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guitarologist2020
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2010 08:45pm
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I have not built a cabin, yet. But, I was planning to purchase some land in the KY mountains and build a 16x16 cabin, or 16x20. I want it to be wired for electricity. I planned to use a couple of stand-up lights (not halogen or anything). Just something that is enough for me to read at night and also power an iPod docking station to play some music, as well. I was thinking about adding a small fridge that you can get for about $100, but that may be out of the question if it requires too much power. I want to try living out there, without county water, power, etc. Completely off-grid. I was also hoping that I could have enough power to power a small guitar amplifier as well to keep me entertained. I would also like to have a small fan for the summer and an electric heater for the snowy winters if possible. I was looking into solar energy, but it seems like it can be really expensive. I looked into this kit: http://www.amazon.com/Sunforce-50044-60-Watt-Solar-Charging/dp/B000CIADLG/ref=sr_1_1? ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1268873002&sr=8-1. However, it does not come with a battery and it may not have enough power for what I want to use it for. My budget is pretty low. I do not want to go over $3000 for all cabin materials and wiring. So, basically, it should be functional and completed before hitting $3000. It will most probably be a one room, with or without a loft, depending on how far my budget is stretched.
Since I am new to this whole deal, what would you recommend to power 2 small desktop lamps or reading lights, a small guitar amplifier (Vox VT15: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Vox-Valvetronix-VT15-15W-1x8-Guitar-Combo- Amp?sku=483551) (Power consumption: 28W) and a fan or heater? My stove, I am thinking, will be propane or wood powered. What kind of solar equipment am I going to need? I would greatly appreciate your feedback. Thank you.
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bugs
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2010 09:20pm
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Hi G
We are putting together a solar system as well for our little shed. Very similar requirements to yours except the guitar amp. What we have found out is we had to switch the electric fridge for propane because it would be too expensive to size a solar system for an electric fridge. The electric heater idea would likely not work for the same reason. Try a propane and/or wood stove for heat. A fan is a good idea for both winter and summer to circulate the air in the cabin (there are self contained solar ones available). Try led lights (many advances have been made recently in led room lighting). For the amp you might what to consider acoustic.
I am sure you are going to get a lot more advice about all of this. One of the great things about this forum is lots of good advice and suggestions.
Will be interested to see how you make out and if you can keep to your budget.
Good luck with your endeavor.
bugs
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guitarologist2020
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2010 10:01pm
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Hi Bugs,
Thanks so much. I never thought about the LED lights, but you make a very good point. It would be nice to light the cabin for cooking, also. Since, there may be cloudy and snowy days in KY, a little lighting would help.
Do you have any suggestions for a propane powered fridge or stove and where I would be able to get one for a cheap price?
I have an acoustic, as well, but I'm so attached to my electric guitar that it's like a baby of mine. Haha. I hope that more readers will post their suggestions here as I would like to learn as much as possible before making any decisions.
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guitarologist2020
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# Posted: 17 Mar 2010 10:19pm
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Also, do you think this would work to keep some produce cool enough to slow rotting: http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-PowerChill-Thermoelectric-Cooler-40-Quart/dp/B00168NK9S /ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1268878377&sr=1-1. I thought that it was more along my budget and works on 12 volts or electricity from an outlet. I would either like to install outlets, or use the power inverter to power a unit like this. Is this product worth it or a waste of money? The cheapest propane fridge I found was around $500, which I cannot afford.
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Anonymous
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# Posted: 21 Mar 2010 12:37pm
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To do what you want you will probably need to do a variety of things. Heat with a wood stove. Cool by placing your cabin wisely on the lot. A small solar set up for basic lights can be had for around $200 or less on sale at a place like harbor frieght plus the price of a couple of batteries. Energy conservation would be key with that one though. electric guitar amp with a small generator and gas. its a different lifestyle for sure......than city life and will take some planning
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Rob_O
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# Posted: 21 Mar 2010 02:15pm
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IIRC solar insolation here in KY during winter is about 3... That means on an average day you get 3 hours of sunlight...180 watts per panel per day
By the time you add in the losses through the system, you will get about 100 watts of that power back. Enough to run a 13 watt CFL about 6 hours. Another panel and battery will let you run the amp a few hours.
Bang for the buck, two of the 45W $150 kits from harbor freight will keep the lights on longer but you still have batteries to buy and you will still need a generator/charger on those days it's cloudy outside
I'm planning for a similar electrical load and plan on using 360W of panels and 4 batteries to do the job. I'll be in it about 2 grand by the time I have electricity in the wall but the sun we had yesterday would be enough to keep the lights on today and tomorrow. I'm planning for daily use, if you just need a weekender you can scale down your panels but you still need plenty of battery capacity
Take your time, do it once, do it right.
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MikeOnBike
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# Posted: 23 Mar 2010 12:36pm
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Your electronics may require a full sinewave inverter which will be more expensive.
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Kithera
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# Posted: 1 Apr 2010 06:06pm
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Solar power has dropped sigificantly. While it doesn't save you from having to do your research, 200 watt panels are now about $600, down from about $1K at places like realgoods.
However, start backwards. You want to run what? for how long each day? How much power is that? Don't guess, get a meter like a Kilawatt and know. Then keep going. How long do I want to go for cloudy days before I need to charge from a generator? Don't forget that about a quarter of your system is lost due to ineffectcies.
Forget that guitar amp, and use a good set of headphones. you just dropped about 300 watts for about 1.
Also, they will most likely blow your budget, but are much worth it in the long run. Look at purpose build off grid refridgerators. The cheap little jobs from the discount retailers eat up arround 1.5KW/hr a day, a good full size will do about 1KW/hr a day (counter intuitive, I know), a sundanzer will run about .3KW/hr a day. Unfortunately they are aroun $1200, so it's up to you to mark your tradeoff.
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MikeOnBike
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# Posted: 1 Apr 2010 07:05pm
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Kithera has the right approach. Work backwards on the system design. Figure out demand first. Your budget may limit your initial installation but size your charger and inverter so you can double your solar panels and battery storage without having to replace them.
Propane fridges aren't cheap. ~$1300 for an RGE400. Servel/Dometic are the most common brands. Many will run on 1lb of propane a day. Some areas have a good used market. Unfortunately not around here.
If you go with a 200w panel and use the minimum KY winter SI of 3 you can plan on 600-(600x.25)=450w hours per day.
T8 or T5 fluorescent lights are about as efficient as LEDs and usually much cheaper.
That little VOX looks like a nice amp. Headphones won't replace a guitar amp. I haven't found one yet that will provide the distortion that I'm looking for.
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Homochitto
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# Posted: 2 Apr 2010 12:43pm
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I use the roland micro cube and it's an amazing small battery powered guitar amp with a HUGE sound.
http://www.roland.com/products/en/Micro-CUBE/
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