Solar generator

froggirl · #21 09/03/05, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by texican

froggirl,

having lived on solar, my advice is to stop thinking about 'powering' appliances...for a small outlay of several thousand, you can run a few lights, radio, or a small tv, for a few hours....................If you want a 'civilized' middle class type existence with all the toys we're used to having...think 10K or 20 or even 40K...solar ain't cheap, and then there's the constant 'monitoring' of the system...overuse your battery bank, and you've burned em out...do that a coupla times and you got boat anchors...

But I'd still recommend you learn more, and get a panel, controller, and a small battery...and expand as funds allow

They do make dc powered deep well pumps, that'll work on a panel or two...but they're several times higher than the equivalent ac pump....basically they pump when the sun's shining...OR, you can rig your controller on your main house array to send the excess power to the water pump...you just need someplace to store the water...like in a very high place, so that once the pump isn't 'powered', gravity will feed the water back into your home.

Well, a girl can dream, right?

We buy our meat from a local rancher twice a year and have a lot of $$ in our freezer...I would hate to see it all go to waste in the event of an emergency. Especially since canning it all may not be practical. Guess I'll just have to learn some more and figure out how much we can afford to put into a solar set up.
--f.g.

froggirl · #22 09/03/05, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sisterpine

f.g. i can relate to being "tapped out" . We spent 8 grand on a 6" by 380 foot dry hold last fall. That is for the hole only, no casing, no piping , no pump etc! just broke my heart.

WOW! I feel your pain.

--f.g.

froggirl · #23 09/03/05, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim-mi

Ok so you've got an SQE.
That is good equipment.
But I have a hard time agreeing with the idea of the pump turning on darn near every time you want a glass of water.
Thats a good pump, but still a lot of solar $$$ to make it work.

My water system is; a standard 220vac well pump. A 100' well. When I'm generating a good amount of power---PV or Wind I turn on the deep pump to fill my 350 gallon storage tank. (auto shut off when full) The big tank is un presurized.
For the house pressure system (40 lbs ) I use a Dankoff Flowlight booster pump fed from the big tank, into an 80 gallon pressure tank. The booster pump is 12vdc and is VERY efficient.

Bottom line; Yes, solar and wind can deliver all the water you can use................but it does take a few $$$ to do so.!

Everything takes so darn much money...guess we better start saving. May have to resort to a standard generator for now. Of course those aren't cheap either!
--f.g.

lapdog59 · #24 09/03/05, 01:39 PM

Cyngbaeld,
I like your idea of a battery bank. I presently have a 12 volt marine battery for my trolling motor and a couple 6 volt batteries that I use in my tractor I could rig into a battery bank. My question is how many batteries do you need for a good battery bank for emergency power for a couple days through an inverter. I also have a 12 watt solar panel. Do I need a charge regulator if I hook the solar panel to my 12 volt battery to keep the battery from being overcharged or current draining back out of the battery at night? I have all the camping equipment for several days including a five day ice chest and some freeze dried meals since I do a lot of camping.

I also have a trailer on my place in the country (couple miles to the nearest power pole) where I use the 12 volt battery for lights sometimes; I prefer to use a propane lights or lanterns except for reading in bed by 12 volts. I also have a couple small fans that run on the 12 volt. I also prefer to use my ice chest in lieu of the propane refrigerator since I need the ice chest to keep my food and beer cool on the way out there anyway. I have a solar shower and haul in drinking water. Other water comes out of the pond. I agree there is many things you can do to meet your needs and keep it simple before spending a lot of money, such as using your existing batteries and camping equipment to the max.

Cyngbaeld · #25 09/03/05, 02:21 PM

lapdog59
Can't really tell you how many batteries you need. You need to look at the batteries and see how many amp hours each one is. Then figure out how many amps each item is that you will be using and how many hours a day you will be using it. Also, if you are using an inverter you will lose some power, so you need a bigger system if you use the inverter. You should not need a charge control with the 12watt panel. It is not large enough to really overcharge a battery bank, especially if you are using any of the power. Most panels will not drain power off the batteries at nite, even without a charge controller.

mightybooboo · #26 09/03/05, 06:56 PM

Wow Froggirl!
20 G would buy some really efficient appliances,well pump, and the power to run em.
Next time you have 20 G laying around

,go for it!

Boy,sure costs money though,of that there is little doubt.

BooBoo

froggirl · #27 09/03/05, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mightybooboo

Wow Froggirl!
20 G would buy some really efficient appliances,well pump, and the power to run em.
Next time you have 20 G laying around

,go for it!

Boy,sure costs money though,of that there is little doubt.

BooBoo

We had to have a well and that's how much one costs around here. Unfortunately, our time frame and county didn't allow for any heavy research into other sources of energy. ALMOST had to pay $7000 to bring in power but convinced the power co. to do things our way so it was only $1000. Next time we have 20,000 laying around we're starting our house!

