My husband and I have been watching your videos for around a month now. We just wanted to drop by and tell you how much we have learned from you and how much we enjoy watching your videos. We bought 30 acres in the mountains of North Carolina. A lot of the things you go over, we are going through now. Please keep uploading your videos and thank you for your willingness to teach us.
Hi Jesse & Alyssa, This is Rodger from Missouri. I have watched only two of you RUclips videos, but already see you are living the life I wanted back in the 70's. Yes I'm an old-timer, and recently retired. Now I'm living the life I wanted 45 years ago. So glad you are enjoying it now. Love the two video I have watched, I subscribed to your channel and blog and look forward to watching and learning more. Rodger
Hey guys good video. I'm an electrical eng, any time you need advice drop us a line. Happy to help. Just for everyone out there, 7amps @ 12v = 84W. Not bad from two little panels. Just one thing from your video. The cables you have installed on the batteries look to be undersized. Batteries are nasty and this is the point you don't want to undersize your cables. Batteries have no short circuit current protection which means unlimited amps. Ooooch. Also volt drop is your enemy when down at 12/24/48V DC systems. You go to all the trouble to generate voltage then throw it away through resistance in the cables. That's why you need to get these properly sized, easy to do when you know the basics. Sorry for the lecture intentions are good........
DC amps are nowhere near as bad as AC where less than 1/2 an amp will kill you. Agreed on the cable size. Long Term you also want to spend the money and buy high end batteries. Also set your system up as the highest voltage you can. I believe 200volt system is the highest at this time.
Hi, If you want a battery that will last a life time, look into Nickel-Iron batteries, just the electrolyte can be changed to make them as good as new, they have been in service for over 40 years and still fine. The only down side is checking the electrolyte levels are topped up....... They can be fully discharged and over charged too, with out damage, a 100 year old technology that were used in Submarines and the first electric cars way back in early 1900's, but the design has been improved considerably in the last century. Best Wishes from New Zealand. ironedison.com/
Richard, I am an ignorant consumer when I comes to solar, but yet I would very much like to go off grid. I have investment property to practice on. One structure on my property is 520 square feet and an additional living space at 320 square feet. I would greatly appreciate your advice on taking this property off grid. I would like to add that my mothers home is on solar with with Sunrun in California and sad to report that we have not seen a benefit yet. So, I would love to take my property off grid to compare the difference and benefit. Please help.
Okay 2 questions in one there. Mums solar first. Without knowing the full details, I'll take a few guesses. I presume that Sunrun has installed a solar system to 'Feed into the Grid'. All that jargon means is that when the sun is out, energy is generated by the solar panels & exported (Sent) back to the grid. The power that you generate is offset by the consumption 'Used' by the homeowner. Honest opinion, this is not an investment that will likely return any significant benefits anytime soon. Firstly, the figures that Sunrun would have used to estimate how much capacity the system would generate have been over stated. Secondly, if these were installed on a lease type contract then there won't be any savings until this is paid back. The only way this system is ever going to return a payback is if the owner installed the panels by fully purchasing & then writing the money off. Then you MAY get a close to zero power bills but still likely to have a small amount to pay each month. Hate to break it to you, but this type of system is sold as an investment LIE.
Another great source for free power is a wind turbine for those non-sunny days. I'm sure you get plenty of wind in your location. Nice part is as long as the wind is blowing you can even charge at night. And you can switch off as needed. You could get a ready made and just put it up or DYI Like I did. The main style is a horizontal type and you see them all over. I have 2 vertical turbines and I used tread mill motors for the generators The turbine itself I used the squirrel cages from a old furnace. Less moving parts cause they catch the wind from all directions where horizontal have to turn in to the wind. Just another idea that will keep you both from being in the dark.
Good for you. My wife and I lived for 20 yrs off grid on our 44 foot sailboat. With Solar , wind and occasional engine driven alternator. ( like a car would charge a battery). The other side of the equation is of course very hi- efficiency ( low) loads. Check out marine refrigeration. Some are super efficient. Especially when you make your own extra well insulated box. Of course another way to go with refrigeration is propane. And the new LED lights are amazing. If you get any decent wind anywhere on your grounds, there are some great wind generators out there too. Good luck.
great video, the same thing happened with us. We thought it was going to be way more complicated then it actually was. We are using just one panel and one battery in our shipping container home and its working great!
I recommend if your going to live there full time forget the solar kits. They work fine but generally are very small in capacity. The only way to go solar is think long term start out with solar panels that output a minimum of 240 watts per panel with the initial installation funds permitting of a least 480-500 watts. Look at the terrain where you have it installed now. You can always update it later but try to mount the panels where with a servo driven mount computer controlled based on position of the sun it rotates the panel mount to get as much sun as possible. An old solid axle from a pickup purchased at a junkyard with the differential just above the hole you dug to insert half the axle into gives you an easy rotation point you use an scrap wheel that fits the exposed brake assembly to mount the solar array frame, it also makes it easier later to remove the solar frame mount to update and add more panels later you just have to keep it balanced, could either do automatically or attach a handle to the input shaft on the differential you simply rotate the solar panel array a couple of times a day to keep harvesting power near max capacity. Or install a small motor with the manual control next to the charge controller so you simply turn a switch to rotate the array to pickup more sunlight. A 12 volt used starter motor hooked up to two old manual transmissions with both transmissions locked in reverse gear ( lowest numerical gear ratio ) so you can without spending a lot of money have a manual to be updated later to automatic rotation to get max sunlight at all times of the day to your solar panels. Ok I type too much but your on the right path solar is the way to go instead of burning fuel to generate power use the fuel that never stops burning. Sunlight.😎😎😎😎 Just remember safety first foremost and always the lower in voltage you go the thicker the cable required to prevent overheating and fire. We all started by talking baby steps. You two just were born as to solar power. There is if you have Internet access at your home a ton of information about solar power so rule number one for a carpenter is " measure twice cut once " in your case research research research the discussion should ensue on solar chat rooms to take advantage of people who have already been there done that. Right here on RUclips do a search for solar power DIY installs and comment to people who have systems up and running. Everybody makes mistakes so take advantage of theirs as 99% of solar power owners love to pass on how to make it right. Keep plugging away ( isn't that the idea? ) I tend to ramble as the ideas flow but if you read to the end they usually show what I'm trying to convey.
James Shanks U said, "...use the fuel that never stops burning, sunlight." U have heard of Chemtrails, yes? Research it. The whole intent is to 'block out' the sun and contaminate the water sources, crops and vegetation with nano particles of aluminum. I am a 60 year old young female who currently lives with 4 dogs in a 2 room cabin. I came from a 3600 sq ft home and wanted to try 'tiny house living. I'm good with it so far after a year but want to go totally off grid. I'm a prepper, however was not prepared for what research I found on Chemtrails, the end-all to humanity. There is absolutely nothing that can filter these nano aluminum. particles that are 1/billionth size particles compared to cigarette smoke which is 1 millionth size particles. By the way, your feedback was helpful. It's OK to ramble on. Everyone has knowledge to offer someone out there.
Eileen Murphy, if you think commercial jets are emitting aluminum particles in their exhaust, how did the powder get loaded on the aircraft without the ground crew or the flight crew knowing about it? Whether you have an answer for these questions or not, I suggest you check with your doctor and get your medications adjusted. Seriously, it's condensation from the water vapor in the atmosphere. It started about 80 years ago when aircraft were able to get into the stratosphere, which is up around 30-35,000 feet. Hope you get better.
Condensation? I'll not be so condescending as you, but you should look into Geo-Engineering Watch and do some research. The days of "I want what you're smoking - You need to see a Doctor" sayings are gone, time to wake up. 80 years ago? Oh FFS!!!
Eileen.....fucking idiot. You are probably ....totally without education, financially marginalized, never invested, never had a science course at Any level, and probably unhappy.
I bought the Renogy 100 watt portable suitcase unit ( $279 Amazon) for about half the price of the GoPower 120 unit ($569) After our 110 day RVing trip to Alaska this summer, I can say the unit paid big dividends. Just enough power to keep the RV's single group 29 battery charged up.
+jay super Excellent feedback! In my dream world I could test the Renogy, Go Power and Zamp side-by-side. What kind of current were you getting from the Renogy? Maybe 6amps?
On our Vermont trip last summer I could get 5.0 to 5.5 on clear sunny days. In Alaska this summer I was slamming out 6.0 amps. Their rated at 5.6 amps from the factory. What I'm thinking is, there is less pollution in Alaska, maybe also the outside temp. was a little cooler. One interesting point. While in AK. even when it was a real cloudy day, but there was just a slight outline of the sun behind the clouds it would pull in 1.5 to 2.0 amps....Couldn't do that in the Northeast.
The best part about this sort of thing is that you can expand it as needed. One to top off the RV. One to top off the battery bank. One for the hot tub etc. That way if one system goes down you don't lose everything. The portability is great! I'm not the most technical guy so the easy connectors are a big plus for me
Not to mention it is much quieter. You can hear the birds chirpping now, and the crickets cricking. Do they Crick? Whatever that sound is that they make in the evening. Glad your light came on.
