Wheelbarrow Power!!

[glenn kangiser]

I didn't know that -- I have a Kill-a-watt but never tried it on just my computer.

[MountainDon]

Power bumps to 30 - 37 when it has to load a page or the processor fan comes on.

What a thrill to watch. 

[MountainDon]

At 13 hours we're at 0.20 KwH consumed.

I left it on all night which I don't usually do.

[MountainDon]

Okay, this seems to be straightforward... at 24 hours the meter shows 0.40 KwH consumed. Very linear time/KwH function. Probably not much to be proved by extending the test. My poor old RV batteries should be able to supply that with no problem... unless the elcheapo inverter consumes more than that it self.

[MountainDon]

Today the new weather station arrived. I set it up temporarily to make sure it functions before I cart it off up to the mountains. Here's a shot of the unit on a 6 ft pole in the backyard...



Here's a screen shot of the included software...



There are a few wrinkles to work out... like the reading for the minimum temperature. 

[NM_Shooter]

I have a wind power question...

Okay here is where I get stupid... Does this mean when spinning at speed it puts out more amps to charge the batteries than a normal car altenator which run from 50-90 amps depending if you get a heavy duty or not?

It is possible to put out more amps, but only if the load is there.  And if it is putting out more amps, it is also much, much harder to spin.  So if you have a 60 Amp alternator running at 1200RPM (whatever speed), and a 100 Amp alternator running at the same speed, and they are both fully loaded from an electrical standpoint, the 100 amp alternator requires much more mechanical energy to spin at that speed.

Think of them like two shovels (big and little), and you have a fixed rate at which you can shovel.  You can move more dirt with the big shovel, but it takes more work on your part.  But remember that you don't have to do a full shovel load....you can put just a little bit of dirt in that big shovel to save your back, but the capacity is always there if you need it. 

Just because a 100 Amp alternator is spinning at full speed does not mean that it is putting out 100 Amps.  It could be shoveling along with an empty load.

BTW... speaking of alternator gensets, I made this one last year out of an old lawnmower and some 1" square tubing.  I needed a portable way to put a heavy duty charge on some batteries:



-f-

[glenn kangiser]

Great enginuity, Frank.