Letter Re: Backup Electric Power Design Considerations

Hugh,

Great article.

  1. On the connection from the box where you consolidate the power coming off the panels to the charge controller, it has been suggested to me that I use wire made for welding applications. I am told it has finer, more numerous strands of wire and therefore transfers more power, minimizing amperage loss. My source is a guy that builds high performance golf carts.. (Everything is relative.) Something called DelCity.net is where he goes.
  2. The author is right about storing gasoline produced in autumn. They put more butane in the gas for winter to help with cold weather ignition. Butane is the first element to go in the process that makes gas stale.
  3. From my environmental biology days, you can divert 10% of the flow of a stream and not upset the ecology. Of course this practical information has nothing to do with what the regulators would impose. You have to measure the stream and figure out the volume of water in a 10 foot representative stretch and the time the flow of water. Search “microhydro” for more information. – RV