[RE-wrenches] Wind Turbine

2020-07-08 Thread Ron Young 
Looking for recommendations on a wind turbine from the Wrenches. Wondering what 
people are liking out there right now. I know it’s a pretty skinny market and 
lots of junk but my client would like to replace an aging model that he has in 
a low to moderate wind area, not spend too much money but spend enough to get 
reliable. Ideally around 1kW but smaller is ok.

Ron

earthRight Products - Solareagle.com 
Alternative Energy Solutions ~ Renewable Energy Products
1-877-925-2929

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Re: [RE-wrenches] Wind Turbine

2020-07-08 Thread John Blittersdorf 
Ron,  I installed a lot of the Bergey XL.1 until they stopped production.
I just replaced blades on one last week and my first install of one of the
first ones manufactured in 2001 is still working fine.  We took in down
about 10 years ago for preventive maintenance and replaced the brushes and
blades though both were still in good shape.  Most problems have been
blades, brushes and a few tower failures mostly due to customer neglect or
violent storms.  I installed a Pika
1.6 kw at my home about 4 years ago and fell in love with that machine.
Pika solved the Blade root attachment weakness found on the Bergey as well
as sound issues and performance.  Unfortunately they stopped production due
to low sales.  I ran mine for a year and a half and almost eliminated my
generator in a low wind speed site but att he same time saw it perform
flawlessly in high winds putting out well over 2500 watts and regulating my
batteries at float with no dump loads needed.  I got my first order for one
and called Pika to order one but they had already stopped production and
were not going to make any more.  I had sold a customer a complete upgrade
of his system which included upgrading from a Xantrex SW Plus to dual
Outback inverters, going from 24v to 48v, and directly replacing his Bergey
with a Pika, and new Aquion batteries.  Sine we had already done the rest
of the system, I ended up selling mine to him to keep him happy.  I dearly
miss that machine.  Since Pika sold out to Generac, I’m hanging on a
glimmer of hope that the turbine production could be resurrected.

Otherwise, the only new turbine I have installed is a 1 kw SuperWind, made
in Germany.  It is on a 40’ tilt up guyed tower on a mountaintop
transmitter site.  It has performed as expected with the only problem being
susceptible to icing and the blade hub freezing to the nacelle.  It is all
white so the sun can’t help defrost it.  Very nice workmanship but it also
has a controller and dump load In addition to pitching blades.   Similar
cost as the Pika.I don’t have any data on how much the dump load has
interacted with the controller.  This is a high wind site.  I’m not sure
how it would perform in low winds.  We put it up in November and it
survived the winter.  If you could find a used Pika, that would be my
choice but I haven’t found one yet myself.  Let me know If you find
anything else.

Wind Wrenches out there. ... respond !

John Blittersdorf
CV Wind Service

john.blittersd...@gmail.com
802-770-8625




On Wed, Jul 8, 2020 at 4:08 AM Ron Young  wrote:

> Looking for recommendations on a wind turbine from the Wrenches. Wondering
> what people are liking out there right now. I know it’s a pretty skinny
> market and lots of junk but my client would like to replace an aging model
> that he has in a low to moderate wind area, not spend too much money but
> spend enough to get reliable. Ideally around 1kW but smaller is ok.
>
> Ron
>
> earthRight Products - Solareagle.com
> Alternative Energy Solutions ~ Renewable Energy Products
> 1-877-925-2929
>
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Re: [RE-wrenches] Wind Turbine

2020-07-08 Thread Dan Fink 
Hello Ron -- Please contact me off-list. We work off-grid only, and deal
with a LOT of small wind systems, especially replacements for older, broken
turbines and towers, and failed controllers. I would be happy to discuss
some options with you.

Dan Fink
Executive Director, Buckville Energy Consulting
NABCEP PV Associate
NABCEP Certified PV System Inspector
IREC Certified Instructor™ for:
~ PV Installation Professional
~ Small Wind Installer
NABCEP Registered Continuing Education Providers
d anbo...@gmail.com
970-672-4342




On Wed, Jul 8, 2020 at 2:08 AM Ron Young  wrote:

> Looking for recommendations on a wind turbine from the Wrenches. Wondering
> what people are liking out there right now. I know it’s a pretty skinny
> market and lots of junk but my client would like to replace an aging model
> that he has in a low to moderate wind area, not spend too much money but
> spend enough to get reliable. Ideally around 1kW but smaller is ok.
>
> Ron
>
> earthRight Products - Solareagle.com
> Alternative Energy Solutions ~ Renewable Energy Products
> 1-877-925-2929
>
>
>
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Re: [RE-wrenches] Wind Turbine

2020-07-08 Thread Roy Butler 

  
  
Ron and John and all,

SD Wind Energy out of Texas is representing what was the
Proven/Kingspan down wind turbines. They have a 3 and 6kW turbine
now but I heard through
the grapevine that they may have a 1kW in the near future. Price is
a bit high but they are solid machines.
https://sd-windenergy.com/

Other folks have been using the Braun turbine out of Germany but
that's really spendy. 

