Showing my ignorance, but where on the site can I order a whiz bang jr from?
over here ....http://www.solar-electric.com/midnite-solar-whiz-bang-jr-current-sense-module.html
;)
Thanks for that. It seemed strange when I did a site search for it nothing came up.
Got it now anyways! Once again thanks.
Russ
Looks like I will have to give the whiz bang a miss as the $53 US postage is too over the top for me!
Can never understand why postage over there is so much more expensive than australia or great britian?
Quote from: russ_drinkwater on January 31, 2016, 04:36:03 AM
Can never understand why postage over there is so much more expensive than australia or great britian?
Not that cheap. I was gob smacked at a Christmas card this year that was 2 Pounds from GB to Canada!
The mail is far cheaper for us than courier... by as much as 1/2.
right the shipping cost breake the neck ;(
I catched mine with shunt for about 90$ with shipping and tax, to germany from ebay from "belmont_solar"
actuall auction 191734861864
I use a freight forwarder for all my NAWs stuff. Its not as cheap as it could be , but still lots cheaper than any other trans US postal service.
I have no idea what a freight forwarder is sorry,lol.
The whiz bang must weigh in at 2-3 kgs, does it?
I got a centrifuge sent in from the states to australia and its freight was approx $100 US and that including 3phase motor, spinner and parts.
Some US evil bay sellers offer free freight on items of a small size, I wonder how they manage that.
And the last mid nite 150 reg I got a couple of weeks ago cost about $70 Us for postage as well.
Russ,
Go to you local Midnite dealer in OZ and buy the WBjr and shunt, if needed, from them.
It will probably be cheaper than paying the international shipping costs.
If you read the fine print you will see the seemingly high postage charges cover such interesting things as handling fees, packaging fees, documentation fees etc.
The WBjr and shunt weigh a hundred or two grams so actual post charge is a lot lower than the USD58 you get quoted.
dgd
Well the use is www.nzpost.co.nz/tools/youshop, but im sure youll find teh same thing in your country.
Quote from: russ_drinkwater on January 31, 2016, 03:11:59 PM
And the last mid nite 150 reg I got a couple of weeks ago cost about $70 Us for postage as well.
So you got a Classic 150 sent & didn't get a WBjr but the sent in a form for you to get one ? I saw that option last year starting.
WBjr is in Grams or Oz. Box size is inches 1"thick 3X4" .. And now you need a shunt ..
VT
there are 3 listed here in Oz...http://www.midnitesolar.com/distributors_stocking.php
Beginning about June, 2015 the standard Classics no longer included the WBjr, IIRC.
Vic
I have 3 mid nite classic 150 regs now and none of them had any paperwork about the whizbang in them when I opened the box. :(
Will see what the damage from an australia distributor.
It may be shocking as well, lol.
Cheapest one is $98 AU, so not too bad just double the price plus another 10% lol.
A bit better than $100 US.
Might have a look on amazon as well.
I got mine last Dec 2015 from this place
https://www.altestore.com/store/meters-communications-site-analysis/meters-battery-monitors/ammeters-voltmeters-battery-monitors/midnite-solar-whiz-bang-jr-battery-monitor-p11089/
Checked that and postage was $63 US so it is getting worse, lol.
Thanks for the link though.
I will have to go with the robbers here in Australia as it will work out the cheapest for me.
Quote from: Vic on February 01, 2016, 02:26:15 PM
Beginning about June, 2015 the standard Classics no longer included the WBjr, IIRC.
Vic
I thought they sent a card in the classic box that said , mail this IN and we will send one .
Maybe they have dropped that , But I made sure I got the WBjr with all of my units Plus.
So before 2015/06 the WBjr was included / but Oz's pulled them ?
Sorry but none of that is making feel any better, sigh :(
No shunt with whiz bang. I should be able to mill/drill one up. Anyone have the specs on it including dimensions?
Will wait for it to turn up hopefully monday or tuesday.
WBjr & a 500amp shunt are sold (for me ) were separate .
