We're a family with four wild boys, living in nature with our chickens, goats, dog, cat, & rabbits. Our homestead is not just a place of residence; it's a lifestyle choice driven by our passion for sustainable and health living.
We're invested in producing our own food, and exploring the possibilities of off-grid solar energy. Our channel is focused on educating with practical knowledge like propane heating, solar energy solutions, and effective gardening techniques.
As passionate followers of Yeshua (Jesus), we've established a small home church here on our homestead. It's a place where fellowship and faith meet, reflecting our commitment to living our beliefs. We gather on Saturdays, embracing the teachings of the Bible and sharing this journey with others.
Join us as we navigate the challenges and joys of homesteading. Whether you're here for homesteading tips or off-grid solar ideas, we're glad to have you along. Don't forget to subscribe and be a part of our growing community!
Looks amazing, but did you include any venting? What is the product used for the skirting below the 2x6’s? I’ve been looking for a skirting solution that I absolutely loved and this is it for our summertime Mobile!
Thanks! Yes. I went back and put vents in. I used 4x8 Hardie Panels. Be sure to paint them quick and they will start to crumble (eventually) where they come in contact with the ground.
The USB-C-to-DC standard defines max. current at 3 Ampere at 12 Volt (=36 Watt) - OR - 5 Ampere at 20 Vokt (=100 Watt). I mis-ordered at Amazon in the first place a 12V/3A. After plugging it into my Anker 737 power bank, it got itself into a reboot loop, because while booting the Mini takes more than 36 Watt, USB-C-to-12Vdc cable switches off due to overload and switches on again - and repeat. After reading the USB-C specs I ordered the USB-C to 20 Vdc cable and now everything works great. Even at 170 km/h (105 mls/h for banana fans) I get 100 MBit/s. Living on the fast lane a.k.a Autobahn. Greetings from Germany. 🇩🇪❤️🇺🇲
Starlink Mini users, help! The DC power cable in the Starlink spec sheet is listed as 5.5mm x 2.5mm. However, when I checked several online shops, they show it as 5.5mm x 2.1mm. This has really confused me. Could it be that the DC power cable has two different ends, with the end that connects to the dish being 5.5mm x 2.1mm and the end that connects to the power supply being 5.5mm x 2.5mm? I'm not sure if this is the case.
My biggest question about lifepo batteries is this... Lets say your battery is discharged to 40%, are you still getting 12v output? Normal lead acid batteries provide lower voltage, say 10.8v when discharged to 80%, 75, etc. (Mind you, these are just random numbers, i know thats not an exactly accurate statement) I have 9x 29 series 122AH lead acids that cant seem to keep a 5k btu window unit running (about 400w running) for more than 4 hours or so before my inverter hits low voltage limit and cuts off. Im at the limit of my charge controller (800w/60a) to have solar charge faster, so my options are higher voltage batteries/system, or maybe better batteries would help? Lifepo batteries are an expensive experiment to buy 9 of them to find out how they would compare.
Good question. LiFePO4 batteries maintain a voltage above 12V for most of their discharge cycle, which would keep your inverter running longer without hitting the low-voltage cut-off. Your current lead-acid batteries may be getting old and aren’t holding their full charge, which is why you’re seeing such short runtimes. Replacing your full setup with LiFePO4 would potentially give you a run time of around 28 hours. That's a big investment, though and it may be better to look at eventually moving to a 48v system. I think you would save money going that way. It all depends on if you plan to expand in the future.
Would it be possible to utilize the original water tight connector? Like cut off the end of the original cable then slice the cables to the 12v supply. Just curious. Maybe the cable was too long to make it work in your first setup.
This video made me curious about the parallel operation when you turn off individual inverters. If you have three inverters in your video, configured in parallel, can you turn one of them off and on as needed? In other words, can you save on idle power consumption by cutting one off during the winter, or some time of the year when you expect less load (or less solar)? Would this hurt anything or cause them to malfunction when a slave is turned off for a while, and then turned back on?
Question: $50/mo 50GB Mini Roam plan. If you active the plan, use it 10 days and 10 GB of data then pause it. Then two months later do the same again. What are you charged for the first usage? How is the remaining 40GB prorated to the second period? What is the charge for the second use period? I only need the setup every couple of months for 7-10 days at a time. I can’t get Starlink C/S to answer this.
That's a great question. The way I understand it is when you cancel, the plan stays active until the end of the billing cycle. so you would end the active plan with 0 GB of data to use. The question it raises is this - when you restart your plan (let's say 15 days into your billing cycle, and you pay $25 instead of the full $50), do you get 50GB or 25 GB for the prorated time?
Timely video! I was just looking at some thermal camera options, specifically this model - HIKMICRO B20. I llike the phone attachment model. Very reasonable compared to the HIKMICRO, plus the big screen is nice. Thanks for the pointer! The Orion 1000, what/how do you use it?
I'm glad the timing worked out. I can't say it's the best and only option to go with but it's so much better than my other. As for the Orion 1000, I don't use a lot of 12-volt batteries at the moment, so I just use it for testing things like this. I've used it to power my Starlink Mini dish and have a few videos on that. This battery would be great for RVs or for trolling motors on boats. It's super light and can be cycled thousands of times.
Using one of these is clearly a superior way to find hot spots. Gives you a visual representation - It's a much better tool. However the cost is a bit much for me, so I use my $15 digital laser thermometer (which I already had) and it seems to work ok for my purposes, comparing the temperature of my cable terminal connections, etc. But if you can afford it by all means get one of these.
