Aussie Growers Thread

dan nash

Member
so on the topic of heat stress then, if i was to combat this without an air con in a north qld heat whats the best way? i have a fan blowin directly onto them, but was thinkin maybe bottles of frozen water in same room also? just a thought
 

kmoo

Well-Known Member
whoa knickers, that's quite the investment lol i just dont have that for that at the moment


ice buckets in front of fans will cool them but the upkeep would just get ridiculous. even tho knickers will desperately disagree lol my 90 dollar cooler does the trick, just gotta use really cold water eh
 

XxNinjaxX

Well-Known Member
l live in a 2 bedroom home but l was running 8 x 1000 wat so probably power also the cops told me all power is going digital soon so they can track down growers so much easier soon gunna have 2 start jumping the power
8000W an hr X 18h = 144,000W a day, that wouldv had the cops at ur door within a week..
8000W an hr X 12h = 96,000W a day is still enough to get u flagged as a high consumption user n have u checked up on..

This is a pretty tall tale - got any eye candy to accompany them?
 

DarkCursade

Active Member
Yum Candy LOL, I know I have asked this before, but what do you guys reckon is a safe amount of power to use???

Like ie to use a alot of power but not raise any of these flags your are mentioning Ninja???:bigjoint:
 

streetlegal

Well-Known Member
Yum Candy LOL, I know I have asked this before, but what do you guys reckon is a safe amount of power to use???

Like ie to use a alot of power but not raise any of these flags your are mentioning Ninja???:bigjoint:
well its all speculation isnt it darkcurs.. youve used too much when u hear that knock at ur door at 530 in the morning.. if ur trying to grow a special amount then u use as much as u can without being caught, spend ur time looking out your kitchen window until the paranoia goes away and ur sure that uve gone unoticed..
i reckon its like the more you use the closer u get to being pinched..
Someone should go ahead and add 1000watter every 3months until they get a knock at the door then we could actually get an idea of how much it takes
 

masterd

Well-Known Member
its all dependant on your house size, how many people live in it, and your regular bills....

all this info is taken into account.....


so a 6 bedroom house with 6 adults sharing accomadation with a big bill wont get looked at but if you get the same bill at a 3 bedroom house with one name on the lease, they will look into it...

at the same time your less likely to be noticed if your usage doesnt change...

say if u move into a house and you dont use much power(fridge tv etc) and then hook up 4KW worth of lighting someone is going to notice that jump

but if you keep the power usage high before you grow.... or you just start as soon as you move in, your less likely to set off a flag.....



and yeah... 8kw worth of lighting..... that is definately going to get noticed.... i would also like to see some proof as this does seem like a good "story"... no offence if its not... but if you believe what someone you dont even know on the internet says with nothing to back it up.... your a fool....
 

streetlegal

Well-Known Member
its all dependant on your house size, how many people live in it, and your regular bills....

all this info is taken into account.....


so a 6 bedroom house with 6 adults sharing accomadation with a big bill wont get looked at but if you get the same bill at a 3 bedroom house with one name on the lease, they will look into it...
who is they, the police?, and how do they know anything about the details of ur lease, for eg, u got a high bill and the jacks are informed, so they go to ur R/E and ask to see the lease and see that theres 6 ppl living there so they then just let it go?
at the same time your less likely to be noticed if your usage doesnt change...

say if u move into a house and you dont use much power(fridge tv etc) and then hook up 4KW worth of lighting someone is going to notice that jump

but if you keep the power usage high before you grow.... or you just start as soon as you move in, your less likely to set off a flag.....
this is another percuiliar belief among peeps, one that ive practiced personally more then once, keeping the power usage high even wen ur not growing.. which i find is perplexing.. like wen u think about it, the energy ppl are gonna be like "WOAH look at this motherfuckers elec use Barry..hmm not to worry Harry looking over his records hes been using a shitload since hes moved in" everyones power raises in the summer, everyones power raises in the winter,,theres just too many variables for power to be a major blackspot unless u use ENOUGH to get caught.
 

masterd

Well-Known Member
dude you dont have to believe it.... but its how it works....

