[RE-wrenches] Needing a specific Trina module

2017-11-07 Thread chris 
Hi Folks:
 
I have a customer who needs just one TSM-230PA05 (Trina 230W) module.  If
anyone has one (used is OK), please feel free to contact me off list.
 
Best,
 
Chris Daum
Oasis Montana Inc.
406-777-4309 or 4321
406-777-4309 fax
  www.oasismontana.com 
 
 
 
 
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Re: [RE-wrenches] Underground Data Transmission

2017-11-07 Thread Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar 
Home Depot Cat5 or 6 in armored liquid tite conduit.

Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar
"we go where powerlines don't"
http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/
e-mail  offgridso...@sti.net
text 209 813 0060

> Our company typically uses Belden 3106A cable (22AWG) for data
> transmission
> on our larger PV sites, which often involves underground runs. We were
> recently informed by the manufacturer that this particular cable is not
> rated for underground use - whether in conduit or direct burial - and that
> furthermore they only offer a 24AWG underground rated cable ($$) or would
> have to custom manufacturer a 22AWG version ($$$)
>
> We are wondering what product/method other groups are using for
> underground
> data transmission?
>
> --
> Corey Shalanski
> Joule Energy
> New Orleans, LA
> ___
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Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar
"we go where powerlines don't"
http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/
e-mail  offgridso...@sti.net
text 209 813 0060

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[RE-wrenches] Underground Data Transmission

2017-11-07 Thread Corey Shalanski 
Our company typically uses Belden 3106A cable (22AWG) for data transmission
on our larger PV sites, which often involves underground runs. We were
recently informed by the manufacturer that this particular cable is not
rated for underground use - whether in conduit or direct burial - and that
furthermore they only offer a 24AWG underground rated cable ($$) or would
have to custom manufacturer a 22AWG version ($$$)

We are wondering what product/method other groups are using for underground
data transmission?

--
Corey Shalanski
Joule Energy
New Orleans, LA
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Re: [RE-wrenches] Outdoor rated insulation covering for Solar Water Heating Systems

2017-11-07 Thread August Goers 
As other Wrenches have noted, there are UV paints available as well as UV
rated insulation itself:

http://www.armacell.us/products/armaflexwbfinish/

http://www.armacell.us/products/utsolaflex/

The problem with both of these solutions is that few folks keep up with the
required maintenance over the life of the system. I've inspected many
systems where the insulation is falling apart. Critters will chew the
insulation and use it for nest material, even with UV paint.

August

On Tue, Nov 7, 2017 at 5:23 AM, Dana  wrote:

> As we build our latest off grid home we are living in a Yurt. The exterior
> roof is a vinyl product.
> A neighbor complained to the county about our white roof this summer & we
> offered to paint it to be neighborly.
> The manufacturer had us use a latex/acrylic paint on the roof. It has
> worked well. I assume that there are definitely paints that would work on
> the various pipe insulations at a much lower cost than aluminum coverings.
> All it took was a call to the manufacturer.
>
> I wonder now that snow has started if our neighbor will want the roof
> white again
>
> 
> 
> Dana Orzel   Great Solar Works, Inc.
> 208.721.7003   d...@solarwork.com
> Idaho Contractor - # 028765  Idaho PV # 028374
> NABCEP # 051112-136   www.solarwork.biz
> "Responsible Technologies for Responsible People since 1988"
>  Please consider the environment before printing this email.
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On
> Behalf Of cwarfel
> Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2017 4:52 AM
> To: solar1onl...@charter.net; 'RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org' <
> RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org>
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Outdoor rated insulation covering for Solar
> Water Heating Systems
>
> I thinkthis problem is really only "solved" by using the coverings
> suggested, especially it seems, aluminum jacketing.  I will be going off
> island in a week and I will have the chance to go to a store that sells
> these products. I am hoping to put this system into HomePower, so, this
> will be part of the article. Thanks for everyone's responses. I hopefully
> responded to everyone off line. Stay tuned.  Chris
>
>
> On 11/6/2017 4:57 PM, solar1onl...@charter.net wrote:
> > Hi Chris, Your question certainly generated a number of responses.
> > While the field applied covering I mentioned certainly peeled off and
> > had the consistency of latex paint, I did _not_ perform an analysis.
> > There is outdoor latex paint which should have UV inhibitors, so
> > perhaps it really was latex. The original owner is gone, so no help
> > there but a paint manufacturer may be able to verify latex paint as an
> > inexpensive _and effective_ covering solution. What made this solution
> > stand out in my mind so well was the flex roof flashings, which when
> > unprotected become brittle (and useless) oftentimes before the ten
> > year mark. This painted flashing was just as flexible as a new unit
> > and as you are well aware, replacing a solar flashing is way more
> > involved than a plumbing flashing. I am aware of many manufacturers
> > that rebrand/repackage a common item as a solution for a very specific
> > problem and charge an outlandish premium for the common item in a
> > shiny package (sometimes not even a shiny package). Bill
> >
> > -
> >
> > From: "cwarfel"
> > To:
> > Cc:
> > Sent: 06-Nov-2017 13:01:11 +
> > Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Outdoor rated insulation covering for Solar
> > Water Heating Systems
> >
> > Hi Bill, thanks. I did not think latex would hold up anywhere near
> > that long.  Chris
> >
> >
> > On 11/4/2017 9:13 AM, solar1onl...@charter.net wrote:
> >
> > Chris,
> >
> > The fitted covers certainly provide a more finished appearance. One
> of
> > my customers painted the insulation (w/o fitted covers) with latex
> > paint and after 30+ years the insulation was still quite flexible. My
> > take away was simply that eliminating the sun (UV) effects paid off
> > big time. As I remember they used white paint.
> >
> > Best wishes,
> >
> > Bill Loesch
> > Solar 1 - Saint Louis Solar
> > 314 631 1094
> >
> >   -From: "Glenn Burt"
> > To: "RE-wrenches"
> > Cc:
> > Sent: 04-Nov-2017 00:21:14 +
> > Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Outdoor rated insulation covering for
> Solar
> > Water Heating Systems
> >
> >   How about the white PVC jacketing? You can buy fitted elbow covers
> > and other fitted parts as well. Probably paintable in any color to
> > blend into location.
> >
> >   List-Archive:
> >   List-Archive:
> > ___
> > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
> >
> >

