A short introduction

[Texsize62]

Hello all.
My name is Wes and I live in the high desert of Southern California.
My passion is parrots.
I have 3 Amazon’s, 1 Congo African Grey, and 5 cockatiels.

My birds are one of the big reasons I am here fiddling around with backup power.
Not the only reason to be sure.

I am just so worried about loosing power in winter and not being able to keep them warm.
A lot of common heat sources just won’t work because of the birds.

I have had an EcoFlow delta max (1600) at least I think that’s what it is, there are so many models.
I have had that for a year or 2 withe very infrequent use.
I just got the 2000w extra battery in all the post thanksgiving sales.
In the last 2 days was the first time I actually charged it up with solar.

 

[OffGridForGood]

Welcome to the forum Wes, and glad to hear you share an interest in off-grid power.
Hope to see you here, and help with what ever comes up during your journey.
We all have our own motivations for needing reliable uninterrupted electricity, but on the forum we all share in getting there.

 

[400bird]

I'm curious what kind of heat doesn't get along with the birds?

If you're only concern is keeping the birds warm enough (a very valid concern!), are they all in the same room? Would you heat the cages or the entire room?

What about a heat pump to keep the room warm? It would use significantly less energy than a resistance heater. And no gas exhaust (I assume that's the concern with different heat types)

 

[Texsize62]

The

I'm curious what kind of heat doesn't get along with the birds?

If you're only concern is keeping the birds warm enough (a very valid concern!), are they all in the same room? Would you heat the cages or the entire room?

What about a heat pump to keep the room warm? It would use significantly less energy than a resistance heater. And no gas exhaust (I assume that's the concern with different heat types)

main thing to avoid is combustion.
Smoke needs to be avoided because a birds respiratory system is delicate.
Shouldn’t even use candles.
I think a pellet stove properly vented would be a good option
I have heard of diesel heaters and I like the basic idea (though I know nothing about them) because one of my
vehicles is a diesel.

It’s just I sunk a fair amount of $ on an electric solution and I am encountering what seems
an inconvenient truth.
Using electric for heat just isn’t efficient.
Look at that little Buddy Heater.
runs on propane 1800 btu’s . One tank will run that sucker for hours.
Me with 3.6 kw hours of battery can power my oil filled heater for almost 4 hours.

 

[400bird]

Yup, electric resistance heat is 100% efficient, but burning stuff is easier. I suggested a heat pump as they can be 300% efficient or higher. Or use resistance heat to put heat right near the birds? Heated roosting bar maybe?

Now that you mention it I knew that about birds. Canary in the coal mine and all. Diesel heaters should keep the combustion gassed separate from the heating area, still seems risky with loved members of the family so sensitive to it.

 

[Texsize62]

Well I am a retired aerospace worker, more than 35 years in the bizz
So I am not a novice around electronics.
I was just a grunt, a test technician of various classes not a big brain or engineer.
But I have been fascinated with solar power since the 70’s
back then I think the commercial grade solar panels available
were only about 11%-12% efficiency.
been great improvements in them since my Junior high school.

It may sound like I’m down on the technology because it’s not working out for heating.
But I am really excited about it.
To watch the power of the sun processed directly and silently into electricity is cool.

 

[niiskuflorida]

What's the bird's name?