The new Power Panel thread

And beyond. I can now replace the Honda with an Inverter and do the same thing without taxing it by trying to run 240 appliances. Ill always have that 500 gallon tank of Propane in reserve to insure I can run that pump and bring that water up 90 feet. What is really cool is I get to keep my security blanket(the Grid). I can now Isolate either of the 120 volt panels and run them on wood gas, Sterling power, solar/inverter battery bank, or even my Tractor running a pto genset.

For now I have the two panels combined so My Honda will run all the 120 circuits.

 

Now here is the overall plan if the Grid is destroyed by an EMP Pulse or other means. First I check to see if the Generac still works. If it does no problem if it doesnt it means the little touch pad computer got fried. I get my spare out of the faraday box unwrap it from the layers of foil and rubber and install it.

Then Ill go to the First Panel (the 200 amp main) and shut off the main 200 amp breaker and every breaker in the panel including the two that feed the other sub panels. With the entire 200 amp panel dead Ill engage the twin 40. Start the Generac and pump my water cans full. This will take 14 minutes to fill ten 7 gallon tanks. I now have 70 gallons of water. Once I have water Ill shut off the pump and test the other circuits one at a time and make sure I dont have any blown appliances. At that time Im done with the Generac. Ill shut it down and save that precious propane.

Now both subs are already dead as I shut the breakers off in the 200 amp panel. Now Ill shut off every circuit on those panels that are not necessary. At this time Ill test my Battery bank which has been kept at a float charge using grid power. Should be good to go. Ill get my inverter out of the faraday box unwrap it and mount it on the wall and connect the leads and plug it into the one sub that has my essential lines like refrigerator and freezer. If those two units still function Ill have cold and freezer. running on battery power. From here on out I have to run solar and I am still learning how to repair panels and such but I think you see my plan. 500 gallons of propane will pump water for over 20 years and if my solar holds up I should have many years of that as well. I am not trying to run off grid right now. I am building a back up emergency power system that will run my basic needs. Ill not use the Honda if I can help it as I only keep about 60 gallons of gasoline around here. Ill need that for my chainsaws and tractor to haul wood. As it is now I am three years ahead on my wood supply and have thousand s of trees very close to me.

The bottom line is this, I intend to outlast any disaster up to 20 years. Thats about all I can do. Kingfish

 

Kingfish. You may also want to look around for a step-up transformer. It will take one inverter and up the 120 power to 220. Real handy should you not have the propane to run the gennie. Trace used to make them for around $250.00. Not sure who makes them now, but I am willing to bet, somebody does.

 

Yes, that is in the plans. I could if need be hard wire it directly into the pump feed. But for now I am sitting on near 500 gallons of propane and 60 gallons of gas. Once My battery Bank and inverter are ready to go Ill just make a romex cord and staple it to the wall. It will have a female plug on the end and plug right into that black cord. W e are testing the entire system this weekend.

What I see here is that TNAndy has a grid tied system where his inverters are hooked and running into the grid. They can sense power loss in the grid and switch over to his mains which is cool unless that power loss is caused by an EMP. In that case his entire system is toast. I am sure he has spare parts to get it up and running again if this were to happen

Nadja's is the opposite as he has no grid. However his system is running and an EMP can also take it out. I have talked with Nadja on this matter and he has spare parts.

Hank has an entire second system ready to go. I think If I remember correctly he called his first one a sacrificial solar system?

Mine is yet a third option. Its a manual changeover system which can run any combination of on or off grid. I do not plan on leaving my inverter hooked up. Once its wired and tested Ill unwire it and store it and the charge controller in my Faraday box. Ill keep my battery bank in a float mode using a 24 volt smart charger. I also plan on storing my solar panels in a Faraday box in my safe room. All the hardware will be up and tested so I just have to assemble it. My solar system is going to smaller then the ones you guys have. Closer to Nadja's. Most likely a 2500 or 3000 watt inverter and enough batteries to run fridge and freezer twice daily on timers. Then just enough solar to keep that bank at 50 to 100% . Im not interested in running anything else (UNLESS) and this is a big unless things get better and we all sing happy songs and the threat of EMP,WAR, pestilence and disaster goes away. If I get to that place in my personal security Ill set up my Solar and build it. With my panel set up I can do what ever I want.

Last night on Fox news Hannady talked about unrest coming to the United States. 7 cities in England are burning. Im not seeing any happy songs right now. When mainstream news is predicting civil unrest I'm taking it seriously. Somalia is starving some 300,000 people ,30,000 already dead. The world food bank is going to run out of food in three weeks. These things are spurring me on to finish faster but also to keep my options open . Right now I can use everything I have which is propane and Gas generators. Two weeks ago I could not.


Now my first question for Andy, Nadja, Hank,BTPOST and any other solar guys. What is the bare bones minimum inverter needed to run an average refrigerator and freezer. Do I need more then 2500 watts? It looks to me like I can run both on one 15 amp circuit with power to spare. My 3000 watt Honda makes just a tad over 20 amps and that runs both easily along with the the television, the computer and some lights. Nadja has stated to me and he is right that a 4000 watt with step up transformer would start my 240 well pump. However that system may be too expensive to get online fast enough. I have power to run my well pump,thats why I bought the Generac Propane powered 8k. What I need now is a small but efficient solar system that will keep me in refrigeration and freezer for say 10 to 20 years. This means very good batteries and enough solar to keep them above 50% discharge. I am thinking along the lines of a 2500 watt inverter and charge controller in 24 volt with 8 to 12 six volt batteries,three gangs of 4 in series/paralell would be a pretty strong 24 volt system. Im thinking Ill need around 2000 watts of solar panels to keep it topped off. Would I need that many panels? I would think I could do it with much less. Kingfish

 

We have changed direction a little and are now looking at Nickel Iron Batteries. http://www.zappworks.com W e most likely will be going with 12 volt as these things are expensive. 3kh (12 1.2 volt cells) 3,950.00 2500 watt inverter and charge controller. Solar panels and a small wind turbine.

 

Nice system KF. Looks like your getting there at last.

 

Im bringing this thread back to the top as I see more interest in back up power systems. Ghrit has a similar system set up as we do. He is also using Isolation Sliders instead of transfer switches. The only difference is we have those Sliders on all three panels. My system separates 240 and 120 volt loads . I am still sad that Nadja passed away. He helped me with a lot of solar questions and I know he is watching so Thanks again Kurt. KF

I have a couple of updates to add. We are now no longer planning on keeping a battery bank trickle charged. Instead we will buy Dry Batteries from Rolls and store them dry packed along with the electrolyte. This way we dont wear them out until we need them. Ill test the system with my two deep cycle trolling motor batteries from my boat. 24 volt inverter and controller. Once I have it all working Ill store it all. KF

 

Bringing this thread back up for new members who are looking at backup power.

 

One thought on your battery bank, @Kingfish . If it is at float with an EMP or massive surge, it could fry your battery bank. Do you have fusible links between charging system and battery bank? (An intentional weak link to fail fast and break connection.)

 

Look up two posts. We decided against keeping batteries on float. Rolls sells them dry with electrolyte in a can.