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451. Posted: 27 Sep 2011 12:08 - Member's Projects and Photos / Northwest log cabin 12X16
...built using a different style that CAN be added onto. It would be more orderly to discuss that other type construction style in Montanan's cabin thread. Quoting: dstraateIn your opinion, is the solar worth the setup cost and effort, or do you think you could get by with small battery lights and lanterns? You can certainly start with oil lamps - it's fun that...
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452. Posted: 26 Sep 2011 17:34 - Off-Grid Living / Air Conditioning?
17k bucks.. out of the question :p I was thinking a solar setup for the lights and a generator that runs off propane for the a/c R
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453. Posted: 26 Sep 2011 14:48 - Member's Projects and Photos / Northwest log cabin 12X16
...o the next level. A couple of questions. What will you do for storage? Are you planning any closet space, or do you think that would contract your square footage too much? In your opinion, is the solar worth the setup cost and effort, or do you think you could get by with small battery lights and lanterns? Is a propane cooking unit safe to operate in a project of ...
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454. Posted: 24 Sep 2011 08:26 - Off-Grid Living / Wondering what the amp hour rating on my battery is...
Hello everyone. I just got my first deep cycle marine 12v battery for my small solar setup. It is a autocraft 27dc-2 battery with 600 cold cranking amps, 750 cranking amps at 32 degrees and a reserve capacity of 160. This is all from the plate on top...
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455. Posted: 4 Sep 2011 10:47 - Off-Grid Living / Charging up batteries with a generator
Hello all, we currently have an off grid solar system in addition to our utility power. Eventually we will be totally off grid, but aren't quite there yet. We had a hurricane roll through our area and our land is like a wa...
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456. Posted: 25 Aug 2011 10:01 - Off-Grid Living / lighting system looking for help/advice
...'s and our experience is they are more reliable. And, yes, you will be wanting more electrical stuff I suspect. We started out with head lamps. Then coal oil lanterns. Then when we got the solar in, we had 3 led lights and the netbook/phone charging. Then came lighting the path to the out house so we didn't step on a striped pussy cat in the middle of the night. The...
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457. Posted: 24 Aug 2011 09:56 - Off-Grid Living / Solar Power Setup
While not a cabin application (because it needs a relatively small but guaranteed 24/7 power draw), I thought you may be interested in my solar panel application. To get high-speed Internet access in our rural location, I erected a 13m tower on a ridge ~600m behind my house. It has 3 antennas that need a few watts of power ...
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458. Posted: 15 Aug 2011 19:10 - General Forum / Happiness is...
If plan B doesn't work out I build my "shed" and put a 75 watt solar setup on it. Plan "C" involves a ditch 1/2 mile long with power, water, cable, phone, fiber and whatever else I can stuff in there and I can't afford ...
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459. Posted: 14 Aug 2011 11:18 - Off-Grid Living / Internet with your Cellphone
... option 12v adapter so we can go straight to our battery with no inverter. For our power source we're charging one marine battery at home and then running it up the road with us. We have a small solar cell that can help keep the charge while we're up there. With the exception of the antenna all the gear unplugs and travels with us. I'm not sure how I feel about the ante...
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460. Posted: 30 Jun 2011 08:45 - Off-Grid Living / Solar system beeping
Okay, so I have a small solar setup at my cabin. I have 3 PV panels, 2 batteries, a controller and an inverter – the usual. I have more than enough power to run the little I use here. Sudden...
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461. Posted: 15 Jun 2011 21:31 - Off-Grid Living / Has anyone used a solar light for their shed
I use this to light the steps and front door of my cabin: http://www.lowes.com/pd_127456-59179-SPS1-BK-PK3_0__?productId=1214155&Ntt=solar+ligh ts&pl=1¤tURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dsolar%2Blights&facetInfo= I do not get full sun, yet it stays on all night! Good light, too. I read of a g...
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462. Posted: 14 Jun 2011 20:48 - Off-Grid Living / Idea for shower
After I purchased my land I decided I would camp out on it occasionally. I bought myself a shower tent and one of these solar camp showers. I was impressed with the heating capability of the shower, but the hook in the shower tent to hang the thing puts the shower head at my belly button, which is not super...
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463. Posted: 14 Jun 2011 16:33 - Off-Grid Living / Solar powered refrigerator
...nDazer, is while they are expensive, they are Uber efficient. Just because something eats 12V doesn't mean it won't draw 500 watt hours a day. Less than 100 is perfect for even the smallest solar setup. They know it so they can charge that much, knowing that only those off grid would care and the saving on the system off set the cost of the panel. I persona...
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464. Posted: 14 Jun 2011 08:40 - Member's Projects and Photos / Our New Property and Project
...lves to the shed to improve our vertical storage space. Cleared up the table nicely and got rid of some stuff under the cots and they even don't look too tacky. We added a third battery to our solar setup. That should let us use the amenities (electric kettle and microwave) a few more times on cloudy, cold, rainy weekends. And, the big one, we put in another d...
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465. Posted: 9 May 2011 19:03 - Member's Projects and Photos / Our New Property and Project
...renovated at the university. The table and chairs also fit in well with the colour of the cedar. We also found a "dial-type" microwave oven at a surplus store. We learned a lot about our solar setup on the weekend. (Specs: one 130 W Solar Panel Array, two 2.7 kWh Maintenance Free Batteries, 1800 W Inverter / Charger, 30 A Charge controller...
