Will OutBack GVFX3648 trick an SMA grid tie inverter?

[max2k]

Great! I'm not the only wacko in the forum who wants an insurance policy! I feel much better now.. hehehe..

One suggestion though.. Get a metal 55 gallon drum with a removable lid.. the kind that has the clamp.... Line the inside of it with cardboard or other non-conductive insulator.. (I used 1/4 inch low density poly foam)... Then remove the rubber seal in the lid and replace it with a conductive EMI Shield like this stuff: eBay item number: 201236646772.. Put your emergency electronics inside the drum and seal it tight.
If you have any super sensitive stuff like a laptop, put it in a plastic bag first, then a mylar bag, seal it tight, then in the drum.

Now only will that setup stop moisture and bugs damaging things, it will protect from floods, water, physical damage, and in a worst case, an EMP..

if the drum is metal no need for any extra EMF shields.

[ButchDeal]

if the drum is metal no need for any extra EMF shields.

you should also purchase a new laptop every 3 years, put it in the barrel and take the old one out as your new laptop.
This way you get used to using an older computer and the computer in the barrel is never older than 3 years.

[bcroe]

I really ought to save these threads as good entertainment, for after it has happened. Bruce Roe

[max2k]

I really ought to save these threads as good entertainment, for after it has happened. Bruce Roe

do you think you'll still find them funny ?

[Mike90250]

Better print them out, afterwards, there will be no internet servers

[Murby]

I really ought to save these threads as good entertainment, for after it has happened. Bruce Roe

It will probably never happen.. at least not in my lifetime..

Its a lot like home insurance.. your house will probably never burn to the ground.. but you buy fire insurance anyhow right? And just think, you pay a lot more for home insurance over a 30 year period than a solar system and some back up stuff... People are just more accustomed to the home insurance so they accept it as a cost of living.

[bcroe]

It will probably never happen.. at least not in my lifetime..

Its a lot like home insurance.. your house will probably never burn to the ground.. but you buy fire insurance anyhow right? And just think, you pay a lot more for home insurance over a 30 year period than a solar system and some back up stuff...

They never mentioned insurance at school. I see insurance is to replace something so costly
that replacing it yourself would be ruinous. The likelyhood drives the rate. If its not extremely
costly, you are better off self insured. Hardly anything is insured/warranteed here, it works.
The public seems to believe they must be protected against every little loss, never mind the
overhead charge being sucked in by the ins cos, or the hassle of actually trying to collect.

As for SHTF, I doubt any plans will be useful, and there is not going to be insurance. The
possibility really is there, but there isn't much benefit worrying about what you can't do
anything about. Bruce Roe

[Murby]

As for SHTF, I doubt any plans will be useful, and there is not going to be insurance. The
possibility really is there, but there isn't much benefit worrying about what you can't do
anything about. Bruce Roe

That is not at all true.. Not even a little bit true. Plans and preparation are what make one successful in any endeavor. It is the people who do not plan that are screwed.. it is the people who do not have a way to feed themselves or defend themselves that will be at highest risk.

One of the best quotes I've seen come from a stupid movie is "Chance favors the prepared"

I have only three real things to worry about that I can not control.. 1) Injuries too severe for our own amateurish skills or equipment, 2) Medical problems that can affect anyone at anytime (think cancer, brain tumor, etc), and desperate people who have turned into monsters and intend to do us harm.

I've taken a list of hundreds of things that could adversely affect us and have found solutions.. I've whittled them them down to just a few through research and planning, a lot of research.. Research that involves everything from the opinions of others, the imagination of authors, science, and even real life experiences of such events from those who have survived them.

SHTF is not a bunch of zombies running around trying to kill Rambo..or Kevin Costner in Postman.. SHTF is hungry people desperate for food and a lack of emergency services like the police. SHTF is mostly city people migrating to the countryside thinking they're going to find resources. SHTF is people with resources bartering those resources for other resources. The doctor knows how to fix your broken arm but wants a steak dinner for his family... The guy down the road has a working piece of machinery but needs clean water to drink.. or soap to wash...

The first week of SHTF will be quiet.. there will probably be actual parties.. When food runs completely out by the second week, panic will set in.. By the end of the first month, it will be a war zone and people will be killing each other for resources..
By the third month, things will have settled down into a routine. I'm quoting from the real life experiences of someone who's been through it in another country...

