TheBackShed.com

Forum Index : Electronics : Energy Monitors -Efergy

Page 2 of 2

Author

Message

VK4AYQ
Guru

Joined: 02/12/2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 2539

Posted: 12:14am 21 May 2010

Copy link to clipboard

Print this post

Hi Pete

I have tried grafting and I found that you get fruit a few years earlier but after that the natural seedling powers ahead, I think it may be due to the older genetic age of the grafted wood. Most trees I have tried produce fruit after two years of plant out so total of 3 to four years, and if the teeth don't like it I will stew the for apple pie.

Do you mean a shed house as compared to a dog house?

I have to plant trees that the wind can damage so as to encourage the wind, Murphy again.

Have to have a rest today and Finnish the PCB scanner, will post the picks when the thingo is finished.

All the best

Bob

Foolin Around

KarlJ

Guru

Joined: 19/05/2008
Location: Australia
Posts: 1178

Posted: 04:27am 21 May 2010

Copy link to clipboard

Print this post

The "better" one that handles up and down
ie clamp on the power in from the inverter and power out clamp on the feed line to the house is the Wattson BUT it comes with a hefty tag at $220 PLUS the additional clamp sensors and i think it too would struggle with three phase AND the solar unless you could dedicate one of the phases to the solar input.

better at $50 odd to just buy more efergy's as for the one that does PC connection they are cheap enough out of the UK but none avaiable on the dodgey hence double or more locally (than the $50 ebay jobs anyway)

Got my home energy Audit booked in for next Thursday, be interesting to see what the bloke comes up with, personally i reckon he'll be sending the team around so that they can learn from me (AKA captain tight ass).

Dont think there are too many Perth residents standing in a bucket for their showers followed by using it again to wash clothes, followed by using that to water the garden or flush the toilet!!!

Karl

Luck favours the well prepared

KarlJ

Guru

Joined: 19/05/2008
Location: Australia
Posts: 1178

Posted: 04:38am 21 May 2010

Copy link to clipboard

Print this post

BTW Bob, I hope its not all that foolin around that did the neutral connection in the pics, looks like a twist and tape job.

Whats the go with your metering? are they installing a 3 phase smartmeter?
If not how are you going to get paid for your solar?

While they are doing the new meter (If they do) pick up on ebay an 8-10 Circuit breaker box with DIN rail and CB's off ebay. work out what size Circuit breakers you want and do that while you are there, piece of cake and much safer than the old ceramic fuses.

Ebay has circuit breakers for as little as $2. Now- for the trickey bit, if you do lots of your own electrical stuff the RCBO's Circuit breaker with individual RCD built in IS the go and will possibly save your life one day.

I was working on a circuit I had turned off but there was a live neutral that shouldnt have been there that tripped the RCD, I didnt even get a tickle but should have been either white as a ghost or dead!

Karl

Luck favours the well prepared

Downwind

Guru

Joined: 09/09/2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 2333

Posted: 06:29am 21 May 2010

Copy link to clipboard

Print this post

[quote] I was working on a circuit I had turned off but there was a live neutral that shouldnt have been there that tripped the RCD, I didnt even get a tickle but should have been either white as a ghost or dead! [/quote]

I guess the lesson here is dont assume its not live, as many things can feed back as well as have been wired wrongly.

Also a neutral shorted to earth will also trip the RCD switch, so it dont just need to be a hot neutral.

But i think all that have worked on mains powered wiring have been bitten at some stage, just many dont admitt it, others call it a wake up call.

A RCD is truly worth the investment, but in Bobs case if you look closely there is a label there that says "saftey switch" and im am guessing there is also circuit breakers to, and the 3 ceramic fuses are just for the 3 phase only.
More than likely for the run to the shed or something like that.

Pete.
Edited by Downwind 2010-05-22

Sometimes it just works

VK4AYQ
Guru

Joined: 02/12/2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 2539

Posted: 07:56am 21 May 2010

Copy link to clipboard

Print this post

Hi Karl and Pete

The box was done by the local sparks about 20 years ago, it is a 85 amp service as needed for the machine shop and feeds the house through an underground cable 50 amp service as it had three phase equipment points there in the earlier days the fuses are to the sub-boards and the safety switch is a 3 phase unit serving all phases of power but not the lights.

It is neutral earth system as that is the regulation here, I questioned this when converting from alternator to the pirate power 20 years ago multiple earth points one at the main board one at the machine board and one at the house.

I wont work on any system that isn,t turned of at the main switch and has the three master fuses pulled as well, even if I turn off the sub and remove the fuses I still turn off the main.

My girlfriends father who I was helping as a TA many years ago was fried due to a crossed phase in a workshop we where rewiring so since then I turn it all off even if its only one phase I am working on. The worst shock I ever had was of a 48 volt battery system the regulator burnt out and I ended up across 60 volts DC not nice.

They say that they will do the meter next month so no feed in bonus until then, I'm not a fan of small circuit breakers in the workshop the boxes are to small for workshop wiring and more useful in the house, where there is one as a sub board, I will put a ELR on there later on when I get the new inverter system going.
I will be using a din rail board in the workshop only 20 amps per phase for the inverter and the various windmill and Grid Feed inverter circuits once they put the new meter in, at the present it is all plug and play.

All the best

Bob

Foolin Around

Page 2 of 2

Print this page

To reply to this topic, you need to log in.