Budget DIY Off Grid Solar System

• 

  holoz0r on 09/12/2018 - 21:57

  No idea about the electrical components, but can you trickle charge the USB stuff via laptop?

  • 

    figarow on 09/12/2018 - 22:06

    Wouldn't it all pan out anyway as the laptop would need more juice to run as more stuff is hooked up to it? My theory about the usb charging was to do it all during the daytime when there is more power available.

• 

  [Deactivated] on 09/12/2018 - 22:20

  +1

  Why not get a couple quotes from solar installers and see what they would do?

• 

  TheBilly on 09/12/2018 - 22:23

  +2

  You are on point.

  • solar panels
  • regulator
  • batteries
  • inverter for 12v yo 240v

  All you need now is the cabling.

  Fuse as close to battery as possible.

  Fuse for the wire guage not the amp draw.

  Set your wire guage based on what the amp draw will be.

  Make good earths.

  Crimp all connections.

  Draft a wiring diagram so you know what you're building.

  I havent reviewed size of equipment.

  But I can run a 12v 40L fridge on a 120ah battery for 3 days maybe 4 with no charge. Dont go overboard with your capacities.

  • 

    figarow on 09/12/2018 - 22:28

    Is there a kit or something with instructions? I'm ok at wiring but not a handyman and have no idea how exactly to do it. I thought it would all come with the cables plug and play lol. Can you show me the stuff I need?

    Oh wow 3 days, maybe I could get away with 150ah. It's really hot up here on the sunny coast and that 50w fan will be blasting away all night.

    • 

      TheBilly on 09/12/2018 - 22:35

      +2

      I'm in a much cooler climate so your allowance makes sense.

      Most things are not plug and play, however it is simple enough. You dont need to be a handyman.

      There are plenty of guides on the internet that show how to wire up a dual battery system in a car with solar panels. You principles will be the same. Some videos can be found on 4xoverland on youtube, Australian Direct on youtube as well.

    • 

      savage bargain on 10/12/2018 - 00:26

      If you're on the sunny coast, will you need to build in additional power allowance for further cooling if the fan doesn't cut it? I used to work in containers, and they get hot real fast…

      • 

        figarow on 10/12/2018 - 00:43

        Yeah it does get hot but fan will need to suffice. It does have windows so gets a cross breeze also which is nice. Might line it one day when I get some money.

        • 

          [Deactivated] on 10/12/2018 - 08:41

          +1

          @figarow: A few whirlybird mounted on the roof should help a little and paint it white or silver metal paint.
          I would mount your hot water tank to the roof also, if you can get the container under some trees for shade, even better.

          • 

            figarow on 10/12/2018 - 18:18

            @[Deactivated]: Won't do whirlybird because snakes and they do get noisy as they age. Great idea on the paint, I would look at painting it white for sure.. also was thinking about some dog wire 2/3 up the sides and have passion fruit vines to help keep sides cooler. The panels on the roof would help a bit with heat also and bear in mind it does have windows so I think it will be ok if I put the effort in.

        • 

          kale chips suck on 10/12/2018 - 11:21

          +1

          @figarow: Plant some vines to throw shade over it in the summer months. Hops work well. Obviously, this would impact where you locate your solar panels.

          On that topic, your might want to consider a ground mount system anyway so you can adjust your panels to chase the optimal solar angle throughout the year.

          • 

            figarow on 10/12/2018 - 18:21

            @kale chips suck: Yeah the vines is a great idea I'm considering passion fruit… I just don't have the motivation to chase the sun would rather get an extra panel.

• 

  mysterytal on 09/12/2018 - 22:37

  +1

  In winter on a not so sunny day in a Melbourne suburb I get about 1kWh per day out of 1.5kW of panels. In summer on a clear day those same panels produce about 6kWh per day.

  I would put a few more than 2 panels in.

  • 

    poboy on 09/12/2018 - 22:41

    +1

    Yeah, the rough average is that a system will produce 4KWh a day per 1kW of panels.

  • 

    figarow on 09/12/2018 - 22:44

    I was thinking this, also would it make sense if I wanted to hook up a high wattage device to use like a corded drill or something? The way I figure it the more panels = faster charging and the more I can suck out of it during the day? Is that right? So I can even run a toaster / electric jug?

    • 

      mysterytal on 09/12/2018 - 22:47

      +1

      The inverter you've proposed is 800/2,000 watts so as long as you don't draw any more than that then yes you possibly could use a low powered electric toaster/jug just not both at the same time.

