Sunshine to Dollars

[Longhare]

Does anyone in the Puget Sound area have a copy of this book they could loan me? I've heard rave reviews (Rick) and just went online to look for a used copy. Most are asking upwards of $40. There are new copies at Amazon for about $20, so I'll go that route if I can't find one to borrow.

I'm starting to consider solar for my little cabin in the mountains. I'm following up on a Craigslist ad for a complete small system (2,000 watt) for $2,999. The reviews I've read about the inverter (Xantrex MS 2000) don't sound too hot, but they were all from marine settings (mainly weight and noise complaints). Anyway, if anyone is interested in giving me a quick opinion, here is the ad (http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/for/1264956004.html).

Thanks,

Louanne

[StressMan79]

...inverter. the panels only produce 340 watt, peak. You can get by on ~1.2 kwh/day but I would want a bigger system for a whole house. Also the "8 deep cell workhorse batteries" may not be good anymore. You might be able to get 12 years out of good lead acid batts. Check this out, as new Lead Acid batteries are not cheap (enough to run a house).

-Peter

[rreidnauer]

I'd guess he's got about $5K into the setup, not $8K. Still it sounds to be worth the price he's asking, but like Stressman mentions, it might be a bit on the light side for solar panels. It's a very good start though, and not hard to introduce more panels and charge controllers later on. (the included charge controller should be able to handle up to 8 of those BP panels) Without the battery specs, I can't check if the panels are sized properly to the battery bank.

Try talking him down to $2500 and take the leap.

[ChainsawGrandpa]

Here's the link to Sunshine to Dollars.
Remember, the book is full of good information, BUT
you will need to read between the lines to apply that
information. I think the book is new at $14.95.

http://www.ush2.com/978-1-60322-000-2_detail_page.htm

I also found a link for PV panels. About $165 for
72 watts at 18V. Go to greenpowerscience.

-Rick

[Longhare]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm probably going to go check this out this weekend on my way to the mountain. They live about ten minutes from the Hood Canal bridge, which is right on my way!

I talked to the guy this afternoon, and it sounds like a good setup. Like Peter, I was concerned that at 2,000 watts, it might be a little small. However, I'm going to be building pretty small and will not likely have as much electronic needs as your average family. I'll mostly be living alone (except when the daughters need a place to crash for a while). I plan to heat and cook with wood, will probably have a propane fridge. These folks are a young family of four that have been using the system exclusively for the past three years. They even run an electric dryer on occasion. He said he has no problem running his power tools. Their "two story barn" as he called it is 1,700 square feet. I'm hoping to build a 20' x 20'.

One thing he mentioned about the inverter is that being made for a marine application, it is quite durable, since it is made for a rougher environment. Most of the complaints I read in reviews had to do with weight, which obviously won't be a problem, and that the fan runs constantly. The owner said that he has his in a separate shed, so that is no problem. Even if it was installed in a closet, you wouldn't hear the fan. Not as big a deal as being in a small boat cabin, I guess.

I'm anxious to meet these folks, besides the solar deal. They are in an area where many people have been living off grid for thirty years. Ninety percent of them use a water catchment system as their sole source of water. Sweet! That's what I'm hoping to do. And composting, even doing the humanure thing...sounds like these guys could be a good resource for me all the way around.

Oh yeah, and he said you can even add a Whisper wind turbine to the inverter pretty easily. He has a friend that does that. I'm not sure if I could get a tower up high enough to get above my tress, but perhaps...

I'll keep you posted!

Louanne

P.S. I did find a PDF version of "Sunshine to Dollars" here. (http://www.knowledgepublications.com/sunshine_to_dollars_google_adwords2.htm)

[ChainsawGrandpa]

Well, you could do that....

or this:
http://www.loghomebuilders.org/six-cent-refrigerator

or this:
http://www.mtbest.net/chest_fridge.html

or even this:
http://techref.massmind.org/techref/other/zeolitefridg.htm

[Longhare]

I didn't get a chance to post an update about the system I was looking at. Unfortunately, before I could get out there to look at it, someone from Eastern Washington PayPal'd him the money, sight unseen...so this is the one that got away.

However, I've continued to check Craigslist frequently and I recently picked up a couple of panels from a guy in Tacoma (One is 100 watts, the other 110 watts, both by Shell). I paid $300 a piece. He also threw in an ACS charge controller, mainly because he had no idea what it did or how much it was worth ($50-75 new). He also gave me an old inverter that has obviously seen a lot of wear. It is an old Brutus TB24/12 Trusign. It probably spent it's life on some utility truck. I have no idea yet if it works or if it can be used in my setting, but if so, free is sure a good price! considering it's age, I was pleasantly surprised to find an owner's manual online.

This weekend, I found a nearly identical post, saying these were the last two panels left (he found two more he didn't realize he had). So I talked him down to $500 for the pair since that's all the cash access I had with weekend ATM's . So all told, I now have 410 watts of matching Shell panels (except for the extra 10 watts on the one), at $2.68/watt. Pretty decent, I think.

Louanne