diy solar

diy solar

Off Grid with 2hrs winter sun. Doable?

I don`t know why that is either, but I have heard the same thing from RVers. I guess it just takes a small load to pull the inverter out of "sleep mode' and warm up the transformers or something. Anyway, have you ever started it with a 3000 watt ish generator?
 
ArtDeco said:
I don`t know why that is either, but I have heard the same thing from RVers. I guess it just takes a small load to pull the inverter out of "sleep mode' and warm up the transformers or something. Anyway, have you ever started it with a 3000 watt ish generator?
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No, I don't have a big generator. One thing that was useful, is in the pump manual, I found the exact part # of the pump motor, and then online found the LRA or rush current. It's about 5000 watts for 1/2 second.
 
Shimmy said:
Average US consumption is 100Gal/day/person. If you are a little careful it is easy to cut that in half. 200 Gallons total would be a very stingily allotment.
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Yeah. And one of those farm style wire and plastic cube water containers will only hold 200 to 300 US gallons. But they are inexpensive if they don't freeze and/or leak in a basement, I guess, and even a 12 volt pump can pressurize a smaller amount of water maybe 10 or 12 gals as needed. Maybe.
 
rhino said:
I also have that Grundfos pump (believe same model as Steve_S) and I paid well under $1k US dollars when it was installed. Maybe it has increased substantially recently but a lot of people are confusing the prices of all the different models of well pumps Grundfos has, some of which are thousands of dollars.. but in many cases those aren't needed.
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Yeah I am having issues finding much about Grundfos products. I know they have been around and have lots of installs though.
 
Steve_S said:
My 50gal pressure tank (not holding tank) is maybe 3.5' tall and same width. It lasts a while but with the soft-start pump, I never notice the pressure change, I'd have to be sitting in front of the gauges to actually see the change. The A-Typical p[ressure tank installed in a home is 40 Gallons by default.

BTW: My panels are set to 45 Degrees and I am in Algonquin Park Ontario Canada, where a 1 foot snowfall is not uncommon, the panels shed it pretty well unless it's that really sticky shit that freezes on contact, then I go out with the extended foam brush and give it a swipe and off it comes. The advantage of a Ground Mounted system with 4' clearance to grade.
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I am at 42 deg latitude and plan to mount panels to match that tilt, no seasonal adjustment, on sloped ground . The back of a garage to be extended south to cover the sloped area with another array of high power panels of similar size to my 250w panels ending several feet off the ground. Big sheet of snow should slide down and pile up where I can shovel it, not stay on the roof where I can`t.
 
Steve_S said:
PLEASE STOP RIGHT THERE !!!
YOU ARE BEING LED DOWN THE GARDEN PATH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I live in a 1700 acre protected forest,
near Algonquin Park Ontario Canada - deep North rural & remote. similar but more harsh.

First: review THIS THREAD.
diysolarforum.com

My DIY off-grid Cabin setup in Ontario Canada (24vdc-120vac)

NOTICE: UPDATING November 2022 WIP Good Day everyone, Overview: There is no grid here, no phone lines, cell is so-so (to be polite) so satellite internet is here (not bad actually). I do not have 240VAC, this is a 120V system only. My Solar Panels are mounted separately from my Powerhouse...
diysolarforum.com diysolarforum.com

Currently out of date But you'll get it!.
- 240VAC Pump = horse pucks !
My well is 280' deep in banded granite, 6" bore & casing. I use a Grundfos SQ5 DEEP WELL PUMP @ 200' DOWN it's a soft start 120V unit. Pushes to a 50 gallon pressure tank, then another 75' to house through a dual filtration system with only 3psi loss. Starts @ 550W draw & terminates @ 1100w @ 55PSI WHEN DONE. You NEVER notice pressure drop.

I VERY RARELY DO THIS NOW, BUT WATCHING THIS THREAD !!!

Use SERIOUS critical thinking on advice given. I'm one of the originals on this board and don't theorize or bs.... No garden path distractions!