Ya know the generator didn't seem noisy and it didn't bother us. Maybe just rookie excitement. Haha. The quiet SURE IS NICE! In the evenings especially. The birds, deer, owls and crickets are a lovely melody. :)
Realistically, all solar systems these days are plug and play. Buy (4) 100 watt Renogy panels, a 40A charge controller, an inverter, and some batteries. Daisy-chain your batteries, hook up the 2 power wires to the charge controller, hook up the 2 wires from the solar panels, and connect your power inverter to your batteries. Done. It takes about 30 minutes to hook up a basic solar system. The Renogy 400 watt kit is $779.99 plus inverter, by the way. Don't go cheap on the inverter. Get an AIMS 3000 watt inverter, so you'll have plenty of capacity. That adds $750 to the cost. So, $1500 plus batteries for a system that could potential power an entire house without needing a generator. Me, I use much less electricity than most people. I have just 1 100 watt panel and a single 135Ah battery. It lasts for days if there's no sunlight.
Rolls Surette are absolutly the best industrial battery, many last 10 and 15 years as they are designed to do....trojan doesnt come close. then again trojan fall into a cheaper battery format made for golf carts..
I cannot remeber, the 100w's are 36 cell? Either way, there is a better panel for the same cost ($1 watt) on Ebay. US made and produces 165 watt for the same foot print. You can find it on Ebay.
You can call companies on the phone and they will design a system for you. Backwoods solar is located in Sandpoint Idaho, not sure where you're at. Go to the shop, ask questions, save money. It's great that you got your solar up and running and hopefully that panel thing pays for itself over time, but much cheaper options are available and you can literally call a company and they will work with you over the phone to design a system.
I think most people feel they need to acquire a massive solar system, or get the absolute most efficient one possible straight out of the gate. People need to understand these systems are expandable , or, like this system, a " beginner set". You'll probably always have a use for it, even if just sporadically. I really enjoy your videos, you're really down to earth, with good humor- and you're just a darned cute couple! :-) BTW, the hot tub looks awesome! Nice view of your property. Looking forward to more, take care!
For what you spent on that little folding system you could have gone to Harbor Freight and bought a few $139.00 kits instead. They are great and come with everything, even two bright LED light, plus HF even sells sealed jell cell 12V batteries that don't need any maintenance and you can even store them inside without any ventilation since they don't release any dangerous gases.
may be a little late on here, but my wife and I use the internet pretty much all day to run our business so we need a constant internet source... after looking at my internet router i realized that the router takes 12v. 0.5a? i think? anyways so i just cut the plug off of the adapter and wired the router directly to the battery. It's been working great for a few months now! haven't noticed any voltage loss in the battery, since it doesn't have to scale up the power to 110v and then back down to 12volts. and it doesn't seem to hurt the router when I'm charging the battery at w/13.8volts :)
The year...2016, the challenge...living off grid. Wow....look at all the products to assist our adventure. Makes sense that there would be lots of gadgets available to help in a off grid living scenario. We were supposed to have flying cars by now! I would hope there would at least be a free energy option. Great video guys...Meow kitties!
I see you have a shelterlogic portable garage. I suggest adding a white heavy duty tarp over the top of that. We put a 24x24 tarp from home depot ($99) that is white for its reflective nature and uv resistant. we pulled the ends inside around the original cover and secured it inside with ratchet straps to the frame. Along the bottom we stretched a rope and then wove shock cord from the rope to the tarp. The stock cover will last only about 2 years before it succumbs to uv damage and rips along the frame ribs. This mod will make it last indefinitely. At least 5 years then change the white tarp for another 5. Let me know how and I could send you some pictures.
considered one of these before myself . but basically had the same fears . its too small to do what I think it needs it to do thus wont give enough power for my needs . well thanks for the feedback on this as it means now I can take another look at what my power needs are and will this again work as it just might after all . thanks again
From UK narrow boat experiences, 200w of solar will satisfy a couple's solar for six months per year if they are electrofrugal. However winter solar is usually no more than 10% of the panels rated power due to short days and low sunlight levels. In all cases a MPPT controller will get about 25% more power into the same battery from the same panels -just drastically more efficient (useful in winter!) Installations in the order of 1000w -2000w permit a full electric life in summer -microwave cooker, induction hob etc. That big battery bank could well eat up 5A continuous charge current to match it's self discharge -it will need a bigger panel array. Inverters running off a 12v battery are OK to about 1000w but the current starts to demand expensive fat copper wires. Beyond the 1000w inverter do consider 24 or 48v then you could start to use mains power tools in the summer. The boater's nightmare is that in summer you have too much solar electricity but in winter with long evenings you usually struggle to manage with the restricted solar output,
$540? For 120w! (At the amzn link.) Charge controller would be $30 on the high end of prices. Current assembled solar panel with frame delivered goes for about $1/w so $150 for panels and controller. Then another $410 for the hinges, handle, legs and wire clamps. Duck tape is $5 you can tape the charge controller on and use a stick to prop the panel and then buy a really good clamp for $400 or less and save yourself $10 or a whole lot more depending on how little gold/silver your clamp contains.
Hi, you mentioned checking the polarity while using the connectors, but these are Anderson connectors, which are great for DC because you can not connect them the wrong way round... I've got them on DC system in my LandCruiser and they rock!! Keep up the video's and the blog!
The portable panels doesn't has the electronics exposed to the weather. Don't think this would last unless you had some way to cover it over but then again if it is raining or snowing they don't charge much anyway so you can fold it up and take it inside.
I could KISS you. You just de cluttered my brain my life AND my budget. thank you for this insane simple setup video finally someone who speaks COMMON SENSE
I've always wondered - how do people who are homesteading have internet? I understand the solar, but if you live out in the middle of nothing (rural) what kind of internet do you have? I assume you're using DSL, but that has a range limit so I'm wondering how you got the ISP to run it out that far?
Some off-grid people add a few of those small 400 watt wind turbines to a small solar panel setup. Mother Earth news just had an article on solar heating of water. Check into that issue, Jesse and Alyssa are in the Aug-Sept issue!
Have to watch this again so I can get all the info. I'm older so didn't grow up with all these modern technical devices. This would be a great start for me to power my laptop. It's really all I need when the sun goes down. Thanks for posting this great info. I subbed and liked.
This is the correct way to use solar, as part of a modular power system. He uses it as an auxiliary to his main power source. In remote areas, add 2 more modules to maximize juice production: wind and human/animal power.
I have two small panels on my boat I only use them when I have been out in the boat using power a ten hour trip with all my instruments on only need two day to put full power back in batterie and that is days of only seven hours,, Great stuff would not want to be without them now, Cheers, Pete
Hey yall I would love to do solar some day on our homestead.But we dont hold a job we live off our homestead completely.I like the simplicity of this one but I will have to wait.Just wanted to let you know i just read your story in Mother Earth Magazine .I admire what your doing but your lifestyle tells me you have and outside income.Which is ok with me we bite the bullet and gave up the working on a public job and all the luxuries of this life like cell phones,cable tv ,ect. Thanks for putting up your videos.
+Deep South Homestead We aren't extraordinary. First and foremost like you we've reduced our expenses. While we do still have an income, it's not an accident. We spent over 2 years creating that income stream that allows us to live this life the way we fee comfortable. Every day we are finding ways to do with less. The blessing is that we now spend most all of our funds in assets or property improvement. Unlike in our past where we were simply renting everything or consuming. You surely are enjoying a simpler life and while it is tempting to have the things the world can offer, if one can live without, no doubt it will be a more rich life. Our goal is to keep analyzing our life and look for ways to simplify. Take nothing for granted and accept nothing at face value. Even challenge ourselves to give up things we think we can't live without. Even if it's only for a while. As for solar, we are starting this journey, but we aren't sold on solar. We can't build or grow batteries. So while solar is the accepted mainstream alternative energy source, it's far from free and sustainable in the big scheme of things. We will try it for our family and go from there. Hopefully everyone makes decisions that are best for themselves and doesn't let others persuade them otherwise. Be well and thanks for joining us!
We totally agree, learning to live without so much leaves more money to work on the property. That is how we do it also. Expense is one reason and what do you do for batteries if something happens is the other that we don't have them. Love your channel.
One comment about solar I haven't seen that's useful for those on a tight budget, there are several electronic surplus/odd lots web sites (The Electronic Goldmine is one for example) where you can get solar panels/cells for a much discounted price, some may have cosmetic defects (chipped edges, etc..) that doesn't affect performance, and some where you have to solder leads to them which isn't very hard with a little practice with a soldering iron. A couple important items here though is you must get a charge controller (if one isn't supplied) so not to over charge storage batteries if used, and also most plain Jane solar panels does not come with a blocking Diode. This is important to keep storage batteries from discharging at night back through the solar cell. A good resource for these items is Amazon.com if surplus sites don't have them.
