This is the second part in my story of installing a solar photovoltaic system in the Northern California Bay Area.  You can also read Part 1, Solar Panels / Energy.

I figure the best way to organize what happened is to do a timeline from the very beginning:

4/1/2010: Contract with REC Solar signed.  The process is:

• REC does a site evaluation
• REC pulls permits
• I go with REC to Costco to purchase modules & inverter
• Roof Right removes old roof and installs plywood and underlayment
• REC installs the roof mounts for the rails
• Roof Right installs the rest of the roof
• REC installs modules, inverter, and all electrical
• REC coordinates city inspection
• REC submits all the info to PG&E
• PG&E does interconnection
• I turn the system on!

The whole process is expected to take 14 weeks which includes the 3 weeks for the PG&E interconnection.  So, that would be a completion date of mid July.

4/13/2010: REC sends out their crew to do a site evaluation.  This includes getting the roof measurements (dimensions, pitch, direction etc.) and the shade analysis.

They have a cool device that takes a “fishbowl” image of the sky from various points on the roof to show what items will cast a shadow onto the roof (click the image to the right).  We discover that the chimney and two big oak trees will be casting significant shadows onto the roof.   Not much we can do about the chimney other than shift around the modules a little.  The trees will either need to come out or be significantly “topped”.

Note:  In the shade image the engineers highlight in green the areas that will cast a shadow.  Items that will be removed (trees) are not highlighted.  The system then uses the data to calculate how much sun that particular spot on the roof will receive during which hours of the day and months of the year!  Really cool!

5/4/2010: The REC sales manager and I meet up at Costco and make the biggest purchase I’ve ever made at Costco or put on a credit card, $12,800!  I’m now the owner (at least on paper) of 18 solar panels and an inverter.

5/11/2010: REC also sent me the following that shows where the trees need to be trimmed and how much difference having no shade will make in the electricity production.

Based on the calculation, we lose 15% output (most during the Winter) due to the shade from these trees.  You can see how significantly we need to cut back these trees to remove the shade.  Both of the trees are “wild” (meaning nobody planted them there… well, maybe squirrels) and even though they are pushing up against the foundation we’re not sure we want to take them out.

After a lot of back and forth we decide against taking the trees out.  Every person I talked to said that you shouldn’t top oak trees.  We decided it was “better” for the trees to have them topped than 100% removed.    We had a great arborist come out and, even though against his better judgment, he “trimmed” the trees.   While very aggressive, they actually turned out pretty nice.

5/6/2010: Roof Right comes out to redo the part of the roof where the panels will be installed (we’re only getting that section replaced).  They do the tear off, lay the plywood, and the pretty blue underlayment.   I have them install 4 new “eyebrow vents” in preparation for a whole house fan that I eventually will install.  I also have them cut out two 10 inch holes for adding sweet new tubular skylights that I got at Costco for $150 each!   I also had to move the vent for our hot water heater up and to the West to get it as far from the modules as possible so it wouldn’t be in the way or cast a shadow.

5/7/2010: REC sends out their guys to install the roof mounts.  I had previously requested extra tall “standoffs” be used.   I wanted these for 2 reasons:  1)  For clearance above the eyebrow vents.  2)  For extra air movement below the modules (which lose performance as they get hotter).

While they were here, the REC guys took new shade measurement pics and everything looks good… except the big ol’ chimney.   I’m still bothered that the chimney is casting such a significant shadow on a couple of panels in the early morning.   I draw up my own plan for module placement and send it to the engineers.  Basically I moved one panel up to the top row and shifted parts of the array to the West (away from the chimney).  Turns out that one of the big factors for the way they layout the array is symmetry.   I said, “Hey, these are on the back side of the house so I’m not really worried about them being symmetrical.”  The engineers said, “No problem, we’ll go with your layout.”   Guess what… this change was expected to net me an extra couple percent increase in output!

At the end of the day the Roof Right team comes out and completes their roof work and flashes in the roof mounts and even install my tubular skylight flashing for me!  I think it all looks absolutely fantastic!   Click the picture to the right and you’ll see the new roof compared to the crumbly Terrashake / Cal-Shake roofing.

5/11/2010: We were hoping to begin the install today, but REC ran into some problems with TIGO and their supply of the management units that attach to each module.  I’m told there could be up to a 2-3 week delay before we can install the modules.   While I’m a little bummed, I realize that we’re way ahead of the 14 week schedule I was originally expecting.   I start thinking that either the 13 week schedule was a case of “under promise, over deliver” or that somehow things just went way faster than they expected?

5/18/2010: I get some great news about 6 days later that the units are in and we’re ready to go!  The team comes out and begins installing the rails and getting everything ready for the inverter and tie-in to the main electrical service box.

5/19/2010: The team comes back and installs 17 of the 18 modules (the one on the bottom of the stack shattered during travel).  The inverter and most of the electrical is installed!

They look absolutely fantastic and I’m super excited!

Click for larger images

5/21/2010: The team comes back out and installs the last module and finishes a few other items.

This is where things get a bit sticky:  While working to tie into the main service box we found that there were some electrical problems that had the potential to be a huge problem (and expense).   We were looking at having to replace and relocate the main service.  This would also require that the main line coming into the house to be moved and more roof work.  We’re talking potentially $5,000+ more work, permits and months of delays!!!!  Well, long story short, after 2 weeks working with 3 electricians and scouring the world for a few specific old parts and a TON of extra time and work from an amazing guy at REC, we were able to get the problem solved for under $200!  I seriously dodged a bullet!

6/7/2010: The city inspector comes by and meets with the rep from REC and walks the grounds.  I’m terribly nervous and am crossing my fingers that there aren’t any problems.   After only about 15 minutes the inspector is gone and I get the great news:  We Passed!   WOOT!

6/7/2010: All the paperwork is then submitted to PG&E for them to do the interconnection.  Even though my system is 100% ready to go, we need to get their stamp of approval to pull the switch.   PG&E has up to 30 days to do their inspection and the interconnection.  Rumor has it that they are taking up to 3 weeks to get out to do the interconnection.   UGH… it feels like “HURRY UP and wait.”

