I found it amusing when we visited amish country in Indiana. We went to their modern type general store that has gas lights and sunpipes and skylights. So far so good. Then, all around the perimeter of the store are modern refrigerator cases. What runs them??? A/C power made from inverters off a bank of about 100 car batteries being charged by the thermoking reefer unit out on the semi trailer. I goes out to look. Upon this thermoking unit are 6, Yes count them SIX, high output General motors style alternators to charge this bank of batteries. A huge 500 gallon diesel tank stands near by to feed this fuel monster. Now how is that being disconnected from society??? It's rediculous to burn all that diesel when all he'd have to do it hook up to the electricty.
However, a permanent-magnet generator will charge a completely dead battery. An alternator will not.
I don't think operating RPM is a big issue; as the top speed of a horse and buggy is not that great. simply gear the alternator to be running at its optimal RPM at "cruising speed."
It seems like LED and a solarpanel is a great solution,and in these days when environmental problems is discussed worldwide,it would definitely be a positive solution for that too. No emissions and also it will not need much maintenance so it would be a great solution. Solarpanels has also been improved and still are,next generation solarpanels will be much more efficient then todays. What I've heard they work really fine. Regards
skrev i meddelandet news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...
I would be looking to use LED style lights instead and a bicycle generator with maybe a solar panel too. I also think that using automotive stuff would weight too much and have too much drag. Most modern alternators create way too much current for just lights anyway. Even an older 40A alternator wouldn't be as good as say going to Nashbar's or Performance's website and using bicycle stuff instead. Maybe if these Amish had electrical rear defoggers that they were using then you might be able to justify something like an automotive alternator.
To the person who said something about why are they even using electricity in the first place, they aren't always necessarily against it. It's more of a self sufficiency type of thing (meaning that in some Amish communities it's OK to use electricity for certain things as long as you generate it yourself).
Check out this buggy with amber flashers on front and rear. * Buggy battery safety is important :)
Ohio State University Fact Sheet Buggy Lighting and Marking Recommendations
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The following fact sheets are available from Ohio State University Extension:
Driving Safely in Amish Country, AEX 596 Buying the Right Battery for Your Buggy, AEX 596.1 Buggy Battery Safety, AEX 596.2 Buggy Highway Safety Tips for You and Your Family, AEX 596.3 Buggy Lighting and Marking Recommendations, AEX 596.4 Pedestrian Safety in Amish Country,AEX 596.5 Bicycle Safety in Amish Country,AEX 596.6 Boosting Visibility of Ag Equipment, AEX 598 Additional Marking of Horse Drawn Vehicles = Additional Safety, AEX
Check out this buggy with amber flashers on front and rear. * Buggy battery safety is important :)
Ohio State University Fact Sheet Buggy Lighting and Marking Recommendations
formatting link
The following fact sheets are available from Ohio State University Extension:
Driving Safely in Amish Country, AEX 596 Buying the Right Battery for Your Buggy, AEX 596.1 Buggy Battery Safety, AEX 596.2 Buggy Highway Safety Tips for You and Your Family, AEX 596.3 Buggy Lighting and Marking Recommendations, AEX 596.4 Pedestrian Safety in Amish Country,AEX 596.5 Bicycle Safety in Amish Country,AEX 596.6 Boosting Visibility of Ag Equipment, AEX 598 Additional Marking of Horse Drawn Vehicles = Additional Safety, AEX
Check out this buggy with amber flashers on front and rear. * Buggy battery safety is important :)
Ohio State University Fact Sheet Buggy Lighting and Marking Recommendations
formatting link
The following fact sheets are available from Ohio State University Extension:
Driving Safely in Amish Country, AEX 596 Buying the Right Battery for Your Buggy, AEX 596.1 Buggy Battery Safety, AEX 596.2 Buggy Highway Safety Tips for You and Your Family, AEX 596.3 Buggy Lighting and Marking Recommendations, AEX 596.4 Pedestrian Safety in Amish Country,AEX 596.5 Bicycle Safety in Amish Country,AEX 596.6 Boosting Visibility of Ag Equipment, AEX 598 Additional Marking of Horse Drawn Vehicles = Additional Safety, AEX
Nobody said it has to be entirely logical. Or at least to us.
Most religions have a number of things in them that seem more than a trifle inconsistent or counter-productive or varies in surprising ways from one place to another. Or at least to outsiders who don't understand what the point of the whole thing is.
This will demystify it considerably:
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There are many things to admire in their way of life. We could all do with a little less advertising for example. I just don't like some of the other facets...
Given how long their trips take, and mostly during the day at that where lighting isn't necessary, it's probably not an issue.
Someone would have to do some simple calculations with specs on candidate components to figure out how much daylight they'd need.
Can't be too impractical, otherwise, solar lights wouldn't work - usually capable of 8 hours or so using only a square inch or two of collector and a single AA battery. Scale it up to a 4x4 or larger collector, and reasonably well chosen LED lights, I'm sure it'd work quite well. Except after long period of truly abysmal weather.
Check out this buggy with amber flashers on front and rear. * Buggy battery safety is important :)
Ohio State University Fact Sheet Buggy Lighting and Marking Recommendations
formatting link
The following fact sheets are available from Ohio State University Extension:
Driving Safely in Amish Country, AEX 596 Buying the Right Battery for Your Buggy, AEX 596.1 Buggy Battery Safety, AEX 596.2 Buggy Highway Safety Tips for You and Your Family, AEX 596.3 Buggy Lighting and Marking Recommendations, AEX 596.4 Pedestrian Safety in Amish Country,AEX 596.5 Bicycle Safety in Amish Country,AEX 596.6 Boosting Visibility of Ag Equipment, AEX 598 Additional Marking of Horse Drawn Vehicles = Additional Safety, AEX
Yeah, but don't overlook the really negative things about them. It's not at all pretty and quaint. It's a cult. Women and children are "property" and the accepted way to communicate with them is to beat them. Nice.
How about getting them saved? Then they would be free to drive a car instead of being in stupid bondage. Many Amish own and drive vehicles. Driving a buggy instead of a car will not get them to heaven and driving a car will not send them to hell.
You are pretty much correct about the more modern Amish. My neighbors do have an outdoor phone in a small shed and are connected to an answering service. Some of them have small electric generators and will power up a standard trouble light when they shoe their horses after dark. Their local sawmill is a huge diesel powered engine with shafts and pulleys all over the place to power different devices. They can drive a tractor, but not own one. They can not drive a car, but can ride in them, and often do. I give them rides quite often. I charge their batteries too. They are nice people. I find their "rules" a little strange at times, but I accept them for what they are. For example, they can not be hooked to the "grid" (electric service), but they can use most anything electric if it connects to a generator. My neighbor even has an electric razor and shaves in the barn when his generator is running, which is used to run an air compressor connected to a 500gallon LP tank. That air is used to pull water from their community well. They have indoor plumbing, but only cold water. They have to heat it on an outdoor wood burner, or on their kitchen wood stove. They use gasoline or LP for their generator or compressor, but can not have an LP cook stove or furnace. They can smoke cigars, but not cigarettes.
You get the picture......
Like I said, they are nice people, but do things in strange ways. Yet, who am I to say. At least they dont have an electric bill, and the whole community shares the phone bill, and that is a good thing.
Therefore, an alternator or solar panels would be acceptable in THIS community, but not others.
I enjoy their company and they love to come over and watch movies with me. Of course a few of their younger kids have found ways to hide portable DVD players which they power off their 12V battery until dad finds out why the battery is dead......
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