Advice for taking historic mansion in the country completely off grid

[Angeltech]

Are you going to upgrade all MEPs in the house?

Hello, like what more specifically because it depends?

 

[Angeltech]

The funny thing about really old houses is realizing how small people were

 

[Angeltech]

People were smaller but everything in the historic homes were oversized which is ironic. My house house has 12ft. ceilings and 9 ft. doors.

 

[Skypower]

Some Victorian houses on the west coast are anything but big

 

[Angeltech]

Old houses like this prove difficult to renovate to modern standards. The timber is MASSIVE, and much harder than modern choices. Just drilling holes leads to problems. Ya need carbide bits and frequent bit changes, the walls aren’t the same dimensions as modern homes, so parts require splicing… all the plaster and lath means tiny jobs usually snowball…
It’s not a job for average diy.

So rewarding when accomplished though.
My home is 123 years old, and is a mismatch of generations of construction…

Have fun.

This is why I wanted this house, and that is, it is a time capsule and hardly changed since it was built. It does not have generations of alterations that destroy the historic uniqueness. Homes back then, like mine, were built like tanks. People do not realize that the wood back then was much stronger than the wood of today because it was old growth wood. Plus, as I mentioned before, my house has the brick walls both interior and exterior.

 

[CoolWill]

I kinda like K&T wiring. I still have some in my kitchen, and a few other areas.

The circuits are usually #10 copper, and soldered connections.

Sure, it’s a SINGLE circuit for the entire house usually… but if it’s all intact, it can handle a lot.

Zero grounding involved of course…

So, that should be your first upgrade, and set an arc fault breaker on the feeders… see if they can stay energized.
If there is sustained leakage into the Timbers, you won’t be able to keep arc faults energized long.
And that would be an indicator you need to focus on the leaking branches.

I like the old k&t wiring also. It is a misnomer that you have to replace it. If it is in good shape it is still fine to use. My house still has the push button switches in the parlor rooms.

The problem with knob and tube is that it's ampacity doesn't account for any thermal insulation that's been added over the years. And the worst part is that very little K&T I've seen has been left untouched. Sure, if it has been undisturbed the last 100 years and isn't buried in insulation it's perfectly safe. But every handyman and Uncle Bob has spliced and diced it a dozen times and probably severely over fused it when the space heaters kept popping the fuse.

Lack of ground is the least of the worries with K&T.

 

[Angeltech]

Some Victorian houses on the west coast are anything but big

Yes, I was not implying all homes of the 19th century were large but italianate homes of the era, like mine, where large as a whole. Most were mansions. They had high ceilings in a lot of homes back then for the heat to rise in summer.

 

[SilverbackMP]

This is why I wanted this house, and that is, it is a time capsule and hardly changed since it was built. It does not have generations of alterations that destroy the historic uniqueness. Homes back then, like mine, were built like tanks. People do not realize that the wood back then was much stronger than the wood of today because it was old growth wood. Plus, as I mentioned before, my house has the brick walls both interior and exterior.

It has a cavity wall with brick on both sides? Or it’s solid brick (much much more common for the time)?

 

[Angeltech]

It has a cavity wall with brick on both sides? Or it’s solid brick (much much more common for the time)?

Yes solid brick walls

 

[Supervstech]

The funny thing about really old houses is realizing how small people were

My house has 11' bedroom ceilings, but 6'11" kitchen ceiling... a weird back porch that is 9' a living room that is 7'6" and a weird bedroom with the lock and lightswitch on the outside of the room...
Crazy log cabin ish construction in part of the house...
Granite boulders supporting the main backbone of the place.

Crazy.

 

[Crowz]

Your kitchens the same size as mine. I have two large water traps in the middle with the ceramic(I guess you call them that) tiles for the floor that are sloped to the drains (they did that when it was used as a daycare). Your going to enjoy the issues I have trying to heat and cool that sucker

 

[Bluedog225]

Buying a bunch of stuff now might lead to wasted cash.