6/16/2010: It’s 9:50 AM and I’m loading the kids in the car for their very first day of swim lessons.   As we’re about to pull out of the driveway I see a PG&E truck driving up the street.   Can this be it?!?!  I send my wife off with the kids so I can stick around.    The truck parks in front of the house and out comes a guy with a new bi-directional meter in his hand… I swear he looked just like Santa Claus!  Within 15 minutes he had pulled the old meter, installed the new one, and gave me the A-OK to pull the switch.  WOOOT!!  9 Days?   I think this is a new record for PG&E interconnection!

Right after he was gone I turned on the power.  After what seemed like FOREVER the inverter kicked on and I was live!  The new bi-directional meter started at 00000.   I sat there and watched it until I saw it roll back to 99999. 

Summing up:  from contract signing to full interconnection was 76 days (almost 11 weeks) which put us about 1 month ahead of schedule… and that’s with the extra 2-3 weeks of problems related to the electric service issue.

You can click the image below for a high resolution picture of the final installation.  Also I’m including an image of the TIGO interface to show the cool visibility I have into the performance of each solar panel.

We’re using about 20-24 kilowatt hours per day and generating about 25.  At the time of writing this our meter says 99954 and has been as low as 99946.   We didn’t build the system to completely offset our usage, but that’s just what happens during ideal conditions during the summer months.   Our “credit” will carry forward month to month.  As the days get shorter we’ll be producing less than we use, and over the course of the year the credits that we’ve banked up over the summer will be used up.  We don’t expect that we’ll ever produce more in a year than we’ll use unless we totally change our habits… and with our daughters getting older I doubt that’s going to happen.

Hopefully you found this information helpful.   If you’re interested in solar you should contact REC Solar and tell them Rob Ludlow sent you! Even if you’re not in the California San Francisco Bay Area, they may be servicing your area or have partners that do!

Any questions, simply comment below.

Part 1 of 2  of my decision process and subsequent installation of a solar energy system (see part 2, Solar Power Installation California Bay Area).

VERY long story short: We’re getting a 3.9 kw (DC) solar photovoltaic system installed on our house that should have a “payback” of 8 – 10 years.

Now, all the sordid details:

Why we need / want solar: I posted earlier about how we’ve been looking for ways to save electricity.  Unfortunately we’ve hit the point balance between conservation and significantly changing our lifestyle.   We realized that changing consumption would only get us so far… we needed to begin production!

My Solar Love Affair Begins: I’ve always been fascinated by solar power.  As a kid I loved electronics and did weekly bike rides to Radio Shack to spend all my money on motors, LEDs, etc.  I remember getting my first solar powered calculator and falling in love from that day forward.  I was so enthralled that for my high school “Senior Project” I chose to write about solar energy (thermal and photovoltaics).

Fast forward to 2010: A few entrepreneur friends and I went to a “green” networking event and the place was full of solar companies.  I thought I’d pass by and hear their sales pitch.  One of the more aggressive companies was able to get me to fill out a “free consultation” card… a few days later I had a voicemail for an appointment.  I was honestly dreading the meeting.  I always thought solar energy for the house would be cool, but wasn’t really considering adding residential solar power to our home because:

1. Our roof has about 5 years of life left.  No sense to get solar installed then have to have it removed / reinstalled when the roof needs to be replaced.
2. I heard that the “solar break even” or “solar payback” periods were 12 – 15 years.
3. We’re not sure we are going to stay in the house we’re in.
4. I kept thinking “The solar panels will just get more efficient and cheaper.”

Well, I figured I’d have the guy come by to do his solar song and dance.   During the appointment the most interesting things I leaned:

1. The goal of a solar install (at least in the California Bay Area)  isn’t to remove your need to be “tied to the grid” but to remove you from the top tiers of electricity prices.  For example, if you use 200% of your “baseline” you get charged $0.50 a killowatt hour!!  NOTE:  If you are tied to the grid (and you probably will be unless you want to spend $20k more on a battery system) it is required that the grid be powered for your inverter to function.   That means if the grid goes down at noon then your inverter turns off and your panels, even with full sun, will not produce a single watt of power.  A bummer for sure because if the power company is down for 3 days, you will be too, even with a 4k watt power plant on your roof.
2. Based on the above, if you use a lot of electricity (like we do) then your break even happens much quicker.  We average about $160 a month just in electricity (about 30 kwh/day). I’ve been told you should be at about $80+ a month if you are thinking about solar for mostly monetary reasons.
3. We could just replace the roof section where the solar array would go and leave the rest of the roof for replacement down the road.
4. Rebates and Credits:   There is a 30% Federal Tax Credit of on a solar system install and California State “Go Solar” rebate of $1.10 per watt installed.
5. The CA rebate was VERY CLOSE to dropping down to the lower “step” of $0.65 within a couple weeks, so if we wanted to do solar, now was the time to do it.   Going from $1.10 to $0.65 would be an opportunity cost of potentially $1,755 (3900 x $0.45).

After really thinking about the items above, we realized that we’d probably stick around in the house we’re in and that it financially made sense for us to get solar and to take advantage of the great rebates and credits.

Our final decision process was  as follows:

1.    Does solar make sense financially?  Fortunately this was pretty much already resolved.  I got in touch with a few people that have had solar for up to 3 years and all were very happy with the ROI and the efficiency of their systems / cost savings.
2.    Which panel manufacturer?  The manufacturer of our previous roofing material went bankrupt so we’re kinda sensitive to making sure the panels be covered by a solid manufacturing company.
3.    Which installer?:  I wasn’t about to sign a contract with the first company that came by (and he really was pushing us to do so).  I ended up getting a bunch of referrals and  read a bunch of reviews to narrow the ton of California based solar companies down to a handful.

Solar Company Competition: Below are the companies that did on-site evaluations (in alpha order).

