I finally hooked up SA to Home Assistant to turn off non-critical circuits via a my new smart breakers. I probably have the most electrically sophisticated 120 year old cabin in country..
There are a number of network gateway products that do this:
I'm not sure if it's worth the trouble, but having two dishes and accounts for redundancy is..
Yes, this is a great option if you have a secondary internet service, but unfortunately I don't. I have two starlink accounts/dishes. Each get pointed to a different point in the sky. I bond these services. It does give me better throughput, and somewhat better uplink performance, but it's still...
Starlink is great. Had it since the early beta, but it stinks for video conferencing. The uplink speeds are too variable and generally slow. It’s barely useable most of the time, and not at all during a heavy snow storm or heavy rain. Since most people just watch movies, it’s best for them. I...
This what you want:
https://www.absolutegenerators.com/cummins-onan-qd-5000-commercial-mobile-diesel-generator-5-0hdkbc-2861-5-kw-prime-single-phase-120-240-volt-liquid-cooled
No, it's not cheap, but if you change the oil, it will last longer than you.
I would highly recommend buying panels locally. I would also STRONGLY recommend buying extra panels. These models go out of production often and you can't get matching specs, and if you are located in a remote location, you don't want stray bullet to put out a string.
I have a backup AIO, and a plain single function inverter as backup. In three years, my Solark has never even blipped, so I may sell my extra SolArk if it looks like they will come out with a new wave of products taht offer something more. The one thing I do like about SolArk is that they aren't...
I sort of like the idea of separate DC/Gen charger from the AIO, at least in my use case where its a backup if the AIO fails. I see that as an advantage.
I bought a chargeverter, but it stopped working, so nothing is foolproof.
I have stored two of the larger Bluetti devices at my cabin for 4 years. It has gotten as low as -30F a few times and these still function as new. (My main battery bank is in a well insulated and heated sarcophagus I made, so they stay at a constant 60F)
It's pretty efficient because its direct DC current, so no loss through through inverting to AC. Propane (and any fossil fuel) is only going to get more expensive, so the total cost per kwh should be considered. I have $6K Honda gas generator that is way less efficient DC->AC->DC->battery. I...
The only chargeverter you will ever need if you are serious about battery charging with a generator.
https://www.kohler.com/en/home-energy/home-generators/products/6vsg
This is my new winter friend.
Yes, this is definitely true, but as soon as one "disrupter" offers a product at a much lower cost, usually the other vendors will have to follow suit.
I just came into a small windfall of cash, and rather than spend it on hookers and booze, I think I may expand my battery bank.
I have a pretty small bank (30kwh) currently and want to significantly expand it because I have huge solar array and I am basically crazy.
With the recent posts on...
Yeah, States like VT are the worst for EVs
Cold weather
Long distances
High need for pickup trucks
Relatively low income
Mountains
few charging stations
suboptimal solar charging
I hate the act of travel, but I love seeing how other people live in radically different cultures. 30% of people suck, 30 are ok,, but the 30 that are good can change your life. There are 5% that pure evil, and 5% that solid gold. Seek them out.
exactly. I know one guy like this near my place. I have starlink - he looks at the clouds, sky color and the vegetation and tell me what the weather will be. I deliver him food. I worry what will happen to him if I am no longer able to do this.
I would bought a Xantrex system for my off grid system, and I have a Sol Ark (which has been flawless), if I knew what I know now. I would not even consider a lower tier product.
My solution for the winter blues is to have a ridiculous amount of solar panel capacity. I currently disconnect 3 arrays in the summer. I can still eke out 1000 watts on cloudy/snowy days sometimes for a few hours. Panels are cheap and I have the land. I actually don’t have that much storage...
I've been eyeing these..
https://steffes.com/ets/room-unit/
I have a lot of periodic excess solar, and this seemed like a painless way to harness them for my power shack to keep my equipment/batteries warm and give me a warmer place to work..