Getting the flock out of here - a diary of a crazy chicken man

[ozexpat]

I think I will wait 24 hours. we have about 40 hours until it hits us if it decided to turn south west. if the eye stays within the green circles of the model in the picture above, we will have less storm here than with Queenie.

 

[perchie.girl]

thanks for the update

I am in two minds about a generator. the problems are such:

a gas generator requires running under some load for thirty minutes a week to keep the engine in good reliable condition.
this entails having a fresh supply of gas that can be "borrowed" and both workers have motorbikes. it may seem trite but consumables disappear and the number one loss on a farm is usually fuel.

the wiring on the property has #2 wire underground from the street to the house. a main circuit breaker then feeds to the house box and the outbuilding's box in the garage. it then goes to the out buildings and a circuit breaker at each out building - egg house, piggery, pump shed and lillian's house.

our house and garage are locked up when we are not here.

to install a generator that covers the whole place would require building a structure for the generator and a transfer switch along the main line

this is a major investment. typically power is reliable here compared to even Bacolod that had brown outs routinely. our brown outs are normally less than an hour and only one or two a month.

I have a marine battery and inverter in the house which will run lights for two days. the battery pack in the egg house will keep the incubator going for 12 hours.

under normal circumstances a generator is a waste of money as the salt air will destroy it in a few years as it does any other electrical device.

if the storm continues on the above path then a thousand dollar investment in a generator, transfer switch, wire and a building will be a waste of time.

How about solar panels and a bank of batteries... You can store them in a sealed container like an old freezer that has a padlock... Vent it well but it would keep the temperatures constant as well as protect the batteries somewhat from corrosion.

deb

 

[ozexpat]

I think I will wait 24 hours. we have about 40 hours until it hits us if it decided to turn south west. if the eye stays within the green circles of the model in the picture above, we will have less storm here than with Queenie.

 

[ozexpat]

deb:

I have been holding out for solar. its still over a dollar a watt and though battery prices are dropping, the capital investment is significant. The power companies don't buy the excess and you have to have it isolated from the grid so we need auto transfer switches.

I reckon we will be there in two years.

the slope of my roof is perfect for 3000 watts of solar on the back of our house

 

[Amberjem]

 

[Ashburnham]

Look after yourself mate!


xxxx M

 

[jandee]

If the path stays or move farther north, I think we can "weather the storm". With those scenarios laid out, a genset is not feasible. Instead of acquiring an asset, it can easily become a liability especially you're not there most of the time.

Switching to solar is to our advantage since we have the sun all year round. The initial investment is high but in 3 to 5 years, you will see your ROI. It will be shorter if your power company buys the excess of your generated power. Hopefully NOCECO will offer net metering in 2 years.

 

[ozexpat]

I won't hold out for net metering.

if the chicken sales take off as it looks like they will, I will need a pretty constant 1200 watts per hour running brooders and incubators when we are not in residence.

once panels are 80cents a watt I will invest in 4000 watts. that should be enough with our climate and 11½ to 12½ hours of daylight a day.

if and when net metering kicks in I won't need batteries to store a larger output for the house às well. most of our use is at night with ac running.

 

[topdycke]

Have you looked at some of the small wind generators as an option? They are generally 10-25% cost per watt if you have consistent 10-15 mph wind range. Conversion would be the same as for solar cells

 

[vehve]

Are those a good idea with the constant risk of tropical storms? I'm not sure what kind of beating they're built for.