Small scale solar

[wbvs58]

I think the simplest and easiest solution is a little 2.7 kva generator powered by a 6.5 hp Honda, you will find it very usefull around the farm to power tools and do small jobs as well and very reliable. I am off the grid solar but I use one to run the house of an evening watching TV etc when we have a run of overcast weather to save the batteries during the high use time. Of course I don't do anything stupid like trying to run heaters or cooktops but when you are on solar you know what you can and can't run anyhow.

Ken

 

[dun]

I think the simplest and easiest solution is a little 2.7 kva generator powered by a 6.5 hp Honda, you will find it very usefull around the farm to power tools and do small jobs as well and very reliable. I am off the grid solar but I use one to run the house of an evening watching TV etc when we have a run of overcast weather to save the batteries during the high use time. Of course I don't do anything stupid like trying to run heaters or cooktops but when you are on solar you know what you can and can't run anyhow.

Ken

I go along with the little generator. If all you want to do is run the incubators it would work fine

 

[greybeard]

I think the simplest and easiest solution is a little 2.7 kva generator powered by a 6.5 hp Honda, you will find it very usefull around the farm to power tools and do small jobs as well and very reliable.

Ken

I have to agree, that if he is going to go that small, get the Honda for reliability and certainly for quietness.

My Briggs&Stratton powered generator is louder than my tractors and lawnmower combined.

 

[True Grit Farms]

http://www.electricgeneratordepot.com/h ... -oil-alert

Just buy you one of these and be done with it. They are almost indestructible, use a mix of AVGAS to prevent fuel contamination and it'll start every time.

 

[hdrockn]

I hate to baby sit another gas powered engine that sits unused most of the time so I bought a generac portable LP gas unit that uses the portable propane tanks. Got it at Lowe's for about $800. Now I don't have to worry about the gas going bad in the unit and not cranking when I need it.

 

[dun]

I hate to baby sit another gas powered engine that sits unused most of the time so I bought a generac portable LP gas unit that uses the portable propane tanks. Got it at Lowe's for about $800. Now I don't have to worry about the gas going bad in the unit and not cranking when I need it.

I use stabil in all of our gas and haven;t had a problem with bad gas in many years.

 

[slick4591]

That Honda is a good engine. It may well be they way to go.

 

[True Grit Farms]

That Honda is a good engine. It may well be they way to go.

The Honda eu2000 will run a 8k air conditioner for 8-9 hours on one tank of fuel. A lot of commercial fishermen use the Honda as their power source and everyone is very satisfied. The Honda can also be run off propane if you choose.

 

[Bigfoot]

If you buy a generator, you may be surprised how much you end up using it. I never had one til 3 years ago, and use it a bunch. Go with a honda or one with a honda engine

 

[lavacarancher]

How frequent are your outages?
You may consider just a battery backup unit, and it just recharges when the power comes back on, heck with the cost of solar panels..

This is the best suggestion I've heard so far. No generator and no expensive solar panels. And if you don't mind manually making the change over when you lose power then you won't need a relay either. You will need to determine your battery size based on how long you expect to be without power. Remember you will be pulling about 85 amps (per hour) out of the battery to run your two incubators so size the battery based on that times the number of hours you expect AC to be down. If you round up to 100 amps/hour and you expect to be without AC power for two hours then you will need a 300 ampere hour battery (200 amps plus 100 amps reserve). Also remember that if your battery charger will only charge at a 10 amp rate (for example) it will take 20 hours to recharge the battery. One more thing. Put this contraption someplace so that when it catches on fire or explodes it won't set your house on fire. If this is acceptable to you I will sketch up a schematic on how to hook it up.

