Off-Grid Solar Living with a Sol-Ark 12K 

You deserve an award for such a clear, thorough explanation. Love that generator...

I got my Sol-Ark and panels from Scott as well. Great people to work with. 1.5 years no problems. 5K of panels, almost 8 megawatts generated in northern Minnesota. Fantastic support from Sol-Ark as well.

Excellent vid: lots of what and I greatly appreciate the why's

Best explanation of the product that I've seen! Thank you!

That was very well explained. Thanks a lot.

Thank you for sharing. Wonderful presentation

You did a great job explaining your system. Thanks for taking the time to make the video.

Very nice explanation. You answered questions I had. My wife and I are about to install a smaller unit, we also are getting it from Scott. That’s an awesome set up you got there sir!

Steve, this was a quite educational video, and I learned a lot. Thank you!

Hello Steve: Thanks for taking the time and effort making this video! You've given a comprehensive analysis of a complete off-grid system that can take a pounding (EMP hardened). Your system is nearly the exact design I need but for a couple of small changes. Again, thank you. Robert Chambers.

Thank you, great presentation.

I’m looking to do a very similar system. Thank you for putting in the time to make such an informative video! This helped me out tremendously! BTW, I live in Texas as well!!!! God Bless....

excellent setup and explanation

LOVE the Generator and Muffler :)

Great content. Fantastic video and setup

Great video. I'm buying the solar as well. Most informative video out there! Thanks man!

Cool video! We just got everything dialed in with our sol-ark, just need to get the PV moved over from our outback flexmax controllers. We also made some videos on our channel and have learned a lot since we started!

Thank you for sharing, it’s a wonderful system. I especially like your generator choice. I went with an air cooled and I regret it due to having to change the oil every 100 hours.

I Love the Sol-Ark . My 8k has not failed me. Never complained about the cost until I found they are manufactured and assembled in china. Then to add insult to injury the software for the monitoring is in China also...

Thank you for making the video! Really great breakdown and kind of similar to what I wanna do at my house. Only difference is I would be grid tied but not backfeeding anything to the grid.

Great video!

That generator set up is so cool

Bravo! Best solar explanation video I’ve seen in a while. Not too technical but you really covered all the bases for me. Hear nothing but rave reviews about solark. You and @engineer775 should do a guided tour of Solark head office.

😩😩 we need that !! Very nice 👍🏼

That deserved a like, comment and subscribe if I’ve ever seen it guys! I know it did. Thoroughly executed! 👏

Great stuff thanks for sharing!

Nice set up. A bit rich for my blood but, if the capital is there, do it! Thank you for sharing.

Great presentation. Thanks :*}

Thanks, Steve. Interesting video and lots of information. Going to be checking into something like this as well.

That is an excellent setup. You picked really excellent components. I do prefer lithium batteries but I understand your reasoning for going with FLA. I hope it works great for you long term. Let up know if you have any problems so we can all learn.

I love that you have a shed detached from the living area. Any issues it’s far away from the living quarters.

Very concise

Awesome explanation of your system. Do you have any optimizers behind each solar panel? Are the optimizers needed if your panels don’t get any shade? I am still learning about all this. Thanks!

Great video and very educational. Thanks for sharing. Have you had any issues with the Sol-Ark not being in a climate controlled space? Especially during the summer when the humidity is high.

So happy to see you DIY. The largest costs of and ESS is 1) $$$$$ batteries (if lithium) 2) $$$$ installation 3/4/5) $$$panels/inverter/financing. So you saved a lot.

Hi Steve, could you provide more information about the size of your home, appliances you're using, size of battery bank, etc. I'm building a new home off grid and I'm interested to know if you've had any issues with your system. What have been some of the biggest problems/obstacles you've experienced?

You got a subscribe! We are debating if getting the 12k or new 15k. Would you recommend going as big as the 15k? We only have 100amp service but want to go off grid fully. Already partial. Just debating if the 12k will be enough, or if 15k is worth the extra? Thanks. And again great video thx

Great video. I did want to 'hear' you start up that genset. Maybe another video just on it?

Best sol-arc video I found yet! Have you had any issues with any high inductive 120v loads causing a line imbalance. I heard this was an issue/ one thing they don’t like being a transformer less inverter.

I have a couple of questions. I live in Billings Montana and am planning on doing a new build of a home or if I can, find a home that I can add pannels to. How much would a estimated cost of a single level, 1200 to 1500 sq ft home be to run on solar?? Can it go in tandum with electric so that I could switch my power back and forth if I chose to do so? Does every build need a solar shack and is the solar shack protected from EMP?? I want my home to be fairly efficient and am also looking to add a wind turbine as well. Would you be able to work with a local home builder here in Billings if I can find one who works with efficiency builds? I am a Prepper and would like to be as self sufficient as possible. Also, if the pannels are on the roof, do you have to climb up during the winter to remove the snow or do the pannels stay warm to melt snow?? I would probably use the system that has the pannels set up behind the house rather than on the roof so they can be adjusted for maximum sun and easier to clean off in the winter. The SolarArk has caught my interest.

