Hi! Considering an off grid setup, advice appreciated.

[gersus]

Hey everyone, new here! Here is our situation - we have 18 acres in south central Missouri. Its a riverfront property (our of flood plain) mostly wooded. We have an area cleared off and have a large camper there. We've been running 2 generators for power but are consdering better options. We can have grid power ran but its a distance and at $5/foot it will total ~$6k to bring it to our camper spot. So, with that cost in mind would you think it would be a good option to put that money toward a solar setup instead? The camper has a 50 amp hookup. It has two 15k A/C units. I wouldn't mind running a off grid setup and using a generator for times when extra power is needed.
Future plans are to build a cabin/house in 8-10 years. I haven't ever built a solar setup but I do my homework and feel comfortable diving into this. Thank you for the help.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

$6K is pretty cheap for a grid run. Most seem to be $20-40K. One of my neighbors is on a very unreliable grid with the closest pole about 1/3 of a mile away. I didn't bother asking. I just went off grid because... eff 'em.

If $ is the driver, you need to consider at least a few other things.

Are you going to want on or off grid when you build in 8-10 years?
If off grid, how big will that system need to be?
How much will the next 8-10 years being on grid cost you?
How much are you spending in genny gas now?

Assuming you're running propane things off propane, and your electrical power needs BESIDES the A/C are not huge, you could likely do a system that could power everything but your A/C for maybe $2-3K

A good place to start would be the DIY checklist in my signature. Worth spending a couple hours planning and getting info together to make a sound decision.

 

[BentleyJ]

$6K is not going to purchase enough solar equipment to build a suitable system that will run 2 AC units and everything else. Unless you really like the idea of going solar, wish to do a DIY project and are willing to double your budget, have the utility power brought in and keep your generators for the occasions when utility power goes down.

 

[Don B. Cilly]

1) Well, how much do you plan to draw in your camper? 30 kWh of A/C plus all and sundries? Big solar setup. $6K grid cheaper.
Pity, because
2) Riverfront? Hey. Think what you could have done with that if you didn't hate the heat so much ;·)
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[sunshine_eggo]

1) Well, how much do you plan to draw in your camper? 30 kWh of A/C plus all and sundries? Big solar setup. $6K grid cheaper.
Pity, because
2) Riverfront? Hey. Think what you could have done with that if you didn't hate the heat so much ;·)
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15K = 15,000 BTU, not 15kW

Tend to have a 1500-2000W draw.

 

[Don B. Cilly]

15K = 15,000 BTU, not 15kW

Ah, right :·) Still, 3-4K is quite a big draw, but...
in that case, if the all and sundries are not too heavy, maybe the river possibilities can be explored...
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[gersus]

Are you going to want on or off grid when you build in 8-10 years?
If off grid, how big will that system need to be?
How much will the next 8-10 years being on grid cost you?
How much are you spending in genny gas now?

In 8-10 years, not sure. Maybe stay off grid, but who knows what the world will be like then.
We're spending about $50/weekend on gas for the generators. Its less when it cools off and we won't stay there during the winter.
Thanks for the diy worksheet, we'll check it out!

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Ah, right :·) Still, 3-4K is quite a big draw, but...
in that case, if the all and sundries are not too heavy, maybe the river possibilities can be explored...
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You know... I have to give you credit. You did say 30kWh, and that might not be too far off with 8-10 hours of runtime per day...

FWIW, a 3kW PV system is needed to run ONE of our 13.5K units for about 8 hours/day only during sunshine time.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

In 8-10 years, not sure. Maybe stay off grid, but who knows what the world will be like then.
We're spending about $50/weekend on gas for the generators. Its less when it cools off and we won't stay there during the winter.
Thanks for the diy worksheet, we'll check it out!

That energy audit yields a very workable design you can put $ estimates to.

Since this sounds like weekend getaway place, then consumption $ probably doesn't drive things. $50/weekend ain't much.

