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31. Posted: 11 Dec 2022 17:47 - Off-Grid Living / Getting power dropped across a river?
Quoting: BRADISHSounds to me like you just justified an $80,000 solar system At least that's what I would tell my wife! Yeah...the only other possible option is to do the work myself and just hydro do the final hookup. We're in no hurry t...
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32. Posted: 1 Dec 2022 08:33 - Off-Grid Living / Off Grid Camp, rebuilding existing 48 volt system
Something from the Lessons Learned Dept. When I started on my adventure, Victron was not available in Canada yet, so I chose Midnite Solar Classic Solar Controller and a cheap 3000W Chinese Pure Sine LF Inverter and Rolls Surette Lead Acid Batteries. I ended up upgrading that Inverter to a Tier-1 grade...
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33. Posted: 30 Nov 2022 08:15 - Off-Grid Living / Off Grid Camp, rebuilding existing 48 volt system
...ges at 1C Rate and can only be charged at 0.5C Rate Maximum. IE: 100AH Battery can discharge up to 100A (1C) for 1 hour and be charged at 50A (.5C) for 2 hours. All in One (AIO) or Component-Based solar system ? AIO's are attractive because they simplify installation & operations, as well they can be cost-effective depending on the application. They are NOT Suitable for al...
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34. Posted: 4 Nov 2022 10:24 - General Forum / Cameras
Now that I finally have a solar setup, I have installed cameras. Its all somewhat temporary as I didn't finish the setup before the snow arrived. Sigh, more jobs in the spring...
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35. Posted: 2 Nov 2022 11:09 - Off-Grid Living / Power Supply
Last night, throwing caution to the wind and after a rainy low solar day, I decided to forgo any generator charging and went to sleep with the batts at 12.9. This morning down to 12.8, and even 12.7 after turning on lights and chargers. But no signs...
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36. Posted: 23 Oct 2022 15:17 - General Forum / Small fan motor help, please?
I had not thought of all that. I will send you what I see. I really just want something to keep a little more pep in the batteries when the sun is gone. I have a very small solar setup for phones and tablets and can charge my cordless drill as well. 200w of panels I can’t find any more specs on the motor other than what is on the lit...
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37. Posted: 25 Sep 2022 11:02 - Cabin Construction / Corrugated Fiberglass Roof, or with Plywood
Sea Cans are Nefarious ! It's a Love / Hate thing with them. The two little vent ports at the top in the corners don't do anything worthwhile. I was pondering setting up a small solar panel to run 2, 4" Box Fans (like this is PC's) to actually move air & in theory the humidity that just loves to collect inside the "can". There are many pre...
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38. Posted: 25 Sep 2022 08:37 - Off-Grid Living / System Voltage vs. Amp Hour reserve and materials needed
... just did a review - teardown of a new EG4 6000EX All-in-one: 6000W LF 120/240V Inverter, 7500W PV Input, 120A AC Charger https://youtu.be/NJIAS5hYg4s It is only $1300 USD from https://signaturesolar.com/eg4-6k-off-grid-inverter-6000ex-48hv/ Still has a high stand-by power usage. A Little bit of "Hindsight" Experience to share for those considering a New Solar...
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39. Posted: 22 Sep 2022 12:32 - Cabin Construction / Cabin Remodel
I think you are on the right track with the generator thought. I'm currently building a solar setup at my cabin. I have been putting it together for about a year, buying used and at auctions to save money. I have all the pieces now and the costs is coming in ...
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40. Posted: 1 Sep 2022 16:04 - Off-Grid Living / Take Care With Your Solar...
Im quite sure the install inspections and code-compliance they had were stringent, but even some of the 'code' Ive seen appears to not fully understand solar. A bunch of stuff on RV forums is horror stories about the so called professionally installed rv solar; like it doesnt perform near to what was said or found to be v...
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41. Posted: 18 Jul 2022 08:14 - General Forum / Steve_S - health update "very bad"
...ncer, they gave me 5-7 years, I got a bit over 8 Years, so I guess that's good eh, how else can I look at it. Sadly this is NOT what I envisioned or thought, but ces't la vie. Cabin & Solar Front.... NOTHING STOLEN ! PHEW !, my Mechanic saw the storage tent open and other odd things, so he told me and I assumed the worst at first... Seems "Someone" got v...
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42. Posted: 26 May 2022 23:08 - Off-Grid Living / Temporary Solar
...nished in the evenings. It really bothered me that I would be running the generator a bunch to ensure my hardware was up and running. Then it dawned on me, "Hey dummy you have all the gear for a solar system, why not use it?" So I brought one panel, the controller and a small inverter with me. I used my "calibrated" eyeball to set the angle on the panel and drove s...
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43. Posted: 16 May 2022 13:14 - Off-Grid Living / Low Voltage disconnect, Adjustment?
Usually when I get to the cabin the solar controller read 13.7, I believe. Windynation setup I have had for going on 4 years. Was up there since Friday, sunny skies. I have 3 led lights and charge only my iP...
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44. Posted: 12 Apr 2022 10:52 - Off-Grid Living / Solar setup?
...g weekends, then it sounds perfect for a power station solution. Look for a portable power station of at least 500-600wh. Jackery, Bluetti or ECOFLOW make well reviewed units. If you add a 100-200W solar panel(s) that will extend the run time significantly. You don't have to buy a matching brand of panels either. All units can take any brand of solar panel(s) as...
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45. Posted: 28 Mar 2022 17:42 - Cabin Construction / 1500ft wire size. Online calculator vs store opinion
...eptable line loss. So..... maybe just bringing 120v makes more sense. It just seems like, a lot of expense for little gain. A couple of light bulbs and a phone charger. A pretty simple/inexpensive solar setup would accomplish the same thing with less ongoing costs. But then... does he have a good solar site? Maybe solar won't ...
