Does that look like a destination board or what?

[Zephod]

What is wrong with some of you. This board is not here so you can belittle others. Just because his bus does not say Prevost or MCI on the front is not a reason to talk down to him. Were all in this together but if this is the way it is going to be,count me out. I have been treated the same way in some of my posts,do not assume i am clueless , you do not know me. I am getting sick of reading posts on this board,some answer posts just to say they dont know. I think they just want to make their post count increase. We are suppose to be here to help and support each other

I call it the idiot train. For every one sane, rational individual on the group that actually has a bus, there are 9 that pretend they do and pretend to be experts yet spend all their time on the idiot train.

I blogged about that yesterday. I try not to laugh too hard when I see what some of the idiot train people write and I'm pretty sure their minds cannot fully grasp what they read either. Its like a partially educated 3 year old let loose thinking they're an expert, hence the idiot train.


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[Jeremy]

The idea of hinging the panel is a good one and in retrospect that is exactly what I would do in the circumstances. However I'm also surprised to find that having the panel vertical actually isn't the unmitigated disaster I had assumed - below are the results of a kid's school project where he or she measured output at different angles, and although the output (especially the voltage) of the vertical panel is very much lower, it nonetheless could perhaps be useable for small loads and if the charge controller was set-up properly.

Which isn't to say that I don't still think it's crazy to compromise the effectiveness of whole exercise in such a completely unnecessary way - but to be clear, that's an opinion about the technical merits of a project and is not some kind of personal insult deliberately directed against the OP, as some of the recent politically-correct replies seem to believe.





The complete article these are taken from are here: http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/print_project_1091_96

Jeremy

[Scott & Heather]

Please don't call others here idiots, I have spent enough time reading your posts on skoolie as well as here and feel strongly that you have no business calling my friends here on this forum idiots. Raymond, in 5 years of your membership on this forum you've posted 69 times. you are completely missing the point if you think that members here have bus racism...several members here are very happy active members with former school buses. You have to understand that this forum is comprised mainly of individuals with serious conversion experience or plans, and I for one am starting to weary of the constant daily clutter of posts about superfluous and inane subject material that borderline almost belongs in "off topic". I wish I could filter out certain posts but I'm struggling to find that feature in Tapatalk. Maybe I need to login using my laptop to see if that gives me that option.


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[Jon]

I don't care what type of special interest forum it is. There will always be a degree of "bigotry" as in my widget is nicer than your widget. There is also going to be some forum members who feel superior to others, some who are new and still don't know what they don't know, and some who call others names and some who are easily offended.

All forums run the scale from those widgets that are viewed as at the low end of the scale to those that are in the upper 1%. Forum members should be adult enough to understand some things. First, there are going to be differences of opinion. When there are differences of opinion it is OK to discuss them as long as the discussion never gets personal. This forum is no different and for a while there was a strong sense conveyed that if you did not convert your own coach you were not as smart or capable as those who did. That seems to have settled down a little, and that is good. What is not good is calling people names, and especially what seems to be calling others with a different opinion idiots.

I think people should learn to play nice and recognize that there is no way on an internet forum to really fully appreciate what others are saying because we lack the ability to see facial expressions or body language.

[Scott & Heather]

Finally figured out how to use the ignore feature for the first time in the 7 years I've been a member here. This means no more cranky replies from me    And I'll go on record to once again say thank you to the 99% of you on here who have helped me every step of the way through two conversions, several roadside strandings, and for the great friends we made at the bus rally. You are not idiots, and I haven't found any of you bigoted. You are all just a bunch of great Americans and Canadians with a few fantastic Europeans thrown in to keep it fun around here. Now, back to your original topic....

[luvrbus]

I call it the idiot train. For every one sane, rational individual on the group that actually has a bus, there are 9 that pretend they do and pretend to be experts yet spend all their time on the idiot train.

I blogged about that yesterday. I try not to laugh too hard when I see what some of the idiot train people write and I'm pretty sure their minds cannot fully grasp what they read either. Its like a partially educated 3 year old let loose thinking they're an expert, hence the idiot train.


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This kinda sh** is uncalled for if you think 9 out of 10 are idiots here why post because you know not all are going to agree with your ideas.
I understand some people have more resources than others and need to do the best they can with funds that are available for the conversion but saying 9 out of 10 are on the idiot train and saying they are on the 3 year old level is not the way to handle it IMO.I didn't care for the rattle can statement but Dan is Dan he really isn't that bad in person he will help you do anything if you need help    

[4104SoFl]

Not to upset anybody, but calling people names will not win you any contest. No matter what you believe it is best to keep it to your self. IMHO

[daddysgirl]

I've spent 80% of my life "in a man's world" ( running a repair shop, parts, 3 bus conversions etc...having to work twice as hard to prove my brain is not inferior) and once in a while, being the female is a benefit. This is one of those times.

