Decking replacement.

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Decking replacement.
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dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Jun 19, 20 3:45 pm Post subject:

led is low power per lumen, angles voltages etc can be found in waterproof housings

by all the time is that 24/7/365? or for all darkness?, or just if folk are about?

knowing the expected daily, seasonally or "event" criteria would help

i played with all sorts of lv kit for decades, if it is not on the shelf easy, the necessary bits are on shelves and you can use a screwdriver and soldering iron to make what you need very easily

how much light and over what time periods?

if i know that i might be able to help a bit

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Fri Jun 19, 20 7:22 pm Post subject:
Well. The step just all the time that people are about as it’s a trip hazard in the dark. It’s been known for people to have a drink here... The rest is just on/off stuff so when the sun has gone we can continue to see our drinks. Hm. There’s a theme here.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Jun 19, 20 9:06 pm Post subject:

the step could maybe be quite low energy but good control, i will think and sleep on it

tis a combo of factors, good light often, but sometimes not always, long enough when required.

i recon that brief can be sorted with basic parts and little "wiring"issues

tis mostly storage capacity, give me a short while to consider

i was going to suggest a couple of sun charge by day, glow by night, lamp on a plastic tent peg things i got in poundland for lighting a "rat killing zone" but we can do far better

questions will follow

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Jun 19, 20 11:27 pm Post subject:

ps if needs be could a battery be charged by babylon's grid?

for a small rig like that it can be useful as back up to have a mains option , if only by moving a battery to charge it during times of high use and not enough sun/harvesting and or storage capacity

i wonder if 10 to 20 kah would do it? if so tis pretty easy, it could be done with less perhaps

a used but still 70% working mobility scooter or bike battery might make a decent battery bank for a domestic outdoor lighting rig like that, car and truck batteries can be good as well as are "leisure/boat ones"

it needs to be deep discharge over a longish time , a battery made for high current for a few seconds (like a car battery)is not ideal.

input and output voltage can be made to match load , £ sensible and effective storage is the biggest issue

wires and control gear is easy

the chookmobile had a stand-alone electric fence system based on car battery top up pv panels and a small, sealed cell lamping battery, all were made for different voltages and "normal"use but it worked a treat with a bit of melding(unless you got careless looking after chooks

and forgot it was on, nasty nip if it did not have a load of netting as a palisade around the castle's inner defences)

i will consider the sensible options for lights.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Jun 19, 20 11:30 pm Post subject:
fun with power diodes

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6613
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 20 9:55 am Post subject:

dpack wrote:

the chookmobile had a stand-alone electric fence system based on car battery top up pv panels and a small, sealed cell lamping battery, all were made for different voltages and "normal"use but it worked a treat with a bit of melding(unless you got careless looking after chooks

and forgot it was on, nasty nip if it did not have a load of netting as a palisade around the castle's inner defences)

i will consider the sensible options for lights.

Nah, I like where your mind was going. Design a fence to make Nick walk around the step when he's been drinking

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 20 11:57 am Post subject:

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Sat Jun 20, 20 8:46 pm Post subject:

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15998

Posted: Sun Jun 21, 20 7:14 am Post subject:

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jun 21, 20 8:13 am Post subject:

i have had a think about it

how many "social" lights? over how much area?
is it just the one safety light for that step or are any others a good idea?
how big an area overall and roughly what shape? ie is it just the replaced deck area or should access to doors etc around corners or along paths also be lit?

all or nothing vs split system?
with safety light/s on one switch and the socialights on another(it might be you want to watch the stars but not fall down the step

would it be sensible to consider load to be required for consecutive evenings and perhaps also be able to do weekends of all nighters?
that one is vital as that is what determines storage size and recharge capacity

is there a place to install the pv panel, facing south and open sky is good ?, is there space to angle it to point at the average elevation of the sun? other orientations can be managed but poor ones cost more in panel capacity.
the panel and battery etc could go anywhere(within reason) but close to the lights is best(sparky reasons you don't need to worry about)

i can amble about in total darkness in dangeroosly off grid in places i do not know, many folk can fall over their own feet in light shade, a few malts and i have trouble finding my feet let alone using them

too bright can be as bad as too dim and a mixture of both in the proper places is best

lv seems ideal and there are off the shelf bits that can do it with style, fairly simply and at a reasonable cost

the ability to take the battery to the mains/transformer to charge it if required( a dark sky/warm weather time might not give a full recharge during a weekender at easter but a couple of hours on a mains charger would and would avoid the need for a daft huge pv panel even though a smaller one would be adequate most of the time. the lights go out a 11pm would not be ideal at a social)

tis a slightly complex equation but i recon it can be done at a reasonable price and with a only a few man-hours to install the bits,
it is not quite the same as mains sparking but it does have a few issues, i will get to them later, if you can wire a plug and install a wire tidily tis a fairly easy diy job for a nice afternoon

is it reasonable to assume you don't need these lights in winter or would they be useful for bonfire party or apres ski themed new year parties?
if so the option to take the battery to a charger is required unless you get daft big pv panels

ps a bespoke hard wired rig is probably cheaper than a selection of decent stand alone lights with pv/battery integral to the lamp and it will work a lot better, stand alones are under spec for both pv and battery capacity for what you need

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Sun Jun 21, 20 8:17 am Post subject:
I shall consider and report back. But about 10m x 10m with a third taken up by a pond. Split into two levels by a step. And by a big garage so roof space for panels. No mains nearby, realistically.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jun 21, 20 9:05 am Post subject:

no mains is not an issue with a garage for panel/s above and battery space inside

that cheered me up no end re speccing this it makes it a lot easier

i still need the rough numbers for the other terms of the equation but this is well doable

at some point i will need snaps and/or a plan/skysnap would be very nice(any chums with a drone?)to work out wiring routes that are practical and easiest but that is good news

i recon 12 v(or 28 v) "leisure"kit might be ideal as a basis but i will consider the data you can provide re usage etc and have a look at bitsnpieces to see what is out there, battery tech is almost as rapid a development curve as pooters were so li gel etc might be best
tis quite a load/H vs pv harvest/storage challenge even with led units but very doable

100M square with a variety of needs and a"non urban"landscape does make it interesting but the big garage adjacent is ideal

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jun 21, 20 9:13 am Post subject:
ps do you want the pond pretty?

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Mon Jun 22, 20 8:58 am Post subject:
Turns out, the 9x5m section was less than half of what I ended up doing. dpack, these won't help you, without a plan, but... Also. No, the pergola isn't finished. Nor the decking. Nor the slabs for the fire pit. Or the 'kitchen' area. Stop nagging.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Jun 22, 20 9:11 am Post subject:
ace , thanks , i will study those

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