Is anybody off grid?

[Brosia]

just curious.

or even partially. If so, what are you using for power?

[Zombie Axe]

Getting the ham shack up and running on solar power soon. I have it already running on a grid tied trickle charger to maintain the batteries.

It is not too hard for me to deploy the panels and tie in into the battery bank. Right now I waiting to get some higher wattage panels to put on my South facing porch roof. I just would hate to put up the lower wattage panels and mount them on the roof and then have to do it all over with higher wattage ones...

I can put them up though in an emergency...

The specs are 300 amp hours of battery bank, 170watts of solar panels, Morning Star charge controller and I do have an inverter that I can run AC items on if needed... I try to stick mainly with 12V DC powered items so no need to convert voltage :)

[greenmountainboy]

I am off grid.

I live in a 18 x 18 cabin on one edge of my family farm. I recently drilled a well and went solar.

I have a 500 amp battery bank that is charged by 210 watts of solar power. It generally keeps up with my use, unless it is cloudy for more than 5 or 6 days.

I run 12v DC lighting, a water pump, stereo, and charge various electronics such as my camera, ipod, laptop, and cell phone batteries.

I also have a 2,000 watt power inverter for powering normal AC appliances.

In case of no sun, I have a small 2,000 watt generator that I can fire off to recharge my battery bank. It will run for eight hours on 1 gallon of gas, adding 120amps of electricity back into my batteries. I also use it to power anything with a large electric motor, such as a vacuum or circular saw, etc.

I did all the setup and installation myself, and would be happy to answer any questions from someone trying to do the same

[flight or fight]

Very impressive. You should do an article on your equipment and how you set it all up.

[Diesel]

yeah def.. always like hearing about set ups like that, pics help alot too..

welcome to the site

[Big_Saw]

I live in a 18 x 18 cabin on one edge of my family farm. I recently drilled a well and went solar.

I have a 500 amp battery bank that is charged by 210 watts of solar power. It generally keeps up with my use, unless it is cloudy for more than 5 or 6 days.

I run 12v DC lighting, a water pump, stereo, and charge various electronics such as my camera, ipod, laptop, and cell phone batteries.

I also have a 2,000 watt power inverter for powering normal AC appliances.

In case of no sun, I have a small 2,000 watt generator that I can fire off to recharge my battery bank. It will run for eight hours on 1 gallon of gas, adding 120amps of electricity back into my batteries. I also use it to power anything with a large electric motor, such as a vacuum or circular saw, etc.

I did all the setup and installation myself, and would be happy to answer any questions from someone trying to do the same

Charge that camera and take some PICTURES!!!!!!!

[methusaleh]

I am gradually working on getting off the grid, right now just using solar power to charge a pair of deep-cycle batteries to power low-draw things in the home. Plan to dabble in wind power for the first time this year. Also experimenting with high-output LED-based lights and low current draw/low voltage...sort of seeing how far we can stretch things if need be...

[West Texas!]

we were off-grid in Prescott, partially when we lived in Phoenix.
Full solar, some wind, earth-bermed 60 ft in diameter monolithic dome, 160 acres of survivalist goodness.

[out-back-2]

I have a section of land in north east Nevada that was once part of the Winecup Ranch owned by Jimmy Stewart. We are preparing for a domestic water well this spring. Pump is solar powered as the property is 5.5 miles from power. This will hopefully become a community of "like minded" individuals bent on self sufficiency.

Anyone interested in becoming a part of this "off grid" environment please let me know.

[Mik7777]

Solar

I purchased three solar panels for about $200.00 at Harbor Freight about six months ago. They each produce 15 Watts/1 Amp each. Purchased 2 Deep Cycle Batteries 125 Amps from Walmart for about $80.00 each. Watched the specials at truck stops (I have 4 of them close by) for Inverters and bought a 2000 Watt for about $75.00 on sale. With this setup I can watch TV and use a table lamp plugged into a power strip with 6 outlets for about 5-6 hours in the evening using only one battery at a time. I recharge the one in the daytime and alternate the other for the next evening.

For lighting, I use energy saver light bulbs giving off 60 Watts of lighting with only a 13 Watt current draw from the battery.

Just a note about something I have been doing for years. Take a regular "hanging" Auto Trouble Light with about a 6-10 foot cord, go to Home Depot and buy an "RV" 12 Volt/40 Watt light bulb and keep it in your vehicle. Purchase 2 alligator clips and attach wires to each, strip other end to wrap around battery terminals, and use the clips to attach to the plug prongs on the cord. It really comes in handy if you have any car trouble at night or just out camping. Any comments?

[Zombie Axe]

Great kit!!! However I would replace the charge controller with a MorningStar charge controller as the HF one allows the batteries to discharge to low before it kicks back on the charge! FWIW

[Xolar]

Off grid info

I do quite a bit off grid solar here in California, if any one wants any info let me know you can view some of my work at www.jtechsolar.com

[dablues]

check out http://www.jobrelatedstuff.com/forum...&f=17&t=619546

Decent medium size array and and a good description.

[Big_Saw]

Looking at 3.5 acres in the middle of nowhere here in AR to build my "Tremors" bunker on....good price.....currently negotiating :D....

Will wire geo-thermal, solar and watermill generator....has year-round rapid-flowing creek...game trails out the wazoo...plenty of foliage and a nice canyon wall to build into....

[herbalpagan]

we are looking at getting solar and wind for 100% of our needs. However, we were thinking of going with a buy back switch instead of a battery bank at first.