Post AmQuPabWmqS4f0DUbQ by eriner@noauthority.social
(DIR) More posts by eriner@noauthority.social
(DIR) Post #AmQs4ZuRyWIEW2v9Ki by eriner@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T15:12:01Z
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Anybody else have places in their yard that they want lights but they don't want to buy solar lights because they suck but also don't want to trench and direct bury low voltage lines (let alone do it right and lay conduit)?
(DIR) Post #AmQsANdCXQOwAncSQa by JustinCody@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T15:13:03Z
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@eriner I just build small thorium reactors into everything
(DIR) Post #AmQsBWoJtYTwvqMq7E by Richard@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T15:13:16Z
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@eriner yes. That's why people put up with shitty solar lights.
(DIR) Post #AmQsBmWpSLzvgEJ64e by EssentialUtinsil@poa.st
2024-09-27T15:13:19.354301Z
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@eriner yes
(DIR) Post #AmQscB7wcbllV6Fq3k by EvolLove@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T15:18:05Z
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@JustinCody @eriner No need to hold back. Go for nuclear reactions right away.
(DIR) Post #AmQskZSq1NSPIU1rou by cbrooklyn112@mk.spook.social
2024-09-27T15:15:29.322Z
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@eriner@noauthority.social you can mount a large flood light on your house and light up the whole yard. Like a commercial sodium filled light
(DIR) Post #AmQskaK0pfzXxOuKhc by eriner@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T15:19:35Z
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@cbrooklyn112 lights by the house are easy; LV direct burial lines that distance is trivial.It's only a problem when you're talking about somewhere that's 100yrds+ away from your house/LV transformer, as you'll have too much voltage drop.And while building affixed flood lights are good for security, they're not great for landscape lighting.
(DIR) Post #AmQslzRotsvmAoEIS0 by sircouchmaster@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T15:19:51Z
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@eriner Some cases like this can be resolved by the power company dropping a new pole, overhead wiring. My rural electric co-op charges $15/month for 100 watt led or 22/month for 400 watt sodium lamp on a pole. Darksky compliant to.
(DIR) Post #AmQspYUz2Pm9kcPRZ2 by Murray_N@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T15:20:30Z
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@eriner With low volt lines you have to watch out for voltage drop with distance.You get dimmer as you go out.One way they mitigate that is to pull a loop from the transformer.But if you’re going more than a couple hundred feet just pull a branch circuit and use 120v lights, or put your transformer out there.If your going really far pull a 240v branch circuit and take a 120v light off of each leg.
(DIR) Post #AmQsxU2dUfREFAvkga by eriner@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T15:21:56Z
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@Murray_N well, get dimmer or color shift. Regardless, doing anything that isn't "low voltage" means running conduit, trenching 18", etc if you're going to do it right, hence the aversion.
(DIR) Post #AmQtF2TWitQ1xdsaeW by IceCubeSoup@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T15:25:06Z
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@sircouchmaster I just learned that "DarkSky" exists. Thanks!@eriner
(DIR) Post #AmQtFtHIP67vj3Z4Rk by Murray_N@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T15:25:16Z
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@eriner You could get a decent sized solar panel that keeps a decent sized battery charged.That’s how they do gates that are too far to practically put mains at.
(DIR) Post #AmQtJ3HPfogFcB7vqC by eriner@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T15:25:50Z
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@Murray_N heh, that's the plan (and reason for this post), give me a minute to finish my mockup...
(DIR) Post #AmQtSKnXuV2SYLaDFw by EvilSandmich@poa.st
2024-09-27T15:27:31.136830Z
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@Richard @eriner I use these, they're a good compromise between shitty and cheap:amazon.com/BAXIA-TECHNOLOGY-BX-SL-101-Wireless-Waterproof/dp/B071HW515B
(DIR) Post #AmQtTqMA3wzEidUfce by cjntenn@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T15:27:47Z
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@eriner @Murray_N maybe a remote setup like you use on gates, small deep cycle battery charged by solar? Been thinking of doing that on my driveway for the same reason, don't want to trench and buy a line 400+ feet
(DIR) Post #AmQtahW7KGThKaQ7e5 by eriner@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T15:29:01Z
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@EvilSandmich @Richard I have some of this style, and they hold up the best by far. I have some that are 6 years old and still going strong (one battery replacement), whereas the ground-mount ones tend to either get brittle and crushed, or the (flat, non-angled) panel gets too much lime/calcium buildup and degrades.
(DIR) Post #AmQtt0fwpjjrxkkV2u by EvilSandmich@poa.st
2024-09-27T15:32:20.077845Z
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@eriner @Richard I've never seen a ground mount one that was absolute crap, even though it seems like it would just be the same stuff in a different housing.
(DIR) Post #AmQuByS7K5QyZPK3l2 by eriner@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T15:35:45Z
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My goal is to put trench-free motion lights at the end of my driveway, but I want them to be more than a 1W LED.That means a larger solar panel. But solar panels look like shit.So here’s my idea: get a flexible 100w panel and affix it to curved sheet metal on top of one of those half-barrel planter posts (but metal post, not wood).Here is a shitty drawing to help visualize what I’m thinking about trying.
(DIR) Post #AmQuMKZlvJ1S53qEoy by IceCubeSoup@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T15:37:38Z
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@eriner You're sacrificing some of the energy harvesting capability with that curve, but you already know that.
