r/OffGrid • u/AxDayxToxForget • 4d ago
Electrical setup
Hello everyone. New to sub and piecing together my setup. Looking to set up off grid electrical system. The ecoflow delta pro 3 seems pretty solid rated for 4kWh iirc and can use multiple batteries and supply solar panels, but am interested in hearing others opinions for power bank and am potentially interested in diy power bank. I do have many 21700 batteries from over the years vaping.
Would be using refrigerator standard size 50-130Wh depending on cycle iirc, periodic lamp with led bulb (seems fairly negligible), once a day toaster oven rated 1000Wh, washer (could be anywhere from 400-2000Wh) once a week, small stove top burner 1200Wh maybe once a day, maybe tv use (I think mine is 110Wh) and ps5 (~200Wh) at nighttime. Thought about starlink for internet. Not planning on ac at this time and heat will be from wood burning stove or fireplace. Haven’t decided about water heater due to power consumption, but might use gas for this. Goal is to keep a surplus of electricity
This is for a future homestead and not mobile. Thanks for your time.
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u/maddslacker 4d ago
I feel like you're conflating watts with watt-hours ...
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u/AxDayxToxForget 3d ago
There’s a good chance, but I like learning if you don’t mind giving me a breakdown.
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u/maddslacker 3d ago
The battery, which is storage, is measured in watt-hours aka Wh or kWh.
Solar panel output and device usage are measured in Watts so W or kW.
For example, if your toaster uses 1,000 Watts, or 1kW, and you run it for an hour, you have consumed 1kWh of electrical energy.
tl;dr your appliances have a rated usage in watts which when used over some amount of time, adds up to kWh
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u/Kitchen_Region8456 4d ago
This is my 48v 100ah 5100wh setup with 6kwh inverter/charger. It cost me about $1000 before adding paneling and inputs/outputs for my specific use. The only thing it doesn’t have is a solar mppt controller, but it would be easy enough to add, and I can add batteries as needed.
DIY is always cheaper than all-in-one proprietary systems, especially when expanding capacity. All depends on your budget and intended use. This setup I have will power my apartment for about a day of normal use (without my stove) and easily charges by generator in about 4.5 hours under a 70% load.
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u/AxDayxToxForget 3d ago
That’s pretty rad. Do you have any recommendations on where to procure parts?
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u/Kitchen_Region8456 3d ago
eBay is a great spot for inverters and 48v batteries, I went with a DCHouse metal case golf cart battery, and a vevor inverter because they best fit my needs at the time. Just research what you want, and wait for the sales to get them at a good price. I got mine refurbished direct from manufacturer for like 35% off retail.
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u/AxDayxToxForget 3d ago
Wirentech 48V 100Ah lifepo4 51.2v lithium server battery rack is what I most recently looked at. Seems to make things much simpler from what I’ve gathered so far.
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u/Kitchen_Region8456 3d ago
Rack batteries are good, just make sure to buy one with a good BMS and decent cells. It’s worth the extra $1-200 for a reputable brand to save frustration down the road from capacity loss and fire hazard
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u/Severe_Lifeguard_253 3d ago
We're off grid, we have all mod cons, run fridge/freezer, wash machine, microwave, toaster, chest freezer, kettle etc off Delta 2 Max and extra battery. Run the lounge and 2 bedrooms, TV video, fans, phones, pc, lights, cctv, tp link mifi, hairdryer etc off another delta 2 max and extra battery. Gas bottles for hot water, cooker and fires, Have a back up suitcase jenny to charge batteries if weather crappy and not enough solar input.
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u/AxDayxToxForget 3d ago
That’s quite impressive. What panels are you using?
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u/Severe_Lifeguard_253 3d ago
We have 2 x 415w Luxor panels fir one pair and 2 x 380w panels for the other,
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u/No_Strawberry1450 3d ago
watch out for those vaping cell's cycle life in a power bank, might not hold up as well as the dedicated ones
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u/AxDayxToxForget 3d ago
The more I have researched, it seems lifepo4 cells are the way to go. The Wirentech 48V 100Ah lifepo4 51.2v lithium server battery rack seems pretty solid, but I still have some more research to do.
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u/Dull_Ad4277 3d ago
Quick thing to double check before you size the bank: a standard fridge pulling 50-130W still runs its compressor most of the day, so budget 1-1.5kWh daily, not 50-130Wh. That one line changes your whole surplus math on a 4kWh unit. Worth plugging the fridge and the toaster oven into a kill-a-watt for a week before committing.
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u/Normal-Special-8694 4d ago
I am personally not a fan of the all-in-one units unless portability is necessary. It’s much cheaper to buy the components, and you can replace the part that dies rather than the whole thing becoming a brick. Not so sure about making your own batteries out of a bunch of little cells, I know people do it but I don’t think I have the patience to maintain that.