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46. Posted: 24 Mar 2022 19:16 - Off-Grid Living / New Solar setup
... be many many years of service, in may case it would be about 11yrs. I run a 120v 4.5cuft mini fridge with separate top freezer. My whole system cost about $1300. I bought some used things like solar pannels and a 1200w pure sine wave inverter. That $1300 includes a 1kw sportsman inverter generator($209), the fridge($35 used) along with a 120v to 30a 12vdc charger...
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47. Posted: 11 Mar 2022 14:50 - Off-Grid Living / Simple solar power lighting
Don't be discouraged, you don't need to spend a fortune on solar, unless it is for more than a weekend place. I bought the 100w Renogy kit 7 years ago along with a Costco group 27 marine battery and a cheap tripp lite 150w inverter. The system is...
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48. Posted: 3 Mar 2022 17:43 - Off-Grid Living / New Solar setup
...erated for inneficiencies. Once you know or have a reasonable estimate of what you will use during a day on average in kWh, and you know how many days you want to be able to run off just battery (no solar or generator) then we can figure out the battery sizing required. Pending on the Amperage Draw & AH Sizing would dictate which voltage is suitable to support your needs. This...
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49. Posted: 3 Mar 2022 16:02 - Off-Grid Living / New Solar setup
...und here looking for the right answers and just have not seem to come up with the correct ones. I have a off grid one room cabin that I use on the weekends year round. Currently have a 200w 12 volt solar setup that charges a 12 volt forklift battery. Pretty simple system that works great for what we need as far as lights, charging, & TV. Can get us through a cl...
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50. Posted: 26 Feb 2022 22:49 - Cabin Construction / what power tools to build cabin?
Toyota_mdt has a pretty good list. My 2 cents from our recent build: I had a cordless drill, impact driver, and 6.5 inch saw. We recharged those with a small (50W) solar setup. It was really nice to not have a generator running all the time. We ran the generator for the compressor/nail gun and chop saw. We also used a sawzall, jig...
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51. Posted: 23 Feb 2022 15:23 - Off-Grid Living / Spring Micro Hydro
... completely off grid in the cabin and the new house but being that I live at 55N, I only have about 6 hours of daylight in the middle of winter so some hydro to offset that would be nice. I have done solar setups before and I am comfortable with all of that but I have the potential to have a small micro hydro system with some springs that are on the property. The pro...
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52. Posted: 21 Feb 2022 18:42 - Off-Grid Living / Has anyone wired their cabin like an RV?
Quoting: Link44Going all 120volt does sound simpler. Solar confuses the heck out of me. 1 little panel and a battery no problem but the inverters, transfer switches and conversion math gives me a headache. I had started asking some s...
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53. Posted: 14 Feb 2022 13:10 - Off-Grid Living / How efficient and whats wrong with this?
... I do not know and is an interesting question itself! Looking at the mini hydro turbines I see they put out 24v @10 watts. It would take a whole bunch of these to add up to what could be done with solar if a sunny area is available. The turbines would need a charge controller like solar but it must be equipped with a dump load to dissipate excess energy. These ar...
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54. Posted: 11 Feb 2022 10:46 - Off-Grid Living / Solar Deal
Quoting: travellerwThe big benefit is that "most" solar controllers are rated in AMPs on the output side. So for example a 100/50 rated controller is good for 640W of solar if your battery bank is 12V, but that same contr...
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55. Posted: 5 Jan 2022 18:12 - General Forum / Longest power anyone ran here?
From everything you've said, I'd go with solar, battery, generator setup. You already have the generator and your loads aren't that high so you don't need a big solar system. Even if ...
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56. Posted: 2 Jan 2022 09:13 - Cabin Construction / Dedicated Battery Storage Shed, Looking for Designs
Quoting: Old_SkewlerI am likely going with the following equipment, that will be stored in this shed: - Magnum Inverter - Victron Solar Charger Plenty of thoughts on the shed.... my recommendation would be stick with Victron for both the SCC and the inverter. Magnum makes a good inverter but IMHO Victron is nicer ...
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57. Posted: 1 Jan 2022 13:37 - General Forum / Microwave Watts
...re rated for output watts and are about %55 efficient. So those numbers aren't way off! Depending on what you are trying to do an induction HOB is more efficient and usually better suited for a solar setup. Of course its not as convenient as a microwave though. You can buy a 1500W one at Ikea for like $50 nowadays. Another thing we used to use all the tim...
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58. Posted: 28 Dec 2021 15:33 - General Forum / Longest power anyone ran here?
... pool (can have filter running) and so on. that will be amazing Dont forget that you could spend $2k and someone could just literally flip the switch off on you. I have about $1300 into our solar setup that runs a mini fridge along with lights. That price also included a $200 inverter generator.
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59. Posted: 8 Dec 2021 15:54 - General Forum / Here’s my starting questions!
... to the generator. The closest grid is a mile away so that’s not going to happen! What I’ve done over the years is charge batteries at home and take them down. On the new I’m thinking about going solar. Basically just to not have to worry about it. I’m not sure what load I will end up with just yet, so I’m thinking 300watt worth of panels with appropr...
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60. Posted: 29 Nov 2021 15:43 - Off-Grid Living / Li Battery Charging
...39;t slip. So the alternator never ran at full load since the belt was slipping. I would replace the belt about every 2 charging cycles. The belt dust in the engine bay was crazy! Of course the best is a nice strong solar setup. As long as the sun is shining, its pouring electrons in at the max the panels could put out. Free electrons run stuff better than bought elec...
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