We're in our late 50s, I'll be 60 soon, guess comfort is relative to personal discipline. My wife is on board and well taken care of. Your expectation of being taken care of by the government, rather than being proactive speaks volumes.

Says the man connected to the grid! 🤡🤡

LOL good one!!! That is for my gaslit wife who wanted to stay connected for a year to be sure we had all seasons covered.

Thank you! I hope it helps.

Good question, 3 part answer. I wanted to minimize the work the Sol Ark does. Since the gen and turbine are only used to charge the batteries it is more efficient to bolt them right to the bus bars. Lastly I will eventually use the "Gen" port on the Sol Ark as a dump load to the water heater or AC. The "Gen" port is both in and out current capable.

Thank you very much for that info, I will look into it for my wife and the dishwasher. I will stick with the cold showers they are refreshing and better for you.

Wow I knew Europe had a lot of solar but didn't know it was too much for the grid. Wonder if America will get there...no time soon I'd guess.

Thank you, sorry it's so long but I wanted to give a lot of info.

@@goingoffgridatgreenshireho435 No need for apologies. Tell it like it is and those worthy will appeciate your efforts. All others sobeit.

Sorry I don't have the best camera, I'm just a guy trying to help people with ideas on what works for us. I figured most computers had speakers to turn up to help but I've had 2-3 others comment on this problem.

I am so sorry!! I took photos but I have a flip phone and can't get them to attach to the reply and can't do a video now because a buddy 30 miles away has to down load them to the channel for me, my computer doesn't have the data to down load videos. Don't have the knowledge to walk you through it, an electrician did mine.

I have a video on the turbine alone. If you click on the Greenshire tree emblem it will open the channel and you'll see the turbine video. It is a 1600w from Missouri Wind and Solar with a preassembled control board. There are different control boards for lead acid and lithium batteries. The turbine mounts on a 2" sch 40 steel pipe, the cable runs down through the pipe then through conduit to the control panel. The cable has 3 wires that connect to the rectifier on the control panel, then the 2 battery cables from the charge controller connect to the battery bank. I was alone and it took me a day and a half from start to finish. Once it's all hooked up call MWS and they will walk you through programing the Midnite Classic which is easy to do. The assembly of the turbine blades and tailfin itself is easy with clear photo instructions. The video will detail most of this for you.

I will plan to do a video on the entire wire system by opening the wire way and panels...good idea. The thickness of cloud cover is what matters. With average clouds we take in enough power to fill the bank and run loads. Let me say my wife is a good sport and our friends roll their eyes a lot. With thick cover and no power coming in we will CONTROL our usage more (no laundry, dishwasher, blow dryer, curling iron, very short warm shower for my wife, I ALWAYS take cold showers), and be able to run about 3 days. However that is what the Chargeverter is for, emergency charging of the batteries. When the sun sets we use 5-6kw till sun up. During the day the batteries get topped off and stay full and if NOT using the A/C we use about 7-9kw. The past couple weeks the Sol-Ark has taken in 15-16kw from the panels, 5-6 to bring batteries full, 2-3 to keep em topped off, 7-9 to run the loads. We are very well trained on power usage from our 6 years of grid tied solar and my DAILY monitoring of our usage.

The voltage on your batteries needs to be low enough to allow charging, has the soc dropped enough? Mine has shown good voltage coming in till the voltage reducer kicks in due to the soc of the batteries being too high. Don't give up on it too soon.

@@goingoffgridatgreenshireho435 I do know all about solar and battery charging. I did extensive testing with wind turbines as have others on YT. Unless you have sustained winds of over 25mph Wind Turbines are a waste of time. The only exception is when it is very cloudy getting nothing from your solar panels and it you have sustained winds. It will help then but probably not as well as you may hope. I hope your experience is better.

Thanks, that is why I got it for the below freezing, cloudy days of winter. Especially when its snowing, that's when 30-40 mph wind blows across my hill top. I love this stuff and can talk on it for hours!

Thank you. I see your concern, but we have no trees to the west and a vast flood plain out there. Those trees are south, and the wind will come from the west and NW in winter. My batteries stay full spring-fall. This has been a year of learning, going well so far.

Sounds like your building a nice system. I hope the turbine will charge my batteries well this winter, I will advise further. That gen will probably need to be replaced with at least a 50A to charge those batteries. I have an EG4 Chargeverter and it will raise my 600ah 48v bank 20% in 2 hours burning 2 gallons of propane.

OK, not a big deal but a bit of info for you...we have a 15-20 breeze today and the batt voltage is at 54, full is 57, but the clothes drier is running so were pullin hard from the solar. With all that going on the turbine is spinning decently and the MPPT is charging at 1.3A into the batteries. not a big deal but its doing its job. More to come.

