Backyard Cabin

[Webbee]

I just finished pimping out my little 50 watt solar panel. I want to use this as a portable charging station. I hope this gives some people ideas for there small projects.

 

[erik.calco]

I just finished pimping out my little 50 watt solar panel. I want to use this as a portable charging station. I hope this gives some people ideas for there small projects.
View attachment 4920View attachment 4921View attachment 4922

That is brilliant. Did you order or build that folding mount?

I love having quick disconnect for batteries. I used SB 175 only cuz that is what I had on hand. But, I like the idea of using XT60 or XT90s, too. I house the MPPT with the batteries, though.

 

[Webbee]

That is brilliant. Did you order or build that folding mount?

I love having quick disconnect for batteries. I used SB 175 only cuz that is what I had on hand. But, I like the idea of using XT60 or XT90s, too. I house the MPPT with the batteries, though.

The folding stand was part of the kit but after seeing how it is made you could make your own on a 100 watt panel. I just added the aluminum crossbar to mount the charge controller on it.

 

[Webbee]

Hi everyone, I just wanted to do another update of my backyard cabin. My small 100 watt solar system is working great even with the lack of sunshine. I only use my cabin on weekends so it seems as a good fit for this type of use. However, if I was using it everyday I can see the challenges I would be facing. On Sunday night it was -2 c or so, snowing like crazy, the wood stove was maintaining a comfy 24-26 c and I was a happy guy. Will, I will use your quote "Every man needs a shed" you made me laugh at that closing statement. I was running two LED lamps from 5:00 pm(12.76v) till 12:30 am (12.48v). My little cabin is such a great spot to get away....
I real wish more people would give this a try because it really is a rewarding project and what a great place to recharge yourself, Webbee

BTW, I had some questions on my solar panel post setup. We have had lots of strong gusting wind this winter and it is still solid. I am also gathering up parts to do another solar project which will bring power into my home.

 

[Webbee]

Hi everyone, I just finished my newest solar project. I hooked these four panels like Will suggests in his 400 watt solar system blueprint. I have (2) Battle Born batteries, 40 amp MPPT charge controller and a 1500 watt P.S. Samlex inverter running. I needed to hook up some necessities first so I tested to see if my kegerator will run on it. It started the fridge from a cold start no problem. I have it all hooked up in a test mode but I will hardwire it all once the test is complete. I will keep you up to date on how it's working. This system will adjust for two angles spring/summer/fall and then winter. If I need to add a third angle I can easily make changes. I have not really notice much difference with my cabin system so we will see.(my cabin system is cable of 3 set angles)

 

[Steve_S]

Yep, Will passed the bug onto you, no doubt about it, and now your starting to swim in the deeper side of the pond. It's A DRUG ! but a good one IMO.

I'm near Algonquin Park Ontario... offgrid cabineer.
Gosh it was WONDERFUL to tell Hydro One to go and get STUFFED !!!
Even better when I see the Gridlings sitting in the dark while I have all the power I want. (Our area had 19 blackouts last year), ahh to be rural & remote.

Cubic MIni and the Grizzly are awesome smart stoves. I had to get something bigger but not too big for my cabin, otherwise I would have gone with one of them, although now a few years later, One could have probably worked out just fine as my place is Hyper Insulated and my primary heat is Radiant Floor (Frost Protected Slab Foundation).

Everyone needs their "Shed" ! Have you ever seen the British Series "Amazing Spaces, including the Shed of the Year" Darn Good inspiration to incredible "sheds".

REF to Cubic Stoves for those who are curious: NOTE great for RV's & Boats too !

Small, Efficient, Modern Wood Burning Stoves

Cubic Mini wood stoves, perfect for boats, RV's, and small off the grid cabins. Buy the best rated and high efficiency wood stoves in Canada.

cubicminiwoodstoves.com

Check this out too: nope, not enabling an addiction, ohh noooo.....
https://www.solarshoppingmall.com/24V-Solar-Panel_c_25.html

 

[Webbee]

Yep, Will passed the bug onto you, no doubt about it, and now your starting to swim in the deeper side of the pond. It's A DRUG ! but a good one IMO.

I'm near Algonquin Park Ontario... offgrid cabineer.
Gosh it was WONDERFUL to tell Hydro One to go and get STUFFED !!!
Even better when I see the Gridlings sitting in the dark while I have all the power I want. (Our area had 19 blackouts last year), ahh to be rural & remote.

Cubic MIni and the Grizzly are awesome smart stoves. I had to get something bigger but not too big for my cabin, otherwise I would have gone with one of them, although now a few years later, One could have probably worked out just fine as my place is Hyper Insulated and my primary heat is Radiant Floor (Frost Protected Slab Foundation).

Everyone needs their "Shed" ! Have you ever seen the British Series "Amazing Spaces, including the Shed of the Year" Darn Good inspiration to incredible "sheds".

REF to Cubic Stoves for those who are curious: NOTE great for RV's & Boats too !