      • 

        RockyRaccoon on 10/12/2018 - 07:55

        +3

        Very much doubt that. My understanding a 800/2000 means 800 constant with a 2000 short peak. Like using a power saw where it takes more to start the motor, then drops back while running. A toaster even low powered, would need to be max of 800w and that type would be hard to find.

        For heating water getting a induction plate like those found at Kogan/Kmart etc would make more sense as these can be run with Lower wattages - but slower to boil.

        As for fridges, running one in a container will, add heat, will deplete batteries faster, even more if you have low sun for a few days like a raining period. So unless the op wants to live in the container, get a small esky and bring the days cooled product to use from the main house.

        If they want to live in the container then the requirements are going to be much higher. I know as a relative does using their caravan. Also the cheaper so called mppt inverters aren’t reliable.

        As well he runs his fridge via 12v vs 240 volt, as this is more energy efficient.

        Finally the panels are rated at best case production. In most cases if the supplier has been honest you will only get 80% at the peak of the day. The ratings are based on Lower outside temperatures. Panels lose their efficiency as they heat up. Plus as the sun angle changes so does the power generated. A 250w panel is the ‘max’ it can generate is not what it generates every hour the sun is up.

        Panels then get limited by the storage capacity of the batteries. If the energy can’t be stored or used, it goes to ground. So if you say can generate 1000 but can only store 280if you aren’t using the other 720 it’s gone.

        I don’t fully understand it, but the relative loves his system, so I get snippets of the ‘issues’ each time they visit. But it is expensive, the cheaper inverters and regulators die much quicker than the more expensive ones, something else that needs to be factored in. And read TheBilly’s post as wiring and connectors need to be top quality. The cheaper ebay panels have cheap wiring, the over time corrode and reduce power if not replaced.

        I am not arguing against the cheaper stuff, just making op aware that you may need to spend more that expected, on keeping it efficient.

        • 

          figarow on 10/12/2018 - 13:14

          @RockyRaccoon: Wisdom… I'm thinking I need a lot more battery now, maybe 3 of those expensive things.. I need the fridge running 24/7 and cloudy/rainy days to not effect anything, basically hands off to a point and not worry about the power shutting off…. mmmm getting expensive now.

• 

  diceman99 on 10/12/2018 - 00:51

  +3

  Storage for battery needs to be high
  You can't drain the lead acid batteries all the way to zero. This shortens the life drastically? Lead acid are designed to drop to 80% before they need to be recharged.
  Deep cycle batteries are designed to go to 50% before recharging.
  Lithium batteries can be fully discharged before recharging without affecting the lifespan.
  So with a lead acid battery if your planning on using one amp hour overnight you should actually get 4 amp hour storage so it doesn't drop past 80%.

  • 

    figarow on 10/12/2018 - 01:25

    Thanks for reminding me about this, I will be using deep cycle AGM so it's 50% which makes me think I will need the two batteries after all.

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 10/12/2018 - 07:31

    +4

    That’s not true at all. Lithium batteries can definitely not be completely discharged without affecting lifespan, infact a single deep discharge can kill a lithium battery.

    • 

      RockyRaccoon on 10/12/2018 - 08:01

      +1

      Correct and using lithium requires some sort of battery management system to prevent this. but the other stuff is spot on.

      Not sure who voted this down, but voted the diceman up, so all the stuff doesn’t get hidden, his post plus your correct response.

• 

  [Deactivated] on 10/12/2018 - 01:08

  Are you allowed to DIY if not connected to mains power?

  By the way OP, just fyi, when you said the total over 24Hrs is 1880W, you actually meant 1800 Wh (or 1.8 kWh). Watt is an rate of energy usage (e.g. energy use every second), where as Wh/kWh is a unit of energy (e.g. total energy consumed). If you're going to DIY, you at least need to know basic principles.

  see https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/kw-and-kwh-what-is-the-d…

  • 

    figarow on 10/12/2018 - 01:28

    Not sure I understand 'allowed', I would think the only time it's not allowed would be if it is connected to the mains. I read through that blog post and I'm none the wiser, its late and even after my first coffee in the morning a lot of this stuff goes over my head haha.. Will need to look at it tomorrow maybe I will get it :)

• 

  Tasmaniac on 10/12/2018 - 01:54

  +3

  Hey mate I recently went through this to. My recommendation is to buy a cheap generator also. It just smooths out any issues if batteries start to get flat.