--f.g.

mightybooboo · #28 09/03/05, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by froggirl

Next time we have 20,000 laying around we're starting our house!

--f.g.

WOOHOO!

Looks like a great start already.Are you at the property now?

PS-Sure wish I had 20 G laying around too,LOL!

Booboo

froggirl · #29 09/03/05, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mightybooboo

WOOHOO!

Looks like a great start already.Are you at the property now?

PS-Sure wish I had 20 G laying around too,LOL!

Booboo

Yeppers --happy dance!!!!--- we're here now. I can hang out my laundry without breaking my CC&R's...I can walk the dog without having the neighbor dogs barking non-stop...I no longer hear my neighbors yelling at their daughter....all I can see when I look out my window are trees and our firewood stack...not the neighbor lady in her PJ's hacking on her morning cigarette. Can you tell I'm glad to be here???

--f.g.

Jim-mi · #30 09/03/05, 10:28 PM

"looking out the window at trees"..............YUP

I'm addicted to that myself.

Yes for 20k you can definately set up a system that will pump water and make a house comfy.

lapdog, ..."car" batterys are no no's and a "marine" will not work..for long powering an inverter Yes it depends on the size of the inverter.
One way to start is with a a pair of golf car 6v batterys.
With that you would not need a charge controler with a 12 watt PV pannel......

SouthWesteader · #31 09/03/05, 11:11 PM

There's NanoSolar, but they haven't released it yet(so helpful

). The *say* that based on tests, it will be 1/4 the price per watt as the average solar panel. Other than that... Wind seems the best Alternative Energy. Just my 2¢

Good Luck!

Southwesteader

froggirl · #32 09/04/05, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SouthWesteader

There's NanoSolar, but they haven't released it yet(so helpful

). The *say* that based on tests, it will be 1/4 the price per watt as the average solar panel. Other than that... Wind seems the best Alternative Energy. Just my 2¢

Good Luck!

Southwesteader

Cool site....thanks for the link. I wonder what they will cost(?) I think wind is such a great, basic way to get power...all they'd have to do is plop down some windmills in the COlumbia Gorge and it could keep everyone's lights on!
--f.g.

Quint · #33 09/04/05, 04:14 AM

I've got a very small bare bones solar system. It consists of a solar panel and couple of batteries that can power small things like laptop, battery charger and radios etc indefinitely as long as there is sunshine. I've tried it out a few times and it works quite well. I've got an inverter to power 120 volt stuff but I've never tried it out to see how long it would last. My little system runs what I need it to run but no more.

I'd love to have my whole house off grid and energy independent but it isn't practical for me and there is no way I could afford it at the moment.

Jim-mi · #34 09/06/05, 02:39 PM

...."nano solar"....

I'll believe it when I've got the product in hand.

Untill then I would suggest that you keep your $$$ tightly in YOUR pocket.

Many an idea has come along over the years reguarding the "better mouse trap".
Many folks have lost their $$$ to fast talking sales"men"
touting the better mouse trap.

So for now stick with the tried and proven........it worksi

BillHoo · #35 09/07/05, 05:34 PM

Biodegradeable kitty litter would probably absorb more moisture, smell and bacteria.

I keep a bucket lined with a trash bag and a bagful of litter with a $4 plastic toilet seat from home depot. Never needed to use it though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyngbaeld

Just wondering what happens to an aerobic septic if the power is out? Does it just mean no flushing for the duration? Or does it mean the whole system goes bad?

Maybe get some sawdust toilets set up for emergency use?

Pump water to a cistern while you have power and then use a 12vdc pressure pump from the cistern to the house pressure tank.

Refrigeration is a BIG power hog. I would not even consider running a regular refrig on solar. Either get a propane fridge or a super efficient one that was made for solar.

froggirl · #36 09/07/05, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillHoo

Biodegradeable kitty litter would probably absorb more moisture, smell and bacteria.

I keep a bucket lined with a trash bag and a bagful of litter with a $4 plastic toilet seat from home depot. Never needed to use it though.

At least my cats would get a good laugh out of that!

BillHoo · #37 09/07/05, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quint

I've got a very small bare bones solar system. It consists of a solar panel and couple of batteries that can power small things like laptop, battery charger and radios etc indefinitely as long as there is sunshine. I've tried it out a few times and it works quite well. I've got an inverter to power 120 volt stuff but I've never tried it out to see how long it would last. My little system runs what I need it to run but no more.

I'd love to have my whole house off grid and energy independent but it isn't practical for me and there is no way I could afford it at the moment.

There are links out there with various plans to make your own solar generators. Your sounds like the one listed below that can be built for around $300
http://www.rain.org/~philfear/how2solar.html

Use the same concept and get a bigger panel and a bigger set of batteries. I think I saw someone house the batteries in a cooler with wheels to make it portable. Getting off the grid can start with one room. If you can power the lights and the TV, that may be all you need to cut your power bill for the moment.