off grid electricity

SPLFreak808

SPLFreak808

Well-Known Member
MarWan said:
LEDs as I understand run on DC power (LED drivers convert AC to DC)
if the solar/wind generates DC power can't you just ditch the led driver and probably the Inverter too.

just a stoner's thought :) , I could be terribly wrong though :)
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Wont work buddy. LED drivers come in DC and AC. You will need to have them exspensive ass LED's properly regulated. A better idea would be to wire the DC drivers to a battery bank and have a 12v windmill/solar panel float charge the bank. The downfall is you cannot use cheap batteries. They CANNOT handle a deep discharge and recharge every day. It is also high maintenance. You need a ventilated bank room or a regulated bank charger that will not overcharge depending on ambient temps. TO OP, someone stated a gas heated greenhouse, this seems like a much easier, much less maintenance kind of thing. I would be pissed if it cost me a windmill,battery banks and a generator for a small time grow in a legal state.
 
MarWan

MarWan

Well-Known Member
SPLFreak808 said:
Wont work buddy. LED drivers come in DC and AC. You will need to have them exspensive ass LED's properly regulated. A better idea would be to wire the DC drivers to a battery bank and have a 12v windmill/solar panel float charge the bank. The downfall is you cannot use cheap batteries. They CANNOT handle a deep discharge and recharge every day. It is also high maintenance. You need a ventilated bank room or a regulated bank charger that will not overcharge depending on ambient temps. TO OP, someone stated a gas heated greenhouse, this seems like a much easier, much less maintenance kind of thing. I would be pissed if it cost me a windmill,battery banks and a generator for a small time grow in a legal state.
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Thank you Sir for the clarification, much appreciated :)
 
mikek420

mikek420

Well-Known Member
Yeah I think I might be over complicating things if I can go underground and keep it warm enough over the next couple months. If it doesn't seem like it will work I will at least end the year with an address in colorado to begin next year. As for what I am running I'm not too stoked on autos I ran them in the past, I kinda want to keep it that way lol I've got several strains I want to work on, right now I've got a ton of bagseed from some really good stock I was gonna use up, most of my stock came from colorado or cali, so the seeds are maybe a fraction as good as the bud but much more better than what we get from local sources.

With all the research I've been doing on alternate energy I kinda want to see this happen now and see what potential it has
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
redi jedi said:
That things a classic. Probably 5-10kw with electric start. Big enough to run a small grow.
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And big enough to keep Exxon stock rising. Fool's errand. I'm from Alaska and can tell you generator power is a bad option. Not only fuel costs but generator upkeep as well. There ain't no such thing as "a" generator because you need another as backup. It's far cheaper in the short run to pay for the poles and the span to get juice to your property. Then begin installing a solar array and battery bank. By law you MUST hook up to the grid (stupid law) but you get paid if you generate more than you can use.
 
redi jedi

redi jedi

Well-Known Member
hotrodharley said:
And big enough to keep Exxon stock rising. Fool's errand. I'm from Alaska and can tell you generator power is a bad option. Not only fuel costs but generator upkeep as well. There ain't no such thing as "a" generator because you need another as backup. It's far cheaper in the short run to pay for the poles and the span to get juice to your property. Then begin installing a solar array and battery bank. By law you MUST hook up to the grid (stupid law) but you get paid if you generate more than you can use.
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I agree fully, but generators are the most reliable source of off the grid power....if you need it, why someone would chose this route IDK?
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
redi jedi said:
I agree fully, but generators are the most reliable source of off the grid power....if you need it, why someone would chose this route IDK?
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ONLY as a backup. Trust me - they break down when you need them the most. Use sunlight, cheap plastic "longhouse" type greenhouses and tarps to control the light at the end of the grow/flower. At least the first year. Seriously investigate solar. My buddy sold all his INACCESSIBLE land near Pueblo to a solar company from OR. Fuel costs for a generator are NUTS!
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
As to "land in Colorado". If you are an experienced real estate buyer then go for it. If not you best be sure you have ACCESS to that land meaning a road or the granted easement for one. Do NOT listen to "we are going to put in roads and sewers and yadda yadda yadda". A lot of folks' dreams end up in tax sales or foreclosed because they bought land they could not access. If electricity is not within a mile I would be very cautious. Most of you would starve to death in a strawberry patch. Grew upon a ranch and have lived in the Rocky Mountain West or Alaska all my life."Cheechakos" are what Alaskans call us outsiders when we were new there and for a reason. Anyone asking about this type of stuff with basic questions is likely to be a "Ned" green for the taking. Stick to cities.
 
