Solar on a budget

[wpmasterdesign]

Not many 20+ year old charge controllers out there in currently operating daily systems (especially 20 dollar chi-com ones), Good news though, it looks like you just solved your own problem/question, "i need to produce less than 3kwh/day, one of my modular systems does more than half of that" , your first post says you already have a small operating system, so you should only need to spend 300 one time for one of your modular systems to get up near your "less than 3kwh/day needs. Why are you wasting time here asking questions, you already have a 300-600 dollar solution, just go do it.

Fair enough, the controller will likely need to be replaced with the batteries. Or at least every other battery replacement.
LOL, well this thread kinda went further than I intended. Primarily, I was looking for advice on how to do this most effectively, the do's/don'ts. I feel like I got that and yes, I think you are right, I have found my solution and thus far, it is working for me. The majority of this thread, at least my part in it, has been answering questions, clarifying points, and learning.

[littleharbor]

Learning, while sharing your own experiences is what makes the forum a win, win thing. Have you read the Home Power magazine archive ? They recently made it, in it's entirety, available, at least to subscribers. I found it to be an amazing chronicle of living off grid over the decades. Highly recommended.

[LETitROLL]

Fair enough, the controller will likely need to be replaced with the batteries. Or at least every other battery replacement.
LOL, well this thread kinda went further than I intended. Primarily, I was looking for advice on how to do this most effectively, the do's/don'ts. I feel like I got that and yes, I think you are right, I have found my solution and thus far, it is working for me. The majority of this thread, at least my part in it, has been answering questions, clarifying points, and learning.

very good answer, sounds like you will be fine. Just my .02 on your main initial question(s), of the 3 main parts to a solar setup, the panels and controller of course are production, and the battery is storage, the production side because of falling prices on panels is getting better, storage prices not really coming down much yet, although some are hopeful lithium will help in the near future (not so sure), if and when you need more power look for deals on panels, most market areas you can find a left over grid tie panel here and there (usually 250w range) for near the same price as 100w panels, also victron makes a very good small MPPT controller that will allow you to harvest more energy from any panel vs the inexpensive 20 dollar models and it can be had for as low as $89 some places.The more production you have, even if you do not use it every day, will extend the life of your battery bank by staying nearer to and getting back to full charge more often, thus saving dollars on the biggest loser and polluter of any off grid system (the batteries), and with more panels even if you dont have enough battery bank in the beginning, you can run some extra loads during good sun hours and not pay so much to store it, just learn to use it when its most available. Good Luck, and have fun.
PS. controller is fully adjustable, including current limiting so overcharge not a concern.

[SunEagle]

I think an extended power outage would kill alot of people, literally. Not only do people not know how to live without social media, but most have no clue how to survive w/o an AC/ I believe there was a major outage in a big east coast city not so many years ago that left several folks dead.
Thats what I meant earlier: folks are too dependent on the grid. The world as we know it would collapse in a few shorts weeks if the power system failed. The only ones that will survive it in tact are those who produce there own power, and those who know how to thrive without power at all.

And Broe, for me I don't find it to be a struggle at all. I mean we produce 70% of our own food, the majority of our own power. And yes, it is a hell of a lot of work. But for us, we enjoy it. We love gardening. We love animals. So yes, while there are days it can feel overwhelming, most days, we LOVE this life. I get up every morning at 5 am, take care of the animals and go to work in my home office for 8-10 hours. I get off work I have dinner with the fam then I go out and chop wood or haul rocks or fix something. During the day my wife works the gardens, tends the animals, cans our food, homeschoolls our kids. At night we all go to bed and sleep like a rock because we are tired. But we look forward to the next day.

Oh, and we have plenty of time to play.

I always said I was born a couple hundred years to late. I would have loved to live before the industrial revolution, I would have done quite well on the oregon trail or as homesteader in the 1800's. Sure, I am a geek so my technology is important to me. I know from 6 months living in the wildereness by myself that I don't NEED it and I CAN survive, even thrive without it.

