Powering through the storm.
Good morning everybody.
Overcast morning here.
Hope the big freeze back east isn't causing too many problems. I've been following the comments online from various sources and it appears everyone is handling things ok.
This clip of the snowpocalypse in Kamchatka, Russia (H/T QMS) makes everything here look tame by comparison.
https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/snowpocalypse-snow-covers-entire-bui...
Temps here are mellowing out and it's still sunny days.
Have planted various tomato seeds in little pea pods and put them in the living room picture window. Gonna start early this year.
I'm tuning out on the latest BS spewing from the Trumpsters mouth, as it keeps changing anyway.
I can't believe we have 3 more years of him. I'm just going to prepare for the worst.
Going to start researching solar arrays as it would be really hard to survive without some electricity. We have learned to go weeks at a time on 12 volts DC in the motor home. But that takes gas too.
A solar array would ween us off of gas entirely, as long as it will charge the electric car and various batteries.
I'm thinking a small array of 10 or so panels and a powerwall battery storage pack.
Summer project.
Thread is open.
Comments
(Anybody have suggestions
on places to start my search?
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Good morning, e1!
4 years ago, I had a certified electrician give me a bid on installing a solar panel system to power my home and get me off the grid. He quoted me a price of $55,000.00, saw the look on my face, discounted it down to $52,000.00 if installing used solar panels. I would be at break even point in just over 24 years. I was 69 years old at the time of the quote.
I will just use lanterns, turn on my propane stove, and dress warmly.
Stay warm and lit up, friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Yeah, sounds about right.
China used to be able to import good economical panels but our government banned them. Harbor Freight can still import the smaller ones, but they are not as good and it would take many more to make a suitable array.
I should have invested in them before the lobbyists had them banned, even if I just stored them away.
With the rise in silver prices we can expect sharp increases across the board.
Maybe I can smuggle some across the border of Canada or Mexico, lol.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
If immigrants can get across the border by the bus loads,
surely a few solar panels could fit behind the seats...
Lobbyists are never the problem, imho. It is the elected officials that take the $ and do as they are told.
Anyway, solar power is impractical in current circumstances.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Good morning e1. Not a lot of help with the solar project,
though I hear that Sunrun is reputable and reliable. Don't know if they are up there or not. We got grid-tied solar many years ago for a decent price, but if the grid goes down so do we. I plan to look into getting independent, but haven't started looking yet. We don't like debt, so a cash purchase at our age is a questionable investment.
Also trying to tune out government noise and even bona fide information, since the latter is often scary or depressing.
Won't be starting seeds this year, plan to buy some starts locally when the time comes, at least for tomatoes and maybe select other plants if I can find them.
gotta run
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Thanks for the input
If I go with it, I will want a stand alone system, primarily to run the refrigerator and heat, plus charge the car and various batteries.
This is all for the farm/bug-out travel trailer and well pump.
I'm thinking of having the ability to grow my own food and have enough to take to town and market/barter. Hence the need for the car. I'm assuming there will be no gas or it's prohibitively expensive.
Plus, having a completely self contained bug-out destination will only become more valuable should my heirs decide to sell and leave the western world.
I'm still trying to get the younger g-kids to learn a foreign language as they school. I hear Mandarin is the gateway language to much of South-East Asia, and Russian is widely used in the eastern European countries. and Spanish is close enough to Portuguese to cover from Mexico to the tip of Argentina, plus southern Europe.
Oh, to think I come so close to emigrating to Costa Rica in the late 90s.
Damn.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Have been studying solar since the early 70's
.
Like you, wish I had purchased some panels before the
gummit gummed-up the process. Only have a few now
for specific applications (fan for composting toilet and
a charger for workshop batteries).
Have a ton of diagrams I could send you if you are
interested in looking into arrays. The biggest decision
to be made is if you want a stand-alone system with the
additional expense of inverters and batteries or go the
grid tied approach which only reduces your monthly energy
bills. There are many programs out there that offer cheap
services for the second approach, some with state and fed
incentives. But you only lease the panels and they get to use your
roof as a platform. To do it right, having both options is best.
Depending on electrical usage, it may make more sense to grid-tie
the system to reduce your bills (they barely compensate at market
rates $ per Kw/hr). But installation is cost free. The installers make
their money by siphoning off the return rate, if that makes sense.
Somewhat complicated contracts involved. If I had the money, I
would absolutely smuggle panels in from CA/MX and do a proper
stand-alone system with golf cart batteries (lead acid) and good sized
inverters. Minimal rewiring of existing systems and when the grid goes
down I would not be affected. Still not sure if I would invest in the switching
for grid tie in, as we do not use much juice. Good luck.
Zionism is a social disease
As noted in my response to EL above
I've already decided on a stand alone system, even if it is more expensive.
And I'll take a raincheck on those plans. Thanks for offering them.
My public utility here is Lewis County PUD and the current rate is $.07303 per kWh, plus is 94% renewably sourced. One of the lowest rates in the country.
I really shouldn't have to worry about power supply with what I've got going there in Lewis County. But you know what H.L. Mencken had to say about government: "Nothing is sacred when Congress is in session", H/T to Larch at Smoothie12s blog.
Have a good day, Capt'n.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
There is another option, never advertised or promoted.