redi jedi

redi jedi

Well-Known Member
hotrodharley said:
ONLY as a backup. Trust me - they break down when you need them the most. Use sunlight, cheap plastic "longhouse" type greenhouses and tarps to control the light at the end of the grow/flower. At least the first year. Seriously investigate solar. My buddy sold all his INACCESSIBLE land near Pueblo to a solar company from OR. Fuel costs for a generator are NUTS!
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Solar doesn't cut it for primary power, not yet anyways.
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
redi jedi said:
Solar doesn't cut it for primary power, not yet anyways.
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Okay from a rough old man who has lived a rough life let me tell you this.People who are this poorly informed are extremely ill-equipped to live like this person wants.Period! Live in the country but with electricity.STILL have the generator for backup. But 99% of you have no business attempting something like this and the questions and answers here are a clear indication of that. Rescues after blizzards happen when Neds are in the sticks but so poorly prepared that they cannot ride out a week of weather. Never put all your eggs in a single basket.Growing indoors is not cheap on the electric bill is it?Now try making that electricity and keeping it going. Battery banks are extremely reliable and with a good array and controller set up you damned sure can live totally free of the grid on solar. Additionally for $350 you can buy a wind turbine set up putting out 1.5KW at wind speeds as low as 6 MPH. But all of that is best left to experienced and creative people or rich ones.
 
redi jedi

redi jedi

Well-Known Member
hotrodharley said:
Okay from a rough old man who has lived a rough life let me tell you this.People who are this poorly informed are extremely ill-equipped to live like this person wants.Period! Live in the country but with electricity.STILL have the generator for backup. But 99% of you have no business attempting something like this and the questions and answers here are a clear indication of that. Rescues after blizzards happen when Neds are in the sticks but so poorly prepared that they cannot ride out a week of weather. Never put all your eggs in a single basket.Growing indoors is not cheap on the electric bill is it?Now try making that electricity and keeping it going. Battery banks are extremely reliable and with a good array and controller set up you damned sure can live totally free of the grid on solar. Additionally for $350 you can buy a wind turbine set up putting out 1.5KW at wind speeds as low as 6 MPH. But all of that is best left to experienced and creative people or rich ones.
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lol...I hear ya, yes you can make enough power with wind and solar to live out in the bush...but I'm talking about making enough power for a something a little bigger than a closet grow.
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
redi jedi said:
lol...I hear ya, yes you can make enough power with wind and solar to live out in the bush...but I'm talking about making enough power for a something a little bigger than a closet grow.
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I have done it all. You use the unreal abundant sunshine in cheap PVC greenhouses. Build one for under $300 and a big one. Grow enough in the summer to last all winter.

Here is some very useful info. You can live totally off solar. Appliances and everything including TV come in 12V and 24V. Including 8 cubic foot freezers and 8 cubic foot fridges. Grow lights are another matter and I'm here to tell you that people gripe about hauling water. The work,the time . . . wait until you start hauling gasoline or diesel. First if you are really using a generator it needs to be diesel.Period. The hours on a gas engine and they are trash.

https://www.anapode.com/content/SolarPot

Note that they sell ONLY systems that connect to the grid and why. Us old simple lifers had to discover a lot of this by ourselves. Avail yourself of this knowledge. Stick to the sticks and work your way to off grid but have electricity.
 
mikek420

mikek420

Well-Known Member
I've been buying suppilies for a solar panel, 1800 watt panels righ now i have 10 car batteries for a battery bank, trying to get more, I am almost there with these supplies, so We will see... I'm not just a guy thinking its gonna be easy, I know it's gonna be hard and a serious mistake if I'm underprepped, that's why I'm going to talk to my boss and see if he will lend me 1-5000, clearly the more money I get from him the more comfortable I will be. I also have a background in boy scouts (that's not everything but I am an eagle scout with a lot of wilderness survival background) and I have some practical knowledge on what's up. Also I am making some contacts in the area, hoping I can have them come visit on a regular schedule, a bath and a hot meal garenteed once a week is better than what I can guarentee myself so it's a bonus. Im mentally and physically preparing myself, and I will have some people mail me food, already checked on stuff, I have cell coverage, I have a paved road in front of me, I have a post office 5 miles at most down the road, and I can put up a mailbox too
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
mikek420 said:
I've been buying suppilies for a solar panel, 1800 watt panels righ now i have 10 car batteries for a battery bank, trying to get more, I am almost there with these supplies, so We will see... I'm not just a guy thinking its gonna be easy, I know it's gonna be hard and a serious mistake if I'm underprepped, that's why I'm going to talk to my boss and see if he will lend me 1-5000, clearly the more money I get from him the more comfortable I will be. I also have a background in boy scouts (that's not everything but I am an eagle scout with a lot of wilderness survival background) and I have some practical knowledge on what's up. Also I am making some contacts in the area, hoping I can have them come visit on a regular schedule, a bath and a hot meal garenteed once a week is better than what I can guarentee myself so it's a bonus. Im mentally and physically preparing myself, and I will have some people mail me food, already checked on stuff, I have cell coverage, I have a paved road in front of me, I have a post office 5 miles at most down the road, and I can put up a mailbox too
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Auto batteries are not deep cycle. Start buying used golf cart batteries. 6V or 12V.Marine batteries are also deep-cycle.
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
https://www.anapode.com/products/4000w_4kw_Complete_Solar_Panel_Module_Kit_DIY

