For not understanding how it works I think you did a pretty good job of researching, purchasing and installing all you this stuff by yourself. Good Job. I am impressed! I am subscribing because you are THE REAL DEAL!
I'm so glad I watched this video (again), as once is good, but twice is better. You are so smart about the car. We can drive, but we don't have to be a mechanic. However, it helps, when you consider how getting it done by someone else is way more expensive than when you buy the parts yourself and hopefully there is someone who will help with putting it together. We have to bear in mind, there are handy men and then, there are not so handy "handy" men, who try to bluff their way to make money at our expense and don't know more than we do. We have been taught for hundreds of years that women can't do certain tasks and they need a man to do it for them. That remains to be seen. Ho hum, and a bottle of rum. Cheers, Ariel. You are awesome.
Really nice to see some footage of someone actually living in one, not just fast tours. Getting myself a tiny house before I can afford building an earthship, that way I have the solar panels, batteries and inverter ready. Your videos helped make the decision a lot easier.
before i found this video , i asked about all this on another video..... you did great setting up your system ..... gives me hope for next yr , bought all my solar equipment minus the batteries and moving to my land next spring, no more rv park rent ....... still trying to figure out my internet and a few other things, 4 yrs into a 5 yr plan paying off land and septic, been buying alot of MP3 cd's of old time radio shows which i love so ill use even less power than watching dvds all the time ..... Ill have plenty to do during the day, so i wont be inside as much using electric for a few yrs ....... youre doing awesome, Thanks for sharing all this ..... helped alot ... glad to see the champion 1500 is doing the job, I have 5 generators total... long story lol
Dear Ariel, Thank you for your descriptive and informative tour of the electricity/solar/battery system for your house. You're very articulate and explain things in a clear way. God bless you.
Looks good. I would only recommend that you charge from the opposite corners than you are drawing from. You are drawing across the bank with is good, but you should put you charge on the opposite set corners of the battery bank so power has to got through the bank when its charging and being used at the same time. This will keep each battery equally charged so you don't end up with one battery getting used more than the others.
Definitely colder than Pa. Just found you tonight, watching the videos to catch up. Seems you have things set up very nicely. Prepared for the worst and enjoying the best.
Your confidence in describing the solar system is charming. I'm sure you're over 80% of the way there. Batteries have a charge limit so I suspect the generator is much bigger than necessary. It would be over 100 amps compared to the 30 amps you're getting from your panels at full sun.
P C - The charger converts it to 12 Volts. So 1200 watts / 12 Volts = 100 Amps. Some will be lost in the conversion, but you can dump 80 into it easy. However I am sure that small charger probably does about 20 or so maximum.
I have to say I'm very impress one thing don't ever short your self you we can see you are very talented n not intemadated by anything. So you go girl. N my hats off to your friend to believing in you...
Great video. You should google solar basics so you can learn how the system works. You are a very smart lady. It would make for interesting reading when it's -20 outside. I've live off-grid in WA and MT. It's a great feeling to not depend on others too much. Keep up the great videos. Thanks
Nice ...well it's just and play my lady ...e-bay has radio and antenna for like 50 bucks just put the antenna on the corner of your shack outside you good to go .... 10-4 lol wel thank you for the reply my beautiful lady may God bless you with a very prosperous and super healthy new years .... Dan 321 said it !!
You could also use a tiny water mill for electricity. Two barrels and a water wheel between them. Put water in the top barrel and it will flow down to the bottom barrel. Water wheel needs to produce power for both the electricity used and to return the water from bottom barrel to top barrel. It then becomes endless power...almost, because it sometimes needs more water.
Awesome job. Set up very well. Only change I would have suggested was spend the extra few hundred for the Honda. Every time I deal with my Generator I chose over a Honda I curse myself lol. Next Generator, buy a propane fired Honda. Feed off your Propane tanks, never have to worry about stale gas, uber quiet and always starts.
Thanks. To each their own. I've used Honda's before and they are nice, but I do actually prefer this one for my particular usage. It actually starts better in very cold weather than a similar sized Honda. Not to mention it's way less expensive.
You have the experience of depending on the generator every week for years so you know what your talking about. Problem with mine is I use only when grid goes down so problematic starting after sitting for months.
True. You might want to start yours a little more regularly and plug something into it to make it run under load more like once a month. That might make it a little easier when you really do need it.
Hi Ariel, seen your electricl system.What I would do to have near zero power consumption fridge would be to find an old Pepsi/Coke single glass door cooler. Take the power unit off the top and build or use a box with the refrigerator out side the house, insulate the fridge box with Styrofoam to regulate cooling. Your fridge should never cut in during the Spring Fall or Winter, in the Summer your solar panels should be able to run the cooling unit on top of the fridge box. In Canada a used Pepsi/Coke cooler should go for between 250 and 500 depending on the condition. P.S You only need the cooling mechanism on top you can build the rest.
A fridge will probably always be her biggest use. Compared to charging a laptop or phone, or led lighting. Even the most efficient rv fridge will consume a few KW per week
It's a shame consumer level split-system fridges aren't really a thing. But yeah in the freezing months I'd consider just setting the freezer to max temperature and putting everything in an outdoor ice box.
