diy solar

diy solar

DIY solar forum member size and growth rate? Turned into Future DIY Solar shipping with Elons Boring Co. (or others?) Idea.

Best way for people on the forum to lobby is with their wallets. The businesses will follow the money and what it wants to fulfill the required demand.

This has already taken place at a rather fast pace within the past few years. I'd like to think this educational forum has helped that cause. The knowledge passed onto consumers on the correct stuff that is needed for the job and what the market needs to provide.
 
danibzibur said:
I'd like to know how many (active) members are here, and what the monthly growth rate of this community is?
Does DIY solar forum have enough potential to become big enough to lobby for higher quality world shipment procedures?

Update as of April 24 2022:
From Counting and approximating guesses there are approximately
13 000 so called Active ( scoring ) members.
From a logarithmic slightly optimistic assumption from the above number there would be about
3400 very active members.
These are the members that could be active enough to participate in any kind of "lobbying" effort.
Members seem to come and go in rapid pace.
I estimate that DIY solar Forum needs about 10 times that number to have a potential to make any kind of difference in
how ordered items are handled on their way to a customer.

Apparently I need to ephasise that this thread is _NoT_ about "vendors" but rather
I see a whole process of :
Hazzle Free Reliable receiving Exactly What's Ordered and Payed for On Time, No anxiety, No Re-negotiation, Nothing broken, No steam.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately we’re going to need someone at the shipping end to help us with quality control issues and dealing with the shipping containers full of equipment from the different suppliers to avoid substandard products getting mixed in!
 
If this was the only sector with supply and demand issues it might make sense, but every sector is in the same boat with shipping and backlogs.

I agree with what Will said it’s not really a shipping problem is a soul source to once country problem that has created a horrible mess.

It’d be nice to say if everything was on shored it’d improve but looking at local labor shortages that too isn’t an easy solution to tackle.
 
Will Prowse said:
I am the owner of the site, and it is free of corporate interest. Myself and a few other mods help people with DIY solar, not government mandates for renewable energy. This site is not about politics. But more about self-sufficiency and engineering.

Here are the stats:

View attachment 92382
View attachment 92383
Click to expand...
Out of semi professional curiosity (I own a forum, non solar related), what are you using to track your statistics, @Will Prowse ?
 
Will Prowse said:
So you want to lobby who? To make changes in a private shipping company? That does not make a lot of sense. If you have a problem with FedEx, for example, do not use them. Vote with your dollar.

What we should focus on instead is manufacturing in more places than just China, so international shipping issues are no longer an issue. The Chinese are dominating the international marketplace when it comes to solar equipment and lithium-ion cells. You can lobby and get angry, and it will do nothing in this landscape. How about you secure raw material supply chains and build a factory?
Click to expand...
I think DIY solar forum is too small to be able to make a difference at this point.
A lot of people are investing in getting rid of Chinese dominance as we speak, but as for now we're stuck with getting our LiFePo Batteries, Solar chargers, Neodymium Motors and BMS:es from there.
It makes it a pain to even think about getting yourself off grid.
 
danibzibur said:
I think DIY solar forum is too small to be able to make a difference at this point.
A lot of people are investing in getting rid of Chinese dominance as we speak, but as for now we're stuck with getting our LiFePo Batteries, Solar chargers, Neodymium Motors and BMS:es from there.
It makes it a pain to even think about getting yourself off grid.
Click to expand...
Dan Dan Dan,
This forum is great resource without the futility of politics. I also believe that many of its members have succeeded in going off grid. Either without pain but with esteem in doing it. Or, as some would say, “No pain, no gain.”
As for me, I suffered very little pain (a pinch from my needle nose pliers). In fact I like it! A DIY completed project is hard to beat. Adios Dan
 
Last edited:
danibzibur said:
I think DIY solar forum is too small to be able to make a difference at this point.
A lot of people are investing in getting rid of Chinese dominance as we speak, but as for now we're stuck with getting our LiFePo Batteries, Solar chargers, Neodymium Motors and BMS:es from there.
It makes it a pain to even think about getting yourself off grid.
Click to expand...
I think I get what you are saying and/or asking for. Good intentions are a wonderful thing.

Take a peek at who is actively online at any given time and it may surprise you how many bots are cruising through our forum. If I am not mistaken those cruisers are gathering data, information or whatever you want to call it and sharing some of the info with folks using various search engines.
When I search I look for positives about products, suppliers and manufacturers. So I am supporting the good and not supporting the bad.

I believe product developers, manufacturers and sellers worldwide are paying attention to our complaints and praises. Maybe I am too optimistic about the effect we will ultimately have. I doubt many shippers consider our posts.

