Purely solar/generator powered workshop?

[RedShirtGuy]

I don't suppose anyone out there is running their workshop entirely on solar power or a generator? If so, what sort of system is it and running what tools and wattage/hp and how do you find it? Have you run into limitations or problems?

The last time I got a power company to quote for running power to my bush block a few years ago it was going to cost the sphincter snapping sum of $14,000 just to get the power from the other side of the road to my front gate and didn't include the extra ~200-300m it would take to get it to the shed.

From my brief investigations so far, alternative power sources are much cheaper both in the long run and potentially in the future and can most likely run a bush workshop with a few little extras and solar at least has the ability to be expanded on if I develop the property further. Ultimately, besides the workshop gear, there would be a couple of lights, possibly a fridge and/or microwave and occassionally a water pump to feed the gardens. The heaviest stuff I'd run together at one time is a 3hp table saw and 3hp dust extractor with maybe a fluro light and a fridge going in the background.

If going solar I don't think I'd be eligible for any rebates as I wouldn't be feeding back into the system because I wouldn't be hooked up to it in the first place but it still looks like a better value investment and doesn't leave me at the mercy of a third party power company.

[BobL]

What do you do now for power?

[RETIRED]

The array and battery storage needed to run 7HP (dusty and saw) together for any length of time would be astronomical.

A modest array with a good inverter and a 9KVA generator for the bigger equipment would be the way to go and probably affordable.

A gas fridge, water heater and stove would cut back the power use even further.

Solar and batteries do not like heating elements, the current draw is too high.

[RedShirtGuy]

What do you do now for power?
A big wheel and an army of athletic hamsters :)

There is absolutely no power (or other utilities) on the block at all (fixed or mobile) so at the moment I treat it as a fancy camping ground and storage shed (nice and big one too). I cart water around by hand in buckets or a small wheelie bin...which was hard work when I was watering native seedlings all over the 5 acres...thankfully(?) the bunnies ate them all and I don't have to do it now :)

I'm just having a look around to see what options and information I can dig up to get some power there so I can stay at the property a bit more comfortably for longer and have my workshop with me.

:
Good to know that about the array size and draw. Hot water, heating and cooking is all fire driven which is fine by me. I completely forgot about gas fridges which would be a perfect solution. At the moment I just use a great big esky thing with ice sheets in it that can keep food good for at least a week.

A while ago I had looked at some generators just to get going, with the future plan to build up a battery bank to go with it. There was plenty of grunt in the genny to get the machinery started and keep it running smoothly so it sounds like that might be the route I should be focusing on rather than solar...for the time being anyway.

[jimbur]

We lived for many years with no mains power - before the days of affordable solar panels.
Water we pumped up to a header tank by hand at first and then with an electric pump connected to generator.
Lighting, cooking and fridge was gas, tv 12volt black and white. Water heating and house heating firewood.
Heavy tools had to be generator of course and so you arrange your work to fit in with that.
Nowadays lighting is much easier with the new types of bulb that run off batteries. A generator for the big stuff and a few solar panels to keep a few batteries charged and battery powered hand tools seems the way to go.
Cheers,
Jim

[RedShirtGuy]

A couple of years ago I had tried finding a hand pump so I could transfer water up to a holding tank for my vege patch but didn't have much luck. I should probably have another look now. When I was on the hunt for some PVC pipe recently I asked about a hand pump at one place and they were horrified at the concept of doing something manually. Wierdos :q

It seems like I can get a decent enough reputable brand name/motor petrol genny for around $2000 with enough grunt to run some heavy tools and have a few "luxuries" on the side. There are tonnes of much, much cheaper units on eBay with good brand motors but naturally I'm suspicious of why something brand new that supposedly retails for over $8000 is going at less than $1000. I hear that it's something like a dodgy alternator that's bringing down the cost but also wrecking whatever item you hook up to it.

I've got a teeny little solar powered portable light to use for midnight visits to the outhouse but otherwise use candles or oil lamps inside, but it's not enough light to do any serious work by.

It's encouraging to know (from here and randomly in other threads) that some folks seem to have been able to do what I'm hoping to do.

[jimbur]

It would be worthwhile checking out the caravan people. I've been told the lights they use there draw hardly any power from a 12v car battery. A friend used to keep two batteries on the go, one for using for lights and the other recharging in the car.
When the kids did HSC I had an adaptor that allowed you to plug a halogen light into a standard bayonet socket. a hole in the wall and a car battery and it was fiat lux.
Cheers,
Jim

[Bushmiller]

RSG

Unfortunately electricity from the grid is just so damned convenient! I have always been fortunate enough to have power except for a short period before building a house and we existed with open fires, hurricane lamps and torches.

This is all very well for a short while, but soon you just need electricity. The problem with a generator is you have to fire it up for perhaps a minute of work. That makes it both expensive and not particularly friendly for the generator motor.

I have a few three phase machines but three phase power was unavailable where I was living at the time. I purchased a larger (35KVA) diesel generator for this purpose. It had to be around that size to run a 10hp thicknesser and 15hp dusty.

In the end I did not set up those machines and have only run a 5KW jointer and a radial arm saw on it. I save up as much as possible to do as it is hardly worth starting for even 10 minutes work. The diesel engine is particularly bad in this respect. Even a small petrol genny is inconvenient to run for a few minutes work.

Long term you have to look for solar up to 5KW capacity and a back up generator if you need more than that (as with a combination of machines.)

A friend is currently putting in a 5KW solar stand alone system with deep cycle batteries for his new house. I think he is up for about $35,000.

Sorry. Not good news.:( The only other solution is to hook up petrol motors to your machines instead of electric motors. Not better, but possibly cheaper.

Regards
Paul

[RedShirtGuy]

Yeh I getcha. Being able to flip on a switch is just so "normal" now that you really have to plan well in advance when it's not available.

I do have another option re: workshop, and that's to leave it where it is and travel the 45 minutes there, spend a few day visiting and cutting out pieces (most would be "sets" done with fixed jigs and templates for multiples of the same product), then taking it all back to finish off and assemble, with the possibility of having to travel back again for other tools and touch ups. It'd be a huge pain in the bum but trips would spread out over the course of a few days so wouldn't hurt too much.

My life is teetering on the peak of a mountain at the moment and could go off in any direction at the slightest breeze (a round of applause of the dodgy metaphor please :doh:) so the purpose of my question is to be prepared for this possibility. It's also something I would really like to do some day soon anyway so I have a nice and comfy place to retreat to when I've got some time to myself rather than going "feral" - which *is* fun in itself but hard to sustain for more than a couple of weeks.

I really love the property and would love to build a home on it, but that call isn't just up to me. In the long, long, long term I'd probably have no choice but to get on the grid with additional solar. Maybe someone will move in to the empty block next door and we could team up on the power company.

Putting petrol motors in machines sounds good, but a bit too "Tim the Tool Man" for me..."Aroogh aroogh aroogghhh" :U

[Avery]

To run table saws and dustys etc. you would need a big array of solar panels and a BIG set of batteries and a really good inverter and then you would probably only be able to work a couple of hours every second day The whole setup would proabably cost way more than the $14,000 for the power connect.