Bug in Trial

reply to post by guinnessford

Hey, sorry it took so long to respond back!
Went to town for more ammo and supplies!
Um, my setup is a 48 volt hybrid switchable system.
I run a magnum 4800 inverter with 6 kyocera 180 watt panels.
I also threw up two airx 400 watt wind turbines!
A dozen deep cell batteries gives me power for days and is
generator backed up also. I have a smaller setup for my shop too.
I have a few switchable circuts so I can designate where
the power is going to a point. It was a major project
for me along with my other self sufficiency projects this last year.
When I seen our candidates plan for the economy I went into high gear!
Thanks for all your posts! You are indeed a good friend!

P.S. I plan on bugging in as long as possible!
Living in a tent doesn't appeal too much.

[edit on 24-3-2009 by dodadoom]

reply to post by dodadoom


I try to be a good friend to whoever i meet, everyone deserves my full and utmost respect as a human until you give a reason not to have it.
And that sounds like an awesome setup, i thought kyocera only made phones an palm type pda's and stuff, ive learned a months worth of stuff today, and 1/3 of it from you.
Im guessing you have a 12 volt set of panels, then to 12v batteries, then into an inverter for houshold voltage?
I gotta see more of this stuff.Even if not buggin out, or in, just for the savings and the green aspect of running some small appliances.
Do you have small brown outs with it if using to may things, and do you need to keep the inverter cool? (obvious you do, but any cooler than normal?)

Love this.
Great learning experience.
Looking forward to your findings.

That sounds like a reasonable outlook on life!
Too bad more do not seem to feel that way.
Thank you for the super kind compliments!
I just try to call it like I see it, good or bad.
Its actually 220 off the inverter to the well pump.
Then two 110 circuts to the house for alt. power
for fridge, computer, tv, radio, coffee, etc.
Kind of funky but thats the way I wanted it.
It was either this or drive a fancy outfit!
I figured this was slightly more important!
It is probably not for everyone. I have to check it
everyday to watch my voltage but generally
when its windy or sunny I got good power!
(one windmill will stop turning, that tells me the batteries are full, or
both will depending on how much voltage is in batteries and when its windy and they should be turning, etc)
I can run say 2000 watts in the house and that leaves
2000 for when the pump kicks on.
When the sun goes down I kick it off in the house
and it just runs the pump at night. That way I have
bookoo power in case its rainy and calm for days.
Inverter is in shop and has a fan so its cool, no prob.
I had to build a box for the batteries to pass code though.
The shop is 12volt on a 750 watt inverter with a
small 50 watt panel on a couple batteries.
Works pretty good so far.

P.S. The big panels, windmills and magnum inverter are all 48 volts.
The 48 volt Air X windmills were kinda hard to find.
Got lucky and a fairly local guy does this for reasonable!
www.dargreen.com...

P.S.S. I had to buy the remote to hook in a 3500 watt generator to charge batteries. I also run a Tristar solar controller for panels.
The windmills are automatic and stop turning when they sense
enough voltage from batteries. If the wind goes over about 50mph
they will keep shutting down also.



[edit on 24-3-2009 by dodadoom]

Great idea. Good luck.

I think we all get too used to our comforts!

reply to post by dodadoom


Wow! All the setups ive seen ar 12v and dont seem like theyd power much.
When i get a set, im gonna concentrate on the fridge, microwave, and radio/tv.
I cant think of many more items that would take much more ower than that.
And i bet that 48v stuff was a search, wonder if a pair of 24v truck batteries, or some forklift batteries would work?
Man im gonna be online all nite lookin for this stuff!
They call me the witch doctor at work, im a mechanic, and i make soo much stuff.
Bring back cars from the dead, resurrect computers, things like that.
Im sure with a little instruction, i can set up some panels!

reply to post by guinnessford

You could go 24 volt easy enough.
I was recomended to go with 48volt.
It is fairly straightforward and is do-able
by someone familier with electric wiring.
There are requirements for wire sizes etc.
I had an electrician do the outside wiring
to the house and the two circuts inside.
I mounted the panels on the garage roof
and helped install everything to help
bring the overall cost down.
You really learn to be efficient!
It is far easier and cheaper to save power than make it!

You can run your fridge for an hour, then run your pump
for a few minutes and get water, then your microwave,
then back to your fridge and get by that way too.
You would want one to handle that plus your TV.
Say 500 watts for your fridge(if its a newer one)
Couple hundred for your Tv(if its a newer one)
Have to figure out every little thing drawing power...


[edit on 25-3-2009 by dodadoom]

Just to clarify. When using power from a system like this,
you lose aroung 20% when converting to 110V for your appliances.
Thats the total loss from batteries, wiring, inverter, panels, etc.
So when figuring your total load, be aware of that also.
You really have to nitpick and see exactly how much power everything
is using because it will come back to bite you if you dont.
It does teach you to conserve! The funny thing is, its as easy as
flipping a switch! But it saves you bucks!
My power bill dropped about 25% after install, btw.
Good luck to anyone setting up their own system!

P.S. This computer right now is being run with alt power!
My satellite receiver/dvr uses 50 watts by itself!

One thing you might consider is a sawdust toilet. You can take a 5 gallon bucket and put a layer of sawdust in the bottom, and add enough sawdust to cover your excrement with each use. I have been around these kinds of toilets and they don't smell. The excrement is absorbed and dried by the sawdust and you can later dump the remains safely on a compost pile for further recycling. A toilet seat on the bucket is a nice touch too.