(Part 3) Top products from r/OffGrid

> wanted to be able to run fridge and laptop for a week at least before on solar before I have to turn on the engine and drive to my next spot

A normal laptop (10-90W), a small fridge (100-400W), and a room heater (900-1500W+) are orders of magnitude apart. The only time I've heard of anyone using an electric heater when camping was when he had an over-abundance of gasoline-electrical generator output, but one probably wouldn't want to run a generator at night due to noise.

> do you think these buddy heaters are save enough for children to be in the same room

A lot of people use propane heaters in RVs. Of course having a CO (Carbon Monoxide) detector and a fire extinguisher on hand is a must, even if burning a single candle. That aside, the most important thing is to assure adequate ventilation. Extra super-safety measure: set an alarm every 2 hours the first night to walk around the room and make sure the air is fine, nothing is overheating, etc.

When it comes to the possibility of leaks, propane is generally safer than natural gas, because: (1) You can smell it. (2) Propane vapors are heavier than air, so being higher off the floor is an added safety benefit (in addition to being more heat-efficient). (3) Buddy Heaters self-ignite automatically, so there's no chance of turning on the gas and forgetting to light the flame. You can get a propane leak detector as well (a separate function from CO detection, but possible to have both in one device).

I don't know anything about kids, but I don't think they are inclined to touch things that are very obviously very hot. I guess using some sort of a cage (around the heater, I mean, not the kids) would add an extra level of safety...

If you don't have the wood yet you might be in a pinch. I burn wood to heat our house all winter, but definitely not anywhere near -30c. How much wood depends on the type of wood. Each species has a different BTU rating. Some burn hot and fast others are low and slow. I tend to use both. I like Poplar to get the stove warm and Oak to bank it all night.

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I cut my own wood but if you don't you will need to be careful of sellers saying it is seasoned. A true seasoned piece of wood will be cut and split (generally) for a year. Some sellers will cut and split in the late spring/early summer and try to sell it in the winter. That won't cut it for most guys burning wood. I highly suggest investing into an inexpensive moisture meter. Split a piece of any wood that you are buying and test it. I try to burn at 20% or less.



Also, it might be really helpful for you to get a wall mounted propane heater. They are inexpensive (under $150 at the local big box store or on Amazon). Keep it on a thermostat to kick on if the wood fire goes out. Really helpful on punishing days. If you get the smaller 100 lb tanks you can take them to the filling station and have them filled cheaper than delivery.


Oh and get a carbon monoxide detector. If need to make sure you have enough fresh air in your house to support your wood burning stove and your ability to breathe!


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Wood Heat Value Comparison Chart

Clothes dry just fine on cloudy days on my regular old clothes line without any additional fans (I live in Seattle and have tested this extensively as it is cloudy most of the year here...) On those rainy days, I have a indoor drying rack that works great. If I am in a hurry I can set it up over top of my 30W fan and my clothes are dry in about an hour.

>Stretch a survival blanket, space blanket, or mylar across a frame.

Those survial blankets are not really ment for repeated use and end up being garbage after a few uses. That sounds like a great way to waste money on something that would only marginally improve clothes drying.

>Put wet clothes in an oven bag with pin holes.

That sounds like a really great way to severely restrict airflow which would be the absolute worse thing to improve drying times. Airflow is the key, not heat or thermal mass.

>Buy a cheap Styrofoam cooler.

I don't even know how you are imagining that this would dry clothes.

If thats the case I would see if they would let you pay for a second connection to their property and as long as you can get a Line Of Sight between you and them you should be able to use something like THIS to bounce if to your property pretty easily.

Otherwise as you say you could offer to foot a portion of the bill, the only issue with that is its very easy for one party or the other to tie up the whole line.

What type of connection do they have?

theres this stirling frigde that i want so bad http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Stirling-Cooler-Adaptor-Included/dp/B000A1FCIE you can plug this in your car and it draws super low energy and can even run when the car is off for days without depleting the battery. all while producing up to freezing temperatures. i wish omre things like this existed

A small compact cook stove. I've had this trangia unit for 10 years. https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B000S0DEAA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_aMtwDb3F6PAG4

I love it. I boil water and cook almost all our meals on it. It'll burn just about anything, I mainly use methyl hydrate. A gallon costs about $10 and lasts me a month.