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466. Posted: 5 May 2011 16:22 - Off-Grid Living / Solar Power Setup
...amp; nintendo DS.... I use propane for backup light & stove, wood for heat. (ice & snow for beer..) I purchased a 100/ah 12v AGM battery last Fall ($300 Cdn Tire). [I also purchased solar panels fm CDN tire & a 1000w inverter, but panells were broken, so i returned both panels & inverter to store.] This week I purchased the new 1000 powerbox fm CDN tire, (it ...
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467. Posted: 20 Apr 2011 12:12 - General Forum / I know it's late winter,but-
Great idea Rayyy... this is summer no. 2 at the cabin, and our goal is to finish all the necessary jobs before tacking big projects like the cabin exterior or a solar setup. These include a tiled shower with drain (materials all purchased and job started), connnecting the composting toilet (air vent that goes through the roof and ...
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468. Posted: 4 Apr 2011 09:44 - Off-Grid Living / Do you have TV or Internet at your cabin?
... the majority of the summer at the cabin and we may get dial up connection for her computer. We have a land line run for the phone. We also have a TV with satilite setup. We very seldom watch it. The solar setup runs it fine in the summer but in the winter it is iffy depending on our power usage. We do enjoy watching a movie once in a while. Most of th...
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469. Posted: 30 Mar 2011 16:29 - Off-Grid Living / Solar noob/ want to power, light and laptop
Quoting: Just5 watt solar panal wall mart 50$ I would recommend putting a little more money into the solar panel to get more capacity. $73 - 12 watt HQRP solar ...
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470. Posted: 29 Mar 2011 16:09 - Useful Links and Resources / 12v solar utility pump
...ed to fill up my water barrel in my pickup from the spring. $80 - SHURflo 4008-101-E65 3.0 Revolution Water Pump $11 - SHURflo 255-313 Classic Series Twist-On Strainer $70 - HQRP 12W Mono-crystalline Solar Panel or $80 - Sunforce 52022 5 Watt Solar Trickle Charger - Pack of 2 $80 - 12v RV/Marine Battery For the same ...
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471. Posted: 19 Mar 2011 14:50 - Off-Grid Living / 2000.00 for electricity
charlie, as everyone has said, 2 grand is a bargain. If the monthly base fee isn't insane pay it and enjoy the convenience of grid power Steve, that's a nice little solar setup you have there. Good info on that Morningstar inverter
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472. Posted: 16 Mar 2011 08:51 - Member's Projects and Photos / Our little micro shack
...l to start her day. So we are going to try an electric kettle. We went with a Russel Hobbs 1500 watts. It will boil 1.7 litres of water in about 5 minutes. It works great at home but will see how our solar power setup likes it. It should handle it. Beds: Starting to wonder if the stacking plywood frame and thermorest pads are the best way to go. I came across some sol...
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473. Posted: 25 Feb 2011 16:46 - Off-Grid Living / 12 volt Battery/Solar System Recharging Problem
Quoting: MtnDon...He tells me the biggest problems people have with off grid systems is overdrawing the batteries... Although my knowledge regarding solar-power setups is very limited, wouldn't the Low Volt Disconnect (LVD) on a charge controller safe guard against this happening?
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474. Posted: 25 Feb 2011 14:08 - Off-Grid Living / Installing shower.
...will give you 55 gallons of hot water on demand.I know it's easier said then done.You'll need a charged up 12 volt battery to run the pump.Somthing to charge the battery,be it your truck or solar or your generator.If your setup is in freezing temps,you'll have to pull the pump and heater and take it indoors when not in use.You can hall the barrel of fres...
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475. Posted: 15 Feb 2011 18:51 - Off-Grid Living / Whats my motivation?
... to question how you are going to exist in the alternate one you seem drawn to. Quoting: rayyyLiving green,comfortably is doable now more than ever ...except when your generator needs repair, or your solar array proves inadequate, to name a few possibilities. Do you know how expensive your new setup is going to be?
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476. Posted: 7 Feb 2011 08:09 - Off-Grid Living / Solar Power Setup
Go to Cabelas website. Get a Sunforce 15W solar panel, Brunton charge controller, Cobra 300W inverter and one deep cycle marine battery. You can do all you describe plus more with this setup. I run non-LED lights ...
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477. Posted: 10 Jan 2011 10:25 - Off-Grid Living / 12 volt accessory wiring - fuse panel?
thanks again all for a great site. i keep adding to my little single battery solar setup and have multiple clips and wires attached to my battery (all with inline fuses). battery has both a fat post and threaded post for each positive and negative...
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478. Posted: 26 Dec 2010 00:15 - Properties / What is the closest area to buy land near Toronto, Ontario, where you don't need permit?
...se of bylaws. Does anyone know what is the closest area to Toronto, that I could build a larger cabin without having to conform to any local bylaws? I wish to build a 400 sq ft cabin, with a small solar setup, where I can go up to once or twice a month with some buddies. I don't want to go thru any red tape, pay taxes, or be on the grid, etc... but obviously wo...
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479. Posted: 16 Dec 2010 10:41 - Off Topic / how many square feet??
... too basic for some. I suspect you have read our thread so you know what we have done to increase our area regarding the bed for example. The biggest thing for us was incorporating the board for the solar setup and the batteries. But even those provided opportunities to use the vertical wall space and extra cabinet area for storage. bugs
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480. Posted: 11 Dec 2010 20:41 - Off-Grid Living / "hybrid" off grid- crazy idea?
Thanks for the reply, Rob_O. I knew a full blown solar setup would be cost-prohibitive....I took my current electric use at "home" and figured it would cost about 30k to duplicate, parts only. Just wanted to se...
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