The Whisper line was good, then Southwest Wind Power bought it, they
went under, a company from India bought it, then it went to Japan
and last I heard it's now owned by a Chinese company.buyer
beware!

Although there are a couple of small turbine manufacturer's in the
US making 1kW to 2kW machines, I am assuming you want something
reliable so
you may want to steer clear of those. I won't name names here. And
of course there are all those tempting units for sale on Amazon and
Ebayrun
screaming from the room on those.

Slim pickings out there, the small wind industry began a rapid
decline back around 2012 when the PV prices started dropping. Most
of us wind weanies
moved to solar installations to help support our wind habit and
decreased wind sales put many turbine manufacturers out of business.


Anyway, best of luck on your search and if you find something and
care to run it by me off list please do so!
Roy Butler
Four Winds Renewable Energy, LLC
8902 Route 46, Arkport, NY 14807
607-324-9747  www.four-winds-energy.com


Although no trees were killed in the sending of this message, 
a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.



On 7/8/2020 6:55 AM, John Blittersdorf
  wrote:


  
  
Ron,  I installed a lot of the Bergey XL.1 until
  they stopped production.   I just replaced blades on one last
  week and my first install of one of the first ones
  manufactured in 2001 is still working fine.  We took in down
  about 10 years ago for preventive maintenance and replaced the
  brushes and blades though both were still in good shape.  Most
  problems have been blades, brushes and a few tower failures
  mostly due to customer neglect or violent storms.  I installed
  a Pika 
  
  1.6 kw at my home about 4 years ago and fell in
love with that machine.  Pika solved the Blade root attachment
weakness found on the Bergey as well as sound issues and
performance.  Unfortunately they stopped production due to low
sales.  I ran mine for a year and a half and almost eliminated
my generator in a low wind speed site but att he same time saw
it perform flawlessly in high winds putting out well over 2500
watts and regulating my batteries at float with no dump loads
needed.  I got my first order for one and called Pika to order
one but they had already stopped production and were not going
to make any more.  I had sold a customer a complete upgrade of
his system which included upgrading from a Xantrex SW Plus to
dual Outback inverters, going from 24v to 48v, and directly
replacing his Bergey with a Pika, and new Aquion batteries. 
Sine we had already done the rest of the system, I ended up
selling mine to him to keep him happy.  I dearly miss that
machine.  Since Pika sold out to Generac, I’m hanging on a
glimmer of hope that the turbine production could be
resurrected.  
  
  
  Otherwise, the only new turbine I have installed
is a 1 kw SuperWind, made in Germany.  It is on a 40’ tilt up
guyed tower on a mountaintop transmitter site.  It has performed
as expected with the only problem being susceptible to icing and
the blade hub freezing to the nacelle.  It is all white so the
sun can’t help defrost it.  Very nice workmanship but it also
has a controller and dump load In addition to pitching blades.  
Similar cost as the Pika.    I don’t have any data on how much
the dump load has interacted with the controller.  This is a
high wind site.  I’m not sure how it would perform in low
winds.  We put it up in November and it survived the winter.  If
you could find a used Pika, that would be my choice but I
haven’t found one yet myself.  Let me know If you find anything
else.  
  
  
  Wind Wrenches out there. ... respond !
  
  
  John Blittersdorf
  CV Wind Service
  
  
  john.blittersd...@gmail.com
  802-770-8625
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  On Wed, Jul 8, 2020 at 4:08
AM Ron Young 
wrote:
  
  
Looking
  for recommendations on a

Re: [RE-wrenches] Wind Turbine

2020-07-08 Thread pgiroux 
Morning fellow wrenchers. There is a newer Wind turbine company based in the 
North East called Kohilo Wind. Link below

 

http://kohilowind.com/about-kohilo-wind/ 

 

 

thx

peter Giroux

 

 

From: RE-wrenches  On Behalf Of Roy 
Butler
Sent: Wednesday, July 8, 2020 8:33 AM
To: re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Wind Turbine

 

Ron and John and all,

SD Wind Energy out of Texas is representing what was the Proven/Kingspan down 
wind turbines. They have a 3 and 6kW turbine now but I heard through
the grapevine that they may have a 1kW in the near future. Price is a bit high 
but they are solid machines.
https://sd-windenergy.com/

Other folks have been using the Braun turbine out of Germany but that's really 
spendy. 

