Our new web address is: http://www.altsolarandwind.com Please come to see us there.
The trailer is one of two trailers he designed and built for the State of Arkansas Energy Office. One of the trailers is currently being used to pump pondwater for aeration at a Heifer Project International farm project near Morrilton, AR. One of the trailers was loaned to the New Orleans port in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. New Orleans port already had the use of petroleum fuel generators but getting the fuel for their operation was a logistical nightmare. Not the case with the solar trailer. It has a 2.4KW output using just the sunshine as its fuel source. The 2.4KW trailer is equipped with a 3.6KW inverter and over 17KWhours of battery storage. This power source is mounted on trailers that can travel at highway speed to where they might be needed. In this post are some of the photos of the subdivision and trailer, they show only a small part of what I’ve been privy to see. The next post will include more neat pics.
Solitude in Woodglen Park
I’m going to jump right in to this, since it’s “off the cuff”. This is another area I’ve had several questions about, solar regulators. First off, the solar regulator is a small box located between the battery and the solar panel. It serves two main functions. 1) It protects the battery from overcharges, usually from too little consumption and too much sun. 2) It protects your battery from excessive discharge, usually from too much consumption and too little sun. Either way, the solar regulator protects your battery from damage to its components.
The two basic types of solar regulators are; 1) on-off shunt regulator, 2) linear series regulator. The on-off shunt regulator has the advantages of simplicity of installation and use, high reliability, low cost and very small power discharges. Disadvantages are you will have to cope with a slight instability of voltage in the battery and the high voltage pulse that occur when the battery is disconnected, this can damage highly sensitive electronic equipment. The linear series regulator is more expensive, physically larger than the shunt regulator and produces higher power discharges, however, it does provide a more stable voltage regulation. Both types are virtually “maintenance free”, just make sure they have sufficient air flow, are placed in the shade and check the connections on a regular basis.
This information is for your use. I do not imply any type of guarantee. I wish you the best and as always, God Bless You Tim
Solar Panel Inverters
Due to several questions I’ve had on selecting and using inverters for use with your solar panel, I’ll attempt to address it it this short article.
The fact that solar power is readily available and relatively easy to use, solar panel electrical generation in d.c. current, requires that you have a way to change the d.c. current from your solar panels into a.c., that can power your “home appliances”. Simply put, the power inverter switches the d.c. power produced by your solar panel(s) into a.c. power your appliances can use.
The inverter is physically located between your appliance and your battery in “stand alone systems”. The “stand alone system” uses power from the d.c. battery and changes it to a.c. A second type of system is the “grid tied system” inverter, an inverter that matches a.c. phase with a utility supplied sine wave; and the third is the “battery back up system” inverter that draws power from the battery and charges the battery with a built in charger when needed. In the example of the system I built in my post, I use a “stand alone system” inverter that is also called a static inverter, meaning it has no moving parts. You can choose from a true-sine wave inverter or a modified-sine wave inverter. The true-sine wave inverter works better with my solar panel for me because it creates a more steady and stable flow of electricity, especially when plugging in highly sensitive equipment.
There are so many manufacturers of power inverters that it would be impossible for me to list them all, so I’ll mention a few that I’m familiar with or have heard of. “Advanced Energy, Beacon Power, Cobra Electronics, Enphase Energy, Delta Energy Systems, Mastervolt, P.V.Powered, Sony Electronics, Pioneer, Sustainable Energy Technologies” This is not an endorsement for the aforementioned but I have had no negative dealings with any of them.
This information is only intended to help you decide on the best type of solar inverter for your system. If you have any questions that I can help you with, feel free to contact me by e-mail at timsjs@yahoo.com and as always, God Bless You. Tim
My take on Ethanol with an emphasis on the boating industry by Tim Smith
The fact is most of the current documentation I’ve encountered is geared toward the automotive industry. I’ve attempted with this article to relate it to the marine/boating industry through some general knowlege of ethanol and some first hand accounts of use in power boats, and boat mechanic’s comments.
First off, Ethanol is a renewable fuel derived from plants. Ethanol is an alchohol based alternative fuel that is also known as ethyl-alchohol, grain alchohol and depending on what plant base is used, it is sometimes called biofuel. It’s mainly “brewed” using a “corn base” in the United States. There are many recipes and instructions on making ethanol at many locations on line. Just type “ethanol” in your favorite search engine. Click Here!for an e-book that has instructions for making among other things, ethanol. For instructions of how to make bio-diesel at home Click Here!
