Um, why didn't you have the folks who delivered the "new" refurbed battery drop it closer to the back of house? Also, knowing the battery was incoming, why didn't you make it a priority to take some of that wood you have laying around and build a box to shelter the "new" refurbed battery, especially considering all the issues you have been having with temps affecting your old batteries? I know you are only one person, but I don't get "the priority list"? You didn't fully finishing insulating your house, so now you're using more fuel then what you would have been if it was insulated. I'm no expert on anything, just my observations...food, shelter, warmth, and power are the priorities for anyone living rough like this.
I think that watching this actually makes folks think more about what they should prep for, Mr. Troy does not hide that he could do things better. A human is not error free, I appreciate the fact that he does freely admit his errors.
I did not fully insulate the house because its 85 degrees in here all the time with the stove damped down all the way and the window open. I did not have them deliver it to the back door because they could not. They had a 2wd van which they did not even think they could get back to my place at all. Let alone maneuver around in a tight place to get it in perfect position. They were kind enough to drive 3 hours one way to deliver this. I was not asking them to waste any more time over here. I have a lift and a truck. I can move it when I am ready. Why have I not done it yet? I have been sick for a week now. We have -20 wind chills and I had a fever for three days. I am still recovering. I will move the battery when my strength is back.
Troy got ALL that barn wood in November which has a LOT of unusable wood that he should be cutting to burn. Its all aged and dried, yet he talks about cutting a dead tree down? Does this make sense? And I look around my area and see folks have cords and cords and cords of wood the entire length of their homes, five feet high and five feet in depth for winter. Yet Troy has so little cut stacked and near the tiny house. Puzzles me.
eaglehill6 and have you tryed picking through a jumbled an unstable pile like that in the freezind cold i have it's like playing pik-up-sticks & chenga
***** of cause doing that wont thin down his tree line so he gets more solar power ( granted not a lot as he is targeting dead tree;s but THEN IT'S A twofer and every tree counts )
Some have answered you nicely already. I am sorting through the barn wood. I just sold $75 of old barn wood yesterday. Nice profit. I am burning the broken stuff as I go too. But the old dead wood has to be cleared out anyway. I plan to have more open space next year so the trees are in the way either way.
Elizabeth or Beth DeRoos maybe he is going to ask people to send him a couple ot cords,must be nice to to just ask people for things ,hell i am 70 years old with disabiliy i plan ahead and cut my own wood .
One of my mentors once told me: "The world is ruled by those who keep showing up." You definitely qualify as one of those type folks. Thanx for your "stick-to'd-ness"!
Woke up to 1 degree here in S.E. KY yesterday. Winds of 21 MPH. Tonight we are expecting 6. The saving grace is NO ICE OR SNOW. (Not yet at least). STAY WARM and watch your birds Re Wood. I honestly had to laugh when you said "This is enough wood to last a week or so". A suggestion. Bust your butt in the warmer months on wood. Spring is good. It will have Spring, Summer and Fall to sit and season. Adapt the attitude "NEVER ENOUGH WOOD" because truly, if you use it for heat there isn't We got a good head start on it this year. :-)
Troy, there is a easy way to move that new battery bank over to you tiny home, without buying a new dolly. Cut a few small trees (about 3 in in dia), cut those into 4 ft lengths, you will need 5/6, then pick that battery bank up with the engine lift, take the wood, and place them under the bank, use them as rollers, and roll that bank over to your house. As you move the bank, take your already used pieces from the back, and move to the front, until you get the battery where you want it. Low tech works every time! I still would recommend a old (non working) deep freezer as a battery box.
Well you first need to have some pretty decent rollers. They have to be pretty much all the same size, sturdy and fairly round. Getting those is easier said than done. Also, the ground would need to be hard and not muddy. Nor should it have obstacles such as tree roots and rocks. But, first given all that, well, OK it's an idea.
SSanf he could cut them out of 1 (young) tree, Pieces only need to be 2 or 3 ft wide, and don't have to be perfect, just close. It would work. best part - no cost
LMAO... That'll never work. Clearly you've never chopped down a big tree before. It's hard enough trying to roll big heavy tree stumps by themselves, let alone having a 612 pound battery sitting on top of them. Trees never grow perfectly straight and round without branch nodes/lumps and stuff to make it a PITA to roll. You'd have to put each piece of tree on a lathe to cut them up round enough for this idea to be even remotely possible.
zilym who is talking about using a big tree (besides you)? That would be stupid. And yes, I have cut trees in my lifetime. I am talking about using something the size of a fence post, not big logs! I have seen buildings moved like this. It is easier than you think.