Some folks on this board have massive, expensive machines, some have smaller machines...all in one state of "finished" or another. Some of us are naturally smartass*s, others strictly technical. But IM(NOT SO)HO...we all share a hobby and learn from each other. So on with it...

What about a small, narrow hood hinge on either side of the panel? If you find that you need more output than you have, lift it up to the desired angle.

And yes, it does remind me of a sign. Reminds me of an EMC sign actually, but that is because of the nature of my municipal land use consulting work.

[Lin]

It seems to me that you let the cool-idea factor of making the panel look like a destination sign outweigh utility.  Hinging the panel seems like a way to deal with it; you could even rig it with something like a coat hanger to raise and lower it from the inside.  I really would like the idea of mounting the panel that way if it worked well.  It seems that most of your plans look to maximizing function.  This particular plan allows form to dominate.  However it is your bus. Whatever makes you happy is fine, but i would suggest that it is not fair to demand others agree.

Personally, when I am involved in a project I get particular joy in using things that I already have around and do so even when I know there is a better way to do it.  I suspect you take a similar pleasure if you feel that you are doing something that is original.  I will note though that when I was much younger, I tried to solve some plumbing problems in original ways but ultimately found that standard plumbing solutions worked well, had easily available parts, and generally took less time and effort.  

[Zephod]

I've secured my panel in vertical format. It produces far more power than I need for my induction fan so I'll probably assign it to charge my 14ah cell/MiFi/tablet charging battery. I did consider making it hinged but decided to stick with it the way it is. I think I'm maxed out as far as power generation goes. I have 35W of panels installed and cannot imagine needing more power. My ventilation batteries are 5AH for the extraction fans, 10AH for the induction fan and two 7AH for phone/tablet/MiFi charging.


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[Oonrahnjay]

...  I have 35W of panels installed and cannot imagine needing more power. My ventilation batteries are 5AH for the extraction fans, 10AH for the induction fan and two 7AH for phone/tablet/MiFi charging. 

      Right.

      35 watts of panels, at least one at non-efficient mounting angle --

      60 W/Hr (5 A/Hr at 12V), plus
      120 W/Hr (10 A/Hr at 12V), plus
      168 W/Hr (7 x 2 A/Hr at 12V), =
------------------
      388

      I'm not a 3rd grader -- looks right to me.

[Zephod]

The 20w at the back powering 2 CPU fans and running off a 5Ah battery works just fine though in future iterations I'll use a 4.5ah battery instead (cheaper).
The 15W at the front powering a single CPU fan off (at the moment) a 10ah battery should be fine. Excess power can be dribbled into the twin 7AH batteries.


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[luvrbus]

If I was you no way would I depend on H/F panels and controller to preform as advertised.I installed a 4 panel set from H/F on my daughters motor home and they were useless.I remove the set and tossed them in the dumpster and purchased a 2 panel set with a controller from Northern AZ Sun and Wind that are doing a good job     

[Zephod]

If I was you no way would I depend on H/F panels and controller to preform as advertised.I installed a 4 panel set from H/F on my daughters motor home and they were useless.I remove the set and tossed them in the dumpster and purchased a 2 panel set with a controller from Northern AZ Sun and Wind that are doing a good job     

The two on the back are some Italian brand and they're probably poly. The one on the front should do. It produces plenty power. As I said, it only has to power my air intake. Any extra power is a bonus I can store to use to charge my phone, tablet etc.

I just don't get why people are getting so up tight about my solar setup. The setup at the back has been running well for about a year. It was two $30 panels plus a $10 controller and a $10 battery. It keeps the air fresh and in combination with painting the roof white has reduced internal static temperatures by 36F.

I'm not running AC nor a TV nor a dishwasher nor a washing machine etc.

For lighting, some $10 LED lanterns plus $2 worth of batteries per lantern (that should last a month or so with intermittent use) works out as way better value than any built in system reliant upon solar panels etc.

I just don't need much electricity.

I might put a power inlet for 12v power and put up a small wind turbine. That's something I need to experiment with though. I have a small dynamo
I suspect it's not going to be that great but it's a project for whenever. I just have to weld together some kind of boss for it. Then the rest should be straightforward. The blades will probably be PVC guttering.


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[luvrbus]

No way  am I up tight about your solar set up you can glue coke cans together and build your own I don't care.
I was just trying to say H/F solar is junk in a polite way lol I should have never got on the idiot train with you so I will get off at the next stop