And a "lilto kala" 18650 charger. I keep a bunch ofharvested cells charged up with this little charger. It's great for keeping phones and other electronics charged. It has a usb outlet so it can act like a power bank.

Edited to add link

is it possible to heat with a wood stove using a window stove pipe kit? Something like this would set up really easy and heat really well. https://www.amazon.com/TMS-Portable-Military-Camping-Ice-fishing/dp/B002XNWC8A/ref=pd_sbs_468_4/131-0161893-0365920?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B002XNWC8A&pd_rd_r=dfac21e8-10bd-4e5b-8b19-3ef04686d8a6&pd_rd_w=moH1a&pd_rd_wg=VXKVa&pf_rd_p=43281256-7633-49c8-b909-7ffd7d8cb21e&pf_rd_r=3GE8R0MDMX8V0C45T55P&psc=1&refRID=3GE8R0MDMX8V0C45T55P

Going that route you always have the option of easily adding an MPPT controller if you find you need more heat.

Just eyeballing an IV curve for a similar panel and applying 3 series 2 parallel, you probably want a heating element resistance of 8-15 ohms to maximize power, depending on solar irradiance. 10 seems like a decent compromise. The 120V, 1500W is close to this at 9.6 ohms. Another option is a 240V, 5500W (10.5 ohms) element which is readily available and would alleviate your concerns of burning out the element.

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-02363-Screw-Foldback-Element/dp/B0006IX8AK/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?crid=250KCI9AZDCMP&keywords=5500w+240v+water+heater+element&qid=1551025629&s=gateway&sprefix=5500w+&sr=8-5

Edit: Even though the 2x3 panel array can exceed 120Voc, it won't burn out the element because the load would drag the voltage down to the intersection of the IV curve and the straight line resistance. Solar panel voltage drops under Voc as soon as you start drawing current from it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MY0875V/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006JO0XI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I got these charge controllers they worked great as far as i can tell. no noise

get these cheap at thrift stores
https://www.amazon.com/Salsa-Master-Maker-Chopper-Blender/dp/B0046EKWE0/

if you have the $ hand crank blender
https://www.amazon.com/GSI-Outdoors-1304-1406-Vortex-Blender/dp/B001LF3I3O

maybe something like this will do then:
http://www.amazon.com/Camp-Chef-Camping-Outdoor-Burner/dp/B0013LLSZG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457038948&sr=8-1&keywords=small+gas+oven

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0026TBFIO/

I have these in my unpowered garage at my cabin. Put one in a window on each side, so not even direct exposure. One on my riding mower, and one on my go kart. After sitting for a good 5+ months, both machines fired like the batteries were brand new. Last winter I had to jump the mower after sitting for the winter.

Number one thing I tell people with the catalyst style none venting heaters.....install an inline filter. Any of those little pores clog and you get a incomplete burn. I use these religiously when filling 20lb to 1lb tanks. https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-Portable-Heaters-F273699/dp/B000HE8P2O

The ground at the plug is not necessary for solar.

To test the plugs that have a ground get Electrical Receptacle Ground Tester they are about $6-7.

The fans I used:
https://www.amazon.com/O2COOL-5-Inch-Portable-Fan-Gray/dp/B001B16VT6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1487261023&sr=8-3&keywords=battery+fan

Menards has them for the same price. This is the female fitting with a 12ft hose and 3/8 pipe thread end. The hose is tough, I walk on mine.

The big heater comes with the male fitting installed. For the small heater you could remove the internal regulator & replace it with the male side of the kit and run it to an external regulator.

Forget those, and get one of these firey little bastards!