They make Solar panels that can mount on RVs that can supply all of your electrical needs!! The Solar panels can keep the Rv's Battery charged and supply electricity for all of your devices!! Some small Solar portable panels you can mount to racks, poles, etc to mark them semi-permanent and to get them in a better position to get a better sun angle when the sun is shining and thus be more efficient. Also by mounting them temporarily to a rack, pole etc, it makes them harder to knock over in windy conditions, and also make it less likely someone will trip over them by raising them up higher off the ground.
Well folks....houses typically get about 7kW (7 kilowatts) need for power for a full "American wasteful lifestyle".....7 kilowatts=7 thousand watts. A good "suit case 100 watt" system for a trailer.....ANY trailer is much more than one needs for active traveling, etc. to keep batteries charged. Most people get away with a good 25 Watt traveler. The Kit mentioned in this video.....is about 2-3 times value or what it should cost. This little panel/inverter (DC/Direct Current to AC/Alternating current) system would be a good-great value today at $250.
I subbed. I'm a minimalist. I live in a city now in an owned house but we plan to buy land and go off grid. I want to set up a nice small house for us but I want land to hunt and fish and build my own personal house like a survivalist would. I want to use all low tech for everything including heating and cooling, refrigeration, hot running water, waste disposal system, all can be done with no electricity.
This is great. Someone else asked about price point, that would be helpful. I'm slowly collecting things for my transition, and this will be one more item on the list. Thanks for being pioneers.....
+Tom Smith We found this panel for $535. If you find it cheaper let us know we will share it here. Go Power direct has a deal where they include the 30' cord too but for someone reason it's priced hired than if you bought them separate. We emailed them about it to ask why. Hopefully they'll make the deal worthwhile for other folks.
Did you know that you can use your car as a power generator if needed? I hooked up my portable jump starter with a built in power inverter to my cars battery then hooked up an extension cord to my 48" TV. There was a power outage and I was missing a football game so I came up with this solution and I was able to watch the entire game while the car was idling. Of course your inverter will have to be rated for the appliance your trying to operate.
Very Exciting! That's got to save lots of hassle in constantly dealing with gen. set !! That's a unit you can have for standby later too, even after you get a larger PV system at a later time. Congrats! We've just pulled the trigger on a decent sized solar array (7.8kW) for combination Grid-tie, backup and off-grid. Anxious to get it up and running. Although since we have grid power anyway, it won't change how we use power, but only lower energy costs now, while providing backup for when the grid is attacked or otherwise disrupted.
In one low consumption mode we require about 9kW /day, so with our dark winter times, there needs to be additional panels for short season. Our only water is a 700' deep well, with another pump for pressure. So 2kW a day on pumps w/o watering gardends. Batteries: Studied a while and found the fork lift batteries to be the best band for the buck. Two 12-100-13 batteries supply over 40kWh at a slow discharge rate. They should arrive next week and at almost 1200 lbs. each I'm not looking forward to getting them into the battery boxes. ;-}
That is a large array for sure! Not unheard of in grid-tie installations though. If you can afford it, what else is money good for? Can't eat it or use it to keep warm. Good to have alternatives where possible. For us we're inching our way toward sustainability. Much of what we do is about bucking the monetary system. We will intentionally work harder to avoid using money. We don't want to be a story book off grid household. We want to be skilled, confident people. Money can't buy that. I'm not even totally sold on solar. I can't make batteries so even if we use it, we're still not really free. A proper battery bank still has a depreciation cost of about $70-100/mo. Solar therefore is far from free or cheap. The best thing we can do is learn to live with less of everything. That's just our outlook on things. :)
We're not rolling in cash either, but being able to get water from this deep well is important. Thankfully there were large incentives available - so it made economic sense - such as getting paid $0.54/kW on ANY solar we generate, even though we only pay $0.07/kW for what we buy, as well as Fed. Tax credits. In a TEOTWAWKI situation you may not be able to go pick up municipal water. And we have no springs etc., only a dirty river 2 miles away. And certainly any form of fuel will be difficult to obtain. To grow food takes water. With the solar -- if the grid is down we can still get the needed water, and if down only locally we can still work from the Internet. Getting water here takes over 2kW per day, with meager water use. In summer it could be over 4kW. The new batteries should be good for over 15 years if well taken care of - 20 years is not uncommon. Having more panels provides me some equipment redundancy, even with meager needs, it can also let me fix equipment, use my welder and so forth - all important for sustainability. But I totally agree on learning to live with less. Depends on where we live and the situation. Like your 'idea' of bucking the monetary system - - So how can we eliminate the need to pay property taxes on our places? In TEOTWAWKI -- If we can't pay, the Gov't could selectively grab our places - 'homestead' or no homestead. We appreciate not only your channel, but your pioneer spirit as the two of you stand shoulder to shoulder getting the projects done. Happy Projecting !!! BTW my wife has started referring to your two as the "Hot Tub Couple" - its cute. Thanks again !!
Is your pump AC or DC? Thats a lot of power to be driving a well pump. If its AC it will be very inefficient as well as the inverter loss on top of that. Do you have a holding tank? If so you could fill that and not have the need to run the pump all day. It sounds like you are pretty well off, but if you really wanted to cut back on power usage there are ways to do that and still be as comfortable as you want.
I have a small scale hook-up (200 watts on a good day) I agree with slightlybent47 Battery's are expensive and require regular maintenance. Ad the cost of a controller and inverter system and the cost for larger applications goes way up.
Solar can be daunting but a little research pays off - lots of great videos on RUclips such as those by channel AltE. To learn I built a "demo" solar system consisting of two used 120 watt Kyocera panels from eBay for $200 delivered, a $20 PWM charge controller a small set of AGM batteries I got for fire-sale prices from a local battery place that was going out of business.
I have been researching solar for our RV, reading books, reading on line info. So nervous to go forward. What you have is exactly what I've been looking for, but was afraid it would be to difficult. Who makes your portable, what's it called.... must have. Thanks for the video.
You should make it clear to charge and use a single battery. You need a min of 11-15 amps per deep cycle or AGM battery. And yes you can buy those for Portable power. Problem is they use PWM controllers which are not efficient. You lose 35-40% of the panels rating.. Save your money and find a used MPPT 30-60 amp rated controller and the rest you can size as needed. A new MorningStar 45 amp MPPT is only $365.00 and a 255 watt multi crystalline panel is like $220.00 from kyocera.That is 255\12.5 volts=20 amps
Classic -- I never thought about portable Solar except for the ones for hiking which take a day to charge a portable battery bank for your cell phone. Awesome -- thanks !!!
Same here. We saw a lot of stuff in the 40-60w range, but knew that wouldn't be enough for boondocking. Maybe camping and hiking. 120w is impressive in good sun. Had no idea! :)
really love your channel, We just retired and well start traveling soon, we are going to be living in a converted dodge van, we well be totally off grid, my question, do you leave the panel out all the time ? well the rain damage the voltage controller? what is your average output and what is your usage and do the panels keep up with your usage?
Because of the high price of the electricity in Puerto Rico and the latest event I'm going on solar sistem combine with a power generator and an occasional light power from the state. But looking forward to an off the grid sistem. Your videos have help me a lot and as soon as I go with it I will make a video and send it to you. Thanks.
Sorry I tryed to tell you guys. I had 200 watts that ran my lights and fan for 2 years. It's all about power over time. The gen is a racehorse. Your small solar is the turtle small bits of power over a long time. We run my home for the most part off 2480 watts of PV. My power bill in summer in SC where the heat is nuts is 12 bucks for the power we buy and 15+ in fee's just for having the power to my home. If we did not have the power from town we would be find just have to do a few things diff.
David Flash I have loads f videos on my solar.. Would take for ever to tell you all I have. Come over and look. Sub me if you like. But yes live in SC and we do run AC when are batts are in float. We get about 3 hrs of free ac a day. Hope to see you there.
Aw geez~gotta love that! We are in almost the exact same situation, actually have been putting it off for so long, gone way far down SO many rabbit trails on the whole thing etc etc, it just got overwhelming and we shelved it to give our brains and veins a rest! i can hear the at so familiar incredulous edge in your voice as you share this info:) Point taken, moving on with this, thanks a great big whole lot and...well, carry on soldiers! Kind of you to share, appreciate the honesty btw
+Pure Living for Life ....yea, in the back country of New Zealand it would be ideal for backup power and when the power goes down during storms, or earthquakes in the cities, like after the Christchurch quake a few years back.
