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Copyright 2010 Geoff Trager.
PREFACE
DOC TRAGER CRUISING IN SOLAR POWERED KAYAK
Did you know you can start harvesting sunlight for electricity from your own backyard, right now, without being an electrician or engineer? And you dont have to wait around for big government, small government, or your local power company to get started. Its true! Kits are now available providing free electricity from small, lightweight, solar panels that are easier to assemble by far than most put-together furniture or large package toys.
I know, because I use these kits for my business installing small solar powered pumps for fish pond waterfalls and rain cistern filtration and circulation for stored landscape irrigation water.
One kit fits in a box 3 ft long, 12 in. wide, and 18 in. high, so you can take it camping to power lap tops, DVD players, night lights and fans, in the middle of the wilderness, far from any municipal power company.
I also explore Florida wetlands in my solar-powered kayak. Dont worry; Im not totally, sinfully, lazy! I still paddle around in kayaks too, but either way, its clean, quiet, free energy Im using.
To find out exactly what you need to buy, where to get it, how much it will cost, and how to set it all up following clear, simple, illustrated instructions, for all of the projects listed below as well as using the kit for any small, low cost, low power projects you dream up, order Dr. Geoff Tragers 32 page e-pamphlet: GO SOLAR WITHOUT BIG DADDYS HELP now!
Step-by-step instruction for building your own:
- Solar Power Generator with Battery
- Solar Powered Motorized Kayak
- Solar Powered Small Waterfalls for Fish Ponds
- Solar Powered Garden Irrigation System Bio filter with Rain Barrels
Features of these Solar Projects:
- Get started for less than $500
- No training necessary
- No license required
- Independence from Power Companies
INTRODUCTION
The first time I glided silently down the mangrove-line creek I live on, laid back in my motorized, solar powered kayak, a neighbor who also lived on the creek and was sitting out by the water as I passed by, yelled out angrily at me Youre cheatin, boy! Youre supposed to paddle that thing!
One week later, after Id shown him exactly how I did it, he rigged up his own kayak accordingly, and together we went out fishing in our small, sleek, sun-powered water craft.
From then on, I was hooked on the joy of going solar, and moved along to build bigger and better solar systems in my own backyard, for a variety of projects. It wasnt like I was creating a small, clean, quiet, power plant in my own backyard, thats actually what I was really doing! And in the process, I was focusing not on something expensive we are running low on, like fossil fuel reserves, but instead on something that is FREE and truly abundant! Physicists tell us our sun isnt going to begin burning out for about 5 or 6 billion years, so we dont have to lie awake at night worrying about running out of sunlight! Physicists also tell us, as an exercise in thought, that if you could somehow capture and store an amount of energy equivalent to all of the sunlight that hits planet earth in a single 24 hour day, it would be enough to power all of humankinds energy needs for a full year! So we are not even close to taking full advantage of this virtually limitless resource. In fact, we are just getting started, and you can be a part of it now!
The technology to harvest sunlight for electricity has been around for a while, and now its available in the form of affordable, easy-to-install kits sold at certain nation-wide retail stores in the U.S. This booklet provides all the information you need to set up a solar power generator in your own yard, and use it to power three additional small solar projects: 1) Solar Powered Kayak; 2) Fish Pond with Solar Powered Waterfall/Bio-Filter; 3) Gravity Fed Rain Garden Irrigation System with Sun Powered Bio-filter. A short chapter is devoted to each project. After you learn how to set up any or all of these sample projects, there is no limit to the solar powered creations you can dream up on your own. So lets get started!
EASIEST PART FIRST
Your own backyard power plant
CHAPTER 1:
Solar Power Generator with Battery Energy Storage
Figure 1: Solar panel array from kit providing power for water fall pump
Read this chapter first . It tells you how to set up the solar generator/battery charger kit which you will need to power the three remaining projects. You can also use the panels and 12 volt charger to charge any 12 volt batteries (e.g. car, boat) to power any equipment made to run off of a 12 volt battery. You can even run low power 110 volt AC equipment using the kits inverter, like small desk fans, desk lamps, and notebook computers (the amount of power is limited by the 200 watt inverter that comes with the kit) and you can do all of this in your camping tent in the middle of the Gobi Desert, if you like, far from any electrical supply from a power company!
WHAT YOU NEED - Solar Power Generator:
1) SUNFORCE 60 Watt Solar 12 Volt Power Generator Kit - $299.99
Supplier: Lowes retail stores, www.lowes.com
Manufacturer: Sunforce Products,
www.sunforce.com, info@sunforceproducts.com, 1-888-478-6435
2) Deep Cycle Marine 12 Volt Battery (rated 80 Amp Hours recommended) - $69.99 - Supplier: Walmart or most any boating or battery supply retailer
3) Black Plastic Battery Box with Cover - $7.98 - Supplier: Walmart, any sporting goods store, boaters supply.
4) 12 Volt DC Digital Programmable Timer , model DT- 01 - $69.95 - Supplier: www.super-feed.com (dont forget the dash between super and feed.) Click on timers and feel free to inquire about other 12 Volt DC timers, but this one runs off your deep cycle battery (not on a small replaceable one) and is the best Ive found so far.
Note: The only retail store I know of that carries the solar generator kit is Lowes, but feel free to check out suppliers in your area and search on line. Also do the same for all of the other items, if you like, if youre not satisfied with the prices, or suggested suppliers arent near enough to you. Also keep in mind that the recommended items are intended only for the 3 small projects described here. Obviously, you cannot expect to solar power a 50 ft high, roaring water fall, or your whole house, with only one of these little solar generator kits. The kit can be used for many small projects you dream up, and you can scale up for bigger projects by linking numerous panel sets and batteries together, but you must understand the power/electrical stuff before you can do this on your own.