Get a big battery

[Kenny_]

People looking for land to go off grid:

Look on the land auction websites, check tax sales, talk to locals.

I don't recommend going too far away from civilization and you will need to resupply, get health care and have other services.

I am 10 miles from a one store town and 30 miles from a bigger city. Far enough to have my peace and security but close enough to get stuff and have some socializing and be safe.

Look around small towns that have the services you need and ask around, read the paper and look for the tax sales. Old timers may want to split off some land. I avoid realtors but they may list undeveloped land.

Consider land with an old fixer upper house that has good bones. Cheaper to remodel than build new and lots of materials to salvage. There are lots of those just sitting empty that could be made in to a fine off grid cabin.

Good luck!

Good advice! Thanks!

 

[JRH]

I've been considering a tiny home on some land somewhere off grid....

That’s pretty much where I’m at now sitting on top of a 30 degree F foggy mountain but I have back up grid if needed… , I need another year to finish the additions out .. (more stuff ) ….this is day three of NO SUN… I can go four doing what I need…Supposed to be sunny tomorrow ..if not I will have to hook up to somthing ….or crank up somthing… or do without somthing…

im practicing when I don’t have to , so I will know what I can do when I DO have to In winter .
It’s not as easy as it appears.. the sun won’t co-operate .
I like summer better..
J.

 

[sunsurfer]

Sounds like its time to start up the wood stove.

 

[JRH]

Sounds like its time to start up the wood stove.

Good idea.. first few flurries of the fall last nite..pretty sight..

 

[ksmithaz1]

GE makes the 4.8cu Ft combo unit as their largest.
Whirlpool, Samsung and LG have a heat pump dryer in the 7.3-7.8 range that are not combos.

I’m really interested in the GE profile myself. Unless Maytag comes out with one, my wife had a pair of Maytag neptunes in 2009 and every washer/dryer set we have used or own since then gets compared to those

Neptune washer, not so great. Bought the set in 1999 time frame. The dryer OTOH I took out of service with a new Maytag matching pair last year. I replaced the belt and the rear seal about 8 years ago. The guy I sold it to needed something like now for his mother, he was out of town. I plugged it in he was skeptical, I told him for $75 he couldn't go too wrong. I was stunned, he actually called me back from out of town to thank me, about a week later. Worked flawlessly and his mom was happy to have a working dryer.

So I ain't up for another couple grand for new appliances for a long while.

 

[Zwy]

I’m just astounded by all these numbers being thrown around about pv watts —-batt bank power, system costs , daily draw… everyone here but me must be rich as hell……compared to 5 years ago these are just amazing numbers and production…
im envious..
J.

I commonly work 100 hour weeks during summer heat waves, my business is centered around HVAC repair on vehicles, trucks and off road equipment. Fell into the specialty by accident. It is hard work and long days. On good days, I make $100/hour easily so if I work that 100 hours I do pretty good for the week. Started about 26 years ago and saved my money. Don't live fancy, paid off any debt as fast as I could. Paid off what I borrowed for my first house in one year by working 120 hour work weeks back then. Never purchased a new vehicle and with the junk they put out now, I'm not interested in ever purchasing a new vehicle. Always did any remodeling and only hired the shell put up for my shop, did all the inside work myself with help from wife and 2 kids. Spent every weekend and many late nights building the shop, then I spent a few more years remodeling the house before we moved here. Always did all the remodeling on my rentals.

Once you have no debt, the money accumulates and you look for places to put it. Investments here or there. One example is I purchased a mini storage business over 15 years ago, expanded it and I am expanding again this year. I probably would have never installed solar if the Fed had not manipulated interest rates too low and energy costs remained low. But one can see the writing on the wall where things are headed and it doesn't look pretty. It might be the wrong vision, but having hedged against rising energy costs can lead to a comfortable life later and not have to do without in the future. The recent proposed rate increase by my utility of 20% is an added bonus for return on that hedge. I just don't see energy getting any cheaper and with the tax credits the government is paying to help install makes it a no brainer. Scrimp, save and invest your money. Take a second job if necessary to get the income to expand your system. Energy security and independence are the goal.

 

[JRH]

I commonly work 100 hour weeks during summer heat waves, my business is centered around HVAC repair on vehicles, trucks and off road equipment. Fell into the specialty by accident. It is hard work and long days. On good days, I make $100/hour easily so if I work that 100 hours I do pretty good for the week. Started about 26 years ago and saved my money. Don't live fancy, paid off any debt as fast as I could. Paid off what I borrowed for my first house in one year by working 120 hour work weeks back then. Never purchased a new vehicle and with the junk they put out now, I'm not interested in ever purchasing a new vehicle. Always did any remodeling and only hired the shell put up for my shop, did all the inside work myself with help from wife and 2 kids. Spent every weekend and many late nights building the shop, then I spent a few more years remodeling the house before we moved here. Always did all the remodeling on my rentals.