Good on ya girl. You have put the time into understanding one of the most confusing topics for some 'Electricity'. Just a couple of terms for your vocabulary to make you super cool!!!. The cables running from the solar panels will be effected by 'Voltage drop' because of the distance. Basically to get round this by not giving power away is, the further the distance, the bigger the cables. Easy. Batteries connected together, 'Wired in Series'. This is so to give you the necessary voltage i.e. 4 batteries @ 6V will make a 24VDC system. All rarely easy stuff. Well done, very good!!!!
Just echoing the question raised below, have you considered adopting a 'natural' fridge option outdoors during the winter, eliminating the need for the electric fridge? Seen as this is your primary energy consuming device and given the consistently applicable outdoor temps in your area of the world it would make sense and I would imagine scavenger proofing it would not be too difficult or expensive. Thanks again for sharing your experiences, always helpful and interesting.
Wow, what a beautiful little place, impressive. Very smart to create a whole lifestyle like this for yourself. Do you have to adjust anything say if your solar panels are charging, or if you turn on your generator - or is it all automatic and you don't have to worry about anything? This is something about solar that has always confused me? Can you hurt your batteries by overcharging them at all?
Glad I found your channel. We are planning to build a small (almost tiny) cabin on our land in interior Alaska. So your videos are very applicable to our situation. In particular, I have been wondering about ventilation and condensation. Our current house has an HRV system but I have been wondering if there is such a thing as "mini" HRV systems for tiny homes. Can you share the source for yours?
Thanks. In Russia, we would use nature's outdoor refrigerator to keep foods cold. Would save you power several months of the year. Seems a waste to run to cool when below zero outside. I am sure a bear proof contraption could easily be put up. Love your channel.
Personally, I had little to keep outside. Milk did freeze somewhat but you have ice cream so who cares. My milk would get ice crystals but after a few minutes indoors it thawed a bit. Others I witnessed had 5 sided boxes with open side facing window. Straw or even wool would insulate in order not to freeze certain things. There were also cooler parts of the house porch or entryway so not totally cold. They did have very few food stuffs that absolutely required refrigeration or freezing. I do know that few people had refrigerators at that time especially in the country. So to waste perfectly good nature refrigeration goes against everything. Yes, Russia had such cold and animals as you have. Also, while not directly knowledgeable, people always used root cellars or banks of sawdust or straw to store root vegetables without freezing them.
I've used an outdoor fridge where it only occasionally went below freezing, putting jugs of water in the night before a cold spell kept everything from freezing solid. It's a shame no one makes an outdoor fridge with a thermostatically controlled heating element.
Awesome! Two quick questions if you got the time, you're solar motion lights - what brand? and have they held up in the cold temperatures nicely? Thanks for the inspiration, a really lovely channel to visit.
I got mine from Harbor Freight, but this looks like the exact same thing but even cheaper. amzn.to/2CnuqVA They have worked pretty well, but every now and one will just quit for a bit and then decide to work again. I might go with a better rated unit like this if I was buying new ones right now. amzn.to/2EeFxkk
Thanks. Oh, so you do use generator to recharge batteries. Well, I estimated your electrical equipment would demand at least about ~500W, but if you are able to power it using 400W worth of solar panels I guess I was wrong. Some ecofriendly fridge you must have. Also, AFAIK, most batteries designed for solar panels (or any other use other than starting a car) can be safely depleted to about 20%. The 80% limit applies to car batteries.
Yes, after too many cloudy days or short days. This is the fridge I have. It is pretty energy friendly and does not have an auto defrost which helps. www.amazon.com/Avanti-RA7316PST-Apartment-Refrigerator-Platinum/dp/B00D1SZNO6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1485363067&sr=8-2&keywords=avanti+fridge The battery depletion figures are from the manufacturer of the AGM batteries that I have.
just had another question. How much windy does the weather get there ? I only ask because using some sort of wind turbine would benefit your battery system greatly. If you had a 400 watt wind turbine it could assist your solar cels too
Have been watching lots of your videos and am happy to see one on your solar/electrical set up. How did you decide on all the parts you chose? And how did you know you would have the right amount of power for all the things you can now run? Are they able to be run around the clock? Thank you for any answers!! Love your channel!
I am curious about how much you use your TV. I ask because I am working towards a 500 watt system for my tiny house and am wondering if that will be enough for me or if I will need to go higher wattage to supply what I need. I will have pretty much what you have in usage but probably will use the TV more than you. I admire you living as you do and doing it by yourself! Way to go!
Very little. Usually only when I have a friend over and we want to watch something together. So like once every few months? :) I'm sure most people would use one more than that!
Thank you! Thank you! I appreciate your videos and shares! When you purchased your tiny home, did you just let them know you wanted it set up so you could use solar panels and generators but you would install it later? I find myself floundering as I email back and forth with different builders. Thanks again!
