Solar Project Update 6-25-17

It’s been a while since I’ve updated you on the progress of our off-grid solar project. We originally set out with a goal to be able to run a few lights, electronics and hopefully keep our freezer and fridge from thawing during a blackout. We started with the Renogy 200 Watt complete system to get up and running quickly with the ability to expand later ( you can view that system here).

Fast forward, we’ve upgraded that with a new 80 amp MPPT controller, 2 more Renogy GEL batteries, and a 1500 watt inverter tied to eight 100 watt panels. The charge controller we purchased turned out to be quite ineffective and actually not even an actual MPPT as advertised; sometimes you really do get what you pay for.

MPPT 80

In addition to that, we have added a 2nd smaller system by adding 2 sealed AGM batteries to our original 30 amp Renogy charge controller and 500 watt Renogy inverter. The system is powered by four 100 watt panels and now handles the lights and electronics leaving the larger system to handle the bigger appliances.

smaller system 2

sealed AGM

The original stationary 4 panel setup has been updated with 2 additional panels while we rigged up the additional panels to be mobile to increase our sunlight hours.

4 panels 2

6 panels

The additional panels are supported by nothing more than some 2 1/2 inch PVC pipe from Home Depot and a few zip ties. I know it sounds like a rig job, but it’s proven to be quite effective for our needs.

12 panels rigged panel

So here’s where we stand: both systems are maxed out except for batteries which we will continue to add to over time. The small system runs lights and electronics, while the larger system runs our chest freezer and microwave full time as well as the refrigerator, dehumidifier and several fans at times of abundant sunshine.

Our electric bill for May was $108 dollars or $3.51 per day vs. $167 or $5.36 per day for the same period last year. If that trend continues, the system will pay for itself in just under 3 years and we will have off grid back up power for many years to come.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

Happy prepping!

Flashback: Leftists Call For Harassment of Conservatives Everywhere – Including in Their Own Homes

Following the attempted assassination of several House Republicans I thought you might find this previous post relevant.

The left has a long history of violence, and that violence is escalating on a daily basis. The ‘open-minded’ are so enraged that not everyone thinks like they do that they are once again resorting to violence. Recently a writer for the ever anti-American Huffington Post spewed out an article (under the header of Queer Voices) entitled ‘To Save America We Must Stop Being Polite And Immediately Start Raising Hell’ in which he called for the escalation of “our outrage and our anger is a massive way.” He called for the harassment of conservatives everywhere including in their own homes while out of the other side of his mouth claiming that he is not calling for violence like the ‘thuggish behavior of the Trump supporters.’ Wink Wink Nudge Nudge

Left wing protesters

While I certainly support the right of all Americans to participate in peaceful protest, what we are seeing as of late is anything but peaceful. Burning police cars and smashing windows is NOT civil discourse. Let me ask you this, when have you seen conservatives throwing rocks and bottles at the police? When have you seen conservatives physically attack someone because they hold a different point of view? Reminder: it was Barack Obama who said “if they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.” For once I actually agree with Mr. Obama; bring a gun. I am in no way encouraging anyone to go looking for a fight, but I do strongly suggest that you be very aware of your surroundings and prepared to defend yourself and your family should the need arise.

Make no mistake; the left is looking for a fight and to defend our right to life we may be forced to give them one. I for one will not be harassed in my own home; anyone attempting to do so will dramatically reduce their own life expectancy.

Target Practice

I always use the tagline ‘Hope for the best, prepare for the worst’ and unfortunately the latter seems to be a more likely scenario. Off to the range I go.

Prepper Garden Update

Growing your own food is hard work, but can be fun and rewarding at the same time. You haven’t tasted fresh until you’ve eaten strawberries or blueberries you picked right from the garden and what’s more self-sufficient than growing your own food? So with that being said I thought I would give you a little update on how our first real go at gardening is progressing.

buckets 1

buckets 2

The strawberries continue to produce (slowly), but the blueberries have run their course for the year.

beans

The beans and peas are running; watermelon, cantaloupe and cucumbers are flowering and putting on babies. The seedlings we started inside seem to be doing well in the containers we keep on the deck.

buckets 3

The crows once again decimated the corn that we planted, but who would have thought you could actually grow some in containers?!?!? That plot will be reseeded as a second crop of green beans.

corn

The apple and peach trees we planted last month seem to have rooted well and are putting on new growth, however it’s too early to know if we’ll actually get anything off them this year.

peaches

Our little patch of carrots and radishes in the past has always been little more than a buffet for the many rabbits in the area. However, this little girl prowling the yard seems to have put an end to this problem.

Boo

We have a second wave of seedlings we’ve started inside that we need to get planted by the end of the week and we’ve started broccoli and cauliflower in trays on the deck. We’re hoping that if we keep adding new seedlings as the season progresses we can extend our harvest further into the fall.

peppers

That’s all here; hope you’re all having a great summer!