The Whisper line was good, then Southwest Wind Power bought it, they went 
under, a company from India bought it, then it went to Japan
and last I heard it's now owned by a Chinese company.buyer beware!

Although there are a couple of small turbine manufacturer's in the US making 
1kW to 2kW machines, I am assuming you want something reliable so
you may want to steer clear of those. I won't name names here. And of course 
there are all those tempting units for sale on Amazon and Ebayrun
screaming from the room on those.

Slim pickings out there, the small wind industry began a rapid decline back 
around 2012 when the PV prices started dropping. Most of us wind weanies
moved to solar installations to help support our wind habit and decreased wind 
sales put many turbine manufacturers out of business. 

Anyway, best of luck on your search and if you find something and care to run 
it by me off list please do so! 

Roy Butler
Four Winds Renewable Energy, LLC
8902 Route 46, Arkport, NY 14807
607-324-9747  www.four-winds-energy.com  
 
 
Although no trees were killed in the sending of this message, 
a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.
 


On 7/8/2020 6:55 AM, John Blittersdorf wrote:

Ron,  I installed a lot of the Bergey XL.1 until they stopped production.   I 
just replaced blades on one last week and my first install of one of the first 
ones manufactured in 2001 is still working fine.  We took in down about 10 
years ago for preventive maintenance and replaced the brushes and blades though 
both were still in good shape.  Most problems have been blades, brushes and a 
few tower failures mostly due to customer neglect or violent storms.  I 
installed a Pika 

1.6 kw at my home about 4 years ago and fell in love with that machine.  Pika 
solved the Blade root attachment weakness found on the Bergey as well as sound 
issues and performance.  Unfortunately they stopped production due to low 
sales.  I ran mine for a year and a half and almost eliminated my generator in 
a low wind speed site but att he same time saw it perform flawlessly in high 
winds putting out well over 2500 watts and regulating my batteries at float 
with no dump loads needed.  I got my first order for one and called Pika to 
order one but they had already stopped production and were not going to make 
any more.  I had sold a customer a complete upgrade of his system which 
included upgrading from a Xantrex SW Plus to dual Outback inverters, going from 
24v to 48v, and directly replacing his Bergey with a Pika, and new Aquion 
batteries.  Sine we had already done the rest of the system, I ended up selling 
mine to him to keep him happy.  I dearly miss that machine.  Since Pika sold 
out to Generac, I’m hanging on a glimmer of hope that the turbine production 
could be resurrected.  

 

Otherwise, the only new turbine I have installed is a 1 kw SuperWind, made in 
Germany.  It is on a 40’ tilt up guyed tower on a mountaintop transmitter site. 
 It has performed as expected with the only problem being susceptible to icing 
and the blade hub freezing to the nacelle.  It is all white so the sun can’t 
help defrost it.  Very nice workmanship but it also has a controller and dump 
load In addition to pitching blades.   Similar cost as the Pika.I don’t 
have any data on how much the dump load has interacted with the controller.  
This is a high wind site.  I’m not sure how it would perform in low winds.  We 
put it up in November and it survived the winter.  If you could find a used 
Pika, that would be my choice but I haven’t found one yet myself.  Let me know 
If you find anything else.  

 

Wind Wrenches out there. ... respond !

 

John Blittersdorf

CV Wind Service

 

john.blittersd...@gmail.com  

802-770-8625

 

 

 

 

On Wed, Jul 8, 2020 at 4:08 AM Ron Young mailto:solarea...@solareagle.com> > wrote:

Looking for recommendations on a wind turbine from the Wrenches. Wondering what 
people are liking out there right now. I know it’s a pretty skinny market and 
lots of junk but my client would like to replace an aging model that he has in 
a low to moderate wind area, not

[RE-wrenches] MLPE Mapping

2020-07-08 Thread Corey Shalanski 
Wrenches,

After 10+ years of MLPE (microinverters/optimizers) gaining traction in the
industry, I have noticed one stubborn issue that somehow still haunts us. I
think we as installers have all been there at some point: laying down the
final module in an array, high fives all around, time to look at the
close-out checklist that our pesky operations manager handed to us on our
way out the door, and then realizing that we forgot to peel off the MLPE
serial number stickers (or otherwise record them) in order to make a map...

