Off Grid Shipping Container

[star1o]

Hi Y’all,

Looking for some advise on how to go about setting up an off-grid system that is planned to be installed inside a shipping container with the panels on top and a generator placed outside for automatic battery charging.

The thing is, I want to this to power a 5th wheel that happens to be approx. 20 feet away from the shipping container.

The idea was to dig a trench and run the line to a “shore power” outlet placed on a pedestal. Same thing as you would have in a rv park but this would be off-grid.

Is this possible? Or even ideal?
This would require a 30amp outlet and breaker right on the pedestal or how would this be designed?

I’m wondering what would all be required or is there another way of connecting the external power system to the 5th wheel other than the shore power adapter? Does anything need to be installed in the 5th wheel?

So far, I plan on going with the Victron 24v Multiplus Inverter, Victron MPPT Solar Charger, Cerbo GX and touch screen maybe, Victron Smartshunt battery monitor, 6 x 390watt panels and 2 x 12v-100ah self-heating lithium batteries (for the winter months -12 degrees)

Any suggestions to help make this system possible would be greatly appreciated!

Also, I’m wondering if I would lose power by running this long of line?

Cheers

 

[Rednecktek]

Well, fortunately this is a pretty easy project as far as projects go. Just as a few thoughts:

You might want to consider going 48v for your system and use Trophy batteries which are self heated and have a LOT of capacity per unit.

You're going to be installing a power panel inside just for lights and utility outlets which makes it real easy to run a nice heavy wire out through some buried conduit to a RV power box with your 30a and 15a outlets or even a super cheap 30a only box right in the box. A buried 4x4 to screw it to and hold the conduit is super easy.

A 30a outlet is just going to be 3 wires from the outlet box (Hot, Neutral, Ground) to the breaker panel inside the container. You'll need to have your power system grounded via a pair of rods or plates, but it's actually pretty easy in your case.

20ft is nothing in the electrical world, go for 8AWG or 6AWG and don't worry about it.

 

[SamDeleted]

I’m wondering what would all be required or is there another way of connecting the external power system to the 5th wheel other than the shore power adapter? Does anything need to be installed in the 5th wheel?

Into the 5th wheels shore power seems like the simplest solution to me

 

[Rednecktek]

A couple of common things I see on container builds is the insulation and venting in those containers. They have an estimated R value of negative 50 and condensation is a common thing to deal with. Just something to look into while you're planning all this out.

 

[star1o]

Into the 5th wheels shore power seems like the simplest solution to me

Thank you!

 

[star1o]

Well, fortunately this is a pretty easy project as far as projects go. Just as a few thoughts:

You might want to consider going 48v for your system and use Trophy batteries which are self heated and have a LOT of capacity per unit.

You're going to be installing a power panel inside just for lights and utility outlets which makes it real easy to run a nice heavy wire out through some buried conduit to a RV power box with your 30a and 15a outlets or even a super cheap 30a only box right in the box. A buried 4x4 to screw it to and hold the conduit is super easy.

A 30a outlet is just going to be 3 wires from the outlet box (Hot, Neutral, Ground) to the breaker panel inside the container. You'll need to have your power system grounded via a pair of rods or plates, but it's actually pretty easy in your case.

20ft is nothing in the electrical world, go for 8AWG or 6AWG and don't worry about it.

This is great! Thanks for taking the time to help me out here!! That’s reassuring to here that it can be quite simple cause a few installers in my area have tried to discourage me by going this route.

Hey, I wish I could afford a 48v along with the batteries ? haha figured the 24v is a good start and can always add later on down the road!

And yes, the container sweat a lot! We’ll be insulating half of the container where it’ll be positioned then from there building almost a “electrical utility” closet where it’ll be protected with ventilation in the enclosed space. What do you think?

 

[Rednecktek]

Hey, I wish I could afford a 48v along with the batteries ? haha figured the 24v is a good start and can always add later on down the road!

Bad idea for a couple reasons:

24v inverters are very limited to about 3kw tops which doesn't give you a lot of headroom.

Dollar per Kwh a 48v 100ah battery is about the same cost as 24v 200ah battery, but 48v rackmounts are everywhere.

You can use a 48v battery for any AIO from 3kw to 12kw whereas a 24v battery based AIO gives you 1500w to 3kw.

And yes, the container sweat a lot! We’ll be insulating half of the container where it’ll be positioned then from there building almost a “electrical utility” closet where it’ll be protected with ventilation in the enclosed space. What do you think?

That would work as long as everything outside the utility is safe from condensation and temps.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Hi Y’all,

Looking for some advise on how to go about setting up an off-grid system that is planned to be installed inside a shipping container with the panels on top and a generator placed outside for automatic battery charging.

The thing is, I want to this to power a 5th wheel that happens to be approx. 20 feet away from the shipping container.

The idea was to dig a trench and run the line to a “shore power” outlet placed on a pedestal. Same thing as you would have in a rv park but this would be off-grid.

Is this possible? Or even ideal?
This would require a 30amp outlet and breaker right on the pedestal or how would this be designed?

I’m wondering what would all be required or is there another way of connecting the external power system to the 5th wheel other than the shore power adapter? Does anything need to be installed in the 5th wheel?

