| |
211. Posted: 31 May 2015 20:26 - Off Topic / WIFI range extender/repeater
Paul: If you have any sunlight where the repeater is you might be better off getting a small solar panel and charge controller. It's hard to run DC 200 feet without a lot of voltage drop.
|
212. Posted: 30 May 2015 15:29 - Off-Grid Living / Need Cost effective Solar Advice
I actually went the opposite way. I built the solar system i could afford and then I plugged devices into it until I reached the available capacity. Then i added capacity and started again. Nothing wrong with doing it either way. In...
|
213. Posted: 30 May 2015 14:07 - Off-Grid Living / Need Cost effective Solar Advice
...eded. A basic equation is volts x amps = watts. Watts x time in hours = watt hours. What to buy and where to buy comes after the estimated consumption is a known fact (or good estimate). For solar the "what" includes, PV panels, charge controller, inverter and batteries. The best inverters include a charger to be used with generator power. There are ...
|
214. Posted: 29 May 2015 10:12 - Off-Grid Living / generator question
... air compressor. One think I noticed, is it is a pain to move around even at 50lbs. Now I use it to charge my batteries if I have a high usage day and wish I had the 1000 due to weight. Now that my solar panels are up, most of the time I never take it with me. Summation, if you are going to run the TV only and you will never run power tools, micros, and etc, save ...
|
215. Posted: 26 May 2015 12:29 - Off-Grid Living / Got my cabin water system going
...r on the deck and the kitchen sink. Cold line bypasses the Ecotemp to both of those as well. The Flojet runs off of a 12v battery which I bring home and recharge during long absences. I have a little solar panel trickle-charging it as well and could just as easily charge it while running the generator every day or two to fill the tank. The Flojet senses a faucet open a...
|
216. Posted: 14 May 2015 20:57 - Cabin Construction / Cabin ideas
...or kitchen and dining. Privy and outdoor shower else where as well. Is this even going to be doable? The land is going to be in the middle of nowhere so everything will be off grid. I would mount solar panels to the main structure. I'm attaching pictures of the buildings below. Any ideas/suggestions would be wonderful thank you
|
217. Posted: 8 May 2015 11:44 - General Forum / tri star ts-mppt-60 controller
...r directly to the batteries. Its not going through the controller? You have your dip switch settings correctly configured for your battery voltage etc. I would disconnect the RTS and try running a solar panel into the CC and see what happens. It may just be you have a faulty controller. Is it new? Contact MS and see what they say.
|
218. Posted: 6 May 2015 14:36 - Off-Grid Living / Small cabin, smaller needs - Solar setup
...att inverter will cook your batteries fast. To use power tools with a small system, you really need to use a generator. A good rule of thumb is to use an inverter matched to the number of watts of Solar panels you have. For example, if you have 500 watts of panels on the roof, you would not exceed a 500 watt inverter. For your panel...
|
219. Posted: 1 May 2015 17:02 - Off-Grid Living / Small cabin, smaller needs - Solar setup
Quoting: MarchandisoAfter a year of waiting for a deal, I was pretty dead set on getting a 100W solar kit for 260$ but I got lucky yesterday and found a brand new 225W kit for 320$ that someone had bought but ended up not needing it. Its a lot more than I need but for the p...
|
220. Posted: 1 May 2015 10:54 - Off-Grid Living / Tesla Powerwall
...n to make a cheap high voltage 2kw inverter. Tho there are already plenty of high voltage DC to AC inverters for on grid use. Then there's the bits and bobs. Disconnects. Fuses. Built in? For solar charging you'll also need to move from the standard 150v controller to a 600v class. Is anybody making a 600v mppt controller with 450v output? It also means your solar...
|
221. Posted: 30 Apr 2015 20:55 - Cabin Construction / Foundations for Cabins - What Kind?
...erent sources, such as electric, propane/gas, even wood boiler as Rockies pointed out. If your going to have a huge roof surface as an A-Frame provides, you may consider taking advantage of that for solar installation (now or future). Solar Panels for electric _or_ solar heating panels (that's tricky in NS but d...
|
222. Posted: 22 Apr 2015 20:38 - Member's Projects and Photos / My project
OK, ordered the brown version on the patch, matches the color of the cabin. UPS tracking shows they will arrive at my work tomorrow. Update on my solar well. Just installed it. Had well drilled 9 years ago, just sat with a welded on cap until this last weekend. My cousin helped me, he has an underwater camera. We sent the camera ...
|
223. Posted: 21 Apr 2015 12:46 - Off-Grid Living / Solar Planning for this spring.
Well the DEED IS DONE so here's where I went with the Solar System and I am posting the info, so others may see & possibly benefit when they are looking at building their system up. 2080 Watts of Panel, 3KW Inverter, 900...
|
224. Posted: 20 Apr 2015 18:44 - General Forum / greatest invention of all time
... first two winters here but these last two winters were much colder freezing my tank up.I am contemplating putting a 250 galloon upright water tank right inside the cabin this year.I got the 120 watt solar panel set up and running.I also built a nice hen house where I have 18 good laying hens now.The johndeere tractor with the front bucket has been an invaluable tool t...
|
225. Posted: 15 Apr 2015 11:07 - General Forum / greatest invention of all time
In school we were told it was the "wheel" but as far as small cabins go i'd say the solar panel , it gives us all the modern convenience's without a sound to ruin the solitude .
|
226. Posted: 11 Apr 2015 17:41 - Off-Grid Living / Stanford Aluminum Battery
Oil companies have not stopped solar panels and electric cars because they can't, but these in their present state pose little threat to them. But, if a cheap battery with high energy density that ...