There's a few good books out there, but there are so many topics related to the whole idea. Housing, heating, water, food, animals, weather, power, and so on that it's hard for any book to cover them all. This one is a good overview of most things.... www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-40th-Anniversary/dp/1570618402/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1511379835&sr=8-3&keywords=homesteading+books
Question Orange Cables (one from genny female receptacle) for charger (male to power tiny home). You have a three way adapter for 110. When running the generator you power the V-Max charger and the home correct? Then when your done charging you remove the orange male and plug it in the inverter?
I can, but only once the batteries are mostly full. Otherwise the battery charger is drawing a full 25 amps and the generator only produces a bit more than that.
I don't know about having the batteries in the living space I am sure you know they give off fumes you might want to move them out to a outside area like a small shed or something llike that!
Ariel C. McGlothin hi sounds like a great place to live for wildlife photography not for storing food outside, mmmm I wish Britain was like that but we've got to many people here and not enough wildlife, you live in a very beautiful place.
Hi I am solar grid engineer nice set-up system is everything why you use 1000 kw inverter ? But u have a 5 battery u have refrigerator and water pump power surge problem start up time
Good video. I had wondered how much power you would need. regarding the internet, how much data allowance do you have and for how much ? I am in the uk so regarding mobile data I have a sim only mobile plan with 6GB data, unlimited texts and 700 minutes call time for around $16 (£12.50) a month. good video btw. keep it up
I wish data plans were priced like that in the States! Here 6GB of data tends to run more like $60 a month. See this post for what I use right now. fynyth.blogspot.com/2015/01/internet-when-you-are-off-grid.html. And thank you!
Most of your solar system is pretty good. Not a fan of your charge controler. a MTTP controler would give you better results. If your generator ever gives out, you might consider your next one to run off propane.
I know it's not the best, but I think I'll keep using it till it breaks or something and forces me to buy a new one, and then yes, I'll probably go with something different.
FYI. A manual defrost frig. uses much less electricity than a frost free. You just have to defrost it from time to time, maybe twice a year. I would just put everything in a cooler, turn off the unit with it open and wait for the heat to melt the ice from the coils. Remove the ice, turn it back on and be good for another 6 months. It's a simpler appliance with fewer parts and less maintenance. I had an old GE unit (circa 1938) in my shop for 13 years and when I sold the property in 2006, it was still working great. Food for thought.
I believe you can make your frost free frig a manual defrost by disabling the defrost timer in the back of the unit. Make sure that you disable it on the run cycle not the defrost cycle. Fyi. I had a sister that spent most of her adult life in Lancaster County Pa. She owned the old mill in Ephrata and Alzibeth Keller's old farm house ( Circa 1814 and haunted?) in Ephrata. She got a deal on it because no one would live in it. I was there many times but didn't see or hear anything out of the ordinary, although many people did including her and her Husband.
Do you have a Ham Radio (Amateur Radio) setup, in case your phone isn't working, and you need to call for help? And in that case, a firearm in case of an intruder or in case a grizzly gets too close for comfort?!
Thanks for showing us what it is like to put God given talents to work. Most of us are too afraid to go outside the "program", but not you!!! Do you have to worry about venting the hydrogen gas from the batteries?
You're welcome, it was my pleasure to have the opportunity to give a well deserved compliment! AGM batteries were the right choice for many reasons. They're expensive too, but I can safely guess you shopped every component carefully for practicality/price/quality. I hope you don't mind another compliment/observation, ...there are many people who do things outside the norm just to be different, and then there few, like you who are different because that is the sensible, economical, practical choice.
Line drop as you call it, is actually voltage drop. The way it should concern one, is if your system is, 12 volt, 24 volt or a 48 volt system? The problem with a 12 volt system is that say you have a 12 volt system? Your solar panels are about 5.5 amps each,rated at 18 volts or so. Amps times volts is watts. 5.5 times 18 volts is 99 or 100 watts. So to push 22 amps at 12 volts a distance of 90 feet with only a 2% drop in voltage and amperage would require 2/0 wire, which would be so expensive you'd be be living under the bridge! That would be impossible. So at 24 volts and at a 3% drop you could do that with 2 wire which is still very, very expensive. I don't know these things, but I have a wire run chart. Even if you have a 48 volt system, which I doubt, because the inverters are expensive, you could run 4 wire, eighty feet, for a 4% drop. I know you've been doing this a long time, and I don't know how? But in one of your video's you started the generator when your battery charger showed 12.1. 12.1 volts with out a load on it is nearly a dead battery. To keep your AGM batteries for their 10 year life, you shouldn't take more than 40% out before recharging them. So for a 12 volt system here's what my chart shows: 12.75 volts - 100%, 12.7 - 95%, 12.65 - 90%, 12.6 - 85%, 12.55 - 80%, 12.5 - 75%,12.45 - 70%, 12.4 - 65%, 12.3 - 55%, 12.25 - 50%. So these numbers are for a 12 volt battery system at rest, without a load on them, for at least 3 hours. Hope this helps.
