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diy solar

Off-Grid Farm

mountkay

Camper
Joined
Nov 6, 2022
Messages
227
Location
Upstate NY
Just upgraded the no-till off-grid farm a bit (well more of a market garden than a farm haha).

So far it consists of a solar well pump powered by 2x 12v 100w panels in series, that pumps the well water from the well, up to the farm and fills 2x ~300gal cube tanks.
Then to pump the water out onto the farm, we (now) have 6x 12v 100w panels that go thru 2x unbranded SCCs into a 12v 100ah CHINS battery.
1500w running 3000w surge Jupiter (harbor freight) inverter powers a 115v 6a pump to water about 1/16 acre thru 6x wobbler style sprinkler heads.
A second pump waters another 1/16 acre.
But we can not run both pumps at the same time. (instead of switching a valve to water the different areas, we have the 2nd pump, as this also serves as a backup incase one pump ever fails on us).
When watering is needed for multiple days in a row, the whole system can be left on and will trigger via a float switch in the water tanks.

The upgrade we just made was to switch the CHINS watering system from 200w to 600w.
Now the CHINS can pump out both of the ~300gal tanks in one session, leading to more water penetration.
Before the CHINS systems couldnt always keep up with the well pump in shoulder seasons, because of the ~300w daily the inverter makes when its on.
Also the well pump will still pump a decent amount of water even when it is significantly cloudy, so the voltage controller on the well pump had to be turned down so we couldnt use its full potential.
Also, while pumping the CHINS would drain too fast to pump out both ~300gal tanks. Now with the 600w on the CHINS, we can rely on the float switch to drain both tanks. Only been doing it for a day, but it seems to work no problem.

The CHINS system also powers our wash/pack area which consists of a 115v pump for spraying off root crops, as well a UV sterilizing light to make the water potable.
We also wired the 600w panels for the CHINS in such a way so that 1 panel can easily be removed and sent to another SCC that has alligator clamps for charging up a lawnmower or tractor battery that may have died, or a battery that powers one of the cabins that doesnt have its own PV system.

Next we will be wiring 6x 12v 100w panels to my old 2.5kw SOK 12v battery and another 1500w Jupiter inverter in a little shed to power a chest freezer which makes ice cores that we put in coolers with the produce.
I also have a ~1.5kw Valence 12v battery that can be used to supplement this system, and we have plans to add another smaller chest freezer (if i can get it working) so that one of the chest freezers can be converted to a refrigerator via a KETOTEK temperature switch.

Far reaching future plans will be to add a walk in cooler powered either by a COOLBOT or instead just an actual old fashioned Ice House (maybe a combination of the two).

Overall the farm is about 1/4 acre and there is a 3rd 1/16 acre section that the pumps can water but has to be hand watered with a wand. We will be putting a greenhouse in this area. The last 1/16 acre section is just under a tarp for the moment.

We hope to get certified Organic this year.

We also have a nursery on the property as well as many fruit and nut trees we have planted, in more of a permaculture / homesteading style.

We also hope to add some dual purpose chickens soon, as well as double the size of our "pond" and do something to actually get it to hold water haha.

Ill keep this thread updated, and answer any questions anyone has about doing something similar!
 
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That's one nice looking farm/garden for sure ! Wife wants to setup something like that in the field beside the house but I won't let her since I'm planning on filling the field with solar panels eventually :)
 
Nice setup. I use a couple of spare panels to power a DC pump from a shallow well up to a plastic IBC tank sitting on a stack of firewood. There is float switch (bilge switch) mounted upside down that shuts off the pump when the tank is full.

I have had less luck with my water delivery systems, a soaker hose works for a couple of days and then the flow diminishes. Not sure why as its well water that I used to drink for years. I have considered going with a drip system, but for now I have cheap whirlybird sprinkler that wets about a 10 foot radius at the pressure my tank develops. The DC pump could pump a lot more PSI but I have no good way to elevate the tank any further.
 
I love that your CHINS system powers your wash/pack area. It's always great to see sustainable and responsible agricultural practices in action. Have you ever heard about https://resopp-sn.org/? I think you can learn a lot from them. Just a suggestion.
 
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That's one nice looking farm/garden for sure ! Wife wants to setup something like that in the field beside the house but I won't let her since I'm planning on filling the field with solar panels eventually :)
Maybe go vertical between rows?

 
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