Need help with a couple off-grid things

[peakbagger]

There was an individual long ago that rigged up a large very well insulated box in his basement with a large water jacket. He had an outdoor coil and in indoor coil in the water jacket. The coil was filled with refrigerant. The heat from the basement box would vaporize the refrigerant and it would travel to the outdoor coil, then condense and run back down to the box, eventually creating a big block of ice that was large enough to last the entire warm season. No pumps or motors.

Its not just refrigerant, solar hot water systems filled with antifreeze could thermosyphon in cold weather if a fairly important check valve failed. The heat exchangers used to heat the domestic hot water with glycol would freeze and the water side would burst flooding the basement. I was at a moving sale of long term solar supply firm that was moving out of their warehouse. They had several of the same design heat exchanger with the elbows split from freezing. That type of failure was usually the end of the homewoners solar hot water heating.

 

[Bluedog225]

There are standards. And a lot of ways to mess it up winging a half-baked solution. Not for me.

 

[Checkthisout]

You don't want to only duct pressurized system outside, you want system in a negative pressure chamber.
Onan had what they called "vaccu-cool"; instead of typical fins on flywheel pushing air over engine, they used a blower which exhausted air and sucked air over the engine. For RV, so fumes don't get elsewhere inside. Takes care of exhaust, and fumes from oil.

Propane or natural gas + CO alarm should be much better than gasoline in this regard. There is indoor engine-driven equipment that uses propane.

Was tongue-in-cheek

 

[Alpine_Junky]

I live right over the MT line in Troy.

You are on the right track with the propane appliances imo.

My push - consider a diy280ah lithium battery at 48v. Led lights. Gasoline predator inverter generator and aftermarket charger (typical chargers with a smaller inverter charge too slow). Pay attention to get true off grid water heater and stove - some of the gas ones sold have near 600-800 watts draw.

You get great life of genny & can use your existing propane when feeling like it. Gasoline is greater energy density - and that Gen is efficient for charging batteries.

I have 4000 watt inverter and junk batteries; in the winter, less than 2 hrs gen run time using 45 amp charger. We have 4k watts of solar that isn’t ideally placed nor do we always keep clean. Working on a diy lithium now - per calcs should last 2+ days for my use. Well pump is a grundfos 6sqf3 (soft start, 240vac variable). And gen run time will decrease drastically with larger charger & efficient modern batteries. About the best bang for the buck that I was able to figure. And gen run time for extended bigger stuff / try to time laundry for when we get sun or charge of batteries.

 

[sunsurfer]

I always wondered for those of us in northern climates about some kind of insulated duct with a small thermostatically controlled fan to the freezer we heat the house for 6 months and pay for a freezer to run too

Makes sense. Less solar in the winter, why cool down a fridge/freezer in a wood heated house. Makes sense to work with the seasons vs against them. If I was in a low solar winter area in a canyon, I would get creative with the "non conventional" ways of living.

This location needs some seriously low power ways of living. It can be done.

 

[OffGridForGood]

I run two big freezers, we grow food and raise animals and store much of this in freezers.
These are in the basement where it is cooler all year round.
They are such low watt consumers, it was not worth it (to me) messing around with changing them to run from the winter temps with coils.
Not every day of the winter is cold enough to maintain freezer temps (-20)
Food keeps best if held at steady temperature.
To me the cost/value of the food in the freezers is too high to risk losing it.
If you plan a coil/heat exchanger system, also plan a back up for mild days or system failure. Thats my advice.