Fire Time, again....

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Comments

  • mcgivor
    mcgivor Solar Expert Posts: 3,854 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 2018 #32
    The wildfires in Greece have taken  a toll on human life, hard to imagine the speed of the flame front with the winds, not to mention those who drowned at sea, attempting to get away from the smoke, truly a tragic story.
    1500W, 6× Schutten 250W Poly panels , Schneider MPPT 60 150 CC, Schneider SW 2524 inverter, 400Ah LFP 24V nominal battery with Battery Bodyguard BMS 
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  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,728 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    It is not hard for me to imagine but I know what you mean. I feel blessed that those kind of coastal area winds really do not occur up here in the mountains. We are 5 miles away and upwind but many are the other way and hurting.  After 7 fire days without electricity and 100F day temperatures. Nasty Smoke that only lessens during afternoon breezes!  It is the mean season! 

    Yosemite national park will close later today for the first time in over 28 years because of the large fire burning close and into the park.
    This fire is really hard to fight because of the terrain and not the wind. It really is a slow moving fire. The stat sheet below is from yesterday morning and everything has increased since then.



    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
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  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,728 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    39 fires burning in the west. This friday and ours will be a month. ten days was the longest before this.  Really poor air quality outside. This one is going so long because the fire people got the OK to do preventative burning. Remember when the timber industry did all of that? I have a ton of backlogged solar work that just is not getting done. Nice inside though :)
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

  • westbranch
    westbranch Solar Expert Posts: 5,183 ✭✭✭✭
    This one is going so long because the fire people got the OK to do preventative burning.
    they  must be using the same playbook ours used last summer..... best of luck to you all for an early end to the burning...
    Locally  (5 miles) they had a poor record of successes vs escapes after they lit up two days running without getting local info about wind patterns etc..  moved ~ 10 miles total, caused an Evac Order in our valley.
     
    KID #51B  4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
    CL#29032 FW 2126/ 2073/ 2133 175A E-Panel WBjr, 3 x 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM 
    Cotek ST1500W 24V Inverter,OmniCharge 3024,
    2 x Cisco WRT54GL i/c DD-WRT Rtr & Bridge,
    Eu3/2/1000i Gens, 1680W & E-Panel/WBjr to come, CL #647 asleep
    West Chilcotin, BC, Canada
  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,728 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    It is the wind for sure. Windshifts at night and the fire jumps the dozer line. Some people in this county have been evacuated 3 times in this last month. Really hard on the old ones. The town here depends on tourism from yosemite national park, and it is still closed, I think.

    None of the solar people in this part of the Sierra are going out on calls. I could make a king's ransom if I did not mind lung damage.
    The fire guys are breathing out of bottles/tanks in many places.
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
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  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Al the smoke from the Mendocino -
    complex is headed east - sorry about that.
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,728 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    No worries Mike on the east wind. What gets us bad, is the downslope wind at night from the mountains above at 10+ thousands of feet.

    The one thing we learned from this long bout is how valuable it is to be able to pressurize the house with cold air. After a week we found an awning window that had a very small leak of smoke. We taped it with mylar and it did the trick. I am going to call Milgard if the smoke ever stops :'(
    It will be nice to be able to open the windows at night again. 63F out there now.
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

  • Marc Kurth
    Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,142 ✭✭✭✭
    Glad to hear that some mylar is the worst of your problems.......
    Hope all remains well!
    I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,728 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    Thanks Marc, The locals who depend on tourism in the Park are hurting. There were 7 people in a local restaurant that would normally have 60+ the other night. The waiter sat down and had a drink with us......
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
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  • Marc Kurth
    Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,142 ✭✭✭✭
    edited August 2018 #41
    Yep, one of the under reported consequences.....

    I was thinking about you when I spent today ringing out a 300' run of 1-1/2" underground PVC from the lake to my back tree line, to be part of my fire suppression system.. Step one was getting it up and running for irrigation of the lake front side. Now, for the fire suppression layout. I'm done with living in a dense pine forest......


     
    5 miles to the main lake and 12 more miles to the Tiki Bar......


    I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Marc - did you take that photo just as the 2 sprinklers converged ?
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

  • Marc Kurth
    Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,142 ✭✭✭✭
    Yes, but not intentionally!
    I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,728 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    Looks like the boat is ready to assist the Coast guard ;)
    Last night was the fist night in a month that we could see the mountains and later the stars.  :)
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
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    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

  • Marc Kurth
    Marc Kurth Solar Expert Posts: 1,142 ✭✭✭✭
    edited August 2018 #45
    Heck no, the boat is a manifestation of my new "Party in slow motion" attitude. No need for a deep V with twins anymore. With an electric lift, it takes 2 minutes to board and cast off.  That is important because we get out several days per week because it's so easy.

