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saying hello!

Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2024 7:14 pm
by ivan
Hi everyone,

Some of you may remember me!
I discovered the forum a short while ago and have just signed up

Ivan

Re: saying hello!

Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2024 8:13 pm
by Fintray
Hello Ivan, long time no "see" I met you back in 2006 at one of your solar thermal courses.

Re: saying hello!

Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2024 8:27 pm
by nowty
Lovin the sig ivan, but I think you need a larger battery stack. :mrgreen:

But I guess you have the solar tubes and pellet boiler so less need for one.

Have you got any thermal stores ?

Re: saying hello!

Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2024 8:41 pm
by Fintray
nowty wrote: Fri Nov 15, 2024 8:27 pm Lovin the sig ivan, but I think you need a larger battery stack. :mrgreen:

But I guess you have the solar tubes and pellet boiler so less need for one. :facepalm:
Has the secret list been updated yet? :D

Re: saying hello!

Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2024 8:42 pm
by nowty
Fintray wrote: Fri Nov 15, 2024 8:41 pm
nowty wrote: Fri Nov 15, 2024 8:27 pm Lovin the sig ivan, but I think you need a larger battery stack. :mrgreen:

But I guess you have the solar tubes and pellet boiler so less need for one. :facepalm:
Has the secret list been updated yet? :D
What do you think ?

Does ivan have all the solar flat for max generation in cloudy conditions ?, I seem to remember someone having 30+ kW of panels in that configuration.

Re: saying hello!

Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2024 8:43 pm
by Fintray
:xl:

Re: saying hello!

Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2024 9:48 pm
by Moxi
Hi Ivan, are you still dabbling with grass clippings and home brew digesters ?

Moxi

Re: saying hello!

Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2024 11:00 pm
by ivan
Nice that you haven't forgotten me!! Glad to see the chocolate teapot emoji has endured the transition!

I've been dabbling in all sorts of things over the last few years. There are a few things I regret that I haven't got round to pursuing, but there's still time! Haven't done anything with digesters recently (though there are a couple of huge ones not very far from here). I did an interesting experiment a couple of months back - turning grass clippings into food, but that's another story! Lots of projects to update you guys with over the next few months if you're interested.

Yes, I definitely need more home batteries (or a hack to use my tesla's 85kWh battery!). One of the next projects is to try to get a second Sofar inverter running so that I can cope with loads >3kW after dark (which is how I found the forum - via a interesting post by tinbum). The Sofar inverter is a really nice unit - not as clever or flexible as the sunsynk, and won't integrate with Octopus - but it's really easy to set up and configure, and seems to work almost flawlessly.

Sadly, my Father passed away a few years ago, having worked together with me on a daily basis for about 15years. That was very hard for me, and it came at a very hard time, and no-one to take on the additional workload. I've got through it now, but I still have a serious lack of time and things move painfully slowly, especially where projects are concerned!

Four and a half years ago, a neighbour accidentally set fire to our property, but the situation was saved by the local fire service. I was shocked to find out that our local station consisted of 8 firefighters working on-call, and between them providing cover for around 250square miles 24 hours per day, 365days of the year. So I felt an obligation to join, to repay that debt. Since then, I have provided 150-160hours cover each week, and more often than not, it's me that's driving the fire engine!

I've got a couple of other businesses that keep me busy 7 or 8 days per week - we've got two holiday lets, and the Mushroom spawn/kit business - running now for a bit over 10years (A few of you guys already know this as we've bumped into each other in this capacity). If anyone went to the Green Gathering this year or last year, you may have seen us in the permaculture area.

So if you're happy to indulge me, I'll try and pick up where I left off...........

Re: saying hello!

Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2024 11:09 pm
by Oliver90owner
Hello Ivan,

Good to see you on the ‘alternative’ forum after all this time.

The four second hand 175W Sharp solar panels you sold to me are still going strong.

RAB

Re: saying hello!

Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2024 11:13 pm
by ivan
I know. It seems a blink of an eye. Time really flies!