So far, I plan on going with the Victron 24v Multiplus Inverter, Victron MPPT Solar Charger, Cerbo GX and touch screen maybe, Victron Smartshunt battery monitor, 6 x 390watt panels and 2 x 12v-100ah self-heating lithium batteries (for the winter months -12 degrees)

Any suggestions to help make this system possible would be greatly appreciated!

Also, I’m wondering if I would lose power by running this long of line?

Cheers

You pretty much described what I did, except I have a 50A outlet and two Quattros running in split phase 120/240V.

Generator is cheapo Predator that I wheel out if I need it.

9 out of 18 installed.

Container is grounded to earth via ground rod.

N-G bond is in Quattro 1 and Quattro 1 is bonded to earth.

50' 6awg RV extension cable to a 50A to 2X 30A splitter. 5th wheels plugged into the splitter. Big RV is on L2 and smaller RV is on L1.

5th wheels aren't modified in any way.

 

[star1o]

Hmm, so you’re saying I can get away with

Bad idea for a couple reasons:

24v inverters are very limited to about 3kw tops which doesn't give you a lot of headroom.

Dollar per Kwh a 48v 100ah battery is about the same cost as 24v 200ah battery, but 48v rackmounts are everywhere.

You can use a 48v battery for any AIO from 3kw to 12kw whereas a 24v battery based AIO gives you 1500w to 3kw.


That would work as long as everything outside the utility is safe from condensation and temps.

So you’re saying to start off with a 48v inverter and still go with the 2x12v 200ah batteries? Or does the battery bank need to add up to 48v to match the inverter? *newbie here*

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Your planned battery capacity is anemic.

200Ah is the recommended minimum.

Hmm, so you’re saying I can get away with

So you’re saying to start off with a 48v inverter and still go with the 2x12v 200ah batteries? Or does the battery bank need to add up to 48v to match the inverter? *newbie here*

For a 48V inverter you need 48V battery.

 

[star1o]

You pretty much described what I did, except I have a 50A outlet and two Quattros running in split phase 120/240V.

Generator is cheapo Predator that I wheel out if I need it.

9 out of 18 installed.

Container is grounded to earth via ground rod.

N-G bond is in Quattro 1 and Quattro 1 is bonded to earth.

50' 6awg RV extension cable to a 50A to 2X 30A splitter. 5th wheels plugged into the splitter. Big RV is on L2 and smaller RV is on L1.

5th wheels aren't modified in any way.

This is wicked!! Well done!

 

[BenQ]

Yeah, this has been done quite a few times. My friend parks right next to his container, but as said before 20 ft of 6 awg ac wiring from your multi-plus would be easy.

 

[Rednecktek]

Your planned battery capacity is anemic.

200Ah is the recommended minimum.

For a 48V inverter you need 48V battery.

So a 48v battery like the EG4 rackmount, Trophy 48v high capacity, Orient Power 48v wall mount, etc. A 5kwh battery is a pretty standard base size, but you'll need to run through a power audit to figure out how much capacity you need.

 

[star1o]

Your planned battery capacity is anemic.

200Ah is the recommended minimum.





For a 48V inverter you need 48V battery.

Frig.... Okayyyy ???

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Hmm... forgot about this..

Off-grid "Compound"

One day I will post something meaningful into Show and tell that has more meat to it. This is just a fluff piece to introduce myself and to give a big picture view of stuff. Thanks to Will and the very helpful folks here. I feel like I've learned a lot on my own, but if I remember to listen...

diysolarforum.com

when I wore a different face...

And the battery that I finally... half built.

NMC Bank, Bus Bars and Batrium Love

It has been years in the making, but I finally have the NMC battery poised for deployment... (okay, only half, but still). Summary: 7X Ford Fusion/C-Max Energi PHEV batteries, 7.6kWh rated per pack. Each battery: 84S 25Ah 3.7V NMC cells. Four subpacks of 21S in series Packs have tested...

diysolarforum.com

Yeah... we replaced the Class A with another 5th wheel.

 

[star1o]

Yeah, this has been done quite a few times. My friend parks right next to his container, but as said before 20 ft of 6 awg ac wiring from your multi-plus would be easy.View attachment 143065View attachment 143067

Very nice! Is the system built in the black box?! that is in then placed in the sea-can? Curious what ventilation they have setup for that?

 

[star1o]

Hmm... forgot about this..

Off-grid "Compound"

One day I will post something meaningful into Show and tell that has more meat to it. This is just a fluff piece to introduce myself and to give a big picture view of stuff. Thanks to Will and the very helpful folks here. I feel like I've learned a lot on my own, but if I remember to listen...

diysolarforum.com

when I wore a different face...

And the battery that I finally... half built.

NMC Bank, Bus Bars and Batrium Love

It has been years in the making, but I finally have the NMC battery poised for deployment... (okay, only half, but still). Summary: 7X Ford Fusion/C-Max Energi PHEV batteries, 7.6kWh rated per pack. Each battery: 84S 25Ah 3.7V NMC cells. Four subpacks of 21S in series Packs have tested...

diysolarforum.com

Yeah... we replaced the Class A with another 5th wheel.

Amazing! Thank you!

 

[BenQ]

Very nice! Is the system built in the black box?! that is in then placed in the sea-can? Curious what ventilation they have setup for that?

Yup old filing cabinet with some cpu fans in the side and top