Solar Garage Project

Solar Garage Project

Pole-mounted Solar Panels

The conversion of my garage to solar power is completed and hopefully it will lower my utility bill. It took a while to get everything set up and working. My panels were pole mounted in order to make it easier to service the solar panels.

A total of four 100 watt solar panels were used to charge a battery bank of four 100 amp hour batteries. Two inverters were used to furnish power. A 100 watt pure sine wave inverter was used for lights and to power a small air compressor. An 1800 watt pure sine wave inverter was set up to furnish power for my power saws. This covers the majority of my power usage in the garage. I’ll also being running a fairly low wattage heat lamp for the chickens in the winter.

A solar panel kit from Grape Solar was used for this project and came with most of the necessary wiring, a charge controller and an inverter. There is additional information posted in my product review. A separate grounding rod was installed on the panels and the solar disconnect that was installed.

My grid-powered outlets are still functional and can be used if my solar power system goes down for some reason but won’t be used unless absolutely necessary. With the completion of this project, my storage shed, greenhouse and garage are now on solar power.

Part Two will show my battery bank, solar disconnect and charge controller set-up.

Got solar-powered garage?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

Solar Garage Project

Free Solar Shed Plans Wood Shed Plans 8x10x12x14x16x18x20x22x24

Free Solar Shed Plans Wood Shed Plans 8x10x12x14x16x18x20x22x24

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DIY Solar Shed Project

DIY Solar Shed Project

Solar Panels

With my new storage shed finally completed, it was time to power it up.  Conventional electrical power was going to be quite expensive to run electrical to my new shed because it wasnt very close to any existing conventional electrical power. Without any inside wiring, it was going to cost between three and five hundred dollars for a grid hook-up and I chose going the solar route as a cheaper alternative.

In the picture above are three 10 watt solar panels that were purchased on a close-out special for $29 each. Total cost of the solar panels was $87 plus tax. The panels also came with several additional cables that were cannibalized to wire up my system.

The above pictures show the mounting that was fabricated for the solar panels. The posts are standard chain link line posts (5 1/2 foot). The mounting frame was made from two pieces of one inch aluminum square tubing and two pieces of one inch aluminum angle brackets. All pieces were four foot in length.  The total cost for this was slightly less than $40 but did require some time and effort to put together. A Battery Tender 25 Quick Disconnect Extension Cable  was used to feed the solar panel output into the shed. The cost of the additional extension cable was about $13. A NOCO ISCC2 5-Way SAE Adapter Connector at a cost of about $5 was used to connect the solar panels together. 

This is the underground pipe that feeds the extension cable into the shed. The cost of pipe and fittings was less than $20. The solar panels were only about ten feet from the rear of the shed. They were mounted to keep shade from the roof blocking the solar panels and to avoid rain  from the roof falling directly onto the solar panels.

The above picture shows the charge controller in operation. An HQRP 20A Solar Panel Battery Charge Controller  was chosen because the primary function of this system was to supply light to my shed and this charge controller works well for this purpose. The cost of the controller was slightly less than $30.

The above picture shows the in-line fuse of my connection to the battery from my controller. This is a Battery Tender Ring Terminal Harness with Black Fused 2-Pin Quick Disconnect Plug that connects directly to the solar charge controller. The positive cable in the picture runs to a small 400 watt inverter.

This picture shows my 100 amp battery ( Walmart brand ... $75) and my 400 watt inverter. The inverter is going to be used to power a small fan when working in the shed. The cost of the inverter was $25. Its big enough for its planned use but a bigger inverter may be added later as money permits.

This is the Cobra 400-Watt 12-Volt DC to 120-Volt AC Power Inverter  that is being used in my system. I used larger cables than came with the unit to lessen current loss and avoid over-heating from using cables that I felt are too small to handle even the light loads that may be placed on this unit. My plans are to not exceed 50% of capacity as a safety precaution and to prevent damaging the inverter. It includes a USB charging port.

This is the charge controller during a load test. In the picture, you can see where the SAE connector to the solar panel input has been disconnected. This triggers the sensor on the charge controller which then opens current to the load connections. This causes the LED light  to turn on.

This is a SainSonic CMP12-10A Solar Charge Panel battery Controller Regulator 10A 12V/24V Auto Switcherspare controller that was purchased as a back-up unit. Just in case!


Any solar power system should be designed for your needs and in such a manner that you dont place unnecessary strain on your equipment. This will insure that it is capable of meeting your requirements. With a little time and effort and slightly more than $250, this system satisfies my needs and should give me good service for an extended period of time. It also doesnt add to the cost of my grid service.

Special thanks go to RW, Jr. who built the shelf that was used hold all the equipment (battery, inverter, charge controller, etc.) and for digging the post holes. 

Got solar?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

DIY Solar Shed Project

New Solar Project

New Solar Project

New Solar Project

I have a new DIY project in the works. When its completed, Ill be posting an update on the project. Waiting on a few miscellaneous parts to complete the final assembly.

Got DIY project?

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

New Solar Project

DIY Solar Project Portable Water Pump Part Two Assembly and Accessories

DIY Solar Project Portable Water Pump Part Two Assembly and Accessories

In Part One the basic planning for making a portable water pump was covered. The actual project assembly closely followed my initial plan and only a few changes were made from the original design plan.  Most of the changes in the original plan were made in order to enhance the functional operation of the portable water pump or to simplify its use.

