Backyard Cabin

[Webbee]

Small 9'x12 shed converted into a tiny cabin in my backyard. My wish is that it inspires people to make there own getaway..... without driving hours to tranquility



100 watt solar panel mounted to a wooden post that is facing south/west with an adjustable angle system. I currently have 3 angle settings for spring/fall, winter & summer. I used a solar panel angle calculator that I found on line. Just google it and there you will find one that works for you. I have a small shed 2' x4' with all the electrical components inside. I used (2) MotoMaster Nautilus Ultra Group 31 AGM Deep Cycle Batteries for my system. This is my first attempt at solar and my inspiration came from Will. If anyone wants info. on this setup I will post more info. at that time.

 

[svetz]

Welcome Webbee!

Very pretty! You do some great work!
Is that a bottle of Forty Creek Barrel Select with a glass on the front porch by the chair? If so, I'm really liking the Canadian style welcome mat!

Can we get a photo from under the panel so we can see how you set up your tilt system?

 

[Craig]

Beautiful!

 

[Webbee]

Welcome Webbee!

Very pretty! You do some great work!
Is that a bottle of Forty Creek Barrel Select with a glass on the front porch by the chair? If so, I'm really liking the Canadian style welcome mat!

Can we get a photo from under the panel so we can see how you set up your tilt system?

Sadly that isn't Forty Creek it's a glass of Rambling Road Pilsner. I buy it locally by the 20 Lt keg. I do have 40 Creek in the cupboard too!
As for the picture you requested, I hope this helps.

 

[svetz]

Thank you! Nice and basic! I like it! Three holes 1 for summer, 1 for winter, 1 for fall/spring?

 

[eddie1261]

I needed that about 15 years ago when wife 3.0 kept throwing me out of the house.....

 

[James12345]

Why three trash cans? Detracts from the ambiance.

 

[Webbee]

Why three trash cans? Detracts from the ambiance.

My wood stove is a cubic mini so the wood is very small.(4 inches) I store my wood in the garbage cans to keep it dry.

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This little stove works great for a small space like my cabin.

 

[Webbee]

Just a small update on the system. We had some real nasty weather with very high gusting winds and the solar panel weathered the storms just fine. I know there were questions about this. Now that we are in a cold snap -9 c I guess this will be the next test. I am hooked on solar and want to make a larger system for my house. Thanks Will for the inspiration!

 

[erik.calco]

I love it @Webbee! I have never seen a 100W mounted so well. I'm trying to figure out how I want to mount panels this spring. I like the pole mount option the most right now, and really like the look of the wood like what you went with. How are you thinking of paneling your house? Roof or a free-standing structure?

 

[Webbee]

I love it @Webbee! I have never seen a 100W mounted so well. I'm trying to figure out how I want to mount panels this spring. I like the pole mount option the most right now, and really like the look of the wood like what you went with. How are you thinking of paneling your house? Roof or a free-standing structure?

I am thinking maybe a wall mount because I can keep the panels clean and clear of snow and ice. I don't want it to look silly so for now I am thinking about it. As for the post mount, it works really well. If a person was going with say, two panels you can just make the frame larger for mounting and maybe go with a 10'-12' 6X6 post for more strength. You could also put several of these side by side and that would be awesome. If you went with more than two panels the weight would be very heavy for one person to adjust and you would need a helper. I was also thinking in a situation where digging a hole isn't an option, you could build a frame say 6'x8' and make it like a stud wall but mount the post in the center and add rocks, cement blocks, or logs and I bet this would work really well too.(I have not tested this) I hope this makes sense

 

[MrNatural22]

You could go with a single more powerful panel for even better results.
I bought these used, only 3 years old.
They are sunpower 327w 61”x41” they weigh 41lbs. I use an EPever 4215bn MPPT charge controller to a 12v 100ah LiFePo battery. These were $100 each from Santan solar inthe Phoenix area. They are on EBay.

 

[erik.calco]

@Webbee It helps a lot. You are thinking it through. You mentioned my concern. Realistically, need to be able to adjust myself and should be easy, or it just will never get done, let alone done the 4+ times per year you would want to adjust for the season. So, that is my biggest concern when I scale. I plan to do 1.8-2kw. This does not necessarily have to be a single mount, though. Could do 3-4 panels per mount.