I got a few on flee-bay & NAWS for the first one.
http://www.midnitesolar.com/productPhoto.php?product_ID=101&productCatName=Accessories%20&productCat_ID=5&sortOrder=9&act=pc
http://www.midnitesolar.com/productPhoto.php?product_ID=519&productCatName=Software&productCat_ID=5&sortOrder=1&act=p
You do know that they are sold separately & they are (shunt) made & calibrated to a 50mv factor .
VT
No and no, but I do now! I will have to look around for a shunt.
look for a DELTEC SHUNT 50/500...
Good god the shunt and the follow me phone connector cost me as much as the whizbang jnr. :(
That is it I am spent out for the month, lol.
Whizbang Jr arrived yesterday in the mail and am now just waiting for the shunt to arrive.
Finally got around to hooking the whiz bang jnr up and doing the changes/parameters as per the instruction manual.
All seems to be working correctly and I have the blink from the WB.
Coupled with the extra 4 trojan L16's there is very little voltage drop overnight now.
Hopefully I will have the cash for 4 more trojans and that is the full extent of my battery bank, sigh.
Cashed out :-[
1300 amp hours at 24 volts will do the job for most of our requirements.
Just need the cooler weather and I will have the last of the panels up and the 2nd classic firing as well.
100amps maximum charging for the bank. A bit lower than recommended, but far more than what we can draw off the system anyways.
I may have to upgrade the 100amp circuit breaker at the battery bank because it limits the amount of current the inverter can draw.
Any suggestions about what else I need to do in regard to the WB connection other than what is in the instruction sheets?
FWIW - I had a spare one and was going to send it a Youtube friend in Canada. Postage from Oklahoma to Ontario was almost $60 USD. He declined before I sent it out anyways. In the meantime, glad I had the spare...it is installed now and working great. Dunno if the old one is bad but I have it.
There is a political war between Canada & USA for the common folk . They make many BS rules , just so TAXES are paid , Brokerage is rude to the point of WHY ?? The only free trade is IF you make it happen & know the workings of the system .
Jacotenente , if you need a hand I can help . Im in USA every 2 months just down to Arlington (sister & I fill up the fodder) .
If it is just for a friend & not commercial , I'll always help.
You were going to send him a spare shunt ?
Let me know
VT
The government here will be charging GST on ebay sales from the 3/6/2016. Local and imported goods.
That will kill off a lot of sales and place further financial strains on many people here who really so much on the small amount of income from online selling. All govs are trying their best to kill off every economy on the planet!
My family will be eating home grown veges, beef, pork and lamb for the rest of their lives , lol!
We are supposed to have free trade agreements, but everything is twisted to suit agendas.
So I will have to have another midnite reg before end of financial year.
It as that bad and worse here.....I did a service call for a friend who owns a building which houses a beauty parlor, I changed the flexible water line on the water heater and the local building authority barged in and cited me for not having a remodeling permit! They are demanding $400.00 in penalty and another $250.00 for the permit.....the flex line was $19.00 for 2 at Home Depot and my short service call is $65.00......now what is wrong with this picture......no really the worst leeches work for the government.
I make lots of money doing power upgrades with no permit. Yes it is illegal but safety is out of reach for many people due to government intervention, before we can let you do that , you must do this oh and this and this! I cut live utility feed lines, dummy up the smart meter so it doesn't know what I am doing, swap out the whole electrical panel, and rebuild with quality components to 2014 NEC and 2009 CEC , our current code sets for California , I never skimp on safety issues, make it look like it never happened, and get "Ollie North Syndrome" I use genuine utility crimps and tools from the utility co so they cannot tell my work from theirs.....oh yeah by invoice says "repair electricity as needed! I like to get paid in Ben Franks!.......my customers include a mayor, police chief, police officers,etc and more than one building inspector! Wowee what does that tell you! The people in the government won't even abide by the government over regulation.
Ok rant over
td
U.S. Slang: ben's or Ben Franks = US $100.00 bill. Benjamin Franklin's face appears on the bill
Good Post TD
I agree with the leeches bit , there crawling out not more that's money getting tighter.