Even when installers forget to record just one serial number, retrieving it
can be difficult and time-consuming. Raise your hand if you've ever
attached your cell phone/camera to an extendable pole and slid it under the
array in hopes of catching that one forgotten label!

In this age of smart devices, I anxiously await the day when MLPE will be
able to map themselves. But until that day comes, I am wondering if anyone
has developed or knows of a tried-and-true foolproof method for capturing
MLPE serial numbers?

--
Corey Shalanski
Jah Light Solar
Portland, Jamaica
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Re: [RE-wrenches] MLPE Mapping

2020-07-08 Thread Matt Partymiller 
Definitely a pesky problem.

Buy Tigomart panels where MLPEs are pre-integrated and peel in warehouse or on 
ground.  Since those are difficult to find lately, consider Tigos clipped onto 
panel frames in your warehouse or on the ground.  When we go the Tigo route we 
prep on the ground and build our map as part of that process.  If you go with 
Tigo F’s you don’t even need to map!  You sacrifice panel level visibility but, 
as far as I can tell, MLPEs are far more likely to fail than a reputable panel.

I’d really like to know why all MLPEs don’t go the clip-on route.

Matt


Matt Partymiller
General Manager
Solar Energy Solutions, LLC
877-312-7456
m...@sesre.com



From: RE-wrenches  On Behalf Of 
Corey Shalanski
Sent: Wednesday, July 8, 2020 1:58 PM
To: re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
Subject: [RE-wrenches] MLPE Mapping

Wrenches,

After 10+ years of MLPE (microinverters/optimizers) gaining traction in the 
industry, I have noticed one stubborn issue that somehow still haunts us. I 
think we as installers have all been there at some point: laying down the final 
module in an array, high fives all around, time to look at the close-out 
checklist that our pesky operations manager handed to us on our way out the 
door, and then realizing that we forgot to peel off the MLPE serial number 
stickers (or otherwise record them) in order to make a map...

Even when installers forget to record just one serial number, retrieving it can 
be difficult and time-consuming. Raise your hand if you've ever attached your 
cell phone/camera to an extendable pole and slid it under the array in hopes of 
catching that one forgotten label!

In this age of smart devices, I anxiously await the day when MLPE will be able 
to map themselves. But until that day comes, I am wondering if anyone has 
developed or knows of a tried-and-true foolproof method for capturing MLPE 
serial numbers?

--
Corey Shalanski
Jah Light Solar
Portland, Jamaica
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Re: [RE-wrenches] MLPE Mapping

2020-07-08 Thread Benn Kilburn 
I use that DIY ladder module-lift that was featured in HomePower many years ago 
and was just recently thinking of putting some stickers on the top of it so 
that you clearly see them something to the effect of “Did you scan 
optos/micros and take wire management photos?”

That should serve as a reminder before any mods make it to the roof. 

Benn Kilburn
SkyFire Energy
780-906-7807

> On Jul 8, 2020, at 12:18 PM, Kirk Herander  wrote:
> 
> We scan the barcodes with a smart phone app which automatically creates an 
> excel file for upload(there are many apps to choose from), and number them 
> also 1,2,3...etc with a sharpie for mounting. If scanned in the right order, 
> the row number in the excel file with correspond with the physical number and 
> barcode of the respective MLPE.
> It's easy to remember the # sequence in which they were mounted.
> I gave up on the Solaredge scanning/mapping app a long time ago. Way too 
> clunky for me.
>> On 7/8/2020 1:58:40 PM, Corey Shalanski  wrote:
>> 
>> Wrenches,
>> 
>> After 10+ years of MLPE (microinverters/optimizers) gaining traction in the 
>> industry, I have noticed one stubborn issue that somehow still haunts us. I 
>> think we as installers have all been there at some point: laying down the 
>> final module in an array, high fives all around, time to look at the 
>> close-out checklist that our pesky operations manager handed to us on our 
>> way out the door, and then realizing that we forgot to peel off the MLPE 
>> serial number stickers (or otherwise record them) in order to make a map...
>> 
>> Even when installers forget to record just one serial number, retrieving it 
>> can be difficult and time-consuming. Raise your hand if you've ever attached 
>> your cell phone/camera to an extendable pole and slid it under the array in 
>> hopes of catching that one forgotten label!
>> 
>> In this age of smart devices, I anxiously await the day when MLPE will be 
>> able to map themselves. But until that day comes, I am wondering if anyone 
>> has developed or knows of a tried-and-true foolproof method for capturing 
>> MLPE serial numbers?
>> 
>> --
>> Corey Shalanski
>> Jah Light Solar
>> Portland, Jamaica
>> ___ List sponsored by Redwood 
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Re: [RE-wrenches] MLPE Mapping