 

[Webbee]

December 1st 2019, I wanted to add an update on how my little system is performing so far. Yesterday started out cool @ -3c but we had some good sunshine finally. However, it clouded over later on and the wind picked up and it started to rain. The temp. was hovering around the freezing mark and I decided that I would charge my cell phone and blue tooth speaker because I was in the cabin for the whole day/night. I started the solar system up at 1:30 pm and I ran it till 12:30 am and I must say everything works great. It seems the AGM batteries don't mind the cold and I had my light on from sunset till 12:30am. I started out with 12.74 volts and when I shut it down for the night it was at 12.42 volts. I know I am only using a small amount of power but like Will always says you need to figure out what power you require and then build your system. It seems like his knowledge and advice has made my first solar project a success. It will be interesting to see once we enter our cold spell how this will perform. No wonder Will has so much excitement in his video's because I am hooked and love building and playing with solar. With this all said, I can see that building larger post mounted PV's using maybe 24 volt system and having a larger battery bank could power a much larger cabin. How much fun would that be? Thanks Will your awesome... Webbee

 

[nwillitts]

will is a bad ass.
he got me hooked.

 

[Webbee]

Now that I am hooked as well, I am playing with a small portable setup and for a second I had to laugh at myself because I felt like Will. I bought a small 50 watt solar kit from Canadian Tire for $80.00 and right out of the box I chopped the cheap charge controller (PWM) and wired up a good MPPT (Victron) It works great for a smaller battery setups! It was just cranking out 61 watts and over 3.0 amps into this battery. I will be using this for charging up a small battery box I put together.

 

[nwillitts]

i will take some pics of my portable solar power station i put together a few months ago.
it consists of 6 lifepo4 12 volt 12ah bats,placed in a aluminum bat box,a 300 watt pure sine wave inverter and 60 watt mppt controlled panels.all tied to a fuse box mounted inside with the bats.works a treat.
here is what i got.

2 of these but in 30 watt,30 watts are gone- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TWF5L3W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

fuse panel. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GBV2MHN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

6 of these- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JF56C7L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

battery box- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CQ6J6G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

inverter- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SLPWBK3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and i run this on it as well as anything else i may need- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NQ8NBWJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

edit to add this dual usb,cigar lighter,on/off switch. https://www.amazon.com/Linkstyle-Ch...35AKQGG4AKS&psc=1&refRID=28RD619QR35AKQGG4AKS

 

[Webbee]

i will take some pics of my portable solar power station i put together a few months ago.
it consists of 6 lifepo4 12 volt 12ah bats,placed in a aluminum bat box,a 300 watt pure sine wave inverter and 60 watt mppt controlled panels.all tied to a fuse box mounted inside with the bats.works a treat.
here is what i got.

2 of these but in 30 watt,30 watts are gone- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TWF5L3W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

fuse panel. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GBV2MHN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

6 of these- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JF56C7L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

battery box- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CQ6J6G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

inverter- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SLPWBK3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and i run this on it as well as anything else i may need- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NQ8NBWJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

edit to add this dual usb,cigar lighter,on/off switch. https://www.amazon.com/Linkstyle-Ch...35AKQGG4AKS&psc=1&refRID=28RD619QR35AKQGG4AKS

Nwillitt,
That is so awesome I can't wait to see a picture of the whole package. Great job! You have given me some great ideas for what I will do. Thanks so much for sharing!

 

[nwillitts]

ok-couple pics.
also has input for grid power charging.
2 30 watt panels work great.i place them on the roof of my van.when parked.i have them bolted together.
i used the included battery hold down that came with the battery box as a handle.
very lite-weighs under 21 lbs.72ahs.

now adding a temp gauge.
update-temp gauge installed.comes on and off with power switch.

 

[nwillitts]

Nwillitt,
That is so awesome I can't wait to see a picture of the whole package. Great job! You have given me some great ideas for what I will do. Thanks so much for sharing!

your welcome.
when you put something together,please post.
creating our own grid is exciting.