Hugh Piggott links to Solbergavind´s Magnet store, which has 24 neodym magnets for around £70-75 (108 euros). Otherwise, the main sources seem to be in the US.paradox wrote:Thanks for your reply martin.
i will be asking on freecycle for a suitable drill shortly then to experiment with.
Could i ask you for a link of any companys where i could buy a pmg?
I have seen a guy on ebay selling reound gm permenant magnet generators for around the £150 mark
£1500 wind turbine that barely powers a hairdryer
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Stonehead
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Muddypause
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Also available inside scrap hard disk drives, I believe.Stonehead wrote:Hugh Piggott links to Solbergavind´s Magnet store, which has 24 neodym magnets for around £70-75 (108 euros). Otherwise, the main sources seem to be in the US.
Stew
Ignorance is essential
Ignorance is essential
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Martin
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I know the Futurenergy people do a pmg, it may well be them on Ebay! 
http://solarwind.org.uk - a small company in Sussex sourcing, supplying, and fitting alternative energy products.
Amateurs encouraged - very keen prices and friendly helpful service!
Amateurs encouraged - very keen prices and friendly helpful service!
Just in case you haven't visited the site, I have to say that the real doers of DIY wind energy are found on www.fieldlines.com. There are some really knowledgable people there. I think it is because it is very American orientated, and there is a much larger pro rata amount of people off-grid there.
As for off the shelf small PMAs, they are are as rare as rocking horse poo.
The Daily Mail published my posting disputing the amount of Windsave turbines being sold, but left out the punch line, which was:
You can buy this turkey, but you will be the one getting stuffed this Christmas.
Haven't heard from Nathan about the video of the furling Windsave, but I have discovered that he was on many other sites fighting his corner - he must be a glutton for punishment.
As for off the shelf small PMAs, they are are as rare as rocking horse poo.
The Daily Mail published my posting disputing the amount of Windsave turbines being sold, but left out the punch line, which was:
You can buy this turkey, but you will be the one getting stuffed this Christmas.
Haven't heard from Nathan about the video of the furling Windsave, but I have discovered that he was on many other sites fighting his corner - he must be a glutton for punishment.
Watchdog, The other night, any one see that? Company flogging solar hot water systems and making wild claims. One claim, 'that it was designed by Daimler Benz', the same as the one my neighbour brought (see other post) People were led to believe that they could make big savings on hot water and 'central heating' costs!
A man representing the solar industry said , ' In the UK you should not expect more than a 15% saving on your hot water costs' Sounds sensible. If he is right then it is a bit of a hard job saving £300 p.a or £600 p.a. (perhaps Martin's device is light years ahead.)
I am sure Watchdog will follow up next week with lots of other people realising that there large investment was wasted money.
John
A man representing the solar industry said , ' In the UK you should not expect more than a 15% saving on your hot water costs' Sounds sensible. If he is right then it is a bit of a hard job saving £300 p.a or £600 p.a. (perhaps Martin's device is light years ahead.)
I am sure Watchdog will follow up next week with lots of other people realising that there large investment was wasted money.
John
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Martin
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the whole point of the excellent Watchdog programme was that they were grossly overselling them - a colleague caught them charging a widow 11k for something we'd charge 3k for - they were also suggesting that it could be also used to provide your central heating! (you get most heat from solar in summer, when you least need it for heating!)
And if you say 15% of their total heating bill, that would probably be about right - your domestic hot water for the spring/summer/autumn period is what we suggest solar is best for!
As I pointed out in another thread it would be possibleto be spending 600 quid per annum just on hot water for 200 days - so you COULD just pay back in 5 years, but it would probably be 10 years or more! I think you've forgotten that the vast proportion of heat used in a house is on space heating, not the hot water (and I would never begin to suggest it is any good for central heating, it isn't!)
The other point worth raising is that you ask renewable technologies to "pay back" - I think one of our systems should happily last over twenty years (with a bit of servicing and perhaps a pump replacement) - but during that time, the average home will have replaced the boiler three times, their car at least six times, their computer umpteen times........and not a mention of "payback!"
