 |
02/06/09, 07:52 PM
|
 |
|
|
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Carthage, Texas
Posts: 12,261
|
|
|
Bad Bad Bad Tractor Supply Store!!!
Stopped by the local TS this afternoon to pick up some vet meds. Just 20' away from the vaccine cooler is where the solar panels and wind gennies sit, like red headed stepchilds... nobody wants these poor puppies... back in the fall, they actually raised the prices on them by 20$ each. Well, lo and behold, I go and look at them today, and they have clearance tags on them... the 80 watt solar panel (by Sharp) was half price. [at home, I checked, and the price is the same as online vendors, so not much of a deal]. The wind genny, an Air-X 400 watt was marked down to $315.... I knew it was a steal, and verified the fact when I got home... the cheapest online I could find was $599.
My dilemma.... do I wait till Monday when I'll be in town again, or do I make a special trip tomorrow? The poor thing has been sitting there a full two years... without anyone showing much interest....... I don't have a dying need for it right now at this instant, but it is on my master list of things to buy before society collapses. It would be a wonderful addition to my off grid power supply.
The bad old TS is going to take some of my hard earned money away from me... if they'd've just kept that puppy at the regular price, my bank account would grow instead of shrinking...  I guess my "list" is also responsible...
__________________
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Seneca
Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival. W. Edwards Deming
|
02/06/09, 08:01 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Indiana, USA
Posts: 12,673
|
|
|
Contact the store manager when you are there, mention that these items have been there a while, you are interested, but then offer him/her even less than the current price.
They will probably take your offer, as they want to clear these itmes out. If they won't budge (which is not likely), you will still get a good deal.
Good luck.
|
02/06/09, 08:07 PM
|
 |
Miniature Horse lover
|
|
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: West Central WI.
Posts: 21,249
|
|
|
400 Watts~! wow what a drop in the bucket for wattage that is. Heck my TV alone takes 210 Watts~! Say nothing for the stereo receiver, and the satellite receiver that are also on~! My 3 heated water buckets for my critters are close to 1,000 watts combined. 400 watts If they were free wouldn't do me any good.
|
02/06/09, 08:24 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,905
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by texican
My dilemma.... do I wait till Monday when I'll be in town again, or do I make a special trip tomorrow? ... I don't have a dying need for it right now at this instant, but it is on my master list of things to buy before society collapses.
|
well, what's the chance of society collapsing before monday? I'd say take no chances and make special trip tomorrow!
--sgl
|
02/06/09, 08:58 PM
|
 |
Failure is not an option.
|
|
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 2,623
|
|
|
Texican,
I heard on PBS radio that some new technology was going to result in a big price drop for panels later this year. I'd PM Solar Gary first for his advice or search Google.
RF
__________________
It's not good enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required. - Winston Churchill
|
02/06/09, 09:04 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 263
|
|
I'm with plowjockey,
I'd go on in there and do some haggling. There is always 10% wiggle room on clearance stuff
If you know you are going to buy one I would not wait. There have been more times I have regretted not buying something that I could have got a deal on...then times I have bought something and later regretted it.....
|
02/06/09, 09:06 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Central Indiana
Posts: 531
|
|
|
Wow, nice find.
So, umm...., where exactly did you say this store was at?
|
02/06/09, 09:12 PM
|
 |
Master Of My Domain
|
|
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 7,220
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by arabian knight
400 Watts~! wow what a drop in the bucket for wattage that is. Heck my TV alone takes 210 Watts~! Say nothing for the stereo receiver, and the satellite receiver that are also on~! My 3 heated water buckets for my critters are close to 1,000 watts combined. 400 watts If they were free wouldn't do me any good.
|
you could do without all of that stuff if the grid power went down. i think the idea is to have power available for a deep freeze or other important stuff.
__________________
this message has probably been edited to correct typos, spelling errors and to improve grammar... 
"All that is gold does not glitter..."
|
02/06/09, 09:16 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 7,883
|
|
|
One advantage of getting the Sharp PV is you can eyeball it and make sure it is OK.
