[Michael Yount]

My goal for the swap was to minimize the upper radiator hose length.

 

[CDW6212R]

That's about how close my water pump inlet and oil cooler outlet are in two of my trucks. You have to do the hose with the WP on mine.

How many possible thermostat housings are there that fit that? You'd like a little more space between those for the hose to flex.

 

[Michael Yount]

The problem is caused by the aftermarket aluminum rad. The tank is much wider than the OEM rad and the outlet is moved towards the driver’s side. Normally the rad inlet would be offset towards the middle with another inch or two of gap. The preformed hose has an offset molded into it.

I’m not worried about engine movement - with the 3rd mount up top (to the strut bar), engine movement is minimal. And I found a hose for a 4 cyl Sonoma that has a tight offset - I think it will work. But - can’t remove/replace hose by itself; have to either remove the rad or the t’stat housing.

 

[93Cobra#2771]

Click the tstat housing 180 degrees and do a loop de loop. Fixt!!!!! Lol

 

[Michael Yount]

I actually thought about those alternatives. I think my other housing will bolt on - and point towards the driver's side fender. But, still not enough room to manage the turn between the back of the housing and the rad outlet. It'll be the cutest little offset hose ever.

 

[Leadsled Coupe]

Solar system worked exceptionally well yesterday. Battery got fully charged in the partial sun/clouds. Then I disconnected the PV circuit and ran battery down to its recommmeded minimum settings in the manual. Then programmed the 0% safe mark in the small digital gauge. I should be set now system wise.

To run the battery from full to empty took 4 laundry loads (one extra long - hamsters bedding), few hours of large fridge freezer use and and hour of wet dry vac and ceramic heater in garage simultaneously With fridge. I was getting desperate to drain it before going to bed. This consumed my afternoon after getting home from church - started laundry immediately. I even ran the microwave at one point with fridge. This battery is a monster.

the inverter ran great. The small cheap looking canles it came with (that I plan to replace with bigger gauge this week) actually never got beyond “maybe I feel some warmth here”.

I am impressed. Wifey was thrilled and called it her best Mother’s Day present ever. I know…. That shocked me but she’s wanted something like this for quite a while.

 

[Leadsled Coupe]

FYI if you guys are curious as to costs:

solar panels were purchased for $70 ea (310w per) from some failed Obama solar program. Normally they are about $1/1W.

 

[Michael Yount]

Great work Chris! Something I've always wondered about -- so, it's a sunny day, and your battery is completely charged. You're not consuming any of the panel's power. What happens to the juice they're wanting to get rid of?

Edit - from the inter webs -- "When not connected to a device, a solar panel will still absorb sunlight but won’t have anywhere for the energy to go. Basically, it has voltage but no current is flowing. Because the voltage has nowhere to go, it will become heat in the solar cells and radiate out from the panel until it dissipates. The battery will remain full until the load is reconnected, but not using the panels for extended periods of time while allowing them to remain in the sun could result in damage to your system."

 

[Leadsled Coupe]

The MPPT charge controller is grounded and has large radiating fins to dissipate heat. I am not sure if that could be related as well.

This morning I noticed that when the panels have light but are in the shade a trickle charge of 25v ish and 1A is registered as coming in. But when the two panels have direct light (not perpendicular to panels but bright!) I am seeing 70+v and 7-8A incoming.

Ill be checking again in an hour or so and see how much up the charge in battery goes. It was up to about 5% In only a half hour or so of direct incident light this morn.

 

[Michael Yount]

I’d think covering them when not in use would be a good idea

 

[Leadsled Coupe]

mine clearly are really for backup power use/ emergency so I’ll be taking them back into garage once battery is fully charged back up and ready for use.

I’ve never read about folks covering theirs but…. I am a novice at this learning all I can. Thanks for sharing! I do hope to be an expert soon.

 

[CDW6212R]

If you build enough solar power under normal conditions, you may want to consider contacting the utility and finding out how much they would give you for that. It may be worth it to connect it differently, and also be able to use the battery for emergencies. That would help pay for the investment.

 

[Leadsled Coupe]

The only problem with that Don is that the equipment purchase to allow selling it back AND switch to allow home storage is uber pricey. Most folks go one way or the other. I’ll likely run my garage on solar full time. But we will see. Plenty of room to play.

 

[Leadsled Coupe]

Might wheel the deep freezer in basement up to the upstairs garage and run it full time there once I decide a permanent mounting system for the panels. Who knows? Just learning a bit as I go.

 

[93Cobra#2771]

It could be argued that the basement freezer runs more efficiently in the basement due to the more stable and cooler temps. Not sure I'd bring it upstairs.

Then again, efficient isn't necessarily the the goal here. Free is the goal (after payback, of course). I'd certainly want to know the system is being used and in top working order, and the freezer would be a way to go about it.

 

[Michael Yount]

Ah - I thought you’d have them permanently mounted outside. Bringing them in is the same as covering them. Our utility will not allow them to be configured to be in use when the power is out.

 

[Michael Yount]

Here’s the hose I found.

 

[93Cobra#2771]

Well, I guess you have less points of failure when the hose is a couple of inches long lol.

 

[Leadsled Coupe]

It could be argued that the basement freezer runs more efficiently in the basement due to the more stable and cooler temps. Not sure I'd bring it upstairs.

Then again, efficient isn't necessarily the the goal here. Free is the goal (after payback, of course). I'd certainly want to know the system is being used and in top working order, and the freezer would be a way to go about it.

Yep per. That’s why we put it down there originally. But…. If it was in upstairs garage instead I might power it for free (“prepaid“ actually lol as it’s been pricey!) then additional power consumption certainly would not matter In the warmer ambient condition.

Too early to tell which way I’ll go. Just a fun hobby for now. (That sounded bad - not the way i meant it lol).

 

[93Cobra#2771]

Yeah, that what I suspected. Still have the yellow sticker on your freezer? If so, it will tell you the average annual consumption and help you see pretty quickly how long the payback will be on it.