I am in western new york. weather like hear. love the cat playing in the box. mine do the same thing. love our pets. I have the smaller morning star MPPT controller. very good! get some board type insulation and place it around the battery. will help a lot. have to keep venting. I went to NiFe batteries. better in cold and cycle life. that's the same anderson disconnect used all over. standard on a forklift. glaid they gave you other end. its 90F today. love our crazy weather.
Hey Troy - a request. Could you do a video showing what your winter garments are, what you like about them, what you don't and what you do and don't recommend. I live in the north and work outside so I have my own thoughts, but since a lot of your subscribers don't know anything about living in colder temperatures something like this could be an interesting educational moment. And a couple of suggestions 1)Why don't your use your hand cart to move water with? why are you carrying it rather than rolling it? 2) rent (or see if you can borrow) an appliance dolly rather than purchase that large heavy duty dolly. unless you truly feel like you need it. An appliance dolly is designed to carry 1000's of pounds. 3) crowd source for a Go-Pro.
offgrid40 I know. I have pulled a gas range up a gravel drive with an appliance dolly. It sucked. Big time. But if this battery bank is the only thing Troy needs it for it would be better to rent rather than spend all that money to buy. Unless, of course, it is something he will use again and again and again.
offgrid40 if he does it early in the AM when the temperature is at it's coldest it will be fine. The ice will make it solid enough. Rough for sure, but solid.
***** Harbor Freight use to sell tires,it would be pretty easy to make a dolly around there. The idea of moving it with logs would probably be easier and cheaper for Troy though.You're right I'm sure it's been done by now but maybe not.
***** I owned a large second hand store for a few years and I never used my appliance dollie..I used a dolly that would hold 800 lbs and had aired up tires that I put foam in...That worked the best..
Some of my favorite videos are ones where you open up mail and packages with baby cat. Keep it up brother! The Tiny House on Wheels Off Grid solar project is coming along great!
I'm enjoying watching your videos mate, never gets that cold where I live in Australia, looks like good Soup making weather 😊 that's what I do in winter on my wood fire. As people have said hardwoods are better than softwoods for heat, also last longer burning; oh and try not to let your Batteries freeze as it will kill them! You need to get them inside or protected asap.
Thanks for watching. Yes it gets very cold here. And its perfect soup weather. And tea. I will build an insulated box for the forklift batteries and heat it. But for now they are fine. These can be used in a forklift outside in winter day and night with no problem.
The fact is that I found this channel in my attempt to learn about Alt. Power generation. I first saw your channel in a video about how you generated enough power (via Solar power) to run an air Conditioner! So, as far as I'm concerned, Feel free to talk about (and show) your Batteries/Solar/Wind/ and gas generating situations all you want. I have learned a lot by watching your (along with other) videos. At this point I know that I have a good enough start with my Panels,CC and Battery bank to sustain for at least a couple of days at a time in an emergency situation. If the need be I have a 2014 27 ft. travel trailer with solar power and twin Honda i2000 gen-sets paralleled to keep us going as well. I also know now that when I start searching for land to retire on - my first and foremost demand will be a year round running stream for micro-hydro and I will demand to hold water rights or I'll keep looking. I'm open to all States and all Countries.
SSanf There has also been to many earthquakes there lately. Plus, the laws and regulations are screwy, not to friendly towards off grid life..I have been looking in Arkansas, but have not found much for less than 2k per acre (unless you buy big)
Hi Troy. I don't know for your baterries but for mine. Hopecke Equala. voltage is about 32V (24V baterry bank) and reason why it went back to mppt from Equal it is because there was no power to keep it up... btw it is very important to be sure all is according manufacturer specification. Also check voltage compensation ..if it is as manufacturer suggesting. .and even if your batteries will be good you will have problem to take so much power from them because they are cold..and you can't change no matter what....get them warmer..and you can use them more...btw i'm sure more ppl suggested some Ah counting..so that way you know exactly what you used and how much power you put back.