• Akeena Solar
• REC Solar
• SunLightAndPower
• Super Solar
• The Solar Company

Each company had pretty good presentations.  In fact, I ran into a problem I didn’t expect:  Each company had glowing reviews and a really good value proposition.  After an extensive amount of research I had narrowed the list down to three companies: REC Solar, SunLightAndPower, & Super Solar.

SunLightAndPower: A large, well known, reputable company in the SF Bay Area.  They have many installs under their belts and the sales rep was extremely helpful and knowledgeable.  Their price was the highest of the group, but I felt like there was great value in working with a large company.

Super Solar: Owned by a former employee of SunLightAndPower who had been one of their top installers for about 10 years.  They are just a few person company which meant low overhead and a low price.   Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get past the fear of working with a small company.

REC Solar: Actually this company wasn’t even on my original list.  I was literally about to choose (that night) between SunLight&Power and SuperSolar when I was referred to REC Solar from a really smart guy I met online.  I found that REC Solar was the company that was partnered with Costco, so I thought I’d give them a quick chance to throw their hat into the ring.   They are a good sized company with a great reputation. The sales rep was amazing to work with, and the proposal was very impressive and competitive with the others I received.  Oh, and they were the only company on my short list that was willing to guarantee the  CA Rebate at $1.10 even if the application for my array didn’t make the cut before the drop down to $0.65!

In case you can’t tell, I ended up choosing REC Solar

Why REC Solar? Here are some of the highlights of why I want with REC Solar (Renewable Energy Concepts):

• Large company with a ton of installs under their belt
• Partners with Costco
• Very knowledgeable and friendly sales rep and engineering staff
• Guaranteed CA Rebate before the price drop
• Turn key installation.  They do everything including permitting with the city, etc.
• Availability of the TIGO Energy optimizer (up to 20% more energy from the array and a cool online monitoring system)
• Price per watt installed was very competitive with the competition

The system details:

• 3,960 Watts DC (3,295 Watts AC) Solar Electric System that would require about 323 sq/ft.
• Estimated 6,378 kilowatt hours produced per year (we use about 9,500 per year)
• 18 – REC220AE-US solar panels / modules (This REC is “Renewable Energy Corporation”)  + 25 year warranty
• SMA 3000US Inverter
• Tigo system components
• All labor + 10 year warranty

System Grand Total: $23,800

CA Rebate:  $3,440 (estimate based on shading, etc.)
Costco Member Savings $233.60
Costco American Express Savings $116.80
Federal Tax Credit $6,108.00

Net System Cost $13,901.60

Note: This “net cost” doesn’t include the new roof section ($2,400) or the tree trimming ($600).

Our “payback” or “break even” is estimated to be 8 years, and is calculated based on our current usage and a 6% annual utility rate increase.  I personally believe 6% is too aggressive, but this is the % that all the solar companies use.   Obviously the payback time gets longer or shorter if our kilowatt usage changes (3 girl household) and/or if our electricity rates change.

Another way I calculated the financial aspect of the panels is by setting it up like an annuity.

System cost: $13,900
Periods: 300 (25 year life expectancy)
Future value: $0.00 (assuming worst case that the panels aren’t worth anything after 25 years)
PMT: -100  (we expect to save at least $100 per month in electrical bills)

Based on the above, the annualized rate of return on this system is 7.2% using the “RATE” calculation in Excel.  Keep in mind that this is POST TAX MONEY, so when comparing it to another “investment” you’d need to add your tax rate.  So, if I’m in a 30% tax bracket my comparable rate would be more like 9.36%!  Compared to other investments (especially at 9%) I think solar panels also have  much lower financial risk.

When I asked my REC Solar sales rep about which of my friends would and wouldn’t be good candidates for solar he replied:

“Realistically, the cutoff for a decent ROI with PV is going to be around $80 per month.  There are infinite reasons to go solar that are not directly related to immediate payback and ROI (increased value of home, hedge against the rising cost of power, property tax exempt investment, very safe and stable part of an investment portfolio (think CD’s but with a higher ROI),  and an inflation beating investment) but the reality is the ROI would probably be around 4%-7% (not that bad!).

Also, one day the Plug-in hybrid vehicle, or all electric vehicle will be a reality, which will change the PV industry forever as people will see the value in creating their own “gasoline” for their cars with solar.

There’s also the little part about not buying power from fossil fuel burning sources.  Unfortunately at this point, there is not much of a monetary value associated with this (though there should be since the environmental effects do COST money).”

I couldn’t agree more!  In addition to the financial reasons to “go solar” I personally put a lot of weight into:

• The fun and cool factor of having your house powered by the sun
• The warm fuzzies knowing you’re doing your part to reduce your carbon footprint
• The joy of fully meeting up with your childhood love for solar!

The panels should be installed this month.  I’ll post part 2 with all the installation details when the solar juice is flowing.

Have you thought about getting solar installed?  Why or why not?  Post your thoughts below.   Oh, and if you’re thinking about getting solar, give REC a call and tell them Rob Ludlow sent you! 

(For part 2, see: Solar Power Installation California Bay Area – Part 2 )

Below is another great submission from Ken (creator of the HomeMade Rotary Trommel Screen).

From Ken:

“You may remember me as the builder of the red rotary trammel.  I later built a shaker screener because I needed to separate soil and larger stones from 1 inch stone I needed for a driveway.  I made it to screen a 3 cubic yard pile of dirt from an excavation.  I wanted the soil for filling low spots in the lawn, 1 inch and smaller stone for the driveway and the larger stone as fill to enlarge an area that needed good drainage.

The shaker is actuated by an eccentric weight and motor that came from a scrapped 5 gallon paint shaker 3/4 hp electric motor.  I originally planed on spring mounting the shaker section on a chassis, but realized I could just mount the machine on rubber tires and let the whole machine shake.  The rest is 2×4 pressure treated lumber, bolts, 2 5/8 inch axles and 4 10 inch pneumatic tired wheels.  The tires are barely inflated to act as springs.