The main point for me is the amount of power loss I get from running the line further is much less than the power gain I get from many more total hours of sunlight. The batteries are always under load, but I never let my battery bank drop below 80% full. :)
I've thought about getting a MPPT controller, but my setup seems to be working so I think I'm going to wait till the house is fully paid off to invest in more things.
Conventionally true, but I believe you could have the lead acid batteries in the same place as your AGMs, as long as you constantly vented them while they are being charged with a small 12 volt "muffin" or computer type fan. (Vented to the outside, of course.) BTW, I love your channel and your "can do" attitude.
If she gets vented batteries and a MPPT she will need to have them vented well when the controller does equalizing because they will off gas like crazy. I would say with the AGM's in that application. No need to check water levels and if she doesn't run them down more than 30-40 percent they will last a long time.
Hi Ariel. Thank you for all your videos. I just wanted to mention--and I suspect you already know this--that you can buy either conversion kits (e.g. www.uscarburetion.com/), or generators pre-converted, or simply generators designed to work off of your existing propane. You might find that they not only make less fumes when running, but get you out of the business of having to haul smelly gas cans. Just a thought..
You're welcome! I think with as cheep as my generator is, financially it wouldn't make sense for me right now to convert it, but it is an interesting option.
love your house I am building one myself that looks like a real iron clad caboose. I have bin a RVIA cert. RV tech for 30 years and have only one concern about the batteries venting in to your space it can be harmful to you and equipment and should be sealed and vented to the outside. many times I have seen first hand damage from hydrogen that is produced when charging. love the show, house ,dog ,location, snow, out doors, and all. don't ever stop doing what you love
What a great little system. 2 years on 3,500- have you figured out your "break even" date so you know when the system has paid for itself? I have no idea how much the average person in your area spends on heat and electricity! Must be a lot-burrrrrr!!!!
If one has no choice and has to have the solar panels far away then one good way to minimize voltage drop losses without having to use huge thick cables is to go to a way higher voltage system higner voltage means lower amperage for equal power lower amperage means lower voltage drop and actual voltage drop becomes a smaller percentage of total system voltage one can maybe tolerate 5 to 10volts drop on a 120volt system but that mucht on a 12volt system would be a huge loss
Haven't. Seen. You. 4. Awhile. How. You doing. With. All. This. Going. On. Milwaukee. Is per. Ghost. Town. Won't. Be. Any. Fests. This. Summer. Take. It. Light. And. Stay. Safe. Linda. T Milwaukee. Wis
Cold, but lovely. ....love white winters. ....miss it so much.
For not understanding how it works I think you did a pretty good job of researching, purchasing and installing all you this stuff by yourself. Good Job. I am impressed! I am subscribing because you are THE REAL DEAL!
I'm so glad I watched this video (again), as once is good, but twice is better. You are so smart about the car. We can drive, but we don't have to be a mechanic. However, it helps, when you consider how getting it done by someone else is way more expensive than when you buy the parts yourself and hopefully there is someone who will help with putting it together. We have to bear in mind, there are handy men and then, there are not so handy "handy" men, who try to bluff their way to make money at our expense and don't know more than we do. We have been taught for hundreds of years that women can't do certain tasks and they need a man to do it for them. That remains to be seen. Ho hum, and a bottle of rum. Cheers, Ariel. You are awesome.
Really nice to see some footage of someone actually living in one, not just fast tours. Getting myself a tiny house before I can afford building an earthship, that way I have the solar panels, batteries and inverter ready. Your videos helped make the decision a lot easier.
I love your confidence and positive and sincere attitude. I'm very happy for you :)
before i found this video , i asked about all this on another video..... you did great setting up your system ..... gives me hope for next yr , bought all my solar equipment minus the batteries and moving to my land next spring, no more rv park rent ....... still trying to figure out my internet and a few other things, 4 yrs into a 5 yr plan paying off land and septic, been buying alot of MP3 cd's of old time radio shows which i love so ill use even less power than watching dvds all the time ..... Ill have plenty to do during the day, so i wont be inside as much using electric for a few yrs ....... youre doing awesome, Thanks for sharing all this ..... helped alot ... glad to see the champion 1500 is doing the job, I have 5 generators total... long story lol
Nice!
nice 👍 thanks much
Dear Ariel, Thank you for your descriptive and informative tour of the electricity/solar/battery system for your house. You're very articulate and explain things in a clear way. God bless you.
Young lady, I'm impressed....You're articulate, self sufficient, and probably have little debt.
I love alternative housing...Keep up the good work.
bobbyd218 very well done dear lady I wish we could this type of thing in england
Thank you for the tour of your lovely home/power set up. Great place to live winter and summer.
Looks good. I would only recommend that you charge from the opposite corners than you are drawing from. You are drawing across the bank with is good, but you should put you charge on the opposite set corners of the battery bank so power has to got through the bank when its charging and being used at the same time. This will keep each battery equally charged so you don't end up with one battery getting used more than the others.
Your place is so cozy and cute!
real enjoy your home, attitude, positive, outlook and lifestyle.
