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151. Posted: 10 Aug 2015 11:47 - Off-Grid Living / How can I get exactly 12v, when batt's swing 11 - 15v?
high voltage has some great advantages for sure. you know an mppt solar controller will convert your 24/48 to 12 with only a tiny loss. I have one of my solar arrays at 96v going to a 12v battery bank. Ya, I lose 4% but i'm way over...
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152. Posted: 10 Aug 2015 07:04 - Off-Grid Living / How can I get exactly 12v, when batt's swing 11 - 15v?
thanks creeky Shame 24 and 48v solar panels of 200 watts or better are the best value. I guess its economy of scale. Most peeps are probably using inverter systems for standard appliances. A common reas...
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153. Posted: 9 Aug 2015 07:39 - Off-Grid Living / My hat's off to my little Honda genny.
Here's the post I edited: If I might quibble. A genny is a good #2 anyway. er. wait a minute. My 1kw of solar panels creates free power every day. For the past four plus years. They cost $2k (800 today?). and nothing since then. So if I take your cost at 4.3 years of g...
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154. Posted: 6 Aug 2015 09:17 - Off-Grid Living / How can I get exactly 12v, when batt's swing 11 - 15v?
Von. Have a look at some of the older solar posts. It's been recommended here for years that 24 and 48v solar panels of 200 watts or better are the best value. Also lithium batteries a...
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155. Posted: 5 Aug 2015 23:23 - Off-Grid Living / How can I get exactly 12v, when batt's swing 11 - 15v?
...y the best way to go, easy to use a car laptop converter on.Its the providers 12v modem that's the real concern. I have seen new s. panels available as 24v & half the price per watt as 12v solar p. Not sure why? I do need to add a lot more panels, kinda holding out for Eon's Musk new batteries, looks like they will be a huge improvement...
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156. Posted: 5 Aug 2015 17:43 - Off-Grid Living / Tiny Solar
... run a small dorm fridge, fan, and lights. Our batteries fully charged only 2 days and then we had to let the sun charge them up again for a day or 2. I have a 30AMP fuse attached to the positive side coming from the solar panel to the battery. My brother in law had the same set up and recently added a second panel and was able to continue using the f...
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157. Posted: 2 Aug 2015 17:21 - Off-Grid Living / Solar led floodlights; any good recommendations?
Here is an option if you can tie into your solar system instead of independent lights. http://smile.amazon.com/GLW-White-Waterproof-Outdoor-Lights/dp/B008XZAQDU/ref=sr_1_1? ie=UTF8&qid=1438549544&sr=8-1&keywords=12v+...
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158. Posted: 2 Aug 2015 10:34 - Off-Grid Living / Planned changes for upcoming fall winter?
...ll be installing that and then reconnecting and adding new branches. With the help of several on this forum (thanks, again, guys) I have the courage to proceed. I'm also planning to meet with a solar installer to consult about upgrading my almost 20 year old system. I'm not going nearly to the extent that you have, creeky, but I think I could use newer equipment and a batter...
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159. Posted: 30 Jul 2015 11:54 - Off-Grid Living / Solar Station
Yup. you can build that for under 4k. canadian. roughly speaking: 600w solar = 4-600? (less if you find a deal) 1 kw inverter = 250 (I would up quality this and spend more like 750, quality charger/inverter) batteries = 1200? (again, I would up quality/size/l...
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160. Posted: 29 Jul 2015 18:38 - Off-Grid Living / passive cooling: groingo, creeky is three sheets to the wind
The best way to reduce heat buildup in a cabin is to design for it in the first place. When designing my cabin I used SketchUp to eliminate any solar gain during the warmest 6 months of the year. SketchUp has a feature where you can set the coordinates of your virtual cabin and display the shaded and sunlit areas of your cabin fo...
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161. Posted: 29 Jul 2015 11:09 - Off-Grid Living / wiring to the panel?
...ght, sorry wasn't trying to be confusing. Just rushing and not explaining fully what I'm talking about. The factory wires have been removed, I'm looking in the box on the back of the solar panel. Well, I'm not looking, I'm going by memory. Sorry to waste everyones time. Again I'm sure I can figure it out when I'm at the cottage l...
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162. Posted: 28 Jul 2015 15:54 - Off-Grid Living / wiring to the panel?
sorry, yes solar panels. 100w, 12v panels. thanks anyway guys, didn't think it would be so confusing. I'll do my homework and ask if I need help. I real...
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163. Posted: 28 Jul 2015 15:40 - Off-Grid Living / wiring to the panel?
Need a picture for sure. There should only be two lines coming out of the panel. + and - Do the panels hook into a solar controller? And the controller has various line outs: one for the battery and one for the lights controller (which many low cost controllers have)??...
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164. Posted: 28 Jul 2015 15:25 - Off-Grid Living / wiring to the panel?
I think he's talking about solar PV panels, not circuit breaker panels. It would be best FishHog to identify the manufacturer and model, and get their info from them. Or you could...
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165. Posted: 27 Jul 2015 17:28 - Off-Grid Living / lifepo4 battery update
...ge downer. You need a LARGE string of the batteries just to run some electronics, according to their very own blogger who put them to the test. On the blog, I posted a question asking if adding more solar panels would help, instead of having a string of 6-8 of those batteries just to run a laptop, printer, some lights, etc. IIRC, he only had about 600 watts of ...