Hi you 2 people you are doing great, and Thanks fore shearing , Nice to se the way you are walking together I love That...and when it comes to solar, thats the way to go....I am making a Solar Powered e-Trike and thats a challenge to .....but I want just the same as you, just making it mobile an with a system that goes to a 100 ore even 250v and then go down from there to the volt that I need ...because the panels does not all the time give you full power, when the clouds are out .... then you just get a small amount volt and amp...... I'll charge some Super Cap raided to 250V ore higher ...They have to be raided. to the max V that you panel can deliver without load ( open circuit V ), ....and take the power from them and make the volt I need with a converter, that can go from high V and way below the volt that the panels are producing ....and.....because it is Super Cap..... they can easily go down to 0 V without getting damaged as battery does, This way I can get much more "just" out off the same solar panels even with a clouded sky......Have fun and an good life, my the Sun be with you......POWER TO The People...Best to All ...JT Denmark DK
This looks it would be a good beginning solar system. As others have warned you make sure those barries are fully charged at least once a week. Wouldn't you to find a dead battery with a few cells gone. :) Good video, glad you two are doing well it looks like you are really making good use of that hot tub :)
Awesome video and welcome in the solar world, I have 2 tips for you, first eq your batteries each month with a proper charger that runs off the generator, it will expand the lifetime of the batteries, second, contact you isp if it possible to feed 12v into your internet antenna, so much energy is wasted if the inverter is on just to power the interrnet (from 12v to 110 to 12/24 volt), keep up the good work ;)
Thanks for the tip on the internet. Definitely notice all the inverters / converters we have going. Seems silly, but makes sense in a standardized power grid scenario. Perhaps we can get creative and eliminate some of them at least.
You said you wanted to see if it was beneficial or not to do solar panels, and said it was already paying off because you used zero fuel this week. But you never stated how much fuel you were using per week. Spo what is the comparison? Did you use a gallon a week, five or ten gallons? And when you talk about fuel, do you mean gasoline, kerosene, propane, diesel, or a combination? Thanks!
Its hot and I am sitting near a small window a/c that draws just under 6 amps at 120v. That's 720 watts or almost 10 times the watts of this system. That is the problem with selling solar electric in the south where daily temps soar well above 100 degrees. If it was not for a/c I would be all over this solar.
Why would it have a PWM charge controller, which tend to trickle charge when topping off the battery causing plating on your batteries ,a MPPT charge controller is a little more expensive but shuts off completely when batteries are charged avoiding battery plating issues.
How much did the system cost, versus the cost to run the generator? The generator has some advantages too; able to run at night and not susceptible to high winds are just two of them.
+Phil Heaton System was just over $500. We are documenting the cost savings on our blog. www.purelivingforlife.com/expense-reports/ We estimate 5 months to totally recoup our investment. We have run the generator 5 times in the past 6 weeks for odds and ends reasons. Otherwise zero usage. Unlike twice daily before. We'll be doing an update video after we have some time under our belts on how things are going.
i love your videos. you two are wonderful and beautiful people. one day i hope i can gain the courage to plunge off grid. looking forward to manny more videos thanks for giving us all the helpful pointers and advice.
These folding solar panels are very expensive, not worth the price. You can get the same wattage for half the price of regular panels which are the same thing, just dont have the hinges and handle and stand.
Or a system with properly sized components and wiring, ready to use out of the box and stupid-easy to operate. Sounds like you missed the point of the video. It's easy to do. People want to overcomplicate stuff. Us included.
+Pure Living for Life I think the point of the video, is you trying to sell product for the solar panel sponsor, which is fine, maybe just admit it, and offer people a coupon code? You make good videos, you are very knowledgeable in many areas, but the portable solar solution you are showing here is not a well thought out, or even high quality solution for most people. For a fixed location, it makes no sense. Just because something is easy, doesn't make it the best, or even a good solution... especially when it is overpriced.
Its like light bulbs, if it lasted forever the bulb factory would eventually go out of business. So they claim its going to go bad in a certain time to keep up sales.
What good are solar panels when the sun goes into grand solar minimum and when volcanic ash fills the sky as well? Just thinking how anyone can survive what's coming when going off grid will be next to impossible.
Where were all these smarty-pants 10 months ago? It's an adventurous learning process. You will enjoy exploring heating water with the sun. Using hot water bottles under your covers to keep warmer at night while using less fuel. Arizona Iced Tea Gallon containers work extremely well... Cooking with the sun also. Sportsman's guide .com has a great solar panel, " Crystalline Solar Panel, 165 Watt" it works very well and they have a 4 pay plan.
A practical solution if you have a weekend house without electricity. On the other hand, since you need a battery - just bring a fully charged battery!
How long before you see a positive ROI on the cost of the solar panel? That is, how long will you have to go fuel free before you have saved enough to offset the costs?
I was actually looking for panels and inverters, and did a pretty deep study on them. While I have not bought yet I think I have settled on their 3500 watt inverter. From everything I have read they really have great customer service.
+Sean Owens Good to know. Our experience meeting Stefan at the RV convention really made us feel good about the company. What we didn't realize is that Go Power is actually a division of a larger company. So they do have a large engineering team and solid foundation. Though presently 12v and home stuff is a small segment for them, they're aiming to release many new projects that actually make sense and tackle problems we see with current solar. Namely scalability of components and systems that allow staring small with multi-voltage compatibility. Example start with 12v, then move up to 24v without replacing all your stuff.
задумано хорошо, реализовано скверно - большие потери в провода, глупый стандартный контролер, из-за этого низкий срок службы аккумуляторов. Тем более что есть способы повышать у штатных панелей мощность на 30% с помощью простейшего девайса "звезда Кунаширского" и увеличивать срок службы и количество циклов аккумуляторов. К тому же компактные импульсные преобразователи на повышение напряжения хотя бы до 32-48 вольт позволяют экономить на сопротивлении передающей электрическую энергию линии и использовать светодиодные лампы на 32 В и штатные модули на понижение напряжения для конкретной нагрузки.
I really like your video, there is some much information, that I am overwhelm. you are doing what will be doing in a year. I have been trying to figure out how to keep my AC going . I just don't know how much solor panels to buy, or a battery bank. my generator that I'm going to buy will be Yamaha 6300. my trailer is on a 30 amp, my AC is 13,500 my fridge is 300 , do you have any thoughts on this matter? thank you
One thing at a time. I will buy the land. Put in the pad. Ship container. Have it installed. Put on solar panels. Buy incinerator toilet so I won't have to put in a septic tank. Dig well. But first clear off all the damned sagebrush.
…there is no reason not to put your big batteries in parallel with your RV Battery right now. The big ones are probably 6v, right? Just wire them up in pairs in series and then put them in parallel with the RV. Bigger storage capacity is always better. Especially with Solar, where - on some days - you don't have consistent energy income.
be careful with putting different grade batteries in parallel, they may start to charge each other, and that may not give the best results... on the other hand, just switching to the big bank sounds like a good idea!
…that's like saying "the lead acid battery in your car is made of 6 cells, if one of them fails the whole battery will fail - don't use lead acid batteries" or "your car has four tires, if one of them fails the whole car will fail". Yes, thats how batteries work, there is no one cell that can give you 12v. All batterycells live between one and four volts.
My husband and I have been watching your videos for around a month now. We just wanted to drop by and tell you how much we have learned from you and how much we enjoy watching your videos. We bought 30 acres in the mountains of North Carolina. A lot of the things you go over, we are going through now. Please keep uploading your videos and thank you for your willingness to teach us.
Hi Jesse & Alyssa, This is Rodger from Missouri. I have watched only two of you RUclips videos, but already see you are living the life I wanted back in the 70's. Yes I'm an old-timer, and recently retired. Now I'm living the life I wanted 45 years ago. So glad you are enjoying it now. Love the two video I have watched, I subscribed to your channel and blog and look forward to watching and learning more. Rodger
Hey guys good video. I'm an electrical eng, any time you need advice drop us a line. Happy to help. Just for everyone out there, 7amps @ 12v = 84W. Not bad from two little panels. Just one thing from your video. The cables you have installed on the batteries look to be undersized. Batteries are nasty and this is the point you don't want to undersize your cables. Batteries have no short circuit current protection which means unlimited amps. Ooooch. Also volt drop is your enemy when down at 12/24/48V DC systems. You go to all the trouble to generate voltage then throw it away through resistance in the cables. That's why you need to get these properly sized, easy to do when you know the basics. Sorry for the lecture intentions are good........
DC amps are nowhere near as bad as AC where less than 1/2 an amp will kill you. Agreed on the cable size. Long Term you also want to spend the money and buy high end batteries. Also set your system up as the highest voltage you can. I believe 200volt system is the highest at this time.
Very good point. I hope they act on it, and get larger cables.
Hi, If you want a battery that will last a life time, look into Nickel-Iron batteries, just the electrolyte can be changed to make them as good as new, they have been in service for over 40 years and still fine. The only down side is checking the electrolyte levels are topped up....... They can be fully discharged and over charged too, with out damage, a 100 year old technology that were used in Submarines and the first electric cars way back in early 1900's, but the design has been improved considerably in the last century. Best Wishes from New Zealand. ironedison.com/
Richard, I am an ignorant consumer when I comes to solar, but yet I would very much like to go off grid. I have investment property to practice on. One structure on my property is 520 square feet and an additional living space at 320 square feet. I would greatly appreciate your advice on taking this property off grid. I would like to add that my mothers home is on solar with with Sunrun in California and sad to report that we have not seen a benefit yet. So, I would love to take my property off grid to compare the difference and benefit. Please help.
Okay 2 questions in one there.
