Energy Making your own power over the winter

Hi All, I’m part of a team participating in the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps – a program helping scientists take their innovations out of the lab and into the market. We think the technology our team is developing may offer a lot of value to folks living off-grid, especially in more Northerly climes, and we’re trying to better understand the pressing needs and interests of this community.

Would any members of this community be available for a 15 minute phone call to help us understand the challenges of making your own power and whether what we are working on might make life easier.

Please comment below if you’d be willing to help and I’ll contact you privately to schedule a call.

Many thanks,

Adam

 

I can help, maybe.

 

Why not lay out 'what you're working on', and make it feel a lot LESS like a telemarketing call in disguise ?

 

Sure add me to all the wazoo players and semi English speaking phone callers that want to help me.

Too late, your 15 minutes is up.

 

Since the system of calling is free to me Because Im tech support , PM me your # & Ask away .
I have Nothing to steer or say to sway from the companys who pay the phone bills .
I come thru looking like all 66666666666
Sloth

 

Mine is built from scratch , learn as I go.
I am primarily on a battery system, using the grid to supplement as well as solar and wind.
I don't have all the impressive numbers, except the ones on my electric bill .
If running nothing but lights and house hold appliances $25 a month.
When I'm working on projects using power tools welders and other equipment $65-$80 a month.
Each panel and battery and mill, is on it's own 3 position switch for on line, off line, and testing.
With out this you don't know how things are performing. All my panels are different and I know what to expect out of each one .
switching them in, the amperage of each panel raises according to it's capacity . Diodes in the panels manufacture and my own prevent back feeding and over night loss .

 

Thanks so much for the replies everyone. I can promise I'm not a telemarketer, but then if I were a telemarketer I would also say that, so... Sorry for the vagueness around the product, it was intentional to try to avoid biasing the conversation. I'm trying research a problem rather than sell a solution. Let me set up an efficient way of scheduling calls and I'll get back to those who offered help directly.
PS: If latitude is a criteria of credibility, I do live in California now, but I'm British (from the north of England), so I'm more northerly than all Americans except Alaskans and most Canadians

 

I'll be hearing my home tongue

 

@Adam_L

I was just down in Arlington for the week & im back till Xmas & then back to Portland OR / & CA between X-2018 .
I'll call then , Sorry life gets busy .

Sloth

 

Sure. I'll make it easy and save a phone call.....8k izuzu deisel genny. no sun for a few months. bout 30-40 gal a month

 

Thanks Kamchucka - how does that solution work for you - any issues with noise, maintenance, break-downs, anything else you don't like?

 

I spoke with Adam Today
Great chat
He needs to chat with folks OFF GRID !!

IM not , Im grid tied in the bush with power grid outages .

Life got busy between Xmas & today , Back into USSA next week
Sloth

 

Thanks Sloth, really good talk, very much appreciate your insights.

BTPost - pming you now

 

Good as it Starts .
Adam is a very nice gent seeking info on what we all learn & experience.
The time was my Failure .
Very Nice Chat .

we all have a different story .
As I explained to Adam , Admin don't like scammers , So i said , just be true & post the truth out . IC BT bit the hook !

Sloth

 

Honestly its been an interesting time doing real on the ground research, for myself anyways. Theres the typical way, books, youtube, etc. but when the time came, seeing how real people do it was a trip. I'm in a remote area and walking up to "off grid" houses and saying "hey bro, how do you watch tv or keep your food cold"....not an option. so I did my own thing. Being here a while and having the ability now to get to know some folks its clear they all basically did the same thing "wing it", and everyone is different. Youtube is a bullshit way to find out how to live "off grid". Click bait homestead channels are nothing more than temporary realizations of city folk that have seen too many youtube videos themselves. It's ridiculous the amount of people talking about DIY inexpensive solar and you get to the video and its a 20k + professionally installed system.
Personally I think what a better thing to study is how do you keep sane and busy in the winter....lol I can only plow the road so many times!

 

I didnt really answer your question. Yes all of the above. I've taken steps to mitigate the noise. custom exhaust piped away from the house. Let me back up, the power room is away from the house about 50m so when in the house its not very loud. I perform maintenance and keep a log of all things done to the genny and track fuel usage which is important as I have to haul all my own fuel. Not an easy thing being six miles up a goat trail and having several feet of snow a year. I also practice the P.A.C.E. plan, primary, alternate, contingency, emergency. I will not live without a back up to the backup. I have a honda eu6500 back up genny and a cheapy 5k and if all that fails i have a wired in bypass and can run the house on a little 2k. I have a 1000ah forklift battery I bought used and needs charged about every other day when theres no sun. I try and make sure its above 12v all the time as i dont want to loose a cell to freezing. I have a backup battery bank in my shop, serves as my shop power but would be used if something happens in the house. I have two back up inverters (amazon cheapies) but they both work well and run the house as we are under 1.5 kwh a day. I DONT like running the genny so much but it is what it is. We didn't go off the grid to say we went off the grid on face book, it is a byproduct of the desire to be isolated. Where theres wires theres people!
We live very comfortably and I would say even normal on 1.5kwh a day. We watch our t.v. and make our coffee etc. could be more energy frugal but again we arent minimalist or anything. Side note, one of the folks near us just runs a cheap $180 1500w generator from amazon every day, no solar or batteries. Just replaces it every year lol, its a technique.
You can p.m. me if ya like.
Jim