• 

  AlienC on 10/12/2018 - 06:52

  Cool project OP I honestly would love to do this if I had the place, space and time but I honestly don't like to mess too much with electrical wiring and would probably ask someone else more experienced to come help me and just pay them for their time.

  Off grid is super awesome hope it works out for you with minimal hassles.

  Btw will you be doing off grid plumbing also or just electrical?

  • 

    figarow on 10/12/2018 - 12:21

    :) Just electrical at this stage, camp shovel for the other end.

    • 

      AlienC on 10/12/2018 - 16:10

      Oh haha wow ok that is pretty off grid. I did not even know that was allowed in residential space assumed only pets which I know makes no sense but yeah haha 7 guess nature's call is nature's call.

      • 

        figarow on 10/12/2018 - 18:11

        Yeah I'm rural no where near town and no one around my property.

        • 

          AlienC on 10/12/2018 - 19:20

          @figarow: Oh ok that's good I guess. Nice can get away with a lot more things than living not in rural. Nice do you have running water nearby or just the electrical.

          • 

            figarow on 11/12/2018 - 00:15

            @AlienC: Would set up a tank and guttering, maybe a car port off the side to catch water.. don't need much water so should be ok.

            • 

              AlienC on 11/12/2018 - 02:29

              @figarow: Do you plan on doing most water related stuff still at home I suppose and not much at the off grid or plan to have same access at both. I am just wondering what your idea is and how far you will use this off grid area.

• 

  jjsnacks on 10/12/2018 - 07:27

  +2

  Thats not a real MPPT controller, look at the Tracer for a real one that's cheap

  https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/EPEVER-MPPT-Solar-Charge-Control…

  I assume your fridge is a 12v camping one?

  Also you don't need such a large inverter, and the no name ebay ones are pretty bad.. try and get a Victron Blue even a 250w would be fine, much more efficient too eg

  https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Victron-Phoenix-Inverter-with-Ve…

  Don't forget wiring!

  • 

    figarow on 10/12/2018 - 12:31

    Cheers I did look at the Tracer as I saw it in a kit, thanks will get the Tracer for sure on your recommendation. As for the inverter.. I like the ability to pulg in high wattage devices from time to time, maybe a vacuum or whipper sniper, just to keep the place tidy. I don't own many cordless tools and don't want to buy them if I can help it… unless you think its more cost effective to do so? Otherwise can you recommend a high quality large inverter?

    Edit… fridge will be AC (going to buy a new one), I don't have anything 12V, I'm aware of the energy loss but thought the savings buying AC instead of DC is worth it? This one https://www.appliancesonline.com.au/esatto-ebf95w-95l-bar-fr…

• 

  BigBirdy on 10/12/2018 - 09:08

  +2

  I’m on the Sunny Coast and use a raspberry pi to monitor my solar panels and consumption. I suggest having a system that can be monitored (energy generation and consumption), preferably recording the data so you can calculate average generation at time of day, through the seasons (time of year). I find my panels don’t produce much until 3 hours or so after dawn. Understanding the rate your panels are generating through the day can guide you what time of day to be using your laptop, chargers, toasting or making a cuppa. This may help solve issues, like flat battery, without having to make system upgrades. Also, be mindful that your equipment (inverter, regulator etc) will consume some power.

  • 

    figarow on 10/12/2018 - 12:37

    +1

    Cheers mate, I live on top of hill with a clearing so I estimate 9-10 hours.. didn't really think too much about monitoring great idea especially if something goes wrong with drops in generation, easier to identify and troubleshoot.. I would have thought the controller would do this by default, monitor usage and keep a log? Also can I set the controller to shut down my usage @ 50% of battery?

    • 

      BigBirdy on 11/12/2018 - 09:39

      My inverter is a cheap Chinese one (Samil), it only stores basic cumulative data, no of hours running, total kWh generated. Nothing you could use to diagnose a flat battery. I monitor it by polling it every minute for real time stats via its serial (RS232) port, and saving the data on the Pi. My neighbour has an inverter you can connect to over wifi; he doesn’t, and couldn’t tell me anymore about it. You’ll have to research this stuff. There is a popular website pvoutput.org for uploading your stats,, it can be accessed by apps and browsers for saving and viewing your data, generating graphs, etc. An inverter or controller that could do this would be brilliant.