I will vote with my wallet and the words I share here in the forum. Lobbying = NOPE

Thanks for chiming in on the thread @Will Prowse & @upnorthandpersonal (y)
 
Wetedgemarine said:
Unfortunately we’re going to need someone at the shipping end to help us with quality control issues and dealing with the shipping containers full of equipment from the different suppliers to avoid substandard products getting mixed in!
Click to expand...
First:
1. I apologize to everybody for how my brain is (mal?)functioning. Also the below presented explanation turned out to be quite a long rant.
It happened that I posted this new thread while I was "Into" this temporary trail of thought and then totally forgot about it. A few days later
somebody came up here and asked what I meant by lobbying. (Quite difficult to explain when you realize that new ideas need to confront with unprepared and already "over occupied" minds.
2. More than 9 out of 10 out of the very active DIY solar forum members wants independence as in "Leave me alone." and that is why we all want to get Off The Grid, and not have to talk or deal with any politics and / or turmoil.
Especially not International Shipping and delivery politics when the world seems to be at the brink of super power conflicts, and economic downfall.)
Sure, It's way cooler to just try to use your " Dollar voting" input to get things cooking in a promising direction.
Many here sets out with a "No pain No gain" Philosophy. I my self don't mind working very hard for some glorious
goal, but for me it is vital that
My own personal actions might impact to bring about change if possible in the form of trail blazing.
A warning to any unsuspecting DIY solar forum reader. The below presented Ideas is NoT a "Help me set this weird solar system up, please!"
It is too long, and kind of political while I am trying really hard not to choose sides or offend anybody. And Yes Will, I did read the COC. And It's totally O.K. if you choose to delete this thread or even just disallow this addition to my post.

Now:
The background reason why I started this tread is complicated. I suffer from a chaotic mind always flooded with impulses.

1. I happen to live in Israel ( = Close to the Dead Sea fault line. ) I've spent the last two CoViD years
pondering around where to set up base, and what to do with the few valueable years I have left in this somewhat crappy world.

Israel shares geopolitical characteristics with 3 other global places: Egypt, Panama, Chiapas in Mexico, Nort Colombia, and Nicaragua, in that these geological places act as dividers between continents and oceans. Many of us might remember recent News about a Container vessel named The "Ever given". As for now, my country Israel is rather off the beaten track, as seen from a globalized Shipping and Trading perspective.

2. China and some other countries have spent years exploring ways to open up new innovative shipping routes in order to reach remote and new destinations faster, and thus expand our Global economy.
3. The USA, Britain and other countries are at the same time striding to divide the world into two or three separate manufacturing and trading zones, possibly in defence to many years of lost Status Quo and jobs.
These approaches have collided and we are also now suddenly finding ourselves uncomfortably close to world super power conflict.
I'will not go into this more, even if it's interesting cause it is way O.T.

The two economical giants of the world tend to think in big boxes. Large Cooperations, Giga factories, Giant sea vessels. Huge Power stations, Long Bridges, Large Tunnels, Cars, Trucks and people travelling from all over towards all over, etc.

The futuristic vision I have so far:

I as an individual on the other hand like to think very small.
To me it seems much better if the heavy fragile (Solar, Battery, Motor) parcels I want to order from China, Indonesia, Mexico or India are NoT loaded together with several millions of other heavy but much less fragile and cheap parcels in a randomly chosen container on a Mega Monster Ship.
If there was such a thing as a 20-40ft container sized solar, sail kite, sea-salt powered autonomous "Star link" connected robotic water proof floating carrier, co-ordinate programmed to hit Israeli Red Sea coast with my specificly ordered ultra fragile heavy parcel after x number of weeks at sea in a secure and supervised full self driving swarming floating container convoy, I would be completely in awe!

If Elon Musk would take his New Boring Company and go over here for a while to drill say 4 x 50 mile hyper-loop slow slope water tunnels in loose dirt, we could have a steady trickle of halfway self propelled single (water proofed) float containers in a few years time coming in through vacuum freight tunnels from the Red Sea Via The Dead Sea over to the Mediterranean Ocean. I Imagine the idea of such a tunnel drill operation to be of interest from an autonomous Interplanetary Boring machine development perspective for this reason: The ground around the 400m below Sea level Dead Sea Rift has a high percentage of dried mineral salt content. It results is re-ocurring flash floods from seasonal rain fall, resolving salt deposits to create a windling network of new underground caves, and causes the above landscape to collapse into giant sink holes.
If this phenomenon could be harnessed, Tunnels could now be "drill wash sculptured" in specific pre examined chosen places hopefully at the desired speed of Gary the Snail.

From the Mediterrainean Ocean the transferred autonomous floating supervised autonomous container swarms could move on on past Istanbul, Bosporen Strait, in order to enter the Danube River and Continue up through All of Europe to the Netherlands and on towards Scandinavia and Britain.
For the Americas we could Imagine similar projects taking place either through Chiapas South Mexico or by use of Lake Nicaragua on the border of Costa Rica. There is also a 40 km long low level mountain pass south of Cerro Los Hermanos in north Colombia leading towards Atrato River, with an exit into the Carribean Ocean.