Mums solar first. Without knowing the full details, I'll take a few guesses. I presume that Sunrun has installed a solar system to 'Feed into the Grid'. All that jargon means is that when the sun is out, energy is generated by the solar panels & exported (Sent) back to the grid. The power that you generate is offset by the consumption 'Used' by the homeowner. Honest opinion, this is not an investment that will likely return any significant benefits anytime soon. Firstly, the figures that Sunrun would have used to estimate how much capacity the system would generate have been over stated. Secondly, if these were installed on a lease type contract then there won't be any savings until this is paid back. The only way this system is ever going to return a payback is if the owner installed the panels by fully purchasing & then writing the money off. Then you MAY get a close to zero power bills but still likely to have a small amount to pay each month.
Hate to break it to you, but this type of system is sold as an investment LIE.
Another great source for free power is a wind turbine for those non-sunny days. I'm sure you get plenty of wind in your location. Nice part is as long as the wind is blowing you can even charge at night. And you can switch off as needed. You could get a ready made and just put it up or DYI Like I did. The main style is a horizontal type and you see them all over. I have 2 vertical turbines and I used tread mill motors for the generators The turbine itself I used the squirrel cages from a old furnace. Less moving parts cause they catch the wind from all directions where horizontal have to turn in to the wind. Just another idea that will keep you both from being in the dark.
Are your VAWTs purchased or home-made? If purchased, source please? Thanks!
Good for you. My wife and I lived for 20 yrs off grid on our 44 foot sailboat. With Solar , wind and occasional engine driven alternator. ( like a car would charge a battery). The other side of the equation is of course very hi- efficiency ( low) loads. Check out marine refrigeration. Some are super efficient. Especially when you make your own extra well insulated box. Of course another way to go with refrigeration is propane. And the new LED lights are amazing. If you get any decent wind anywhere on your grounds, there are some great wind generators out there too. Good luck.
great video, the same thing happened with us. We thought it was going to be way more complicated then it actually was. We are using just one panel and one battery in our shipping container home and its working great!
I recommend if your going to live there full time forget the solar kits. They work fine but generally are very small in capacity. The only way to go solar is think long term start out with solar panels that output a minimum of 240 watts per panel with the initial installation funds permitting of a least 480-500 watts. Look at the terrain where you have it installed now. You can always update it later but try to mount the panels where with a servo driven mount computer controlled based on position of the sun it rotates the panel mount to get as much sun as possible. An old solid axle from a pickup purchased at a junkyard with the differential just above the hole you dug to insert half the axle into gives you an easy rotation point you use an scrap wheel that fits the exposed brake assembly to mount the solar array frame, it also makes it easier later to remove the solar frame mount to update and add more panels later you just have to keep it balanced, could either do automatically or attach a handle to the input shaft on the differential you simply rotate the solar panel array a couple of times a day to keep harvesting power near max capacity. Or install a small motor with the manual control next to the charge controller so you simply turn a switch to rotate the array to pickup more sunlight. A 12 volt used starter motor hooked up to two old manual transmissions with both transmissions locked in reverse gear ( lowest numerical gear ratio ) so you can without spending a lot of money have a manual to be updated later to automatic rotation to get max sunlight at all times of the day to your solar panels.
Ok I type too much but your on the right path solar is the way to go instead of burning fuel to generate power use the fuel that never stops burning. Sunlight.😎😎😎😎
Just remember safety first foremost and always the lower in voltage you go the thicker the cable required to prevent overheating and fire.
We all started by talking baby steps. You two just were born as to solar power. There is if you have Internet access at your home a ton of information about solar power so rule number one for a carpenter is " measure twice cut once " in your case research research research the discussion should ensue on solar chat rooms to take advantage of people who have already been there done that. Right here on RUclips do a search for solar power DIY installs and comment to people who have systems up and running. Everybody makes mistakes so take advantage of theirs as 99% of solar power owners love to pass on how to make it right.
Keep plugging away ( isn't that the idea? )
I tend to ramble as the ideas flow but if you read to the end they usually show what I'm trying to convey.
James Shanks c
James Shanks
U said, "...use the fuel that never stops burning, sunlight." U have heard of Chemtrails, yes? Research it. The whole intent is to 'block out' the sun and contaminate the water sources, crops and vegetation with nano particles of aluminum. I am a 60 year old young female who currently lives with 4 dogs in a 2 room cabin. I came from a 3600 sq ft home and wanted to try 'tiny house living. I'm good with it so far after a year but want to go totally off grid. I'm a prepper, however was not prepared for what research I found on Chemtrails, the end-all to humanity. There is absolutely nothing that can filter these nano aluminum. particles that are 1/billionth size particles compared to cigarette smoke which is 1 millionth size particles. By the way, your feedback was helpful. It's OK to ramble on. Everyone has knowledge to offer someone out there.
Eileen Murphy, if you think commercial jets are emitting aluminum particles in their exhaust, how did the powder get loaded on the aircraft without the ground crew or the flight crew knowing about it? Whether you have an answer for these questions or not, I suggest you check with your doctor and get your medications adjusted.
Seriously, it's condensation from the water vapor in the atmosphere. It started about 80 years ago when aircraft were able to get into the stratosphere, which is up around 30-35,000 feet. Hope you get better.
Condensation? I'll not be so condescending as you, but you should look into Geo-Engineering Watch and do some research. The days of "I want what you're smoking - You need to see a Doctor" sayings are gone, time to wake up.
80 years ago? Oh FFS!!!
Eileen.....fucking idiot. You are probably ....totally without education, financially marginalized, never invested, never had a science course at Any level, and probably unhappy.
I bought the Renogy 100 watt portable suitcase unit ( $279 Amazon) for about half the price of the GoPower 120 unit ($569) After our 110 day RVing trip to Alaska this summer, I can say the unit paid big dividends. Just enough power to keep the RV's single group 29 battery charged up.
+jay super Excellent feedback! In my dream world I could test the Renogy, Go Power and Zamp side-by-side. What kind of current were you getting from the Renogy? Maybe 6amps?
On our Vermont trip last summer I could get 5.0 to 5.5 on clear sunny days. In Alaska this summer I was slamming out 6.0 amps. Their rated at 5.6 amps from the factory. What I'm thinking is, there is less pollution in Alaska, maybe also the outside temp. was a little cooler. One interesting point. While in AK. even when it was a real cloudy day, but there was just a slight outline of the sun behind the clouds it would pull in 1.5 to 2.0 amps....Couldn't do that in the Northeast.
The best part about this sort of thing is that you can expand it as needed. One to top off the RV. One to top off the battery bank. One for the hot tub etc. That way if one system goes down you don't lose everything. The portability is great! I'm not the most technical guy so the easy connectors are a big plus for me
Not to mention it is much quieter. You can hear the birds chirpping now, and the crickets cricking. Do they Crick? Whatever that sound is that they make in the evening. Glad your light came on.
Ya know the generator didn't seem noisy and it didn't bother us. Maybe just rookie excitement. Haha. The quiet SURE IS NICE! In the evenings especially. The birds, deer, owls and crickets are a lovely melody. :)
Realistically, all solar systems these days are plug and play. Buy (4) 100 watt Renogy panels, a 40A charge controller, an inverter, and some batteries. Daisy-chain your batteries, hook up the 2 power wires to the charge controller, hook up the 2 wires from the solar panels, and connect your power inverter to your batteries. Done. It takes about 30 minutes to hook up a basic solar system.
The Renogy 400 watt kit is $779.99 plus inverter, by the way. Don't go cheap on the inverter. Get an AIMS 3000 watt inverter, so you'll have plenty of capacity. That adds $750 to the cost. So, $1500 plus batteries for a system that could potential power an entire house without needing a generator. Me, I use much less electricity than most people. I have just 1 100 watt panel and a single 135Ah battery. It lasts for days if there's no sunlight.
Connectors?Wire components? and battery? I wanted to keep a charge battery bank but not sure which batteries are the best.
Malina Chin Trojan batteries are generally accepted as the best.
Rolls Surette are absolutly the best industrial battery, many last 10 and 15 years as they are designed to do....trojan doesnt come close. then again trojan fall into a cheaper battery format made for golf carts..
I cannot remeber, the 100w's are 36 cell? Either way, there is a better panel for the same cost ($1 watt) on Ebay. US made and produces 165 watt for the same foot print. You can find it on Ebay.
The Truth and the Life .
Great info. I admit I have been overwhelmed by the idea of solar and this looks a great starter for a newbie. Worth looking into. Thanks!
You can call companies on the phone and they will design a system for you. Backwoods solar is located in Sandpoint Idaho, not sure where you're at. Go to the shop, ask questions, save money. It's great that you got your solar up and running and hopefully that panel thing pays for itself over time, but much cheaper options are available and you can literally call a company and they will work with you over the phone to design a system.
