Electricity grid alternative?

[ticklemonkey]

Has anyone actioned an 'off grid' method of generating leccy? Workable solar panels, wind mills or the like? Is it feasible? What batteries are best? What happens if there get covered in snow? Are there electricians who do this type of thing? It seems tricky, has anyone had success out there with this type of scenario?
Cheers,

[Yorkshire Andy]

Having looked into it a bit... There is no substitute for a petrol / diesel / LPG generator.....

solar in the uk those with the feed in tariff cells have a cut out built in to isolate them during a power cut to prevent them back feeding the grid and electrocuting the electrician / lines man

wind.... unless you want a wind generator no bigger than a kids one you stick in a sand castle someone will complain


other option such as a bank of expensive leisure batteries and a static pure sine wave inveter are good but charging takes a while even on mains voltage high capacity chargers...

best thing you can probably do is prep for no power first (been the cheapest option) if you have a car ... 12v chargers for everything you need.... eg phone

[ticklemonkey]

Cheers Y Andy,
Looking into it I thought that may be the case, frustratingly.
Being a city dweller as well is a challenge for alternatives.

[Yorkshire Andy]

I was stuck at this

started prepping with batteries and torches / wind up torches / radios... Binned the wind up mobile phone charger as the amount of effort needed just to get the phone to power up was stupid only for it to die as it loaded the call log......


I have a solar phone charger but even that is only good for a couple of charges and then takes a couple or three of days in summer sun shine to fully recharge.....



I still think the car charger option is the best for most people assuming you drive

if not a caravan battery and one of these (an old car battery will do at a pinch)

http://www.leisurefayre.com/product.php/107695/0

will give you short term 12v power to charge a multitude of devices..

and a cheap battery charger to recharge it once the power returns..... (you could get a high power solar cell but speaking to a few caravaners they are not that effective


eg

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/solar-powered ... rger-n31cx

gives 857ma charge rate... if your trying to recover a 85ah battery that is 50% discharged

85ah/2 = 42.5 a to replace

(42,5ah/0.857mah) = 49.59 hours in optimum conditions (eg bright sun light) also assuming no loss of charge rate due to degredation of the battery etc




((i hope that my calculation is right))







That said a generator isn't fool proof you need fuel for it which in the uk your limited on the amount you can store and it makes a noise so everyone near by will realise your sitting smug with electric and want to come charge their phone up or try to pinch it....

[Malthouse]

Solar power is practical in my experience, as said wind turbines upset the neighbours too much.

You can get a 10A or 20A charger with a decent controller for less than 50 quid, the sky is the limit when it comes to batteries - there is some clever stuff available.

Another way to store energy is with a hot water tank and immersion running of solar power or direct heating, ideal for long term comfort rather than short term survival.

Generators are next to useless in my humbleness, even a quiet installation is going to run out of fuel or break down just when you need it.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Generators are next to useless in my humbleness, even a quiet installation is going to run out of fuel or break down just when you need it.

dont i know it mine burnt the status coil last week when using it to run power tools

[Malthouse]

Harsh

[KrisWard]

Generators are next to useless in my humbleness, even a quiet installation is going to run out of fuel or break down just when you need it.

dont i know it mine burnt the status coil last week when using it to run power tools

In a SHTF situation, how long will a generator last, even if you have plenty of fuel. My bugbear with a generator, would be the noise, it would cause unwanted attention; which is something we all would try and avoid. Just my opinion.

[Malthouse]

Exactly right, gennies that are designed to run for prolonged periods are super pricey. Fuel bunkering, spare parts and as you say - noise; all count against them in my view.

Welding is the only reason I would want one.

[Steveo82]

Generators are next to useless in my humbleness, even a quiet installation is going to run out of fuel or break down just when you need it.

dont i know it mine burnt the status coil last week when using it to run power tools

In a SHTF situation, how long will a generator last, even if you have plenty of fuel. My bugbear with a generator, would be the noise, it would cause unwanted attention; which is something we all would try and avoid. Just my opinion.

Commercial engined generators with proper maintenance and a suitably specced spares package will out live us. If you do the research there is enough fuel within a 5 mile radious of most to fuel a 10kw gen set indefinitely in a shtf scenario. When peppering for a shtf scenario if you are trying to establish a small local renewable power grid a good gen set would be a huge asset. With regards noise, all gen sets can be silenced and made safe to use within a dwelling.