Replacing Compound and Crossbow Bowstrings? Go to the source!

Q #1

Good Evening,

I recently dug my old compound bow out of my parents house. I won’t lie, it’s probably 18yrs old, has been laying dormant for 17yrs, and has never been re-srung. I don’t want to part with it, but I would really like to have it safetied and restrung, so that I can start using it again. I also have a crossbow that is in the same condition that I would like to have looked at. Hopefully, you are able to help me out. Thanks

Best,
Brandon

Reply #1

Hello Brandon!

What make and model is the compound bow?

Do you still have the compound bowstring and cables? Doesn't matter what their status is in terms of broken or damaged, it is more handy to know how long they are/etc in term of measurements by having the originals.

Is anything else wrong with the compound bow that I should be aware of? Eg. Damaged cams, missing pieces?

I don't normally deal with crossbows, but I might be able to help with that too. Same questions as above for the crossbow. I cannot guarantee I can help with that, but it won't hurt to discuss and see.

Photos are also potentially helpful if there are specific issues you are worried about.

Have a good weekend!

Sincerely,
Charles Moffat
ProjectGridless.ca



Q #2

Hey Charles,

Sorry for the delayed reply. The compound bow is a Nova, and is still strung, so I have the original string. I don’t believe there are any missing or damaged parts.

As for the crossbow, no worries if you can’t fix it. I more just looking to have it restrung. It needs a new sight, but I think that’s it. More pics attached.

Best,
Brandon

Reply #2

Hey Brandon!

So you just need to have both of them restrung? Nothing else wrong with them?

I am going to save you some money then. You don't need to be talking to me at all. Instead I recommend you making a visit to Ballistic Bowstrings in Angus.

Their place is about 50 minutes north of Vaughan. They used to be in Bradford which was closer, but they moved back in March. I recommend making an appointment.

Address: 8954 MCKINNON RD, ANGUS ON L0M 1B4
Phone: (905) 775-4416


They can set you up with new custom strings for both your compound and your crossbow.

I get all of my strings from them, so even if it was me installing the strings for you, it is really them who is making the strings. So you might as well cut out the middle man (me, in this case).

You can check out their website at: http://www.ballisticbowstrings.com/

It is possible to just order online and have delivered, but the last person I recommended to them went there in person and they strung his crossbow for him, and being there in person means they can double-check to make sure it fits properly. So going there in person has its advantages. You can read about his experience at: http://www.projectgridless.ca/2018/04/crossbow-bowstrings-and-how-to-replace.html

I do know two people local here in Toronto who also makes strings, but they only make bowstrings for longbows and recurves. They don't make any for compounds or crossbows.

Please let me know how it goes. It is handy to get feedback from people.

Have a nice day!

Sincerely,
Charles Moffat
ProjectGridless.ca

Get ready for higher electricity prices as Doug Ford prepares to sell Ontario Hydro

I don't usually talk about politics, but this bit really effects people who want to off grid and use solar power.

Hey Ontario, are you upset about your hydro bill?

Just wait.

Doug Ford is going to sell Ontario Hydro (and Ontario's stake in Toronto Hydro, Hydro One and other companies).

15 years ago Mike Harris left Ontario with a fiscal mess and had sold off major chunks of Ontario's electricity grid, namely by privatizing the sale and distribution of electricity - which only led to higher electricity rates.

That sell off combined with the murder of Dudley George and the Walkerton E-coli Massacre, led to Mike Harris's unpopularity and 15 years of the Liberal Party trying to fix his mess.

Unfortunately, they couldn't backpedal on the sale of parts of the electricity grid. That mess is here to stay.

So along comes Doug Ford and guess what he wants to do? Sell off and privatize Ontario Hydro - sell everything. Let the people of Ontario fend for themselves when higher electricity rates become the norm as electricity companies (mostly foreign investors) swoop in and buy the companies, and then resell the electricity to the people of Ontario at a higher rate.

So when is this coming?

Doug Ford has on numerous ocassions talked about how "great" it would be if Ontario sold off Ontario Hydro. He thinks it would result in cheaper rates for customers. Ha, what a lie that is.

He has not set a timeline however for when he intends to sell off Ontario Hydro and its related components.

What he is doing however is:

1. Ending the cap and trade policy for companies, putting a lot of companies in legal limbo after purchasing billions of dollars of cap and trade from other sources. Their cap and trades are now basically worthless.
2. Scrapping the GreenON rebates program for solar panels, which gave people a rebate if they bought solar panels, installed energy efficient windows, and other renovations for improving energy efficiency of their homes.
3. Scrapping parts of the Climate Change Action Plan which targeted greenhouse gas emissions, and by scrapping we mean completely gone with no plan to replace them. Basically it gives big corporations free reign to pollute the air as much as they want.

So this is things he has already done in the first weeks of being in power. And for the off grid community (and people who want to go off grid) the 2nd one which I highlighted in red is actually really important, because that is the one which effects people who want to go off grid. Those rebates for installing solar panels made them more affordable and allowed homeowners a degree of flexibility when it comes to choosing a larger solar panel system for their home.

