In Response to DC powered Washing Machines DEAR HP, 12 VOLT WASHING MACHINE: In response to A.L.'s letter in #8, we offer a solution. We have produced an AUTOMATIC WASHER CONVERSION KIT since 1983, for both 12 and 24 volts. It adapts Kenmore and Whirlpool washers (only). 120 vac power is required to run the timer and controls, but the smallest available inverter (100 watt) can handle that. The big job of running the machine is handled by a high efficiency DC motor. This eliminates the need for a 2000 watt inverter, and uses much less energy too (average 25 amps at 12V). The kit is pre-wired and simple to install. A similar conversion is available for gas driers. Thank you for being the finest source of user information in the field! We are proud to contribute articles to the cause. Windy Dankoff, Flowlight Solar Power, Santa Cruz, NM. (Washer Conversion Kit is listed in Flowlight's Catalog & Handbook -- See advertisement in this issue.) KP And More on DC Washers Dear Friends, Thank you for the fine publication. For the people who wonder about automatic washing machines I give my experience: In 1982 I installed a 15 year old Kenmore washer. Motor starting load was too much for the inverter I had at the time. I replaced the 1/3hp ac motor with a 32V DC 1/4 motor, the ac motor leads went to a relay & the relay points energizes the 32V motor. It takes 8 amps of 32V and a peanut size - 100 watt ac inverter to run the washing machine controls (it has an ac clock timer). This necessitates 2 cords but allows my battery bank to directly run the 1/4hp washer motor and the inverter need only run the controls. I've used the same system on a gas dryer with a 32V 1/4hp motor - double end shafts - and ac controls - relay to motor. Never change the brushes on the gas dryer. Change brushes once a year on the washer motor. I'm very happy with both machines. Anyone with questions can write me. Tim McDonald, McDonald Electric, 26823 Lake Riley Rd., Arlington, WA 98223 A Pat on the Back for the Folks at Trace Engineering! Dear Home Power, I just wanted to put in a quick note about the folks at Trace Engineering. We had a problem with our Trace 1512 and they handled it so graciously that I almost feel compelled to let all the other Home Power readers know what an incredibly fair and reasonable group of people Trace is comprised of. I never imagined that having a difficulty with a product would ever actually induce me to recommend it further or be somehow more content in my purchase of it. Well.... the way our problem with the 1512 was handled leaves me even MORE satisfied we chose a Trace. With a whole lot of sincerity and thanks, John Mottl, Orcas, WA It's not often that a Trace Inverter fails, but it's very good to know that Trace folks will fix'em fast. Of all the Trace inverters we've seen and sold over the years, we've only had one problem and it was fixed within three days of arriving at Trace. These folks a serious about serviceÉRP Proposed Alternative Energy Discussion Group in Waterloo, NY Hi! I'm just getting around to writing to you to say I love your magazine!! It has been an enormous help understanding how things work and how to pull a system together. I have 7 acres of land and am 1200 ft. from the main road. The utility company wanted $4,000.00 to put poles in, which was not acceptable. We lived with no electricity (I have a 5 yr old son) and used kerosene lamps for lights and a cooler for refrigeration. We finally had the phone installed in January 1988 after hassling with the phone company over the $2,000 they wanted for that. They finally put the first 600 feet in free and I had to pay $1.00 per foot for the rest. A lot cheaper than the $2,000 they had originally quoted. My house is only 18' x28' at this point, but I plan to add on to it sometime in the future. I had a building party after saving materials up for a year and have spent the last 4 years finishing it off and working on getting such luxuries such as electricity, etc. I have a 4,000 watt generator that's hooked up to a 40 amp battery charger which charges 2 deep cycle golf cart batteries that I picked up used. I have 2 30 watt fluorescent lights, battery monitor and DC service panel purchased from Steve Willey, who has been quite helpful with any questions I had. Anyway, we have electricity now and this could not have happened without the aid of your wonderful articles on how systems work and what all the components do. Keep up the good work!! I hope to expand my system in the future and was glad to see by your survey that more and more people are becoming interested in alternate energy. I think that if people become aware of how something works and how important it is to find alternate routes of energy sources they will become more willing to invest in alternate energy. I was wondering if you had any names of people in the Waterloo area who are interested in the same. It would be great to get together with others who feel the same and possibly form some kind of alternate energy group. That would be fantastic! I'd appreciate your cooperation in any way. Thanks again for a wonderful magazine and I look forward to receiving the next issue. Linda Ochs, 2400 Homestead Dr, Waterloo, NY 13165 Well, Linda, we've promised not to give out the names or address of Home Power readers to anyone. We can, however, print your letter and ask HP people to directly respond to you. We hare thinking about starting an ACCESS column in which readers can put their interests, names and addresses for contact and exchange with others. What do you think, Readers? RP. Wind Machine Info Needed Your magazine is great! I look forward to each issue. I have learned a lot from your articles and have gotten quick responses from your advertisers. I am a do-it-yourselfer. I have assembled my own PV panel from surplus 4" square cells which I got at a Hamfest. I also built a wind generator from an old permanent magnet generator from a gasoline power plant originally 2500 watts. I carved a prop from a 10 ft. 2 x 6 and built an air brake like the