    Running the little 115 HP outboard wide open on smooth water gets me to a blazing 27 MPH :D  LOL  (It's a heavy 25' boat, rated for 14 people) Add my kids, grand kids, dogs, full coolers, lots of food and the BBQ, dropping down to 10-15 MPH @ 3 to 4 gallons per hour is an easy price to pay for the squeals of delight coming from the tube.

    With today's fancy inflatable tow-able "tubes", you can ride in a sitting position for miles and not even spill your beer. Or, speed up and get some air. Pure bliss with our lake running 80F+ all summer.

    But back to the point about fire suppression: I am in the process of analyzing a new gasoline powered pump vs PTO on the garden tractor vs a VFD on the existing pump driven by a genset. Each has advantages but cost/benefit ratio can be hard to determine.

    Being a redundant type guy, I am leaning toward a separate gas powered pump because of my previous experience. But I have never had an unlimited water supply available before........ lots of water for lots of hours has a certain attraction.

    Marc




    I always have more questions than answers. That's the nature of life.
  • westbranch
    westbranch Solar Expert Posts: 5,183 ✭✭✭✭
    I am working on a 2 inch mainline , PVC, that will be filled, if TSHTF, by a Honda fire pump WX20 @ ~ 170 us gal, per minute.  It will feed 2 circular irrigation type sprinklers on the roof  of the ,Main house and 1 on the guest house. They use about 6 GPM so 1 1/2 inch pipe.  Have been working this out with the local Irrigation guys, their main business is pivot irrigation, and they supply the locals  with lawn irrigation and drip irrigation as well.... they suggested that to ensure the system is operable at any time once the snow leaves to use it for gardening purposes as well as protection...
    For most of us on this lake,  we have a deck and these need to be wetted from above and BELOW, so I found some 180* sprayers to install on the ground and not spray on the foundation wall.. fed with 1 1/2 inch too...

    more as it happens

    We can not see the other side of the lake , nor the mountains or the sun due to the smoke from near Prince George, 150 miles North and several ares \\notified of imminent evacuation
     
    KID #51B  4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
    CL#29032 FW 2126/ 2073/ 2133 175A E-Panel WBjr, 3 x 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM 
    Cotek ST1500W 24V Inverter,OmniCharge 3024,
    2 x Cisco WRT54GL i/c DD-WRT Rtr & Bridge,
    Eu3/2/1000i Gens, 1680W & E-Panel/WBjr to come, CL #647 asleep
    West Chilcotin, BC, Canada
  • Plucka
    Plucka Registered Users Posts: 130 ✭✭
    Australian fire travelling at 60 kilometers per hour
  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,728 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 2018 #48


    In fires like the one above, all you can do is clear all brush/trees 200 feet around the structure and hunker down. We had 3 captains sleeping in the garage in 2008 and they just told us to wet it down, go inside as it passes, and come out after, and put out the spot fires.

    I wish the sprinklers would help but they said no in our case Eric because we will stay. It is more dangerous leaving here than being here.
    The deck is a good idea for a sprinkler. Our neighbor and us just play the fire season as a team. Our redwood deck has about (7} 1/2 inch holes burned in it from other fires. It is pretty hard to get one lit unless you have combustible items under it. There are always 3 people for the 2 homes. We did 1/8 inch mesh underneath but I do not know how much value it really is.

    Mr. Kurth, I still like those coasties shots. Good times!   If I were you I would have at least 3 pumps because you know one will fail right away when anything bad happens. Then you have a 2nd pump and a spare. We use a VFD for the house and have (2) 3/4 HP pumps. One has a huge pressure tank and the other just a pressure switch.

    Yosemite national park will open tomorrow and the locals are ready to go back to work. Really hard on them financially.
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

  • MrM1
    MrM1 Registered Users Posts: 487 ✭✭✭✭
    edited August 2018 #49
    Wow!  Just caught up on the whole thread.  Terrible times for you all.  Wishing and hoping the best.  "Amazing" pics.  Keep safe.

    Mike
    REC TwinPeak 2 285W 3S-3P 2.6kW-STC / 1.9kW-NMOT Array / MN Solar Classic 150 / 2017 Conext SW 4024 Inverter latest firmware / OB PSX-240 Autotransfomer for load balancing / Trojan L16H-AC 435Ah bank 4S connected to Inverter with 7' of 4/0 cable / 24 volt system / Grid-Assist or Backup Solar Generator System Powering 3200Whs Daily / System went Online Oct 2017 / System, Pics and Discussion
  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,728 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    Thank-you Mike. The press makes it sound like this is new and unusual. It has been a nasty bout,  but one of the main reasons for these fires is people who move into these rural places and expect the fire people to be able to protect them. The fire guys & gals get caught doing structure protection and often can't fight the fires. In the old days there were very few houses away from the big cities.