• 

  [Deactivated] on 10/12/2018 - 10:58

  Will the bar fridge have perishable items in it or just drinks like beer, you could just run the fridge of solar only and not run it at night off batteries.

  Not sure how far you have to run the power but you can save money by digging the trench yourself (rent a machine). Most sparkles are ok with this as they dont like digging trenches either.

  • 

    figarow on 10/12/2018 - 12:41

    Oh I would haha, I have extension cables everywhere lol… I'm a real laugh for the sparky, but this container is about 1km away so no chance of that :)

    Fridge will have fresh food in it and dairy so want it going 24/7.

• 

  MtnMama001 on 10/12/2018 - 11:29

  Have a look at solar generators. I have been living off grid using a "yeti" chained to a deep cycle battery for 18 months. It's plug and play, and you can use regular appliances. I got mine at goal zero. The guys there were very patient with all my questions, and helped sort out how much power I needed. I bought my panels elsewhere, as they're pretty exxy at goal zero.

  Here's a link to their stuff:
  https://goalzero.com.au/product-category/portable-power-stat…

  • 

    figarow on 10/12/2018 - 12:44

    Oh wow, way over my budget I'm just a poor farmer :(

    • 

      MtnMama001 on 10/12/2018 - 15:23

      Yeah, the prices aren't great 😖 I did it because I needed a quick fix and I didn't want any diy wiring. Plus, I got to avoid the whole inverter thing 😁 One big advantage of these things is you can plug them in and charge up via a regular household plug (they are mobile, but heavy). I did that a few times before I got used to managing my power!

      • 

        figarow on 10/12/2018 - 18:29

        Yeah I can see the advantages of such a system but for me I need this to fully contained… really would not be bothered charging something up and transporting just wouldn't work for me.

• 

  kale chips suck on 10/12/2018 - 11:57

  +3

  I'd buy second hand panels from an install that had been upgraded. Someone on Ozb in a previous post around solar explained how they were getting panels for $15 each, for this reason. I tried to find the post but wasn't successful - hopefully someone else has kept or can find the link for you.

  I'd run hot water and cooking off LPG

  I'd ground mount my panels for access and adjustability. I'd also look at a homebrew solar tracking solution to automate panel movement. That alone can improve collection by up to 40%

  I'd shade the box with deciduous vines as cooling that'll be your main issue. Hops grow fast, have large leaves and … produce hops. -> beer

  Use a 12 volt Engel or similar. The Aldi car fridges use the same tech. Efficiency is largely determined by the compressor, rather then the brand though. Danfos used to be brand of compressor to get but they changed their name recently (bought out?) so I'm not sure what they're called me. It might be seacomp?

  I'd look at getting a 12/240 volt model and taking the unit home with me when not at the container. That way you can plug it in at home before heading to your shed, load it into the car pre-cooled, fill it with your food and then take it with up with you. This has the added advantage of not leaving it behind to be stolen in your absence.

  A 250 watt inverter is a waste of time.

  LED lighting throughout. Find out what they run on (often it's 5v) and use a DC-DC buck converter to efficiently drop from 12v to 5v (or whatever is needed for your lights).

  It's important to understand that every conversion has losses, and to minimise the steps. For example, going from 12 -> 240 -> (probably) 19v for your laptop will use far more power/battery/storage than 12v -> 19v

  Look at caravan solutions; they face the same problems

  Lead acid batteries cannot be drained to nothing without damage. Even 80% draw down is damaging. If you want to maximise the life span of VRLA batteries you ideally don't want to draw off more than 20% of their rated capacity. That is, however, extreme. I think most offgrid people use 30-40%.

  Lithium batteries can, it's claimed, be drawn down by up to 80% without damage. They are also less "lossy" in terms of charging than valve regulated lead acid batteries. From an energy standpoint, there a better tech then LA. They're also massively more expensive and require very specific charging and balancing - dinner touched on this already - so I would suggest that, initially, you use traditional lead acid batteries and draw down by a maximum of 50% on the assumption you'll get 5 years effective use from them. In 5 years it's likely lithium batteries will have dropped a lot in price and improved in their robustness, so when you replace the LA batteries at that point you might opt to go Lithium

  Panels are cheaper than batteries; you're almost always better off increasing your panel count then buying more batteries.

  I've had 4 hours sleep so this is a bit of a messy brain dump but if you have any questions or be happy to try to help.