And take it home with out shipping costs from "somewhere" with the chance of damage . . . .go for it.
But leave that other piece of junk where it is.
I had one years ago . . . I learned the hard way.
It was a screamer . . . . .when the wind blew up it sounded like a Piper Cub trying to take off.
You wont get that 400watts untill you have at least 28 mph winds.
If you have 12 mph winds you will get a dinky amount of power.
Can you tell that myself and all the other wind turbine dealers/installers that I know have a Very low opinion of the air x. . . . .??
Put that $$$ towards a real turbine...........
Last edited by Jim-mi; 02/06/09 at 09:19 PM.
|
02/06/09, 10:16 PM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Carthage, Texas
Posts: 12,261
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by arabian knight
400 Watts~! wow what a drop in the bucket for wattage that is. Heck my TV alone takes 210 Watts~! Say nothing for the stereo receiver, and the satellite receiver that are also on~! My 3 heated water buckets for my critters are close to 1,000 watts combined. 400 watts If they were free wouldn't do me any good.
|
My new home site is up on the hill, overlooking my lake... there's pretty much always a good breeze up there. I already have about 500 (or is it 600, I can't remember, it's been a while since I had to depend on it) watts of solar panels... Solar panels are great, but they need sun, to charge the batteries. The wind genny will run anytime, day or night, if there's wind, and will charge the batteries. 24/7... charging batteries. When you need to turn on the sat and telly, you turn it on with a power strip, and only use power when you need it.
I have unlimited free natural gas, so resistive loading for heat isn't going to happen with electricity.
Jim-mi.... hadn't thought about the shipping charges!!! Doh!
What I'd really like is a nice fuel cell set up! not holding my breath though...
__________________
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Seneca
Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival. W. Edwards Deming
|
02/06/09, 10:55 PM
|
|
Registered User
|
|
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: My Peterbuilt is my home away from home
Posts: 5
|
|
texican, most treasures that I come across have been collecting dust on the sale shelf for quite awhile prior to my spotting it. The moment I see it, someone else usually grabs it. If your luck is no better than mine, I say get it quick!
Jon
Windshieldinmyface@gmail.com
|
02/07/09, 04:27 AM
|
 |
|
|
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Missouri (MIZZ U RAH)Ozarks
Posts: 1,465
|
|
|
If it was me.......I would go buy it ASAP. When I have my eye on something for a while waiting for the price to drop or whatever, and decide to go ahead and get it, somone usually beats me to it.
On another note, since you have free unlimited Natural Gas, why not purchase a generator that runs on Natural Gas ?
|
02/07/09, 06:46 AM
|
 |
More dharma, less drama.
|
|
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Texas Coastal Bend/S. Missouri
Posts: 30,490
|
|
Go get it. Today. 
__________________
Alice
* * *
"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus
|
02/07/09, 10:09 AM
|
|
|
|
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Carthage, Texas
Posts: 12,261
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by WolfWalksSoftly
If it was me.......I would go buy it ASAP. When I have my eye on something for a while waiting for the price to drop or whatever, and decide to go ahead and get it, somone usually beats me to it.
On another note, since you have free unlimited Natural Gas, why not purchase a generator that runs on Natural Gas ?
|
I try and never put all my eggs in one basket.... I like diversity. I have natural gas for heat, hot water, cooking, and lights. I also have propane backup for lights and cooking. I have a wood stove for heat, and in emergencies, cooking. I have coleman stoves and lanterns. Oil lamps. Propane lamps. Get the picture? If any one of my power sources (and did I mention I have solar panels for electricity already, And I'm on the electric grid? ) goes down, I have several backups. [if it weren't for wasting water, I'd have a micro-hydro turbine installed... or I could use it for the periods of the year when my lake is running over the spillway]
If I do get a generator, it'd definitely be a large one ~20K, and run on natural gas. I'd want one designed for long term usage, not one of the intermittent usage ones...
__________________
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Seneca
Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival. W. Edwards Deming
|
| Thread Tools |
|
|
| Rate This Thread |
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:08 AM.
|
|
