Reef nutrition

Who's cleaning their solar panels?

Kim Pattison said:
I wish we had added the Batteries. We have 36 panels and my PG&E is still almost 400-500 a month. We run a poo-poo load of pumps and heaters. 6 big pumps, and on average 11 heaters and then lights. We are doing an addition and I think we will be adding to the system along with solar for the pool.
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Do your heaters run all day, or just at night?
Lids and insulation are the number one way to cut electrical costs in cooler and cold areas IMO.
 
Meshmez said:
Same, I was worried they were just the same batteries they put in their cars....
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The Tesla system is slick. Very configurable and clean.
 

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jccaclimber said:
I know at least a few people who suddenly developed a concern around the high levels of contaminants in their spouse’s drinking water at the same time they started getting serious about their reef. Pulling all of your RO from under the kitchen sink is a pain, but apparently better than not having RO, or admitting why you really want it.
Personally I informed my wife, stuck it on the garage wall, and we each carried on with our day, but not everyone is so fortunate.
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I run a 500GPD RO under the kitchen for tankless with an emergency DI cartridge for those in a pinch moments.

I have a separate 6 stage + outside for my reefing. I just don't tell my wife the ratio is 1:4... need to get aroud to running cord and doing an upgrade...with booster. But first need to get a weather proof bin to put booster and transformer in
 
I have 34 panels and have noticed a drop in production from the ash. I'm concerned the rain won't do much to clean them off but not eager to get on the second level of the roof either.
 
EBJ said:
I have 34 panels and have noticed a drop in production from the ash. I'm concerned the rain won't do much to clean them off but not eager to get on the second level of the roof either.
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There are companies that you can hire to clean them too, I wouldn't be able to give any references though or provide any cost estimates, just in case there is a situation where going on a roof could be dangerous to said homeowner.
 
EBJ said:
I have 34 panels and have noticed a drop in production from the ash. I'm concerned the rain won't do much to clean them off but not eager to get on the second level of the roof either.
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Amazon Find a soft RV brush with a pole and extension. I can also have hose attached so the brush is constantly wet. That’s what I use for the 2nd roof level
 
Mike Yasin said:
Amazon Find a soft RV brush with a pole and extension. I can also have hose attached so the brush is constantly wet. That’s what I use for the 2nd roof level
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Problem is, I can't even see mine from ground unless I go across the street. Do you do it from ground level?
 
sfsuphysics said:
There are companies that you can hire to clean them too, I wouldn't be able to give any references though or provide any cost estimates, just in case there is a situation where going on a roof could be dangerous to said homeowner.
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Yeah I thought about that too. But then Im paying to have solar panels cleaned and how often am I going to have to do that if we keep having fires?
 
Kim Pattison said:
All day and night. We keep the fry and brood stock at 82. Grow out at 80. Display at 76.
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Is heating the room instead of the tanks an option? I believe the “king of diy” Joey does that for fish shed. Although you need different temps, so maybe keep ambient at 76 and then the heaters don’t work as hard and heating the room may be more efficient, I have no idea what your setup is but just brainstorming.

tidal gardens has a boiler and they run hot water through coiled pipes in the sump, but that is likely overkill, haha. It is interesting to see how people handle heat at scale though
 
EBJ said:
Problem is, I can't even see mine from ground unless I go across the street. Do you do it from ground level?
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we have two roof levels. I climb on the first level and clean those, then use a step stool and the brush on the 2nd. The pitches are such that the eaves of the 2nd level are roughly shoulder high when up on the first level, so I can see what I’m doing up there.
 
EBJ said:
Yeah I thought about that too. But then Im paying to have solar panels cleaned and how often am I going to have to do that if we keep having fires?
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Yeah fair enough, I laughed at my wife for washing her car... then the "Day of Red" occurred and the next couple days her car was dirtier than it was before she washed it. But I was speaking in general, since you mentioned not wanting to go up to do it yourself, or you can wait until the rainy season and see if that helps wash things off. I don't know how much of a hit you're seeing to your production, so couldn't say if one course of action is better than another. I gained a whopping 300 or so watts, I wouldn't pay my own kid to clean them for that increase.
 
If you know the psi the water is at the output and you point it up to arc and fall on the panels, couldn’t you use some trig to figure out where the water would fall? And have some rig to control the nozzle based on where the solar panels are? It’s complicated but drones capable of lifting a hose sound more complicated
 
max_nano said:
If you know the psi the water is at the output and you point it up to arc and fall on the panels, couldn’t you use some trig to figure out where the water would fall? And have some rig to control the nozzle based on where the solar panels are? It’s complicated but drones capable of lifting a hose sound more complicated
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Wind factor! my brain does these calcs and translates proper Grip pressure and wrist arc, but the wind kicks and screws me!
 
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