Latest revision as of 02:13, 2 August 2021

Overview

The Hunting Cabin on the Coleman/Holloman property is "off grid" and currently only has Propane for heat and cooking.

I've been tasked with providing electricity via Solar so that we can have lights and do things like charge cell phones, and maybe run a small refrigerator like is in Mom and Dad's camper. Their Fridge actually runs on Propane, but it requires electricity (from their batteries) to operate.

Signs

• 7"x10" aluminum Rottweiler DOG I can have my teeth in you’re ass in 0.3 seconds WANNA TRY? novelty parking sign.
• Mentalsign Welcome to my Home Rottweiler Warning Sign gift dog pet funny humor Aluminum 8" x 12" Sign

Cameras

Trail Camera

Lighting

Lighting will be provided by LED light strips.

• Dimmable LED Strip Lights Kit Daylight White 16.4ft/5m Waterproof LED Tape Ribbon Light Flexible 300 Units SMD 2835 Rope Lighting 12V Power Supply for Home Kitchen Bar Clubs(Daylight White)

Switches

• spareflying 6/8 Gang Blue LED Rocker Switch Panel CircuitI Breaker Overload Protected12V/24V DC USB Charger RV Car Boat Marine
• Ambuker 4 Gang Rocker Switch Panel with 4.2A Dual USB & led voltmeter with Decal Sticker Labels DC12V for Car Marine Boat Trailer RV Vehicles Truck
• 24V 12V Cigarette Lighter Socket + 4.2A Dual USB Car Charger + Blue LED Rocker Switch for ATV UTV RV Boat Motorcycle 12 Volt Power Outlet - Individual Power points.
• PRO12-48R Battery Indicator For 12, 24 & 48 Volt Systems

Power

Solar

I was originally researching Solar after I came across a YouTube video of a "Solar Shed" for hobby woodworking. The result of that research was me starting to keep track of what I found on the Solar Woodshed page in this wiki.

• Don't Waste Your Money On Batteries - The Shocking Truth I Discovered When Testing RV Batteries

Lithium Ion Batteries (Battle Born) seem to have the lowest cost per W/hr for all battery types.

• DIY 400 Watt 12 volt Solar Power System Beginner Tutorial: Great for RV's and Vans! *Part 1*
• DIY 400 Watt Solar Power System Beginner Tutorial *Part 2*

• 12 volts VS. 24 volts for Off-grid Solar Power Systems

• 2000 Watt 24v Solar System

The idea is to provide electricity to the Hunting Cabin (aka The Lodge). Initial thoughts are to do this via Solar panels with a Battery storage system. The hope is that the batteries can be charged during the week with minimal usage, and power will be available on the weekends for use in Lighting, Fans, Charging cell phones, etc.

• Renogy 100 Watt 12 Volt Extremely Flexible Monocrystalline Solar Panel - Ultra Lightweight, Ultra Thin, Up to 248 Degree Arc, for RV, Boats, Roofs, Uneven Surfaces
• Flexible Solar Panel 120W 18V RAVPower Solar Charger Polycrystalline High Efficiency Bendable Design for Boat, Trailer, Tent Other Off Grid Applications
• Cheap VS Expensive Solar Panels
  • SunYee Panels
  • ITech Panels
• Mono vs Poly vs Flexible Solar Panel + Series vs Parallel Wiring
• Solar Panels In 2019
• Amazon.com Solar Panels: Mono vs Poly - Real World Test - Worth the $$?

• Review of multiple Charge Controllers - Apparently you can use multiple Charge Controllers to charge a single battery bank without problems.
• https://www.mobile-solarpower.com/
• $200 Victron Solar Battery Monitor? Try this $30 Chinese one instead! Great for Off-grid Solar
• Solar Fuse Sizing + Wiring Charge Controller to Battery Bank
• Inverter Supply

Turbine

• DIY 3kW Wind Turbine Plans

Batteries

• QTY 4 VMAX SLR155 Vmaxtanks AGM Deep Cycle 12V 155ah each Sla Solar and Golf Rechargeable Battery for Use with Pv Solar Panels Smart Chargers Wind Turbine and Inverters
• Vmaxtanks VMAX SLR155 AGM 12v 155ah Deep Cycle SLA Rechargeable Battery for Solar and Golf, Pv Solar Panels, Smart chargers, Wind Turbine and Inverters

