Good day all! I'm from the Bahamas.

[BahamianPrepMan]

Just survived Hurricane Dorian. Now I'm all about the solar. Lol

 

[Getyourbone]

How are you doing...anything survive other than you...your family and friends ok?

 

[BahamianPrepMan]

I lost friends... but no family. I was a flood victim but got the chance to escape to higher ground before the water got too out of hand. The island is battered but we are recovering well thanks to lots of worldwide support. We feel the love.

 

[Getyourbone]

Sorry to hear bout the losses you DID have...after going thru that one gratitude to simply alive!.

I would think that controller/inverter could get by with the smallest of battery capacity with a low voltage alarm to at least make it work during the day. Maybe one 12v 25ah battery to deal with a cloud or two going overhead...obviously the bigger the battery the better and will work better on overcast/cloudy days but at least it could get you going...

What do you the rest of you all think?

 

[svetz]

Welcome BahamianPrepMan!

That's got to be devastating, weather sure seems like it's been after the Bahamas this year and now Lorenzo is headed towards Ireland? Crazy!

Let us know what you're trying to accomplish and we'll see if can't help out. Lot's of folks here like @Getyourbone are really smart and have a lot of experiences with systems.

 

[BahamianPrepMan]

Awesome. Thank you guys. I'm going for a system that can run all the basic things in a small house with a little extra for the things that can keep you sane/distracted from what's happening around you. So I'm lookin at things like refrigerators, fans, led lights and small power tools along with charging cell phones, laptops, power banks (maaaaybe run a television as well) and other little things. I got a Kyng Power 540Wh solar generator (power station) that I've been using and it has helped A LOT... I'm going for a bluetti as well but I really want a home system. A lot of the electricity has been restored in the central/main part of my island so far (Grand Bahama) but there are lots on the outskirts who have none and won't for a while it seems. I really want to find the most inexpensive way to get people enough electricity to meet their basic needs then Ill spread the word like wildfire.

Uploaded a screenshot of what I'm using at this moment. Charges with 2 of the 4 rich solar solar panels that WILL MADE ME BUY lol. Bless up from the Islands, Will.

 

[Rider]

Just an FYI, the gent who started the thread below is interested in getting solar systems together for emergency relief in the Bahamas. Just letting you know in case yo have any interest.

Disaster relief solar for Abaco in the Bahamas. Hurricane Dorian.

I’m trying to put together an cost efficient package that just runs high efficient refrigeration and charges phones. I know the mini fridge argument vs dometic or sundanzer. The people down there are running off of generators and slowly running out of fuel. I spent 10 days down there. The...

diysolarforum.com

 

[BahamianPrepMan]

I'll definitely check this out

 

[Supervstech]

Welcome to the forum!
The islands sure do get whacked by storms. Glad you and yours are making it.
I am a fan of building my own stuff... I’m a cheapskate... that bluetti sure looks like a bargain though.
can stuff affordably ship to you? Will has great how to videos for building a setup FAR better than the bluetti for much le$$...
A used set of CALB batteries, a charge controller, a 24v 2kw inverter and some solar panels and most are golden for days.
a decent BMS can be added later.

 

[svetz]

... things like refrigerators, fans, led lights and small power tools along with charging cell phones, laptops, power banks ... I really want to find the most inexpensive way to get people enough electricity to meet their basic needs

The Frequently Asked Questions section can give you what you need to size things, but I suspect the least expensive way to go is: panels, MPPT, sealed lead acid battery, and inverter. Lithium is lighter, but it's expensive and for emergencies you don't need thousands of cycles. You also don't need to worry about only discharging lead to 50%; limiting the depth of discharge increases battery life; but that's not important for emergencies.

You can be creative on the components too. For example, here's a 1 kW inverter, battery, LED lights, and accessories for $269 and a 400W inverter with battery for $120. Just needs an MPPT and panels, see more here. These devices are physically fairly tough, have the switches, gauges, fuses built in making them safe and fool-proof. The batteries on these models are small and wouldn't get a fridge 24 hours, but you can add batteries to them with the convenient built in clips. The nice thing about these units are when the lead acid battery dies it can be replaced with another lead, or a DIY lithium battery & BMS if you want to upgrade.

You might also consider the power of the community to do a group buy to get a bulk discount on whatever options you pick.

Best of luck and let us know how we can help!

 

[BahamianPrepMan]

Welcome to the forum!
The islands sure do get whacked by storms. Glad you and yours are making it.
I am a fan of building my own stuff... I’m a cheapskate... that bluetti sure looks like a bargain though.
can stuff affordably ship to you? Will has great how to videos for building a setup FAR better than the bluetti for much le$$...
A used set of CALB batteries, a charge controller, a 24v 2kw inverter and some solar panels and most are golden for days.
a decent BMS can be added later.

At this time, the Gov't has made it pretty easy to ship things here for a while. I have a friend that's a pilot ad well. I send things to his U.S. address and he goes over and brings em back for me; so its pretty simple for me personally. That "Used CALB Battery" idea really sounds like a way to go.

 

[bulrush]

@BahamianPrepMan Oh wow, I saw pics of that island, it got hit hard. I hope you and your family are ok. There doesn't seem to be a lot of high ground on that island. It's almost like you would need a completely enclosed lifeboat like they have on cruise ships now, to survive a direct hit by a hurricane.

 

[BahamianPrepMan]

@BahamianPrepMan Oh wow, I saw pics of that island, it got hit hard. I hope you and your family are ok. There doesn't seem to be a lot of high ground on that island. It's almost like you would need a completely enclosed lifeboat like they have on cruise ships now, to survive a direct hit by a hurricane.

Correct. The whole island is low-lying. We have very few high points. Fortunately, I was in an area that got only 4 feet of water. I had to evacuate of course. I'm just happy to be alive. The eastern part of my island was totally smashed, man. Think I'm gonna look into getting one of those boats in real life lol

 

[b.james]

Puts a new meaning on gettin high!