What's the point with all of these Fantastic Ideas?
Why not just let Panama be The Panama and Suez be The Suez?
Panama and Suez works great for huge shipments of Crude Oil, Mining Ore, Potash, Coal, Ro-Ro machinery, Steel, Copper Iron, Grain, Merchandize in bulk, Big Business, etc
But what about the smaller refined manufactured quality, valuable fragile Items that could be anything from Medical or scientific sensitive equipment, Consumer Electronics, Textiles, Shaped foam boards, Rolls of Polymers, Rare earth Magnets, Electrical supplies, smaller machinery, carts and Yes: Solar panels and Batteries.

Israel has a lot to offer the world in terms of Educated Quality assurance and trader security.
If a product can pass through a highly alert Israeli security screening, then it must be safe for delivery and use everywhere else.

Shipments could be either packed and shipped from here or intercepted by hired quality control agents for stamping or disapproval.
Here we could set up global central trade interception points. Intermediate warehouses where Global trading partners could showcase
and introduce new materials and products in an eternally ongoing "CES" Expo. The petty disagreements we fight around here would soon be forgotten in a newly founded tech clondike of produced and distributed wealth.

A similar Traders Switch in and out Quality Assurance location could also be created in either Southern Mexico or North Colombia.
Imagine for a second All the drugs and cheap labour trafficking would suddenly disappear with the wind?

nicaragua.PNG( Super drink it all clean Lake Nicaragua might awaken high pitched protests if ever a trickle stream of autonomous PV electric container barges were to float into central distribution ware house points. )

Are the above presented futuristic fantasies something worth to ponder over for the average American DIY Off grid solar enthusiast?

The USA has fairly well established trade routes with China as is. Chinese battery merchants have even begun to set up warehouses in strategic
locations. Prices have dropped 90% in 10 years. The Shipping container sized solar powered take apart autonomous Smart Barge modules have yet to be thought up, designed, prototyped and tested (By whome?) Then we have our politicians... All of those that think that Giga Size is Beautiful. Those that imagine that everybody needs or wants to travel back and forth for absolutely what reason? in dark boring tunnels.

So:
Is this a general direction of global trade and shipping that seems viable? Maybe somebody here catch onto the Idea in order to make some kind of cool Video? And where is Elon?
 
danibzibur said:
First:
1. I apologize to everybody for how my brain is (mal?)functioning. Also the below presented explanation turned out to be quite a long rant.
It happened that I posted this new thread while I was "Into" this temporary trail of thought and then totally forgot about it. A few days later
somebody came up here and asked what I meant by lobbying. (Quite difficult to explain when you realize that new ideas need to confront with unprepared and already "over occupied" minds.
2. More than 9 out of 10 out of the very active DIY solar forum members wants independence as in "Leave me alone." and that is why we all want to get Off The Grid, and not have to talk or deal with any politics and / or turmoil.
Especially not International Shipping and delivery politics when the world seems to be at the brink of super power conflicts, and economic downfall.)
Sure, It's way cooler to just try to use your " Dollar voting" input to get things cooking in a promising direction.
Many here sets out with a "No pain No gain" Philosophy. I my self don't mind working very hard for some glorious
goal, but for me it is vital that
My own personal actions might impact to bring about change if possible in the form of trail blazing.
A warning to any unsuspecting DIY solar forum reader. The below presented Ideas is NoT a "Help me set this weird solar system up, please!"
It is too long, and kind of political while I am trying really hard not to choose sides or offend anybody. And Yes Will, I did read the COC. And It's totally O.K. if you choose to delete this thread or even just disallow this addition to my post.

Now:
The background reason why I started this tread is complicated. I suffer from a chaotic mind always flooded with impulses.

1. I happen to live in Israel ( = Close to the Dead Sea fault line. ) I've spent the last two CoViD years
pondering around where to set up base, and what to do with the few valueable years I have left in this somewhat crappy world.

Israel shares geopolitical characteristics with 3 other global places: Egypt, Panama, Chiapas in Mexico, Nort Colombia, and Nicaragua, in that these geological places act as dividers between continents and oceans. Many of us might remember recent News about a Container vessel named The "Ever given". As for now, my country Israel is rather off the beaten track, as seen from a globalized Shipping and Trading perspective.

2. China and some other countries have spent years exploring ways to open up new innovative shipping routes in order to reach remote and new destinations faster, and thus expand our Global economy.
3. The USA, Britain and other countries are at the same time striding to divide the world into two or three separate manufacturing and trading zones, possibly in defence to many years of lost Status Quo and jobs.
These approaches have collided and we are also now suddenly finding ourselves uncomfortably close to world super power conflict.
I'will not go into this more, even if it's interesting cause it is way O.T.