I think most people feel they need to acquire a massive solar system, or get the absolute most efficient one possible straight out of the gate. People need to understand these systems are expandable , or, like this system, a " beginner set". You'll probably always have a use for it, even if just sporadically. I really enjoy your videos, you're really down to earth, with good humor- and you're just a darned cute couple! :-) BTW, the hot tub looks awesome! Nice view of your property. Looking forward to more, take care!
For what you spent on that little folding system you could have gone to Harbor Freight and bought a few $139.00 kits instead. They are great and come with everything, even two bright LED light, plus HF even sells sealed jell cell 12V batteries that don't need any maintenance and you can even store them inside without any ventilation since they don't release any dangerous gases.
DON'T BUY THE 45 Watt HF kit. You are better off finding a single 250 Watt solar panel and going with a charge controller.
There are lots of things people can do differently....10 ways to skin a cat...
may be a little late on here, but my wife and I use the internet pretty much all day to run our business so we need a constant internet source... after looking at my internet router i realized that the router takes 12v. 0.5a? i think? anyways so i just cut the plug off of the adapter and wired the router directly to the battery. It's been working great for a few months now! haven't noticed any voltage loss in the battery, since it doesn't have to scale up the power to 110v and then back down to 12volts. and it doesn't seem to hurt the router when I'm charging the battery at w/13.8volts :)
The year...2016, the challenge...living off grid. Wow....look at all the products to assist our adventure. Makes sense that there would be lots of gadgets available to help in a off grid living scenario. We were supposed to have flying cars by now! I would hope there would at least be a free energy option. Great video guys...Meow kitties!
iv been watching you guys for a long time and Im glad you have kept up with your homesteading project. keep up the good work
Thanks for coming along with us on this adventure! :)
I'm a UPS technician. Newly hired, it's making me start to really like electricity. I learned a lot beyond my navy training.
That protable solar panels can store ~ 250wattshour of energy to the battries per day. For a 25watts LED bulb you can use it for 10 hours.
Wow 7 amps? These things are getting better every day.
Priorities are important....hot tub before house....l like it!!!
I see you have a shelterlogic portable garage. I suggest adding a white heavy duty tarp over the top of that. We put a 24x24 tarp from home depot ($99) that is white for its reflective nature and uv resistant. we pulled the ends inside around the original cover and secured it inside with ratchet straps to the frame. Along the bottom we stretched a rope and then wove shock cord from the rope to the tarp. The stock cover will last only about 2 years before it succumbs to uv damage and rips along the frame ribs. This mod will make it last indefinitely. At least 5 years then change the white tarp for another 5. Let me know how and I could send you some pictures.
considered one of these before myself . but basically had the same fears . its too small to do what I think it needs it to do thus wont give enough power for my needs . well thanks for the feedback on this as it means now I can take another look at what my power needs are and will this again work as it just might after all . thanks again
From UK narrow boat experiences, 200w of solar will satisfy a couple's solar for six months per year if they are electrofrugal. However winter solar is usually no more than 10% of the panels rated power due to short days and low sunlight levels.
In all cases a MPPT controller will get about 25% more power into the same battery from the same panels -just drastically more efficient (useful in winter!)
Installations in the order of 1000w -2000w permit a full electric life in summer -microwave cooker, induction hob etc.
That big battery bank could well eat up 5A continuous charge current to match it's self discharge -it will need a bigger panel array.
Inverters running off a 12v battery are OK to about 1000w but the current starts to demand expensive fat copper wires. Beyond the 1000w inverter do consider 24 or 48v then you could start to use mains power tools in the summer.
The boater's nightmare is that in summer you have too much solar electricity but in winter with long evenings you usually struggle to manage with the restricted solar output,
$540? For 120w! (At the amzn link.) Charge controller would be $30 on the high end of prices. Current assembled solar panel with frame delivered goes for about $1/w so $150 for panels and controller. Then another $410 for the hinges, handle, legs and wire clamps. Duck tape is $5 you can tape the charge controller on and use a stick to prop the panel and then buy a really good clamp for $400 or less and save yourself $10 or a whole lot more depending on how little gold/silver your clamp contains.
Hi, you mentioned checking the polarity while using the connectors, but these are Anderson connectors, which are great for DC because you can not connect them the wrong way round... I've got them on DC system in my LandCruiser and they rock!! Keep up the video's and the blog!
The portable panels doesn't has the electronics exposed to the weather. Don't think this would last unless you had some way to cover it over but then again if it is raining or snowing they don't charge much anyway so you can fold it up and take it inside.
I could KISS you. You just de cluttered my brain my life AND my budget. thank you for this insane simple setup video finally someone who speaks COMMON SENSE
I've always wondered - how do people who are homesteading have internet? I understand the solar, but if you live out in the middle of nothing (rural) what kind of internet do you have? I assume you're using DSL, but that has a range limit so I'm wondering how you got the ISP to run it out that far?
Some off-grid people add a few of those small 400 watt wind turbines to a small solar panel setup. Mother Earth news just had an article on solar heating of water. Check into that issue, Jesse and Alyssa are in the Aug-Sept issue!
Have to watch this again so I can get all the info. I'm older so didn't grow up with all these modern technical devices. This would be a great start for me to power my laptop. It's really all I need when the sun goes down. Thanks for posting this great info. I subbed and liked.
+small footprint What sort of battery or batteries are you using?
Just getting started so don't know about any of that yet.
This is the correct way to use solar, as part of a modular power system. He uses it as an auxiliary to his main power source. In remote areas, add 2 more modules to maximize juice production: wind and human/animal power.
where do I purchase this unit?????????????????
Thank you for sharing this video, I am planning on going off the grid and I'm glad I watch your video before doing anything.
I have two small panels on my boat I only use them when I have been out in the boat using power a ten hour trip with all my instruments on only need two day to put full power back in batterie and that is days of only seven hours,, Great stuff would not want to be without them now, Cheers, Pete
Hey yall I would love to do solar some day on our homestead.But we dont hold a job we live off our homestead completely.I like the simplicity of this one but I will have to wait.Just wanted to let you know i just read your story in Mother Earth Magazine .I admire what your doing but your lifestyle tells me you have and outside income.Which is ok with me we bite the bullet and gave up the working on a public job and all the luxuries of this life like cell phones,cable tv ,ect. Thanks for putting up your videos.
+Deep South Homestead We aren't extraordinary. First and foremost like you we've reduced our expenses. While we do still have an income, it's not an accident. We spent over 2 years creating that income stream that allows us to live this life the way we fee comfortable. Every day we are finding ways to do with less. The blessing is that we now spend most all of our funds in assets or property improvement. Unlike in our past where we were simply renting everything or consuming. You surely are enjoying a simpler life and while it is tempting to have the things the world can offer, if one can live without, no doubt it will be a more rich life. Our goal is to keep analyzing our life and look for ways to simplify. Take nothing for granted and accept nothing at face value. Even challenge ourselves to give up things we think we can't live without. Even if it's only for a while. As for solar, we are starting this journey, but we aren't sold on solar. We can't build or grow batteries. So while solar is the accepted mainstream alternative energy source, it's far from free and sustainable in the big scheme of things. We will try it for our family and go from there. Hopefully everyone makes decisions that are best for themselves and doesn't let others persuade them otherwise. Be well and thanks for joining us!
We totally agree, learning to live without so much leaves more money to work on the property. That is how we do it also. Expense is one reason and what do you do for batteries if something happens is the other that we don't have them. Love your channel.
One comment about solar I haven't seen that's useful for those on a tight budget, there are several electronic surplus/odd lots web sites (The Electronic Goldmine is one for example) where you can get solar panels/cells for a much discounted price, some may have cosmetic defects (chipped edges, etc..) that doesn't affect performance, and some where you have to solder leads to them which isn't very hard with a little practice with a soldering iron. A couple important items here though is you must get a charge controller (if one isn't supplied) so not to over charge storage batteries if used, and also most plain Jane solar panels does not come with a blocking Diode. This is important to keep storage batteries from discharging at night back through the solar cell. A good resource for these items is Amazon.com if surplus sites don't have them.
They make Solar panels that can mount on RVs that can supply all of your electrical needs!! The Solar panels can keep the Rv's Battery charged and supply electricity for all of your devices!!
Some small Solar portable panels you can mount to racks, poles, etc to mark them semi-permanent and to get them in a better position to get a better sun angle when the sun is shining and thus be more efficient. Also by mounting them temporarily to a rack, pole etc, it makes them harder to knock over in windy conditions, and also make it less likely someone will trip over them by raising them up higher off the ground.
Exactly what we were thinking and why we put solar off. Glad we weren't alone. Great video. So you have a link to where you bought the suitcase panel?
Well folks....houses typically get about 7kW (7 kilowatts) need for power for a full "American wasteful lifestyle".....7 kilowatts=7 thousand watts.
A good "suit case 100 watt" system for a trailer.....ANY trailer is much more than one needs for active traveling, etc. to keep batteries charged. Most people get away with a good 25 Watt traveler.
The Kit mentioned in this video.....is about 2-3 times value or what it should cost. This little panel/inverter (DC/Direct Current to AC/Alternating current) system would be a good-great value today at $250.