Before starting the machine, so I run it a few seconds to see which way it wants to go, then drive a couple of stakes in the ground and tether the machine with bungee cords so it doesn’t wander away.  To date, it has over 125 hours of use with only one change of screen wire.  The first section is 1/4″ mesh, the second is 1″ mesh, so I get 3 products delivered into the garden trailers and wheelbarrow. The mechanism has since been enclosed.  I also added a board partially covering the screens close to the motor, to keep stones from being thrown out.

Below are a few shots of the sifter and mechanism.  Note that the pulley and opposite end flywheel have eccentric sections, normally they are set up to increase the action.  I found it was too violent so I swapped them l to r, which put their bob weights opposing the center weight.  That reduced the action to an acceptable level.

I had fun building it and it has elicited as much amusement as amazement from friends watching it at work.

Power Barrow – Power Donkey:

Because the shaker has three products (sizes of material) delivered into three receivers, and I have two little trailers and garden tractors to haul them, the third output went into a wheelbarrow.  Being dissatisfied with having to unload a trailer first, then transfer the barrow load into it, I built a powered, manually dumped wheelbarrow out of stuff I had laying around plus a murray garden tractor front axle and a forward-reverse riding mower transmission from eBay.  Tiller steering lets you walk ahead of or behind the machine.

The engine came from an old 3hp rotary mower.  The more than 10 cubic foot box, filled level with I inch gravel carries a 900 pound load up my back hill at walking speed. With a reduction ratio of about 48 to 1, rear axle torque is about 450 foot pounds, or about 800 pounds of pulling power.

I did have to fill the drive wheels with windshield washer fluid and put chains o them to be able to climb the hill.

Here is a video of the power barrow, or donkey, I built, in action.  The uphill grade is 17degrees or a 30% grade, the load is 9 cubic feet of wet gravel, crushed stone and saturated sand weighing about 160 pounds per cubic ft., totaling about 1440 pounds.  The next load it carried was the full 10 cubic ft., 1600 pounds, which translates to 480 pounds of pulling power or 320 foot pounds of torque at the rear axle. The 3hp Briggs engine didn’t even slow down on the hill.  I’ll have to see if it will pull a loaded trailer uphill, too.

Below are some pics of the donkey, showing that it was built by mounting everything to a piece of 3/4″ pt plywood, then adding stiffeners as structurally necessary.  The 3hp Briggs engine came from an old rotary push mower, the fwd/rev transmission from an old riding mower, the countershaft, rear axle bearings and trailer hitch from the paint shaker I used to build the shaker screener  the total reduction ratios provided a 2mph speed at 3000 engine rpm.

The mower engine depends on the blade for flywheel effect, the engine flywheel is really only a blower for cooling air and a holder for the magneto magnets.  To compensate for the missing blade, I added a heavy 8″ diameter cast iron v-belt pulley to the crankshaft.

I finally weighed the material shown in the barrow video.  It comes to 100.7 pounds per cubic foot, so the actual load in the video is 906 pounds.  The next trip I filled it to a full 10 cu. Ft., about 1007 pounds, which did not slow the machine going up the 30% slope.

The loaded donkey will not pull a trailer with a 400 pound load up the slope.  It would need a bigger engine.  However, with the loaded trailer, it is a pain to maneuver, and puts extra strain on the driveline.  It would be no problem on a lesser slope.”

After looking at a $160 average electricity bill (thank you California tiered rates) I’ve been on  a quest to reduce our monthly spend on electricity.   My wife and I are going to achieve this in two main ways:

1. Produce - We’re in the process of getting solar panels (photovoltaic) installed.
2. Reduce - We’re working on ways to conserve on our power usage.   This is the area I want to explore in this post.

First, a disclaimer:  We are already pretty conservative with our power usage and we want to reduce our consumption in a way that won’t require a total shift in our lifestyle.   So, aside from moving into a tent we’re looking at other ways to reduce our usage.

Some of the things we’re already doing to conserve electricity:

• Compact fluorescent bulbs – All our bulbs in our house are fluorescent except for the ones on a dimmer in our bedroom.  I need to either replace with dimmable fluorescent bulbs or just remove the dimmer and replace with an on/off switch.
• No AC – Yup, we can pull this off since we live in a pretty moderate climate.  There are a few weeks of really hot days in the summer, but if we manage to evacuate all the hot air from the house using a whole house fan we can cool the house without gobbling up a ton of electricity.
• Turn Stuff Off – Pretty self explanatory… if not being used, turn it off.  (more on this later)

We’re still using a lot of power and here are my guesses why:

• Two houses in one – My little family lives in an addition built onto my mom’s house.   My mom uses barely any power, but between the two families we have 3 computers that are on almost all day every day, 2 refrigerators, and a large freezer.
• Computers – Did I mention on ALL DAY EVERY DAY?  Yup, I work from home, my wife is a stay-at-home mom, and my mother is semi-retired and spends most of the day on the computer too.   Based on my calculations (see more below) each computer, monitor, printer system is using about 120 watts.
• Young kids – Lights left on, lots of laundry (efficient washer & electric drier), etc.
• Raising Chickens – We often set eggs in an incubator which draws a bit of power. Then once they hatch they need to be under a heat lamp which is often 250 watts for 24/7 for the first few weeks.
• Heaters – We don’t have central heating and haven’t installed a gas heater yet.  We primarily use a wood stove for heat but in the kids rooms we use a radiant heater during the winter to keep things comfy.
• Stuff that’s always on – DVR, and the tons of “vampire power suckers“.

Regarding these “vampire” items that draw power in standby mode even when off:  I understand the idea of putting everything on power strips / surge protectors that can be shut off, but I have 2 major problems with this:

1. Who in the heck wants to shut something on and off every single time they want to use it?
2. Who wants to deal with the associated problems of loosing clock settings, DVR downloads, etc. when the power goes off?

Sure, I want to be conservative, but this is an area where I just accept the cost of doing business, i.e., choose my battles and keep the convenience of leaving all this stuff on all the time.   This is a battle I’m choosing not to fight. 

