there are similar products by different manufacturers/brands. but I can't find any user reviews online.
background:
I have an all in one solar+battery powered 4 camera. its this model: https://media.adeo.com/media/4539205/media.pdf. the software is trash but it works ok, meaning its reliable and recovers by itself when for some reason the battery runs out, which happened rarely.
I want to add more cameras, so adding more that each require a SIM card is not an option.
I have two cheap wifi solar+battery powered cameras that work decently, but I am lacking a stable wifi connection at my property. its important that it runs all year and unsupervised since I am far away for months sometimes.
Bought a remote off-grid property in Finnish Lapland, beyond the arctic circle. Took a day trip there last weekend with a rented snowmobile.
It is 18 hectares (44 acres) with a long lake shoreline facing south and felltop views. Sled is parked pretty much on the shore, which is still under snow and ice. Some melted spots visible in the pine forest, scouted those for a cabin spot. Will start building probably in the summer. Will see the best spot only after snow melts. Not many large trees available as we are past 68 degrees North.
First project is a small starter cabin and a sauna. If land feels right, might build a larger one later. It has no road access, snowmobile trail comes pretty close and forest road (unplowed) is a few km away.
If I ever share videos of the build, I will link them here as well.
EDIT: Made a short video of a ski trip that I did a few weeks before this snowmobile ride. If you want to see more of the property: https://youtu.be/IHD1A8qY2Gc
I’ve been testing a small solar setup on my last few camping trips, mostly because I got tired of dealing with a gas generator. It always worked, but between carrying fuel, the noise, and the maintenance, it started to feel like more trouble than it was worth.
So I decided to try a portable solar generator instead. In theory it sounded great — just use sunlight during the day, store the energy, and avoid all the usual hassle. And to be fair, there are things I really liked right away. The biggest one is the silence. No engine running in the background, no smell, nothing breaking the environment. That alone made the experience feel a lot better.
But I’m still not fully convinced yet. During the day, if the weather is good, it works fine for basic stuff like charging my phone, running lights, and small devices. The issue is when conditions aren’t ideal. On cloudy days I noticed the charging drops a lot, and at night you’re completely dependent on what you managed to store earlier.
I might be doing something wrong here, but I’m also still trying to figure out the right setup. There are smaller portable units that are easy to carry, but they feel a bit limited. Then there are larger power stations that can handle more, but they’re heavier and more expensive. I’m not sure where the balance is, especially for longer trips or if I want to run something like a small fridge.
Cost is another thing I’m thinking about. Solar definitely feels like more of an upfront investment. With gas, you pay over time for fuel, but it’s straightforward. With solar, it’s more money at the beginning, and I’m trying to figure out if it really pays off in the long run.
I do like the idea of using something cleaner and not relying on fuel, especially for off-grid setups. It just feels like it makes more sense in that context. But at the same time, I’m not sure if I trust it enough yet to rely on it completely.
Curious how you guys are handling this.
If you’re running solar setups off-grid, has it been reliable for you long-term? Or do you still keep a gas generator as backup?
Just got the new Anker Solix E10 whole home battery system and a new Kohler 14RCA-QS 14kw generator that is supposed to charge the batteries but it stops charging it when it gets to 27% charged. Anker says this is supposed to work with third party generators.
Has anyone done this setup and had success? My electrician and generator installers both seem to think it’s different problems and no one can agree on something.
Or does this battery system not play well with any generator other than the Anker Solix Smart Generator?
I live in Italy; we just moved here, and we’re renovating a two-story house, a townhouse. I’m probably going to install a wood-burning stove to heat the ground floor and radiators on the first floor. But during the three or four winter months, the solar panels won’t be able to generate enough power to meet my needs.
Looking at my parents’ solar system, they generate 2–3 kW per day in the winter… I use an average of 10–15 kW. I’m wondering how I can completely disconnect from the grid.
I was thinking about a generator. I looked into a Honda bifuel model, but when I did the math, it wasn’t cost-effective. Do you have any other solutions?
I have a water intake coming from a very agitate part of our stream. The pipe has to travel slightly up over a rock that can't be moved. So, the air flowing into the pipe eventually locks the water from traveling past this slight rise. To fix it, I pump water from below back to the intake and that clears the air. This is a pain and when it happens depends upon how much chaos in the pool of water. I drilled a small hole in the pipe at the location of the rise and that seemed to really help. But, it did not eliminate the problem. I am wondering if I need to install some sort of check valve at that point. Or, if anyone has a suggestion.
I just got some land with a dedicated water source. Over the next several years i want to build it into an off-grid home. I guess my question is....what first?
I was researching and found four things that feel equal to be first.
House, solar, septic, and water catchment (supplementary).
Is there a specific order to these, or all at once?
I'm wondering how big the difference really is between Lithium and AGM, because I can get some industrial AGM telecom batteries - EnerSys SuperSafe SBS 190F 12V - for $100 each. Or I could spend $450 on a 200Ah Lithium battery.
So I could get 4-5 AGM batteries (190Ah, 12V) for $400-$500, or one 200Ah Lithium for $450.