Has anyone else noticed the host of this channel typically loads the most exciting videos on Friday or Saturday and keeps us in suspense until Monday to find out how well something went? I hate this strategy!
The fact that there is suspense. . . Is one of the reasons we all watch. I don't care if it is strategy or just his roller-coaster life it makes for an interesting channel. I am not a big fan of boring. .. suspense is the antidote to boring.
MollyDolly i just want everything to start working.troy deserves a solid working battery system so he can move on and start installing more lighting, get a 120v refrig., install a water pump and get running water, and whole bunch of other stuff. i feel if he can get past the battery bank he will be hardpressed finding things to keep us in suspense. i hope to Jesus this new battery bank performs well.
As small of footprint the Battery is..I would find a way to have it inside right next to your charge controller. Keep em warm and cozy, That way you dont have power loss due to cold temps. You can make a small enough cap for venting outside.. That would be the perfect set up.
These are forklift batteries. They gas off heavily. I do not want them inside. Plus the battery weighs 600-700 pounds. No way I can get it into the house and move it
The Do It Yourself World Duh that why you vent them outside, And start thinking like an Egyptian when you move heavy objects. The Whole task itself is way easy. I'm starting to think you make things sound more difficult than they are. A few old cookie rolling pins under that pack and slide them over. You have that small cherry picker. To do any lifting. Even though you have that nice new refurb pack you dont have 520 Ah in the Cold. You basically have half that. If you didnt live 800 miles away, I come up there and do it myself.
Troy, you keep talking about the "wind chill" during the winter months, the lack of daylight to keep the batteries charged or being able to de-sulphate them, yet you have a wind turbine that is sitting by the old motorhome. The sun never sets on the wind, and your PMG can deliver some charge even in low winds....just a thought
That is what I mean by a tow tractor battery pack. You should be able to make a nice little insulated box to hold the whole thing. Just put a roller bed on the bottom, so you can slide it in on one end with engine hoist and close the door behind it. Now is time to get the wind tower laid out in your mind as to how and where you are going to put it. When is weather permitting the ground is not to hard or soft. Also the wond is not blowin to hard. That will charge when the sun is not out, but the breeze is a blowin. Just keep the wind from blowing thru you and down the chimney. Need a wind vane cap to keep that from happening. It will also keep the fire burning, by maintaing proper air out of stove. Cold air in and hot air out.
It is an awesome battery. I am hoping to get the wind turbine up soon. But the cold is so intense right now and I need help out here to put up the tower. Hard to get someone out here right now. House is cozy and warm.
I am happy for you, you got your good batteries. Hope you can insulate the batteries from the cold. I think all batteries are affected by the cold. To bad your battery box is not done!
Troyi hope you plan on taking specific gravity readings from your new batteries and record them before you use the batteries, that way you have a baseline to base everything on
Before you charge this battery it would be a good Idea to take a hydrometer reading on each cell and the temperature you do that at, then you can start charging and check again. You will learn a bit. Also voltage before you start using and after put this info in a folder with the date.
I would suggest you place the battery bank inside a rubbermaid shed or better yet in a warm part of your work space (behind that warm stove)...battery chemistry and charge performance is based on temperature...check out performance curves vs temp....a cold battery will not fully charge or release its energy....
+Raymond Balcom Yea, I cringe seeing people placing their battery banks outdoors...even if they arent sealed batteries, I'd find a way to have them indoors in a temperature-controlled environment with some push-pull fan setup to help ventilate gases...gotta keep those batteries warm and happy.
I'm not clear if your fork lift cells need support are the plastic cases sturdy enough to be self supporting....? Certainly easier to move around in case a cell goes south....
Hey i have a tip for u and your engine hoist. When not in use make sure to lower the hoist.. also having hold something up out in the weather isn't good. The reason is , do you see how smooth the shaft is on the pump. When you leave it up it develops surface rust which means when u lower it. it will cut the seal or o-ring inside the pump.. that seal is what is holding all that pressure and weight of the hydraulic oil and such. But you can oil it heavily to help stop the rust.. I,m sure you knew this but i jus wanted to say it :P
The fluid you use in your lead acid battery is H2SO4 So when the battery discharges the sulfur moves into the lead. This is sulfating the lead when you charge the battery you disulfide the plates. Now when the sulfur stays to long it crystalizes about once a year you should try and take this out not by charging till your battery vents.