Lights

• Low Voltage E26 Medium Screw Base 15 Watt LED Light Bulb Offgrid Power Storage Battery Systems Landscaping Path Fishing Marina Boat Yacht RV Motor Home 12V 20V Wide Range Input - 3000K Warm White, 15W

Cooling

• Revolutionary Air Conditioner!
• Solar Powered Air Conditioner!
• Midea U Inverter Window Air Conditioner 8,000BTU

Evaporative cooling might be a way to cool the cabin down for very little power. Just to run some pumps and some fans, and maybe some heat source (sounds odd, but you need to force the air to dry in part of the cycle).

• BUILD YOUR OWN REFRIGERATOR! - SOLID STATE TECH
• Forest Air Mini Split A/C - Apparently this thing pulls a MAX of 800watts, but will average about 500watts of draw so it's possible to run it off a decent Solar power system. (See HERE for a Video about it) This could even be used at the Island to keep either the Cabin or the Bunk House cool in the heat of summer.

Propane

Wood Stove

• Vermont Castings Aspen C3 thermostatically controlled Wood Stove - 10 hour burn
• CubicMini WoodStove - Grizzly
  • As seen on Creative Cubic Mini Wood Stove Installation on sailboat— Sailing Uma (Step 176)
  • Seems interesting to use a smaller stove, but it also occurs to me that it will not be able to be banked down and last through a night like a larger stove might.
  • I like how they mounted it on a Blue Slate tile with a distressed edge.
• Camp Chef Alpine CS14 Heavy Duty Cylinder Tent Cabin Stove with damper and side shelves
• US Stove BSK1000 Cast Iron Barrel Stove Kit - Barrel not included
• WAY more wood stove than we need but provides ideas for a stove.
• VODA 4-Blade Heat Powered Stove Fan for Wood/Log Burner/Fireplace Increases 80% More Warm air Than 2 Blade Fan- Eco Friendly
• 6 Stovepipe heat Reclaimer / Radiator Rings / Bands
• HY-C MH-6R Magic Heat Bottom Crimp Heat Reclaimer For Use with Wood Burning Appliances - Requires AC power for fan.
• Vogelzang DR55 Drum, 55-Gallon
• Wood Stove Installation and Operation - Includes offsets from walls.

Water

Catch water run off from the roofs in Blue 55 gallon poly barrels. Link several barrels together so they all fill as one unit.

• Hunting Camp Water Supply
• Large Rainwater harveting

Resources

• DIY Inergy Kodiak Solar Generator
• Solar Generators: worth the money? Inergy Kodiak after using 1 year
• 18650 DIY Lithium Micro Solar Generator - Finished
• Six Dirty Little Secrets About Portable Solar Generators
• Build a Solar Power Generator for Under $300
• What are the most efficient solar panels on the market?
• Video about man with 1800+ Watts on a Camper. Can even run an A/C.
• What is MPPT?
• One video I watched talked about using a Refrigerator and Stove from a sailboat due to power requirements.
• Calculator to determine how much Hydrogen is generated by charging batteries.
• What goes into calculating how large a Solar System should be?
• Basic Solar Parts Needed for a DIY Camper Van or RV Solar Install - (Very good description of a basic system, looks like more info will be added over time)
  • https://www.explorist.life/product-category/solar/

Thoughts

There are people who use Super Capacitors rather than Batteries with their Solar systems. I don't think it would be the best solution for us, but I wonder if it would be useful for "surge" capacity. Building the SOLN1-2000 Watt Capacitor Solar Generator has references to PCB boards for mounting Super Caps onto along with some circuitry to make management of the Cap easier.

• Mono vs Poly vs Flexible Solar Panel + Series vs Parallel Wiring - Monocrystalline panels are more efficient, but slightly more expensive. I'm leaning toward buying Mono Solar Panels for the Camp.
• Gone With The Wynns video on flexible panels - Not something we need at this time.
• The Ultimate Guide To DIY Off Grid Solar Power - Tin Hat Ranch

Internet Networking Options

• Ep. 117: Cheap Truly Unlimited Internet for Your RV | camping tips tricks how-to

Sites with other potentially related information

• http://laserhacker.com/