A good minimum system would give you a bunch of utility and let you learn.

Will Prowse has a bunch of good videos.

Maybe a 48 volt server rack battery and a middle of the road charger controller/inverter (all in one).

Grab a few cheap 300-400 watt panels off Craigslist and learn how to hook them up.

all the best

 

[Angeltech]

Buying a bunch of stuff now might lead to wasted cash.

A good minimum system would give you a bunch of utility and let you learn.

Will Prowse has a bunch of good videos.

Maybe a 48 volt server rack battery and a middle of the road charger controller/inverter (all in one).

Grab a few cheap 300-400 watt panels off Craigslist and learn how to hook them up.

all the best

Thank you very much for the help. Yea I have watched Will Prowse videos, and he is awesome. Thank you for the specifics because that is what I was looking for. It is my fault I did not clarify that when I first asked the question. I was torn on getting a fairly powerful solar generator(Ecoflow, Bluetti, etc.)or starting a home system.

 

[Angeltech]

The problem with knob and tube is that it's ampacity doesn't account for any thermal insulation that's been added over the years. And the worst part is that very little K&T I've seen has been left untouched. Sure, if it has been undisturbed the last 100 years and isn't buried in insulation it's perfectly safe. But every handyman and Uncle Bob has spliced and diced it a dozen times and probably severely over fused it when the space heaters kept popping the fuse.

Lack of ground is the least of the worries with K&T.

Yea k&t tube in the house is in good shape. I want to keep the main house as period correct as possible, antique furniture and gas chandeliers that have been electrified. The house will be almost like a museum. I will only use low power led bulbs. They make led bulbs that replicate the old low glow lighting of that past. It is in the servants quarters I need power and will update the wiring and maybe the kitchen. I will have a separate garage/shop for the high power tools, etc. That building will also house all of the solar power components.

 

[SparkyGage]

People were smaller but everything in the historic homes were oversized which is ironic. My house house has 12ft. ceilings and 9 ft. doors.

Those high ceilings and doors were early attempts at air conditioning. Gave the heat some place to go. And in the winter you just spend more time by the fire or in the kitchen.

"You can always put more clothes on, but you can only take so much off"

 

[Angeltech]

My house has 11' bedroom ceilings, but 6'11" kitchen ceiling... a weird back porch that is 9' a living room that is 7'6" and a weird bedroom with the lock and lightswitch on the outside of the room...
Crazy log cabin ish construction in part of the house...
Granite boulders supporting the main backbone of the place.

Crazy.

Are you or have done any renovations to reverse any of the work people have done over the years to the house?

 

[Angeltech]

Those high ceilings and doors were early attempts at air conditioning. Gave the heat some place to go. And in the winter you just spend more time by the fire or in the kitchen.

"You can always put more clothes on, but you can only take so much off

Your right. Homes also had transoms above doors for heat as well. My house has 3 floors and a staircase that goes all of the way to the third floor. You can look down from the third floor to first floor. On top of the house is a cupola. There is a small door on the cupola that opens up. It was used to allow heat to flow all of the way up from the first floor to the cupola, then up and out of the house. People did wear more clothes in the winter. They also would close off part of house and live in just part of the house.

 

[Bluedog225]

Signature solar has handy kits. Cheaper. But lots of complaints.

Current connected has great equipment. Pricey by comparison. Top notch customer service.

NAZ electric is ok.

 

[Shimmy]

Do a hand cart build like in Will's videos and get ~6-8 400W panels. If you went with Signature Solar it would be a EG4-3000W AIO ($700), a EG4-LL 5kWh battery ($1,400) and 10 Canadian Solar 400W panels ($2,000). (They sell minimum of 10 panels.) Build a wood frame temporarily for a ground mount for the panels. Make it so you can take the panels inside if heavy wind is expected.

 

[Millennium]

The funny thing about really old houses is realizing how small people were

You should visit 'modern' European houses, you'll feel like a giant.
The bathrooms are built for pygmies.