Enjoyed your video,you can drill your own well for water,many do it yourself well drilling videos some just using PVC Pipe as the drill also many PVC Hand pumps on here too. Best regards. Bob USMC Retired,Semper Fi
or put the engine hoist on boards and make like tracks as camera people do for movies, then keep laying boards til you get there. you even could use the truck to pull it on the tracks, good luck with this. ashes are good in gardens.
Build a thermal mass heater and ditch the conventional wood stove. For tiny house, made it the foundation for your bed. Permies crew can help you plan one out I'm sure.
Don't complain my friend :) Here in Brampton Ontario Canada we had it minus 33 celsius that is - 27.4 Fahrenheit . Let me tell you it took less than 1 min. to feel nasty burning sensation on the skin and you know what this means .
I am in Alberta - and I work outside in those same temperatures. Its all about the clothing and making sure you're prepared for the conditions. I also deal with humidity of about 20%. I joke that I go home to marinade in skin cream, which isn't far from the truth.
***** I have not. I find that Vaseline makes a really good dry skin cream and when things get really bad I use a product called Mane and Tail Hoof Cream. It's for cracked horses hooves and works like a damn, especially on my hands where my thumb and index fingers start to crack. I have had the pleasure of having frostbite on my ass and the front of my thighs so have to do daily "marinades" in the winter to keep the skin in a reasonable condition.
Can you rap some fiberglass insulation around your forklift batteries? Put a salvage break line on it.Do any of your friends have a truck to help you move that? Move the battery with the cherry picker on plywood after you get it close to the tiny house. use a couple of sheets and move them.
Well for a temporary fix to keep your batteries from freezing and ruining. I would hope that the mice dont have time to move before you get them located in the correct spot. you should build a box on the back of your tiny house to put them in and use some wool rock insulation or something mice dont like.
Troy Scotland had winds of 113mph yesterday it was real bad here.. Plus why do people moan that u keep talking about your batteries don't these people know its an OFF GRID PROJECT??? People give the guy a break please
Hi Troy, new battery looks awesome!! Looks like in your video you have a Goal Zero Escape 30 briefcase panel out there. I use three of those to keep my goal zero batteries topped off. Good panels!!!
I don't know if someone has suggested this before but can u possibly put snow in the pot to melt down and humidify your home? Grats on your new batteries/
KISS This... Batteries will freeze if left uncharged in winter. A fully charged battery is still functional, but a bit reduced in capacity. Your car would not start otherwise.
The Do It Yourself World True. Using such as starting a car with a battery that is extremely cold will also damage it. That is why there are companies that sell battery warmers.
Troy, have you thought about spraying your solar panels with silicon to make the snow slide off? I am not sure if that would affect your panels but it is very effective with a satellite dish.
Hey to move that big battery get it as close as you can to were u want and use a a few logs under the batter to move it in to place I've used the same trick to my shed
Troy: The cart you use for moving wood, may have capability of handling a 1000 lbs. to get your new batteries moved. I've seen similar ones like yours listed at 1000 lbs...not sure if there is a tag on it to confirm or not.
I know this is an old video, so this all might be moot by now, but here are some ideas I haven't seen in the other comments: 1. To keep the batteries warm while letting them vent, how about diverting the chimney smoke through the outside battery box, may need to mount it higher up though. 2. For rodent safer insulation for stuff, you may want to compare the following types that others didn't mention: A. Rigid BASF invented Styropor(R)/EPS, not the same as Dow invented Styrofoam, this is like tiny white plastic bubbles fused together in massive man sized blocks, then sliced and diced to size. B. Rockwool(R), this is like fibre glass insulation but made from molten rock, not glass. C. Simple double layers of wood/plastic/glass walls with loose pebbles in between to slow air circulation between the hot and cold side, if it doesn't work out, you can simply remove the pebbles and poor in commercial insulation material, you could also remove the pebbles to lighten the weight of your tiny house on wheels. Remember, all insulation materials are just ways of trapping layers of air. 3. I guess both jobs are long done, but why couldn't you just roll that engine hoist with the battery all the way to the house? And if it was too cold outside for the repair kit, why not unhook the brake line and take it inside for fixing?