I subbed. I'm a minimalist. I live in a city now in an owned house but we plan to buy land and go off grid. I want to set up a nice small house for us but I want land to hunt and fish and build my own personal house like a survivalist would. I want to use all low tech for everything including heating and cooling, refrigeration, hot running water, waste disposal system, all can be done with no electricity.
This is great. Someone else asked about price point, that would be helpful. I'm slowly collecting things for my transition, and this will be one more item on the list. Thanks for being pioneers.....
+Tom Smith We found this panel for $535. If you find it cheaper let us know we will share it here. Go Power direct has a deal where they include the 30' cord too but for someone reason it's priced hired than if you bought them separate. We emailed them about it to ask why. Hopefully they'll make the deal worthwhile for other folks.
I have no idea if that's a good deal or not. If I find something I'll certainly let you all know. Thanks for the response.
Did you know that you can use your car as a power generator if needed? I hooked up my portable jump starter with a built in power inverter to my cars battery then hooked up an extension cord to my 48" TV. There was a power outage and I was missing a football game so I came up with this solution and I was able to watch the entire game while the car was idling. Of course your inverter will have to be rated for the appliance your trying to operate.
awesome - a hot tub! definitely something I'd want off grid.
Very Exciting! That's got to save lots of hassle in constantly dealing with gen. set !!
That's a unit you can have for standby later too, even after you get a larger PV system at a later time. Congrats!
We've just pulled the trigger on a decent sized solar array (7.8kW) for combination Grid-tie, backup and off-grid.
Anxious to get it up and running. Although since we have grid power anyway, it won't change how we use power, but only lower energy costs now, while providing backup for when the grid is attacked or otherwise disrupted.
7.8kW, that's a huge system for backup. You are using that amount of power now? Which batteries did you go with?
In one low consumption mode we require about 9kW /day, so with our dark winter times, there needs to be additional panels for short season. Our only water is a 700' deep well, with another pump for pressure. So 2kW a day on pumps w/o watering gardends. Batteries: Studied a while and found the fork lift batteries to be the best band for the buck. Two 12-100-13 batteries supply over 40kWh at a slow discharge rate. They should arrive next week and at almost 1200 lbs. each I'm not looking forward to getting them into the battery boxes. ;-}
That is a large array for sure! Not unheard of in grid-tie installations though. If you can afford it, what else is money good for? Can't eat it or use it to keep warm. Good to have alternatives where possible. For us we're inching our way toward sustainability. Much of what we do is about bucking the monetary system. We will intentionally work harder to avoid using money. We don't want to be a story book off grid household. We want to be skilled, confident people. Money can't buy that. I'm not even totally sold on solar. I can't make batteries so even if we use it, we're still not really free. A proper battery bank still has a depreciation cost of about $70-100/mo. Solar therefore is far from free or cheap. The best thing we can do is learn to live with less of everything. That's just our outlook on things. :)
We're not rolling in cash either, but being able to get water from this deep well is important. Thankfully there were large incentives available - so it made economic sense - such as getting paid $0.54/kW on ANY solar we generate, even though we only pay $0.07/kW for what we buy, as well as Fed. Tax credits. In a TEOTWAWKI situation you may not be able to go pick up municipal water. And we have no springs etc., only a dirty river 2 miles away. And certainly any form of fuel will be difficult to obtain. To grow food takes water. With the solar -- if the grid is down we can still get the needed water, and if down only locally we can still work from the Internet. Getting water here takes over 2kW per day, with meager water use. In summer it could be over 4kW. The new batteries should be good for over 15 years if well taken care of - 20 years is not uncommon. Having more panels provides me some equipment redundancy, even with meager needs, it can also let me fix equipment, use my welder and so forth - all important for sustainability.
But I totally agree on learning to live with less. Depends on where we live and the situation.
Like your 'idea' of bucking the monetary system - - So how can we eliminate the need to pay property taxes on our places? In TEOTWAWKI -- If we can't pay, the Gov't could selectively grab our places - 'homestead' or no homestead.
We appreciate not only your channel, but your pioneer spirit as the two of you stand shoulder to shoulder getting the projects done. Happy Projecting !!! BTW my wife has started referring to your two as the "Hot Tub Couple" - its cute. Thanks again !!
Is your pump AC or DC? Thats a lot of power to be driving a well pump. If its AC it will be very inefficient as well as the inverter loss on top of that. Do you have a holding tank? If so you could fill that and not have the need to run the pump all day. It sounds like you are pretty well off, but if you really wanted to cut back on power usage there are ways to do that and still be as comfortable as you want.
wow i like how far you two have come on in life
I have a small scale hook-up (200 watts on a good day) I agree with slightlybent47 Battery's are expensive and require regular maintenance. Ad the cost of a controller and inverter system and the cost for larger applications goes way up.
If you don't know the difference between "battery's" and "batteries', I don't want to hear what you have to say.
Can you do a video about off grid internet and how you got it set up?
"off grid internet" that's an oxymoron
No it is not. I am off grid, I get internet over Motorola Wy-fi, it's a radio signal from a tower 4 mile away. Excellent internet.
Wow! I can't wait to see how it works out for you over time.
Solar can be daunting but a little research pays off - lots of great videos on RUclips such as those by channel AltE. To learn I built a "demo" solar system consisting of two used 120 watt Kyocera panels from eBay for $200 delivered, a $20 PWM charge controller a small set of AGM batteries I got for fire-sale prices from a local battery place that was going out of business.
I have been researching solar for our RV, reading books, reading on line info. So nervous to go forward. What you have is exactly what I've been looking for, but was afraid it would be to difficult. Who makes your portable, what's it called.... must have. Thanks for the video.
Great video! I hope you do another one when you decide to use and build that larger battery bank system on your property. Thanks for sharing.
You should make it clear to charge and use a single battery. You need a min of 11-15 amps per deep cycle or AGM battery.
And yes you can buy those for Portable power. Problem is they use PWM controllers which are not efficient. You lose 35-40% of the panels rating.. Save your money and find a used MPPT 30-60 amp rated controller and the rest you can size as needed.
A new MorningStar 45 amp MPPT is only $365.00 and a 255 watt multi crystalline panel is like $220.00 from kyocera.That is 255\12.5 volts=20 amps
Classic -- I never thought about portable Solar except for the ones for hiking which take a day to charge a portable battery bank for your cell phone. Awesome -- thanks !!!
Same here. We saw a lot of stuff in the 40-60w range, but knew that wouldn't be enough for boondocking. Maybe camping and hiking. 120w is impressive in good sun. Had no idea! :)
i have a 100 watts system install with 60AH car battries , this panel can collect ~250 Whrs of energy.
I also like the idea of portable DIY solar generators.
really love your channel, We just retired and well start traveling soon, we are going to be living in a converted dodge van, we well be totally off grid, my question, do you leave the panel out all the time ? well the rain damage the voltage controller? what is your average output and what is your usage and do the panels keep up with your usage?
Because of the high price of the electricity in Puerto Rico and the latest event I'm going on solar sistem combine with a power generator and an occasional light power from the state. But looking forward to an off the grid sistem. Your videos have help me a lot and as soon as I go with it I will make a video and send it to you. Thanks.
awesome!!! Great move to solar. That WAY easier than I thought too.
Would love if you could do a video explaining your running costs! Just walking through what you spend?
We put A LOT of effort (over 5 hours each month) into our expense reports. Read them here: purelivingforlife.com/expense-reports/
You could include a little wind turbine generator in your electrical system.
Sorry I tryed to tell you guys. I had 200 watts that ran my lights and fan for 2 years. It's all about power over time. The gen is a racehorse. Your small solar is the turtle small bits of power over a long time. We run my home for the most part off 2480 watts of PV. My power bill in summer in SC where the heat is nuts is 12 bucks for the power we buy and 15+ in fee's just for having the power to my home. If we did not have the power from town we would be find just have to do a few things diff.
can you list your setup. florida house. ac?
David Flash I have loads f videos on my solar.. Would take for ever to tell you all I have. Come over and look. Sub me if you like. But yes live in SC and we do run AC when are batts are in float. We get about 3 hrs of free ac a day. Hope to see you there.
Ok. In Hudson Fl if down this way. Maybe a road trip
yankey4 I live in SC looking to build my own can we talk need your expertise
Aw geez~gotta love that! We are in almost the exact same situation, actually have been putting it off for so long, gone way far down SO many rabbit trails on the whole thing etc etc, it just got overwhelming and we shelved it to give our brains and veins a rest! i can hear the at so familiar incredulous edge in your voice as you share this info:) Point taken, moving on with this, thanks a great big whole lot and...well, carry on soldiers! Kind of you to share, appreciate the honesty btw
Cheers mate, that's reasonable, and a good backup for an emergency.
+Miceal Adams Honestly, emergencies hadn't cross my mind, but excellent point! :)
+Pure Living for Life ....yea, in the back country of New Zealand it would be ideal for backup power and when the power goes down during storms, or earthquakes in the cities, like after the Christchurch quake a few years back.