There are many pro’s and con’s to the use of ethanol, outside of drinking it. I’ll touch on a couple of what I consider the most relevant. On the plus side: 1) Ethanol is good for the environment. Exhaust emmisions, produced from burning ethanol, have lower levels of hydrocarbons, oxides, nitrogen emmisions, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide emmisions than conventional fossil fuel unleaded gas; 2) Ethanol production is good for the U.S.’s economy. Farmers have a ready demand for growing corn, domestic jobs are created in many areas(growing, harvesting, transporting), jobs are created in processing, r&d, distributing and other areas. Tax revenue bases are boosted. An increase in manpower is required for this new industry .; 3) Use of ethanol, in place of fossil fuels, reduces green house gas emmisions; 4) Production and use of ethanol reduce our dependency on foreign oil; 5) Ethanol burns cooler than fossil fuel gas. According to Larry West for about.com, one gallon of pure ethanol contains about 66% as much energy as one gallon of gasoline. Also, that other performance factors, such as power, acceleration and cruising speed are essentially equivalent in E-85(blend consisting of 85%ethanol, 15% fossil fuel); 6) As stated in ethanolfacts.com, E-10 is approved by every major car manufacturer in the world; 7) Ethanolfacts.com also states that ethanol blended as E-10 adds 2-3 points of octane which helps improve engine performance, it helps keep fuel injectors clean and burns cooler; 
Ethanol is a significant market for the U.S. The U.S. ethanol market consumed more than 2.3 billion bushels of corn in 2007 to produce 6.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel. These statistics are from the NCGA(National Corn Growers Association); 9) Automobiles built since the 1970′s are fully compatable with E-10; 10) Ethanol eliminates the need for gasoline anti-freeze, since ethanol absorbs more water than a similar amount of isopropyl. These aforementioned and more facts and studies are available from: 1) Department of Energy – National Renewable Energy Laboratory; 2) Oak Ridge National Laboratory; 3) National Corn to Ethanol Research Center; 4) Argonne National Laboratory
On a semi-positive note, it was stated in the Business Week reader’s comments that the denaturant mixed with ethanol is the cause of what is called “gumming” issues, not the ethanol itself. The majority of U.S. service stations that offer an ethanol blend, offer E-10(blend consisting of 10% ethanol, 90% petroleuml).
Most fuel service on waterways and lakes do not offer an ethanol blend. This is probably due in large part to ethanol being anhydrous(sucks up H2O). Some of ethanols other shortcomings are – ethanol can’t travel in pipelines with gasoline because the ethanol picks up excess water and other impurities. Because of ethanol’s anhydrous properties, that could mean big trouble and expensive repairs in water cooled motors, particularly boat motors and fuel systems. Other comments in Business Week state that it would require additives more effective than “stabil” to offset the effects of H2O on ethanol. In yet other comments in Business Week, it says “from a boat mechanics point of view, around 85% of their repair work comes from ethanol related issues, noting corrosion and moisture attraction(as the predominant culprits). Ed Wallace of Business Week states that a lot of mechanics are repairing a lot of fuel systems(in automobiles as a result of using ethanol) at around $1000.00 a pop. The Department of Energy/National Renewable Energy Laboratory states that “elastomer samples”(flexible materials used for hoses, gaskets and such) exposed to an ethanol-diesel blend exibited a significant reduction in “break load”. Which leads me to ask if ethanol in diesel can affect elastomers negatively, what could it do as a fuel blend to boat motor hoses and gaskets? An article in autobloggreen.com by Mike Magda said that fiberglass fuel tanks(used on some boats) produce a sludge after being filled with E-10. He goes on to say, “Investigators beleive the ethanol might be attacking the resin, creating a bad chemical reaction.” “Older outboards have problems with ethanol breaking down fuel lines and gaskets. Along similar lines, one reader’s comment in Business Week stated that “ethanol eats up the fuel lines in my chainsaw and lawn care equipment.”
I personally use E-10 in my automobiles all of the time. I have not had any problems with any of them that might be be “ethanol” related(fuel or performance). For my automobiles, I definitely give a hands up. I do not, nor do I intend to use any ethanol in my boats. Since I have no first hand experience with using ethanol in my boats, I can only base my opinion on the information I am familiar with. My opinion is to definitely take a closer look if you are considering using ethanol in your boat.
All said and done, I’m ready for a drink. Tim Smith
PS – visit my website and blogsite – www.AltEnergyLife.com(an alternative energy superstore with thousands of products, helpful links, news and videos) and www.AltSolarandWind.com/blog-test-2(to see free instructions to build a solar panel, highly recommended e-books and more).
PSS – soon to come on my blogsite will be “Traveling Arkansas, Finding Solar Power, Wind Energy and Biofuels”
Step 7 Finishing Up Your Solar Panel
Good day, The days are getting longer and “warmer” now, not what I consider “hot” yet. That doesn’t usually occur
until late June or early July, for the Arkansas area. But like almost anywhere, it can surprise us. Hopefully, we’ll
finish the panel system up so we can run our fan or small refridgerator, or maybe even take camping. In this final
step you’ll need to obtain a 12 volt, deep-cycle battery. Since I keep my boat at a marina, they let me have their
used marine batteries for $1 or $2 each, this is considered their “core” charge. There are several locations to get your
battery. Michael Harvey’s e-book, Earth4Energy , gives several locations where you can get batteries and several
other components to build your solar panel for free or drastically reduced prices. After getting your battery the only
component you need now is a current inverter. This changes the current from your panel(d.c. -direct current) to a.c.