I own my panels and inverter. Went with grid tied because battery prices and quality back when I got the system, but if leaves me the option of getting a battery at any time, For us, doing that only makes sense if we also add enough panels to feed a really hairy battery and an e-car of some sort, so really hairy battery plus extra panels plus e-car, at our age is iffy as to breaking even, but a two step system, for somebody younger could be an option, especially if battery prices eveer drop (china??)
be weell and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Back before we lost
the ranch, I had set the place up with a 25kw diesel gennie, and a whole-house automatic transfer switch. The gennie had a 25gal day tank, and I also had our farm dyed-diesel (untaxed for ag use only) transfer tank, with 600gal capacity, right next to it. I'm a good enough diesel wrench that keeping it healthy was not a problem- I'd always change its oil whenever I changed out the oil in the tractor, and the transfer switch controller did automatic weekly maintenance runs. We could power everything we needed; most importantly the well pump. Our water came from ~800ft down, so that was a real issue.
We could have run for several weeks on the gennie as primary power, very easily. And it was nice knowing that the lights would just flicker for a few seconds before the gennie took the load in a power failure, untouched by human hands.
I never could justify going solar here in CO, despite the plentiful sunshine. This is because every spring and summer we get hail- lots and lots and lots of hail, sometimes with stones up to 3". The friends we had who adopted solar all went broke replacing smashed/dead panels when they'd do their semiannual roof replacements, and most have since given up. Insurance around here stopped insuring the panels long ago- they barely even cover roofs, for cryin' out loud.
Now, somebody else owns all that. More power to 'em. I have one little portable Chinese solar panel that I can use to charge a phone, radio, or battery light, now that we are apartment dwellers. And that's it- that's all I'm going to need. At least I can move it inside when the big chunky stuff is falling, and carry it with us should we need to run.
If you are in a place with calm weather, solar can indeed make a lot of sense. I wish I could have used it: I actually had a liquid-cooling design for using the panels to also collect passive solar heat, before I realized that it wouldn't be viable with the panel technology of the time. But the problem with any of these backup mechanisms is that none of them are maintenance-free. So take a very close look at the local environmental hazards and maintenance requirements of your chosen solution before buying in...
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Alastair Crooke again
Daniel Davis is an especially good interviewer in this instance:
I suppose I keep pushing this stuff because someone has to be out there contradicting the official narrative. At any rate, Trump does not appear to be getting what he wants, and it's looking unlikely that Mossad will be able to pull off any more stunts in Iran. So maybe they will just lose a war, because they want to have one.
"You exclude the poor, not necessarily by disenfranchising them, but by giving them nothing to vote for. By giving them two candidates who are both members of the oligarchy." -- Michael Parenti
I asked my AI pal, Deepseek, about solar panels.
.
I've been meaning to catch up on this topic. So here you are. Don't know if it is helpful or not for you. Best wishes to you and your family.
.
Any follow-up questions about these? I have a feeling that tariffs are going to drop off soon. They are crushing the American people.
.
Thanks Pluto
Lot of great info there.
You mention tarrifs as though I can still import them into the states. Is this still possible? I take it they are importable, but with heavy tarrifs.
If so, I may need to wait 3 years until Trump is gone, eh?
My instinct that China is at the forefront in solar technologies was correct. In the absence of competition, American solar technology has retarded to 20th century products at 21st century prices.
American consumers are being denied higher quality products for political reasons. Or industry lobbyists. Or both.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
I asked a follow-up on that
Here's the answer:
.
Feel free to ask DeepSeek other questions you may have. It is a very cheerful AI — and eager to help. Your question can be very long-winded. Tell DeepSeek that this is regarding off-grid solar panels that you want to import into the US. DeepSeek may be able to hook you up with an importer in the US. It looks like off-grid usage of solar panels can skip certain regulations. Tariffs may or may not apply.
.
I'm buying Chinese products without tariffs, at the moment. Chinese companies shipped a lot of product to the US, and warehoused it, before Trump took the throne.
At the link below you can buy thousands of Chinese products that are already in the US. The products are priced low and tariff-free — and they are returnable. The link is pointed to their solar panel pages. While they may not carry what you want, the various sellers are willing to connect you to products that may interest you.
.
,
Really good info, Pluto
Will make contact with some of those suggestions.
Didn't know off grid was a separate distinction.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Some thoughts
regarding alternative power sources.
Power stations are now available as stand alone units, use a generator inlet plug for a house, extension cords to specific appliances or hardwire into the house. Depends on your local rules as to permit requirements. If not hardwired could load and move to a second location to keep your dollar investment. Some of the models designed to scale over time as finances allow. Most tax credits require system hardwired into house.
I began with a EcoFlow Delta Max 2 a few years ago for some necessary medical equipment. Batteries can be recharged when electricity service restored or via solar panels. Also, purchased a low cost gas generator to charge batteries if clouds, snow or rain interfered with solar panels. Compared dollar cost and hassle factor to an Emergency Room visit if the person had complications due to no electricity. Very confusing line of products. Competition has improved over time and may no longer be the best starter unit.
How to power your Whole House with a battery generator - Ecoflow Delta pro (7.22 min)
And a current comparison of Power Stations for the whole house.
Best Big Power Stations of 2025 - Ultimate Power for Home Backup & Offgrid Use! (20.18 min)
At 12 min shows a scalable unit which may be expanded as budget allows to 90Kwh for whole house and AC well.
Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.
Could be an option
But I really need the capability to charge the electric car.
At present, I can charge it off a 15 amp standard wall outlet, but it takes 22 hours. I can live with that. But will the largest powerstation run that long charging an electric Leaf?
Also, my pump in the well is 220vt.and that would be a basic requirement.
Thanks for the videos. Watching them now.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.