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groingo
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2012 01:01pm
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Off grid for a month and a half....what went right and wrong:
First, this wouldn't be possible without the Yamaha 1000 EIS generator and its amazing fuel frugality, 12 to 14 hours on about a half gallon of fuel
at 25 % power or ECO mode which translates to three full battery recharges per tank with fuel costs dropping the cost for off grid vs on grid is a wash fornow till gas goes up again, and it will.
I was using a candle to light the other half of my 10 by 20 cabin (while not
used) to see where I am going and not step on the cat but found a better way using an LED night light that uses 0.3 watts power and lights the area painlessly without the fear of fire from the candle.
Power use is higher than planned from .21kwh a day to average of .36kwh a day but overall it makes little difference.
The water cooler no longer needs changing as the weather is much colder and the water stays below 40 degrees constantly so food storage is easier.
The styrofoam window covers double as curtains for night and also insulate beautifully, I still wish someone would make lexan dual pane windows though, glass still stays too cold and causes cold drafts till heated.
Wood use is much lower as expected because of the smaller wood pieces and new fire box configuration I did over the summer.
The new combination wood / storage shed and cutting area is great to go to rain or shine night
or day to split wood.
All in all, my biggest power hog yet to be resolved is the LED TV which uses 22 watts, I plan on
getting a TV tuner card for the Laptop that will drop that to ten watts total, but no hurry, that's just part of fine tuning.
What this project is demonstrating is living off grid does not have to be expensive to be cost
effective... IF you're willing to make some changes how you do things, to invent what does not
exist or is to costly....you just need to use your head!
I'll do a video walk about soon, ofen it is much easier to see than read it in words.
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MJW
Member
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2012 01:34pm
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Congrats on your success!
Can't wait to see your video!
We are driving up to MO on Wed to look at 10 acres we found that looks promising. Hopefully we will be starting our off grid adventure early next year!
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neb
Member
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2012 01:45pm
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Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!
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hitanktank
Member
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2012 03:02pm
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Im super curious what all you are powering with the Yamaha? Do you have any other power source of just that? Did you use the Yamaha for power tools when building? Asking lots cause it sounds like you are living similar to what I will be
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cabingal3
Member
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2012 04:02pm
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Quoting: groingo I was using a candle to light the other half of my 10 by 20 cabin (while notused) to see where I am going and not step on the cat but found a better way using an LED night light that uses 0.3 watts power and lights the area painlessly without the fear of fire from the candle.
i love these lites.i get scared of those old coleman lanters and we have them on our tv tray nitestand and i just picture the old lantern getting knocked off and our cabin going up in a poof of smoke and fire.
those little lanters are pretty dandy i tell u.
is your lite a nite sensor lite groingo?we need some of those also.
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cabingal3
Member
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2012 04:04pm
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i have a group call the knitting kabin but its also based on kabin talk in a homey decorative way.some old ladies from the old days who came up the hard way cringe at the thought of cabins and cabin living.i show them now days there is alot of pretty cool ways to live easily with led lites and all kinds of good stuff.our big buddy heater keeps us toasty warm till we get our wood stove in.that will be such a high day.good luck and love reading your postings on this subject.
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groingo
Member
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2012 06:55pm - Edited by: groingo
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hitanktank :
The only thing I power with the Generator is the battery charger, that's it and that is typically four hours every other day.
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rayyy
Member
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# Posted: 13 Nov 2012 04:55pm
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Very good,g-o.My one year aniversery is coming up in Jan.I have had a blast designing and building my off grid cabin.That two years of living in town in an appartment realy gave me the incentive to think it all out get it down on paper ponder ideas and changes.Pre buy things like the washing machine gas frig,12 volt lightbulbs(cfl and led)the solar system.The wind mill.light fixtures,gas stove,gas heater,even the gas bottles.I know once I invested money in this stuff,there was no turning back.I'm a very determined person!
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hitanktank
Member
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# Posted: 13 Nov 2012 05:18pm
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question:
Do you use the batteries to power whatever you are using, and then charge the batteries with the battery charger which in turn is boosted by the generator?
if so do you have an inverter connected to the batteries and then power your tv and such?
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groingo
Member
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# Posted: 13 Nov 2012 05:43pm - Edited by: groingo
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[quote=hitanktank]question:
Do you use the batteries to power whatever you are using, and then charge the batteries with the battery charger which in turn is boosted by the generator?
if so do you have an inverter connected to the batteries and then power your tv and such?
1.Yes
2.Inverter yes it is run through a small 200 watt inverter since my power requirements are pretty small.
.
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hitanktank
Member
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# Posted: 13 Nov 2012 05:49pm
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yes I like what you are doing
my power requirements will be super small also and I was wondering if this was a possibility instead of using solar power
I think what you are doing is similar to what I will be doing. What climate are you in?
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groingo
Member
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# Posted: 13 Nov 2012 06:12pm
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I tried the Solar and about a year later sold it because where I am in Washington it was just not working, too little sun in fall and winter and loads in spring and summer when I didn't need it, but I did make a modest profit on it so I can't gripe.
My daily total power need is 284 watts and the Yamaha generator barely sips fuel and has made my living off grid in terms of dollars per month the same or a bit less than when I was on grid...($10.00 a month when I disconnected).
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TomChum
Member
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# Posted: 14 Nov 2012 12:53pm
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Curious why you wouldn't keep some solar to gather free power when there is sunlight.
Is it a shade problem at your specific location? Such as tree cover or north facing land?
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groingo
Member
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# Posted: 14 Nov 2012 02:43pm - Edited by: groingo
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It's the neighbors trees on my south facing side and we don't get along too well.
I had a guy that kept bugging me and knew I was not happy with the cost benefit and he wanted a packaged deal like mine so he told me what he would pay, I made a modest profit, that got me the new generator and everything else with a chunk of change to spare.
The payback time on this system will be a couple years where the payback on the solar would be after they planted me in the ground!
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TomChum
Member
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# Posted: 14 Nov 2012 05:58pm
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OK thanks.
Solar in the NW is difficult enough, I agree without sun on the south side, it would not work.
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