Bushcamp - Offgrid Solar Battery Bank Install and Building a Vented Battery Box

In this video we install a new solar battery bank in the off the grid cabin. We build a battery bank using 4 6v golf cart batteries, but because these batteries are flooded lead acid we need to vent the hydrogen gas. So I built a sealed plywood battery box and installed a vent to the outside. This allowed us to keep these batteries inside because they would get ruined in the harsh climate, and also allowed us to use flooded lead acid which are far cheaper than some of the other kinds of batteries. We then also set up our charge controller and battery in the workshop so now we got solar power working over there as well.
Join my dog and I at our wilderness homestead in the Canadian North. This channel features videos on off-the-grid lifestyle and building, trapline adventures, hunting, fishing, trucks and much more!
I live off the land in a self reliant and self sufficient lifestyle. The land provides me with everything I need. My offgrid cabin is solar powered, heated by a wood stove and most everything I eat comes from the land; fish, eggs from my chickens, and many different wild game species. The lifestyle I live is essentially expense free and blesses me with the opportunity to do whatever I please.
In the winter months we head out on the trapline and ethically harvest fur bearing animals. Through moderate and sustainable methods I snare and trap these animals and work on, and sell the pelts at auction which provides a decent income for me to invest in my off the grid homestead and lifestyle.
Traplines and Inlines Facebook Page: trapline...

[@Hilliorm85]

Give the man a like and share his videos! He provides entertainment for viewers, viewers could provide more support for him!

[@bobdirtski]

Came here for a 2 year old video about hunting blinds and damn near watch all your content. Good job and keep it going!

[@PavlovsBob]

The hardest work some people will ever do is when they're digging for something to complain about 😂 the sound isn't perfect but it's perfectly good enough! Quitcherbitchin!

[@jedidiah5131]

Small old freezers make great battery boxes, you can even mount most of your components inside and lock it all up. Thanks for the video.

[@dwhitemusic1]

I really like this idea

[@brandonshudy789]

Reason for setting batteries in a box is to vent hydrogen gas. Terrible idea to mount anything That can arc inside of the inclosure. I’ve seen some pretty nasty cases of boxes being blown to pieces from a loose battery lug.

[@jedidiah5131]

@@brandonshudy789 You still vent it or have it outside/battery type as you know! ....The fact is its already made and recycled instead of in a landfill....as for arcing there are many ways to eliminate that. I also use one for my genny, its soundproof and thief proof....oh I guess I should mention for those not so inclined , the muffler is exhausted to the outside.

[@ADSC2006]

That dang Go Pro case eh!

[@danetteeubanks4684]

I hope in your next cabin build you incorporate a battery/utility room. It makes it so much nicer to have all that in the cabin but out of the living space. It is also a nice place to store a little extra wood and muddy boots. Love your videos.

[@lionscircle4700]

I saw someone mentioned a drip loop on the solar power cord before it goes into the workshop outside wall. That's a great idea to keep water from traveling down the wire into the shed. Good content, you've been busy.

[@larrybell1305]

You may have already figured it out, but I would connect the inverter, lights and any load directly to the batteries for your 12 volts. Also with the two 6 volts wired in series, you double the voltage and the amps stay the same 225 amps. In parallel the voltage stays the same and add the amps together. I hope this helps. I enjoy all your videos.

[@dawnkangas2968]

Awesome work

[@kristiancoulson]

Feel spoiled getting so many vids recently! Loving the vids

[@Drawlen]

Always enjoy your videos. Thanks.

[@kirkterwilliger6407]

Thanks Bud, for keeping me entertained. 👍

[@tedcottenden22]

Thanks for sharing these battery bank installations in the Cabin and Workshop. Extremely helpful information Traplines. Really enjoy your Positive Fireside talks. - from Northern Nova Scotia - Safe Journeys my Friend.

[@matthewharvey8755]

Hey buddy, invest 15 and get a wood rasp. If your hole saw is a bit to small you can rasp it out fairly quick unless it's a real hard wood lol. Glad to see you get all set up, looking forward to seeing more

[@dawnkangas2968]

Awesome 😎

[@monkeybusiness1999]

Happy Hunting ~ looking forward to seeing your outdoor adventures this year. Hope you get your fridge running again soon too, now that you have enough power to launch a rocket✨ :)

[@davidconley3610]

Great start to my afternoon!

[@laurajones2032]

Your knowledge is so appreciateed

[@davidmartin7479]

Looking good

[@davidmartin7479]

Hope your luck deer hunting is good as well. Makem bleed

[@btwarner2124]

More videos. Loving it friend.

