Member postings for Peter Bell

Thanks for the messages eveyone. They are Photovoltaic panel, 5 of them.Yes they will be out in all weathers and windage is an important consideration which is why I was asking in case anyone had seen or have experience of a commercial installation and could recall the bearings type or how it was made up?

A lot of the info out there does not really go into the detail I am looking for, I have seen plain plastic (for wont of a better word!) bearings advertised which is what I suspect the commercial installations use. I only picked on a rear hub type arrangement as an alternative as they are robust and readily available.

Peter

Thanks for the reply. If I used a suitable rear hub complete with bearings etc I was going replicate the original stub but make the length reasonable as it would be inside the pole/tube to avoid over stressing the welds.

Is that what you mean?

Hello, I Have 5 solar panels for water heating which are doing a good job. As part of the experiment I intend making these into a pole mount so that I can rotate and track the sun. I have worked most details out like tracking electronics (arduino), pole and mounting frame.

I wonder if any of our readers has seen a suitable installation and can describe the slew bearing or bearing assembly?

Initial thoughts are to use a front wheel drive van rear hub which has taper rollers, probably, overkill but readily avalailable?

Thanks Peter

Thanks for the suggestions but no sensors or batteries (hidden or otherwise) on the actual door also no batteries in the unit, its all mains powered. The fault appears and it stops working witout moving or being touched, only a mains switch off/on gets it going again.

But it's worked this morning!

Thanks for even more helpful comments.

Changed the capacitor, it measured 220uf down from 470uf. Now doesnt get warm but I dont think thats the problem. I can make it display a 5 for overload if I hang onto the door while its moving. but my fault is 4 while its standing doing nothing.

Maybe quite a sophistcated unit with suspected pwm to slow the door as it's nearing the end stops. Think these are set as part of the installation if I remember correct. As its probably some microprocessor problem dont expect its easily fixable so another unit to try maybe a better option. Maybe manual operation is an easier option! This is a 550Nm unit, the ones on ebay are 1000Nm so probably quite old.

Thanks for the offer, shall I send a PM John?

Peter

Thanks for the helpful comments.

When it was stopped the unit had clicked off. I've put my clamp on meter on it and switching off fine. Transformer Volltage is 27v but dc to the motor dips as expected on load but a cap on the board is getting very hot. Its only 470uf which seems a very small value for a smoothing cap.

If nothing else reckon I've found a wasps nest!

Peter

Yes its all running fine/smooth on the mech side.

Working in the garage earlier with eth door open it put 4 on the display and stopped working after a few minutes without being touched or moving.

I'll have to explore the unit more.

We have a Garador auto M2 garage door closer which has worked faultlesly since it was installed. However it now often will not open, switching the mains off/on resets it and it works but often it puts 4 on the display when it wiil not work.

Needless to say the manufacturer says replace the complete unit at around £300

Has anyone sucessfully repaired one or got any fault finding info of the unit or circuit board?

Thanks

Peter

Strange, recently bought 2 x 18650 Li-Ion batteries from batteriesplus.co.uk and they came by Royal Mail at a cost of £1.95, dont remember much about the packing being special.

Perhaps it depends on what you declare, when you read the lists most things are prohibited that I've looked at?

Recently also bought 40l genuine creosote which cost £50 to ship. Needed more so from different company bought 80L They in came in individual cardboard boxes with parcelforce delivery, asked driver about this and he said it was normal, deliver lots of liquids this way.

Peter

Cannot help with the lathe but Henry Osborn sold tools and general engineering supplies from Percy Street in Newcastle-upon-Tyne when I knew them in the 60's. Very helpful people when I wanted some pulleys. Seem to remember them moving there from elseware but when I knew them looks like they were a shadow of there former selves.

Peter

Hi Andrew,

Its a bit hazy after 17yrs but I think we had wound the table down while in the room locked everything and wound tthe head as far to the column as possible then jacked and packed it to get it onto a pallet finding the balance point as it was some distance to push it through the factory to the loading point. Think we ratchet strapped the head to the table and the head to the column to reduce the chance of it all swinging out while it was in the room.

We lifted it with a strap on the column, that seemed easy as it balanced reasonably well. Ours had originally been driven with line shafting and a motor was fitted low down at the back which helped the balance.

The scrap men were well versed at moving and securing machinery and were patient throughout the epic journey which was around 40 miles, only mishap was taking a chunk out of our gatepost with his lorry as he drove in!

Not much help I know but I also I have an Archdale radial arm drill circa 1921 which I bought from a factory closure sale in Birmingham. Eveyone had a tale of disaster of moving these machines so I would imagine any established machinery mover is well versed.