Last but not least, to get a system to "pay back" you have to buy right - cough up 11k, it won't pay back, pay us 3k it will, do it yourself, even quicker!
We sell good quality, keenly priced systems that will pay back a damned sight quicker than most, and are designed for longevity - but I don't claim they can defy the laws of physics!
And if you say 15% of their total heating bill, that would probably be about right - your domestic hot water for the spring/summer/autumn period is what we suggest solar is best for!
As I pointed out in another thread it would be possibleto be spending 600 quid per annum just on hot water for 200 days - so you COULD just pay back in 5 years, but it would probably be 10 years or more! I think you've forgotten that the vast proportion of heat used in a house is on space heating, not the hot water (and I would never begin to suggest it is any good for central heating, it isn't!)
The other point worth raising is that you ask renewable technologies to "pay back" - I think one of our systems should happily last over twenty years (with a bit of servicing and perhaps a pump replacement) - but during that time, the average home will have replaced the boiler three times, their car at least six times, their computer umpteen times........and not a mention of "payback!"
Last but not least, to get a system to "pay back" you have to buy right - cough up 11k, it won't pay back, pay us 3k it will, do it yourself, even quicker!
We sell good quality, keenly priced systems that will pay back a damned sight quicker than most, and are designed for longevity - but I don't claim they can defy the laws of physics!
http://solarwind.org.uk - a small company in Sussex sourcing, supplying, and fitting alternative energy products.
Amateurs encouraged - very keen prices and friendly helpful service!
Amateurs encouraged - very keen prices and friendly helpful service!
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Stonehead
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About 90-95% of our hot water comes from solar between May and September (the boiler is actually off unless we get a spell of cloudy days or need more hot water than usual - mainly for brewing).
March-April and October-November, it's about 50:50 solar and boiler.
December through to early March it's about 98% boiler. (We do get the odd sunny spell but as it's only for a couple of hours the impact is small.)
We're fortunate to have a roof that faces due south, has a pitch of exactly 45 degrees and is not shaded.
But, if I was doing it again and could afford it, I'd actually install two panels with one facing SE and one SW. That's because we live so far north that even with a south facing roof, we lose quite a lot of sunshine in the morning and evening throughout summer as the sun is too far around the horizon to shine on the panel.
I'd also set the system up differently - the hot water would be pumped into the hot water cylinder until it was at 60C. Once the cylinder was at temperature, the heated water from the panel would then be diverted into a seasonal thermal store.
That way you could use your solar hot water panel to heat your house - by storing the summer heat and releasing it in winter.
As for the 15% cost saving mentioned, it would actually depend on the fuel in use alongside the solar panel. If you're on mains gas with a condensing boiler then the savings are less than if you're on bottled gas, oil or electric. But if you have a solid fuel Rayburn (or similar) with a back boiler and a sustainable wood supply, then you're not going to make cost savings at all - just labour and wood.
March-April and October-November, it's about 50:50 solar and boiler.
December through to early March it's about 98% boiler. (We do get the odd sunny spell but as it's only for a couple of hours the impact is small.)
We're fortunate to have a roof that faces due south, has a pitch of exactly 45 degrees and is not shaded.
But, if I was doing it again and could afford it, I'd actually install two panels with one facing SE and one SW. That's because we live so far north that even with a south facing roof, we lose quite a lot of sunshine in the morning and evening throughout summer as the sun is too far around the horizon to shine on the panel.
I'd also set the system up differently - the hot water would be pumped into the hot water cylinder until it was at 60C. Once the cylinder was at temperature, the heated water from the panel would then be diverted into a seasonal thermal store.
That way you could use your solar hot water panel to heat your house - by storing the summer heat and releasing it in winter.
As for the 15% cost saving mentioned, it would actually depend on the fuel in use alongside the solar panel. If you're on mains gas with a condensing boiler then the savings are less than if you're on bottled gas, oil or electric. But if you have a solid fuel Rayburn (or similar) with a back boiler and a sustainable wood supply, then you're not going to make cost savings at all - just labour and wood.