Definitely colder than Pa. Just found you tonight, watching the videos to catch up. Seems you have things set up very nicely. Prepared for the worst and enjoying the best.
This is so beautiful to live in, thanks
Wow! Not noticed the TV before :O nice! You've really got it all covered.
Thanks for sharing. If you ever tire of Wyoming I have land in North Carolina.
Your confidence in describing the solar system is charming. I'm sure you're over 80% of the way there.
Batteries have a charge limit so I suspect the generator is much bigger than necessary. It would be over 100 amps compared to the 30 amps you're getting from your panels at full sun.
Art Smith ?...(1200 watts / 120 volts) = ~10 amps...not 100 amps
P C - The charger converts it to 12 Volts. So 1200 watts / 12 Volts = 100 Amps. Some will be lost in the conversion, but you can dump 80 into it easy. However I am sure that small charger probably does about 20 or so maximum.
I hope this video is as helpful to others as it is to me. Thanks, Ariel. I was wondering about the line drop. You answered my question.
I have to say I'm very impress one thing don't ever short your self you we can see you are very talented n not intemadated by anything. So you go girl. N my hats off to your friend to believing in you...
FYI Video #2 - Tiny House Off Grid Power System - :) Thanks for shareing!
Again nice work, you do have a talent for this.
very inspiring,i have solar cells that run outside lights and storm backup for a fan and light inside the house.
Awesome ⚓
Great video. You should google solar basics so you can learn how the system works. You are a very smart lady. It would make for interesting reading when it's -20 outside. I've live off-grid in WA and MT. It's a great feeling to not depend on others too much. Keep up the great videos. Thanks
what a great little setup ... nice job my lady all you need is a c b radio come in handy are you renting the land ...
Nice ...well it's just and play my lady ...e-bay has radio and antenna for like 50 bucks just put the antenna on the corner of your shack outside you good to go .... 10-4 lol wel thank you for the reply my beautiful lady may God bless you with a very prosperous and super healthy new years .... Dan 321 said it !!
You could also use a tiny water mill for electricity. Two barrels and a water wheel between them. Put water in the top barrel and it will flow down to the bottom barrel. Water wheel needs to produce power for both the electricity used and to return the water from bottom barrel to top barrel. It then becomes endless power...almost, because it sometimes needs more water.
Ha ha do not take this advice. There is no such thing as perpetual energy creation. Go pull the tin foil over your face.
Only problem....it works. But it does not makes a lot of energy, that is true.
Awesome job. Set up very well. Only change I would have suggested was spend the extra few hundred for the Honda. Every time I deal with my Generator I chose over a Honda I curse myself lol. Next Generator, buy a propane fired Honda. Feed off your Propane tanks, never have to worry about stale gas, uber quiet and always starts.
Thanks. To each their own. I've used Honda's before and they are nice, but I do actually prefer this one for my particular usage. It actually starts better in very cold weather than a similar sized Honda. Not to mention it's way less expensive.
You have the experience of depending on the generator every week for years so you know what your talking about. Problem with mine is I use only when grid goes down so problematic starting after sitting for months.
True. You might want to start yours a little more regularly and plug something into it to make it run under load more like once a month. That might make it a little easier when you really do need it.
That's a very good tip. Get on a monthly maintenance program. Excellent design for your small house. must smell amazing with all the interior wood.
perfect setup !
I really love it!
Thanks so much.Great Info!!
Thank you for this one. It's helped a lot.
Hi Ariel,
seen your electricl system.What I would do to have near zero power consumption fridge would be to find an old Pepsi/Coke single glass door cooler. Take the power unit off the top and build or use a box with the refrigerator out side the house, insulate the fridge box with Styrofoam to regulate cooling. Your fridge should never cut in during the Spring Fall or Winter, in the Summer your solar panels should be able to run the cooling unit on top of the fridge box. In Canada a used Pepsi/Coke cooler should go for between 250 and 500 depending on the condition. P.S You only need the cooling mechanism on top you can build the rest.
A fridge will probably always be her biggest use. Compared to charging a laptop or phone, or led lighting. Even the most efficient rv fridge will consume a few KW per week
It's a shame consumer level split-system fridges aren't really a thing. But yeah in the freezing months I'd consider just setting the freezer to max temperature and putting everything in an outdoor ice box.
Very cosy!
Good on ya girl. You have put the time into understanding one of the most confusing topics for some 'Electricity'. Just a couple of terms for your vocabulary to make you super cool!!!. The cables running from the solar panels will be effected by 'Voltage drop' because of the distance. Basically to get round this by not giving power away is, the further the distance, the bigger the cables. Easy. Batteries connected together, 'Wired in Series'. This is so to give you the necessary voltage i.e. 4 batteries @ 6V will make a 24VDC system. All rarely easy stuff. Well done, very good!!!!
NZ Frontier Newage Sustainable Thinking ...they appeared to be wired in parallel which would be 12 volts regardless of how many are connected
Just echoing the question raised below, have you considered adopting a 'natural' fridge option outdoors during the winter, eliminating the need for the electric fridge? Seen as this is your primary energy consuming device and given the consistently applicable outdoor temps in your area of the world it would make sense and I would imagine scavenger proofing it would not be too difficult or expensive. Thanks again for sharing your experiences, always helpful and interesting.
i did see your comments on battery smells
Wow, what a beautiful little place, impressive.
