-cK-

Seeing as I already have an inverter I opted to rather just add in panels to my setup instead of going geyser wise. Geyser already on a timer and usually just shorts a 1000-1500w on my current solar when on so was more cost effective to just add 6 panels to my array for basically same price as what geyser wise would have cost me. This way no fiddling with the geyser and give some headroom to use more high draw items concurrently instead of one at a time during the day. Overall once the upgrade is done I should have 5kW PV and 10kW Batt capacity and if the crap hits the fan I can just adjust my evening usage abit and I can squeeze the setup to be grid independent during the summer at least not sure about winter as this will be my first time with solar this winter so still need to see how it will hold up and preform.

Also something on my list of things I'd like to do. Off topic Question though which smart switches are you all using. Don't want to have to go down a rabbit whole of having to custom flash stuff nor am I in the mood to have another clerk at a electronic store look at me with that WTF is he taking about expression when you ask if their smart switches works with home assistant or not. I like the concept of having my own local control and server and not via a cloud based service that can pull the rug under you at any time. Just haven't had the time yet to properly look into it.

And here we had loadshedding from 20:00-00:30 and 02:00-06:30 last night and this morning, effectively 8-9hrs I had to power of my single battery setup before I could recharge from PV again. In theory I only have about 10hrs capacity for my current consumption and setup 🙈. The margins was tight 😅

Welcome to the other watt obsession. It is kinda like w/kg but just w/hr 😁

Also on my shopping list to get seeing as my old dumb timer broke so might as well go with the smart timer option (well technically I do currently control it with my phone but that is via whattsapp messages 😅)

You should look if you can't limit the supply of the battery during that times slot. I have a limit on my battery to not supply more than 1500w during the time the geyser is on and stop when it reaches 70% so if solar is short battery will supply up to 1500w and rest will come from grid, the 70% ensures that you don't drain your battery to far and always have reserve for the evenings loadshedding if you cant recharge to 100% again. Usually I'm 1000 to 1500w short on solar production with only 6 panels for the geyser so with this limit I usually don't use grid but during bad weather days I still have a little saving without nailing the battery to hard and still use less grid than just going full all grid.

True its all about a little lifestyle adjustment as well. 5kw Inverter 6 panels and 1 battery, add a bit of profile tweaking and optimizing of my schedules saw me drop from 20+ units a day to 10 and another little tweak to roughly 4 units a day. Gonna try and add 6 more panels and another battery which should get me to a point that if it really gets bad I'm sorted just need a small adjustment on peak usage habits. Ideally more batteries would be great but when you are on a budget you need to make due with what you can afford right now.

So that means I need to sort out my upgrade before then I guess...🤷‍♂️

Yea with only one 5kW battery currently these 3 a day with at least one back to back outage is a pain to manage, need to constantly check my levels are high enough with this crappy weather to ensure there is always enough plus a bit of reserve. Thankfully only had to top up from the grid once on day 1 when we dropped to stage 5 and the time slot didn't allow for enough recharge of the PV as I would have restricted the battery usage if I had known. Requested a quote on second battery and more panels so patiently waiting now to upgrade.

The only way someone "drops" you is if they drop off the back 🤷‍♂️

I found that Load first the battery tends to trickle down a bit and being on a smaller setup right now and trying to squeeze out every last penny out of the system I've setup a SOC profile that effectively achieves a load first state while still charging up the battery and keeping me off grid during the day but ensuring the batter charges up to 100% for the time slot I run off grid in the evenings. Planning on adding a few more panels and battery to get closer to a state I can go "off grid" if I really tighten the screws in the evenings or reduce my current reserve I want to keep in the battery for that "just in case the transformer blows up again". Going truly off grid can get real expensive real quick.

Gloves, sweaty hands, guy purposefully speaking k@k so you can't figure out what they saying 🤷‍♂️ Rule of thumb to apply going forward though, give me your number on a business type card/piece of paper or the SAPS office through which I can relay the message to you but my phone will not leave my hand or better yet my pocket.

