Electricity

[tpathoulas]

My shack is 3/4 of a mile from a power source. My options, deep cycle batteries(2x100A) with a solar charger, my loud(very) generator, or buy a new inverter generator.
I plan to run RO and lights with it mostly.
What do you think the best option would be?
Thanks

[Ironwood-mn]

Maybe split it up - lights on the solar batteries and use the Genset for the ro. If you are "late night" boiling, you would need the Genset anyways, unless your batteries are really good and you are using leds. Speaking from having the same issues (minus the need for ro power) in a fishhouse for the last 30+ years.

[Sugarmaker]

Another option would be to go old school. Get the light thing working well off batteries Then go buy a bigger evaporator. That's how they got it done in the old time sugar camps.
Regards,
Chris

[tpathoulas]

Yes, a different evaporator is definitely been thought about. I currently have a used 4'x4'x1'deep pan. I holds 100 gallons of sap. But it does not have flutes(?) and is not very efficient. That would be a big help. maybe next year or the next on the new evaporator.

[maple flats]

I had that issue for a few years. In 2004 I used 4 propane lanterns, by 2005 I had a generator which I set up 75' away and built a 4x8' plywood wall to deflect much of the noise away from the sugar house. I used a 100A triplex overhead entrance to send the power to the sugar house. I then hung 6 overhead light fixtures, florescent, which are still used, each used 64 watts.
Now after several stages of growing pains, I have grid power, 6.32 KW of solar and I'm net metered. However, my sugarhouse was only 425' from the power pole.

[maple flats]

How much power does your RO need?

[mdm1]

You could do the solar easy enough. Look for an RV system. If you use led lights they don't take much juice. The RO system I don't know about. Anything that generates any kind of heat takes alot of juice. I guess I would check out prices of a system that would work. But remember you need batteries, panels, charge controller and an inverter. I run my cabin off of solar. I would not even consider one of the $150.00 systems you see around. Good luck and let use know what you do.

[highlandcattle]

We lived off grid for 20 years very comfortably. 3 micro turbines and solar. All diy. The sugar shack has it's own solar and micro turbine. Big generac generator too. The kids who bought our place are using the same system. Used a gas powered vacuum pump by Indiana pump. Anything that produces heat is a no no. Led lights. Lot of affordable systems that will work.

[tpathoulas]

Thanks all,
1st, my RO is the RO15 bucket. Carl, from RO, told me 2 100 amp deep cycle batteries joined in series would run it about 20 hours. Add in 2 60W LED fixtures and I would be getting a fair amount less(don't know the math) out of the batteries. Last Saturday I used my loud generator. It ran from about 9:00AM until 10 PM running the RO and lights and used 3-3.5 gallons of gas and after a few hours the sound didn't bother me as much. I will probably keep using that for this year. Solar is a decent option until the leaves come out. My shack is on the top of a hill surrounded by my sugar bush and is very shaded after leaf out. Same problem with a wind turbine. Too much turbulence from the trees and the trees are too tall to get above.

[maple flats]

To help with the noise from the generator, it helps if you get a heavy enough cord and at least 50' long, then make a 4x8 plywood sound barrier. I did that and it cut the noise to a small fraction of what it was. That will work unless you have neighbors too close that it might bother. In that case make a box around the generator with no top, that will send the sound up, just tip the box off to fuel or start/stop the generator or make a door.

[anchorhd]

I used one of these while building once.
A generator/inverter/charger kit consists of a
battery bank, and an inverter with an integral
battery charger and automatic transfer switch.
When the generator is on, the inverter senses it
and connects all loads directly to the generator.
The inverter also changes functions and operates
backwards as a battery charger. When the gener-
ator is turned off, all loads are powered by the
inverter using the stored electricity in the batter-
ies. When the batteries are low the generator
must be used to recharge the batteries. The obvi-
ous advantage to this system is that the generator
runs less, making less noise, lasting longer, and
using less fuel.

[Mead Maple]

Inverter generators (small 1,500-3,500 watt suitcase generators) are super quiet, and not very expensive. Can be hauled out on a wheeler or by hand if you are stubborn enough, and fantastic on fuel. I guess like others have mentioned, power needs would be the biggest factor. Most of these generators are affordable and because of their popularity, can be factory plugged to run in parallel giving you twice the power. Simply use a generator plug in to go to your breaker panel and you have great (CLEAN) power that’s consistent. Plus these have eco-mode which allows you to only run the rpms necessary for the power required by your usage. Look into them. I bought one for site work and other projects and have found it handy about a dozen times this past yearhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200309/cd2a4d6b655d34be44536c48f8aebabc.jpg


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