One area that I wanted to improve was my own computer area.  Some items “need” to be on all the time.  Stuff like the DSL modem & router (all 3 computers rely on these) and the shared laser multifunction machine.   The rest of the stuff could be switched as needed when my PC is on.

The first thing I did was draw up how I felt my system should be laid out.   My main goals:

1. Have everything end up going through a kill-a-watt monitor that would show me how much juice all my devices are using.
2. Manage which items needed to be through my UPS for emergency backup. (Side note:  I’m putting a lot of things through my UPS, but if the power kicks off I’ll quickly turn off stuff like speakers, lights, etc.)
3. Give me quick access to turn on/off certain items when needed
4. Keep certain items on all the time, especially “shared” items.

So, I began the process of plugging in and arranging all the various items.

Here is my overall design:

As I plugged in each item I kept track of the power usage during its regular use.  Computer and monitor were “while fully on” while printers were tracked in “standby” mode.

Item	Watts	On?
Desktop Computer	71	W/Computer
LCD 23″ Monitor	40	W/Computer
Desk Light	25	W/Computer
2 Phone Chargers	9	W/Computer
USB hub	1	W/Computer
Canon Injet	1	Always
UPS	8	Always
DSL / Modem	7	Always
Brother Laser	7	Always
Router	5	Always

So, the stuff that is “Always on”  totals about 28 watts.  That’s about 20 kwh a month or $2.62 a month at our baseline kwh rate.  I’m happy to spend $2.62 a month to not worry about my wife always asking me to turn on a printer or having to wait for my DSL modem & my router to startup every morning.

The “with computer” stuff is probably on about 14 hours a day, so I’m guessing that comes out to about $8 a month.

After spending hours on all this today I realized that either my math is really off, or I’m not using nearly as much power with all my computer / office stuff as I thought I was.  For example, right now my whole system is only using 176 watts (speakers on, music playing, blogging, etc!)

I guess I’ll need to continue my quest for the big power suckers.  I’m assuming the big ones will be things like the refrigerators and freezer.  I’ll plug my kill-a-watt into these items and use the kwh measure to get a 24 hour read on how much juice they are pulling.  For other items like kitchen lighting, ceiling fans, dryer, garage lights, etc. that are difficult to plug into the kill-a-watt device I’ll go out to our new digital meter while my wife turns stuff on and off (I tried to do it tonight, but the readings were all over the place since she was baking a birthday cake, running the dishwasher, etc.).

So, what are your thoughts?  Are you an electricity miser?  Which battles do you pick when it comes to power consumption and conservation?

One of the common discussions on our printer forum is in regard to the “waste tank” that lies within many inkjet printers.  These “tanks” are actually just ink pads that absorb and then become saturated with ink.   There are a few ways ink becomes deposited on these pads including overspray during borderless printing, printing when paper jams, etc.  Usually the vast majority of ink is from the cleaning cycles when the printer literally sucks ink from the nozzles of the printhead.  You can imagine that after lots of print cycles quite a bit of ink is left inside the printer.   One of two things ends up happening:

1. Your printer throws an error telling you your waste tank is full
2. You end up with a black gooey mess leaking from beneath your printer

A wonderful member of our community, ghwellsjr, shared his experience in dealing with this problem.   I was so impressed with the detail of the images and information that I asked if I could share it on the site and he acquiesced.  Read more

HomeMade Monitor Wall Mount

A week ago I decided to upgrade to a new 23″ flat panel monitor (since I spend about 80% of my waking hours at the computer).  I was thinking about buying a wall mount, but I discovered two problems:

• Most didn’t extend from the wall as far as I needed (about 18 inches)
• The prices for the ones that extended only about 13″ were $60 +

Here is my setup before I started:

Well, once again my overwhelming impatience and desire to do-it-yourself won over.  I did some internet searching and was surprised there weren’t a lot of homemade monitor wall mounts out there on the net (at least few I could find).   I did stumble upon this one, but I didn’t need fancy articulating arms, etc.  Well, while I was laying in bed about to go to sleep I came up with a few ideas (as often happens).

My first idea was to have a two 3″ pieces of 1/2 inch pipe, one for the wall and one mounted to the back of the monitor.  Then I’d bend a 2 ft. piece of rebar into a z shape which would fit into the pieces of pipe.  At the last minute I opted for just going with a bent piece of pipe by itself which would fit into brackets.   Here are the supplies I used:

• 2″ – piece of 1/2 inch electrical conduit
• 4 – 1/2 inch brackets
• 4 – M4 .70 pitch metric screws (about 1.25 inches long)
• 8 washers
• 8 wood screws
• 1/2 pieces of scrap wood

The first thing I needed to do was to find a way to attach the brackets to the monitor.   I created a diagram based on the 100 mm square holes for the VESA mounts.  To the right is the image I created.  I simply printed the sheet at 5″ x 5″ exactly (including the 1″ white border) and taped it to my board.

From there I pre-punched the holes with an awl and drilled all 4 holes with a 3/16 bit.  (I also countersunk the holes on both sides)

This provided a perfect backing for the VESA mount on the back of the monitor where the M4 screws would fit.

The metal Arm:
This was one of the more complex parts of the project.  Fortunately I had a 1/2 ” bender on hand, but I discovered that the bend radius was so long that I was using up much of my pipe.  I ended up doing a mix of using the bender and the vice to get the angles I needed (You’ll see in the pics below).

Working with the metal arm to get it just how I wanted was a bit of work.  Make sure you get 100% level bends or you’ll end up with my problem… when the monitor is rotated it is a bit off center and not level.

Next, the brackets:

The 1/2 inch brackets are meant to hold the conduit very snugly, but I needed at least a tiny bit of play so I could insert & remove the whole thing.   I was able to solve this problem by bending out the brackets ever so slightly and then putting a 1/16″ washer between the bracket and the wood.

I attached one bracket to the wood that would go on the back of the monitor and inserted my metal arm and then attached the other bracket and made sure it had just the right amount of play.