The two economical giants of the world tend to think in big boxes. Large Cooperations, Giga factories, Giant sea vessels. Huge Power stations, Long Bridges, Large Tunnels, Cars, Trucks and people travelling from all over towards all over, etc.

The futuristic vision I have so far:

I as an individual on the other hand like to think very small.
To me it seems much better if the heavy fragile (Solar, Battery, Motor) parcels I want to order from China, Indonesia, Mexico or India are NoT loaded together with several millions of other heavy but much less fragile and cheap parcels in a randomly chosen container on a Mega Monster Ship.
If there was such a thing as a 20-40ft container sized solar, sail kite, sea-salt powered autonomous "Star link" connected robotic water proof floating carrier, co-ordinate programmed to hit Israeli Red Sea coast with my specificly ordered ultra fragile heavy parcel after x number of weeks at sea in a secure and supervised full self driving swarming floating container convoy, I would be completely in awe!

If Elon Musk would take his New Boring Company and go over here for a while to drill say 4 x 50 mile hyper-loop slow slope water tunnels in loose dirt, we could have a steady trickle of halfway self propelled single (water proofed) float containers in a few years time coming in through vacuum freight tunnels from the Red Sea Via The Dead Sea over to the Mediterranean Ocean. I Imagine the idea of such a tunnel drill operation to be of interest from an autonomous Interplanetary Boring machine development perspective for this reason: The ground around the 400m below Sea level Dead Sea Rift has a high percentage of dried mineral salt content. It results is re-ocurring flash floods from seasonal rain fall, resolving salt deposits to create a windling network of new underground caves, and causes the above landscape to collapse into giant sink holes.
If this phenomenon could be harnessed, Tunnels could now be "drill wash sculptured" in specific pre examined chosen places hopefully at the desired speed of Gary the Snail.

From the Mediterrainean Ocean the transferred autonomous floating supervised autonomous container swarms could move on on past Istanbul, Bosporen Strait, in order to enter the Danube River and Continue up through All of Europe to the Netherlands and on towards Scandinavia and Britain.
For the Americas we could Imagine similar projects taking place either through Chiapas South Mexico or by use of Lake Nicaragua on the border of Costa Rica. There is also a 40 km long low level mountain pass south of Cerro Los Hermanos in north Colombia leading towards Atrato River, with an exit into the Carribean Ocean.

What's the point with all of these Fantastic Ideas?
Why not just let Panama be The Panama and Suez be The Suez?
Panama and Suez works great for huge shipments of Crude Oil, Mining Ore, Potash, Coal, Ro-Ro machinery, Steel, Copper Iron, Grain, Merchandize in bulk, Big Business, etc
But what about the smaller refined manufactured quality, valuable fragile Items that could be anything from Medical or scientific sensitive equipment, Consumer Electronics, Textiles, Shaped foam boards, Rolls of Polymers, Rare earth Magnets, Electrical supplies, smaller machinery, carts and Yes: Solar panels and Batteries.

Israel has a lot to offer the world in terms of Educated Quality assurance and trader security.
If a product can pass through a highly alert Israeli security screening, then it must be safe for delivery and use everywhere else.

Shipments could be either packed and shipped from here or intercepted by hired quality control agents for stamping or disapproval.
Here we could set up global central trade interception points. Intermediate warehouses where Global trading partners could showcase
and introduce new materials and products in an eternally ongoing "CES" Expo. The petty disagreements we fight around here would soon be forgotten in a newly founded tech clondike of produced and distributed wealth.

A similar Traders Switch in and out Quality Assurance location could also be created in either Southern Mexico or North Colombia.
Imagine for a second All the drugs and cheap labour trafficking would suddenly disappear with the wind?

View attachment 92562( Super drink it all clean Lake Nicaragua might awaken high pitched protests if ever a trickle stream of autonomous PV electric container barges were to float into central distribution ware house points. )

Are the above presented futuristic fantasies something worth to ponder over for the average American DIY Off grid solar enthusiast?

The USA has fairly well established trade routes with China as is. Chinese battery merchants have even begun to set up warehouses in strategic
locations. Prices have dropped 90% in 10 years. The Shipping container sized solar powered take apart autonomous Smart Barge modules have yet to be thought up, designed, prototyped and tested (By whome?) Then we have our politicians... All of those that think that Giga Size is Beautiful. Those that imagine that everybody needs or wants to travel back and forth for absolutely what reason? in dark boring tunnels.

So:
Is this a general direction of global trade and shipping that seems viable? Maybe somebody here catch onto the Idea in order to make some kind of cool Video? And where is Elon?
Click to expand...
He's on Twitter cancelling free speech...
 
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