Small, Efficient, Modern Wood Burning Stoves

Cubic Mini wood stoves, perfect for boats, RV's, and small off the grid cabins. Buy the best rated and high efficiency wood stoves in Canada.

cubicminiwoodstoves.com

Check this out too: nope, not enabling an addiction, ohh noooo.....
https://www.solarshoppingmall.com/24V-Solar-Panel_c_25.html

What kind of charge controller would you recommend. I purchased my Battle Born batteries from Solacity and I want to up grade from what I have.

 

[Steve_S]

What kind of charge controller would you recommend. I purchased my Battle Born batteries from Solacity and I want to up grade from what I have.

Ahhh Glad to see anothr Happy Client from Rob Beckers. Great Guy, Excellent Company with good folks all around there.
I use a Midnite Classic 200 BUT I'm in a slightly different game I think. It all comes down to where you want to go with your solar gear. Is it just for the Man Cave / Escape Shed (aka the DogHouse) or if your looking to Solar your house up.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Classic and will be getting another so I can link them together and double up my input so I can charge proper in the coldest & shortest days but I am also invested / commited to this family. IF I was building my system today, it would be all Victron. But I Live Off-Grid so my needs are dictated by my life choice. Closest Power Pole is 1km away, or $55,000 away from me (that's what Hydro wanted to bring power up here).

You've already started with some Victron, stick with it, it's Tier-1 Top Quality Good Stuff.
Not as a knock against Rob & the gang but smart shopping can save you some respectable coin.
If you do buy from Rob & Co, they will be behind you and support you too, if something goes awry, they will help. Got questions, issues or pondering designs, they will help as best as they can. You won't get that from an amazon / ebay vendor.

 

[Webbee]

Ahhh Glad to see anothr Happy Client from Rob Beckers. Great Guy, Excellent Company with good folks all around there.
I use a Midnite Classic 200 BUT I'm in a slightly different game I think. It all comes down to where you want to go with your solar gear. Is it just for the Man Cave / Escape Shed (aka the DogHouse) or if your looking to Solar your house up.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Classic and will be getting another so I can link them together and double up my input so I can charge proper in the coldest & shortest days but I am also invested / commited to this family. IF I was building my system today, it would be all Victron. But I Live Off-Grid so my needs are dictated by my life choice. Closest Power Pole is 1km away, or $55,000 away from me (that's what Hydro wanted to bring power up here).

You've already started with some Victron, stick with it, it's Tier-1 Top Quality Good Stuff.
Not as a knock against Rob & the gang but smart shopping can save you some respectable coin.
If you do buy from Rob & Co, they will be behind you and support you too, if something goes awry, they will help. Got questions, issues or pondering designs, they will help as best as they can. You won't get that from an amazon / ebay vendor.

Thanks for your insight! I actually was thinking of getting a Victron because I have a V.E. SmartSolar MPPT 100/15 I use for a portable panel. They are expensive put man they are so easy to setup compared to the one I have now. I want to fine tune my charge cycles, so I was thinking of a Victron Energy SmartSolar MPPT 100/50. This would be perfect for my new setup. As for my cabin I have a MPP Solar 12 volt unit running my power needs. It works great and was so easy to install. Over all this new solar hobby of mine is an expensive thing but it sure is fun and it's really interesting. The added plus is that I am producing my own energy.

 

[Steve_S]

From what I see, people are pretty happy with MPP Solar equipment, I don't know anything about them personally but I've looked at the specs and they certainly are respectable. Victron is good, plain and simple no brainer and if budget allows it's great to do. Something about peace of mind.

Got that thing that says, "damn it, I wish I could have figured this out years ago and done it way back then" or something similar echoing in the back of your mind. ? Hehehe.... It IS really cool to watch the energy get created from the Sun and know it's didn't come from Hydro One !

 

[Webbee]

Hi everyone, I just finished my newest solar project. I hooked these four panels like Will suggests in his 400 watt solar system blueprint. I have (2) Battle Born batteries, 40 amp MPPT charge controller and a 1500 watt P.S. Samlex inverter running. I needed to hook up some necessities first so I tested to see if my kegerator will run on it. It started the fridge from a cold start no problem. I have it all hooked up in a test mode but I will hardwire it all once the test is complete. I will keep you up to date on how it's working. This system will adjust for two angles spring/summer/fall and then winter. If I need to add a third angle I can easily make changes. I have not really notice much difference with my cabin system so we will see.(my cabin system is cable of 3 set angles)

Good morning! I finished the solar rack (S.R.) the other day and I am confident that it should hold up to the elements. I was concerned that wind may weaken the rack over time, so I added a X brace in the back which made a huge difference on the rigidity. I also added 2 more stiff legs to help support the weight of the 5 patio stones. After I was satisfied with the S.R. I put stain (puritan pine) on the whole rack to preserve the fresh cut ends from moisture and to even out the stain colour. I used a combination of pressure treated spruce and regular spruce 2x4's. The Minwax puritan pine colour seemed to match the pressure treated wood colour really well. Over all the rack cost just around $150.00 to build so that seems cheep enough. Yesterday was a very windy day with sporadic gusts of wind that proved to be perfect condition to see if the S.R. could withstand strong wind. As before, in my other projects I will keep everyone up to date. Please ask questions if you want to make a S.R. for your next project. This was really fun to build! Once again, thanks Will for you inspiration...