|
227. Posted: 11 Apr 2015 13:29 - Off-Grid Living / solar panel orientation
I have 4 15 watt solar panels that I want to permanently mount on a post. My thought was to point one to the east to catch the morning sun, two to the south to catch the all-day sun, and o...
|
228. Posted: 10 Apr 2015 11:13 - Off-Grid Living / Upgraded Ecofan
These fans are great if you have a 12 volt DC solar setup. All you need is the same type of 12v to usb automotive adapter you'd use to charge a cell phone. I have a very simple solar panel/deep...
|
229. Posted: 8 Apr 2015 17:39 - Cabin Construction / Cabin Addition
Bear in mind that any shadow falling on solar panels (even just at a corner) can cause the output of electricity to drop dramatically(I read that on a solar power site).
|
230. Posted: 8 Apr 2015 13:37 - Cabin Construction / Cabin Addition
...ion on the left side to match last years. All part of the living at the lake full time plan. This summers addition will contain a spare bedroon and a bathroon/mechanical room. I also plan to mount my solar panels inside the railing of the upper deck, hopefully it won't affect the view to much. If it does, it will require a plan B.
|
231. Posted: 2 Apr 2015 20:19 - Cabin Construction / What's Needed for a Well Designed Year Round Cabin?
... be building on piers or skids, so no basement. Since the boiler is already in a small outbuilding, I will also have extra space out there for a freezer, maybe a cold room, maybe space for a bank of solar power batteries, etc. I should probably warn you now that I am an Architect (AAAAH! First warning sign of the snob! lol) That said, I must admit I don't like your plans. It se...
|
232. Posted: 2 Apr 2015 13:18 - Off-Grid Living / Solar Planning for this spring.
...15. I am looking to build a system with something along these lines: - Tristar 60A MPPT controller - Samlex Inverter: Either the SA-2000K-124 (2kw 24vdc) or the SA-3000K-124 (3kw 24vdc) - Midnight Solar E-Panel for Samlex S-Series (250A) - 300 VDC Surge Protection device (Midnight Solar ?) - Midnight Solar MNPV-6 c...
|
233. Posted: 29 Mar 2015 20:05 - Off-Grid Living / Off Grid Solar at $0.16/kWh
...nd a mobile version of GT730 and this uses about 30W idle getting close to 90W at full load or 60W if I keep the frequency lower this includes the 18" HD LCD Computers are used usually 12h or more/day. You have quite a bit less solar there than I have here with the worst month November about 41kWh with my array where I get around 60kWh in the worst month. Still getting 50% more P...
|
234. Posted: 29 Mar 2015 19:35 - Off-Grid Living / Off Grid Solar at $0.16/kWh
...es & cedars and well tucked in. I fully expect to resume building in the next couple of weeks and with fingers crossed and a touch of luck, have the cabin completed for living in by July 1st. At that point, the solar system will have to be fully operational. For now, I have a 7.2kw gas generator which will also act as backup power if/when needed. One problem I have is the dista...
|
235. Posted: 29 Mar 2015 15:09 - Off-Grid Living / Winter coming to end changes for next season?
Here in Western Washington spring sprung 2 months ago, we had another winter that just never happened.....very mild. What changes for next season? Personally, once I got the CC working right, the solar system has performed outstanding, so have built a new vented battery box that looks like a toy box and can be sat on, next comes the acrylic interior storm windows, have dual pane st...
|
236. Posted: 29 Mar 2015 15:09 - Off-Grid Living / Off Grid Solar at $0.16/kWh
Quoting: Steve_SWe determined last year that I need to setup for 1200-1500 watts panel capacity, likely using this basic config: * 4x Canadian Solar CS6X-305P. * Outback Flex-60 or 80 (have no need for 240v power) * 8 Surrette S-550 Lead Acid Batteries setup for 48v * 2000w Inverter / 3000w max. PURE SINE. So ho...
|
237. Posted: 29 Mar 2015 08:53 - Off-Grid Living / Off Grid Solar at $0.16/kWh
...esting thread... Checked out Electrodacus website & some videos. Considering that our build is about to resume (as soon as weather permits here in Ontario) it's getting time to revisit the Solar Solutions which I got quotes for last fall. BUT then I see this... Electrodacus, I'm not Solar Power versed like Creeky or Groingo - suppose you could call ...
|
238. Posted: 28 Mar 2015 16:37 - Member's Projects and Photos / Fishing Pole Holder
...y problem I have ... a lot of tackle. like a ridiculous amount. so much that when I go into town Le Barons has a tracking device on my truck and they roll out a red carpet before I get there. my 8x8 solar shed. it's really just a big tackle box. rods, reels, tackle ... take up way more space than the solar gear. i didn't build it 10' high for the ...
|
239. Posted: 27 Mar 2015 14:40 - Off-Grid Living / Off Grid Solar at $0.16/kWh
Quoting: creekyI'd be interested in your opinion of their solution. I just seen this seems to be new. But that is just a BMS in order to get to the same level as Solar BMS you will need to add a lot of other peripherals. They do not provide enough information I do not see an installation diagram or pinout. You will need a current shunt not sure wha...
|
240. Posted: 27 Mar 2015 14:06 - Off-Grid Living / Off Grid Solar at $0.16/kWh
...ave a BMS and I needed to check manually cells everyday and take care they are not over charged or over-discharged. I also had no idea how much battery capacity I had left. I needed to power down the solar PV panel when battery was charged to not degrade the battery. LiFePO4 do not like PWM and constant voltage charging. So I was working as a BMS at that time not that...
|
|