I'm here to figure out the best way to solve my energy needs and that seems to have come down to a single consideration at this point... What's the best battery to use to fit my requirements..

Here's what I have so far.. Comments are very welcome:

Lead Acid - Good old trusty lead acid.. 5 year lifespan, maybe even 7 years if battery bank is way over sized to reduce DOD. Must be purchased and stored dry if needed for a possible future SHTF event.

Lithium - Longer life than Lead Acid but extremely expensive. Long storage life but not indefinite. Maintenance free.

Nickel Iron - Most expensive option, almost indestructible and has longest life span, but unlike a dry-stored lead acid battery, the life span in storage is not indefinite.. Takes up a lot of space.

[Mike90250]

.........
Nickel Iron - Most expensive option, almost indestructible and has longest life span, but unlike a dry-stored lead acid battery, the life span in storage is not indefinite..
Takes up a lot of space.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Due to the high internal impedance (workaround = 2x needed Ah rating) you need lots of space. and lots of water

[cebury]

That is not at all true.. Not even a little bit true. Plans and preparation are what make one successful in any endeavor. It is the people who do not plan that are screwed.. it is the people who do not have a way to feed themselves or defend themselves that will be at highest risk.

One of the best quotes I've seen come from a stupid movie is "Chance favors the prepared"

I have only three real things to worry about that I can not control.. 1) Injuries too severe for our own amateurish skills or equipment, 2) Medical problems that can affect anyone at anytime (think cancer, brain tumor, etc), and desperate people who have turned into monsters and intend to do us harm.

I've taken a list of hundreds of things that could adversely affect us and have found solutions.. I've whittled them them down to just a few through research and planning, a lot of research.. Research that involves everything from the opinions of others, the imagination of authors, science, and even real life experiences of such events from those who have survived them.

SHTF is not a bunch of zombies running around trying to kill Rambo..or Kevin Costner in Postman.. SHTF is hungry people desperate for food and a lack of emergency services like the police. SHTF is mostly city people migrating to the countryside thinking they're going to find resources. SHTF is people with resources bartering those resources for other resources. The doctor knows how to fix your broken arm but wants a steak dinner for his family... The guy down the road has a working piece of machinery but needs clean water to drink.. or soap to wash...

The first week of SHTF will be quiet.. there will probably be actual parties.. When food runs completely out by the second week, panic will set in.. By the end of the first month, it will be a war zone and people will be killing each other for resources..
By the third month, things will have settled down into a routine. I'm quoting from the real life experiences of someone who's been through it in another country...

I've gone the same route with "insurance" and also done lots of reading and "research" if you can even call it that. I give little credence to anyone else's real life experience outside of the US especially if sometime ago. It just isn't relevent. I and others have considered those same durations: 2 weeks and 3 months. Reality is we have no idea and they could be influenced by lots of factors.

I do have plenty of sealable metal buckets and lots of LTS goods and water in home and buried. But the more I read through the survival forums the more I think everyine is f*d, no matter how much you prepare. Too many people, even in low population areas of the US. Too little natural resources left, too few people who have any self sufficiency skills to group with, too many fat, lazy, carbohydrate or drug addicted, entitled to the core, dependent on the government and on their pharma/doc for needed medication to make it more than 2 weeks hungry before the guns come out and 3 months desperate before the apocalyptic movie plots decades engrained into our mindset fully kick in and government is finally gone. I firmly believe a grid down event from NoKo or Iran for those 2 weeks (fresh food gone and distribution has stopped) then 3 months would begin the process for us to wipe ourselves out. Completely hidden mutlimillion dollar underground bunkers with lots of natural and arms based defense for OpSec and esp. around your air vents, trash disposal and water supply may carry you through the mess until it settles out.

If that time comes I will have done some preps and will do my best to gather and work with communities of 'good folk' to last as long as possible before we resort to cannabalism. I won't be out there maurading to provide food for my family, but I wont hesitate to pull triggers protecting them, until my cold dead fingers wont pull any longer.

This entire conversation is speculation and assumption and based on no research or evidence, ha. We dont have much more to go with for the SHTF scenarios, which is partly why I side with Bruce.

But yeah, having electricity sure would be nice during it. Until everyone around realizes you have it. One of the two reasons I almost went with the SMA string inverter, just for the little daily 1500 watts if the shtf only lasted a couple weeks or the "big one" hit in CA and my house was still standing and didnt fall off into the ocean.