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22 Comments

  1. I really liked your article on this subject Captain Steve. Perhaps, sometime, you could extrapolate on travel trailer types, systems placement, pros and cons of such and any other relevant information such as brand names of equipment. This topic interests me and I would like to learn more. Any sources you could provide for research would be appreciated. Thank you for sharing. Stay safe sir.

  2. Excellent article. I appreciate the author’s willingness to share his success and failures through trial and error, and to help educate SurvivalBlog readers. Would love to see additional articles involving alternative energy.

  3. Hope some comments will be added assuming you have a rapid stream available. I really liked this article because of the authors mindset,,,reminds me of a younger me. At my remote cabin, I turn off the grid once a month for one day (have deer in the freezer to prohibit a second day), and my life changes so little as to get visitors attention… mountain marv

  4. To help some of the folks who are starting out, I’d add some links to some of the successful items you’re using now. To get to my AE solution, I wasted a lot of money on inverters, and controllers that were,,, of poor quality,,, so to speak.

  5. Good write up. Our experience is much the same. Life on a sailboat, cruising and living aboard for years. We started out initially with 4 , six volt in series. We had a built-in diesel genset aboard. Noisy and smelly we went with solar a year later. I installed 4, 140w panels on an arch over my cockpit. I originally planned a wind generator in the works but left that out. I was on a passage across the Gulf of Mexico in a blow for days on a delivery. The blade of one of the wind generators on the boat came off, flew across the boat and sliced it’s way through the bimini, coming to rest empedded in the cockpit locker. The solar worked for us for years. It was just two of us, minimal crew. We really never “watched” our power useage levels since we just naturally lived simple. We didn’t use microwave, though we had one. My wife doesn’t believe the “safety” claims of it. Never needed airconditioning unless in stuffy marinas where we “plugged” into shore power.

  6. I really appreciate the article. Could you supplement it with information on what brands you consider quality? Either with links or just a reply in the comments section listing good brands to consider, perhaps broken down by type (panels, controllers, batteries, etc.)
    For instance, I have several times recently seen PV panels offered at consignment auctions. They typically have little or no markings and no info on output. They pretty much all seem to be Chinese manufacture. With little or no info they either sell very high ($75-$100 each) or go for very little ($10 each).
    More information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for the article!

  7. You would be better off using large military ammunication boxes and coating the gaskets and hinges with copper emulsified Jet Lube to provide lid connectivity. EMP susceptibility depends upon strength of the pulse, distance from the pulse origination, and the targeted equipment. Of these three, only the latter is under our control. Best, Panhandle Rancher

  8. I have been using solar for years on my motor homes and travel trailers. IMHO the secret is to create a small system and live within those limits. The bigger the system, the heavier it is, the more it costs and more that can go wrong. There is plenty to run lights at night, power two laptops for hours or the TV. But that is all I need. I have a 200 watt panel and two 12 v deep cycle batteries. I have seen 1000 watt + systems with 6 golf cart batteries. I have seen people running a generator all day. Each of my 4 motor homes had nice expensive generators but I either never ran them or ran them every two months to keep them lubed and ready. When I go South I don’t use the air conditioner. In fact I never use the air conditioner, just like the expensive generator the expensive air conditioner seems useless to me. If it’s too hot to be inside then we sit and eat outside, no big deal. So again the secret is keep the system small and live within it’s abilities.

  9. A tip of the hat to you, Captain Steve. Your article is well-written, useful information that every serious survivalist/prepper who visits this blog should read.

    I do agree with Fizbin. Adding links to useful items will assist readers.

  10. A couple of salient points: My wife and I lived on a sailboat for most of twelve years. We used six Trojan 6 volt golf cart batteries. We kept them topped up using solar power. This was on Mexico’s west coast. If you are not in a mostly-sunshine area solar power is MUCH less effective. We also charged the batteries with the engine-mounted 100 amp alternator when we were motoring.

    A word about high-output alternators: they get hot. The higher the output the more heat they generate. That heat will eat the diodes in the alternator. Especially in a sailboat because the engine is tucked away in a place that doesn’t get very good ventilation. Learn how to replace diodes and keep a stock of backups. To give an idea of how much heat I’m talking about, I tried soldering the pigtails of the diodes to a connector but the solder would melt.

    Another thing: Search for inefficiencies. We kept a laptop computer aboard for recreation and for email via HF radio. The computer we used was a Toshiba. I checked the internal battery and it was rated at 11 volts. The charger produced 17 volts. So, I found an electrical connector that fit the charge port of the computer and connected it directly to the boat’s 12 volt system, rather than using an inverter and the computer’s charger. There is inefficiency in both the inverter and the charger. Connecting directly to the DC did away with that. The system worked for all twelve years, including several computer upgrades.

  11. Thanks to Captain Steve,
    Sage advice indeed.
    I also discovered low quality flooded lead acid batteries from big box stores a poor investment.
    Here in The Republic of Texas, I have found what works best for our solar plant is a flexmax 80 charge controller, Gopower 2kW pure sinewave inverter and eight Trojan T1275 twelve volt batteries.
    I bought the charge controller and inverter online and the batteries and panels locally.
    I have found building solar panels unnecessary as prices are very reasonable for comercially produced panels.
    In the summers I can run a 800 Watt window unit, a refrigerator and two freezers each drawing 200 Watts weather depending. Comms are on independent solar powered deep cycle batteries.
    In winter we just grid tie as little cooling needed.
    The first Gopower inverter failed after about nine years.
    I have a 1.5 kW inverter in our diesel farm truck for back up and field use, burns about a quart of diesel per hour idling.
    I check battery water about every two months and have to add about one gallon of distilled water among the eight batteries.
    Watch Amazon and eBay as prices dip ocassionaly.
    Thank you and may The Lord continue to bless us all.

  12. I liked the article very much and I have been thinking of making my garage solar power for lights, tool charging and host of other things.
    Just an FYI is 2019 is the last year for the 30% credit of the systems cost.

    And for people that do not know the difference from deduction and credit, the credit is applied to taxes owed.

    Anyway, great article

  13. Interesting article. Thank you.

    I would have enjoyed doing my own solar system but could not for a few reasons. We asked Sol-Ark to install 12V panels with their 8K inverter a year ago. It runs our 2400 ft sq house now with 3 days of battery backup. And EMP resistant/proof. The peace of mind made it worth every penny.

  14. Jake, The 500 units were part of a kick start program that I became involved in. The unit is designed to protect devices beyond the electrical box. He plans to also make a version to protect solar/wind installations.

    Like the Captain, I found it to be a long road, with plenty of mistakes, before arriving at a whole-house backup system. I now have a solar and wind turbine solution that I have been trying to figure out how to protect against EMP/CME. I have known Dr. Bradley for quite sometime and believe he will provide good support for the device. The first 500 have all been presold and he plans to go into regular production.

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