Nowty Towers Vs UK Grid Storage

[Moxi]

looking forward to the photos of the build in due course

Moxi

[nowty]

was that all four springs, individually compressed by 12mm to give 150kg force

Moxi

Yes.

Feck, I miss measured the original length, they are 64mm long springs and not 67mm long, so its a 9mm compression for a 150kg force. Therefore a compression to 46mm would give the required 300kg force. I have edited my original post.

Also there are 8 springs, as I have 4 on each end.

I also tried to compress one of the springs in a vice and I got it down to 44mm which was almost full compression of the spring and it still expanded back to its original 64mm, so I know that 46mm would not be over stressing it.

[Moxi]

check twice assemble once - or similar

Moxi

[Moxi]

and if we thought that was good these are the springs hes having manufactured for the scale up later next year


https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_Gr3crbEj_M

[nowty]

My attempt at a picture of todays partial eclipse,



Also did the pinhole camera trick which worked better.



But it had some effect on my solar yield too, I reckon its cost me about 30p in less export.

[Fintray]

At least you saw the sun, it has just recently put in an appearance up here, been seriously grey the rest of today!

[Moxi]

At least you saw the sun, it has just recently put in an appearance up here, been seriously grey the rest of today!

Yep yesterday was more akin to a dismal December day than March, but today is already looking much much better !

Moxi

[Stig]

My attempt at a picture of todays partial eclipse,



Also did the pinhole camera trick which worked better.



But it had some effect on my solar yield too, I reckon its cost me about 30p in less export.

I was wondering if someone would post a solar generation plot for the partial eclipse. This forum doesn't disappoint!

I used a pair of binoculars projecting onto a sheet to view it.
(I don't have a generation plot as I'd have to go up into the loft and take a photo of the inverter display for that)

[nowty]

I'm working on another PV upgrade.

The two higher ones are Jinko Tiger Neo 430W panels and the two lower (I have removed one) are 325W Panasonic panels. I am going to remove the 325W panels and use them elsewhere.



2 more panels arrived from City Plumbing today at £60 a pop with free delivery for 450W DMEGC panels. They were delivered next day and the tracking showed they started from a depot in Warrington, then on to the West Midlands and finally to Nowty Towers on the South Coast in a smallish white van. No pallet but they were both in a heavy duty cardboard envelope which made them very easy to drag along the floor without worry of damaging them.



They are visually identical to the Jinko panels which is what I was hoping so they match.



They are bifacial, so glass on the back !



As they are bifacial I decided to swap them with the current Jinko's and move the Jinko's to the bottom row. My reasoning is they might benefit with some extra photons coming through the transparent roof of the potting shed.



In operational service, but late afternoon so they are shading.



I have plans to re-use the 325W Panasonic ones but that's going to be another day.

[Joeboy]

Cool blue colours! My bifacials took a lot of looking at to get used to. We don't expect see thru parts on solar. What's the efficiency on them Nowty?