Very smart to create a whole lifestyle like this for yourself.
Do you have to adjust anything say if your solar panels are
charging, or if you turn on your generator - or is it all automatic
and you don't have to worry about anything? This is something
about solar that has always confused me?
Can you hurt your batteries by overcharging them at all?
Glad I found your channel. We are planning to build a small (almost tiny) cabin on our land in interior Alaska. So your videos are very applicable to our situation. In particular, I have been wondering about ventilation and condensation. Our current house has an HRV system but I have been wondering if there is such a thing as "mini" HRV systems for tiny homes. Can you share the source for yours?
OK now I see who you are n why you are were you live beautiful stay blessed.. You have a long n beautiful life a head of you!!!
Do the batteries need to be vented?
Thanks. In Russia, we would use nature's outdoor refrigerator to keep foods cold. Would save you power several months of the year. Seems a waste to run to cool when below zero outside. I am sure a bear proof contraption could easily be put up. Love your channel.
Can you use that kind of setup as a refrigerator when it's way below zero? Doesn't everything freeze solid? And thank you!
Personally, I had little to keep outside. Milk did freeze somewhat but you have ice cream so who cares. My milk would get ice crystals but after a few minutes indoors it thawed a bit. Others I witnessed had 5 sided boxes with open side facing window. Straw or even wool would insulate in order not to freeze certain things. There were also cooler parts of the house porch or entryway so not totally cold. They did have very few food stuffs that absolutely required refrigeration or freezing. I do know that few people had refrigerators at that time especially in the country. So to waste perfectly good nature refrigeration goes against everything. Yes, Russia had such cold and animals as you have. Also, while not directly knowledgeable, people always used root cellars or banks of sawdust or straw to store root vegetables without freezing them.
I've used an outdoor fridge where it only occasionally went below freezing, putting jugs of water in the night before a cold spell kept everything from freezing solid. It's a shame no one makes an outdoor fridge with a thermostatically controlled heating element.
thanks for sharing
Awesome! Two quick questions if you got the time, you're solar motion lights - what brand? and have they held up in the cold temperatures nicely? Thanks for the inspiration, a really lovely channel to visit.
I got mine from Harbor Freight, but this looks like the exact same thing but even cheaper. amzn.to/2CnuqVA They have worked pretty well, but every now and one will just quit for a bit and then decide to work again. I might go with a better rated unit like this if I was buying new ones right now. amzn.to/2EeFxkk
AWESOME !!!
Thanks. Oh, so you do use generator to recharge batteries.
Well, I estimated your electrical equipment would demand at least about ~500W, but if you are able to power it using 400W worth of solar panels I guess I was wrong. Some ecofriendly fridge you must have.
Also, AFAIK, most batteries designed for solar panels (or any other use other than starting a car) can be safely depleted to about 20%. The 80% limit applies to car batteries.
Yes, after too many cloudy days or short days. This is the fridge I have. It is pretty energy friendly and does not have an auto defrost which helps.
www.amazon.com/Avanti-RA7316PST-Apartment-Refrigerator-Platinum/dp/B00D1SZNO6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1485363067&sr=8-2&keywords=avanti+fridge
The battery depletion figures are from the manufacturer of the AGM batteries that I have.
O wow that is cold i would die if it got that cold in tx.
I'm so glad there are different climates so we can all find one we like! I feel ill in the heat.
just had another question. How much windy does the weather get there ?
I only ask because using some sort of wind turbine would benefit your battery system greatly.
If you had a 400 watt wind turbine it could assist your solar cels too
Wind can be a great option in some locations, but in a valley, tucked in the trees, I hardly every get much.
Do you have a link to the solar powered light on your shed?
Thank you,
Kari
amzn.to/2IymoPX
How are you getting Internet access out in the boonies? Are you using a 4G cellular setup or satellite?
Have been watching lots of your videos and am happy to see one on your solar/electrical set up. How did you decide on all the parts you chose? And how did you know you would have the right amount of power for all the things you can now run? Are they able to be run around the clock? Thank you for any answers!! Love your channel!
I am curious about how much you use your TV. I ask because I am working towards a 500 watt system for my tiny house and am wondering if that will be enough for me or if I will need to go higher wattage to supply what I need. I will have pretty much what you have in usage but probably will use the TV more than you. I admire you living as you do and doing it by yourself! Way to go!
Very little. Usually only when I have a friend over and we want to watch something together. So like once every few months? :) I'm sure most people would use one more than that!
expansion tank for your water system might be nice.
I put a little one in my pickup camper. Cut way down on pump cycling. Was fantastic.
You´re so cool!!!
Thank you! Thank you! I appreciate your videos and shares! When you purchased your tiny home, did you just let them know you wanted it set up so you could use solar panels and generators but you would install it later? I find myself floundering as I email back and forth with different builders. Thanks again!