Drier is off, batteries are full, turbine still spinning but MPPT is "resting" Auxiliary 2 on the Classic shows voltage reducer has kicked in. I think winter will bring good results.

I have talked with Signature Solar's tech support about running it at 100A. It can be done but I hate to push it to the limit and with the current settings it raises the bank 20% in 2 hours with 2 gallons of propane. As seldom as I use it I could probably push it harder but...

@@goingoffgridatgreenshireho435 Understood,well yeaj i get it,good thinking.

As time goes by and my confidence raises, the amps on the Chargeverter will probably raise too! Thanks for watching!

Too early to tell. The batteries stay near full and I mounted it in August so not much wind yet. Come winter with clouds and wind I will find out what it can do and post more info. In winter we will have consistent 20-30 mph winds.

@@goingoffgridatgreenshireho435 Thanks for your reply! Will be eager to hear your response and experience with this. We just installed a 4k Vertical wind turbine, but we didnt had much luck with wind here either.... max 8.95mph that would give a sad output of 8v :( (the battery discharges faster that what could charge!), but we are still hopeful, we just have 3mtrs up, so that dosnt help either even though there are some trees around the coast its mostly clear...it seems for now its just a lack of strong winds. Will let you know if I have any news in my end as well, and look foward for yours! Happy off grids

I will put out a video when I have enough info to talk about. Thanks for keeping in touch in the future! Good luck

OK, not a big deal but a bit of info for you...we have a 15-20 breeze today and the batt voltage is at 54, full is 57, but the clothes drier is running so were pullin hard from the solar. With all that going on the turbine is spinning decently and the MPPT is charging at 1.3A into the batteries. not a big deal but its doing its job. More to come.

Drier is off, batteries are full, turbine still spinning but MPPT is "resting" Auxiliary 2 on the Classic shows voltage reducer has kicked in. I think winter will bring good results.

That was my first plan but then I saw the 11/4 pipe next to the 2"and inspiration caught me. I think this bond is much more solid and will handle vibration and Tork better.

This is why the KZbin world is outstanding. Guys can learn from each other as we put our plans in action in a real-world scenario. Your post here may help someone with future plans. Thank you!

Absolutely, all components are designed to work specifically with 48v.

Sorry!! It has one but the camera I use is cheap. This was not something I planned to do. I can't even download or even watch my videos because my computer has very limited data. Some buddies bought me the camera and told me I was going to do this. When I shoot a video, I give them the disk and they upload everything for me. LOL never even thot to do this!

What’s your energy usage typically? 300kwh seems a bit excessive. But sounds like a really cool system

Good Lord. I think that’s enough power to run the USS Nimitz

@@andrewdavenport6696 10 of those bateries have like 50 kw/h power,not 303,i think it a typo

@@83kaszas 10 Racks, not 10 batteries

@@jordanrobinson5817 oh right,i just re-read it,holy moly,thats alot of power XD

The noise is a low hum I do not find loud or anoying at all. It may be the massive wood post I have the thick sch 40 pipe mounted to, absorbs vibration, minimizing noise. The blades on this model are only 32 inches, longer blades will be louder.

Well our monitor crashed for our computer a few days ago but back up now. Wanted to get back to you right away. We had not had good winds yet when you asked about the noise. Well we had 30-35 mph winds a couple days ago and it was noisy in the shop. I did not find it annoying but I'm hard to annoy. However there was a whining hum when it was spinning in that 35mph wind. Using sections of water pipe insolating foam may help. But I'm ok with it as it is.

It has produced some power. We had good wind off and on end of Sept (15mph). I watched the Classic display climb to 1200 watts. My batteries were full so the voltage reducer kicked in to controlled the output. The "cut in" is 6mph but it takes about 12 mph to produce a reading on the Classic. In winter I will have a real world picture of its power when the soc of my batteries is lower and the wind is blowing harder 20-30 mph. Cost of package $3,000 / pipe $60

Too high cost for wind turbine and not reliable at all, better to put more solar and batteries than wind turbine, atlest in Australia where solar panels and LIFEO4 is dirt cheap. A free washing machine motor that you can find from the side of the roads can produce more than this $3000 worth wind turbine.

I'm not Savey enough to build a turbine from an old washer. I think I have enough solar, it's the heavy cloud cover here in winter that is the problem and more solar won't do the trick. We have great wind in winter so I'm hopeful it will work for me.

Interesting question! The wind from the condenser would probably not be adequate. However bolting a vertical axis turbine to the condenser fan shaft might work. Don't know if that would cause excessive wear on the fan barrings and it would only generate power while the condenser ran. About 90% of the power I will get from mine is in winter because my batteries stay full the rest of the year so wouldn't work in my system.