[@neilburow2782]

Love your channel.

[@jessicagarrison1385]

Dandy job!!

[@fiendeng]

Killing it my man ! Nothing but success is yours

[@andrewcuneo7206]

Another awesome video. Again teaching us so much. Love the projects as much as anything on this channel!

[@johnlarabie5397]

Awesome job being self- abstained

[@loocuss722]

Great work! Keep truckin partner 😎🤙🏻

[@altaylor951]

Hey Bro, really enjoying the show!!! Great job on all the builds, and really looking forward to more trapping videos. Really nice to see someone your age, with such a great work ethic!!! Your 8 gauge wire, in Canada, is rated for 40A. As for your Inverter, I'm still fairly new to solar set up, but do you have it grounded to grounding rods ( 2 rods, pounded into the ground, min 6 ft apart, connected together by a ground wire), or a Ground plate? that could be at least a part of the issue. Hope that helps:) Keep those videos coming, and Merry Christmas / Happy New Year!!! Cheers

[@timrobinson3972]

Great 2 to 3 videos a week keep it up best channel 9n youtube

[@ArielleViking]

Awesome solar setup and the skinning shack is lookin great. Enjoy to watch you fill it with furs, deadly. I love it. ❤👍

[@StubyDooby1]

Great job buddy. Looks like you are just about out of projects.

[@DaltonScharberg]

Have a blessed one bud!

[@danlatimer406]

Inspirational stuff man...keep at her.

[@smoochmcguire5291]

Great video thanks

[@joannadavis1881]

You should put some kind of handle or hand grip right there above the ladder so when you go up it you have something to grab on to. Great video. Great luck to you on trapping this winter.

[@carolaustin123]

Workshop looking brilliant. Hope you have an amazing 2021 x

[@rustygomer5269]

Killer channel bud! Love the poochman!

[@lonestaroutdoorsman6381]

Been liking the uploads lately! Hopefully the hunting has been going well this year

[@georgefallin1275]

glad to see you vent them batterys dont want to breath that stuf

[@joelcummings1787]

I am going to need a Trapline and Inlines 2021 calendar....pose shirtless with the chain saw, flexing a trapline spring, oh yeah boys that’s mint! I look forward to your videos every week. On the inverter make sure we’re not getting 6 volts. Might want a positive and negative bus bar. Makes it easier to wire things up.

[@mattyaquatics2231]

Gay

[@KS-2]

Great video. Looking forward to the next one. Stay safe.

[@YOGABOOM230]

I looked at what you were doing and the first thing I thought of potential for a fire. Not how anything was connected but where it was located. That is your one and only exit for the upper floor and you have the 2 most probable causes for a fire, your batteries and the wood stove below it. I would seriously consider how I am going to get out if something does happen. I know you have window there, but bailing out of a 2nd story window isn't ideal. I would get a couple of extinguishers and some type of ladder that hangs on the edge of a window. Your videos are always real entertainment and thanks for all the work you put into them, I really get a kick out them. Stay Safe!

[@carlthornton3076]

Happy New Year!!! Y'all Take Care & Stay Safe. ~ Carl & Judy Lamar County, ALABAMA. ~

[@suzanneleblanc1077]

You must watch Boss of the swamp, ''Yessir''

[@thepurplecraftshack3075]

Great videos. Glad your sound is getting fixed.

[@richwicklund9001]

You asked about your inverter. Make sure you have your batteries correct. Bat 1 and 2 connect positive to negative just like you have it. Making 12 volts. Do the same for bat 3 and 4. Bank 1, connect the positive to the positive on bank 2. Negative from bank 1 to negative on bank 2. Now, inverter goes on the positive post and negative posts

[@TraplinesandInlines]

ya thats what i did but it still senses low voltage is weird

[@richwicklund9001]

@@TraplinesandInlines my dad had an inverter that did the same thing. It worked fine after the battery was fully charged. Did you put your old inverter on your new setup to see what it said? You might simply have a bad inverter.

[@brianlorman6646]

@@TraplinesandInlines You should take the leads from charge controller and put on separate banks. Positive off bank one and negative off bank 2. Will help keeping battery even. Pulls throughout entire bank verses one side

[@bernardc6538]

Get a piece of plywood a build a control panel board to mount all the inverters and controllers above the box.

[@timadams3486]

The shed looks great. The upgrade will be helpful for any changes

[@StBernardAcres]

Good job my friend. I put mine on the outside. I don't have the extremes you do. I bought 6 deep cycle batteries from Walmart for the same reason. Price. If you take care of them, they last just fine.