How are you getting the higher current and voltage to desulfate / equalize your batteries are you connected to the grid, you mentioned in your video that your solar panels are only putting out 45 watts? Watts law is P = E x I. 10 amps x 15.6 volts = 156 watts , that's minimum input into the Solar Power Controller, and I am sure that the controller takes a few watts to run so you probably need more like 175 - 200 watts input to be more realistic. Also that solar power controller looks like it may be designed for two batteries or maybe even four, and it may not equalize your all batteries with a sufficient amount of current with so many of them.
Can you not mount the engine hoist in the back of the bed of the truck with chains. Extend the boom out far enough to pick up the battery like a wrecker truck. Then back the truck up where you need it then lower it down.
watching your videos . and now that i'm just getting started on the solar stuff I plan on going straight to fork lift batteries. not wasting my time with anything else. thanks.
Only one request, I'm very curious to know what the temperature is inside the tiny house when it is 6 degrees Fahrenheit outside! Thanks for the video bud!
actually most systems have difficulty equalizing batteries so normally gasing is not an issue except during hot weather and the sulfides will destroy inverters if mounted above the battery bank.....
Tiny house on wheels, what about putting some of that stove heat into a water storage so you benefit from keeping the heat calories in the house and not need to burn more wood?
Right on bro. I've been experimenting with that idea this winter at my house and it is very good. I bought a pressure cooker from a thrift store for $3. I attached some copper tubing to the vent hole at the top and I run that into a bucket of water. Steam comes out of the pressure cooker, hits the water bucket and cools off. The steam condenses back to water and boom, I just got myself free distilled water dripping out the end of the copper tubing while heating my room up. I can take 500 PPM tapwater down to 3-6 PPM on the first pass. If I run it through again, I can get down to 0 PPM. I bet I would even be able to run skanky pond/lake/river water through it and turn it into perfectly fine drinking water. Very awesome.
Get a repair union for your line. It just takes a small tubing cutter and 2 wrenches. They are made of brass and are compression fittings. You should be able to do it in about 30 minutes.
1st you know I enjoying your vid's The video I just saw said each cell has to read 2/2.5 volts to even be candidate for reconditioning Your hydrometer has to have a longer tube Only special water (can't remember the name) can be used to top off Once the chemical is added and the water is added,you have too charge for a constant 24 hours The video I saw was done by a guy that makes his living doing this,and the way he did it and your way are not the same,I suggest more research,good luck.
that ryobi looks bad ass....would make quite the weapon also...and that new to you battery pack looks good as new....something to ask them to cover if you do a video...is there really any difference between forklift batteries and batteries marketed towards off grid use...since they all are rechargeable...i wonder if there is really any diff.
Don't you have a wagon or lawn cart you can move the battery with? Would it fit in the cart you move the firewood with? I'd find a way to mount it to the tongue of the trailer right on to the house AFTER you put siding on the house.
My first guess was a weed whacker .Would some plastic skirting around tiny home help you out on you heating?That`s a nice battery was imagining it being wider.
nice new set! get it on (better in!) the tiny home! and thats a problem less! thubs up !! cant you use the tractor and the hanger fr it? its only a few meters???
I've been subject to many different types of extreme temperature in my life but I'd say the worst would have to the cold. I remember while I was in Iraq it was spitting snow and two days later it was 112. I'd say the hottest that I measured in the sun was 129 but that was in the sun. Well do me a favor and build a small room on the back of your place and place the batteries in there along with that pot belly stove to keep them warm. You have the wood already on site [barn wood] and it ain't got to be pretty.
I dont think I would live in 129 degrees. I can handle the cold better than the heat for some reason. I guess everyone is different. At least in the cold you can put more clothes or blankets on. In the heat you can only take off so much. I will build an insulated box for the batteries and heat it from the tiny house through a dryer duct
The Do It Yourself World Troy, you may want to consider a small fan from a computer to blow warm air to the battery box through whatever type of conduit you use...That way the temp in the box would remain for consistent during cold weather and venting. Just a thought. God Bless...
