Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat THE BUGSLUGGER HAS ARRIVED

solar update: i got the 3 inch pvc concreted in the ground yesterday and this morning i installed the rack and the solar panels. instead of a piece of pipe that swings out over the pond to hold the slugger i will be using a 12 foot fishing pole.
i drilled a hole in the side of the pvc pipe where the pole will rest and hang over the pond and can be taken out if need be. i am still waiting on my controller because ups lost it as soon as i get it i can finish this project. here are a few pics.

Very, cool, Wicked. What controller are you getting? Can it be programmed to turn on an off at a predetermined time after sundown? One Co. I talked to said theirs didnt work too good with the amorphous type panels, but better with crystalline. That reminds me, I need to research the diff. I'm sure Meadowlark is following this intensely. He's chomping at the bit to set up for GG.

thanks, i bought the morningstar SunSaver 10L this controller was 70.00 and it has a 10 preset lighting functions so its very flexable. i got it from www.altersystems.com

As Burger says very cool....way cool! And I want one...heck more than one.

Coupled with Bz's observation that most bug activity happens before midnight, a unit that can operate 4 to 5 hours per day may be all that's needed.

Excellent job, Wicked, excellent!

i hope to at least get 4 hours out of it.the controller also has a low voltage disconnect so the battery wont be discharged to much.i have massive amount of bugs here i am also wanting to see if it will take down a june bug.

i got the fishing pole rigged up so i could see how its gonna do. it seems like its gonna work well i am gonna do a test run tonight and see how the slugger knocks the bugs down. i just need about 8-10 foot of water the slugger is sitting way off of the water. anyway here is a pic the hanging wires are only temporary i should have it all done shortly. toooooooooooooo many projects.

here is a night shot, it knocked plenty of bugs down

Which direction are you facing the solar panels? North? I kinda exspected them to be mounted more level but now I am thinking that they wont work as well unless they have more direct sun light, Is that why?

The panels should face south (in the Northern Hemisphere). The optimal tilt angle depends on your latitude. Books and articles on solar energy often give the advice that the tilt should be equal to your latitude, plus 15 degrees in winter, or minus 15 degrees in summer.

If you wanna get more technical and precise, "south" from your compass should be adjusted for the magnetic declination. This corrects for the difference between solar south and magnetic south. In the U.S. this adjustment can be as much as 15 degrees.

See http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/geomag/declination.shtml

Frank

Awesome post Frank, I use the easy way...wait until 2, point them right at it !

they are facing south. i have them on the same angle as the solar panels for my fish feeder and gate opener and they were preset on that angle.

wickidinhere,

A friend has a couple of bug sluggers. Don't know what brand. He said they have nylon monofilament strings. He said they weren't enough medicine for larger insects like june bugs. He also said the string eventually broke in the center. He replaced the nylon monofilament with 1/16" music wire, and the problems were solved.

bodad,
music wire now thats a good idea i will have to try that when the line needs to be replaced.. i dont think mine will will do any damage to a june bug either. you got any pics of your pond?

Here's a pic at ~25% done. It's ~50% done right now.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/bobad/Picture007.jpg

that looks nice

Thank you.

Need a few wheelbarrows of free dirt? Like 25000 of them?

sorry i dont need any i had plenty out of my pond hehehe. is it clay?

well still not finished with the solar install. UPS has lost my controller so there is no telling when it will show up hopefully soon so i can give a report on how long this system i put together will run the slugger.

I received my BoJo fishlight yesterday and installed it in about 30 minutes. Works perfectly. Man is it bright!! Its like having a UFO in the yard. haha It was drawing bugs in almost as soon as it kicked on. Within the first 40 minutes I saw a SMB hit a small minnow (BG I think) that was around the light. I will take pictures when I get my camera working and give a better report after the July 4th weekend.

NEDOC, where'd you get the BoJo?

http://www.bo-jofishlight.com/

BTW, after the 2nd night of working, I witnessed nearly a dozen fish at a time around the light. SMB, LMB and BG as well as one catfish. The LMB was nearly 2.5 lbs and eating bugs. It is impressive how these lights work. I can't wait to report back in about a week after the fish get used to it and we get more bugs out.

NEDOC great report. I think you will see a lot of LMB/SMB eating BG/minnows that reflect light at night. We see this a lot where light is placed on bait fish at night. You should see what schooling LMB do to a group of TFS that have a light shined on them. That is why I suggested placing thick brush (like xmas trees) around the light area. Without some protection the BG will become reluctant to use the lighted area.

I finally got some time to go take pictures.
First is a picture of the unit from the bottom. I used a dual bulb kitchen lite fixture that is hung up under a stainless salad bowl. The motor is mounted in the center via the mounting bolts that stick out of both ends of the motor. The fan shroud is nothing more than 6" heat duct with a metal bracket that allows it to be fastened to the motor mounting bolts on the shaft side of the motor. Motor, fan blade, and shaft arbor are from Grainger. I had to drill a hole through the arbor to put the string through.

The next picture shows the unit from the side.

The next pic shows the unit from the top. The bolts sticking out of the bowl are go right through the light fixture housing to hold it into the bowl.

The last picture shows how I hang it from my dock on a swinging boom.

Some of the features of this unit are that it is bright, it has about a 16" whacker, and the fan blowing downward tends to blow any dead bugs around on the surface which makes them look alive. If anyone wants Grainger part numbers to make one I can dig them up.

Wow! bz that is amazing. I wish I had that kind of talent.

On a side note, my SMB are hitting ANYTHING that moves on the surface when the light is on. The more noise it makes the better. The other night we were consuming some Hamms and spilled some in the water and one SMB jumped completely out of the water to hit the bubbles. Of course, it is Hamms, so who wouldn't

what rpm do you suppose the fan motor is turning? It kinda looks like a bathroom exhaust fan or maybe a range hood fan. I like the looks of that and I think I want to get one ready for my pond