....(Thinking to myself FREE POWER ! !) Well of course not free silly maybe just a one off payment for now...:)
I rush down to the Powerhouse in Manukau and brought one of each....
They are now Charging my Laptop/Push bike and two cellphones at the same time.....
Any guesses for how long it will last ? ? ?
Crazy Steve..
Hey Steve, welcome to alternative energy!

FYI, The solar panel will perform a lot better if direct sunlight falls on the cells too.

Panel life...
Expect about 20-25 yrs out of the panel.

Battery life...
Lead acid life depends on many variables, temperature, SOC and also how deep you dis-charge it are just a few.
I might give you some warning though, I wouldn't have a lead acid in a bedroom / enclosed space as they give off a flammable gas when under charge!

So you charge the bike, trip to work or wherever for almost free, the cost to run your mobile is next to nothing, don't ya just love it!

Be warned, this does become addictive!

[samgab]

lol, post a proper photo of that bacon wagon in the ditch, looks hardcase.

I don't know where to get them from...

but would be keen to get one :)

[mikeey01]

I don't know where to get them from...
but would be keen to get one :)

The Bacon wagon as you put it.... was a young fella going through a stage of the Targa rally are couple of years back, he wasn't even meant to be their either from what I've heard, o dear one can only image how much paper work would be involved and the level and depth of shit he got into!

BTW Have some god dam respect for the cops, they've got a shit of a job dealing with scum of the universe and things most of us don't even want to know about!

[shafty]

Love it - well done Crazy!

Even those solar electric fence panel systems are blardy cheap now - way to go!

[Crazy Steve]

Hey Steve, welcome to alternative energy!

FYI, The solar panel will perform a lot better if direct sunlight falls on the cells too.

Panel life...
Expect about 20-25 yrs out of the panel.

Battery life...
Lead acid life depends on many variables, temperature, SOC and also how deep you dis-charge it are just a few.
I might give you some warning though, I wouldn't have a lead acid in a bedroom / enclosed space as they give off a flammable gas when under charge!

Roger that and thanks...

So you charge the bike, trip to work or wherever for almost free, the cost to run your mobile is next to nothing, don't ya just love it!

Very kewl ! ! !

Be warned, this does become addictive!

Crazy Steve..

[BASS-TREBLE]

If the panel makes 12V,5Wdoes that mean that the power inverter is able to put out 240V,5W?

[Crazy Steve]

If the panel makes 12V,5Wdoes that mean that the power inverter is able to put out 240V,5W?


Dunno sorry..

Crazy Steve..

[Finn]

Nice one Steve.

There's a lot at play here young scientist.

Firstly your solar panel is rated at a maximum of 5 watts (Positioned at the right angle, bright sun, clear day). Then there's the charger (regulator) which vary in quality and performance. The battery is important too and I guess you're using a car battery not deep cycle. The later is best designed for long and slow discharges. It's the opposite for a car battery. Now, onto the magic. This wee inverter. There are two types: Pure sine wave and Modified sine wave. The later is okay for electronics but Pure is better but expensive. Modified aren't that efficient (prob 80 - 85%)

In short, as long you are putting in more energy than you are taking out, then you've got freeish energy.

My guess is your battery will be flat by midnight. If you've got a voltage meter, stick it on the terminals and monitor the voltage.

I've got a 260 watt solar system with 4 batteries (400Ah) and a 1000w inverter for a project that I never completed. Lights up the camp site though.

[samgab]

The Bacon wagon as you put it.... was a young fella going through a stage of the Targa rally are couple of years back, he wasn't even meant to be their either from what I've heard, o dear one can only image how much paper work would be involved and the level and depth of shit he got into!

BTW Have some god dam respect for the cops, they've got a shit of a job dealing with scum of the universe and things most of us don't even want to know about!

Might want to check your details mate, I wasn't the one who used that term to refer to it, all I said was I'd like to find out where to get a poster like that.
You might also want to check where I work... :)
Also, I think the poster is pretty funny, and they have a copy of it up at the Delta base.

[mikeey01]

Might want to check your details mate, I wasn't the one who used that term to refer to it, all I said was I'd like to find out where to get a poster like that.
You might also want to check where I work... :)
Also, I think the poster is pretty funny, and they have a copy of it up at the Delta base.

yeah your right, my bad.

rgr re wanting poster etc, it's a classic

[Crazy Steve]

Nice one Steve.

There's a lot at play here young scientist.

Firstly your solar panel is rated at a maximum of 5 watts (Positioned at the right angle, bright sun, clear day). Then there's the charger (regulator) which vary in quality and performance. The battery is important too and I guess you're using a car battery not deep cycle. The later is best designed for long and slow discharges. It's the opposite for a car battery. Now, onto the magic. This wee inverter. There are two types: Pure sine wave and Modified sine wave. The later is okay for electronics but Pure is better but expensive. Modified aren't that efficient (prob 80 - 85%)

In short, as long you are putting in more energy than you are taking out, then you've got freeish energy.

My guess is your battery will be flat by midnight. If you've got a voltage meter, stick it on the terminals and monitor the voltage.

I've got a 260 watt solar system with 4 batteries (400Ah) and a 1000w inverter for a project that I never completed. Lights up the camp site though.

Thanks for that Finn, Im looking hard into it now...

Need to learn all these things for after the next War...:)

Crazy Steve...

[samgab]

yeah your right, my bad.

No worries -- although the recipient was wrong, the thought is appreciated.
Cheers.

[The Pastor]

i had one set up like this, tried to sell it for 8k, told the sucka i sold it for 4k and then readvertised it for 8k.

[scracha]

And I saw a Inverter for $90 and a 5watt Solar panel for $50.....I had a dirty old spare Batt in the shed.....(Thinking to myself FREE POWER ! !) Well of course not free silly maybe just a one off payment for now...:)


Ged dammed hippies.