my step sisters husband WAS one of the main dudes in the WA drug squad.... ive asked him about power monitoring.... when a flag comes up they send the details to the cops.... the details are then CONSIDERED.... which they then check the lease of the house..... and look at the past power consumption.... if its extremely high they will just raid you.....


for the smaller power consumers with tell tale signs(big jumps of power for 2 months at 12 hours a day at the EXACT same time) they also use the power info to get warrents for raids(when they cant actually get hard evidence against someone)


like i said you dont have to believe this but this is what he said to me.... and i have no reason not to believe him....
 

streetlegal

Well-Known Member
dude you dont have to believe it.... but its how it works....

my step sisters husband WAS one of the main dudes in the WA drug squad.... ive asked him about power monitoring.... when a flag comes up they send the details to the cops.... the details are then CONSIDERED.... which they then check the lease of the house..... and look at the past power consumption.... if its extremely high they will just raid you.....


for the smaller power consumers with tell tale signs(big jumps of power for 2 months at 12 hours a day at the EXACT same time) they also use the power info to get warrents for raids(when they cant actually get hard evidence against someone)


like i said you dont have to believe this but this is what he said to me.... and i have no reason not to believe him....
sry if came across like i was calling bullshit md, it was not intended like that, it was more like thinking out loud.. and questions, one of which u answered like if u got high elec then cops will check ur lease with R/E and find out how many ppl are on it and then use that..
i wonder how they find out who ur R/E is? ring around i spose
 

masterd

Well-Known Member
i think he said they actually just ring the bond board, because its like an national databank... but i could be mistaken there...
 

masterd

Well-Known Member
yeah it would take down suspision a little id say... but like i said about the smaller scale growers, most of this info is used after they have heavy suspision your growing but cant get a warrent....


also this info i got is about 4 years old and was from a WA source... so things could have changed in the way they handle the shit now...
 

Knickers

Well-Known Member
I used to audit the Victorian power companies and the information is readily available that most people do not have electronic meters and that their power usage is only
recorded when the power is read. Once they install the new meter which is rolling out now they will
be able to read your usage almost constantly.

Of course cops use this info and would do background checks before being able to get a warrant. A strong wall heater uses 2400W which is 10 amps, and most circuit breakers are 20 amps max. If you're pulling more than 20 amps (4800W) above the average then I'd say it would stand out as it would be a fair effort to use that much power
otherwise.
 

XxNinjaxX

Well-Known Member
Once they install the new meter which is rolling out now they will
be able to read your usage almost constantly.
So wat do u kno about these new meters? R they the ultimate nemisis of the home grower, or r they meant to catch grow-houses!
I've heard their smart, e.g if some1 jumps the power then more neutral energy flows to the meter n they can pick up on it..
I'm tipping that if more growers r getting busted, electricity prices r on the rise & commercial growers actually have 2 pay for their electricty, then the price of Weed is going 2b higher than the people smoking it.. It will b a Sad day indeed :finger:
 

streetlegal

Well-Known Member
they rkn electricty prices are going to go up about 60 - 100% over the next year
this article isnt very recent..


Smart meters could become a $2 billion industry over the next few years, says Catherine Zoi, executive director of meter maker Bayard Source: News Limited picture
NSW power utility Energy Australia is planning to test a new breed of advanced electricity meter with 10,000 customers as it moves to install a half-million so-called smart meters over the next two years.

The company expects to spend about $100 million on smart meter systems up to the end of the current electricity pricing regulation period, in 2009.

The new meters will enable the company to send data back and forth between the meter and its own systems, and possibly pave the way for the introduction of plug-and-play smart appliances that can be remotely switched off during peak demand periods to minimise power use.

To transmit the data, the advanced metering trial will also test several communications systems, including cellular wireless and broadband over powerline.

In contrast to the century-old mechanical meters, smart meters record not only the amount of electricity used, but also the time at which it is used, opening the door for time-of-use pricing that varies pricing across peak and non-peak periods in a way similar to long-distance phone charges.

"The fact that we're able to get 30-minute interval data means customers will be able to have tailor-made pricing," Energy Australia managing director George Maltabarow said.

"It will revolutionise our ability to service our customers."