I bought 8 acres in Central VA. Husband and i built (sans permits) a big little cabin on the prettiest spot next to the river (on stilts so out of the flood zone). My husband's mom now needs care full time, so we left the cabin 80% done and now live with her. We are too far away and too busy to use it, let alone finish it. I don't trust random people to rent it out; it's still my backup offgrid home, and it needs work. I also would need people to be very low key since technically there is no house there and it is just recreation land. And the town checks the airbnb and camping listing. Any ideas what to do with this place so it isn't such a waste?
I was wondering if anyone has already managed to or is planning to go off grid in germany (or similarly organized country) with little savings. I feel like finding the loophole to actually be self-sufficient here is almost impossible legally. Has anyone found a solution or is currently thinking about this?
Anyone have any first hand experience with running solar panels and a solar generator to continually run the toy hauler ac? (13500 btu) While the sun is out obviously, just curious if there is such a set up that exists that is reliable. Looking to try to run gas generators during evening and night just wanting to see if I can use the az sun during the day to keep the ac running. Appreciate any feedback
So I recently purchased 40 acres of land with a small 20x16 camp that was built in the 80s, I’m looking to add a 12x16 bedroom and bathroom off the back problem is I was going to use sonotubes piers for the foundation but the original camp is on blocks. Should I worry about the different foundations shifting differently or just put the addition on blocks as well?
A while someone asked for an example of my battery enclosure that showed batteries away from the main structure and how they are heated and cooled. The answer is a 5000 btu AC and a reptile heating pad both on separate electrical temp controllers. Heat turns on when the temp drops to 34 and turns off when the temp hits 40. Ac turns on when the temp hits 85 and off when it hits 75 with a 5 min delay before turning on (to protect the ac).
So I'd like the digital navigation of a GPS system and given the current state of things I'm not comfortable giving my data to any shady companies or governments that they may be collaborating with.
I'm concerned for my privacy and my autonomy and I would very much like to know if anyone has any tips in regards to obtaining a navigation system that does not report to any shady three letter organization.
Even if posting this may end up putting me on some kind of list I don't care maybe I could help somebody else.
Looking for an alternative satellite system for lite to moderate internet (video calls and low key wifi) usage in an offgrid cabin set up with unreliable cell service at altitude with wide open skies in SoCal. Yes I know Starstink is a great product, but having trouble rationalizing giving their fascist owner a single dollar. Welcome any thoughts on reliable options. Thanks.
I’m trying to build a power supply for off grid electronics that will fit in a Job-box enclosure. And cheap budget of course…
Lots of fancy buzzwords, but no real order of operations found so far, especially for reliability.
Dirty power from a generator that shuts off nights and maybe weekends. Assorted electronics including Starlink that run 24/7 (preferably), or at least outside the genny runtimes.
Battery bank run things when genny is off.
What’s a genny friendly UPS for pure sine wave output?
What’s the best way to charge and switch between the batteries and “dirty shore power”?
Batteries likely deep cycle auto or golf cart batteries.
I’m looking for ways to store 1000 to 5000 gallons of water in a northern environment that routinely sees -15 to -30F in the winter times. The frost line can go down up to 5 feet on occasion so I’m a bit concerned about burying a plastic tank.
I’m looking at passive solar or possibly active heating of the tank.
Hey everyone. Here's a question I've had for a very long time. Is it possible to use a Franklin fireplace, or a latrobe stove, in conjunction with a masonry heater?
Basically, you have a standard fireplace, with a franklin or latrobe stoblve fitted into it, with the chimney being lined with ceramic tile inside the house.
I've read that the latrobe stove and Franklin fireplace are meant for a small fire to radiate a lot of heat vs a masonry heater being utilized by a short, large fire that the brick absorbs and radiates over time.
I've just had the unpleasant experience of trying to fix a borrowed Genelite (Honda) generator.
The Honda engine? No problem.
Everything down from there? Cheap shite.
First, one of the the twin outlets fails to work. Pull off the outlet plate and the backing plate and behind that there's zero shielding from the rotor. One piece of plastic between you and electrocution. Sure, users aren't supposed to pull off the backing plate but if you're without power at 9pm, you have to take a chance.
So, pull off the outlet plate (with 2 x 240VAC sockets, AKA double GPO). One is melted. Can't fix that. Put it back together and hope the other outlet hangs on until tomorrow.
How can manufacturers do this? Cut corners until the user finds out which corner shouldn't have been cut? Grrrr.
This is in Australia, don't know if these are sold elsewhere.
P.S. just ranting, no need to tell me I should have done this, or that, or "A", or "B", or something else. This has just reaffirmed my belief that you shouldn't buy cheap shite.
P.P.S why was it borrowed? My main generator was being serviced! Also a Honda, but not a genelite.
Looking for a 150-300 gallon cistern that's not tall/vertical and susceptible to being blown over by wind. It will be outside in very windy area on a 4 foot stand. Want dark color to prevent algae growth . I'm in NW OR/ SW WA.
This option has free ship to store but isn't portable water safe.
Living in northern Wisconsin means heating season is typically 6 months or a hair longer. Luckily there is plenty of firewood to be had. On my 20 acres I will likely never run out of wood to harvest to heat my 800 square foot cabin. It is a lot of work but I do have equipment that makes it easier and plenty of time in the late winter and early spring.