Thank you. Still working well as it was intended.

LOL, yes sir serious. It is odd but I have a lot to do and efficiency is important....this works great!! I wanted to share it.

There are 24 panels for 6.9kw. They are wired in 3 legs of 8 going into the Sol-Ark. While grid tied I read the meter everyday and we would produce about 30-35kw on a good peak season day, about 20-25kw during winter. Off grid the Sol-Ark is taking in 15-20kw a day to run the loads and top off the batteries. We do not have a dump load yet to redirect the extra power made by the panels so it is waisted. We learned, while grid tied, how to manage our loads for maximum efficiency before going off grid...it paid off and the batteries are usually above 80% when the sun comes up in the morning and they are full again by noon.

My plan the spring of 25, is to incorporate this system into drip lines....I will do a video when I see how well it works on gravity fed tanks.

I dry the sumac and freeze elderberries. Sumac grows abundantly on my property so I harvest a lot of fresh clusters, but the ones I store, I dry. Eating "clean" is rare now a days with all the prepackaged and "fast food" people are used to. Foraging free makes fresh food that much more appealing!

If done today, by Monday your eggs will be clean! Fantastic!!

Excellent! It will make all the difference for your eggs.

Many thanks!

You would need a turbine and a generator with a Chargeverter. The turbine I am installing is small but should help keep my batteries full in winter and my EG4 Chargeverter has worked well when I test it once a month while exercising my Cummins gene. I also heat 100% with wood.

LOL!!! Thank you, Oh my, I have seen some amazing wire jobs and I think how has that house not burned down!

@@goingoffgridatgreenshireho435 you're welcome! I have five more years to go before I can retire and I'm in technical support now and I'm just so disappointed in the lack of training with electricians and solar contractors these days. It's super hard to keep my chin up and smile and be enthusiastic.

I know all about being disappointed by substandard personnel and training. Just do the right thing for the right reason and watch over your corner of the world. You can't do more than that. Those 5 years are gonna fly by then you can close your circle of responsibility, take a step back and relax a little. Chin up, power through, there's still good men out there.

Sorry we had severe storms leaving me without internet last night and today. During the time we were grid tied we averaged 31KWh a day, but that included what we sent to the grid...so maxed out with no waste. Off grid we are averaging about 19KWh a day because we don't have the grid or any other "dump load" to send the extra power to. Since April 17, 2024, we have produced 2200KHw through the Sol-Ark, so I think the math on that is close to my figures. Hope this answers your question well.

@@goingoffgridatgreenshireho435 storms really suck. I produce 1,200-1,800 kWh AC per month. I enjoy watching your solar evolution

My turbine and the control panel with the charge controller are mounted and installed, I'm still waiting for my power cable to arrive then I will have it up and running...hopefully by next weekend!

@@goingoffgridatgreenshireho435 what type of turbine did you go with?

Missouri Wind and Solar 1600w / 48V /Falcon 3 with pre-wired control panel and MidNite Classic 250 charge controller. About $3000 and DIY install...can't find an electrician to help. Mounted through the roof of my shop with a 2" schedule 40 galvanized pipe. I'll have a video when its done.

LOL...My wife gets tired of me pointing them out roadside. Great to make good stuff out of free, natural, clean food.

Thanks...I bet it does!

LOL!! People are suggesting what I already have is too expensive. As time passes and I play with our settings, I find what we have is working great. But I'm still not going to take warm showers! The turbine I have coming should be up and running in a couple weekends, I think it will make a big difference in keeping the batteries full. And Thanks!

@@goingoffgridatgreenshireho435 There is allot of evidence to support that cold dips or showers are good for you in many ways. I have a tiny blow up hot tub on my bedrooms balcony that I dip into most mornings....all that aside... Yes it's expensive, but the piece of mind you enjoy along with the fact you will get a return on your investment over the long run makes it worth while as I'm pretty sure all ready know.

Just went for a run and per your comment, I thought about 4 more batteries...pulling 1 out of my current cabinet and having 2 cabinets of 5. 50wk is more than we would need. I'll get the turbine up and we'll run through fall and winter and see how it goes. As you know its good peace of mind just being off-grid!!

@@goingoffgridatgreenshireho435 Oh, you have a turbine too? Now I'm a bit jealous. lol...I have 22k solar and 130kwh of diy 280ah cells in Ell boxes with jk BMSs and I still need to run the genny a bit in the winter...I burn 200-300 litres of diesel a year. I went with two eg4 18ks and victron busbars.. If I had a little turbine, even 500 to 1kw...that would make a huge difference and could have got away with quite a bit less solar/battery and no diesel needed. Are you planning to do a few vids on the turbine? If so, I should subscribe and turn on notifications. Cheers.