one used on Windchargers. It works great. I have started building a second wind generator but would like to build it so that it will automatically turn the the prop out of the wind when the wind speed reaches about 30 mph. instead of making an air brake. I have not been able to find any information on how this is done. If anyone could tell me how to do this or where to get information on how to do it I would appreciate it. Also for those on a low budget or who like to build your own equipment who need a voltage regulator or load diverter. I found a circuit in November 1987 Modern Electronics originally for a 120 volt battery charger but a PV or wind generator or other source can be substituted in place of the battery charger. Instead of the relay the current to a second set of batteries or other load when the first set is fully charged. It has adjustable voltage range and the current it can handle is dependent on the relay you use. If you should build one note there is a mistake on the circuit board layout. There should be a circuit trace from the cathode of D1 to the cathode of D2. Kevin Crawford, RD3 Box 381, Port Allegany, PA 16743 P.S. This was printed with alternate power. Thanks for the info on the regulator. Any readers got a design for feathering a wind machine? RP Home Power Afloat I'm going to spread the word about your publication in our anchorage. At least a dozen wind generators here, photovoltaics are growing, but not efficient yet (size constraints). We also need support for alternative lifestyles. Bureaucrats believe boaters are either rich and should be ripped off or welfare cases to be run out of town. There's a large middle class afloat that needs information like yours RE: equipment and support from reading about other folks surviving on their own... Milanne Rehor, Miami, FL It's amazing how many salties read Home Power. I guess we landbound home power types have more in common with boaters than just a battery. RP. Wind to Compressed Air to Electricity Dear Home Power People: This idea has been bugging me for a long time. Remember the old windmills that used to pump water? Slow but sure? Why couldn't that same jack pump be used to compress air in a pressure tank? An automatic switch to start an air motor to run a generator at an easily governed speed, then stop when the pressure approached too low. This could overcome the fact that the wind is variable. It looks like a simple and logical way to get some useful ac especially. It would be easy to rig a pump that would put out volume when pressure was low, or wind light, then put out higher pressure when conditions warranted. I would sure like to have some younger person thinking and working on the idea. Is this worth printing, to get some feedback? More power to you people, you make me feel good. Sincerely, Cecil Paul, 6320 156th St NW, Gig Harbour, WA 98335 I've no direct experience with the water pumping windmills compressing air as you mention. I have seen these old water pumpers driving a car alternator via a large diameter (>2 feet) pulley. The old windmills put out a fair amount of power, but at very slow speeds. Their slow RPM usually limits them in electrical generation service. Your idea of compressing air may be able to use the slow speed of the windmill to great advantage. RP Solar Energy Convention in Georgia Dear Friends, Thanks to you - Our free Solar Energy Convention in Georgia was the beginning of Great events to come. The day of the convention finally arrived, there was a cloudless sky, the sunlight poured in. According to the sun dial it was high noon. Time for the convention to start. What could be more appropriate than to start a Solar Energy Convention at high noon? Our AE guests, the Mieselers from Wheeler, WI, had arrived several hours before high noon. Since no local people has showed at high noon yet, Leon Mieseler, after driving 1,742 miles just said, "That's okay, if nobody else comes, that means more time for you to learn Pete". We did not burn any daylight wastefully. Leon taught me about resistance, diodes on my welding generator, deep cycle batteries, solar hot water panels, size of wiring for our "to be" AE earthhouse, series, parallel, PV panels, batteries, also inverters and more. Sometime later our friends came by in ones, twos and threes. We were ready so 75 people could be seated. The presentation table was 32 ft. by 3 1/2 ft. We borrowed a school blackboard. We had info from ARCO, Heart Interface, Heliotrope General, Hydro Cap Corp., Trace Engineering, 12 Volt Products and Zomeworks. We had a program, handwritten by my wife Martha. We were READY. Eleven local people came. I must remember that Giant Oaks start as acorns. I think a lot of people were not finished with their holiday preparations. The convention was the weekend before Christmas. We had the convention then as December 22 is the Winter Solstice. Again an appropriate time for a Solar Energy Convention. I think it real important for us, in our daily lives to quietly tell our co- workers, our newspaper editors, our president, how living and producing by AE really is. I thank all the people who sent us info. I really thank our new friends Leon, Jan, Aaron and Daniel Mieseler for driving 1,742 miles, ONE WAY, just for us! Thank you too Home Power Crew for such a tremendous publication. Sincerely Pete and Martha Sipp, Rt3 Box 484, Hephzibah, GA 30815 I think that maybe everything worth having in this life starts out as a dream, a wish within our imaginations. Dreams grow slowly; they need to be nourished into realization by perserverence. Home Power Magazine started as a dream two years ago. It took us eight months of disappointments and hard work to make the dream real. I won't tell you how many times I gave it all up in despair. But we (especially my loving friend Karen, who inhales adversity & exhales courage) hung in there. You are holding the proof that dreams can be made real in your hands now. Solar energy is such a dream. Everyone one of us who dreams it brings it closer to reality for us allÉ RP.