[@davidmartin7479]

Great vids

[@josselineduvivier7620]

I don't understand that many people are problems to hear you! I'm from Belgium Europe and the sound is good here.! Enjoyed yours days.

[@dougwarkentin308]

hey mon, really nice job on the skinning shack!! loved it when you reefed on the workbench to check it for sturdiness....yup, nice...power upgrades are great as well. I can't wait to see it in action. I'm sure you're deep into trapping by now....

[@jackl2220]

Hope you & Cougar had a nice Christmas & wish you a Happy New Years ! Stumbled across your channel searching for Ramcharger videos soon after The Rona lockdowns. I have an identical two-tone blue 1984, I love it ! Keep up the great videos, my son & I watch your vids together. He gets so excited every time I tell him you posted a new vid. You got a special thing going man, looking forward to some trapping vids soon.

[@TraplinesandInlines]

thanks my friend all the best to you and your son as well!

[@NYCamper62]

K, I work for a battery co & have been using solar at my camp for over a decade, if I may; Follow the 50% rule - don't trust the cut off on smaller mo (modified sine) inverters. Keep your bank at 12v+ or higher. State of charge is relevant to your banks condition. Go to harbor freight or where ever and get a 12v tester/meter they are cheap. Keeping your bank charged means keeping batteries from freezing. Someone mentioned lining your box with plastic, or go to a dollar store and buy 4 plastic dish pans. The more you can run from - off 12v instead of the inverter the better. For example I use an inverter for the power tool charger yeah but for the laptop you can get a 12v to 18-19.4 converter plugs into 12 socket. For the vent snag some screen door mesh and sandwich the vent to keep flys and insects out. For your wiring I couldn't tell from the video but with DC you want stranded copper not solid wire. Two 6v's in series then parallel is correct but you want your draw on that bank from the farthest negative and then positive connections not the center. Good luck. Edit; I also recommend a battery hydrometer like the ezred sp101, also cheap. It'll allow you to easily measure the density of the electrolyte in each cell, or state of charge. You'll want 1250 or above being better obviously. I'd use distilled water to keep the cells topped off.

[@richgiesey3806]

I think it'd be nice if you could make it so we could hear you better I have a hard time knowing what you're saying so I'm checking out

[@roryo1386]

Two vids ago he said it was a new case. Once he realized it, it was too late for these vids. Just wait till the next one he will have it fixed by then.

[@Supersagger1980]

Love the channel man. Battery for solar Led acid you only have 25% of the apms that you can use befote you start to damage them. For example 100amp battrey you can use 25amp and thats your lot. Agm or gel you can use 50% before damage Lithium battrey you can use 100% So the way you work out what you can use and store to what money you pay. The 4 battreys you have will store 450amp but you only have 100amp to use every day. So you may as well just buy one 100amp lithium as you will have the same power available. I hope this helps for when you next change batterys

[@robinmyman]

Hear the same everywhere about lithium batteries.

[@monkeybusiness1999]

Great advice.

[@roryo1386]

Depth of discharge can differ between lithium chemistries. I would recommend LiFePO for his application. Cheap as and safe.

[@metamud8686]

@@roryo1386 make sure you check the temperature range you can charge those LiFePO's at. He'll be needing to charge them in freezing temps, which are a no go (for charging) for LiFe types.

[@roryo1386]

@@metamud8686 Very true but there are easy ways to mitigate again that (heating pads) and new tech has allowed them to be safe to -20°C

[@JonHeaven]

New subscriber. Digging the channel.

[@DarkroomZombie]

Nice upgrade on your power system. Next up did I hear you say trapping? Sweet!

[@dangoras9152]

Hey brother u can get a 12v computer fan and put in ur battery bank to help get the gases out... And u could put a screen in between ur outside vent to keep bugs out. Keep it up brother looking good .....

[@loisoleary3507]

Happy New Year to you...really enjoy your videos

[@ericroadking7564]

nice work all around!! Wicked pissa!!

[@jerrydaley4678]

Best of luck with the trapline.

[@musicwiz40]

Nice!! I have the same interstate 6v batteries as you:) have a video on my channel. Sweet upgrade.

[@dianerobillard1044]

Happy New Year

[@MarkJLarsonOutdoors]

I would love to have a cabin like that buddy!!