It was in a store room partially buried. I bought the complete room and and demolished a wall to get it out selling most of the other contents of the room. I recruited 2 scrap men with a useful Hiab lorry to get it home and as we were gently pushing the drill through the factory delicatley balanced a pallet truck we were constantly heckled by people wanting to buy it, lots had looked at it but were more cautious than me about buying it and getting it out of the room.

Mine is really top heavy but we managed to get it home intact and install in in a shed and its proved very useful especially as you can clamp work onto on the side of the table. Great machine, pleasure to use with all the controls to hand---hope it goes well.

I bought original the book in 2002 from a Dutch books seller, cost 30Eur so always been pricey. I see one is available from Austraiia for around £30 delivered on Abe.

I made the winder around that time, see pics (sorry could not figure how to rotate) for my chain driven clock after working out a pully size to suit the chain pitch. Had some problems with the chain getting tangled jambing the motor so added a 20secs timer which unlatches a relay so it switches off after 20 secs, normally takes around 6 secs to wind. Altering the profile of the lead in guides solved that so the chain arrives flat at the drive pulley.

The book gives part no for the motors so used that to spec the motors. I had to to replace te strike motor with a faster one as the strike on a large no, ie 10 could beat the winding speed. I used mercury switches I had in stock from FLT battery chargers.

It's proved a real asset and althought it was a bit of a fiddle getting it right well worth the effort. Hope this helps

.

Michael,

Quetioned the cookie policy and lack of being able to opt out to LG and got this back?

Peter

Thank you for your query.

I have had a look into this for you and am keen to assist with this. I can confirm that this is a part of the privacy and user agreements that appear when setting up the TV. If these are not accepted, you may be unable to use the applications or certain features on the TV. This particular section relates to personalising the smart experience on the TV much like with cookies on other devices. This means that some data is collected in order to suggest recommend shows you may like, alongside syncing this to other devices using the same IP address, much like the cookies on your laptop, which shares to other devices like your handset.

These agreements are required to enjoy the features and smart features on the TV. What I can do for you today is raise your feedback today to Head Office to encourage the relevant changes to be made, if you can tell us how you would like this to be changed. For us to do this, we like to submit a report called a Voice of the Customer (VOC). If you would like for me to raise this as a suggestion for you, please can I ask that you provide us with your Contact Number, Postcode and a First Line of Address so we can process the VOC? Please note that this is an internal process and so you will only be contacted if further information is required.

Michael,

Our tv is not very well and I've been thinking of replacing it with an L&G.

Has anything changed with the privacy issue you were concerned enough to post about?

Thanks Peter

Thanks for the guidance Joe. Spent some time researching what you have said and I came across this unit. Not fully sure how it operates but looks like a cross between an inverter and a buck converter?

Does this fit with your description of a MPPT Heater element controller, but seems to have charger in the title as well.

https://actii.pl/en/ladowarki-prostowniki/979-mpm-pwm-heater-charging-controller-for-solar-solar-panels-actii-ac7391-6931240073919.html

Peter

Thanks for the reply Joseph.

I looked at various contollers but thought they did not apply to this instance as I am not charging a battery, also as I have 4 panels which are rated at 270w each it looks like I would need 4 controllers?

I suppose I need to experiment to find what the optimum resistive load is for the panel but I cannot find the restance wire I have safely stored also my clamp on meter has decided to pack in!

Peter

Thanks for all the interesting replies. So far I havent spent much as its an ongoing experiment really rather than an investment so I'm not terribly worried on the cost.

John, my panels produce 8.69a at 31v each according to the spec. I did some testing when I first got them and I'm sure they produced something like that but I need to do more. This video goes into it and the chap also has an interesting spread sheet.

Peter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVaxAfXQPDU

Thanks for all the constructive replies. To give a bit more of the picture I initially bought a "piped" panel system but it proved difficult to plumb in to my system as it was then. We now use an air source heat pump to a thermal store and have underfloor heating from that, all home grown and installed. The hot water cylinder is heated by the ASHP with the supply controlled by motorised valves on demand. It's stored at 35c and the final water to taps is boosted to 50c by on demand by elec heaters.

The on demand elec heaters can take feed water at up to 80c but obviously would be switched off so I decided if I could boost the cyl temp feeding them anything would be a bonus. I have never achieved more than 60c even in the summer hence my question about better matching of my panels to an immersion heater. I'm trying to avoid batteries and grid tie and had wondered if one of the solar type inverters would accept a dc supply direct from the panels and output 240v for the immersion?

Peter

I have 4, 270w solar panels which I have used with a dual element 24v immersion heater for a while. The panels are wired as 2 parallel pairs, I have never managed to achieve a decent loading measuring the voltage and current.

Now one element is failing looks like its time to try something else and I wonder if anyone else has better experience?

I also wonder if I need to get a 240v 1000w heater but use a 240v solar inverter rather than trying to match the panels to a lower voltage immersion heater?

Peter