me gaf arrived today :)

[giggles]

well aside from that fact that i put my back out today has been a champion day

my mobile home arrived

now to set about off grid power(12v), heat and the likes

any advise would be greatly appreciated

[giggles]

thanks susie :)

[Green Aura]

Brilliant news - are you going to put where you are(roughly) in your personal details then we can all imagine your set up

[John Headstrong]

have a read of Uncle Nevs 12v system http://www.selfsufficientish.com/main/b ... v-sweeney/ it will give you the basics


although these are still expensive they are nice, http://shop.freesolarenergy.co.uk/index ... nt=25&pg=1

[giggles]

yup green aura il do that now!

headstrong thats a great link to da 12v setup by nev... thanks

[giggles]

off to da back doc now...

[southeast-isher]

Well done! Do you have a photo of your mobile home i could see?

[giggles]

still laid up with da back so walkin through field to get to mobile is a non runner... add to that the fact that i am useless at getin pics uploaded... have tried many times on various websites and keep getin "file to big" so not overly cponfident of getin pics a mobile up 4 ya... but il try!

the powering of this mobile i thought woud be straight forward but reading the 12v off grid setup treads.... jasus! i dont understand half of it!

ok so between now and when i get the wind turbine and solor setup its gona have to be a generator which will charge battery... to this end a diesel genny so i can grow something like rapeseed to power it in the future(and the campervan!) a deep cycle battery.... thats as far as my knowledge goes... yes shameful i know but can someone please help me out but in VERY simple lingo ;)

[battybird]

Hope your back improves soon, giggles! All that work to do, must be VERY frrustrating! Cannot help with the wind turbines, but we have 12v system powered by solar panels only. Some tips we learned by experience:
1. Use thick wire..and have the shortest runs between appliances and power source as possible.
2. Avoid using inverters if possible..quite a bit of loss when changing from 12v to 240v
3. Found 12v cold cathode bulbs recently (7watt) last a long time and we used E27 light fitments and bought adapters for "normal" lamps so we could use them rather than the limited number of 12v lights/lamps for sale.
4. Our system is limited to lights and cigarette type 12v sockets for running dvd player and charging phones and laptop and pump for shower. No TV or washing machine. Twin tub uses much less powerthan automatic (350w rather than 2500w++) and we run it with the small generator and heat the water with solar or on the stove (or use cold water).
5. Have a backup for long periods of wet/dark weather..we can run for about five days then the power has to be severely rationed!! The oil lamp is fantastic for giving heat and light, candles and solar lights which have their own panel are all good.
6. NEVER go out in the vehicle without charging something up from the car battery! It is amazing how many car chargers are available on the internet! We do use an inverter when charging some things in the car...power tools for instance.

We started small and have gradually increased the system with our needs and budget! Eventually if we stay in Portugal for long periods (more than 6mths at a time), we may succumb to going on mains (it actually runs over the barn!!) but we will still use solar for lights and save the 240v for freezer/fridge and power tools that need more than our tiny gennie! Oh and my blenderand hairdryer!!
Hope you get sorted soon!

[giggles]

hey battybird!

yup still laid up

it will be a while before i build the wind turbine and solar panels so its solely generator power that will keep in power until then.
so i plan to have 10 lights, 10 12v(car type) sockets and 2 12v pumps(one for shower nd one for pumping grey water back to tank after filtration. i would love to know how you store the power. do you have a bank of batteries? i am thinkin of a total 12v setup to avoid hungry 240v appliances. what do you think?

also i came across this while researching

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhwQt1tJYa8&feature=fvw

i have a fridge from my campervan that runs 12v and gas so that could be on te system too.
the generator can also run my power tools when needed. if i get my hands on a diesel generator i will grow rapeseed or an alternative to run the generator (and campervan!) in the future.
as i'm new to all this i would love your feed back on my idea... be gentle :)

[battybird]

Liked the generator on utube but (and I know I am a technophobe) does it just light one bulb? seems a lot to run one bulb, but fun!!dont think I want to wear wellies and rubber gloves when I want a light!! Probably way beyond my comprehension and much more useful than it seems tho!