!!EMERGENCY!! Power. What you have and have seen work. And what you want.

I thought I'd start this here, since our front page is getting a little long, and we have discussed emergency power there quite a bit.

We all want a 3 gigawatt solar/wind plant. But getting there might be a long haul. I'd like to know what we have actually got that we use, or have seen others use successfully.

I'm going to start it off with a solar battery charger. I bought a 4 AA cell solar charger in 1993. It worked, but it took more than a full day of strong sun to charge the batteries. Still, it was something, and something is better than nothing.

Then last year, I got this little guy. The big draw for me was that it would do not only AA, but AAA, C and D cells, too.

I was camping at a lake 15 miles from home, and had run down a set of AA's, so put it to the test. I loaded it in late morning, and checked them in late afternoon, not expecting them to be up much. OH YEAH?!? They were fully charged. 4 - 1800 mAH NiMH bats for those interested.

Being solar, the batteries are not being zapped with a heavy charge, so I am betting it will be safe to rejuvenate alkalines, too, but only refresh them. There's not much to do with a totally dead alkaline.

My Icom T90A HT will transmit 1/2 watt with a pair of AA bats, so that is my purpose for this.

The good thing I like is it does 4 size batteries. The bad is you HAVE to do 4 at a time for it to work properly, and they have to be the same size. Should be the same mAH capacity, also, though I'm not certain on this.

They are probably available from a lot of sources, but since Emergency Essentials has been giving me great service for nearly 18 years, I will give their link.

http://beprepared.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_CM%20B475_A_name_E_Solar%2...

jonesey65244
KC0OUF

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Permalink Reply by Minuteman on November 18, 2009 at 9:47pm

Well I recently did alot of research on the off grid solar stuff. Here is the best system that I could find:

http://sunelec.com/index.php?main_page=2000_watt_off_grid_system

This puppy will truely make you toast in the morning on a cold winter day...but that's about 2000 dollars a slice.

Up here anything less than a 2000W system with reserve batteries (12 x 225Ah) is not worth doing on a large scale. This system, believe it or not, is an excellent deal. Up here in the northeast we count on a sun factor of 2.8 hours daily in the winter. With this specification, and keeping the panels clear of snow/ice, you are good for 700W round the clock production by my calculations. Less if it is stormy. Not the ultimate solution but certainly viable if alternative heating fuels are utilized.

Oh yeah, count on replaceing the batteries every 5 to 7 years at $120 a pop too..... Wind is a negative here the thing would just sit there most of the time. I've got an appointment with a solar survey company on Monday at the QTH. They are talking $16000 for an installed grid tied system with no backup. They can come but my checkbook is staying in the safe....

You can get a 30% tax credit for a professionally installed solar system right now. The IRS are making it a voucher as well in 2010 or 2011.... still pricey. Here's a system in my town. The guy is an engineer and combs through he output daily. He's generating around a 20% total savings at his home. At my home that would equate to around $25 a month. ROI is very long with solar. He is using the $16000 grid tied system...ouch!

http://stevetodd.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/12/index.html

So I'm with you Jonesey, I'll stick to the battery charging for power packs and such for now. The Marine battery and a 45W system for the home just for comms and the new generator for bullwork on feeding the home. I'm looking into ARES and the solar comms will be a plus there to participate.

Thanks for the charger link. It is a handy device for sure.

KB1TDQ

Permalink Reply by David A Jones on November 20, 2009 at 5:30pm

Here's something else I've been eying for several years. A Propane generator. I have my small Honda 500 Watt, and in a pinch, it has helped me in the past OK.

But I would like something a little larger, and since I have propane here, and it doesn't get "old," I am weighing in that direction rather than gasoline.

I am not looking for anything that will run round the clock for weeks on end. I want to be able to intermittently run high watt items. Clean clothes comes to mind, eh? I remember back in the 90's, the cute chick on the back page of American Survival Guide hawking the China Diesel gennies. Those were some bigguns, and my bet is there are many still out there chugging along.

Have any of you actually had experience with a propane gennie? Amazon has a 3500 Watt for $450. Has decent reviews. And the thing I most like with Amazon...NO TAX, NO SHIPPING. Their return policy is pretty good, too.

Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/PG30P11-4-Cycle-Propane-Portable-Generator/dp...

later guys,
jonesey65244

Permalink Reply by Minuteman on November 21, 2009 at 11:51pm

Jonesey I have no direct experience with the propane generators 'cept a monthly start-up checklist at a healthcare facility I used to supervise at. It was a big Onan unit. I can say this however that all of the whole house solutions at homes that I have been are propane or natural gas.

I see the advantages of propane like generators but don't have it handy here. I think the permiting is easier around here for propane vs gasoline/diesel storage. It is spill clean-up oriented I think, less of a problem with LPG I assume. Even new external heating oil tanks need a catch basin installed up here nowadays.....

That looks like a fair deal on the generator. It has great reviews too. I'd go for LPG if I had the choice but the tank rentals are steep if you don't use a minimum amount of fuel here.

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