 

[slick4591]

This is the best suggestion I've heard so far. No generator and no expensive solar panels. And if you don't mind manually making the change over when you lose power then you won't need a relay either. You will need to determine your battery size based on how long you expect to be without power. Remember you will be pulling about 85 amps (per hour) out of the battery to run your two incubators so size the battery based on that times the number of hours you expect AC to be down. If you round up to 100 amps/hour and you expect to be without AC power for two hours then you will need a 300 ampere hour battery (200 amps plus 100 amps reserve). Also remember that if your battery charger will only charge at a 10 amp rate (for example) it will take 20 hours to recharge the battery. One more thing. Put this contraption someplace so that when it catches on fire or explodes it won't set your house on fire. If this is acceptable to you I will sketch up a schematic on how to hook it up.

Thanks for the offer, but the wife has been reading over my shoulder and she prefers the generator because of the flexibility it offers. Of course, she's not the one having to drag it out and get it going at 4 in the morning while it's raining. :lol:
I really appreciate all the input!

 

[backhoeboogie]

I've got two generators. I even have the welder. I also have solar chargers, deep cycle batteries and an inverter. Go to a picnic and run box fans and several ice cream makers with NO GENERATOR NOISE.

I don't have nearly the expense everyone is citing in this thread.

Maybe I should start building angle iron frames and assembling solar generators. At the cost people are citing, there is a 300% mark up. advertise on the internet, hire your labor, and retire.

 

[Brute 23]

How frequent are your outages?
You may consider just a battery backup unit, and it just recharges when the power comes back on, heck with the cost of solar panels..

That is what we run at work to keep our scada going during outages.

Honestly though I still agree with the other by the time you buy the parts and wire it up you could have bought a generator that is plug and play.

 

[lavacarancher]

I've got two generators. I even have the welder. I also have solar chargers, deep cycle batteries and an inverter. Go to a picnic and run box fans and several ice cream makers with NO GENERATOR NOISE.

I don't have nearly the expense everyone is citing in this thread.

Maybe I should start building angle iron frames and assembling solar generators. At the cost people are citing, there is a 300% mark up. advertise on the internet, hire your labor, and retire.

Maybe you should but then you'd probably get sued for stating something you can't produce.

Here's a link for a "wholesale" solar panel supplier. You will notice the price for solar panels range anywhere from $.87 per watt up to way more than a dollar per watt.

https://www.wholesalesolar.com/solar-panels

Same site you will find inverters and deep cycle batteries. Inverters range anywhere from $1000.00 to well over $4000.00 for one that is big enough to power his incubators. Then there's the deep cycle batteries. Sitting down? $250 to over $17,000.00. (That's right, $17,000.00)

Finally, I've got more than more than 65 years experience in this field under my belt. I don't think there's a F____ ing thing you can tell me about electronics. Why didn't you offer to help him if you know so much????

Jeez, you try to help someone and there's some aZZhole who's trying to second guess what you're offering. I've had it. Backhoe you can shove this site up your aZZ. Mod, lock it down. I won't be back.

 

[backhoeboogie]

http://www.google.com/shopping/product/ ... wAodw5sIFA

 

[backhoeboogie]

http://www.frys.com/product/8170015?sou ... wAod4h0OzA

He is only using it when there is a power outage. This will charge a couple of batteries.

 

[backhoeboogie]

https://www.batteriesplus.com/battery/r ... wAodeHwGCA

 

[backhoeboogie]

Take the three links from above. I come up with $315. Add sales tax. That's only one battery. Core charge too if he doesn't have an old battery around to trade in.

He needs to run when there is a power outage. That is what I read in the original post.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Another trick lots of people are doing is to charge batteries in the back of your truck. Use the charge line off and ground off of your 7 way. It'll charge a battery surprisingly fast. If you're not driving 45 minutes to work and then connecting again for the 45 minute trip home, it might not work for you. But if you make a lot of trips, you might invest in a plug, wires, and clips. Box to house the battery so that it's not rolling around in the bed.

 

[greybeard]

Mod, lock it down. I won't be back.

Don't run off yet--I've sent you a PM regarding gen sets and dist panels.