[RE-wrenches] Outdoor rated insulation covering for Solar Water Heating Systems

2017-11-07 Thread Dana 
As we build our latest off grid home we are living in a Yurt. The exterior roof 
is a vinyl product.
A neighbor complained to the county about our white roof this summer & we 
offered to paint it to be neighborly.
The manufacturer had us use a latex/acrylic paint on the roof. It has worked 
well. I assume that there are definitely paints that would work on the various 
pipe insulations at a much lower cost than aluminum coverings. All it took was 
a call to the manufacturer.

I wonder now that snow has started if our neighbor will want the roof white 
again


Dana Orzel   Great Solar Works, Inc. 
208.721.7003   d...@solarwork.com
Idaho Contractor - # 028765  Idaho PV # 028374
NABCEP # 051112-136   www.solarwork.biz
"Responsible Technologies for Responsible People since 1988"  
 Please consider the environment before printing this email.


-Original Message-
From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-boun...@lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf 
Of cwarfel
Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2017 4:52 AM
To: solar1onl...@charter.net; 'RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org' 

Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Outdoor rated insulation covering for Solar Water 
Heating Systems

I thinkthis problem is really only "solved" by using the coverings suggested, 
especially it seems, aluminum jacketing.  I will be going off island in a week 
and I will have the chance to go to a store that sells these products. I am 
hoping to put this system into HomePower, so, this will be part of the article. 
Thanks for everyone's responses. I hopefully responded to everyone off line. 
Stay tuned.  Chris