  • 

    MtnMama001 on 10/12/2018 - 12:05

    +1

    Just a note on using LPG for cooking - be careful if your place is small and / or doesnt have good air flow. I had planned to use it for my tiny house, but was advised to go for induction, as it was safer (and energy efficient).

  • 

    figarow on 10/12/2018 - 13:05

    • Yes all cooking will be portable butane & hot water camp shower
    • I was going to mount flat on top of the shipping container, container will have a ladder for easy access, what you think?
    • When you say shade the box do you mean the controller box? I was going to mount that on the inside wall of the container.
    • With the fridge my logic is [cheap purchase $189] VS [costly purchase + more efficient] cheap wins! change my mind.
    • I need the shed to be self contained, so wont be moving stuff about from shed to house, everything needs to be convenient and easy.
    • My thoughts also, want the ability to use high juice items for short bursts.
    • I was planning to run everything AC.. I know there will be losses but easier, cheaper factor outweighs hunting everything DC or using converters etc? Is the loss too much?

    I've had 4 hours sleep so this is a bit of a messy brain dump but if you have any questions or be happy to try to help.

    Wow man what an epic post, thanks for the all the help. I like your idea of 5 years and then upgrade to lithium - sounds good. At this stage fully enclosed deep cycle run down to 50% sounds like the plan and yes I'm now thinking more panels maybe 3 or 4 x 250 Watt connected parallel with fuses I guess, still learning about all this cheers mate.

    • 

      kale chips suck on 10/12/2018 - 14:25

      +3

      The angle you mount your panels at shouldn't be flat; what is generically considered "right" will change depending on your latitude. In any case, having panels that track the sun during the day (east west) automatically will significantly improve their collection. Having the ability to adjust their z axis - the up/down tilt adjustment - will enable you to better aim the panels at the sun. Where it is in the sky relative to you changes through the year, so that adjustment allows you to account for that.

      By "the box" I meant the shipping container. Cover it in shade during the hot months. Plants are a good way to do that, especially plants that drop their leaves when it gets cold. No leaves when it's cold means the sun can warm the container.

      I've seen good chest fridge things sell for huge amounts (Engel) to $299 at Aldi. I have an Aldi one and it's pretty good. You might have to wait to get one at that price though. The upside is that your battery requirements will drop significantly.

      Keep in mind also that if you do go this route and pre plan and do take the ring back to the grid then the "heavy lifting" of getting its contents cold can be done on grid. This will significantly decrease it's power draw and maintaining cold is much easier that getting the thing, and its contents, cold.

      To that end, whilst I think of it, if the sun is shining and it's not full, fill it with bottles of the coldest water you can. They will act as a temperature battery overnight and release cold back into the fridge, lessening the load on the battery.

      There's other options though. I have a 240v chest freezer that has drawers that I've converted to run as a fridge. It's crazy efficient because it's top opening, so if it's opened slowly, doesn't rip all the cold air out, and the same is true for the lower drawer. It's a bit involved to go into here, but that might work and be cheap as well. You'd have to offset the outlay savings against the hassle and the 240v losses.

      Depending on where you are though, you might not really need a fridge. You could possibly dig a cold store in and just use the earth to cool. If it's a hotter area you could look into zeer pots. (They don't work well in moderate/cold climates) You could use Roman air-conditioning and draw air through convection over water and into a box… There's a lot of options.

      Regarding AC, yes, it's simplicity is attractive. But a lot of what you'll be running will not use 240, but alter it to something else. 12 volt lighting is easy. I also have a portable battery powered fan that recharges off 240 or 12v and can run of a cigarette lighter. I'm not meaning to advertise for Aldi, but I saw one at my local for $25 or something. It'll run of battery for 6 hours before it dies. Again, look at their caravanning stuff; they face the same considerations. Some friends of mine who have an off-grid caravan got the 12v TV from Aldi. They love it. It doubles up as a 27" external monitor and has a DVD player built in.

      With the laptop, get a car charger for it and it'll run "native" on 12 volts.

      Also, an aside: I think you figures are very high. My 3 bedroom house consumption is around 2.5 kWh/day average and I have a PS4, a 60" plasma and Red Dead Redemption II. Though they don't get used as much as I'd like! Your fridge, for example, will only draw power when it's thermostat determines it's too hot. At that point it'll turn on. When it's at temperature or below it's essentially off.