 

[erik.calco]

@Webbee you're ahead of me. My two 320W panels are held down by patio chairs and a dog tie lol.

I'm slowly getting there, though. I decided to put in a metal corner fence post and bind to it with a hinge.

 

[Craig]

At least you guys are using metal Im wondering how long my wood will last. But at least I have manual solar tracking.

 

[erik.calco]

View attachment 9748

At least you guys are using metal Im wondering how long my wood will last. But at least I have manual solar tracking.

LOL I love it! I really hope to get manual tracking in the beginning, but right now, my focus is on easy tilting, thus the hinge. How that hinge binds to the pole will determine how easily I can track.

Is that a metal or wood pole? I've been debating putting my 100W on a young maple tree for this summer, so may steal your design for that. I don't need anything to truly last, because I view it all as learning and hope to improve, just so long as the panels don't get damaged in the process.

Check out Superstruts. Can get at HD. Looking at your design, looks like much of the wood could be replaced with struts. If you go that route, and choose the smaller profile ones, I can tell you after several HD trips the 1/4" x 3/4" bolts with the 1/4" cone nuts are what worked.

I'm getting a ferrous blade for my circular saw on the next trip. I can let you know how that works out with these struts.

 

[Craig]

LOL I love it! I really hope to get manual tracking in the beginning, but right now, my focus is on easy tilting, thus the hinge. How that hinge binds to the pole will determine how easily I can track.

Is that a metal or wood pole? I've been debating putting my 100W on a young maple tree for this summer, so may steal your design for that. I don't need anything to truly last, because I view it all as learning and hope to improve, just so long as the panels don't get damaged in the process.

Check out Superstruts. Can get at HD. Looking at your design, looks like much of the wood could be replaced with struts. If you go that route, and choose the smaller profile ones, I can tell you after several HD trips the 1/4" x 3/4" bolts with the 1/4" cone nuts are what worked.

I'm getting a ferrous blade for my circular saw on the next trip. I can let you know how that works out with these struts.

Yes the superstrut is the way to go I made this 2 years ago on the fly with limited materials from my local lumberyard. The pole is a power pole that is now defunct since a fire caused by power company burnt us out. I can adjust the tilt by moving the junction of frame and the 2x4 cross up or down along the power pole. It works well just not gonna last forever. But it is great way to get power for most of day maybe 10 hours in summer.

 

[Webbee]

View attachment 9748

At least you guys are using metal Im wondering how long my wood will last. But at least I have manual solar tracking.

That is a really cool design! I bet it will last for a very long time. Nice job!

 

[Webbee]

Hi solar Geeks ?, it is now Sunday March 29th and I rewired my basement and I am now running my kegerator full time on solar all 8 basement lights and a computer I built that I use as a Jukebox system that runs on my stereo in my upstairs living room. I hardwired my Samlex PST-1500 watt inverter and it works like a charm. I have ordered a small electrical panel that I will wire up with a 15 or 20 amp circuit breaker. Then the system will be complete. Just so people don't get confused my house is old and my basement is unfinished and only had 2 receptacles that are used for my washer and freezer. I kept these hooked to the grid, but I added a whole new circuit for the lights and 3 receptacles for the solar system. This was a really fun project.

 

[erik.calco]

Hi solar Geeks ?, it is now Sunday March 29th and I rewired my basement and I am now running my kegerator full time on solar all 8 basement lights and a computer I built that I use as a Jukebox system that runs on my stereo in my upstairs living room. I hardwired my Samlex PST-1500 watt inverter and it works like a charm. I have ordered a small electrical panel that I will wire up with a 15 or 20 amp circuit breaker. Then the system will be complete. Just so people don't get confused my house is old and my basement is unfinished and only had 2 receptacles that are used for my washer and freezer. I kept these hooked to the grid, but I added a whole new circuit for the lights and 3 receptacles for the solar system. This was a really fun project.

Yeah, that's when it becomes rewarding... when it is feeding circuits in your home. I keep 2 circuits on the inverter currently, part of my living room and my fridge. Last night we had a quick power outage that woke me up (thunder), and the light in my living room on the inverter never flickered. That was nice to finally see!

What panel did you order? Are you going to use a transfer switch for home circuits?

 

[erik.calco]

If you are comfortable with AC wiring, and it sounds like you are, you can consider hooking up a switch and socket to the inverter. The switch turns off the feed to my transfer switch. The sockets are not switched, so I always have power for my laptop that monitors and controls the inverter, and a 22W LED light I can turn on in a pinch.

 

[Webbee]

Yeah, that's when it becomes rewarding... when it is feeding circuits in your home. I keep 2 circuits on the inverter currently, part of my living room and my fridge. Last night we had a quick power outage that woke me up (thunder), and the light in my living room on the inverter never flickered. That was nice to finally see!

What panel did you order? Are you going to use a transfer switch for home circuits?

No transfer switch required because this system is isolated and not hooked to the electrical panel. This small panel will just give me breaker protection if something is over loaded. Just a precaution!