2020-07-08 Thread Kirk Herander 
We scan the barcodes with a smart phone app which automatically creates an 
excel file for upload(there are many apps to choose from), and number them also 
1,2,3...etc with a sharpie for mounting. If scanned in the right order, the row 
number in the excel file with correspond with the physical number and barcode 
of the respective MLPE.
It's easy to remember the # sequence in which they were mounted.
I gave up on the Solaredge scanning/mapping app a long time ago. Way too clunky 
for me.
On 7/8/2020 1:58:40 PM, Corey Shalanski  wrote:
Wrenches,

After 10+ years of MLPE (microinverters/optimizers) gaining traction in the 
industry, I have noticed one stubborn issue that somehow still haunts us. I 
think we as installers have all been there at some point: laying down the final 
module in an array, high fives all around, time to look at the close-out 
checklist that our pesky operations manager handed to us on our way out the 
door, and then realizing that we forgot to peel off the MLPE serial number 
stickers (or otherwise record them) in order to make a map...

Even when installers forget to record just one serial number, retrieving it can 
be difficult and time-consuming. Raise your hand if you've ever attached your 
cell phone/camera to an extendable pole and slid it under the array in hopes of 
catching that one forgotten label!

In this age of smart devices, I anxiously await the day when MLPE will be able 
to map themselves. But until that day comes, I am wondering if anyone has 
developed or knows of a tried-and-true foolproof method for capturing MLPE 
serial numbers?

--
Corey Shalanski
Jah Light Solar
Portland, Jamaica
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Re: [RE-wrenches] MLPE Mapping

2020-07-08 Thread August Goers 
Our crews have been doing daily reports that include a Google Photos link
of the work they accomplished that day. Creating the shared photos link is
so easy now with both Android and iPhone that we've had widespread
adoption among our crews. It really is awesome. Anyway, part of their
report is to include a photo of the micro or optimizer map (stickers on our
plan set, typically, or cardboard). I think being in the habit of doing the
daily reports really helps to trigger the reminder to complete the map, and
now we have no more lost paper micro maps to deal with.

August
Luminalt




On Wed, Jul 8, 2020 at 3:19 PM Benn Kilburn  wrote:

> I use that DIY ladder module-lift that was featured in HomePower many
> years ago and was just recently thinking of putting some stickers on the
> top of it so that you clearly see them something to the effect of “Did
> you scan optos/micros and take wire management photos?”
>
> That should serve as a reminder before any mods make it to the roof.
>
> Benn Kilburn
> SkyFire Energy
> 780-906-7807
>
> On Jul 8, 2020, at 12:18 PM, Kirk Herander  wrote:
>
> We scan the barcodes with a smart phone app which automatically creates an
> excel file for upload(there are many apps to choose from), and number them
> also 1,2,3...etc with a sharpie for mounting. If scanned in the right
> order, the row number in the excel file with correspond with the physical
> number and barcode of the respective MLPE.
> It's easy to remember the # sequence in which they were mounted.
> I gave up on the Solaredge scanning/mapping app a long time ago. Way too
> clunky for me.
>
> On 7/8/2020 1:58:40 PM, Corey Shalanski  wrote:
> Wrenches,
>
> After 10+ years of MLPE (microinverters/optimizers) gaining traction in
> the industry, I have noticed one stubborn issue that somehow still haunts
> us. I think we as installers have all been there at some point: laying down
> the final module in an array, high fives all around, time to look at the
> close-out checklist that our pesky operations manager handed to us on our
> way out the door, and then realizing that we forgot to peel off the MLPE
> serial number stickers (or otherwise record them) in order to make a map...
>
> Even when installers forget to record just one serial number, retrieving
> it can be difficult and time-consuming. Raise your hand if you've ever
> attached your cell phone/camera to an extendable pole and slid it under the
> array in hopes of catching that one forgotten label!
>
> In this age of smart devices, I anxiously await the day when MLPE will be
> able to map themselves. But until that day comes, I am wondering if anyone
> has developed or knows of a tried-and-true foolproof method for capturing
> MLPE serial numbers?
>
> --
> Corey Shalanski
> Jah Light Solar
> Portland, Jamaica
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