By establishing a data link with the meter, the company will eventually be able to make service changes as customers ask for them. "We'll be able to do a lot of on-demand services," Mr Maltabarow said.

Energy Australia has 260,000 customers using smart meters at present, with 50,000 customers on time-of-use tariff plans.

However, current smart meters lack the communications functions that will feature in the new units being trialled.

The advanced meter trial will commence at the end of this year, with 10,000 users scheduled to be testing the new meters by the end of the current financial year.

Energy Australia's plans add to a growing list of smart meter projects around the country, with utilities such as Country Energy being among the early adopters.

Over the past few years, the issue has been taken up by the Council of Australian Governments as part of plans for a national retail energy market.

A letter from Prime Minister John Howard to the council last week again pushed development of the technology. Also last week, Victorian Deputy Premier John Thwaites announced that households and small businesses in the state would receive smart meters from 2008 in a project reportedly worth $730 million.

A 1000-user trial for the project is scheduled to take place at the end of the year.

Cost savings are used to sell the technology to the electricity-using public, and Energy Australia says its own studies show cost savings of 10 per cent to 30 per cent, but for the power utilities, the main driver of smart meters is to improve demand management, smoothing out peaks and reducing the need for expensive infrastructure such as power stations.

By cutting peak demand, smart meters are also expected to be useful in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

According to Energy Australia, smart meter technology shifts about 5 per cent of peak demand to other times.

Power companies say the smart meters are as much about shaping consumer behaviour as they are about new technology.

Energy Australia is the middle of a strategic pricing study, in which 1300 users are using smart meters with an inbuilt display.

The test is to work with "peak dynamic pricing events" that bump normal charges of about 8c to 9c per KW/h to up to $2 per KW/h for a few hours.

There are 12 such pricing events scheduled over the course of the trial, with pricing spikes timed to coincide with predicted real demand peaks.

Users are given up to 24 hours notice of an impending price spike, and can select notification methods including phone calls, SMS and email.

The trial began in March and is scheduled to run for two years. The meters also provide a vital window on customer usage patterns. "Ninety per cent of the benefit comes from the meter's ability to measure and record things," Mr Maltabarow said.

Data collected by the new breed of meters can be used to examine customer use characteristics and tailor services and tariffs accordingly, executive director of meter manufacturer Bayard Catherine Zoi said.

"In the competitive retail market, they can look at which customers they really want to go after," she said.

Utilities can also use the system to control power-hungry devices such as air-conditioners and pool filters, switching them on and off to cut usage in peak price periods, paying consumers incentives for consenting to hand over control.

"That's certainly in widespread use in lots of states in America, with lots of happy customers," she said.

Smart meters with communications built in also make remote meter reading possible, as well as other network monitoring functions, she said.

Australia-wide, smart meters were likely to become a $2 billion industry over the next few years, but savings of up to $3 billion could be realised by the energy industry, Ms Zoi said.

In Queensland, the Department of Energy has been talking to both Energex and Ergon Energy about a targeted introduction of smart meters.

Energex has between 20,000 and 30,000 smart meters installed at customer sites across two Brisbane suburbs as part of a trial, but the use of the technology in the state is still being evaluated.

Western Australia has decided that all new domestic-grade power supplies must use smart meters capable of time-of-use pricing, although these would continue to be manually read, Western Power metering services manager Andrew Wood said.

"We will have 20 per cent of our single-phase meters changed by 2008. This will be equivalent to about 100,000 customers," Mr Wood said

I think if u wanna be growing smoko until ur old and grey then start putting ur pennys away now and buy a property and build a greenhouse..
 

Knickers

Well-Known Member
In general smart meters are good as there's currently no incentive to delay power use to off peak times for example, when the electricity costs the most. Electricity is sold like shares, the generators put their power on the market where the wholesale electricity companies (not retail co.- this is who customers deal with) bid for power based on consumer demand and the price is set at the highest "bid" for a period then the process is repeated.

For growers it is only bad news. We can only hope it encourages innovation and effeciency on the high powered lighting market :/
 

ADLpotter

Active Member
my electricty bill already charges me for peak periods but I'm pretty sure we've got a regular meter... does this mean the electricity company is screwing me?
 
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