Hello!
A few years ago, I built a nice shed, saltbox style, with insulation, sheetrock, a window & a ceramic tile floor. Having a vague notion that I might somehow get power out to it some day,
I installed wall outlets, switches, and a pair of LED ceiling lamps. All this stuff goes to a breaker
box attached to the back of the shed. But no juice, except for a long extension cord that I can
plug into the house.
More recently, my big UPS ( Uninterruptable power supply ) that protects my Unix server died.
I assumed that it was the batteries, and ordered a brand new set of batteries. Nope, it wasn't
the batteries. With the new batteries, the UPS was still dead as a doornail.
So here I was with two brand new 9 A-H AGM batteries. What to do with them? Electrify the shed! I built a frame out of angle iron stock to hang the batteries under the shed. Obtained
a 60W solar panel and a Genasun MPPT 12V controller. Fabricated an elaborate mount to bolt the
panel to the side of the shed, because I didn't want to penetrate the roof. Bought a Tripp-Lite
inverter for occasional use.
But for continuous use, I just piped the 12V into the shed, to an electrical box, terminating
it in a pair of Anderson Powerpole connectors, where it can do something almost useful and mostly harmless.
That something is backup for my Unix server. I have a small PC that runs off nominal 12V. It's
called a "Giada Cube N3". It's running Slackware Linux. It has a high-sensitivity wifi adapter.
I have written scripts for it so when you power it up, it automatically starts up the wifi adapter and
connects to my main server. The main server has a script that shoves all the important stuff out
to the backup server ( in the shed ). The first time it runs, it takes a long time ( days ). But subsequent runs will only transfer the differences. It will run once a day in the middle of the night.
....So if my house burns down, my data will be safe. Unless the shed burns down too . Being
that the house is fully sprinklered, that's not very likely. What's more likely is that a fire will activate the sprinklers, which will ruin the server with water damage.
It's a fun little project. Involves many hobbies. Welding, electronics, software development,
construction.
P1180334a.jpgP1180331a.jpg
A few years ago, I built a nice shed, saltbox style, with insulation, sheetrock, a window & a ceramic tile floor. Having a vague notion that I might somehow get power out to it some day,
I installed wall outlets, switches, and a pair of LED ceiling lamps. All this stuff goes to a breaker
box attached to the back of the shed. But no juice, except for a long extension cord that I can
plug into the house.
More recently, my big UPS ( Uninterruptable power supply ) that protects my Unix server died.
I assumed that it was the batteries, and ordered a brand new set of batteries. Nope, it wasn't
the batteries. With the new batteries, the UPS was still dead as a doornail.
So here I was with two brand new 9 A-H AGM batteries. What to do with them? Electrify the shed! I built a frame out of angle iron stock to hang the batteries under the shed. Obtained
a 60W solar panel and a Genasun MPPT 12V controller. Fabricated an elaborate mount to bolt the
panel to the side of the shed, because I didn't want to penetrate the roof. Bought a Tripp-Lite
inverter for occasional use.
But for continuous use, I just piped the 12V into the shed, to an electrical box, terminating
it in a pair of Anderson Powerpole connectors, where it can do something almost useful and mostly harmless.
That something is backup for my Unix server. I have a small PC that runs off nominal 12V. It's
called a "Giada Cube N3". It's running Slackware Linux. It has a high-sensitivity wifi adapter.
I have written scripts for it so when you power it up, it automatically starts up the wifi adapter and
connects to my main server. The main server has a script that shoves all the important stuff out
to the backup server ( in the shed ). The first time it runs, it takes a long time ( days ). But subsequent runs will only transfer the differences. It will run once a day in the middle of the night.
....So if my house burns down, my data will be safe. Unless the shed burns down too . Being
that the house is fully sprinklered, that's not very likely. What's more likely is that a fire will activate the sprinklers, which will ruin the server with water damage.
It's a fun little project. Involves many hobbies. Welding, electronics, software development,
construction.
P1180334a.jpgP1180331a.jpg
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