(DIR) Post #AmQuO6Mniw0UagcQsK by Gawdphather@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T15:37:57Z
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@eriner any out buildings that you can just roof mount the panel?
(DIR) Post #AmQuPZoxhPbUENUhu4 by cbrooklyn112@mk.spook.social
2024-09-27T15:37:08.185Z
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@eriner@noauthority.social concrete planter more gooder
(DIR) Post #AmQuPabWmqS4f0DUbQ by eriner@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T15:38:13Z
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@cbrooklyn112 well, it'd be filled with concrete for sure, but I'll have to see if the whiskey barrels are even wide enough to hold it steady. There will be lift forces on the sheet metal / panel at the top.
(DIR) Post #AmQuT5rf1DIITsQwNM by eriner@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T15:38:51Z
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@IceCubeSoup Yes. The "just bolt on a South facing solar panel at 45 degrees" shit I've seen at other places looks disgusting. No thanks.
(DIR) Post #AmQvOFuiKPWG9d7QAK by EvilSandmich@poa.st
2024-09-27T15:49:11.523587Z
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@eriner I'm not sure about other places but here in the rural area the power company will put a street light up if I ask, I would just have to pay for the power.
(DIR) Post #AmQw4LP4JB1RLIO0CO by Coatedinjoy@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T15:56:47Z
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@eriner needs some beer. That's a good design.Would a disguised integrated power bank, like jackery in the planter, adding available power for booby traps, strobe lights Christmas lights, game cameras motorized target shooting etc make sense?
(DIR) Post #AmQwFJUZkpTIbIC0Bs by Jagahati@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T15:58:46Z
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@eriner with a bit more design effort you could make these look kind of like the eye or Horus, or Sauron, depending on your preferred eye mythology.
(DIR) Post #AmQwJETEMnmYBUQrKa by eriner@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T15:59:29Z
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@Coatedinjoy yeah, that's the plan, plus concrete. Might have to make my own faux barrels or just use some type of concrete cast to get it large and stable enough. I want to be able to move it (with a forklift if need be, but better if I can do it with a wheel cart). Using a pre-built battery bank, as long as the ambient draw is low enough (i.e, you don't use inverter and AC plugs for lights, only to have them) I think makes a lot of economical sense.
(DIR) Post #AmQwQKOqihiYbJlZaa by eriner@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T16:00:46Z
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@Coatedinjoy was thinking of using a "tray" for the top so that I can put plants in it too.
(DIR) Post #AmQwZrLPbP87Nnhfma by NoBeret@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T16:02:29Z
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@eriner guessing the put is still good even when half is not exposed to direct sunlight?
(DIR) Post #AmQxP0UbLhdKWZOHqq by neanderthalsnavel@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T16:11:43Z
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@eriner I have power running from the house to the detached garage through the air. When the children were young I always thought it would be better and safer to run the line underground but I would have had to gone under a concrete walk to do it. "yeah I gotta do that..."....or....They grew up and don't play in the backyard anymore. Problem solved!
(DIR) Post #AmQxZ7mL79NI19Vo36 by Coatedinjoy@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T16:13:33Z
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@eriner heavy! I've done a fair bit of landscaping. Many times owners want huge ceramic planters which are heavy enough empty. And delicate. I learned to fill them one third to half full of Styrofoam, packing peanuts etc, a layer of weed mat fabric 'bag' ( smart pot with handles are now my go to for this) then plant. Mostly dwarfed Japanese maples and ficus sps. When they need to be moved I just have to sort of carefully lift the plant out, move the planter and repot up the tree.
(DIR) Post #AmQxhL1rjXEVQhgtPs by Coatedinjoy@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T16:15:02Z
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@eriner it's gonna be top heavy moving it. Maybe a fixture in the bottom of the barrel to attach and detach the pole and panel assembly?
(DIR) Post #AmQyFqEaDhMW3Z5khs by eriner@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T16:21:16Z
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(DIR) Post #AmQyTsOF0A1gnSIkXw by Richard@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T16:23:49Z
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@eriner it is always nice to have the option
(DIR) Post #AmQyUgwL3f0hZgdgdU by eriner@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T16:23:58Z
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@Coatedinjoy Yeah, it'll have to be. Flexible panels are more delicate, so if there's hail these things are *probably* screwed, which I dunno how I'd resolve without using a rigid panel and abandoning the design.
(DIR) Post #AmQzSnPw6Wbr2T8w4G by Coatedinjoy@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T16:34:49Z
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@eriner clear polycarbonate cover? Keeps bird poop and tree sap off the panel too.
(DIR) Post #AmQzn3VM09EiizKztA by Arthur_500@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T16:38:29Z
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@eriner There are flexible solar panels and you can buy the compnents and clue them to the top in an array, making your own panel
(DIR) Post #AmROvyau7qCIxIHgq8 by Max_Imum@noauthority.social
2024-09-27T21:20:13Z
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@eriner so I don't have time right now to find the actual video but this guy has a generator plan that works like a blade of grass moving in the wind to produce electricity. For a 1W led that would probably work great. Here's the link to all his videos. I'll look later for the actual one I'm talking abouthttps://m.youtube.com/@ThinkingandTinkering/videos