How are things with critters? Ever have rodents camping out? Initially, we were losing the war miserably. We spend a the first hour of a couple of visit vacuuming pack rat shit from all over the trailer, which nearly turned my wife against the whole idea. Once we finally had continuous off-grid power there and could leave 4W interior LEDs on 24/7, the tide turned dramatically in our favor. I've done my best to seal off all ingress points, but I think I'm too fat to think like a mouse. We still have the occasional intruder, but it's nothing a few sticky or bucket traps can't handle.

 

[gersus]

We haven't had too much trouble with critters. My wife doesn't allow it lol. She's all over it putting out all kinds of things to deter them.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

We haven't had too much trouble with critters. My wife doesn't allow it lol. She's all over it putting out all kinds of things to deter them.

Fair. If she's using poison bait, she's killing other stuff up the food chain. One bait that I've had success with is Rat-X. It allegedly has no impact on any other animals as it suppresses the rodent thirst response, and they die of dehydration. If eaten by something else, it has no effect on them.

 

[Bluedog225]

Off grid appeals for a lot of reasons. And not running the gennys is nice.

$10,000 gets you some decent 48 volt batteries, a modest off-grid inverter, and a fair number of used panels.

I realize that’s vague. Watching a dozen will prowse videos (and similar) will give you a pretty good idea of the cost and the complexity. Look for the ones where people run mini-splits.

And welcome! Stick around for a month and you will save a couple thousand $ in mistakes.

 

[gersus]

Fair. If she's using poison bait, she's killing other stuff up the food chain. One bait that I've had success with is Rat-X. It allegedly has no impact on any other animals as it suppresses the rodent thirst response, and they die of dehydration. If eaten by something else, it has no effect on them.

Not using poison, just things that repel them. Kinda like work repels a lot of people hahahaha.

 

[Bluedog225]

The electric rat killer traps are pretty sweet. Though a little pricey. Instant death. I’ve been meaning to rig it up at an angle so the body falls to the earth after the execution.

 

[gersus]

Lets rephrase my question - with a 6k budget, how much setup could we get? Panels, inverter, batteries, etc that would be suited for our needs?

 

[Bluedog225]

You are going to have to make some decisions regarding quality and capacity.

48 volt server rack battery $1800. 100 amp hour. Panels about 50 cents per watt if you find a good deal used. Inverter prices vary from $ to $$$$. Don’t underestimate balance of system (racking, good wire, appropriate fuses, tools, etc).

 

[Don B. Cilly]

Some 10 kWh of batteries - $3500-4500.
A couple of mid-tier All-In-One inverters (4kW each) - $2-3000.
Already over budget.
Not much to save on the batteries - unless you want to assemble them yourself. You could go for CCCs (Cheap Chinese Clones) on the AIOs, so say $1500. That would leave about $1000 for panels, water wheels/turbines, connectors etc. A bit stretched.
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[littleharbor2]

Unless you have overbuilt your system the mini splits are going to suck all PV production leaving little to none for battery charging. Remember without some form of tracking you're only getting full output during the 3 - 4 midday hours. The morning and afternoon hours will be less and likely will be pulling a lot of power from your batteries. We've had the best luck running our mini split's off of Honda 2000 inverter generators.

 

[Ozark Tinkering]

Lets rephrase my question - with a 6k budget, how much setup could we get? Panels, inverter, batteries, etc that would be suited for our needs?

Not nearly enough to run those ACs. Drop the $6k and have your utility provider bring power that last 1/4 mile. If you plan a house in 8 years your trailer won't be worth much by then anyway. Install a mini split, they are ridiculously efficient and cheap to operate. Plan for at least $10k for a good off grid starter setup like Bluedog said but that still wouldn't run your 2 15k btu rooftop a/c units (they are horrible power hogs.

$10,000 gets you some decent 48 volt batteries, a modest off-grid inverter, and a fair number of used panels.

I realize that’s vague. Watching a dozen will prowse videos (and similar) will give you a pretty good idea of the cost and the complexity. Look for the ones where people run mini-splits.

 

[RV10flyer]

Lets rephrase my question - with a 6k budget, how much setup could we get? Panels, inverter, batteries, etc that would be suited for our needs?

Maybe enough to run a Fujitsu 33 SEER 12000 btu mini split hp.