best way to sort of power a grow off grid

[mcrossy 130]

What is the best way to sort of power a grow off grid (ie running a motor to power an alternater then throu a power inverter then to ballest) thanks peace out

[lamsbread 1,369]

Work out what you need, it's pen and paper time.

 

How will you get water to the site? Does it need pumping?

 

How much power will be needed- for the grow & outside the grow

 

• The grow power needs - lights,fans,pumps,heaters/coolers etc
• Outside the grow -lights, radio,phone charge,laptop etc
• Make a list and work out total and you'll will need some on top to stop it becoming overloaded and incase you need to add more eqipment.
•  

Can you easily get fuel there,how far is it to get more fuel?

 

Does the generator need to be quiet/silent?

 

Will you need to add more kit as the seasons change ie summer getting hot so need to cool more.Winter cold so need added heat etc.

 

Are solar, wind and hydro possible sources of power, or do just want a generator.

 

Try to visit as many Off grid sites on the interweb and read up other peoples set ups.

 

Buy "Home Power Magazine" , though I believe you can find it to download the entire collection on the internet, if you know where to look, if you know what I mean I already have them

 

In order for this to work you need to account for everything, in the middle of nowhere there are no safety nets, except the one you make yourself.

 

One of my interests is "Off Grid Living & Off Grid Power" I will try to help where I can but you will need to do some research and homework.

 

There is no simple one fits all solution, it has to be made to fit your needs.

 

Have you thought about what happens if your inverter stops working? will you have a back up? I have read of this happening and it is a real pain in the ass if you have to wait for a new one to get shipped out.

 

You need to know exactly what you need for the grow and living at the grow, in order to buy the equipment you need to supply your grow.

 

you will need to supply a list of absolutely everything in order to discuss with you, how to start looking at this and then we will need to look into how to set about it.

 

I cannot spare the time to design a set up fior you or to give you all the answers. I would also have to do some research too, as well as yourself.

 

There will also be forums where people are designing of grid systems, definately look at them.

 

I will give you all the support and time I can spare on this matter, but there are more knowledgable people out there who have done this. Although I understand you don't want to talk to someone on a off grid forum and tell them what you up to, loose lips sink ships

I plan to do something similar one day and have researched this alot, but by no means am I a professional and I have also never actually gone off grid, but I will help where I can.

 

Almost forgot, think about using the most energy efficient equipment as possibel, Every Watt counts!

 

 

Peace

Lams

[mcrossy 130]

Thanks man well I was more thinking at home can I use an electric motor about 100w put it throu gears to up the rev count then throu an alternater then invert it to lets say 600w less usage on the grid so if any thing went rong with it I could just plug it into mains while I sort it . And yes I have been thinking about going out and doing it like you said but do you think my way would work thanks

[lamsbread 1,369]

LOL I thought this was a wilderness set up, phew, it would have been quite an effort to do , but I would have done it. After all I gonna do it someday, as plan to buy some land that will be in the sticks so to speak.

 

If you know about gears then I leave that to you, I'm not a mechanic with engines and such.

 

When you either step up or step down a power source a percentage of that energy  is lost, mostly as heat.

 

Through gearing up some energy is lost through friction.

 

How were you gonna power the electric motor? whith a petrol motor?

 

Have you thought about a dual fuel invertor generator? one that uses lpg gas and petrol.

 

A invertor generator will take all the thinking out of the equation, it is a generator that has a inbuilt invertor

 

Here is a triple fuel invertor generator, didn't know they existed till now lol

 

here the link http://www.generatorsales.com/order/07679.asp?page=Y07679

 

Lpg can be boought in large cylinders and you won't have to keep filling a petrol tank.

 

Is noise an issue, do you have neighbors who will complain you running a generator all the time?

 

maybe get a silent or near silent generator.

 

Not sure what part of the world you in, but it is possible if you have gas supplied to your home to run a natural gas generator linked to your home!

 

here a link http://www.centerpointenergy.com/promo/naturalgasgenerators/TX

 

You never want to be running a generator at maximum load for more than 30 mins.

 

If you are running something that uses 600w you would want a generator that is capable of supplying at least three time that power ie 1800w

 

I needto go and reread my volts amps and watts conersions to be able to say more, but right now my maths head isn't working

 

Go check some generator websites and it should be explained there.

 

just a few ideas to mull over

 

Peace lams

[mcrossy 130]

Thanks man they are very interesting and a big thanks for your input much appreciated bro my way I am thinking that you can power your lights and that of your car with an inverter just on tick over well to me thats not practical cost of petrol these days aint cheap is it lol so I might get a few parts I already have a motor that turns at 2500rpm about 1500rpm more than a car so if I put it on a 12 Inch cog to the alternator witch generally has about 3 inch cog then the alternator should turn at about 10,000rpm give or take a few thousand lol well I might give it a go and let you all no try get electric costs down means more lights more plants at less cost if it works its a win win thanks man will keep you posted peace out

[lamsbread 1,369]

I'll be sure to follow.

Sounds like you know a thing or two about motors, I wish I did, but there are only so many pies you can put your put your fingers in!

I will follow with interest and hopefully pick up some useful titbits

Electricity is not cheap nor is fuel, but my main worry is electric companies can get a little nosey when using large amount of electricity.

Producing your own is nice

My dream would be to have some small hydro set up but that for the hills

Peace

[mcrossy 130]

Haha I no a little bit lol you want to head for the hills me I want to go under ground again first time failed flooded out all the time but working om getting a 12 foot cargo container to sink vertical underground you dont get the severe weather its always around 8 degrees so every thing stays the same no changing equiptment with the season change lol hope all works well for you bud peace out

[lamsbread 1,369]

hehe I am all about that sort of thing building houses and under ground bunkers & shipping container house, seems we got a few things in common

Here's a video I saw a while back, hope you like it.

I've done a bit of pot holing and yeah temp were pretty stable.

and whilst you got your digging hat on , might as well put in a ground source heat pump, that'll keep heating bills down for the main house.

Peace

Lams

[mcrossy 130]

Gud video that I dint put a sump in you would need a big pump to clear the water out if you live somewhere that gets a good bit of rain in a hole that size lol I did think at first about just putting one on the back of a lorry kit it out and keep on trucking lol but diesel not cheap so allround cost is huge. I would probably just put a shed on top of mine and it would also act as a secret opening down to your secret layer lol and yes the ground source heat pump is a very good idea I use a log burner in the house aswell a gas central heating so heating is pretty cheap but yea we do have some things in common there must be something in the weed lol peace man