VT
VT,
it's really government sick here, California has 58 counties, I live in Santa Cruz County, were are one of the smallest counties but we have the second largest building department in the state topped only by Los Angeles County. Our building department is 5 times the size of Santa Clara County, next door (San Jose and Silicon Valley) but they are 10 times our size with many times our population. The government runs on taxes and fees so bad that to build a new house where one had existed since 1920 is over $70,000.00 in fees and assessments , not a new property, just a new house
I'm fed up with it, I will be leaving the lower 48 soon , don't know where I'll go but I have looked at AU and NZ for years now
td
Hey Dave, those posts were really human! Makes me feel closer to you fellas. lol! There is discontent everyway as the parasites suck out and
destroy every growth point they can. I gave up my australian business number (doing gst returns), paid out my overdraft, do not lodge tax returns (no need to as wife and I make under $40,000 a year between us), no accounts fees etc and saved myself $40,000 a year plus no
agro! If you do come to aus, do not buy a city or town block! Get something out in a rural area with a stable rainfall and 100 acres of country. No need for building plans and other bullshite. We have never submitted a building plan for anything here as once you rural and 100 meters from your boundary you are not legally bound to, but they will tell you that you are. The amount of insane micro medalling laws increases every day in most countries. We are drowning in red tape and another reason I love solar as it gives me a buzz (lol) and a feeling of freedom as no-one can control the sun and our ability to get something "free" from its presence!
All welcome in aus if you get through the red tape!
Oh, and rural rates etc are very cheap over here. We pay $3,800 a year on 6,600 acres to local gov.
Yeah Russ,
I hear you loud and clear........I am so annoyed with the government.......
there is no government like no government
There I have said it.........that makes me an anarchist?.......
I live in the small motorhome due to California laws......it's a state registered motor vehicle......the county has absolutely no authority over a state licensed motor vehicle........I have a rack 10' X 26' mounted on top with 4kw up there...........no permit required.......to get plain old utility connected I need to spend over $100,000.00 to connect to the utility only 250 feet away......it's not legal to get utility but my tiny house plugs into the motorhome for power.......that is not regulated....
The motorhome is an 454 carbureted gas hog which does not go down the road, it is only used as a portable power plant.....it is roadworthy but I don't own Standard Oil!
I did a solar job for a local wine grape grower, the county would not give us a permit for a ground mount in 12 acres if grape vines........so I bought a 40' trailer(think tractor/trailer).....put California permanent license plates on it, mounted all the panels on the trailer, equipment inside, and "plug" the water pump into the trailer......walla....no permit.......that inspector jumped up and down and swore at me but there was not squat he could do!
I loophole the law to be in their face! We have had a long running battle in California since the '30's about just which government division has authority over mobile housing units. More than 500 cities, towns, counties are battling state housing authority and dept of motor vehicles as to who can collect the user fees......more than 8 BILLION DOLLARS have been spent on this. Ridiculous. Reasonable attorneys won't touch it.
I don't bother with licensing anymore......the real inspectors are looking for real knowledge and always pass my work......yeah the law says you must be a licensed contractor.....I'm not and will not be!
This world has got to change.......it's about the people.....all of us.....not those few who are so unskilled that they must suck the government tit.....(employee who does not contribute to GNP)
dave
Quote from: tecnodave on May 08, 2016, 10:29:47 PM
...
I'm fed up with it, I will be leaving the lower 48 soon , don't know where I'll go but I have looked at AU and NZ for years now
td
You would be surprised how quickly OZ and NZ are discovering national and local govt taxation opportunities. Here is Auckland NZ the fees to new build a home can be over $100k (for a $500k to $700k build).
But the good news is still no capital gains taxes and negligible interference in RE installations.
GT systems are now paying higher power prices to offset power company reduced earnings.
No taxes or fees to anyone for OG system although local govt have indicated this may change if OG becomes more popular - after all its not fair some people should get free ongoing power despite the up front capital cost :o
dgd
Thanks for the replies. Off topic we know, but it shows me that we are all not that far apart in thinking and had a gutful attitude.
We invested approx $30,000 here a long time ago before I had any real knowledge about grid tie solar and installations.
For that we get free power for 3 families and a bonus of $2,500 to $3,000 every christmas.
