First Day of Solar

We are now able to live "off grid" very comfortably. Our shore power has been turned off and we are learning what works and doesn't as we embrace this new technology. One problem we had was the high drain on our batteries whenever we turned on the "inverter". Checking the literature we should be drawing less than 1 amp/hr but we were using about 30 amps/hr. What was the problem? All lights were off, no coffee maker on, couldn't figure out what we were doing wrong. Sent an e-mail to Paul, explaining the situation and asking for help. Paul wrote back and said to .......... unplug the refrigerator. No more problem. Our refrigerator now runs on propane and the   batteries are much happier.

Our trailer in full sun, panels down and facing east. I was too lazy to detach the legs so just left them dangling over the side. In full sun we are getting 22 amps/hr from our 3 - 135 watt panels.

About 3pm I tilted the panels to the west to catch more of the sun's rays as it began to set for the evening.

In the early afternoon the ski became quite cloudy and the smell of smoke was in the air. We were concerned that we might be in danger but soon learned the firemen were doing a controlled burn in our area.

Last night it rained and this morning it is very overcast. We are still getting 1amp/hr from our panels, even without full sun.

Any questions about solar, don't hesitate to ask.

Safe travels

Day Four - Just About There

I thought for sure we would have been up on the roof by now, but today we spent on the ground. First off, was a trip to Lowes and Tractor Supply to get electrical parts. Don't forget we are fabricating as we go so have to improvise as new problems come up. Found the flexible pipe we needed to connect the battery box to the trailer and home we went.


The first job was remove the couch. It is crowded enough working in a trailer, without crawling over and under a couch to make electrical connections.

Now this is going to hurt. .............. Paul is about to drill two 1 inch holes in the trailer skin.  Hope he has measured correctly.

Click on this picture to see how large the cable is coming from the batteries. That cable will carry some serious amps.

Last job for the day was connecting the battery cables. Paul uses 04 gauge wire, which is heavy and capable of carrying the battery voltage we need.

If you click on the picture above and look closely at Paul's T-shirt you will see what happens when you carry batteries against your clothes............. holes! Remember to wash everything that touches battery acid immediately.

Tomorrow for sure we will be up on the roof installing the panels. Check back in 24 hours.