Next I found a stud in my wall (what a pain that turned out to be) and used 3″ screws to mount the other board.   I propped up my monitor to a height I wanted and then put the metal arm in place and fastened the other two 1/2″ brackets with screws and washers just as before.

It took a few adjustments to get my pan and tilt just right, but I’m pretty happy with the results:

(click for larger version)

Here is the monitor swung completely out of the way… I’ve never had so much desk space!! 

It isn’t pretty (as most of my “get it done and make sure it works projects end up) but it works really well!

I’ll keep testing it and make notes of future adjustments I’d like to make including painting everything black.

A few weeks ago I received the following email:

“I’ve written a procedure explaining how to remove a Canon i960 printer from its cover and base and how to prepare it to be operational while out of its case. It’s a 4 page PDF – 1 graphic, 3000 words, 36 paragraphs. Too big for a comment. If interested I’ll email it to you as an attachment.”

Well, I gladly replied that I’d love to see it. Below is the contents of the PDF and hope many find it useful. Thanks David for all your work putting this together!

“I find the Canon i960 printer manual lacking in practical information about inspections, tests and cleaning. This procedure explains how to remove the top cover and base and how to prepare the printer to be operational while out of its case.

Basic tools for this job are a medium size phillips type screwdriver with a 5-6 inch magnetized blade. Most hardware stores sell a simple magnetizing device for this purpose. Two straight blade screwdrivers – medium and small. A regular screwdriver with a sharp tip to pry apart connectors. Letter opener. Flash light. Container for small screws. Newspapers. Paper towels.

To remove the top cover: Turn the printer power on. Let it stabilize. Open the lid. The print head will move to the center. Pull the AC plug AT THE PRINTER. Pull out the USB cable. Remove any paper.

Remove the panel that holds the power/resume buttons – 2 screws. Unplug the cable from the button panel. Pry the connection partially apart, then grasp the conductors and pull with a rocking motion. Set the button panel aside. At the rear of the printer remove the inspection plate. Set it aside.

Look for 5 horizontal slots midway around the perimeter of the case. Use a flat blade like a letter opener to depress the internal plastic release tabs while pulling up on the open top cover. After the top cover is snapped loose, close the lid and rear paper rest. Grasp the top cover by each side and lift it from the base in a rocking motion. Set it aside. A cover over the USB connectors lifts out after removing the top cover. Set it aside.

A push-button switch at the top-center of the logic board senses the top cover lid opened or closed. Its normal state (closed lid) is NOT depressed.

If removal of the printer frame from the base is NOT required, reconnect the button panel and cable connection and temporarily install the panel on the base using the bottom screw. With the cover removed paper is not supported. Make a paper support. Cut a 7×9 inch panel from a corrugated cardboard box and insert it about an inch into the gap behind the rear paper guide. Now normal operations are possible as though the cover was in place.

Before removing the printer frame from the base, preliminary measures should be taken: Arrange a work station

-garage bench, utility table, kitchen table – preferably well lit and at a comfortable height. Prepare two wooden blocks to elevate the printer above the work surface. Lego blocks might work. Have newspapers and paper towels on hand.

For a test lash-up, cables from the power supply module, the button panel and a base test plug must be re- configured. It’s not necessary to disconnect them from the logic board or disturb the wiring runs.

Remove the power supply module and the power cable from beneath the base: Turn the printer around so the rear of the printer overhangs the edge of the work bench 3 inches. The power supply module resides in a recess beneath the rear of the base. At the end of the module towards the AC connector is a 3/4 inch wide plastic tab. Pry it away from the end of the module while grasping it near the AC connector. The module will drop out. At the other end of the module is a 9 wire plug. Pry/pull it out. Set the power supply module aside. Pull the power cable and plug back up to the top side of the base.

A cable of 8 red wires terminates on an open plug at the right rear corner beneath the printer base. It serves no purpose for this operation but must be dealt with because it’s fastened to the base. From above bend some of the red wires facing the rear to mark that side. To disconnect it from the base compress the locking tabs of the plug from below the base and pull it out from above. I used a medium size regular screwdriver and pried against a tab from below on one side while pulling up at a slight angle on the wires. Then I moved the screwdriver to the other side and did the same thing. The plug came out easily despite the tight spot. Leave the plug dangling. Turn the printer around.

At the front of the printer above the paper discharge chute is a 12 inch plastic bar. Removing this bar allows more maneuvering room to install or remove the printer frame from the base, but it’s not necessary to remove it.

It’s held in place by vertical latch tabs at both ends. Grasp the left end of the bar and push firmly to the left and upwards. On the right side on the end near the black purge pump look for a 1/2″ tab that extends downward. The tab must be pried towards the purge pump while lifting upwards on the bar. Set it aside.

The printer frame is held to the base by 2 screws located in the rear and 2 tabs (not visible) in the front. On the right rear corner a screw is located directly downward in line with the slot used to depress an internal plastic tab. Look down over the edge of the base with a flash light and use a magnetized phillips screwdriver to remove the screw. On the left rear corner the screw is located in line with the white fiber gear. It’s visible and easy to remove. Ignore the other screw nearby.

If the button panel was temporarily installed earlier remove it now from the base and unplug the cable. Look for the U-shaped metal bracket at the right side near the purge pump motor. For future reference, make a mark on the vinyl covered button cable at the center of the purge pump motor. Remove the bracket – 2 screws. Arrange the button cable so that it is free from snagging when the print frame is lifted from the base.

Grasp the printer by the metal tabs on either side of the center frame and lift upwards favoring the left side. The front holding tabs are cleared by pushing the frame slightly backwards after the rear clears the base a fraction of an inch. Jiggling the printer frame may be necessary. Avoid handling the frame at any other points. It’s easy to damage fragile parts. Once clear of the front tabs the printer should lift free from the base but watch carefully for any overlooked connection or obstruction. Set it down.

On the printer base look for any foreign objects (screws, clips, springs etc.) and save them. Remove the white plastic bar with teeth from the printer base and set it aside. The printer base and waste ink pads will be cleaned later.