Great information! Going 'off grid' isn't as simple as ya' might think. Any books that might flatten out the learning curve?
There's a few good books out there, but there are so many topics related to the whole idea. Housing, heating, water, food, animals, weather, power, and so on that it's hard for any book to cover them all. This one is a good overview of most things....
www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-40th-Anniversary/dp/1570618402/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1511379835&sr=8-3&keywords=homesteading+books
Question Orange Cables (one from genny female receptacle) for charger (male to power tiny home). You have a three way adapter for 110. When running the generator you power the V-Max charger and the home correct? Then when your done charging you remove the orange male and plug it in the inverter?
I can, but only once the batteries are mostly full. Otherwise the battery charger is drawing a full 25 amps and the generator only produces a bit more than that.
Fy Nyth got it! Thank You!
any reason you didn't go with a propane fridge?
I don't know about having the batteries in the living space I am sure you know they give off fumes you might want to move them out to a outside area like a small shed or something llike that!
Do you still have the same batteries? And if not, how long did they last?
hi Ariel why not use the environment as your fridge freezer for part of the year, then you would have more electric for other thing's, just an idea.
Ariel C. McGlothin hi sounds like a great place to live for wildlife photography not for storing food outside, mmmm I wish Britain was like that but we've got to many people here and not enough wildlife, you live in a very beautiful place.
not sure were you live but looks like Northern Maine.Do you get any smells from them batteries ?
She is in Montana, I believe
(Wyoming)
Ariel, that is a pretty cool setup! You mentioned your wifi router - what do you use for your ISP? Is it satellite, cell 3G/4G or something else?
Another terrific video. How did you find your tiny home? I can tell how cold it is by the way the snow squeaks under foot.
she answers that question in video #1 ... which is really interesting :)
Use a free online voltage drop calculator to determine if there is ''line loss''.
my system is a 6 kw system i wish i had battery storage for power at nite but at least the daytime is free electric
How do you get mail? What kind of address do you use for your drivers license living off grid like you are.
Hi I am solar grid engineer nice set-up system is everything why you use 1000 kw inverter ? But u have a 5 battery u have refrigerator and water pump power surge problem start up time
Because it's big enough to run all the things I use. :)
Ok nice house thanks
Good video. I had wondered how much power you would need. regarding the internet, how much data allowance do you have and for how much ?
I am in the uk so regarding mobile data I have a sim only mobile plan with 6GB data, unlimited texts and 700 minutes call time for around $16 (£12.50) a month.
good video btw. keep it up
I wish data plans were priced like that in the States! Here 6GB of data tends to run more like $60 a month. See this post for what I use right now. fynyth.blogspot.com/2015/01/internet-when-you-are-off-grid.html. And thank you!
Where do you sleep
Right here! th-cam.com/video/bhGnnXWLfV0/w-d-xo.html
Most of your solar system is pretty good. Not a fan of your charge controler. a MTTP controler would give you better results. If your generator ever gives out, you might consider your next one to run off propane.
I know it's not the best, but I think I'll keep using it till it breaks or something and forces me to buy a new one, and then yes, I'll probably go with something different.
I understand. I'm using a xantrex C35. Not a great controler but it gets the job done.
FYI. A manual defrost frig. uses much less electricity than a frost free. You just have to defrost it from time to time, maybe twice a year. I would just put everything in a cooler, turn off the unit with it open and wait for the heat to melt the ice from the coils. Remove the ice, turn it back on and be good for another 6 months. It's a simpler appliance with fewer parts and less maintenance. I had an old GE unit (circa 1938) in my shop for 13 years and when I sold the property in 2006, it was still working great. Food for thought.
I believe you can make your frost free frig a manual defrost by disabling the defrost timer in the back of the unit. Make sure that you disable it on the run cycle not the defrost cycle. Fyi. I had a sister that spent most of her adult life in Lancaster County Pa. She owned the old mill in Ephrata and Alzibeth Keller's old farm house ( Circa 1814 and haunted?) in Ephrata. She got a deal on it because no one would live in it. I was there many times but didn't see or hear anything out of the ordinary, although many people did including her and her Husband.
Do you have a Ham Radio (Amateur Radio) setup, in case your phone isn't working, and you need to call for help? And in that case, a firearm in case of an intruder or in case a grizzly gets too close for comfort?!
Thanks, I was just wondering. All the best, and thanks for sharing your highly interesting videos.
Thanks for showing us what it is like to put God given talents to work. Most of us are too afraid to go outside the "program", but not you!!!
Do you have to worry about venting the hydrogen gas from the batteries?
You're welcome, it was my pleasure to have the opportunity to give a well deserved compliment!
AGM batteries were the right choice for many reasons. They're expensive too, but I can safely guess you shopped every component carefully for practicality/price/quality.
I hope you don't mind another compliment/observation, ...there are many people who do things outside the norm just to be different, and then there few, like you who are different because that is the sensible, economical, practical choice.
