Tides Flow, So Does Water Downhill

As bad as this doodling is that I threw together today, it sort of gives the idea in a very cartoonish, amateurish way. Anyway, here's a terrific site a friend who was (now retired) actually manager of a very large hydro station sent to me. Good stuff for anyone wanting to know state by state what is out there for assistance on many levels.

http://www.dsireusa.org/



Tom Drake's comment below reminded me to post his 2cs chart. Looks to be at a potentially interesting point here.

Tides Rock !

Like following the bouncing ball. Its as simple as that. Yes, anyone can make a pittance of money in this market on the short side .....if he pays attention, and watches the tides. So I did it and scalped handsomely on the short side as a novelty today....just to prove it can be done. But, its a bull market, so dont try making a living on the short side here....not good for your health or welfare.

Yeah I know....not nearly as interesting as building solar panels or even close to building a hydroelectric station in your backyard.......but the title of this blog is, afterall, tides-trends-trading......not green power, unite! So, I guess, as long as there is interest by many on receiving the keys to the markets, I'll keep unlocking the door.....at least until I either grow bored or no one shows interest anymore.

Project Two - Low Flow, Low Head Hydro

Okay, project number 2. Quite a bit more ambitious than the solar project. Here's the plan....I have a small drainage channel that runs around the back of my propery, and it appears that it runs all year long. The flow is small, I estimate maybe only a 1/2 cubic foot per second right now (winter) and am not sure what it would flow in the spring, summer or fall.

So, I take that water and convey it to the area that is called "entrance to pond" area. The conveyance structure, since the flow is low, would probably be an open wood box kept level and supported on legs...about 100' long. The water would be brought to the pond entrance area and dumped onto an overshot water wheel to turn a shaft that would then be taken through a speed increaser and finally to a simple generator or alternator to produce power.

That's it in a nutshell.....cost? I have no idea right now, but part of the cost will be securing the land rights to build the waterwheel and operate it. I probably would need to buy the land on which just the pond is situated. Added benefits? In the winter I can turn the powerhouse into a warming hut and use the pond for a skating rink. Imagine how much fun we could have with the grandkids there as they grow up over the years. Okay, here's some snowy pictures....wish I could show more, but I think this will give you the idea.


Entrance to the pond below.



Entrance to the pond again.




Entrance to pond looking toward pond from our house.



Another view of entrance to pond



Note rock wall along right side of picture. At the upper end of the rock wall is where the water would be picked up and then conveyed down to the pond.



Middle of rock wall straight ahead, note pond on right side of picture



Standing on back deck, pond straight ahead.

Closing in on Solar One

For any who have interest in my solar project, below is an excellent link that I used almost exclusively:

www.diypvsolarenergy.com/basic-solar-panel-design/

With few exceptions, I followed this site in the construction of my panel. I havent put a lot of notes next to my pictures....I really didnt have any intention of making this site a do-it-yourself tutorial for building solar panels. Just some pictures of my project to show that anyone can do it....lol. Cost?

5/8" Exterior Plywood $3.84 Lowes
.08x4'x2' Plexiglass $19.37 Lowes
Pegboard $3.39 Lowes
37 each 3"x6" Solar Cells - Kit $55.30 Free Sun Power
Galv. Screws $5.00 Lowes
Silicone Caulk approx. $1.00
Paint Free
12 Gauge Wire Free
Project Box approx. $3.00 Radio Shack
Wire Terminals $3.86 Radio Shack

Plywood, pegboard and caulking compound pro-rated costs.
--------------------------------------
total $94.76

So there you have it. $100 for what should be approximately a 60 watt solar panel. As you can see in the pictures below, outdoors I am measuring over 20 volts in bright sun. But, I must be doing something wrong in my attempt to measure amperage, because the multi-meter is not registering anything. Perhaps I need to run this to ground to get a reading?





Over 16 volts inside the house.





Drilling the plexiglass for the attachment screws.









The "project box" from Radio Shack in place on the back of the panel. I guess project box is nothing more than a fancy word for junction box.






Over 18 volts even in the shade.

The Weekend, Update Of Course !

It's got to be the calm before the storm....this just cant continue, can it? If I were a betting man, and I occasionally am, I'd think we'll get a little dump in here soon, sort of a hard-down day...not a crash....just to keep everyone's attention. Followed by, what I think might be, the final leg up on this wave from March 2009. My stuff is hinting at a mid February top before some kind of a meaningful retracement. So that's likley the way I'll play this with my 401k and other investments.

Mid Week Chart

Creeping our way towards 1,200...sure is boring. Nothing much to report other than 2010 so far, repeat so far, seems like just a continuation of everything we've seen for the past 2 months. I guess if it aint broken, dont fix it...:)

More Solar, Less Tides...