Northern Michigan Solar Powered CabinAlternative Energy Living at the 45th parallel
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First of all, welcome to our site! We've been around for several years and conduct all kinds of half baked DIY projects on our show, This Old Shack. Be sure to check out all of our half witted articles and pages. If you have questions, just Email us and we will do our best to confuse you beyond all belief.NAVIGATION Email or Contact us here
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We're going to build our own solar panels!Read the diary entry here. |
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Disaster planning should be part of every single household across America, strike that, the world. When disaster strikes, people die or lives are c80%hanged. In times of plenty, forego the Playstations and buy extra food. You can explain a lack of toys better than a lack of food to your children.
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In
1980 our military switched its entire food ration program over to the full
moisture MRE pouch system. These are the meals we tested on "This Old
Shack". |
Quite possibly the best preparedness site in the world.
There were several reasons for the switch:
Sprinkle of rain = power failure.
Giving a little back by not using so much.
Independent living.
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National Weather Service Article
Diary from the cabin, page 1April 15, 2006; You'll notice while reading that I had a problem with the charge controller hitting the absorption rate and not moving. I've ordered a new controller (Xantrex C-12) and will have it for my next trip, April 21, 2006. I've also ordered a DC/DC adaptor for my computer. April 20, 2006; Review; Infinigi.com. Infinigi at first glance appears to be a typical alternative energy power source web site. However, where they shine is their customer service. All questions answered, all points in the shipping process tracked. Unlike other sites, they provide UPS tracking numbers so you can see exactly where your product is. One of the areas where I've seen an another difference is their photovoltaic offerings. Like triangular shaped solar panels. One thing I would like to see at their site is the ability to sort items by price - for many folks like myself, price is the make or break rule of ordering from a supplier. April 05-2006; 10:30 am Well, here I am at the cabin for this years festivities. As with all battle plans, they lasted until I actually got to the place. I had my truck, Stinkerbutt, loaded with all the goodies I needed for a week of bliss - working my tail off. As I got to the property, I already knew that there was 5 inches of snow on the ground. Not to worry, it's going to be almost 60 degrees the next day. I got in the driveway just fine, unloaded Stinker and prepared to go on my merry way into town for kero and propane for the heat. Not. After a 1/2 hour of snow blowing, I was off. What a waste of time and gasoline, most of the snow melted by evening.
2:30 pm Back at the cabin with my supplies of destruction from Lowe's, I began to work on my battle plan. First I hooked up my new cell phone antenna and tower, a Wilson "roadtrucker" which is supposed to have a 8 db boost in signal. Yep it works. Where to put the panels? I already knew that they weren't going to be in their final location until later in April, so I put them against the wall outside the kitchen as you can see in the photo above. Here's another photo of the panels. Bingo bango, we're getting power to the batteries! 12.50 volts....12.60...12.78...12.95....then the bank hit the absorption rate and things slowed to a crawl. No matter. Four hundred buck for 90 watts of panels that came with mounting hardware, 12 volt lights and distribution panels is a good deal. 4:00 pm Began working on the new ceiling for the living area. The cabin has never been insulated, so now is the time. Along the way, I decided that drywall wasn't in the picture; the place is unheated in the winter and it would be damaged by moisture. So, I decided on suspended ceiling panels attached to furring strips attached to the rafters. This worked out very well. While I was at it, I also insulated walls and started to install paneling.
6:00 pm Well, dusk is approaching and lo and behold the panels are still putting out. Not a lot, but some. Time to start the generator and test the final linchpin in the design. The generator is an el-cheapo that I bought for the kings ransom price of $150. It's not too loud but let's see what we can do to quiet it down. Everyone knows than in an exhaust system, bends in the pipes will reduce the sound wave pattern. So.....the exhaust is 1/2 inch....I've got lots of 1/2 inch conduit. Well, that worked. By the time I was done, I couldn't hear the generator in the cabin. 8:00 pm I'm done for the day, time for beer and television. Next Page● Email Me ● |
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How I testThere are several people on various newsgroups and discussion areas that waylay in uninformed or those just starting out in the off grid world of self power generation. This involves an almost religious belief in a phantom 6v golf cart true deep cycle battery that is superior in every way to any other battery in existence.
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