Hi you 2 people you are doing great, and Thanks fore shearing , Nice to se the way you are walking together I love That...and when it comes to solar, thats the way to go....I am making a Solar Powered e-Trike and thats a challenge to .....but I want just the same as you, just making it mobile an with a system that goes to a 100 ore even 250v and then go down from there to the volt that I need ...because the panels does not all the time give you full power, when the clouds are out .... then you just get a small amount volt and amp...... I'll charge some Super Cap raided to 250V ore higher ...They have to be raided. to the max V that you panel can deliver without load ( open circuit V ), ....and take the power from them and make the volt I need with a converter, that can go from high V and way below the volt that the panels are producing ....and.....because it is Super Cap..... they can easily go down to 0 V without getting damaged as battery does, This way I can get much more "just" out off the same solar panels even with a clouded sky......Have fun and an good life, my the Sun be with you......POWER TO The People...Best to All ...JT Denmark DK
hello how does the solar connect to the RV I know you have an inverter but how does the connection for your lights and refrigerator work
where did you get the portable panels and the batteries are they a 6 volt or 12 volts
This looks it would be a good beginning solar system. As others have warned you make sure those barries are fully charged at least once a week. Wouldn't you to find a dead battery with a few cells gone. :) Good video, glad you two are doing well it looks like you are really making good use of that hot tub :)
This should be a good training wheels setup for us for sure. Best to screw up on affordable stuff than $10k in batteries right? We
Awesome video and welcome in the solar world, I have 2 tips for you, first eq your batteries each month with a proper charger that runs off the generator, it will expand the lifetime of the batteries, second, contact you isp if it possible to feed 12v into your internet antenna, so much energy is wasted if the inverter is on just to power the interrnet (from 12v to 110 to 12/24 volt), keep up the good work ;)
Thanks for the tip on the internet. Definitely notice all the inverters / converters we have going. Seems silly, but makes sense in a standardized power grid scenario. Perhaps we can get creative and eliminate some of them at least.
You said you wanted to see if it was beneficial or not to do solar panels, and said it was already paying off because you used zero fuel this week. But you never stated how much fuel you were using per week. Spo what is the comparison? Did you use a gallon a week, five or ten gallons? And when you talk about fuel, do you mean gasoline, kerosene, propane, diesel, or a combination? Thanks!
Its hot and I am sitting near a small window a/c that draws just under 6 amps at 120v. That's 720 watts or almost 10 times the watts of this system.
That is the problem with selling solar electric in the south where daily temps soar well above 100 degrees. If it was not for a/c I would be all over this solar.
good to keep batteries out of your rv (I had a battery blow up at 10 pm and acid was all the compartment,I used baking soda to neutralize the acid )
You might consider exchanging your batteries for super capacitors. They're cheaper and will last forever.
Why would it have a PWM charge controller, which tend to trickle charge when topping off the battery causing plating on your batteries ,a MPPT charge controller is a little more expensive but shuts off completely when batteries are charged avoiding battery plating issues.
Not all PWM and MPPT charge controller will not shut off, they will go into one of 3 modes...bulk /equalize or float.
I really like your videos.. Thanks for taking the time to make them.
+lennylovegun Glad you enjoy them! Thanks for watching!
How much did the system cost, versus the cost to run the generator? The generator has some advantages too; able to run at night and not susceptible to high winds are just two of them.
+Phil Heaton System was just over $500. We are documenting the cost savings on our blog. www.purelivingforlife.com/expense-reports/ We estimate 5 months to totally recoup our investment. We have run the generator 5 times in the past 6 weeks for odds and ends reasons. Otherwise zero usage. Unlike twice daily before. We'll be doing an update video after we have some time under our belts on how things are going.
i love your videos. you two are wonderful and beautiful people. one day i hope i can gain the courage to plunge off grid. looking forward to manny more videos thanks for giving us all the helpful pointers and advice.
I love the wood burning hot tub.
It's a blessing for sure.
whats the plastic container that was being placed in the ground with the backhoe.?..is it for water or waste ..thanks nice video.
These folding solar panels are very expensive, not worth the price. You can get the same wattage for half the price of regular panels which are the same thing, just dont have the hinges and handle and stand.
Or a system with properly sized components and wiring, ready to use out of the box and stupid-easy to operate. Sounds like you missed the point of the video. It's easy to do. People want to overcomplicate stuff. Us included.
+Pure Living for Life I think the point of the video, is you trying to sell product for the solar panel sponsor, which is fine, maybe just admit it, and offer people a coupon code? You make good videos, you are very knowledgeable in many areas, but the portable solar solution you are showing here is not a well thought out, or even high quality solution for most people. For a fixed location, it makes no sense. Just because something is easy, doesn't make it the best, or even a good solution... especially when it is overpriced.
Great show! Thank you!
Beats using my Champion genset and white gas lamp!
Its like light bulbs, if it lasted forever the bulb factory would eventually go out of business. So they claim its going to go bad in a certain time to keep up sales.
What good are solar panels when the sun goes into grand solar minimum and when volcanic ash fills the sky as well? Just thinking how anyone can survive what's coming when going off grid will be next to impossible.
Where were all these smarty-pants 10 months ago? It's an adventurous learning process. You will enjoy exploring heating water with the sun. Using hot water bottles under your covers to keep warmer at night while using less fuel. Arizona Iced Tea Gallon containers work extremely well... Cooking with the sun also. Sportsman's guide .com has a great solar panel, " Crystalline Solar Panel, 165 Watt" it works very well and they have a 4 pay plan.
A practical solution if you have a weekend house without electricity. On the other hand, since you need a battery - just bring a fully charged battery!
good practical video thanks
solar powered generators are already out in the market but i wonder how long they will last if i use them everyday for light and charging gadgets.
How long before you see a positive ROI on the cost of the solar panel? That is, how long will you have to go fuel free before you have saved enough to offset the costs?
GREAT!!!Thanks for the advice looking to do my shed!!
+dave hogan Cool! Check out go powers 12v stuff. It's pretty good for small projects.
I noticed this was posted in July. Did you run your AC with it or now Heat?
Did you receive money in order to advertise this product?
Go Power has some INCREDIBLE products!
+Sean Owens So far, so good! Are you using their products? If so, which ones?
I was actually looking for panels and inverters, and did a pretty deep study on them. While I have not bought yet I think I have settled on their 3500 watt inverter. From everything I have read they really have great customer service.
+Sean Owens Good to know. Our experience meeting Stefan at the RV convention really made us feel good about the company. What we didn't realize is that Go Power is actually a division of a larger company. So they do have a large engineering team and solid foundation. Though presently 12v and home stuff is a small segment for them, they're aiming to release many new projects that actually make sense and tackle problems we see with current solar. Namely scalability of components and systems that allow staring small with multi-voltage compatibility. Example start with 12v, then move up to 24v without replacing all your stuff.
задумано хорошо, реализовано скверно - большие потери в провода, глупый стандартный контролер, из-за этого низкий срок службы аккумуляторов.
Тем более что есть способы повышать у штатных панелей мощность на 30% с помощью простейшего девайса "звезда Кунаширского" и увеличивать срок службы и количество циклов аккумуляторов.
К тому же компактные импульсные преобразователи на повышение напряжения хотя бы до 32-48 вольт позволяют экономить на сопротивлении передающей электрическую энергию линии и использовать светодиодные лампы на 32 В и штатные модули на понижение напряжения для конкретной нагрузки.
Ya I was gonna say, not burning gas is a BIG deal!
I really like your video, there is some much information, that I am overwhelm. you are doing what will be doing in a year. I have been trying to figure out how to keep my AC going . I just don't know how much solor panels to buy, or a battery bank. my generator that I'm going to buy will be Yamaha 6300. my trailer is on a 30 amp, my AC is 13,500 my fridge is 300 , do you have any thoughts on this matter? thank you
Good vid. Hope to post my own soon as well. Your water system will be a good watch as well.
One thing at a time. I will buy the land. Put in the pad. Ship container. Have it installed. Put on solar panels. Buy incinerator toilet so I won't have to put in a septic tank. Dig well. But first clear off all the damned sagebrush.
Interesting, please keep us updated. Thanks and God Bless
Will do! :)
Enjoyed your video... Thanks for posting.
…there is no reason not to put your big batteries in parallel with your RV Battery right now. The big ones are probably 6v, right? Just wire them up in pairs in series and then put them in parallel with the RV. Bigger storage capacity is always better. Especially with Solar, where - on some days - you don't have consistent energy income.
be careful with putting different grade batteries in parallel, they may start to charge each other, and that may not give the best results... on the other hand, just switching to the big bank sounds like a good idea!
each 6v battries come with 3 cells, if you connect all of them in series one of the cell fail, the whole battries bank will fail.
…that's like saying "the lead acid battery in your car is made of 6 cells, if one of them fails the whole battery will fail - don't use lead acid batteries" or "your car has four tires, if one of them fails the whole car will fail". Yes, thats how batteries work, there is no one cell that can give you 12v. All batterycells live between one and four volts.