All electricity equal or not?

ajdelange

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If you want to be nervous about this get a THD meter (built into a clamp on Ammeter) and measure your generator's THD. I really don't know what to expect from Generac but Kohler and B&S ar in the couple percent department.
Remember when this thread was about charging the CT? I have been meaning to check on THD since then (the quote is from # 6) and finally did. THD for the utility here (Quebec) is 1.9 - 2%. THD for my solar inverters in Virginia is 1.2%. THD for the Kohler generator here is 2.2 - 3.4%. Generac advertises "less than 5%". None of these are high enough to bother the charger in your Tesla.
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drscot

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It would be better to barter with something you could eat or that could keep you warm. There is so much ammo in America I think it makes a poor unit of exchange. Because if the proverbial sh!t ever hits the fan, there will be no real shortage of ammo.

If you just want units of monetary exchange, gold and silver coins are always good.
There is plenty of wild game in my neck of the woods. Ammo works nicely. Silver less so, but it is rather difficult to "make change" with the high value of gold coins. Try buying a few groceries and other necessities if what you have is a 1 oz gold bullion coin valued at around $2,000 each. Even the 1/10th oz is over $200 each. Valuable? Yes. Versatile and flexible? No, not unless you are only buying big ticket items. Perhaps in the current economy a loaf of bread will become a big ticket item though and solve this little dilemma? Thank goodness for small problems.
 

HaulingAss

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There is plenty of wild game in my neck of the woods. Ammo works nicely. Silver less so, but it is rather difficult to "make change" with the high value of gold coins. Try buying a few groceries and other necessities if what you have is a 1 oz gold bullion coin valued at around $2,000 each. Even the 1/10th oz is over $200 each. Valuable? Yes. Versatile and flexible? No, not unless you are only buying big ticket items. Perhaps in the current economy a loaf of bread will become a big ticket item though and solve this little dilemma? Thank goodness for small problems.
Obviously, the silver coins are for small purchases. Gold coins are for large purchases. And gold coins come in a wide variety of sizes. One ounce coins are larger than almost all of them.

I don't know why I had to point this out.
 

anionic1

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Mostly, no. I have never seen a backup generator at a SC station but I believe some do have them.

You have to have batteries in a solar system to "even" the load.

That depends on how big the batteries are and that depends on how many sunless days the system designers planned to cover and that in turn depends on the anticipated load at the station. If a stall services 12 cars per day and the average charge is 50 kWh then the batteries would have to be 600 kWh to cover a day and the solar 150 kW or so

In case of a prolonged power outage such as Puerto RIco a couple of years back I think BEV drivers are, in general, going to be SOL unless they have a PV system which, unlike most sold to homeowners, does not rely on the utility for its clock.
The problem with a lot of PV inverters now is that they shut off during a power outage so as to not back feed the grid and cause harm.
 

ajdelange

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Obviously, the silver coins are for small purchases. Gold coins are for large purchases. And gold coins come in a wide variety of sizes. One ounce coins are larger than almost all of them.
A Krugerrand can be subdivided or melted down into smaller bits. This got me wondering about the fungibility of .223. Note: don't melt it down.
 


ajdelange

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The problem with a lot of PV inverters now is that they shut off during a power outage so as to not back feed the grid and cause harm.
... SOL unless they have a PV system which, unlike most sold to homeowners, does not rely on the utility for its clock.
The problem isn't the inverters. It's the system they are installed in. Most houses put panels on the roof with microinverters or put them in strings connected to a larger inverter either of which receives its clock from the utility. Utility goes down, clock is lost, inverter shuts down just as it is supposed to. No solar. If the consumer wants solar during a power outage he must install a more complex system an example of which would be a Powerwall. The Powerwall senses loss of the utility, disconnects the premises from the utility and then supplies the clock the inverters need. The loads are then supplied by the PV and, when the sun goes down, the battery in the PW.

In the original context of this thread these anti-islanding features make it very difficult to put together what I consider to be the ultimate system: one that combines solar, generator and battery that is one in which when the utility goes down solar takes over as long as the sun is up after which the battery takes over until it is run down at which point the generator comes online. Powerwalls can be configured to run with solar and utility or with solar and generator but not, AFAIK, with both.
 
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drscot

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Obviously, the silver coins are for small purchases. Gold coins are for large purchases. And gold coins come in a wide variety of sizes. One ounce coins are larger than almost all of them.

I don't know why I had to point this out.
You didn't. Mexican gold coin is 1.5 ounces by the way. I pointed out that it is difficult to make change, that is all. The smallest American gold coin is the 1/10th ounce American Eagle, valued at roughly $200. The platinum can still be found. Try shopping WalMart or going out to eat with those. Even still, an American Silver Eagle coin fetches about $30 each. If you have junk silver, then you can argue with an uninformed merchant whether you are using 90% or 40% silver of differing value if they even know there is such of differing content. Then if you have a mixed load of both, you need to figure it out as well, standing there at the register. If they are making change to you with silver coin, then YOU have to determine whether you are being given 40% or 90% silver (or being slipped some clad coins) while people wait impatiently behind you. You wouldn't want to cheat anyone nor lose your valuable coin either. I was simply pointing out that it will not be or would not be a straightforward simple matter to make change if you chose to convert to gold and silver coin for purchasing merchandise or services. Then there is the issue of daily if not hourly change in the value of gold and silver that you will also have to contend with. You didn't have to point anything out to me. I am well acquainted with the subject matter. Evidently I did need to point this out to you because you broached the subject in a rather simplistic manner. I also used to barter, but always came out on the short end of the stick except once, because only one man kept his word. My services were comparatively high dollar services. I would barter with restaurant owners and handymen who couldn't afford their bills to barter meals and repairs etc. Invariably, restaurants would close, repairmen move away, etc, etc and I was left holding the bag. Only a large ticket item where I owed got squared by me paying with my services when I paid out as promised. Not even bartering is trouble-free. Your suggestion of tendering gold or silver coin was riddled with complications and inconveniences that evidently you hadn't even considered. I didn't think I had to point them out, but evidently somebody did.
 

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If you have junk silver, then you can argue with an uninformed merchant whether you are using 90% or 40% silver of differing value if they even know there is such of differing content. Then if you have a mixed load of both, you need to figure it out as well, standing there at the register. If they are making change to you with silver coin, then YOU have to determine whether you are being given 40% or 90% silver (or being slipped some clad coins) while people wait impatiently behind you. You wouldn't want to cheat anyone nor lose your valuable coin either. I was simply pointing out that it will not be or would not be a straightforward simple matter to make change if you chose to convert to gold and silver coin for purchasing merchandise or services.
Yeah, it's a much slicker transaction with most merchants to simply use bullets. :rolleyes:
 
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drscot

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Yeah, it's a much slicker transaction with most merchants to simply use bullets. :rolleyes:
Then again, that depends on the price of lead, and whether or not they are cast lead, clad, hollow point, tracer rounds, defensive bonded rounds, etc etc. You had best stick with the simplistic route such as penny rolls. It is clear you haven't thought out all of the implications of the tender you wish to utilize when the SHTF if indeed it ever happens. You are already in over your head and not past the kindergarten stage yet. A mentor won't have the patience you are going to require except at a price, and then you will have to rely on his or her honesty to get you to a minimal level of competency. They might skin you just as part of the lessons they will need to teach you about "How Not to get Skinned in this Brave New World." You would be considered to be fair game; kind of like the neophyte at the pro poker table, or the new investor in the commodities market. Venture in at your own peril.
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