wallfish 19,419 #551 Posted March 1 1 hour ago, Sparky said: This fall was a new roof, then 15 solar panels…and then a thick coating of snow that ceased all power production We have the technology to put a man on the moon but apparently there's a problem to add heat de-ice to solar panels to keep them clear. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Handy Don 16,046 #552 Posted March 1 1 minute ago, wallfish said: We have the technology to put a man on the moon but apparently there's a problem to add heat de-ice to solar panels to keep them clear. The technology DOES exist. Not economically justifiable for many situations--melting 10” of snow off a panel would take more energy than the panel can generate in days. Mechanical stuff used very infrequently in widely varying conditions? Well we all know that story. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wallfish 19,419 #553 Posted March 1 (edited) 59 minutes ago, Handy Don said: The technology DOES exist. Not economically justifiable for many situations--melting 10” of snow off a panel would take more energy than the panel can generate in days. Mechanical stuff used very infrequently in widely varying conditions? Well we all know that story. I know it exists. Heat cords would work. We can put a man on the moon (50 years ago) but can't come up with a simple way to economically keep a solar panel clear of snow. Solar hot water heaters are supposed to work in the winter too so maybe incorporating something like that into them???? It only needs to be 35-40 degrees ?? to continue the melt A simple "swipe" type mechanism running with a low voltage gear motor wouldn't be to complicated and low on energy Edited March 1 by wallfish 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cleat 8,793 #554 Posted Saturday at 10:19 PM We got a few more inches last night. I hope it will warm up and melt some in the next few days. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wayne0 1,532 #555 Posted Saturday at 10:23 PM 3 minutes ago, cleat said: We got a few more inches last night. I hope it will warm up and melt some in the next few days. Same here. Mother Nature can be cruel! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 77,611 #556 Posted Saturday at 10:30 PM 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 77,611 #557 Posted 6 hours ago Brunswick Maine this morning. Quite a solid little snow clipper came through. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Racinbob 12,820 #558 Posted 4 hours ago 1 hour ago, ebinmaine said: Brunswick Maine this morning. Quite a solid little snow clipper came through. num nums, maple syrup right? 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 77,611 #559 Posted 4 hours ago 3 minutes ago, Racinbob said: num nums, maple syrup right? Absolutely! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 45,110 #560 Posted 2 hours ago Seems a bit early for the sap to run. We seldom see buckets here in the PeeAaa. Mostly nylon tubing directly to a SST tank. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 77,611 #561 Posted 2 hours ago 12 minutes ago, Ed Kennell said: Seems a bit early for the sap to run. Our syrup season is anywhere from February first to late March. Here in Maine we have Maple Syrup Sunday. Third Sunday on March. Almost always still sap running but near the tail end. 12 minutes ago, Ed Kennell said: We seldom see buckets here in the PeeAaa. Mostly nylon tubing directly to a SST tank. Same here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 45,110 #562 Posted 1 hour ago Our Pa. maple festival is held the last half of April in Meyersdale, Pa. This is my home town High School. We get the best sap run when we have cold nights (below 25*) and warm days (above 40*). https://www.pamaplefestival.com/ 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