    Much easier to fight fires when not having to save people and their homes.
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

  • Plucka
    Plucka Registered Users Posts: 130 ✭✭
    In Australia the fire fighters only try to save or prevent assets from burning-most of the Australian bush and trees recover from fires in a couple of years but the animals suffer.
  • bill von novak
    bill von novak Solar Expert Posts: 891 ✭✭✭✭
    Thank-you Mike. The press makes it sound like this is new and unusual. It has been a nasty bout,  but one of the main reasons for these fires is people who move into these rural places and expect the fire people to be able to protect them. The fire guys & gals get caught doing structure protection and often can't fight the fires. In the old days there were very few houses away from the big cities.

    Hmm.  The opposite seems to be happening around here.  Maybe there are different trends in different parts of the country.
    ======================
    MARCH 26, 2012 

    More Americans move to cities in past decade-Census

    March 26 (Reuters) - More Americans are living in cities now than a decade ago, according to U.S. Census data released on Monday.

    The most urban state is California - one that dominates the popular imagination as a land of empty deserts, open beaches and thick redwood forests - the Census numbers showed.

    In 2010, a total of 80.7 percent of Americans lived in urban areas, up from 79 percent in 2000.

    Conversely, 19.3 percent of the U.S. population lived in rural areas in 2010, down from 21 percent in 2000.

    At the same time, the population of urban areas grew by 12.1 percent, much faster than the country’s growth rate of 9.7 percent from 2000 to 2010.

    ====================

  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,728 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    I was referring to the trend over decades. There were huge fires in CA in 1910 but few lived out of the cities. The same in the 1980's I believe. Our county is full of people from the Bay Area and LA who sold their million plus homes and move out here for a quarter the price.

    My wife and I never expected any help in a fire and built for survivability. I doubt that most of the citydwellers even thought about until it happens. Many expect an engine at their home and there just are not enough of them.
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,728 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    Plucka said:
    In Australia the fire fighters only try to save or prevent assets from burning-most of the Australian bush and trees recover from fires in a couple of years but the animals suffer.
    We have pretty bad erosion and mudslides in winter because it is not as flat as Australia.  Where is home for you? 
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

  • westbranch
    westbranch Solar Expert Posts: 5,183 ✭✭✭✭
    edited August 2018 #55
    Dave, Interestingly we have had in  the last 4 weeks, a series of downpours / thunderstorms  that have closed the main N/S highway in BC for multiple days ... all from those fires last July that burned for over 4 months....now back to some concrete pouring.
     
    KID #51B  4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
    CL#29032 FW 2126/ 2073/ 2133 175A E-Panel WBjr, 3 x 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM 
    Cotek ST1500W 24V Inverter,OmniCharge 3024,
    2 x Cisco WRT54GL i/c DD-WRT Rtr & Bridge,
    Eu3/2/1000i Gens, 1680W & E-Panel/WBjr to come, CL #647 asleep
    West Chilcotin, BC, Canada
  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,728 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    Send them here !  Will worry about erosion later.... We do get monsoon storms but not yet?

    Oh look, an emoji that depicts my relaxing summer dreams... toilet
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

  • westbranch
    westbranch Solar Expert Posts: 5,183 ✭✭✭✭
    edited August 2018 #57
    I hope you are going to get some of the moisture , light to heavy showers that are sliding down the jet stream today, along the West Coast and interior of BC . from Alaska.  Tomorrow a return to the Smoke forecast for us... The PVs  are so covered by ash daily that what little Energy makes it through the smoke produces < = 500Whr a day and we are (losing) ~- 50 Ah a day right now for just the basics, Fridge and internet  (for remote My MidNite2  monitoring)... luckily the  NEW  ISP system chopped ~ 500Whr/ day from the old Hughes Modem setup
    Add: working out these figures in my head,  it really points out how much power we are able to use in the Absorb period, as an opportunity load..  I had believed it to be about 1/2 of real numbers.  I will have to record some of the daily numbers I get with the  MidNite 'Local App' as well as the MidNite2 on line data.





     
    KID #51B  4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
    CL#29032 FW 2126/ 2073/ 2133 175A E-Panel WBjr, 3 x 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM 
    Cotek ST1500W 24V Inverter,OmniCharge 3024,
    2 x Cisco WRT54GL i/c DD-WRT Rtr & Bridge,
    Eu3/2/1000i Gens, 1680W & E-Panel/WBjr to come, CL #647 asleep
    West Chilcotin, BC, Canada
  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,728 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    I think the opportunity concepts went away for us when we went over 6 kw tracked :p

    we just look out the window in the morning.... Good to know though thanks! 

    The only usable moisture at this latitude starts in November ;)
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net