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst!

Happy prepping!

Gear Review: Comparing 4 Popular Solar Panels

When you’re starting out to either build or expand your off-grid solar system, how do you know what panels to buy? You read customer reviews and Amazon ratings till you’re blue in the face, but the fact is many of those reviews are from 1^st time buyers who have nothing else to really compare the product to. I have experienced this very same dilemma over the past 10 months and decided to share my results with you.

4 mono panels

I started my system by buying a prepackaged 200 Watt system from Renogy. (Read the review here.) The system came with two 100 watt monocrystalline panels which seemed to work well (again nothing to compare them to) so when I went to expand I simply bought two more for $139 each. The Renogy panels had a 4.7 star Amazon rating and good customer reviews. As I continued to expand, and of course so did the cost, I began to explore other manufacturers. My next purchase was two 100 watt polycrystalline panels from WindyNation for $112 each. They had a 4.4 star Amazon Rating with good customer reviews. About a month later I purchased two 100 watt polycrystalline panels from Newpowa for $100 each. They had a 4.6 star Amazon rating also with good reviews. The last purchase I made was two 100 watt monocrytalline panels from ECO-WORTHY for $115 each. They too were rated very well with a 4.5 star Amazon rating and again, good customer reviews.

So all in all I purchased panels from four different manufacturers (so far) priced between $100 and $139 with Amazon customer ratings ranging from 4.4 to 4.7. So is there really any difference?

Since I will be purchasing another 5 panels over the next couple of months, I decided it was time to do some real world testing on these panels. I waited for a nice, clear sunny day so the panels would be operating at their optimal output. I began the testing at about 1 pm when the sun is directly overhead at this time of year. Each panel would be tested for 10 minutes wired directly to the charge controller through a 15 foot 10 gauge wire with it’s average output taken as the final rating. I then repeated this process using one of the other panels from the same manufacturer to be as thorough and fair as possible. Note: I actually conducted a third test on the Renogy panel as I was suspect of the two previous readings.

The results: WindyNation polycrystalline panel:
Amazon rating of 4.4 stars cost of $112 output of 80.4 watts
Newpowa polycrystalline panel:
Amazon rating of 4.6 stars cost of $100 output of 92.92 watts
Renogy monocrystalline panel:
Amazon rating of 4.7 stars cost of $139 output of 85.26 watts
ECO-WORTHY monocrystalline panel;
Amazon rating of 4.5 stars cost of $115 output of 94.5 watts

To put this all in perspective, if I were to buy the 5 panels I need for my system, the following would be the cost per watt generated:

WindyNation: $560, 402 watts = $1.39 per watt
Newpowa: $500, 464.6 watts = $1.08 per watt
Renogy: $695, 426.3 watts = $1.63 per watt
ECO-WORTHY: $575, 472.5 watts = $1.22 per watt

And as always, your results may vary.

WN Newpowa poly

I should note that the build quality of all the panels is very similar with the Newpowa and WindyNation panels barely distinguishable from one another. I have spoken to Renogy’s customer service and found it to be very good, but I have not had opportunity or need to contact any of the others. Considering the results I will most likely purchase 2 more ECO-WORTHY Mono panels and 3 of the Newpowa Poly panels, but as with anything the price maybe different by the time I decide to make the purchase.

Disclaimer: I personally purchased all products through Amazon; none of the items were provided to me for testing.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

Happy prepping!

Common Myths About Prepping Part 2

There are lots of misconceptions about being a prepared citizen or ‘preppers’ as we’re often referred to. I would like to take a little time over the next week or two to address a few of those. Hope you enjoy

Preppers are all right-wing extremists

While many preppers/survivalists are driven by their political views, the movement is really as diverse as the population itself. Fact is, I personally know several folks that most people would consider to be ‘preppers’ who are definitely left of center. The desire to be prepared or simply more self reliant really has no political boundaries.

You live in constant fear/paranoia

Again, while this maybe true of some, most preppers I know find that being prepared gives them a certain peace of mind. Preparing for potential disasters is like buying insurance; if something bad happens, you’re covered. To me it’s like money in the bank; a job loss, ice storm, blackout, or civil unrest – I am covered.

Preppers are just religious zealots

Building an Ark? While many Christians will cite Proverbs 21 as a basis for their preparations “There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up”; not all Christians subscribe to this concept. I have even heard some Christians say that prepping is based on a lack of faith – though I disagree with this, the fact remains that some do believe this. Just as prepping is not limited to those who hold certain political beliefs it is also not limited by religious affiliation.