Oh yeah people get cranky with us and carry on because their power costs are higher than before and rising. But in all fairness they all had the opportunity to invest money into gridtie instead of having sit in the bank on 1.5 % interest rate before tax!
The return we get on our "investment" is $6,000 a year in free power and a $2,500 cash bonus as well. So $8,500 yearly return on $30,000
investment to me is a good return. 6 years down the track out solar really owes us nothing and still fires up every day after sunrise.
I know they will eventually try to reduce the benefit we get from it. And that is why I aim converting as much as I can to standalone as well.
2 edged knife, reduces what we use from our gridtie and also gives us backup power for emergency as we only need a bird to crap on the lines here and we are without power.
DGD I have considered buying a house in NZ, what does a small rural dwelling cost? Nothing fancy of course, lol.
I much prefer NZ and USA gun laws to ours!
And what are the tax rates like over there?
Quote from: russ_drinkwater on May 11, 2016, 04:47:06 PM
I much prefer NZ and USA gun laws to ours!
Gun laws? We don't need no steenking gun laws! :o
I do support gun control as it helps me hit my target if I control them.
Sorry, its an American thing I guess?. ::)
Quote from: TomW on May 11, 2016, 06:20:04 PM
Quote from: russ_drinkwater on May 11, 2016, 04:47:06 PM
I much prefer NZ and USA gun laws to ours!
Gun laws? We don't need no steenking gun laws! :o
I do support gun control as it helps me hit my target if I control them.
Sorry, its an American thing I guess?. ::)
Naw I got it ..
Seems were all in the SAME BS .
Im totally with ya Dave on
"those who are so unskilled that they must suck the government tit.."Canada is NO better , same stuff ya-all posted.
VT,
Well it seems we are not alone, the government suck here is outta control.....absolutely no way a one person shop can make it with all the laws. My tack is a bit different, I don't tell the government a damn thing......they turn around and use it against you. I'm 69 been working since I was wee, I get no Social Security, Medicare, nada, nothing from the govt, yet if I play by their rules my total tax , (includes all fees paid to any govt agency) is over 75% of my earnings. .......Well I went to the welfare agency and took 100 applications for welfare.....every time a government agency wants a fee from me I fill out a welfare application in their name and submit it to the county welfare agency! Ho boy.. ..that created a firestorm! They take a whack at me , I whack back... But worse...I get them fighting amongst themselves, baiting them.......at one point I had 4 agencies warring....I just stood back and threw fuel into the fire.....took 38 months for the dust to settle....I'm sort of hands off now!......they don't want the headache of dealing with me when they try......easier targets out there. The underground economy is so big here that the infernal revenue service won't go after you if they can't get $60,000 out of you!
Gotta end sometime
Dave
You all speak the truth! That is why I need more batteries lol!
Too many people going along with the crap that is being dished out to us.
My dad terrorised the wankers in the social security offices and became a nogo person, lol.
Paid tax from 16 years old and was retired because of his age. So they had to give him a pension (part anyways).
We are always being screwed over and I feel that we may soon see a large disruption to government the ways things are going in most countries.
Yes, I understand.....that is one part of my being off grid....I am so tired of the suckers in govt jobs,
Just let me be........yes I am guaranteed social security but they want to tax me again on tools that I have had for years and everything, jeez I don't make $100,000 a year! They want me to disclose everything so they can take it all in taxes......no way I am playing. I am looking for a corner of the earth where it is not so bad, I had high hopes for AU and NZ to stay out of this mess, but I guess that's gone now.
O well I know what is right, I don't need the govt to tell me
Dave
Please confirm just what a wanker is, I think I get it but not sure
Ummm, genital manipulater!
In my wifes dialect loot loot.
Lol, tugger, wanker, tosser, you know part of the key selection criteria for being a government employee!
There are plenty of places to hide away in australia.
Just find a small rural town and a house with some acres (50 acres minimum) and you are good to go!
I just love americans love of guns and the right to hold onto it! Wish to soft penised idiots over here were more like it!
I really feel alone some days , lol. ;)
Hmmm, did I miss something. 28 years to learn how to look at the sun through a welding mask!
Not something I would recommend while searching for a planet killer.
How did we get here?