I use a pro mariner pro nautic marine charger for my batteries because it is made to gt rid of sulfation in batteries,,I use one in by big cabin cruiser and my motor home and it does an awesome job of keeping my batteries up to parI have a stereo system that is power hungry and this charger keeps up,, never seen such a good charger besides zantrex
Have you considered storing power generated by solar in the form of gas?....solar to hydrogen (separated hho)...then compressed into a propane tank...just a thought. For what many spend on batteries to store power I figure you'd save money and headaches with a hydrogen system. Hydrogen in propane appliances works well, but if your safety conscious you can put a blowback egulator on the inline. Hope that's food for though, p.s hydrogen is zero maintenance and stores indefinitely. You can play with a gas weed eater motor and just feed it in the air intake for a quick little genny
yup. i patched a break line with 5 inches of RC airplane fuel hose (tubing) and a couple of 1/2 inch band clamps once. got me home and then some. Just patched my plastic Toyota radiator with J B weld yesterday. used a long shoe lace to replace a fan belt once. a soup can to patch an exhaust pipe, super glued handles back on, bungie corded a trunk, hood and a passenger door shut. MADNESS!! gotta love the inventive mind yeah,, lol
grodad I have used the can on the exhaust pipe trick too, as well as a bungie cord to fasten a hood on my van, and have used JB weld for all kinds of repairs on my cars.. Gotta do, what ya gotta do sometimes.
signatureemr I think you're right. Off gassing from that size of batteries could be bad... if the vent fan failed that could be bad. It is just that he doesn't have that battery box built. Someone suggested a freezer... that might be best.
just a thought.. when the guys delivered the battery why didnt they drop it near the house and not far away. It would have been easier to get the batteries to their resting spot from that vantage point as opposed to where they reside now... no?
They make splicing compression fittings for brake lines were u cut were the lines good then it wrenchs down and u dont have to coil the line up u can run straight then put to the good spot on the othere side put the othe compression fitting it real easy and cheap the fittings r about 3 bucks and change and depends on the length or if it a hole u could cut at and the lines good u could fix there with one compression fitting ive done many times got any questions look up splicing brake lines on RU-vid it show u just look for compression fitting
Not sure if they have a website. I found them on craiglist by looking at Queens, NY used forklift battery. They have ads all through there. I will see if/how they want me to give out their info.
Hmm, a tiny criticism about your video. titled, "All about the batteries" but it included a bunch of other 'stuff' that had nothing at all to do with your batteries. Kind of a bummer for those that want just the facts, just the facts, Jack. OK, I know your name is not Jack, but one has to watch a 22:45 video about batteries that only has about 5-7 minutes about batteries. BUT, I noticed one thing when you showed your wood stove and I hope this helps you out. It looks like you have insulated pipe coming straight off your wood stove. that is going to seriously decrease the effectiveness of your wood stove. You should use single wall heavy gauge black stove pipe from the stove to your ceiling and then and only then switch to insulated stove pipe. This will increase the draw of your stove and also increase the overall heat that your stove will produce into your home. good luck
The individual cells never came up over 12.2 volts. They were badly damaged inside. When I opened one the lead disintegrated into a powder. I took them in for scrap metal when I bought those better batteries I am using now.
About the BTU issue on the standing dead trees.. If you soaked them with some of the oil you are using on the paneling a day or two before you burn it would that up the BTUs?
Troy? Would it be a good or bad idea to make an insulated covered box for the batteries to be placed in in the winter? If you create slide in insulated panels, you can remove in summer.
Awesome video series. I'll be doing the same thing soon, as I'm deep in the country. If you don't mind, what did you pay for the reconditioned forklift battery? I've been considering going that route myself.
Look up used forklift battery Queens, NY on craiglist and you will most likely find them. Or email me and I will give you their number. They charge 850 for a 12 volt battery if you pick it up. Comes with a one year guaranty.
KISS This... My old junk forklift battery is slowly coming up in usable energy. They went from 12.2 volts resting to 12.4 over night. I will desulfate them and I believe they will serve me well for many years. This is the budget way to go. You can sometimes get them free for the asking.
hey troy im almost done with the army 21 long years, anyhow I have a lot of cold weather army gear you could probly use, also what size boot you use I have a bunch of brand new gortec cold weather size 10, hit me up if interested....david@ ft leonardwood
well i live in spain and from what i know batteries work the best under good weather condicions,but if it is ok under snow...surprised me a bit...no big deal,thanks for answer.