On 11/6/2017 4:57 PM, solar1onl...@charter.net wrote:
> Hi Chris, Your question certainly generated a number of responses. 
> While the field applied covering I mentioned certainly peeled off and 
> had the consistency of latex paint, I did _not_ perform an analysis.
> There is outdoor latex paint which should have UV inhibitors, so 
> perhaps it really was latex. The original owner is gone, so no help 
> there but a paint manufacturer may be able to verify latex paint as an 
> inexpensive _and effective_ covering solution. What made this solution 
> stand out in my mind so well was the flex roof flashings, which when 
> unprotected become brittle (and useless) oftentimes before the ten 
> year mark. This painted flashing was just as flexible as a new unit 
> and as you are well aware, replacing a solar flashing is way more 
> involved than a plumbing flashing. I am aware of many manufacturers 
> that rebrand/repackage a common item as a solution for a very specific 
> problem and charge an outlandish premium for the common item in a 
> shiny package (sometimes not even a shiny package). Bill
>
> -
>
> From: "cwarfel"
> To:
> Cc:
> Sent: 06-Nov-2017 13:01:11 +
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Outdoor rated insulation covering for Solar 
> Water Heating Systems
>
> Hi Bill, thanks. I did not think latex would hold up anywhere near 
> that long.  Chris
>
>
> On 11/4/2017 9:13 AM, solar1onl...@charter.net wrote:
>
> Chris,
>
> The fitted covers certainly provide a more finished appearance. One of
> my customers painted the insulation (w/o fitted covers) with latex
> paint and after 30+ years the insulation was still quite flexible. My
> take away was simply that eliminating the sun (UV) effects paid off
> big time. As I remember they used white paint.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Bill Loesch
> Solar 1 - Saint Louis Solar
> 314 631 1094
>
>   -From: "Glenn Burt"
> To: "RE-wrenches"
> Cc:
> Sent: 04-Nov-2017 00:21:14 +
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Outdoor rated insulation covering for Solar
> Water Heating Systems
>
>   How about the white PVC jacketing? You can buy fitted elbow covers
> and other fitted parts as well. Probably paintable in any color to
> blend into location.
>
>   List-Archive:
>   List-Archive:
> ___
> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance
>
> List Address:RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
>
> Change listserver email address & settings:
> 
> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
>
> 
> List-Archive:http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches
> .org/maillist.html
>
> List rules & etiquette:
> www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
>
> Check out or update participant bios:
> www.members.re-wrenches.org
>
>
>
> --
> Christopher Warfel, PE
> Entech Engineering, Inc.
> 401-466-8978

--
Christopher Warfel, PE
Entech Engineering, Inc.
401-466-8978

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Re: [RE-wrenches] Outdoor rated insulation covering for Solar Water Heating Systems

2017-11-07 Thread Mike Kocsmiersky 
Most often I used 1" thick isocyanurate pre-adhered to the PVC wrap.  I chose 
this method for the high R-value, about R7 per inch.  A bit pricier than closed 
cell foam rubber insulation, but much better R-value, R7 vs R3ish.  At first I 
would use a PVC sealant, extremely high in VOCs, to seal the PVC seams.  The 
sealant kept freezing in the work van, and was so nauseous that I moved to just 
using the adhesive strip on the PVC and PVC tape at the seams.  The PVC tape 
would peel so went to barbed tacks.  I then realized that the isocyanurate was 
hydroscopic so it was very important to make sure that all the piping was 
waterproof, or the water would provide a very low impedance path for the heat.  
So I would try and work from the bottom of the pipe run to the top so that I 
could layer the PVC coverings, and keep the PVC covering overlap facing down on 
horizontal runs.  However, where an elbow buts a straight piece, the seam 
cannot be overlapped by the PVC covering due to the angle.  Thu
 s you wrap a 3" wide PVC over the seam.  This however allows any water coming 
vertically down the straight piece to work its way behind the PVC lapping and 
into the seam, thereafter absorbed by the isocyanurate.  Thus I would tape the 
joint, using two barbed tacks to hold the tape.  Overall I am concerned that 
the potential to absorb water was too high and that using the foam rubber, 
which will not absorb water, will provide better overall results, despite the 
lower R-Value, for typical short exterior runs of residential systems (<50' 
total).  The use of the foam rubber line sets provide a bit better R-value by 
adjoining the two pipes, but they almost always fall a few feet short of final 
connection with either the insulation or the PV resistant covering, the 
connection fittings are expensive, difficult to make longer runs look nice, and 
concern over the longevitiy of the lineset due to corrosion of the thousands of 
thin rippled edges made me use these sparingly.  I have never done 
 a real study on the thermal losses associated with real world application of 
the different types of insulation, but would like to see one.  Good luck with 
the article Chris.

-Original Message-
From: cwarfel [mailto:cwar...@entech-engineering.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, November 7, 2017 6:52 AM
To: solar1onl...@charter.net; 'RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org'
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Outdoor rated insulation covering for Solar Water 
Heating Systems

I thinkthis problem is really only "solved" by using the coverings 
suggested, especially it seems, aluminum jacketing.  I will be going off 
island in a week and I will have the chance to go to a store that sells 
these products. I am hoping to put this system into HomePower, so, this 
will be part of the article. Thanks for everyone's responses. I 
hopefully responded to everyone off line. Stay tuned.  Chris