- alternating current, that most of your appliances run on. I personally use an inverter that was in my van to power
portable stereo amps, lights, phone chargers, laptops and other conveniences I used regularly while away from
home(the grid). Inverters will normally cost around $60 to several thousand dollars. You will only need an
inexpensive inverter for your simple panel system. After hooking it up and placing your panel in the sunlight all you
need is your fan or refridgerator or …… As an added benefit, if you need more power, you can connect your panel
with others to give you what you need. You can even sell energy back to your power company, as shown in Michael’s
book, Earth4Energy. Enjoy your new solar panel and give yourself a pat on the back for this new accomplishment.
Till the next time, God Bless You. Tim
Good day to you. We’re having a warm, humid sunny day in Little Rock. It’s
not raining after a mostly wet Memorial Day.
We’re at the next to the last step in “Building Your Solar Panel”. Really,
you’re through with the building process,
all that’s left is adding the last few components – the charge controller,
battery and inverter.
After taking your panel out in the sunlight and testing it with your
voltmeter, you now know it works.
You can connect your panel directly to the inverter and it will power your
appliances but when a cloud
passes over or the sun goes down, your panel no longer generates enough
electrical energy to provide
the power. This is remedied by adding a charge controller and a battery in
your system before the inverter.
A charge controller is a palm size electrical cutoff or thermostat like
functioning component. It allows your
panel to charge your battery to a certain point and then cuts the flow of
power to the battery to prevent over
charging. Some controllers also help prevent your battery from discharging
at times when your solar panel
is not producing power, like at night or on overcast days. Charge controllers
are available in a wide
variety of locations. Just to mention a few are: Radio Shack, Lowe’s, Home
Depot, Ace Hardware stores and
online at e-Bay, Amazon and several other electrical specialty sites. The
cost is around $20 -$50. They are
simple to connect. Just connect the input wires from your solar panel to
input side(usually marked) of your charge
controller, positive+ to positive+ and negative- to negative-.
The output wires from the controller to your battery are also connected
positive+ to positive+
and negative- to negative-. This small device will definitely improve the life
of your battery. We will
go over another definitely positive addition to your system, your 12 volt
deep-cycle battery and your
D.C. to A.C. inverter in the next step and final step in this series of “How To
Build A Solar Panel”
Next step is Step 7 “Finishing Up Your Solar Panel” Till then God Bless You
and Happy Building. Tim
Good day(or night) to you. I personally like this step, you can
actually see your panel take shape and your panel works. This lesson will be
putting solar cells in your panel. If you can imagine taking illustration a-3
from step3 and placing it into an approximate fit in panel illustration step 4,
this will give you an idea of what your work should look like – I’ll try to
create an illustration in my paint program and show it at the end of this
post: illustration image a-5 . You will be handling your solar cells and
working with your silicone so it would be a good idea to put your latex
gloves on. I’d have a rag near by, it can get messy. Start out by applying a
thin layer of your silicone directly on your plywood surface inside the trim
framed area. Spread the silicone out flat and as even as possible. We’ll call
the area where you drilled your holes, in step 4, “the bottom”. Place your
tabbed cells(6 to a row,positive side down ) starting at the top of your
panel.Be careful not to get anything on the exposed side of your
cells. Leave approximately a 1/4″ gap between the individual cells and a
1/4″ to a 1/2″ gap between rows. Solder your bus wire to the tab wire ends as
shown in image a-3,step3. Remember the connections are from negative(-),
to positive(+), to negative(-), to positive(+) and so forth. The bus wire
shown in the image, a-3, is represented with larger lines. It’s easier to
measure and cut your bus wire before soldering it to the tabbing wire. You
will need to measure from the tabbing wire leads to get the right lengths for
your bus wire but they should measure about as follows: Four pieces will be
6-10″ long, one piece will be 12-18″ long and the final piece will be between
46-52″ long. The two longer pieces of bus wire will run through the holes at
the bottom of your panel. They will protrude from your junction box 2-3″,
to enable you to work with them. The longer ends of the bus wire will be
routed up the inside of your frame, close to the trim, to its connection to the
appropriate tabbing wires. After this is completed, allow the silicone 2-4
hours to dry. When the silicone with the cells mounted is dry, move your
solar cell panel into the sunlight. Using your voltmeter, test the voltage
output of your panel. It should read around 14-15 volts. Move the panel
back in to your work area. You’re now ready to put your plexi-glass on the
panel. Apply a continuous bead of silicone around the top on your trim.
