Updated:07/10/2010 ENTIRE
SITE IS COPYRIGHT 2010, MC PHOTOGRAPHY
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Learn about
alternative energy, hybrid systems and watch pointless videos!
If you have any
questions, contact us.
I'm always happy to provide a convoluted answer to a simple question.
At this site, you can learn from my real world experiences
in solar energy production and how I produce power at our cabin in Northern
Michigan. The cabin is located right on the 45th parallel near Gaylord,
Michigan. Check out our photography
site which has some photos around the cabin in the nature and winter
sections.
While this format of the site will stay
here as it is, more of our updates and new articles will be in the new
format. Visit the
new format site here.
Peukerts formula helps you design an
alternative energy system by showing the real world capacity of your
bank!
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.
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.
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". Check
them out here.
I can sit around smoking a cigar because I'm
an energy mogul!
Drawbacks:
Maintenance.
Installation.
Bunch of black glass panels sitting around.
Generator article reprint
7-10-10
Using or owning a generator is a common sense decision that
with a little investigation and research can pay off big dividends. This article
from 2004 still has some very valid points and suggestions. Our system as a
hybrid system (two or more types of power generation). Wind power and water
turbines are not viable options at the shack, thus we also use a 2.4 kw
generator to supply large power loads when we need them. Many modern generators
are available in gasoline, propane or diesel and even have catalytic converters
to reduce pollution. Plus even inexpensive ones like ours will run up to 14 to
20 hours on one tank of gasoline.
Transfer
of Power - How to Safely Restore Power to Your Home
Hurricane Charley left nearly a million
customers in the dark. Electric Generators
Direct.com, an online emergency generator
superstore, offers some valuable advice on how to
safely restore power to your home with a portable
generator.
August 22, 2004 -- Hurricane Charley is quickly
teaching homeowners a valuable lesson about taking
electricity for granted. The Category Four
hurricane knocked out power to nearly a million
homes in Florida, and many residents are still
living without power. Homeowners are now using
portable generators in record numbers to safely
restore power to their homes. "Getting a
generator is one thing," says Jon Hoch,
founder of Electric Generators Direct.com (http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com).
"Getting the electricity into the house is
another."
According to Hoch, extension cords are fine for
small generators because you can only plug in one
or two appliances. The most common way to use a
portable electric generator is to place it
outdoors, then run extension cords through an open
window or door to the chosen appliances. Extension
cords have several drawbacks.
First, most extension cords can't be plugged into
a furnace, well pump or ceiling-light fixture. If
the cords are too long, the resulting power drop
may damage the generator and appliances. And if
they are placed under rugs or carpets, heat can
buildup and spark a fire. "Be sure to use
appropriately sized power cords to carry the
electric load," said Hoch. "Typically,
the thicker the cord, the more electricity it can
carry."
If you want to use extension cords, consider
getting a Gen-Cord (http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/catalog/accessories.php).
You simply plug the all-weather cord into your 20-
or 30-amp generator outlet and then run it inside.
The plug on the inside splits into three 120-volt
outlets, where you can plug in several household
appliances or additional extension cords.
For safety's sake, Hoch recommends hiring a
licensed electrician to install a power transfer
system that redistributes power from the generator
to the home's circuit box. The power transfer
system (starting at $200) reduces the need for
multiple extension cords running from the
generator to specific appliances, and it
eliminates the risk of electrical "back
feed" injuring utility workers working on
downed power lines.
It is installed beside the main electrical panel,
and then it's connected to the circuits you'll
want running during a blackout. When the power
goes out, you simply crank up the generator and
run a single power cord from it to a transfer
switch. "Once the generator is running, you
can choose which appliances and circuits you want
to use by simply flipping the switches," said
Hoch.
It's important to keep track of what's being
powered, warns Hoch, because the transfer switch
is often wired into more circuits than the
generator can handle all at once. "A typical
power transfer system installation will take less
than two hours and cost around $100-$200,"
said Hoch. "But it's an investment that will
be fully appreciated the next time the power goes
out."
This article courtesy of http://www.powergeneratorpros.com.
You may freely reprint this article on your
website or in
your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and
the author
name and URL remain intact.
There 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.
A simple examination of the specification sheet for a line of 6v and 12v off grid batteries will tell you quite clearly that there is no one single best solution for all circumstances. It is not accurate to say one is best.
Our system has been using the much maligned Harbor Freight 45 watt solar panel kits for 4 years. Over these years, we've moved them back and forth from the main home in Saline, Michigan to the shack in Gaylord. They've been dropped, exposed to heavy rain, snow, sleet, hail. One even has even had the glass on it shattered from a tree limb dropping on it.
Look, using testing equipment is all well and
good but those spec sheets don't mean squat if you can't run YOUR stuff
for as long as you want to. So what I do (so you don't have to) is get the
equipment (batteries, inverters, solar panels) and put what I run on it.
Usually about 30-50 watts at 12 volts - few amps of draw. You know, turning
lights on and off, running a computer (a laptop) and whatnot.
Throughout the test, a digital meter is run on
the bank and a hydrometer is used once an hour to determine whether the meter is
reading the correct voltage. During the sunlight hours on the panels, there is
another digital meter installed at the primary junction box (where the panels
feed into the 10 gauge cables that feed to the charge controller) that measures
panel voltage and amps.
One of the things that I like the best about
alternative energy is that you can make it as complicated or simple as you like.
Some people, even though they use alternative energy simply don't have a good
grasp on the entire substance that goes into the makeup of an engineered system
that has been built from scratch.
Don't ask me why, but I've recently become interested in
studying earthquake/volcano activity around the world; ash plumes and such. I've
added a page with RSS feeds and links to satellite imagery.