That’s a great point. The laser is a great budget option and can get the job done. One thing I’ve found with the camera is the importance of not measuring reflective heat. If I’m trying to get the temp of something shiny and there’s a hot object behind me, I can easily get a false reading. Moving around to get a different angle is very easy when you can see it on the camera. It won’t be as obvious with the laser but it can be done for sure. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks. I had mine run for 20 hours then had the same problem. I took it to the service center and said it was a bad spark plug. paid 74 dollars. I got it home and same problem. Called them back and wanted me to bring it back. So there sorry assed junk. Should sue since this is a safety issue a family could have died. I use my carbon monoxide unit anyway.
Looks pretty smooth. I’ve been thinking about one of these. I follow cify home inspecting and he is always recommending every home owner should get one, I just haven’t looked far enough to research them. This looks pretty good.
I'm glad to help! I've used this so many times. I even used it to find water pipes in the wall to avoid hitting them. Just run some hot water, and they start glowing in the wall. It's pretty amazing. There are endless reasons to have one for typical homesteading stuff, and that doesn't even go into finding people or animals in the woods at night.
@@EastTexasHomestead Something I enjoy about solar is the dreaming to make something awesome part... Finding new things to learn, and share is why I like your videos.
I know the feeling myself 😁 Before making the initial investment, I watched hundreds of videos dreaming about what I wanted to do. I’m still dreaming for that matter!
@@A101stNCO so they give me a product that I’ve used every day this week and have deeply enjoyed it and it’s less expensive and better quality than the one that I’ve previously purchased so I let you know that it is a good product for the price and then you are offended. Can you walk me through your logic?
Not offended, just jesting. But okay is this your first "free" product review? Doing any affiliate stuff yet, some of us know how this works. Paid reviews next?
I've done plenty of free product reviews, and "affiliate stuff" is how I pay many of my bills. I'm looking forward to having a paid sponsorship someday. :) I'm not sure if you're a coach or a troll 😜
I'll be setting up an 18kPV, wondering how well it'll work with a generator. Would like recommendations for generators that are compaitlble. Midnite Solar's new All In One is supposed to be more forgiving re power quality.
To be clear, you're talking about running directly into the generator port on the 18Kpv, right? Assuming that's the case, I took a quick look at HomeDepot, and there are a few options, but you're going to have to spend a lot. I'd probably go with something like the Champion 12,000-watt generator in order to hit the specs needed. www.homedepot.com/p/Champion-Power-Equipment-15-000-Watt-12-000-Watt-Electric-Start-Gasoline-Powered-Portable-Generator-with-CO-Shield-with-50A-Transfer-Switch-201405/328602592 The 18Kpv requires a 240v (two hot wires) input from your generator, and EG4 recommends that the generator have between 6,000 and 21,600 watts of output. See page 22 of the manual: eg4electronics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/EG4-18KPV-12LV-Manual.pdf?ref=esttxthst In my opinion, it's easier and cheaper to get a smaller generator and run it through the Chargeverter. That way you can charge with 120v or 240v and use a lot less fuel.
@@EastTexasHomestead I think that is good advice. I see the inverters can be damaged by a bad generator, so $500 might be good insurance, allow a cheaper genny, and add flexability. Thank you!
It can be paused...This is direct from the Starlink site Mini Roam Service Plans. a) Mini Roam Plan. The Mini Roam Plan allows you to access Services at any destination where Starlink provides active coverage and is designed for low demand, portable, land-based use, such as camping or nomadic living. Mini Roam Services allow you to access Services at any land-based destination within the continent that you place your Order and cannot be used on the ocean. Mini Roam Services can be used in-motion and can be paused.
Appreciate you breaking this down as I believe this will helpful for many. Side not....love the microphone, very cool. You're an asset to many, keep it up!
(NEW) Get a FREE Month of Starlink w/ my Referral Link: www.starlink.com/residential?referral=RC-1368225-15872-65 Plus, I've put together a list of the products here: amzn.to/3Mhy88l (affiliate link)
I'm not sure. My guess would be that if the voltage from the turbines is within the working range of the inverters, it would be ok. I'd check with the manufacturer first, though. The best thing would probably be to add a separate charge controller to the battery, independent of your inverters. That would work for sure.
(EDIT: You should not use this MPPT with wind.) It depends on the size of your wind turbines, but I would end up going with the EG4 Solar Charge Controller MPPT | 500VDC 100A since all of my equipment is EG4. It's also a great value compared to the Victron stuff, which would be my other choice. Here's a link to the EG4 one of you want it. signaturesolar.com/eg4-solar-charge-controller-mppt-500voc-100a-mppt100-48hv/?ref=esttxthst (affiliate link)
@EastTexasHomestead my entire system (other than the panels which I'm getting from Santan Solar) is gonna be eg4. And yes I plan on hooking the turbines through a charge controller to the battery bank itself. What I'm confused about is a Signature Solar employee told me they do not sell a charge controller that I could hook the turbines into. Very confused now.
@@RedbarFan66 I've never dealt with a wind turbine so I really can't say for sure. My guess is that they don't officially support them, and their MPPT charge controllers are built for solar only. If the turbine puts out DC power within the specs of the charge controller, I don't see why it wouldn't work. But again, I've never used one.