Building a DIY Portable Water Pump - Assembly and Accessories

1. Portable Power Options - Using Solar Panels 

One of the best ways to keep any system portable is to have a convenient power source. While the choice to use battery power was inevitable, using solar panels to keep that battery power maintained would keep the system portable and there would be no need for a grid connection.

 Once a decision was made to use a couple of small solar panels to charge the portable water pump’s batteries, it became a simple task to install the panels. I didn’t want a system where you had to worry about hooking up a remote solar panel with wires running to it. A self-contained system was going to be easier to use and make things less complicated.

It turned out that two small 12 volt solar panels could be easily attached to the handle of the rolling tool box and still leave plenty of room to grip the handle. The handle was also able to be completely folded in the down position without any additional interference.

Another advantage of this set-up was that a tab stop on the handle allowed the mounted solar panels to be angled in a manner that increased the exposure of the solar panels to the sun. 

Installation of the small solar panels was a simple matter of drilling four holes in the handle and bolting the solar panels to the tool box handle.

2. Mounting the Water Pump

The water pump was then mounted to the bottom of the included toolbox storage tray. It would have been nice if the tray had offered a flatter surface on the top side. This would have made it easier to mount the pump to the tray. As a result, the pump was mounted to the underside of the tray which had a relatively flat mounting surface. I also didn’t want to leave the tray out as this would leave less storage options and also allow a set of pliers or a screwdriver to be kept handy.  

Keeping the pump mounted above the floor of the upper toolbox also allowed room for storage of the suction and discharge hoses. There is enough room for 30 feet of discharge hose and 10 feet of suction hose to be stored in the bottom of the toolbox. It was a simple task to flip the tray over in order to use the pump and deploy the suction and discharge hoses.

There were two minor problems encountered with the hoses. The first was a small weight needed to be added to the suction hose because the weight of the debris strainer  was insufficient to keep the end of the suction hose submerged. The other problem was kinking hoses caused by the pump design. This was solved by adding an elbow to the suction and discharge outlets of the pump.

Testing the pump found it to have a minimal current draw of slightly more than 2.5 amps and a surge draw of about 4 amps until the pump was primed. This is low enough that it shouldn’t place a significantly large burden on the batteries.

3. Installing the Batteries

The lower bin of the rolling toolbox offered space that could be utilized to hold a battery (or batteries) depending upon their size. Other versions of this toolbox offered a removable upper toolbox and a lower bin that was capable of holding a larger battery. The lower bin on this model of toolbox did not offer sufficient room to hold a larger deep-cycle battery (Group 24 or 27?). This also would have increased the weight factor significantly and ultimately affected its portability.

Four 6 volt / 13 amp hour AGM batteries were mounted in the bottom bin. They were wired in series and parallel and would supply ample power to the pump. A small piece of 2X4 lumber was used on each end of the bin to secure the batteries in place. The AGM batteries were also able to be mounted in any configuration since they are sealed units. The cost of batteries could have been cut in half by using only two to power the pump but I felt the additional reserve power offered by using four batteries was worth the additional cost.

There was also sufficient storage space left in the bin to hold a few additional items. These items included a grid charger, an external power supply hook-up and a bag of spare hose parts.

4. Installing the Solar Charge Controller

In order to avoid the possibility of cooking the batteries, a solar charge controller was mounted in the lower bin of the toolbox. The charge controller was mounted using Velcro patches to avoid having to work in a confined space and dealing with the real possibility of accidentally shorting the wrong wire, This made it easy  to detach the controller from the inside of the bin and pull the unit into the open to add or remove wiring as necessary.

5. Accessories

Four switches were installed on the lower sides of the toolbox to control various functions. These were a power switch that cut the main power to the charge controller and pump, a charge switch that disabled the charging function of the solar panels, a switch for an optional light was added in case it got dark before the water pumping chores were completed and a voltage switch was also included to indicate battery status without a continuous display from the voltage meter creating an additional strain on the batteries.

There could have been additional cost savings by using simple toggle switches which are considerably cheaper than the chrome plate switches actually used in the project.

The addition of a small work light added increased functionality should working conditions not have ideal lighting circumstances. This light was wired directly to the batteries and was operated with the simple flip of the switch. This allows any pumping chores to be completed even if you don’t finish before it gets dark.

An external 12 volt 120 watt plug was added to give the added option of using a larger external battery as a power source for extended operational capabilities of the pump. It can also be used to power other 12 volt accessories as needed. This was wired directly to the batteries and was protected with a 10 amp fuse.

It is important to note that it would perhaps have been better to mount the batteries in the top and the pump in the bottom. Unfortunately, this would have made the toolbox even more top-heavy that it was originally. The weight of even two small batteries would exceed the weight of the pump and make the toolbox even more unstable. Placing the batteries in the bottom section made the toolbox quite stable.

While this project cost approximately $200 to make and was completed with all new parts, it doesn’t need an extension cord to make it work. It can also go where and when it’s needed very easily. There are also areas where the costs can be decreased (batteries, switches or other accessories) and place this type of portable pump on a similar cost basis with a grid-dependent water pump.

There is one additional note about the portability of this unit. The total weight as assembled was slightly more than 25 pounds and this made it quite easy to lift over obstacles or be easily pulled over rough terrain on its wheels.

Got portable pumping power?

Staying above the water pumping line!

Riverwalker

DIY Solar Project Portable Water Pump Part Two Assembly and Accessories