Once you have no debt, the money accumulates and you look for places to put it. Investments here or there. One example is I purchased a mini storage business over 15 years ago, expanded it and I am expanding again this year. I probably would have never installed solar if the Fed had not manipulated interest rates too low and energy costs remained low. But one can see the writing on the wall where things are headed and it doesn't look pretty. It might be the wrong vision, but having hedged against rising energy costs can lead to a comfortable life later and not have to do without in the future. The recent proposed rate increase by my utility of 20% is an added bonus for return on that hedge. I just don't see energy getting any cheaper and with the tax credits the government is paying to help install makes it a no brainer. Scrimp, save and invest your money. Take a second job if necessary to get the income to expand your system. Energy security and independence are the goal.

Good solid advice Sir…Your words will get no arguments from me.… I have taken a simalar path in life. I Started early , made good money most of my life by investing, thinking, starting different companies/ ventures and hard work….also getting lucky many times.
Where we differ is if I had just 10% of what I have wasted over the decades on Wine ,Women and Song…. *( and new toys , boats & cars)*, I could buy a whole solar company and have the employees come build me a giant system and the write the whole thing off my taxes as business expenditures etc…..
But, as they say ……I can’t ..those years are behind me now…ahh but it was fun….!

The main thought on my post was in the short time I have actively perused creating MY solar pathway, it seems the bar has been raised enormously.. Even the options of what is possible has exploded In the last 3 to 5 years … it’s expensive …and also cheaper at the same time ..
A paradox of sorts…
As it becomes more mainstream it’s changing so fast it’s mind blowing..
Im definitely going to grow what I have already built and like many things I have gotten into in life, it seems to be very addictive…the further ya go , the more ya understand , the more the next ladder rung seems logical …..watching you guys with all the big systems only inspires me to to push on further than I had planned ..or expected to ever do…
I still find it amazing at what has become accepted as the norm in such a short time..
J.

 

[G00SE]

I think it’s fascinating and great to see some of the large builds. It created a sense of viability for people like myself.

 

[wildhorsesracing]

My loads tester managed to sneak another dryer load in last night around 5pm which left us at 15% this morning as well. I was looking at buying another bank of 30kWh of batteries to make sure we can last more than 3 days here in the winter with no sun. We were usually back up to 100% by noon but buying a Tesla earlier this year has slowed the solar to battery replenishment down.

My takeaway on my installation is - whatever you calculate to satisfy your needs, double it for the times when the sun doesn't shine or your loads tester(s) go into overdrive...

PS. We have a daily routine on our Alexa that spouts off at sunrise with the local weather and a message "If it's sunny we can do laundry".

 

[Hedges]

I got a timer and relay, haven't installed yet, but plan was to cut power to electric water heater and L2 (element) of dryer, enforcing no heating appliances at the proscribed times.

Dryer could operate, but no heat except during proper times. Not sure if sensor dry would run the motor all night, defeating the purpose.

 

[Zwy]

My loads tester managed to sneak another dryer load in last night around 5pm which left us at 15% this morning as well. I was looking at buying another bank of 30kWh of batteries to make sure we can last more than 3 days here in the winter with no sun. We were usually back up to 100% by noon but buying a Tesla earlier this year has slowed the solar to battery replenishment down.

I think what will happen here is when I build the battery for the golf cart it will be with 280Ah cells which is what I planned when I measured it out. Winter comes I will pull the cells out and use them in the house.

Lowest we did get over the last week was 27.2% in the morning after the short charging day and the Official Loads Tester had used up 10kWh in less than 3 hours with the electric dryer and other loads. It took 3.5 days to get back to 100%, it hit today at 1 pm. We have been getting 40 to 50 kWh off the array each day and every morning except today has been cloudy until at least mid morning.

My takeaway on my installation is - whatever you calculate to satisfy your needs, double it for the times when the sun doesn't shine or your loads tester(s) go into overdrive...

Originally I was thinking I'd only have a pair of 280Ah batteries and just do load reduction, then it became 3, then I decided I might as well do this once on the install and just do all 4.

Yes, doubling the size makes a huge difference in autonomy and ability to move the house off grid.

PS. We have a daily routine on our Alexa that spouts off at sunrise with the local weather and a message "If it's sunny we can do laundry".

 

[Zwy]

Good solid advice Sir…Your words will get no arguments from me.… I have taken a simalar path in life. I Started early , made good money most of my life by investing, thinking, starting different companies/ ventures and hard work….also getting lucky many times.
Where we differ is if I had just 10% of what I have wasted over the decades on Wine ,Women and Song…. *( and new toys , boats & cars)*, I could buy a whole solar company and have the employees come build me a giant system and the write the whole thing off my taxes as business expenditures etc…..
But, as they say ……I can’t ..those years are behind me now…ahh but it was fun….!

