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    potugal's Avatar
    potugal Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Oct 13, 2009, 11:08 AM
    Off-Grid electricity in Winter climates
    Hello,

    I am looking for help to get electricity running through a small Shack I have with no municipal power available. I'm trying to keep this fairly inexpensive and would appreciate the help from anyone who can help me.

    What I essentially need is to continuosly run approximatly 3000 - 4000 Watts of power into a shack I own upnorth. It is so far upnorth and gas is approximatly a 45 minute drive away so a generator is an option but Gas storage might be a problem in the long run. So is wind & Solar because the site will be in a very cold/windy winter climate for about 3-4 months of the year.

    I'm thinking of using two 3000 Watt diesel Generator to create power and attach this to some sort of large battery system to be able to relieve the stress from the generators. I have found generators that can run for about 12 hours so I would like to attach these to a battery system which could run about 3000 - 4000 watts continuously for about 72 hours. Please let me know if this is possible and the costs & equipment accompanying it.

    Also alternative affordable energy sources would be great! I'm open to ideas

    Thank you!
    medic-dan's Avatar
    medic-dan Posts: 321, Reputation: 23
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    #2

    Oct 13, 2009, 01:29 PM

    3-4kw is a lot of power to be drawing continuously in a shack. What are you running?

    The diesel generators are probably the best way to go, if you can get fuel. If you are using them to charge batteries though and then power your shack off an inverter you'll lose some efficiency.

    I'd get a bigger generator, 3kw is small, especially if you say you need 4kw. If you have any motors you'll want even more capacity. Spend the money on one very good gen-set. It'll save you money in the long run. There are many diesel generators out there that can run virtually non-stop. Look for a liquid cooled gen-set that runs at 1800rpm.

    Otherwise, if the wind is fairly steady, it may be a very good option.

    Post back with your loads.

    EMT/Volunteer Firefighter/ARFF Firefigher

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