[@samleannah2878]

Sealed lead acid AGM are a better application for solar and much cleaner for inside a cabin. Worth the price

[@atlasarmory]

Some one can check me on this but I believe the wood stove combustion creates low pressure condition inside the cabin. This may cause the battery box vent to not work properly. Air can possibly flow backwards through the vent to try to equalize the pressure inside the cabin. the solution is to run the boxes intake through the wall as well. That should isolate the inside of the box from the pressure fluctuations inside the cabin and allow the box to vent as the hydrogen leaves the top hole outside air can seep in through the bottom hole.

[@Blldog160]

Audio issues, IT’S BEEN FIXED! It’s nice to see that people comment without reading a little bit or actually watching the full videos. It’s been discussed numerous times and people have commented a shit ton regarding the audio being fixed in next video. He didn’t know there was an issue until he went back for editing. At that point he corrected the issue so future videos will be fine. Don’t be so quick to make a negative comment.

[@robinmyman]

Happy new year. bro!

[@drjcwardjr]

You have done a great job! Enjoy a rest...then trap some fur! Did I just say that? I’m from and live in Florida...a retired shrink who never lived in snow or below zero temps! Oh well!😎👍

[@johnyaceyko9775]

Suggest a plastic container, as the batteries have a tendency to sweat. And eat through wood. Awsome channel. Watch from yellowknife nwt.

[@rodrigodias9494]

Man, BE CAREFUL when you open that box after using it for a while. A whiff of that may take you out! Try putting a PC fan on the intake with a switch, so you create positive pressure inside for some minutes, pushing all nasty vapors through the exhaust before opening it! Good luck! Keep on the good work!

[@fizzyt1803]

100% worth a small fan.

[@terrymccorkle1674]

You might get a computer fan and mount it so it's pulls air into the box. That would force any fumes outside the vent going outside. Uses basically no power.

[@paddycaseygsxr]

👍👍👍👍

[@butwereallsombdyspecial]

Yay😍

[@seanr8213]

13:46"So i should be able to force it in here boys" quick cut shows it with a pile of sawdust under it "So anyway guys I got it hooked up here" LOL

[@davehunt408]

I think some trapping videos would be nice it’s already January

[@coryjones9573]

I know you are non stop buisy! Could you show how you bait and set your snares.i live in michigan and would love to learn!

[@1shotbarbeque881]

Looking good partner.. But be careful with those fumes man. Maybe a super low amp computer fan at the vent . Keep the faith 👌

[@chevelleleathers5703]

Can you please do a full tour of your living cabin ... I never realized that you had an upper loft. I am trying to build something small to live in and I am totally confused about a lot of things. Keep up your building and upgrading process because you're doing a wonderful job to be so young. Once you get caught up to where your sound is corrected, please do a live chat, I would love to donate to you to help you out with some of your expenses.

[@InhaleExplode]

He has a whole build series on the cabin lol

[@chevelleleathers5703]

@@InhaleExplode I see the build series, what's the real reason that you're getting smart with me, surely not because I am a female.... I watched the complete build series .... now what????

[@stevenedwards4470]

Could you have rigged up an exhaust fan...like a laptop fan to help the hydrogen along? Would that be overkill?

[@ijursic]

I was thinking the same just as a safety factor. Maybe on the intake and exhaust.

[@kuhrd]

With it being as cold as it is, your panels are going to perform better than they would in the heat so that helps combat the reduced amount of light so you could still be getting 450-500ish watts in full sun. That being said, you have 450Ah at 12V so that is 5400 Watt-hours of storage so to charge them up to full after being drawn down to 20% capacity you would really want to give them a full 9 hours of sun. If at all possible with any battery bank you want to add up all of your loads that you use in a given day, which your charge controller may even be doing already, and you can then figure out how long you could go with cloudy overcast days. Typically you would want to size the system to handle 4-5 days of limited or no sun if you have a backup generator available to charge them up in a worst-case scenario. So if you only use about 20% of your battery bank during the night or less, you have a fairly well-sized bank. 600 watts of solar panels should be decent for that battery bank size as long as you typically receive enough sun for the day to keep the batteries topped up, even while charging up devices. The other thing to consider with your new battery bank if you don't do this already is creating a watering schedule so you check the water levels of your batteries every 2-3 months or so and keep them topped up with distilled water to the manufacture recommended level to get the full useful life out of them. You can also coincide this watering schedule with the times the batteries go through equalization since equalization uses a lot of water. That is one thing to check with that old battery you removed is to see what the water levels look like if you haven't been checking it as you want to typically keep the water level about 1/8" above the tops of the plates. If that old battery has been in service for more than 5 years it is likely tired, but if not it may just need to have its levels checked and take on a good equalization charge to get back some of the lost capacity. The main reason people go to AGM is that as long as you have a decent charge controller, they are basically maintenance-free with no watering or equalization to worry about. One other thing to note is if you would have gone for lithium you would not have been able to charge when below freezing as that would damage most lithium battery chemistries so for your use case, lead-acid is likely the best choice.