The main thought on my post was in the short time I have actively perused creating MY solar pathway, it seems the bar has been raised enormously.. Even the options of what is possible has exploded In the last 3 to 5 years … it’s expensive …and also cheaper at the same time ..
A paradox of sorts…
As it becomes more mainstream it’s changing so fast it’s mind blowing..
Im definitely going to grow what I have already built and like many things I have gotten into in life, it seems to be very addictive…the further ya go , the more ya understand , the more the next ladder rung seems logical …..watching you guys with all the big systems only inspires me to to push on further than I had planned ..or expected to ever do…
I still find it amazing at what has become accepted as the norm in such a short time..
J.

Things are moving fast and prices are coming down. I probably could build my house system today for less as other options became available, members shared experience and new suppliers. This is the reason to participate here, you learn of new possibilities, share information and in the end it leads to everyone participating to be able to reach more energy independence.

 

[OffGridForGood]

I got a timer and relay, haven't installed yet, but plan was to cut power to electric water heater and L2 (element) of dryer, enforcing no heating appliances at the proscribed times.

Dryer could operate, but no heat except during proper times. Not sure if sensor dry would run the motor all night, defeating the purpose.

HWT Timer - Home Depot Intermatic 30A 240v - programable. I got Two! (these work great)

 

[OffGridForGood]

My loads tester managed to sneak another dryer load in last night around 5pm which left us at 15% this morning

and I thought I was alone with this issue!
Super sunny all day today - no laundry left since it was done during those two days of RAIN we just had....I need more battery...and a relay that cuts off L2 power to the dryer if the SOC is less than 50%...thinking about it...damn Hedges had to put that idea in my head.
I can just see this playing out:
I put the relay and L2 drops out at low SOC,
I go on a trip out of town for a couple days,
The Offical Solar Tester tries to run the dryer and the clothes are not getting dry, no heat so she calls a tech to come look at the dryer...I get a bill for $400 bucks to "fix the Dryer" ...AHHHHHH!

New plan:
If the SOC is less than 50% the Dryer door lock is ON...and the electric fence attached to dryer chassis energizes...oh boy would I be in the dog house...

 

[OffGridForGood]

and I thought I was alone with this issue!
Super sunny all day today - no laundry left since it was done during those two days of RAIN we just had....I need more battery...and a relay that cuts off L2 power to the dryer if the SOC is less than 50%...thinking about it...damn Hedges had to put that idea in my head.
I can just see this playing out:
I put the relay and L2 drops out at low SOC,
I go on a trip out of town for a couple days,
The Offical Solar Tester tries to run the dryer and the clothes are not getting dry, no heat so she calls a tech to come look at the dryer...I get a bill for $400 bucks to "fix the Dryer" ...AHHHHHH!

New plan:
If the SOC is less than 50% the Dryer door lock is ON...and the electric fence attached to dryer chassis energizes...oh boy would I be in the dog house...

Third draft plan:
If the SOC is less than 50% the WASHER is locked out. no washer, no need for the dryer.
Solenoid valve on the water supply to the washer would do it. no dog house.

 

[Hedges]

I figured I'd put of a light/sign indicating dryer services: [Hot dry / air fluff only]

I've run the 240V electric water heater on 120V from HF electronic timer before. Heavier contacts preferred.
I have mechanical spa timers, but want electronic to keep time during power outages so they don't shift to maximum rates.

Third draft plan:
If the SOC is less than 50% the WASHER is locked out. no washer, no need for the dryer.
Solenoid valve on the water supply to the washer would do it. no dog house.

But make sure not to interrupt washer load in progress.
I did try shutting off the hot water when the kid took too long a shower. He wasn't amused.

 

[OffGridForGood]

I did try shutting off the hot water when the kid took too long a shower. He wasn't amused.

I was a bit more sneaky about it, just slowly turned the hot water valve closed, "they" thought the HWT must be out of hot water! and never caught on to the actual cause of the slowly colder shower water.!

 

[OffGridForGood]

but want electronic to keep time during power outages so they don't shift to maximum rates.

The Intermatic have a single AA battery for holding the programing. The batteries last about 3 years. I use rechargable AA and these last about 2 years, but then just recharge them.

 

[CoolWill]

People looking for land to go off grid:

Look on the land auction websites, check tax sales, talk to locals.

I don't recommend going too far away from civilization and you will need to resupply, get health care and have other services.

I am 10 miles from a one store town and 30 miles from a bigger city. Far enough to have my peace and security but close enough to get stuff and have some socializing and be safe.

Look around small towns that have the services you need and ask around, read the paper and look for the tax sales. Old timers may want to split off some land. I avoid realtors but they may list undeveloped land.

Consider land with an old fixer upper house that has good bones. Cheaper to remodel than build new and lots of materials to salvage. There are lots of those just sitting empty that could be made in to a fine off grid cabin.

Good luck!

I got my wooded 5 acre off grid place for $501.00 at a tax sale. I'm just good like that.

 

[Solarcabin Channel]

I got my wooded 5 acre off grid place for $501.00 at a tax sale. I'm just good like that.

Right on! If you have patience and look around and talk to people you can still get good deals on land.

It is getting harder though as more people are competing to buy land for recreation cabins or a SHTF situation.