Appliances for cabins
March 2007 - I'm reducing my inverter loads
this year. This is from the 2006 season.
I now run my 12 volt fans from a
20 amp hour gel battery; this lasts for 4 days
before the battery needs charging.
 |
|
One
of my 12 volt fans. |
Some of the appliances that I purchase are 12
volt or propane. For instance, for ventilation and
cooling in the summer, I purchased a fan that
runs either on 12 volts of D cells or
battery bank power. The solar charge controller I got
has outputs and adaptors for 12 volts direct from
the battery bank.
Our lighting consists of two voltages of the
same type. I use Compact Fluorescent 12 volt bulbs
(5 watts each x 4), 2 from the battery bank and 2
from a small AGM battery. For brighter light, I
use General Electric Compact Fluorescent bulbs,
which are the best; they use the least power and
provide rated light. I've tried several brands but
GE seems to be the way to go.
My stove is a 2 burner with a grill from Harbor
Freight. This works either off of a 20 lb or
standard small propane bottle. Currently, for
heating water, I use a pan on the stove. Plans are
to build a solar water heater and plumb it into a
small water heater that uses propane
The current television that I have is a small
12 inch that uses 20 watts to start and 10 while
running, sometimes dropping below 10 watts.
By now you're probably wondering about our
well. Well, we don't have one. I store a few
hundred gallons of water on site and transport it
as needed. The reasoning is simple (to me); when
the home was first built the water table was 20
feet. Now it's almost 90 feet because every idiot
that builds up here just starts pumping as much
water as they can from the ground.
● Email Me ● |