Financial Incentives
  • Careful selection of cost-effective components that are customer installable bring the cost of solar down to the point that it is cheaper than buying electricity.
  • Federal government provides a 30% tax credit on all residential solar installations until 12/31/2016.
  • Some state & local governments as well as some utilities are also offering financial incentives to homeowners.
  • Investing in solar on your roof provides 6%-13% return on investment, better than most other investments today.
That 30% is your Chinese-made DIESEL generator. Diesel - there is NO road tax on diesel fuel used off-road. For farm tractors and generators etc. And that adds up damned fast. Gasoline engines just can't cut heavy use.
 
bravedave

bravedave

Well-Known Member
hotrodharley said:
ONLY as a backup. Trust me - they break down when you need them the most. Use sunlight, cheap plastic "longhouse" type greenhouses and tarps to control the light at the end of the grow/flower. At least the first year. Seriously investigate solar. My buddy sold all his INACCESSIBLE land near Pueblo to a solar company from OR. Fuel costs for a generator are NUTS!
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I have lived off the grid in cold/cold climates and to think of solar and wind as anything but supplemental is far more dangerous that relying on a generator. Yes, you want a backup. You are also right, those $2000 Hondas are nice for powering a Winnebago but not your homestead...except maybe as that backup. My buddy who has lived off the grid for the last decade has German made diesel (about $10k) and although he is prepared for breakdown it has been 100% for 3 years and he loves it...While he is continually disappointed in his wind and solar. He also gets his gas in 55 gl drums and has equipment to move them around with plans on installing a 500gl underground tank. Bottom line is the sun can disappear for days on end and days are short in January. Similarly, the wind cannot be made to blow with a wrench. ;)
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
bravedave said:
I have lived off the grid in cold/cold climates and to think of solar and wind as anything but supplemental is far more dangerous that relying on a generator. Yes, you want a backup. You are also right, those $2000 Hondas are nice for powering a Winnebago but not your homestead...except maybe as that backup. My buddy who has lived off the grid for the last decade has German made diesel (about $10k) and although he is prepared for breakdown it has been 100% for 3 years and he loves it...While he is continually disappointed in his wind and solar. He also gets his gas in 55 gl drums and has equipment to move them around with plans on installing a 500gl underground tank. Bottom line is the sun can disappear for days on end and days are short in January. Similarly, the wind cannot be made to blow with a wrench. ;)
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I have lived in Northwestern Montana, Northern Washington, Alaska and all over Colorado from Durango to South Central in Del Norte (Alamosa -the coldest spot in the nation is 60 miles from there) along with Cut Bank, MT (I lived 35 miles from there) to the Front Range, Ft. Collins and Greeley. I have seen everybody and everything come and go. Abandoned dreams with creditors hounding them. In Colorado the only need to super rural is costs anymore. Ridiculous rents. If I were going to move anyplace except back to Alaska I would go to Oregon. I would say WA but you cannot grow your own there!!! Go where there are cheap rents and the electricity is almost invariably cheaper. I'm really watching for the development of low-voltage, low-amp LED arrays.
 
GrowerGoneWild

GrowerGoneWild

Well-Known Member
hotrodharley said:
And big enough to keep Exxon stock rising. Fool's errand. I'm from Alaska and can tell you generator power is a bad option. Not only fuel costs but generator upkeep as well. There ain't no such thing as "a" generator because you need another as backup. It's far cheaper in the short run to pay for the poles and the span to get juice to your property. Then begin installing a solar array and battery bank. By law you MUST hook up to the grid (stupid law) but you get paid if you generate more than you can use.
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Exactly, a true remote generation plan has multiple generators. Or at the very least be within a few hours of replacing the whole unit.
 
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