Carefully place your cut plexi-glass sheet on top of your silicone bead,
aligning it with the sides. Then drill 3 -4 evenly spaced small holes through
each side of you plexi-glass starting out and ending near each corner. The
drilled holes should be slightly smaller in diameter than the screws your’e
using. This will prevent the plexi-glass from cracking around the screws.
Tighten your screws in to a snug fit but not overly tight. This will create a
good, waterproof seal. Now you’re ready for you next step. Step 6 The
Current Controller P.S. If you need to contact me to ask a question or just
make a comment, please visit my About me/Contact me page for a direct
link to my e-mail. Till the next time, God Bless You. Tim
Good day to you. You will start this lesson of cutting your plywood and 1″
X 2″ trim to size. Measure 30″ X 44″ and mark this on your sheet of plywood
and plexi-glass. Cut your plywood and plexi-glass to this size. Use extra care
in cutting your plexi-glass. Use a fine tooth saw or a power saw with a fine
tooth blade. Plexi-glass breaks unevenly on the edge being cut when using a
course a blade or cutting it too fast. Set plexi-glass to the side once cut.
Next, cut four(4) trim strips. Two(2) to 44″ long and two(2) to 28″ long(1X2
are not exactly 1″ thick so you may want to leave your two(2) short pieces
around 29″ long and just trim them to a snug fit). Lay your cut plywood on a
flat surface and using wood glue, apply the glue to the ends of the two(2) 28″
long trim strips and all of the top edges of the plywood. Position the trim
strips on the top edge of the plywood where the glue is applied, making sure
the glued edges of the trim strips are in contact with the other trim strips. If
you have access to a couple of clamps, it helps to clamp the trim to the
plywood and allow the glue to dry. You now have a 2″ high border around
your plywood (frame). Allow at least two -three hours drying time. Next
place your frame, trim side down, on a flat surface. Screw 3-4 evenly spaced
1″ woodscrews into each side through plywood into trim. Then coat entire
frame with a wood sealer, like Thompson’s wood and deck sealer. Allow
another 2 hours drying time. Then, using your caulking gun and clear
silicone, apply a small bead of the silicone to the inside edges of your frame
where the trim and the plywood meet. Put your latex glove on again and
using your finger, evenly spread silicone into trim/plywood joint, leaving
no gaps. Make sure to apply silicone to seal where trim strips adjoin. You
next drill two(2) 1/4″holes spaced approximately 1″ from each other, in the
28″ trim strip.Your bus wire will run through to the junction box. Mount
your junction box to the outside edge of the frame with holes in the back of
the junction box lined up with two(2) drilled holes. When mounting, place
the bottom of the box flush with the bottom of the plywood and the top
overlapping the top of the panel, it serves as a stop for the plexi-glass. The
completed frame with the junction box is illustrated below. I’m not an artist
but this will give you the an idea of the layout. The next Step #5, Placing and
Securing Cells in Frame and Setting Plexi-glass Cover in Place. Happy
building and God Bless you. Tim 
STEP 3: TABBING YOU SOLAR CELLS (note: if you have factory tabbed/pre-
tabbed cells, skip this step) The first thing to do is put on your latex gloves,
this prevents oil from your skin contaminating the solar cells as you handle
them. Lay out your solar cells, tabbing wire solder, soldering resin,
soldering iron, needle nose plyers/wire cutters and a ruler where you can
access them conveniently. Cut your tabbing wire in pieces twice the width
of the solar cell. This will allow you the correct amount of tabbing wire to
connect to the second and subsequent cells, shown in diagram a-1. Apply
soldering rosin to the 2 metal lines(some cells only have one) running the
the width of the face of your solar cell. With the cell placed flat on your work
table or bench, solder the tabbing wire strips to it. Do this to each cell for a
total of six(6)cells. This is the (-)negative side of the cell. Turn this side face
down and line up each cell with the next with the extra ovehanging length of
the tabbing wire placed on top of the next cell . Now on the newly turned,
upside face of the cells are usually 3 points in 2 lines (a-2). This is (+)
positive side of the cell. Put a dab of resin and a drop of solder on each of
these points. Solder the other half of the tabbing wire to these points. You
can place as many cells as you want but six cells to a row is what is used for
this project. You will want 5 rows of 6 cells for this project(a-3). Each
individual cell should produce around .5V and 2watts. With a total of 30
cells, the electrical energy produced will be around 15V, 60watts at about 4
amps, more than enough to keep your 12V deep cycle battery fully charged
on a sunny day. The physical size of each cell should be around 4″ x 7″. I
find it easier to run the bus wire once the cells are mounted on the plywood
panel. Next step #4: Preparing Plywood and Trim Happy continued
building and God Bless You. Tim 