I admire you and your families courage to live like you do. My own kids (in their 30's) would not survive a long term power outage. Unfortunately neither would my wife and I since were are much older and depend on certain medical supplements to stay alive. All that would be gone and as you stated most people will not survive.

I do not wish to live in a world were society has collapsed and hope it doesn't happen in the next decade or so. But if it did then at least I can say I enjoyed the 6+ decades I have lived in this world.

[badley]

Not to be rude, but have you even read through this thread? I mean, everything you mention has already been discusses.
1. I stated clearly that I never let my batteries go below 80%
2. I have also stated that nothing is ever plugged in that is not being ACTIVELY used. Thus, nothing over night, aka, no night load at all.
3.2000ah battery? I have mentioned multiple times this is goign to remain a small, modular systems. I have 2 DC marine batteries, (identical in brand, siz, and purchase date) per modular setup. No single setup is likely to ever have more than a 300 watt load at any given time.

I have a solar fridge that has its own panels and battery backup, so no worries there either.

no i havent scrutinized the details of this thread, and thats good, youve just agreed that you dont need much battery and if anything you need more panel and enough controller to support them .. what else is there ...

[bcroe]

You are so correct. But I am a born survivalist, my wife and kids and I all love it out here. It is alot of hard work. But the reward is worth it to use.

The life expectancy of an active survivalist is considerably less. Bruce Roe

[Mike90250]

day 4 of Grid Down is when the real nightmare starts. The Ice Cream is all gone. Water has stopped. Fuel is deep in underground tanks and dead vehicles block the roads that trucks used to deliver food with. A can of creamed corn will be worth it's weight in gold in 2 weeks.

[SunEagle]

day 4 of Grid Down is when the real nightmare starts. The Ice Cream is all gone. Water has stopped. Fuel is deep in underground tanks and dead vehicles block the roads that trucks used to deliver food with. A can of creamed corn will be worth it's weight in gold in 2 weeks.

Sounds like fun times to be in. NOT!!!!

[wpmasterdesign]

I admire you and your families courage to live like you do. My own kids (in their 30's) would not survive a long term power outage. Unfortunately neither would my wife and I since were are much older and depend on certain medical supplements to stay alive. All that would be gone and as you stated most people will not survive.

I do not wish to live in a world were society has collapsed and hope it doesn't happen in the next decade or so. But if it did then at least I can say I enjoyed the 6+ decades I have lived in this world.

Thank you SunEagle! SHTF will happen, but who can say when or how that will look? So enjoy life while you can. I am almost 40 and I wish I had done this 20 years ago. But when SHTF does happen, i know my chances of surcical are higher than many, not because I am better, but because I am more prepared than many.

[wpmasterdesign]

no i havent scrutinized the details of this thread, and thats good, youve just agreed that you dont need much battery and if anything you need more panel and enough controller to support them .. what else is there ...

Agreed and again, I did not mean to sound rude.

[wpmasterdesign]

day 4 of Grid Down is when the real nightmare starts. The Ice Cream is all gone. Water has stopped. Fuel is deep in underground tanks and dead vehicles block the roads that trucks used to deliver food with. A can of creamed corn will be worth it's weight in gold in 2 weeks.

The day will arrive! Are you prepared? Are you?

[Mike90250]

Actually, I'd rather be at ground zero, then eking it out for a year, and then my hair starts falling out..... There is going to be a lot of misery and anarchy from day 3 to year of recovery..

[J.P.M.]

The day will arrive! Are you prepared? Are you?

10...9...8...7...6...

[SunEagle]

Actually, I'd rather be at ground zero, then eking it out for a year, and then my hair starts falling out..... There is going to be a lot of misery and anarchy from day 3 to year of recovery..

+1. I feel the same way.

[jflorey2]

The day will arrive! Are you prepared? Are you?

Been hearing that for 40 years. Not that it can't happen, but I'm a lot more likely to get killed riding my bike to work than by an apocalypse of some sort.