On the printer frame there may be dust/debris in areas that are now accessible. If you have access to compressed air, this is the time to blow it out. Leave the print head away from the purge area. Don’t blast ink from the purge area onto other parts.

Prepare the printer to operate outside of its cover and base: Put down newspapers. Elevate the printer base on blocks. Make sure a folded paper towel is below the black purge pump near the right front corner.

Plug the button cable into the button panel and place it in a convenient location. Plug the 9 wire power supply

cable into the loose power supply module. Plug in the USB cable from the computer. Insert the 7×9 cardboard panel into the gap behind the rear paper guide. Load some paper. Remove the ink cartridges and visually check for ink levels. Reinsert them and move the print head back and forth a few inches by hand. It should move smoothly. Confirm that the print head locking lever is down. Plug the AC cord into the loose power supply module.

Turn the power on. Look for the green light. There will probably be print head movement and purge activity. After the printer stabilizes, depress and hold the open lid button on top of the logic board. The print head should move to the center. Release the button. It should return to the parked position over the purge unit at the right side. There might be ink on the folded paper towel.

Turn the COMPUTER on. After boot-up go to Start/Settings/Printer. Right-click on the i960 printer icon. Go to Properties/Print Test Page. The printer should print the test page. Click on the Maintenance tab. Do a nozzle check.

At this juncture there are many things to check for, depending on conditions and symptoms. It’s beyond the scope of this procedure to list them but if cleaning, lubrication and repairs are to be made, this is the time. If any clips, screws, etc. were found in the bottom of the base, this is the opportunity to determine where they MIGHT belong.

Clean the waste ink pads: In the base are two pads on top of each other running 11 inches along the length of the base. Two small pads are on top of each other near the purge pump area. There’s also a pad at the far left of the base that’s probably not stained. Remove it too. Set it aside. The others are very messy. Take the base to a laundry type utility sink or a bath tub. Put on rubber gloves and remove the pads. Don’t do this on the driveway unless you can live with the stains.

Place them under a running faucet or direct a warm water stream from a hose to flush them out. Using your gloved hands, press the water out, flip them over and press the other side. Repeat this until the ink no longer blackens the water pressed from the pads. Be careful not to damage the small ears on the big pads. The stains can not be removed but the bulk of the ink will be flushed out. Leave them soaked with water so they dry out to maximum thickness. Place them on 4-6 layers of paper towels, preferably outside in the sun. Flip them and change the towels every few hours. It might take 2 days for them to dry.

Flush the base under a stream of warm water to remove the ink. Clean the printer top cover with soap and water. Use a spray bottle of bleach type cleaner to remove stains from the sink or tub.

To re-assemble the printer gather all the parts that were set aside in one location. Keeping an eye on them will guide you what to do next and in what order. Start with the base. After the waste ink pads are dry, install them. Start with the small ones. The bottom pad may be of different material than the top one. Install the single pad previously set aside. Install the big pads. There’s a slight difference between the bottom and top pads. Install the white plastic bar with teeth on the base. It fits only one way.

Disconnect the loose power supply module from the power supply cable and the AC cord. Disconnect the button panel from the button cable. Remove the paper and 7×9 cardboard panel from the rear paper guide.

With the base and printer prepared, lower the printer onto the base: First, position the button cable so that the reference mark is near the center of the purge pump motor. To hold it from flopping, place the button cable above the metal tab that anchors one side of the U-shaped bracket. Tape is optional. Grasp the printer frame by the tabs on either side of the center frame. The rear of the printer has to go slightly back beyond the screw holes so that the 2 front tabs are engaged when the printer is then brought forward. It might require some jiggling. You can tell if the printer frame is seated properly when you can see the rear holes firmly against the bottom case and are lined up. Confirm the button cable is in the slot at the bottom rear of the case. Attempt to lift up the front of the printer frame at both corners. It should be secure under the tabs.

Install the U-shaped metal bracket on the right side – 2 screws. It has a retainer tab for the button cable which should now be positioned correctly with the center of the purge pump motor in line with the mark made earlier. Use the magnetized phillips type screwdriver and install the 2 screws that secure the rear of the printer to the base.

If not already in place, install the 12 inch plastic bar across the front of the printer above the paper exit chute. The thick side is to the left and the 1/2 inch tabs point downward. Push the bar down from the top until it snaps into place.

Turn the printer so the rear of the printer overhangs the edge of the work bench 3 inches. Install the red wire cable plug into the square hole at the right rear corner of the printer base. The bent wires face to the rear. Push the plug down from the top side of the base into the hole until the plastic tabs snap into place.

Route the power supply cable and plug down through the opening in the right rear corner of the base. Plug it into the power supply module. Snap the power supply module into the recess beneath the bottom of the base. Set the USB cover plate in place. Turn the printer around.

Install the top cover loose. Route the button cable and plug up through the opening in front of the clear mist shield. Snap the cover down starting with the left side. Insert the button cable plug into the socket of the button panel. Open the lid. Fasten the button panel – 2 screws. Close the lid. Install the rear inspection plate.

Plug in the AC cord and the USB cable to the computer. Load with paper. Turn on the computer and printer. Wait for everything to stabilize. Open the printer lid. The print head should move to the center. Check the ink cartridges. Make sure they have ink and are seated properly. Confirm that the print head locking bar is down. Close the lid. At the computer, navigate to the printer icon and print a test page. Click the maintenance tab and do a nozzle check. Print a test color bar or photo.”

A HUGE thanks to David for sending this great writeup over!

NOTE: If any visitors give this a go please post your thoughts below and take lots of pics during the process so we can add them!

Cut to the chase?  Go to TouringPlans.com and read then join!  Honestly, it was the only trip planning site we needed.

Back in Febuary of 2008 my family took on the exciting yet daunting task of planning a trip to Walt Disney World.   We knew if we wanted to maximize our trip and have a lot of fun (with relatively few frustrations) we needed to get our ducks in a row.

That trip was quite a while ago and I’m finally going to share some of the ideas and resources we used when planning our trip to DisneyWorld.