[@bernardc6538]

Putting the intake on the opposite side of outtake vent would have been ideal. However that's no problem because technically you need 2x the intake to outtake so u can add another one on opposite wall. Looks good that's for damn sure. Could also add a computer fan to the outtake if it gets to hot. 💘

[@lyleforbes5921]

If you decide to install a vent to provide air for the wood stove, you should think about installing a valve or shutter on that vent. When you want to let the fire die down or when you are going to let it smolder while you are out and about the cold air going through it will really cool the cabin once the fire has gone out. The cold air will still circulate even without a fire.

[@dennisbagatin4480]

Just wondering do you have chewing tobacco in your mouth? Cool video your off grid is coming along well.

[@butwereallsombdyspecial]

He really makes all he does look so easy- it's not!☝️ lol

[@steverodgers1112]

You need a fuse in series with the positive lead coming from the battery. If there is an overload condition due to a fault in the charge controller, you're looking at thousands of amps of short circuit current from your batteries.

[@robertn2813]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!! " We're preparing for worse case Ontario " lolllllllllllllllll . Too funny .

[@BS.-.-]

You will be perfectly fine with your uses and 4 gc2 batteries. The 600w of solar should keep them above 50% even running your fridge. My 4 gc2 batteries run a bigger mini fridge with freezer and 100w of 120v lights for a weekend. We only have 460w of solar and only get 3hr of sun on them in the summer.

[@jayess6219]

Ya buddd!

[@rlmast]

for that latch on your solar box, just add a piece of wood behind it to push it out further, and you will be good to go.

[@therealDonMac]

Any ETA on when your going to have some sound with your videos again, other than the loud muffled bangs?

[@roryo1386]

He said in another comment that he would have it fixed in the next vid

[@justinflott5133]

You should try mixing it up bud. Throw some salsa on the eggs. Lol

[@Aliceinjonesville]

I dunno nuthin’! but worse case Ontario , I sure hope yur new battery setup isn’t too deadly! 😳. 🙌🏼👍🏼🥰

[@hansjrgenkristensen4034]

In the workshop you can use 3x100w panels, if the budget isn't ready for a MPPT regulator at once - use PWM and 3 panels in parallell until a MPPT can be installed and change the panels to series. Then the voltage and ampere is better for charging even in low light. 3 100w panels in series is more than 20A in the summertime - you need a 25A or 30A MPPT regulator. In Norway I have used Steca PWM and MPPT 20A regulators on 2x100w panels. Tried cheaper PWM a while, but then the heater "died" - the old Steca managed to maintain enough power for the modem - SMS response from the oil heater is my security to know it is still working. This fall and early winter has been extra dark - the charging is almost gone - even with MPPT. Tip1: 1x200w panel 72 cells is the same as 2x100w 36 cells in series. 1x200w 72 cell panel produces almost 17A in max. Tip2; Always remember to remove the snow from panels. Power drops ca.80%-to 90% when covered area is ca.5%.

[@zacharyrivera566]

I hope your solar system is less confusing than mine.

[@boovavjb]

is there any chance that you hooked your inverter to one 6 volt battery only. you need to have it span the full 12 volt configuration

[@tubbyguyoutdoors]

Job well done bud ! Holy fack I hope worst case Ontario doesn’t happen ! But it good to be prepared eh . Good luck on the line bud . Can’t wait to see what you catch this season ! Keep givin er !!

[@sailingavocet]

Great video! We just built a lithium battery bank for our sailboat that we live on. The full video was just uploaded on our channel and we would love to hear your thoughts

[@shawnanthony3916]

Hey you should get in touch with canbat they may hook you up with some sponsored battery's

[@shawnanthony3916]

Also Ukranian tire sells a 3000watt inverter for 169 on sale watch for that deal bud

[@willarddevoe5893]

Batteries in parallel fight. Faulty installation. Since you are using four 6 volt batteries and one 12 volt battery, the 6 volts could have been wired in series as two 12 volts, then, three separate chargers. Three separate circuits. Only one circuit could be used with the inverter at a time. All three chargers could be used off the same solar panels.