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Hi Folks new here. Just turned on my system for the first time today. Joined the forum to show it off a bit. I’m building a small 1,200 sq ft off grid home in Southern Vermont. It’s up in the Green Mountains about 2,300 feet. So we get >10’ of snow annually so off grid is a challenge. But...

…and seems to be working well. Here are some pics. I did 100% of the utilities myself and about 80% of everything else as well. It’s a small 1,000 sq ft off grid home in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Elevation is just under 2,400 ft which is the max elevation one can build in Vermont...

Here you go. The interior doors, trim, kitchen light, bed frame, headboard, night stands, TV stand, mud room bench & mirror, kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, butcher block and concrete counter tops, fireplace, window seals, etc. are all made by myself here on site. A lot of the live edge...

Continued…

Here are the plans. Go build you one!

Yup the insulated/isolated foundation is key in the cold country. I used ICF and pink ridged board on my foundation. Zero thermal bridging.

Thank you! Yes there is a double regulator on the LP manifold. I think that’s pretty standard as the LP tanks could be >100 psi. The red one drops it to <12 psi and the green one drops it’s down to just a couple psi. If you have a remote tank the red one is typically installed at the tank...

I did this… …and it’s working great. It’s smart turns itself off when completely charged and throws 75A to my batteries from a Harbor Freight 7,000w 240V generator. Both of with cost less than a grand.

Other photo

I followed Will’s advice and went directly to the rack busbar diagonally top to bottom. As for the mismatched lug sizes I drilled and taped my own holes in the copper busbar for a solid connection.

The EG4 rack is junk simply because the busbar design is horrible and ruins an otherwise great rack. Any 19” rack mount server rack with a door will do in my opinion.

It is a 210 gallon intermediate storage tank because I have a low flow well less than 1 gallon per minute. It’s 500 foot deep crystal very good quality. I could frack it for $6K or put the intermediate tank and secondary pump for under a grand. Tank and well hole give me close 500 gallons of...

I will take some fresh pics and post them soon

This true that most inverters do have a generator charging option. However you will need a very large generator that can handle the charging as well as operate the house at the same time. For most small homes that requires a very large generator 14-20kW. Most inverter companies won’t warranty...

So I’m no expert but I did just complete this exact task so it’s fresh in my mind. Take my advice with a grain of salt. I would definitely go with the biggest open frame generator you can move by yourself on wheels. Propane is fine but know that drops the power output by ~20% so you will...

Look familiar? That’s a Predator 8,750 from Harbor Freight. Operates my ChargeVerter at 75A no problem. That’s just what I had and tuned the ChargeVerter accordingly. When it wears out I like this generator…...

S610 - can I make a suggestion on your floor plan? Given you want to have doors for animal traffic control I think you said. You might consider using a few pocket doors. Like going into the bathroom and kitchen. Door swings take a lot of square footage up when you are building a small home.

Maybe this helps…

Thank you. The utilities and interior is all me with lots of advice from the wifey. I had help with the slab and timber framing. That little dude on the saw is an awesome timber framer and I’m the guy burning the Timbers. Only 6 pairs oh hands total have touched the place. Nice looking...

I have some OCD issues no doubt.

https://www.amazon.com/DuroMax-XP9000iH-9000-Watt-Inverter-Generator/dp/B08Z1CHJR6/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?crid=33AQO86622P5C&keywords=duramax+generator&qid=1689243555&sprefix=durmax%2Caps%2C170&sr=8-8 I’ve had a few generators now. For the EG4 ChargeVerter this Durmax is perfect. Runs my setup on...

I just watched Will’s video on Santan. I think I will go that route.

I have the exact setup you described installed in my utility room which measures 17’x14’. I don’t have A/C as I’m in southern Vermont in the mountains. The only time the room gets warm is when I need to charge my battery rack via the EG4 ChargeVerter. That things puts out some heat but it’s...

Here’s my setup.

These server racks have been used to mount UPS batteries in server rooms for decades. It’s only recently these racks have been used in the solar industry. Not sure why it took so long for the manufacturer to go this route because it seems like such an easy starting place. They seem late to...

Have you watched this?

Thanks for the positive feedback. Great idea about adding weight to the cabinet until I get more batteries. Thx!

I’m not going to go crazy on PV. I’m going to place enough on the roof (15* shed style facing southwest) to charge the batteries 2/3rds of the year and forget about solar in winter. Ultimately I plan to install a 5,000 watt wind turbine through a separate controller. Living on the side of a...

Just FYI mine is maple and weighs a ton. I’m going to put a couple struts on it to make it more manageable for the old lady.