Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Back On The Right Track

Our solar tracker is fixed and back to doing the right thing now.


J up on ladder, his son A down below and Papa Pea to the right.

Our solar energy guy and his son/apprentice (the nicest people and with whom we've become friends over the years) were here this afternoon and quickly fixed the problem with our tracker.

The little motor that allows the tracker to move and follow the sun was kaputz.  Guess we can't complain as it did its duty 365 days a year for sixteen years.  That's a lot of stops and starts.

Fortunately for us, the guys had a replacement motor with them so we're back in business.

So now, Mr. Sun, if you'd care to send some rays down upon us again soon, we're ready to take full advantage of your welcome energy.

12 comments:

Sparkless said...

Sixteen years! I wish all my appliances and electrical things would last that long. Glad you got your solar fixed. The sun will shine ya just have to be patient.

Erin said...

That is fantastic, 16 years! It seems like I always hear about the problems of solar energy and it's nice to see it working so well for you!

Tombstone Livestock said...

16 years of starting and stopping would wear me out too ... unless it is terribly expensive I think you must have got your money's worth..

Mama Pea said...

Sparkless - Yep, we are actually seeing more and more sunshine these days now. Makes for very mushy snow (what we have of it) but it's nice to be able to go outside with only one layer of outside clothing on!

Mama Pea said...

Erin - We have been super-happy with ours. This is the first thing to go on our tracker and we've only replaced our batteries once in the 16 years.

On the other hand, we've known of several wind power systems in our area and none of them have been successful mostly because of constantly breaking parts, not being able to get replacement parts, and/or damage by wind. (Which seems a little strange, doesn't it!)

Mama Pea said...

Tombstone Livestock - I'm happy to say we got our money's worth out of that little motor many, many times over! (Score one for our side!! Yayyyy!)

Katidids said...

Ha! I can imagine Papa was out there to see what exactly the problem was so he could fix it next time. Glad to hear they had the motor on hand (that style was still made)

Anonymous said...

Wow, you definitely got some mileage out of that! Glad to hear it's working again, will be praying for some sun!

Susan said...

I'm glad it was an easy and fast fix! It sure is nice to have found someone who can fix things and are so nice, too! Sixteen years of constant use? I don't believe there is ANYTHING made now that can match that!

Mama Pea said...

Katidids - The really lucky part was that our style motor ISN'T made anymore . . . but J still had a couple of them in his truck!! Otherwise, it would have been a more expensive repair involving a wait also.

Mama Pea said...

Stephanie - Today dawned very gray and dark but . . . wahoo! We've had bright sunshine since about 9 a.m.

Mama Pea said...

Susan - I can't tell you how helpful these folks have been to us from the beginning of our solar installation to this day. They also bailed out Chicken Mama (even though they didn't do her installation) when her inverter died during her last year at Swamp River Ridge. They kept her up and running when she didn't have any money to replace the unit. They are THE BEST!