Hope it helps.
Steve_s.

Btw:
I use 3.7kwh for 24hours virtually year round.
Have 24V/1190ah battery Bank with Samlex EVO-4024 Low Frequency Inverter/charger 98% efficient.
10 days reserve power & triple redundancy for heat,water & power generation as. I can be snowed in for up to 7 days before plows show up. Plus plus plus.
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3.7KWH per hour or during a 24 hour period?

3.7kwh a day would be a spartan existence.

Grundfos pumps are the best IMHO..
 
robby said:
First thing I would do is buy an App called Sun Seeker AR.
The App will give you an augmented reality view of the Suns path and you can scroll through the days and months to see the suns path on the screen as you hold the phone up to the sky. I used it to exactly map out each month and know the optimum place to put the panels.

This will at least help you know what trees to cut for maximum benefit and also show very accurate info on how many hours of light you will have during those months.
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Good App. I used it also..
 
squarpeg said:
I realize this is a very broad question. I am building a small house. Have always wanted to try off grid solar. Unfortunately land is heavily forested, slopes north. I got one of those solar pathfinders and tried various spots. November, December and January look pretty grim in terms of direct sunlight. I am working on clearing what I can, but thinking I will max out at 2hrs of direct light during those 3 months. The house will be pretty spartan on electric devices, essentially led lights, laptop, small tv, small fridge, well pump. Initially thinking I could afford 5k worth of panels. Can anyone offer thoughts on getting through the winter with that setup? I do have a generator, prefer not to run. View attachment 106270
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2h a day, hm... You say your place is in a valley, no strong winds?


2h a day seems very narrow time frame, why not fix 3 poles in ground with sliders for 'rope' at top and appropriate distance for array in between it. Array holder built strong as independent array bed, then use ropes to raise your array in the sufficient height. Set poles 120 degree apart, one of 120 degree side facing the sun direction within those 2h timeframe. Make the array triangle shaped so you can use 3 independent ropes to 'gimble your array as you find necessary.

Due to weight, use counter weights and also use mechanical advantage, pulleys to raise and orient(gimble) your array.

Hope it gives you some ideas or encourage to think outside the box.

Oh, grounding, don't forget to ground stuff.
 
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ArtDeco said:
Yeah. And one of those farm style wire and plastic cube water containers will only hold 200 to 300 US gallons. But they are inexpensive if they don't freeze and/or leak in a basement, I guess, and even a 12 volt pump can pressurize a smaller amount of water maybe 10 or 12 gals as needed. Maybe.
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You don’t even need more than the right rv pump, actually.

FWIW im offgrid and transport water. I use 2-5gallons daily. The 1000-liter tank goes for many weeks when I use it but I creep up to 8 or 10 gallon daily when I’m not stopping at the spring on my way home for two 6gal jugs
 
Shimmy said:
The well pump could be a challenge though. A storage tank could reduce the problem-- run the well pump once a week on generator and use a small booster pump from the tank. I assume you would need some form of heat though for the storage tank.
Click to expand...

This is the best way to handle the water situation! For me, I'm in an area where drilling a well is an expensive operation. Wells often top out over 500 feet here in my "neighborhood" (Cripple Creek, CO), and often come up dry. For me, we went with a cistern with monthly water delivery.

If you determine the cost of the well, pumps, generator, and all of the bits and pieces needed to make the system work, and bounce that off of the cost of a cistern and water delivery, you may be surprised in the cost effectiveness of not having a well.

Of course, this is all dependent on the availability of water delivery. When it got brutally cold here in January the water guys had to shut down at times because of their equipment freezing up. I read that this type of water system is popular in parts of Alaska, so I'm sure they have ways around the freezing equipment issue.

I have a 1600 gallon tank in my crawlspace, which is where my boiler is located, so I have no problems with my system freezing up. I built my house on a 20% grade, so my crawlspace is 7 feet high :)
 
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