Hi from Georgia

[Tom Payne]

Well I followed someone here, had a look, and thought I would stay and learn some things.
Seems like there are some pretty sharp folks here also.

I am not very green, not in the new sense of the word, as I have been off grid since 82, but back then we were ahead of our time.

[Joe Blake]

G'day Tom, and welcome to the board.

Hope you're able to join in the "sharing" here, learning and teaching.

I'd have to say that you're STILL ahead of your time.:D

Ciao from Down Under

Joe

[Rob Beckers]

Welcome Tom!
I'm with Joe: The future should be that people generate most of their own power, and the grid is there just to supplement on the (few) occasions that is needed. We still have some way to go...

-RoB-

[Tom Payne]

Hi Folks.

Well I have only been on these type forums about 5 months. But some people, maybe rightly, see stand alone homes as non green, creating more pollution, and stand alone-rs as maybe selfish, in the fact that they usually are off grid in order to live where they want to, as is my case.

At the time, though we never gave any thought to the energy used to manufacture batteries and panels, we just new where we wanted to build, and were willing to pay the cost.

The cost was not always in $, but in trying to deal with a way of life that was still very new.

We built a 3 bedroom home in remote woods, cut and sawed logs up to floor level and then convinced a bank to do the rest, the bank never knew we were going solar, and somehow totally missed the lack of power lines.

Rob I wonder if the cost of batteries, in energy to make them and the pollution that might be generated, can every work out to an equal position.

I have just been thinking about some things I have read, where folks believe that grid tie, maybe without batteries, will be the best way to go.


I have certainly been through some batteries, first was two sets of the obligatory golf cart batteries, first 6 months in the house I carried one set out to be charged, until I could get my charger built. Been through two sets of telephone batteries, one set of L16s, and am now on 10 year old Rolls.

Here is my first battery charger.

Home power 70s style
A not so green, power machine.
This is what I used to power my home in 83, used it for about a year and half, until I could buy panels.
Originally it had 3 alternators, with a potential of 160 to 200 amps, depending on which alternator I happened to have on it. The field was regulated by a rheostat, from a 1970 Cadillac dimmer control. This allowed me to keep the amp output at about 40/50%. The longest I ever got a used alternator to last was about a year, sometimes they would die in the first hour of use. Needless to say I kept a lot of $5 to $15 spares around.
Fuel cost was only about $13 a month. hated to stop using it, but was really glad to get maintenance free panels. Gas motors have a mind of their own, and it would sometimes refuse to start when it was most needed.

If you look closely at the ground you will remnants of 600, 500 and 350 MCM plus some 4 ought copper wire

http://upload.pbase.com/solorguy/image/126433256/original.jpg

[Ralph Day]

Say Tom,

Just how far away from anything or anybody was that beast? The muffler looks a little like it's not there! Must have roared.

Ralph

[Tom Payne]

Say Tom,

Just how far away from anything or anybody was that beast? The muffler looks a little like it's not there! Must have roared.

Ralph

Yea Ralph, the muffler has rotted away, it was a tad louder than gen set, but then ran at a much slower RPM. There are times I think about restoring it, but with an ELECTRIC starter.

It resided under the front porch, just outside the battery banks, and ran with a not unpleasant, slow thump thump thump. Off grid, back then, you did what you had to do.

As I have mentioned before, it beat a good man and a 16 YO boy into the ground one day. That is when I ordered the ARCO panels.