Solar energy

Maaka, the question comes to mind not having 240v, do you have a gas (propane) refrigerator?

sorry chaps for the delay in replying to questions raised..I didnt think anyone was interested in this sort of thing...first one Homer, I am just an ordinary joe bloggs, and didnt know the difference between an amp, watt or a volt, but with solar you soon learn...now I could throw some modern day NZ prices for a 240volt system, like $2500 for a 3kw pure sine wave inverter ( pure sinewave better than modified sinewave) a modified sinewave is much cheaper, but will put a humming noise in your stearo speakers, and can damage laptops and such.. $1440 for 4x80w solar panels, and $800 for 4x105a batteries..then you have you lights (16a) and fixtures and wiring..so at a guess for a 240volt system 100,000baht

now before that scares anyone away here is an email address of a solar company in Bangkok, and they will give you a proper price, rather than my guessamation.......<palapol_n@solartron.co.th> ..tel. 66 2 392-0224 mob 08 92058766

remember it is a one off outlay of afew bucks, and you can have everything that every other house has including a fridge /freezer. but over time it will repay itself with minimal maintenance, and you wont get caught with your pants down when the mains power goes out..there are different size systems to different needs..heck you can even throw in a little windmill if you are in a good location....

YES Farang1 , my fridgerator is propane, also my oven/ stove as well...because my house is 12volt I cant run an electric frigde or stove, but if I had 240v welllllllllllll.....to cut down on costs of propane I have setup an outdoor cooking place using those concrete bucket type things and firewood..I could go the wood range stove but it hot enough in a thai house without a fire going in the log stove for cooking and hot water...

I have a 24/7 source of water that comes out of the ground and is held in a tank that I use for irrigation. When the tank is full (usually the case), it overflows into a distant reservoir. I gravity feed water from that tank into a pond where I raise catfish. We have a second older pond that is slightly higher than the top height of the water in the tank. I'd like to use a small solar cell to pump water up, perhaps 1 meter, to flow into a pvc pipe which would feed into the older pond. Daytime replenishment of 50-75 gallons or so of water into the older pond would be more than adequate to keep the pond full.
Any ideas out there?

Maaka, Your NZ bucks must go a lot farther than our Canadian dollar. Adding up your figures I totalled it out at $4740.00 plus installation of system which would probably bring it closer to $6000.00. If I use that figure in Can.$$, coupled with a sh#tty exchange rate, it works out closer to 180,000Bht.
Still, as you say, it's a one time outlay of cash and I don't see electrical costs ever coming down. I know I paid almost 3000Bht for electricity in April, and at that rate it wouldn't take long to recoup the initial investment. Of course, I was running the AC a lot more that month with the sweltering heat.(Canadian )
My main concern is keeping my expenses to a minimum once I'm in LOS fulltime and on a fixed income.

By the way, I checked out that website you posted and they must have gone out of business as I tried it several times and couldn't bring up the page. Many thanks though.

it was a guessamation Homer, and you are right in some matters, but $4740.NZ today is 103000 Baht, so I rounded off at 100,000..yes our economy have recovered well..anyway back to solar. Sorry about the number I gave out, its 2yrs old, but I am sure there are other companies on the net, as I went to a solar exhibition in Bangkok 2yrs ago where there was umpteen companies..

wiring is standard in any house and will cost you anyway..my house has no special wiring, in fact it 240v wired, but I run 12v thru it..I do alot my wiring myself as it is quiet basic with 12v solar, so that cut my costs..

yes why I went solar in the first place was to keep my overall living expenses to a minimun, because of lack of work, and only a small govt allowance at the time. A power bill every month was not what I could afford, but solar did away with that..

Parrot you would only need a 12volt water pump, (flowjet, parmate brands) a 12v car battery, and a 15watt panel, and a Trace charge controller..The Parmate water pump is what I use, and is about the size of a tennis shoe, they use them in big sailing boats..its simply connects to a 20mm plastic pipe..you could have a stand alone system for your pond..I post in the ground next to your pond ( the closer the pump to the water to be sucked up and pumped the better..stick your solar panel on top of the post at an angle, and point it not at the point of sunrise or sunset, but midway where the sun might be on a winters day, as in winter the sun is in a different tragictory..

build a small rainproof cabinet box around your post, maybe alittle concrete floor, and in there nail your charge controller to the post, ( charger controller regulates the power coming from the panels to the battery, and automatically cuts the panel power, once the battery is fully charger, and comes on again when the battery uses power) and set the battery not on the ground but on two small blocks, so that air can circulate beneath it..

wire panels to control charger, and wire control charger to battery, and wire battery to water pump..all you need now is to decide how to turn the waterpump on and off..either put a normal on/ off switch in the battery to pump wiring, or simply have crocodile clips on the pump wiring, so all you have to do is clip the pump to the battery terminals and your awayyyyy. just wrap red tape around the postive wire so you not make a mistake of clipping them on wrongly...you just got to remeber to come back when the pond is full and unclip the pump leds....dont need to have this all connected to the house or anything, works abit like a farmers electric fence...the pump I use is 15ft below my roof tank so a simliar pump should handle your situation no problem..and you should be able to do it all yourself..its just finding the pump and charger controller, ( a controller for this system only needs to be about the size of a cigarette package.., sorry I had one here somewhere but have misplaced it, so cant give you the amp size, maybe next speel )

Parrot.. a Trace Charge Controller C12 - 12 Amp would do your water pond thingy..

any anyone wanting a 12v/24v house system ..a Trace Charge Controller C35-35 amp will do ,

but for 240v full monty systems, then a aussie made "Outback" Brand Inverter of 2400amps or bigger is the way to go..

note , that batteries or the plates inside batteries gum up from time to time, so it is best to over charge your batteries and let them bubble away at least once a month, so that the buildup between the plates fall off and gives you better battery life..I would NOT use car batteries for a house system, but for Parrot yes as his requirements are small, indeed, once in a while he can throw his battery in the car and give it a good charge up...

interested parties check all my comments

PARROT..you could just go the cheap way and just have the 12v Parmate waterpump with battery clips, and a car battery...could forget the solar panel and solar charge controller, but you would have to charge the car battery either with a standard workshop 240v / 12v battery charger, or failing that, start your car engine up, connect some jumpers leads to the pond battery, and run the car engine until charged...it means lugging the battery back and forth from the pond, whereas the other way I suggested with a post and cabinet, sort of looks after itself, but costs that little bit more..I would stick a filter in the 20mm plastic pipe between the pond and the pump, even though the Parmate has a small filter, as over time the pump will suck up debris and insects and finally stuff up the pump..

Thanks for the tips. I'll do some shopping for a pump and solar cell.

your welcome Parrot...if you want me to come have a squezz at your little project, and toss some ideas around, I will be parachuting back into town next week.