mtnpop
Senior Nomad
Posts: 597
Registered: 9-8-2009
Location: Colorado/mulege
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off grid energy question
I know, I know there are hundreds of posts about solar and many, many experts here on the subject...
This question should be easy and doesn't need boo coo commentary on everything out there...
My question??
Northern Tool has a solar and a wind package that sell for under $2K either one... they are called NPower systems and say they are 1800 watt...
Does anyone have experience or knowledge about these packages.. What they would support or not support??
There are several reviews on their website but thought I would check here to see if anyone has actually used either.
I am not interested in what you have or have designed for your use. I also know you usually get what you pay for and these might be just that...
thanks in advance if you know about these packages..
Common sense is a flower that doesn\'t grow in everyone\'s garden.....
A wise man once spoke nothing.....
Never kick a cow chip on a hot day!!
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Johannes
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Registered: 9-29-2006
Location: / Loreto/Kenmore,WA
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Mood: I love it in Loreto
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the system is a 300 Watt one . Read the small print: 2 Versatile NPower 150 Watt crystalline solar panels (Item# 27829) provide efficient power. It's
ok to power a light in a cabin. Even in Baja you get only 5 hours usable sunshine , so in a day you are lucky getting 1kW of power, that is not
enough to run a fridge, but you can run theoretically 10 60 watt light bulbs for 10 hours. You need to empty the batteries to more than 50% reducing
them to a less than 3 year item. Look at their web page and check
<http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/category_alternative-renewable-energy+complete-power-packages+complete-solar-packages> and there they
are more reasonable advertised at $4999. for what you get. Calculate your needs and plan accordingly. What do you want to power and for how long,
that is what you have to look at.
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monoloco
Elite Nomad
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Location: Pescadero BCS
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You could get a lot more bang for your buck buying the components and putting together your own system. 300 watts of panels are about $350 or less, 2
golf cart batteries with twice the storage as the ones in the kit $200 at Sam's Club, a 1500-2000 watt msw inverter and charge controller $4-600, and
you are in for about 1K. You could probably find deals on craigslist or ebay and be in for even less than a grand for a comparable or better system
than what they are offering.
"The future ain't what it used to be"
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mtnpop
Senior Nomad
Posts: 597
Registered: 9-8-2009
Location: Colorado/mulege
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finally maybe am seeing the light "no pun intended".. They are listing these packages at 1800 watts,, so that is the watts generated in a 6 hour
average day using 2 150 watt panels or 300 watts per hour... depending on the wind the turbine might generate more daily watts..
Have also been looking at packages and equipment from Backwoods Solar in Idaho,, several friends have use them and are very happy with their systems..
Have a neighbor in Colorado with a bunch of extra solar panels for sale "new" that are 260 watt 36v 7.63 amp asking $260 each
oh well, just keep on keepin on... gotta get the plan together someday..
thanks
Common sense is a flower that doesn\'t grow in everyone\'s garden.....
A wise man once spoke nothing.....
Never kick a cow chip on a hot day!!
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
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Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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Panel cost
We are looking at new panels here in Ensenada that run out at about 96 cents a watt. Offer your friend $250 a panel.
Wind is a great supplement to solar.
[Edited on 12-30-2013 by bajaguy]
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steekers
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Registered: 12-4-2007
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Hola mtnpop. I live in Sn Felipe and while I do have grid energy from CFE, I also have a full Outback inverter, charge controller, battery monitor and
various hardware. I use it as a mobile energy station, like that of the military.
I would recommend you stay away from the Northern Tool, Harbor Freight type outlets as they have inferior products. Most stuff is made in China these
days, but the specs on the good China stuff is more robust.
There are now many sources of panels out there so do some research on the best wattage for your money.
Hope that helps...good luck.
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ncampion
Super Nomad
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Location: Loreto
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As Johannes says, start backwards, first determine what your power usage is, then work back to select inverter, charger, battery bank to support that
usage. People often ask me "how many panels do I need?" I answer, One, if it's big enough. There's so simple answer to a properly designed solar
package.
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larryC
Super Nomad
Posts: 1482
Registered: 8-11-2008
Location: BoLA
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With some smart shopping you can almost always do better buying your equipment piece meal than buying a Chinese kit from Harbor freight or Northern
tool. If you are just going to power some lights and a tv then a modified sine wave inverter will work just fine for you but if you want to run a
refrigerator or anything with a motor then you should get a pure sine wave inverter. The extra panels your friend is selling are good but with that
high a voltage you will need to use an mppt charge controller (if you are going to set up a 12v system) they are more expensive than pwm charge
controllers. Those panels will work fine with a 24v or a 48v system and a pwm controller.
Do as Johannes suggested and come up with a plan for what you want your solar system to do and then build it accordingly. Which usually means double
it.
Good luck
Larry
Off grid, 12-190 watt evergreen solar panels on solar trackers, 2-3648 stacked Outback inverters, 610ah LiFePo4 48v battery bank, FM 60 and MX60
Outback charge controllers, X-240 Outback transformer for 240v from inverters, 6500 watt Kubota diesel generator.
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baconjr
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Registered: 7-14-2012
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Mood: Es la vida de perro!
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We have just had installed a solar system by a fellow Jose Banuelos at Ensenada. Solar@hotmail.com. I got his name and Information from
Conermex.com.mx. They are the distributors for Outback in Mexico. I am very pleased with his service, quality and prices. He has access to all the
professional products ,Outback, Schneider Electric, Deka etc. He speaks good English and makes use of Google Translate. Contact me if you have any
questions.
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