DIY Extra Low Voltage solar power

We've been working on getting electricity happening here for a long time now. Lots of research, lots of learning, determining exactly how much we need and finding the components. It's been a learning experience, for sure, coming from not knowing what amps, volts or watts were, knowing nothing about electricity at all, really!

Building the battery box feels like nearing the end of the journey, rather than just the start.

Inspiration for the box and "wall" for the charge controller etc, came from a strange place. We had this wood frame that was attached to the 3-point-linkage carry-all we got at an auction. It wasn't much use to us on the carry-all, but it inspired us - in a rustic kinda way - to use it to build the holder for the power components. Just add a form-ply box for the batteries and.. you see it, don't you?

Fortunately, Marty sees my crazy plans, and runs with them. :)

It's sturdy. I weigh about the same as only one of the batteries though!

The top opens, the front comes off completely, making moving the batteries in and out (hopefully not often) a little bit easier. It takes both of us to lift a battery, and it took a few days of rest and a visit to the chiropractor after doing it. I'm not even joking!

The batteries are 12V 190AH each. All four of them will be hooked-up to give us 24V and 380AH all up. It should be enough to run the freezer, and I doubt they'll notice our little 3 watt light globes in the kitchen. Most everything else we re-charge (laptop, power tools, vacuum cleaner and mobile phones) are done during sunny days.

So, next up, we've attached a board at the back of the unit, and "Blue" (the Victron 150/70 MPPT charge controller) will be attached - once we've got a door to keep it safe from crazy weather.. After that.. well.. lots of maths, cable sizes, fuses and such. Maths isn't our strong point, so we're taking it slow and making triple-y sure we have it right before doing anything drastic.

Meanwhile, our old ute battery is still going strong - goodness knows how - with the old charge controller keeping it charged despite the weather. We have light, internet and gadgets.. but we're both looking forward to the day we can have a freezer too.

White stuff!

The most amazing hail storm hovered over us on Saturday. It could have been snow, but it would have hurt to stand under it for sure - given the noise on the tin roof.

The hail went in to the gutters, down the pipes and clogged-up the inlet for the water tank. It gushed out all down the side, and this pile of ice even hung around through the next day as well.

The hugel bed was drenched, but it held the water from running down the hill. Perfect!

The rest of the property didn't get as much soaking-in as that one spot did - it's the first time I've seen rain running down the side of the hill like that. Too much to soak-in. It flowed down the driveway, into the old diversion drain (that was here long before we were), and into the dam - sounding like a creek, bringing silt and dirt with it.

After the storm, we walked the property, looking at where the water came from, where it went and learning as much as we could. The sun came out for a short time, and it looked eerie with the dark sky from the storm beyond the trees.

It's been raining on and off for the last two days now. The water tank is full, the garden swales are full, and all the plants in the shade house is un-damaged. I'd say we were pretty lucky. The cottage didn't drip once, the fire kept us warm, and the lights and power remained steady. Speaking of power.. we're still working on that..

Permie Day Pictures

Today I got in the mail some pictures from our Permie day! I just have to share, it was just such a great day. :)

Karen - pruning an almond tree. I think there's an OH&S issue here! Risking life and limb for almonds. That's dedication!

The grape vine in front of us was pruned and shaped into a heart! So cute!

I really felt like I was going to bust a tire on the tractor doing this. Marty and I learned a lesson about hugelkultur beds that day - cutting the wood into more manageable sizes is a good idea before burying it in the ground. We thought this would squish the wood and branches down before covering it back over with dirt. Hmm. Well, it kinda worked.

Everyone worked really hard covering the hugel bed over with all the dirt, sawdust and compost we had. It wasn't easy! Marty and I would have taken forever to do this on our own.

An awesome bunch of friends that made the day so great. Thank you all so much! :)