The rebates were so important that they lowered the cost of solar power in Ontario, such that manufacturers could focus more on mass production - which created jobs in Ontario's solar industry for both manufacturing, for sales, and for installation.

With the rebates gone, that is going to hurt jobs in Ontario's solar industry and it is going to raise prices.

Coupled with selling off Ontario Hydro and rising electricity prices, the people of Ontario are going to be looking for alternatives.

The obvious alternative is to go off grid and produce your own electricity. But without the rebates, that option just got more expensive.

Thus people wanting to go off grid in Ontario now have to weigh more affordable options like:

• Wind turbines
• Hydro power
• Wave power
• Gasoline / Propane Generators

And those options don't work for many homes.

• Some locations are not windy enough - or are in a town or city which has bylaws prohibiting wind turbines in residential neighbourhoods.
• Hydro power requires the property to have access to moving water, such as a river or stream on their property.
• Wave power requires their property to be on the shore of a lake.
• Gasoline and propane generators can be noisy, which disturbs neighbours, and thus are likewise not allowed in urban or suburban areas.

Thus solar, quiet and nigh invisible solar, becomes the one option that homeowners can put almost anywhere that they have access to peak sunlight.

So cutting the rebates for solar ahead of a strategy for selling off Ontario Hydro, well that is just going to put Ontario in a position to be taken advantage of by whomever ends up buying the electricity grid.




ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Charles Moffat was, at one point, a door to door salesman for Direct Energy, a company which sold electricity and gas to homeowners. A job he loathed and later quit. He has since set himself a goal of someday going off the grid completely. Eventually.

Tesla Solar Roof Tiles

DISCLAIMER - Tesla has not paid me any money to mention or discuss (or criticize) their products. I just happen to like what they are making, although I do not like everything as you will notice if you continue reading.

So one of the innovations coming out of Tesla (not just an electric car automaker) is their new solar panels which feature textures and different colours, so that they look like regular roof tiles.

This way the whole roof of a house can be one giant interconnected solar panel (or solar roof as Tesla likes to call it). So for example the image below shows a home with a Tesla Solar Roof, not just on the main structure, but also over the garage on the right side and the solarium on the left side too.

To me this is a big innovation, because it means that solar panels don't have to be ugly things you stick on the roof of your home. They can simply BE the roof. The whole roof, and neighbours will never know you have solar panels unless they recognize your roof as being a Tesla product.

I especially like the textured and slate versions. Those do look pretty nice.

Tesla also has video on their site at https://www.tesla.com/en_CA/solarroof which shows the durability of the roof tiles, showing traditional roof tiles breaking under a 5 cm hailstone is traveling 160 km/h on impact, whereas the Tesla roof tile doesn't break. So that is a nice bonus.

What is Tesla's Goal?

Tesla got into the whole solar panel market because of their electric cars needing to be recharged. They realized that if they were going to be selling electric cars that had to be recharged, they needed to devise a battery system at people's homes where they could fill up the battery with solar power and then transfer that electricity to the electric car's battery system.

Thus the end goal is to make homes that are off grid, but also fuel the electric car at the same time.

So how expensive is the Tesla Solar Roof?

Well that is a very good question.

On Tesla's website you can pay $1330 CDN (refundable) to reserve your position to buy and install a solar roof on your home. Basically you are in a line of waiting customers, and you have to pay just to be in the lineup. They don't actually mention how much it costs, likely because it varies on the size of your roof.

But it would be nice if they listed the price of a 1 meter by 1 meter tile. Or a cost per square foot. Something like that.

So for example if the cost per square foot was $100, and your roof was 30 by 80 feet (2400 square feet) then you would know the cost was going to be $240,000.

It probably is not that super expensive however. $100 per square foot seems like a rather large amount to be paying.

Still it would be nice to know if the cost was in the $30,000 to $60,000 range, or if it was more in the $80,000 to $120,000 range. Or more.

Conclusions

I like the look of the product, but if they want to win customers over they really should be mentioning the price so that people can compare to other solar manufacturers and to wind turbines, hydro-power, etc.

But this is something I have noticed about solar companies. A lot of them don't like to list their prices online, which in my opinion deters people from wanting to buy from them in the first place.

If they want to eventually start selling their products to a mass market audience, they really need to start listing their prices in a manner so that customers can compare prices and consider their options.

Tesla is not the only company selling solar roof tiles or "solar shingles" or photovoltaic shingles. Whatever you want to call them, they have been on the market for years. Five of the biggest companies that make them are:

• Atlantis Energy Systems
• CertainTeed
• RGS Energy
• SolarCity
• SunTegra Solar Roof Systems

Tesla is basically the car and solar equivalent of an iPhone. They make things which are desirable, but overpriced when you consider that other companies make equivalent products for less cost but without the sexy name on the product.

Do I like what Tesla is doing by making solar power sexy? Yes.

But I also think they need to be more honest and open about their prices. The lack of transparency scares away skittish customers.