Very Well Done Sir, Brilliant Piece of Work, i just wanna ask about the distilled water tank and tubes and the procedure about top-up the batteries all the time

Great setup and an impressive system. Question on the battery bank. Commercial power backups check the internal resistance is the individual cells periodically. Cells age at different speeds and you want to replace a faulty cell before it brings down your whole battery bank. In addition to checking the fluid levels do you do any other periodic maintenance on you batteries?

Hi, I see the green grounding wire in the Sol-Ark but is it just connected at the PV on the array frame?

Excellent video and information - What is the generator (Kholer?) and where did you get it?

I don’t know where you live but if it snows there should you insulate the shed for the batteries?

Easiest way to find true south is to find out what time solar noon is at your location (easy to look up) and put a stick in the ground vertically. The shadow is true North.

Steve, I bought some land in TN and need an off grid system. Would you happen to have a parts list and sources for everything you show in your video? It's exactly what I am looking for. By the way, thanks for your Navy Service! I am finishing up my one year mobilization with a Navy helicopter squadron in Japan.

Yes sistema! 🌞 ⚡👍

good install !!!! can sol-ark take a wind input or need another controller ?

So other than when it's cloudy what you have right now powers your entire house? And that's running your house as if you were on grid? I know on one of your videos you put a auto transformer which kind of levels out the loads. Is that still working out good for you? And on a different video I saw you got a new 12K. Are you completely satisfied with the sol-ark? I'm going to be building a house in New Mexico that is completely off grid and I'm just trying to figure out what I need. Well not so much what I need I've been watching your videos engineer 775 videos and several other peoples for well over a year. I just wanted to ask a regular guy not someone that's selling something what they think about that system. Any input would be appreciated.

Excellent presentation. Thanks. One question. At 24:15 you said that when the battery bank reached 60% the generator would auto-start. How is that 60% determined? By battery bank voltage, or by measuring amps used from the batteries? Determining % of battery remaining based on the voltage is not as accurate as measuring amps flowing from the battery.

I would have installed the secondary LP regulator on the outside of the shed or at least pipe the vent outside through 1” pvc. If the diaphragm blows, you’ll blow your shed up.

Great set up. Where did you get the hat? Maker doesn't have them listed on their website.

What generator are you using? Model? Thx!

If I were to change one thing it would be to put your air intake on the top side of the door to help with the heat that rises from the genset.

Curious where your from Steve, I am looking into going off grid at our family farm. Looking to see what the best panels would be for North Dakota. Please advise. Thanks.

It looks like quite an investment up front. How long will it be before you have a net positive from this investment?

Hey Steve, I'm not sure if you can hear it, and I'm scrambling trying to figure out a fix. I have a Sol-Ark 12kw inverter as well, and it emits a 15kHz whine when it's on. It's about 60 decibels if you're standing in front of the inverter. Do you happen to be able to hear it? Have you been able to stop it from doing it? I'm going on three months with this and it's driving me nuts.

What size generator do you have?

what about lifep04 ?

14:12 Did you say EMP hardened? As in electro-magnetic-pulse? For solar flare protection?

Do you think the premium you paid 771 was worth the advise you got vs sourcing the material yourself?

Had a sol ark 12 installed this past august. All was well at our off grid camp until this morning. Was watching the news and the system alarmed then the inverter went dead (so I could trouble shoot what the alarm was) and then the batteries turned off. I’m beside myself trying to figure out what happened (it’s Saturday and nobody is available it seems). I doubt my small TV used all 9000w of power over two hours time. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Would Lifepo4 batteries work as well on a similar setup as yours ? What will be the pros and cons ?

Great video, thank you for sharing your system. I’ve had some people over to quote my system. Will you give me an idea on the cost of yours? Thanks!

Thanks for a very nice presentation. You mentioned an engineer/company that you consulted. I could not make out what you said. Could you post please? Tom Fisher EE Pecan Plantation, TX, 0TX1

My IPhone has a compass in it. Check your phone. You may already have what you need. If not check the App Store. Presently magnetic north is 17 degrees east of true north.

I gave u a thumb up but are you serious? All that and u didnt start that biatch up? Everything else was great.. Do u think the Sol-ark can mix battery and gen in an off grid scenario?

Could you give us a ball park figure of the cost, just the solar. Thanks

Flooded lead acid batteries need the specific of gravity checked. Have you done that. Where is it at. It's the difference of them lasting years or failing in short order

what is the idle wattage of that inverter no load power usage

Everyone keeps talking about EMP hardening. Can someone run through a legitimate scenario in which the grid fails because of a weapons or solar based EMP, but somehow a solar array isn't fried?

How much did all that cost ?

Not sure if anybody asked but what was the cost of your system? Going off-grid is tempting but...

16:30 touching AC terminals with your finger 🙈😱🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

😁for no building codes

How may amp-hours are your batteries?