NOW, we FINALLY have the SOLAR SYSTEM that we have dreamed of and planned on having for several years....... I love it when plans finally come to pass,,,,,and work out.
We have had our 8 Solar Panels installed for a couple of years. This gave us 800 watts (48 amps) to charge the 4 batteries that the Teton came with. I knew from day one that I needed more batteries; however, Teton would not install any more. So, I have been planning this system for the 3 years we have had our new Teton....
Now we FINALLY have it!!! First, I removed the original 4 batteries
The old batteries are out. I had 2 on each side in these battery compartments. Now I can use these compartments for storage! :-)
Next, I installed this flooring back in a space that was just "wasted" empty space in the basement area.
Next, I cleared more of the "wasted" space under the belly and installed this wooden wall and mounted a NEW MAGNUM 2800K Inverter. This Inverter is TOP of the line and in my opinion, the best you can buy.
The NEW BATTERIES were delivered by truck and are ready for installation..
I removed all the old battery cable hookups and John made up these new ones from heavier 0/4 cables for me to use on the new battery bank. (the big battery you see in the upper right of the picture is one that John loaned me to use until my new ones came in)
It was a TIGHT fit and these batteries are very HEAVY, (63 lbs ea) but we got them all (8) in and hooked up. (6vt Lifeline AGM) It's so tight in this area, it's even hard to get a picture...
There,,,,,it's all COMPLETED!!!!! All back in an area that was totally "wasted" space, so I lost no usable space and gained 4 batteries. I'm HAPPY with the job and it more than doubles our battery capacity. I now have 880 amps (440 usable) where I only had 400 amps (200 usable) before. SUPERB!!!! That was my goal!!
For those of you that ask: Is this type system "cost effective"? My answer would be NO! Most Solar systems aren't cost effective. But with some people (myself included) this is a hobby, a challenge and a matter of convenience. So many things we all have are not "cost effective", but I enjoy building a system such as this and using it and making it work for us......Will we use it? YOU BET we will,,,,,,,,Will we enjoy it? IMMENSELY!!!
All the time we were here at John Palmer's Solar Farm, John was having classes and Seminars on many RV'ing subjects, mostly all directed to "DRY" camping and Solar Systems. John is one of the industry's leaders when it comes to Solar Systems. He has lots of practical experience and knowledge. If you want to learn more about it, you need to get in touch with John and attend some of his classes. He gives Seminars, not only here at his "Solar Farm" but at many of the FMCA rallies, the Escapades and several other places. What I really enjoy and appreciate about John is that he will HELP YOU do it, he will tell you what you need to do and work out any problems you might have. At the same time, he will keep a watchful eye over your work while you do it.
John "practices" everything he "preaches". He literally lives off the grid. There is no public power anywhere on his place, not even in his shop. No water well, no sewer, NOTHING!!! Just SOLAR power and GENERATORS.
This is John giving one of his class seminars. He answers everyones questions and gives all kinds of pointers on RVing. I sat in on several of his classes during my "slack" time.
Ater staying at John's place for a couple more days giving our new Solar System a "trial run" and finding that it was all working properly, we bid everyone farewell and moved on to our next destination.....:
Friday, about 1pm, we arrived at our friends Roger (JRoger on the forum) and Susan Haddix's place just North of Monticello, FL. They are having a neat NEW ADVENTURE and have purchased 10 acres back in the woods in a BEAUTIFUL spot. So here we are all set up in their yard. This place is really GREAT and we are only about 20 miles from our old home in Tallahassee. I will tell you all about it next week and show you pictures of it.
Meanwhile today we have a BIG BIRTHDAY party planned. Today Nov, 2nd is my wonderful wife Pat's birthday!!!!! We went to town yesterday and purchased 6 big slabs of RIBS and 6 whole Chickens for a COOK OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOT DOG!!!! We have lots of Family and tons of Friends coming out this afternoon for an afternoon of FUN!!!! and good eating. Let me tell you, Roger is the WORLD'S greatest cook. He loves doing it and is exceptionally good at it. He has a BIG professional portable cooker and has even invented his own dry BBQ seasoning called "ROGERS RUB". It's delicious and we have used it for a couple years.........It's available by order and I'll get the email address for it next week and show you pictures of my PAT'S birthday BBQ cook out. We are all looking forward to seeing old FRIENDS and FAMILY that we haven't seen for several YEARS!!!! It's gonna be a GREAT DAY!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LOVE!!!!!!
Thanks for dropping by and be sure to come back next week............I can hardly wait to "show and tell" about this place and all the FUN we are having!!!!
We continue to sell and service PressurePro and PowerTanks. We shipped out a few PP systems this week and hope to get more orders next week. We also had orders for 3 PowerTanks. If you're in the Monticello/Tallahassee area and would like a demo of the PressurePro or the PowerTank, just give us a call. AND, please keep telling your friends about our website: PressurePro System "Word of Mouth" is the best advertisement we can get.
It was a GREAT WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mike
This Blog is publiushed every Sunday morning.... (giving some thought to publishing ONCE during the week, what do you think?) I have so much to TELL YOU!!! :-)
2 comments:
Mike and Pat,
First, happy birthday, birthday girl! 39 again?
Second, congratulations on a job well done. It is great to see a plan come together successfully. We have toyed with the idea of solar, but don't see ourselves as appropriate candidates. We boondock maybe three nights a year, and wouldn't likely do more than that. But we salute you for your choice, and rejoice that we all have the right to make those choices!
Jerry and Suzy
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MS. PAT!!
Love,
Mikel, Karen, Mike, and Steve.
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