You have to have an underground bunker

While there aren’t any solid statistics to back up my conclusion (where would you even get those), this is clearly false. While the ultra rich silicone valley types may have such elaborate preps, the vast majority of us do not. Fact is, a pantry stocked with food, water and other basic supplies will get you through most disasters you might face. Disclaimer: I do have an underground bunker stocked with food, water, medical supplies, firearms, ammunition and communication equipment all powered by a solar back up system – it’s called a basement.

Preppers just hate Obama

“Clinging to their guns and Bibles” certainly didn’t endear him to many folks in this part of the country, but the fact remains that the prepper/survivalist movement long predates the Obama presidency – remember Y2K? Some say it began during the Cold War, others say that it goes all the way back to the Pilgrims. My parents were both depression babies and always prepared for “what might happen” – it was just what you did. While the movement may have picked up steam during this time, the basic premise is false.

You live in the mountains eating MREs and wearing camo

You might certainly get this impression if you look at the stereotypes that are often attached to the term ‘preppers.’ Fact is the term ‘preppers’ is often used as a derogatory description of the prepared citizen – and the very reason I chose it for the name of the website. True, I personally live in the mountains for a variety of reasons, however I do not OWN any camo and I absolutely hate MREs. No, preppers live in cities, suburbs, large towns, small towns, urban, rural and probably right next door to you.

What misconceptions about preppers have you heard?

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

Happy prepping!

Common Myths About Prepping Part 1

There are lot’s of misconceptions about being a prepared citizen or ‘preppers’ as we’re often referred to. I would like to take a little time over the next week or two to address a few of those. Hope you enjoy.

Prepping is expensive

Yes, we’ve all seen stories about Silicon Valley millionaires buying luxury underground bunkers and staging helicopters to whisk them away to a secluded island, but the average prepper is living on a budget just like you. Can it be expensive, of course, but that depends on you. You can spend $50 a month or $1000 a month; even $5 a week can make you far more prepared than your neighbors – slow and steady wins the race.

You have to have commando like skills

While skills are certainly an important part of being prepared, you don’t have to be skilled in hand-to-hand combat to prepare for most disaster situations. Are there preppers with a military background, absolutely; helpful, yes; necessary, no.

You are just gun nuts with an arsenal of guns and ammo

This is probably the most common misperception about preppers. While most preppers are keenly aware of the need for security, prepping is far more than collecting piles of guns and ammunition. Do you lock your front door, of course you do. Do you leave your keys in the car, I certainly hope not. Preppers tend to own firearms because they are aware of the world we live in and refuse to rely on someone else for their family’s security.

You are a delusional/conspiracy theory nut

You don’t have to be an Alex Jones fan to realize that natural and man-made disasters can, do, and will happen. I do not think that the government is reading my mail (although they obviously have the ability) nor do I think that aliens are secretly running our government – yes, I actually heard that one recently. Are there a few ‘different’ individuals in the prepper movement, of course, but isn’t that true of any group?

You are hoping for the end of the world

While I’m convinced that some of the folks appearing on ‘Doomsday Preppers’ are indeed hoping for the end, most preppers certainly do not. Preparing for a disaster is not an indication of hoping for one no more than carrying a spare tire in your trunk is hoping for a flat tire. Sorry, we like air conditioning too!

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

Happy prepping!

Practicing Your Preps

All the guns, ammo and equipment in the world won’t do you much good if you aren’t practiced and prepared to use it. I ran into this many years ago when we were transitioning into our current home. A strong thunderstorm rumbled through knocking out power across the area, no problem I thought as I had already brought the generator, but to my dismay the heavy duty extension cord that I would normally have used to power the refrigerator was not long enough to reach – fail. I thought I was prepared; generator, fuel, cord – but I had not tested the plan. If YOU have a generator, when was the last time you started it? Does it have gas; did you use a fuel stabilizer? The point is you need to test your preps periodically to make sure they will work in a crisis.

Recently I shared an article titled ‘Hey! That’s my water!’ in which the author tested their preps by turning off the water and the challenges they faced and the lessons they learned. Most people really don’t understand how much we take water and power for granted till it’s not there. Personally we have gone for days without power and tested our blackout preps, but I think I would have a really hard time convincing my wife to turn off the water! If suddenly the water supply stopped or was somehow contaminated, how long could you survive?

water 2

One area where I was lacking and I suspect I’m not alone, is in practicing with my firearms. I’m fortunate that I can practice safely on my property and avoid the range fees, but range time can be useful as well. Range time can help you smooth out your technique, dial in the sights or even get some professional instruction, all which are important. Some ranges actually have combat training which can be invaluable in developing your skills. Unfortunately I don’t have access to such a facility here so when I practice at home I like to work on those types of skills; shooting across your body, shooting on the move, etc. Practice, practice, practice; if you’re not properly prepared to use your weapon it might very well be used on you.

target practice 1

Being practiced and confident in your skills can turn a crisis into little more than an inconvenience.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

Happy prepping!