On 11/6/2017 4:57 PM, solar1onl...@charter.net wrote:
> Hi Chris, Your question certainly generated a number of responses. 
> While the field applied covering I mentioned certainly peeled off and 
> had the consistency of latex paint, I did _not_ perform an analysis. 
> There is outdoor latex paint which should have UV inhibitors, so 
> perhaps it really was latex. The original owner is gone, so no help 
> there but a paint manufacturer may be able to verify latex paint as an 
> inexpensive _and effective_ covering solution. What made this solution 
> stand out in my mind so well was the flex roof flashings, which when 
> unprotected become brittle (and useless) oftentimes before the ten 
> year mark. This painted flashing was just as flexible as a new unit 
> and as you are well aware, replacing a solar flashing is way more 
> involved than a plumbing flashing. I am aware of many manufacturers 
> that rebrand/repackage a common item as a solution for a very specific 
> problem and charge an outlandish premium for the common item in a 
> shiny package (sometimes not even a shiny package). Bill
>
> -
>
> From: "cwarfel"
> To:
> Cc:
> Sent: 06-Nov-2017 13:01:11 +
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Outdoor rated insulation covering for Solar 
> Water Heating Systems
>
> Hi Bill, thanks. I did not think latex would hold up anywhere near 
> that long.  Chris
>
>
> On 11/4/2017 9:13 AM, solar1onl...@charter.net wrote:
>
> Chris,
>
> The fitted covers certainly provide a more finished appearance. One of
> my customers painted the insulation (w/o fitted covers) with latex
> paint and after 30+ years the insulation was still quite flexible. My
> take away was simply that eliminating the sun (UV) effects paid off
> big time. As I remember they used white paint.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Bill Loesch
> Solar 1 - Saint Louis Solar
> 314 631 1094
>
>   -From: "Glenn Burt"
> To: "RE-wrenches"
> Cc:
> Sent: 04-Nov-2017 00:21:14 +
> Subject: Re:

Re: [RE-wrenches] Outdoor rated insulation covering for Solar Water Heating Systems

2017-11-07 Thread cwarfel 
I thinkthis problem is really only "solved" by using the coverings 
suggested, especially it seems, aluminum jacketing.  I will be going off 
island in a week and I will have the chance to go to a store that sells 
these products. I am hoping to put this system into HomePower, so, this 
will be part of the article. Thanks for everyone's responses. I 
hopefully responded to everyone off line. Stay tuned.  Chris



On 11/6/2017 4:57 PM, solar1onl...@charter.net wrote:
Hi Chris, Your question certainly generated a number of responses. 
While the field applied covering I mentioned certainly peeled off and 
had the consistency of latex paint, I did _not_ perform an analysis. 
There is outdoor latex paint which should have UV inhibitors, so 
perhaps it really was latex. The original owner is gone, so no help 
there but a paint manufacturer may be able to verify latex paint as an 
inexpensive _and effective_ covering solution. What made this solution 
stand out in my mind so well was the flex roof flashings, which when 
unprotected become brittle (and useless) oftentimes before the ten 
year mark. This painted flashing was just as flexible as a new unit 
and as you are well aware, replacing a solar flashing is way more 
involved than a plumbing flashing. I am aware of many manufacturers 
that rebrand/repackage a common item as a solution for a very specific 
problem and charge an outlandish premium for the common item in a 
shiny package (sometimes not even a shiny package). Bill


-

From: "cwarfel"
To:
Cc:
Sent: 06-Nov-2017 13:01:11 +
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Outdoor rated insulation covering for Solar 
Water Heating Systems


Hi Bill, thanks. I did not think latex would hold up anywhere near 
that long.  Chris



On 11/4/2017 9:13 AM, solar1onl...@charter.net wrote:

Chris,

The fitted covers certainly provide a more finished appearance. One of
my customers painted the insulation (w/o fitted covers) with latex
paint and after 30+ years the insulation was still quite flexible. My
take away was simply that eliminating the sun (UV) effects paid off
big time. As I remember they used white paint.

Best wishes,

Bill Loesch
Solar 1 - Saint Louis Solar
314 631 1094

-From: "Glenn Burt"
To: "RE-wrenches"
Cc:
Sent: 04-Nov-2017 00:21:14 +
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Outdoor rated insulation covering for Solar
Water Heating Systems

  How about the white PVC jacketing? You can buy fitted elbow covers
and other fitted parts as well. Probably paintable in any color to
blend into location.

  List-Archive:
  List-Archive:
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--
Christopher Warfel, PE
Entech Engineering, Inc.
401-466-8978


--
Christopher Warfel, PE
Entech Engineering, Inc.
401-466-8978

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