Hitting Up Friends:

I knew a friend who recently had taken his family to DisneyWorld and wanted to get his feedback.  I wanted to pull from his experience and asked his thoughts on his trip.  He sent me some absolutely wonderful advice and I felt selfish that I was the only one benefiting, so I thought I’d share his great comments and suggestions: Read more

Over the years since first posting the article on my Homemade Compost Sifter Screen Sieve I’ve received some really amazing comments by some incredibly ingenious site visitors.   A few have even been willing to submit their information for inclusion onto www.Nifty-Stuff.com including:

Automatic Compost Sifter – Screen
Sieve – Screen Shaker for Soil and Compost

Over the past few days I’ve been corresponding with another visitor of the site who has his own design.  He sent over a video (below) which really impressed me and I implored him to send me more information and pictures which he kindly did!   Below is the HomeMade Rotary Trommel Screen by Ken:

  

“I had need for about 6 cubic yards of broken stone to level a steep area on my property.  Because rain water flowed through the area, I wanted just stone, no dirt to impede the water flow.   I have about 1500 cubic yards of broken shale and soil available if I could just screen out the dirt. 

 

To this end I built my rotary screener out of:

 

• a 55-gallon steel drum
• 2-24 inch id bicycle rims bolted to the drum.
• 4 caster wheels
• Four 3 foot long bars of 1-1/4 x ¼ steel bars
• A clothes dryer motor and belt
• Some 2 inch angle iron
• 2-8 foot long 2×4 pt lumber
• ½ inch mesh wire cloth.
• 2 inch angle iron
• Miscellaneous flat and v belt idlers

 

To keep the drum bicycle rims running in the casters, I used the drive belt on the motor/outlet end and a long v-belt bought from home depot for $1.99 on closeout at the inlet end.

 

I found the drum speed was too fast, around 55 rpm, throwing dirt all over the place, so I added a ¼ hp motor driving the washing machine motor at half speed, which worked out well. Both motor mounts are pivoted so the drive belts are tensioned by motor weight and the bungee cord

 

I didn’t want to throw the dirt and stones; I wanted them to slide down the screen as they moved toward the outlet. 

 

I made the screening opening 24 inches long so the dirt would fall down into a wheel barrow or garden tractor trailer and the stone would fall out the end, also into a wheelbarrow or trailer.

 

I installed the 2 side deflectors so the screenings would only drop straight down and not on the casters or frame of the machine.

 

I later added four easily removable wheels for ease of movement.

 

The barrel is tilted by having the inlet end casters raised on a 2×4. 

 

The barrel is 35 inches long, the machine is 48 inches long.  I originally cut 4 windows in the barrel for the screenings to fall through, added the steel bars and cut out the spaces between the windows to get a full circumference for screening. 

 

As soon as I get an other barrel, I’ll simply cut it in half and use the bars to space the halves 24 inches apart, making it 59 inches long.  That way I’ll have more space to toss the material in and more overhang on the outlet end to make it easier to position the trailer or wheelbarrow.

 

The screen wire permanently attached to the barrel can be of a larger opening size, for larger screening and a smaller mesh liner can be laid in and attached with twisted wire ties to the main screen for finer screening.  I used this process with window screen to separate pea gravel from sand. “

 

A big thanks to Ken for sharing this with us!  If you have any questions or comments please post them below.  Also, if you want to make an article submission for our site please comment below.

Years ago I posted my thought on The BEST LED Flashlights.   Unfortunately a few things have happened since publishing that post:

1. Costco stopped carrying the Luxeon LED flashlights.
2. A couple of the Costco lights started to have intermittent problems.
3. I needed something brighter than the Dorcy AAA light, but still wanted to stick with a single or double AA design.

A few months ago I received a post on that older article from Nick at http://www.workflashlight.com.   I asked him if I could test a couple of his lights and he sent me two single AA models to try:

• 5W Super Duty 30 Lumens 1xAA Pocket LED Flashlight
• 1W 32 Lumens 1xAA LED Flashlight

Here are the two lights along side of the Dorcy AAA LED flashlight:

As you can see the beam of the 5w had a bit more of a yellow coloring while the 1w has more of a blue color similar to the Dorcy.   Both of these test lights had a much stronger and tighter beam than the Dorcy.  Pretty amazing when you consider the batteries in each are more or less the same (1.5 volts).

Next I setup my camera and each light to shine on a target picture 16 feet away.   I’ve found that while I’m outside checking on the chickens that this distance is usually the max distance of what I expect to see with a small form factor light light this.

	Here is the baseline shot of the wall and picture with the lights on.The image is cropped and zoomed to get better detail.Click any of the thumbnails to see a larger image.
	This is the 5W Super Duty 30 Lumens 1xAA Pocket LED Flashlight.Again, you can see that the color is a little bit on the yellow side, but could be considered more like “actual light” color. This light produced a good balance between the main beam with a decent amount of “side spill” for peripheral viewing.I prefer the feel of this light over the 1W below.  It seemed more solid and I liked the anti-roll notching into the body.
	This is the 1W 32 Lumens 1xAA LED Flashlight.  It has a more “blue” color and a tighter main beam with less side spill.While I preferred the feel of the 5W light above, this light fit more smoothly into my pocket.  I also liked the light color better.The tail cap button felt a little less solid on this light and the optics were loose (could have simply been this model).
	Here is the Dorcy AAA LED.  The light setting was fixed on the camera to provide for a relative display of how much light each of the flashlights produced.    The Dorcy was almost useless at this distance.

 Overall I was very pleased with the lights.   I’m not sure if it was an optical illusion produced by the different color light, but I honestly had a hard time determining which one was brighter.   After going outside in the dark and testing the lights on a plethora of different areas I decided I liked the brightness, color, and beam of the 1W 32 Lumens 1xAA LED Flashlight best.    While I like both lights, I think the 5W body with the 1W circuit / LED would be a perfect combo.

A big thanks to Nick at http://www.workflashlight.com for letting me test his lights.  Maybe someday he’ll be able to talk me into testing some of his brighter non AA based LED lights.