Here's a bunch of mostly solar heating stuff.
Sorry if any links are dead. They include links to purchasable items I narrowed down by value for the price.
Some links are other sustainable living stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nGheClD-lY&feature=player_embedded#!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23kkZZN1ACs&feature=player_embedded
http://shop.ebay.com/greenpowerscience/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p4340
http://www.livingoffgrid.org/off-grid-self-sustaining-lifestyle-documentary-with-les-stroud/

http://www.edmundoptics.com/products/displayproduct.cfm?productid=2999

http://www.edmundoptics.com/products/displayproduct.cfm?productid=1364

http://greenpowerscience.com/SHOPARABLOICHOME.html

http://lights-china.com/goods-26-5m-SMD5050-60ledsm-waterproof.html

http://lights-china.com/goods-244-Waterproof-LED-Strip-Lights-SMD5050-12V30.html

http://www.firststreetonline.com/Home+Solutions/Lighting/Lighted+Full+Page+Magnifier.axd?sc=86678

http://www.seeitbigger.com/UltraOptix_Handi_Lens_Magnifier_Large_Pocket_Size_p/ubp-hl3p.htm

http://www.cd3wd.com/cd3wd_40/cd3wd/index.htm

http://www.fastonline.org/CD3WD_40/CD3WD/INDEX.HTM

http://books.google.com/books?id=VvyLShXydNgC&pg=PA128&dq=buckminster+fuller&as_brr=1&ei=o3eFS7yMA5mwywTaosC1Cw&client=firefox-a&cd=8

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/bdxzx/im_the_guy_who_replied_to_the_anyone_ever_dream/

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/c26p2/reddit_my_husband_and_i_want_to_live_off_grid/

http://www.herbach.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=HAR&Category_Code=SEC&Offset=40&Previous_Stack_Depth=4

http://www.amazon.com/HYBRID-POWERED-FLASHLIGHT-EMERGENCY-BATTERY/dp/B001NTT45Y/ref=pd_cp_hi_2

http://www.amazon.com/d-light-S10-Solar-LED-Lantern/dp/B004B924OG/ref=pd_sim_misc_4

http://greenpowerscience.com/PARABOLICDISHBIG.html

http://greenpowerscience.com/SOLARCOOKING.html

http://www.greenpowerscience.com/SHOPFRESNELHOME.html

http://www.edmundoptics.com/products/displayproduct.cfm?productid=2999

http://www.edmundoptics.com/products/displayproduct.cfm?productid=1364

http://greenpowerscience.com/SHOPARABLOICHOME.html

http://www.cd3wd.com/cd3wd_40/cd3wd/index.htm

http://shareable.net/blog/greener-pastures-with-lunatic-farmer-joel-salatin

http://www.skeptictank.org/hs/vanish.htm

http://www.animatedknots.com/indexclimbing.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com

http://www.cd3wd.com/cd3wd_40/cd3wd/index.htm

http://shareable.net/blog/greener-pastures-with-lunatic-farmer-joel-salatin

http://blog.modernmechanix.com/refrigerator-uses-solar-energy/

http://blog.cunysustainablecities.org/

http://www.animatedknots.com/indexclimbing.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com

http://www.amazon.com/HYBRID-POWERED-FLASHLIGHT-EMERGENCY-BATTERY/dp/B001NTT45Y/ref=pd_cp_hi_2

http://www.amazon.com/d-light-S10-Solar-LED-Lantern/dp/B004B924OG/ref=pd_sim_misc_4

http://willgadd.com/rappelling/

http://eartheasy.com/lifestraw

http://consciouslyfrugal.blogspot.com/

There are many battery conditioners that would most likely help your batteries. It is not a novice event. Most are 12v and would need to run about 20 hrs approx to break down the sulfate in the battery. If it were my system, I would disconnect every single battery and test. I am going to guess that there is a single bad battery with a single cell or 2 that is causing problems. Since the generator kicks on based on voltage, one single cell in one battery could be causing your problem.

To test, after disconnecting individual batteries they should all be reasonably close to the same voltage. Assuming they are 12v batteries each cell is 2V The batteries charged should be about 12.6 approx depending on the makeup. I am 95% sure that you will see one that is in the 10 zone. If you recondition that battery (if not able to be reconditioned replace that battery and you will be at worst back to original.

Back to the question of why does the generator kick on, it's because sulfate builds up on the plates of the batteries when the voltage drops. The battery conditioner breaks down the sulfate.

https://www.amazon.com/CTEK-56-353-12-Volt-Battery-Charger/dp/B000FRLO9Y/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1484954290&sr=8-3&keywords=ctek+battery+charger

I bought that one years ago and it has been a great tool!

Source - owned an worldwide known auto customizing shop and have fought every 12v problem you can think of!