Ariel C. McGlothin Hi Ariel, AGM batteries are actually made to be discharged to 20% of their capacity...
Line drop as you call it, is actually voltage drop. The way it should concern one, is if your system is, 12 volt, 24 volt or a 48 volt system? The problem with a 12 volt system is that say you have a 12 volt system? Your solar panels are about 5.5 amps each,rated at 18 volts or so. Amps times volts is watts. 5.5 times 18 volts is 99 or 100 watts. So to push 22 amps at 12 volts a distance of 90 feet with only a 2% drop in voltage and amperage would require 2/0 wire, which would be so expensive you'd be be living under the bridge! That would be impossible. So at 24 volts and at a 3% drop you could do that with 2 wire which is still very, very expensive. I don't know these things, but I have a wire run chart. Even if you have a 48 volt system, which I doubt, because the inverters are expensive, you could run 4 wire, eighty feet, for a 4% drop. I know you've been doing this a long time, and I don't know how? But in one of your video's you started the generator when your battery charger showed 12.1. 12.1 volts with out a load on it is nearly a dead battery. To keep your AGM batteries for their 10 year life, you shouldn't take more than 40% out before recharging them. So for a 12 volt system here's what my chart shows: 12.75 volts - 100%, 12.7 - 95%, 12.65 - 90%, 12.6 - 85%, 12.55 - 80%, 12.5 - 75%,12.45 - 70%, 12.4 - 65%, 12.3 - 55%, 12.25 - 50%. So these numbers are for a 12 volt battery system at rest, without a load on them, for at least 3 hours. Hope this helps.
The main point for me is the amount of power loss I get from running the line further is much less than the power gain I get from many more total hours of sunlight. The batteries are always under load, but I never let my battery bank drop below 80% full. :)
Read her blog.... Fluke shows 17.09 amps DC coming from the panels. fynyth.blogspot.com/2016/12/fy-nyths-solar-electrical-system.html
you need some 6 volt golf cart batteries and a MPPT charge controller
I've thought about getting a MPPT controller, but my setup seems to be working so I think I'm going to wait till the house is fully paid off to invest in more things.
That is true. Look into Trojan T105 6-Volt batteries. They will give you more amps and last a lot longer too.
Yes but they are lead acid, so I'd have to keep them outside. And outside, the cold here would kill a battery.
Conventionally true, but I believe you could have the lead acid batteries in the same place as your AGMs, as long as you constantly vented them while they are being charged with a small 12 volt "muffin" or computer type fan. (Vented to the outside, of course.) BTW, I love your channel and your "can do" attitude.
If she gets vented batteries and a MPPT she will need to have them vented well when the controller does equalizing because they will off gas like crazy. I would say with the AGM's in that application. No need to check water levels and if she doesn't run them down more than 30-40 percent they will last a long time.
😎 👍 👍 👍 👍 💞 💞
Wow, those are huge price tags! I think my 4Kw array, forklift battery and 2 MPPT charge controllers, E-Panel, Inverter cost
Hi Ariel. Thank you for all your videos.
I just wanted to mention--and I suspect you already know this--that you can buy either conversion kits (e.g. www.uscarburetion.com/), or generators pre-converted, or simply generators designed to work off of your existing propane.
You might find that they not only make less fumes when running, but get you out of the business of having to haul smelly gas cans.
Just a thought..
You're welcome! I think with as cheep as my generator is, financially it wouldn't make sense for me right now to convert it, but it is an interesting option.
love your house I am building one myself that looks like a real iron clad caboose. I have bin a RVIA cert. RV tech for 30 years and have only one concern about the batteries venting in to your space it can be harmful to you and equipment and should be sealed and vented to the outside. many times I have seen first hand damage from hydrogen that is produced when charging. love the show, house ,dog ,location, snow, out doors, and all. don't ever stop doing what you love
That sounds like a cool project! I used AGM batteries specifically because of venting concerns. They are totally sealed so do not off gas at all.
There are inverters designed and available for up to 48 volt input maybe even higher but then become more expensive
oh make sure you run a carbon monoxide alarm for your wood stove. You don't want to wake up dead.
What a great little system. 2 years on 3,500- have you figured out your "break even" date so you know when the system has paid for itself? I have no idea how much the average person in your area spends on heat and electricity! Must be a lot-burrrrrr!!!!
Check out bossoftheswamp fridge
Stuff running through it = current. i.e. happens when you are consuming electricity
If one has no choice and has to have the solar panels far away then one good way to minimize voltage drop losses without having to use huge thick cables is to go to a way higher voltage system higner voltage means lower amperage for equal power lower amperage means lower voltage drop and actual voltage drop becomes a smaller percentage of total system voltage one can maybe tolerate 5 to 10volts drop on a 120volt system but that mucht on a 12volt system would be a huge loss
$17,000!!!!!!
Haven't. Seen. You. 4. Awhile. How. You doing. With. All. This. Going. On. Milwaukee. Is per. Ghost. Town. Won't. Be. Any. Fests. This. Summer. Take. It. Light. And. Stay. Safe. Linda. T Milwaukee. Wis