Its a 1600w and should get here this week. Hoping to have it operational in 2 to 3 weekends. Will do a video on the install when I'm done and one a month or so later to speak on how its working.

On an average , no A/C day, we use about 15-20kw a day. With the A/C running we use about 30kw. When we were grid tied we used less power, sending more to the grid to increase our credits. Now we use more power because any solar we don't use is waisted, so we are not as careful off-grid as we were grid-tide. A/C on, the SOC is 75%ish in the morning. No A/C 85%ish in the morning.

The above power used includes what solar sends into the batteries to bring them back to 100% soc.

@@goingoffgridatgreenshireho435 if you had more solar production you could afford to discharge the batteries more than 15-25%. I have 12.96kWp and 29.6kWh of lithium batteries. Two ground mount arrays. One at 180 degrees and the other at 230. 8s2P on each. I produce solar power for ~ 11-12 hours a day in the spring/summer. Panels are cheaper than batteries.

I was going to add another 2.4k array for more evening summer sun but I'm putting up a small turbine instead, ($3000). We live on a hill top overlooking a vast flood plain with lots of breezy days all year round. I think, especially in winter, this will make a big difference. It should arrive first part of August and take a couple weekends for me to install. I will post a video when its done. I may end up adding the 2.4 array too, we'll see how it goes.

@@goingoffgridatgreenshireho435 most MPPT can’t handle wind turbines very well. It might be a challenge to realize any significant power from it. $3k would buy a lot more solar panels.

An excellent question! When I first started this journey I planned to use the Sol-Ark then I saw the power of the Schneider and I started to lean that direction. Then Victron caught my attention....I went back and forth so many times between the three it drove my wife crazy at the supper table. Ultimately I decided on Sol-Ark because of its power, ease of installation, and ability to grid tie seamlessly. If I die, my wife will go back to grid-tied and with 5 minutes of programming the Sol-Ark will sell power back so she can have this system in place with no power bills but the meter fee.

Thank you! This is good info for those struggling with options.

Mini splits are amazing as an hvac and plumbing guy ❤ looking to switch to solar specialist but know nothing about solar, Mini splits have EXCELLENT capabilities/benefits in specific applications, The more I look into solar they tie right in(so yeah you should definitely investigate) Btw I do electrical So the learning is coming along nicely because of people like you and diy will, thanks and best of luck ❤

JerHAMM, you are in a good place! See if you can do some part time work with a solar crew and the solar customers could become mini split customers too. You could have a foot in both trades!

Thank you. The guys that helped me build it won't cut corners the wireway was more than I wanted to spend too.

LOL, when I talk to people in person I sometimes see some eye rolling. I get it, I can be a bit over the top. But this stuff isn't cheap and I want to keep my batteries and inverter as healthy as I can, while still assuring my wife live with the comforts she should.

Good to know can't wait till I've done it 5.5 years.

Haven't for a year and a half even at a hotel I take em straight cold. My wife still takes warm showers!

Unfortunately if you want to go off-grid without changing the way you live you have to have proper equipment. EVERYTHING including labor has a 30% tax credit. That's why I drive old cars, the money people spend on a new car, I spent on a complete off grid system.

I agree! When my old power company, (who I got along with just fine), changed the rules on credits and peak time, I explained to them, you are forcing me to go off grid. I like what you've done there, we are considering an EV... in time.

We are getting ready to put up a small 1600w turbine for winter and I think that will make the difference in the summer evenings, if not I will put up a 6 panel / 400w array for evening sun next spring. Sounds like a nice place you found! I had kin out by Snowflake, AZ. Real pretty country!10% humidity sounds much better than my 90%. Good luck Sir!

Don't know if your an electrician, but warranties on some equipment are void if not installed by an electrician and if there is a fire or some related issue your homeowners insurance carrier may argue about your coverage. Professional Labor and parts are covered by the 30% tax credit too....Just to make sure you knew.

I wouldnt do that, the drought that is coming is going to be epic these next 20 years water is going to be hard to come by out there dont you thin, how much for the 50 acres I want to go off grid too and dont have much money so might ahve to go that route too

We too are on a well which feeds a cistern, there are no water lines where I live. I also catch 2,000 gallons of rain water off my outbuildings for my garden and animals. I have videos on those too.

The batteries with cabinet are $10,000 but with the 30% tax credit they are $7,000. You just have to wait for the tax return.

7k array (6.9) / 24 panels in 3 legs of 8 going into the Sol-Ark. We plan to add a small 1600w turbine in July to keep the batteries charging at night.