      In a similar vein, when your laptop is charged it'll draw very little power.

      The comment someone made about the fridge heating up the container is correct too, assuming it's not a 4*4 style but a "standard" fridge. It might be worth considering an outdoor kitchen if you go that way.

      Finally, a general comment on battery sizing. The lead acid battery traditional approach is to determine how long you want your battery pack to live, ie, how many years do you want it to function before retirement. This determines how much of the battery capacity is used. So, if you decided 15 years, that'd mean the maximum draw would be 20%. If you said 5 years, you could draw 50%. Then usage of looked at and a figure is determined. In this case, we'll say 5 kWh/day. Then the question is asked "and how many days of usage do you want to be able to have if there's no sun?" and the typical figure chosen is 3 days, though I've seen battery salesmen pushing 5 days.

      With this info, you can get "real" numbers. Assume 5kWh storage, 15 year battery life and 5 days of power stored in case … The sun takes a holiday, or some thing.

      5 kWh = 20% of our battery size. So, right there, we need a 25 kWh battery. (I'm not allowing for losses here) To reframe that for clarity, with a 25 kWh battery you can take 5kWh out and still only have used 20%. By only taking out <20% we maximise battery life and should get 15 years.

      But we're not done. We decided we want 5 days of battery storage. That's 5 * 25. Now we need 125kWh of batteries.

      That's 95 of those batteries you linked to … Which is insane. And brings me to my point - there's a lot of people making a hell of a lot of money around all of this stuff and a lot of "accepted wisdom" is indefensible. You're taking the exact right approach asking people who've done it and/or have hands on experience, so keep doing that. And expect to have to question everything.

      Finally, someone mentioned earlier getting a generator for back up. That is very good advice. You can get "3kw" systems in fleabay with remote start for not a lot. I think mine was $600. I got my mum (who's remote) an electric start gennie that'll run her "stuff" from Bunnings for I think $700. If you look up Maximus Ironthumper on YouTube he has lived off grid in England for years and has some excellent videos about it. He uses a gennie to run his blacksmithing stuff. Also, he comes across as a genuinely nice bloke but that's by the by.

      I've likely opened another can of worms for you with all this. My apologies. Happy to answer further questions if you have any …

• 

  Euphemistic on 11/12/2018 - 23:09

  +1

  Not sure if going budget is the best option, but sounds like you are on the right path.

  Definitely look at caravan stuff, they are setup to minimize power use and power if off grid. A 12v fridge will be more efficient than a standard bar fridge. We can get a 2-3 days out of our caravan powering led lighting, charging a coupe of phones and running the 12v waeco fridge, chuck on an 80w panel and chase the sun and the battery (120ah I think) seems not to suffer.

  Don’t forget to allow for extra capacity, or perhaps generator backup if the sun doesn’t shine for a few days.

  And a technicality: when referring to power consumption it is Watt hours, Watt is instantaneous only so the Total in your OP would be 1880Wh, out of a 12v battery would be approx 156Ah

• 

  Cannabot on 26/07/2021 - 14:04

  I've recently done something similar for our caravan (we live in it).

  Ordered lithium battery cells from china, built the battery, inverter, etc etc. It's not that hard and there are many resources available. Cabling and terminal lugs I got from jaycar because I wasn't sure how much I'd need and in the end, that stuff wasn't much more expensive from jaycar than it was online.

  Check out https://www.mobile-solarpower.com/ - has a few plans for exactly what you want to do. You can follow any of the plans that do not include an alternator.

  The guy who made that site, Will Prouse, has an excellent youtube channel and also runs a very active forum populated by very knowledgeable and helpful folks: https://diysolarforum.com/

  The renogy gear is all mostly decent. Their customer support is terrible but I'd be more comfortable buying from an actual company like them than randos on ebay.

  Sometimes amazon has better prices for this kind of gear, and it may even be worth a prime membership to get free shipping from the USA on some things, depending on what gear you go for.

  I used one of these for crimping large lugs, worked a treat: https://www.bunnings.com.au/kincrome-600mm-swaging-tool-with…

  Good luck, you can do it.

• 

  fwxz00 on 08/01/2023 - 13:55

  Please check this simple off grid solar system calculator here https://100up.com.au/useful-information/

• 

  casho on 09/01/2023 - 15:30

  Plug in some solar cells into an Ecoflow unit, job done ; can also use it for camping