So let me get this right. They are not able to supply enough so people use less as a result so their solution is hike the rates and now they want this BS... How about and follow me here this is a bit revolutionary thinking here. FIX your 💩 and people will actually use and pay you ESDOM 🤷‍♂️

That last revision was printed with PETG. The problem with that part wasn't so much UV exposure causing breakage but rather the various forces in play on the 3D printed part when in use and to find the maximum part strength using the print directions, infill settings, design etc (Filament strength is just one part of the puzzle to consider). The big thing is to always try and find a way to avoid force being applied in such a way that it would easily break the adhesion layers apart which is any 3D print's weakness. When it comes to actual functional parts finding a balance between strength, function and aesthetics is not always an easy thing to achieve. Sometimes it boils down to that age old problem of you can only pick 2 of the 3.

Is the R366 road tarred all the way through? Just asking as google is showing it as gravel part way. Never driven that way so don't know if google is just outdated or not 🤷‍♀️ (Edit) Okay Street view might just be outdated, by the looks of satellite view it looks to be tarred

Before this madness I looked at a RX570 brand new around 2-3k and was like yea that's a bit high for an "prev gen" card (PS anything higher on my old system will run into CPU bottlenecks and be a waste unless I upgrade this 12 years old system ????) Went and had a look at that RX570 on the same site last night sitting at 12k ???? so that is a big fat NOPE! Yea no left the gaming scene way way back as it became an endless money pit trying to keep up so not spending that to just play one game that tickled my fancy lately. Think my new "hobby/project" (trying to restore a classic car) will be cheaper and more rewarding in the long run ????

That would be my guess. If so it goes to show premeditation/intent on their part as well if he was walking around with a brick like that.

I suspect they threw something...well that would be my guess. The distance between the rider and the swing you can see in the video doesn't look like he would have made contact to punch him, unfortunately the banner is blocking that part to actually see what happened.

What he said regarding Oceanview/Kommetjie area. I will not go ride there again unless it is with an armed escort that shoots first and asks no questions...

Might be dusting these off in the near future as I've found out there is now a local venue/club for all things RC

I've been running this through my head since yesterday when it happened and is just left counting our blessings that there was no loss of life and Brenden was able to walk away from this and be with his family the same day, can only imagine what Brendon was going through during it all. The fact that we are starting to ask ourselves more and more every time we go out for a ride whether our ticket will be up or not is just ridiculous. Its not even safe over here anymore as I had my close call here a while back and then be involved in this Will I stop cycling, NO. Will I be more alert and on constant look out, for sure...

Rode the 90km a week or so ago and for the most part the sand is a none issue, some random spots on the farm roads but for the most it is just your normal top layer to hard-pack. There is a new additional bit in the beginning that will bypass that crappy sandy section you got before crossing the train tracks. So besides that it is the single track in the beginning, fast farm roads, those rugged contour lines through the farmland, open fast farm roads again, final single track and then the dash to the Finish line

Event Name: Patrysberg MTB & Trail Run When: 4 May 2019 Where: Patrysberg Farm, Western Cape Category: MTB Come join us for our 4th Annual MTB Funride & Trail Run 4 May 2019 Start: 8:00 (Gates should be open by 6:00) Join us for a fun filled family day Food stalls / Jumping Castle Beer Tent & Live Entertainment by Amore There is a route for everyone to choose from, whether you're a novice looking for an easy yet rewarding ride to the hardcore weekend warrior looking for a challenge or something in between. MTB 5km Kiddies 15km 310M (Blue - Easy) 40km 985M (Red - Intermediate) 60km 1750M (Black - Challenging) Trail Run 5km & 10km Profiles will be uploaded soon so watch this space... Also note that this is a fun ride and not a timed event but the racing snakes are free to give it a bash for those bragging rights among themselves Go to Event Page

Glock 9 on the hip R1 over the back Berreta Nano on the one ankle Ballistic knife on the other And what ever you can still fit on your person and pedal...

Yea I was at the back end of that echelon and thinking to myself Holy Crap this is crazy...If I recall there was a car coming up the hill but looked like it decided to park it in the yellow lane and just let us pass first...