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166. Posted: 26 Jul 2015 20:03 - Off-Grid Living / Tiny Solar
...as well. Remember you are protecting the wire not the light. One more comment... many charge controllers have a definite sequence for powering up. Usually the battery is connected first. Then the solar panel(s). For that reason many folks will insert a breaker like the Midnite Solar MNEPV on the input and the output sides of the CC. It just makes ...
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167. Posted: 25 Jul 2015 23:47 - Off-Grid Living / Canadian Off Grid Energy Provider
I am expecting delivery of 4 Canadian solar 255 watt panels on Monday [ sounds like similar panels] . Panels, connector harness , end caps , mounting brackets[to wood frame] ...
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168. Posted: 25 Jul 2015 11:22 - Off-Grid Living / Canadian Off Grid Energy Provider
... everything up to our place... Long Day but well worth it ! (sorry Creekster, Time was an issue so we could not meet up as my other truck was in the shop which put a time issue on us) I got all my solar panels, batteries, cables & more from these folks. They are certainly worth looking into. The only thing I did not get from here was my 3kw/24v Inverter / C...
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169. Posted: 23 Jul 2015 21:59 - Off-Grid Living / PV solar experts?
Hello I do not post much ,but check out the site ever day. I'm looking into installing a PV system at our home, about 5KW. I've never had any experience with solar, but want to install myself. Wholesalesolar.com is where I have been looking, any thoughts or experience with them? Any suggestions on panels and in...
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170. Posted: 22 Jul 2015 14:35 - Useful Links and Resources / Fridge for Off Grid Article
... break other than a thermocouple or thermostat on a propane fridge, some have run for over 50 years without a issue. Plus in those 10 years you will be replacing batteries and panels lose output on a solar system. But I will agree in theory the electric may be cheaper to run, especially in a more southern location. Up here the winter days are short, snow kills my outpu...
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171. Posted: 19 Jul 2015 08:32 - Off-Grid Living / Which Solar Charge Controller?
offgridjunkie. as I understand it. victrons are one of the oldest and most venerated names in solar. The boating community uses them extensively. And they are big in europe and australia. they come up in the various forums again and again as one of the top choices for sola...
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172. Posted: 17 Jul 2015 14:13 - Off-Grid Living / Attaching solar panel to corrugated roof?
The solar industry has all kinds of gadgets and gizmos for attaching panels to roofs, but in your situation it really comes down to sealing a penetration. The more penetration...
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173. Posted: 15 Jul 2015 15:35 - Off-Grid Living / Which Solar Charge Controller?
...d i'm really happy to see the Victron's in N.A. now. offgridjunkie: a Victron MPPT 15 amp controller for 120 on amazon. Kind of a no brainer. Victron is one of the most respected names in solar. don't get me wrong. love my tristars. but the comparable tristar is 240. And while wei is a one poster with a link to a chinese solar site that may or may no...
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174. Posted: 14 Jul 2015 20:21 - Off-Grid Living / Which Solar Charge Controller?
...r 800 watts of power then you will want to consider an MPPT controller, prior to that it is just wasted money. This is not always the case. Let's consider a small system with just 200 watts of solar. High voltage grid tie panels are readily available for just $1/watt. 12 volt panels suitable for a basic PWM controller will be close to dou...
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175. Posted: 14 Jul 2015 09:29 - Off-Grid Living / Setting up for marine battery system
...have a big jump on goodies for use and there are some surprising deals to be found within that community of folks which can be easily transplanted to Cabin Survival & Roughing it. They also sell Solar Kits for RV/Marine at very reasonable prices that would save you lugging batteries around (you'll tire of it quickly)... The "Coleman Kits while they work well and are eas...
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176. Posted: 14 Jul 2015 02:33 - Off-Grid Living / Which Solar Charge Controller?
Which Solar Charge Controller? I've ordered a 100w 12v monocrystalline solar panel and am looking at those solar charge controller jobbies...
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177. Posted: 8 Jul 2015 03:53 - Cabin Construction / Septic system: Have I been thinking bass-ackwards?!
...039;t know where it is or how deep you have to go to hit it. I'm not sure how to approach a well so I'm not going to do that for now. Down here in the Southwest, they want to start taxing solar panels in use. I believe that Arizona is already doing that. SMH. It's getting unbelievable. I'm surpised they haven't taxed air if you in hale too de...
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178. Posted: 7 Jul 2015 10:26 - Off-Grid Living / Ice, Ice, Maybe
... than a thousand and you have an electrical source for lights, battery charging, small appliances. a small fridge. for what, the same cost of a propane fridge. and NO ongoing propane costs. Dave has solar already of course. excellent. quieter. cheaper. rmak and razmichael both did easy to follow solar systems. you can copy. rmaks pics/diagrams are excellent. publicati...
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179. Posted: 5 Jul 2015 17:08 - Off-Grid Living / Why a DC Fridge?
We've been weighing refrigeration options for our small off-grid cabin. We currently have 130w of solar feeding a 215Ah 12v battery bank. Its just enough for basic electrical needs (12v LED lights, cell phone/laptop charging etc). Last year we bought a small DC chest fridge (this one...
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180. Posted: 30 Jun 2015 00:29 - Off-Grid Living / off grid cold / hot water ... rainwater only
...cupant build a cabin on site. It is 24 x 24 ft. The back 1/3 has a loft area that is suitable for up to 2 of my kids to sleep in. There is a centrally located wood burning stove. There is a basic solar setup (I was told around 150 W and about 500 Ah of batteries ... I've done some basic battery maintenance / water top up, but haven't climbed up the pole thingy to verify t...
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