Californians Find Their Green Energy Is Useless in a Blackout

My carbon foot print is from charcoal.

 

Compared with what all you guys know this is muy un-importante. But I just watched an episode of ATOH. They really called out how Rodentia love to chew on connection cable insulation to keep front teeth worn down. Guard them cables.

 

Just like anything else in California, totally useless!

 

Water...
For our well, 140', water table ~ 45' usually, I got a couple of 12/24 VDC deep well "ranch" pumps off Amazon, a couple 250 W arrays to keep a string of std lead/acid batteries charged, and a 200 Gal potable water bladder in the attic to provide normal water pressure. Works just fine when we need it. This spring I went a bit further and put a 2nd pitless adapter on the well casing, and ran buried PEX (BLUE) from the well to the main water system with a shutoff, check valve, and a tee. Then put the bladder in a box insulated with three inches of blue board and permanently tee'd into the main water system. Also with a shutoff.
The ranch pump can fill the bladder to 80%, which is where I set the cutoff switch, in roughly 2 hours, which the batteries handle easily. A propane water heater and we're good to go.

edit: note - having everything pre-installed implies that if/when SHTF. there will be no untoward activity vis the well to alert nosy/desperate neighbors re the water situation...

 

Good info. Lancer. Thanks. My youngest does plumbing work. I think I'll hand the well project over to him and his partner. Either of them know a lot more about it and possible solutions than I do.

 

Use some caution - 200Gal is roughly the weight of a king waterbed. Make very sure your structure can support it. Spread out the load if need be.
Be prepared to drop a gallon of clorox or a 1/4 pound of chlorine pool shock down the well to sanitize everything when your done, and at least yearly. Exercise the little pump and bladder/plumbing occasionally: keeps water moving through the stagnant areas. I purchased 2 of everything, as well as the repair kits for the pumps. I used #10 landscape lighting wire for the battery<>pump run. It's impervious to immersion, and much cheaper than standard well cable. Use silicone electrical seal and multiple layers of shrink tubing if you must put unions in the wire.

 

The key may be to get certified as an installer yourself. I just signed up for the first course. Fairly reasonable price and they prepare you to get certified as an installer: Course Offerings | Midwest Renewable Energy Association Most of their offerings are on line so you don't have to be in the Midwest.

Concur. People want a "turn key" solution, but want a cheap solution, so they go buy a cheap off the shelf set up and find out the inverter is undersized, or won't work, the cables are too small and heat up, or they don't understand that having a generator doesn't mean hooking up everything you can plug into it.

Quality parts are expensive. If you can't afford it all at once, set yourself a budget and a goal. Buy one piece at a time and work it into your set up. If you can find surplus/yard sale welding cables, that is a good start for your cabling.

 

Out there far enough that only one neighbor called. She just wanted to know if it was just her house without power. She didn't want to call in an outage if it was just her place.

Most everyone out in the sticks has a generator of one type or another and can fair quite well. Most everyone has a couple of cords of wood stored away for snow power out events. Propane cooktops... Candles... Coffee... Chocolate... all the basic nessities of the good life. Plus good neighbors that watch out for their neighbors... In the city YMMV...

 

According to the EMS in California the homeless cannot even use a propane stove without starting a fire and the same thing for States further north.

 

What, no bacon?

 

Against Muzzie Rule

 

My last power outtage, the other side of my street got power back next day. My side of the street lost power for four days!

 

Ooops and Bacon!

 

Had a little adventure the other day,
Power was off due to construction 9;30 PM till the next afternoon.
I ran off battery power till I went to bed and in the morning grid power was still off so I went to fire up the diesel generator and its battery had failed, so I had to fire up my small engine alternator to charge up my battery bank enough to start the diesel generator and then hook up the refrigerator for a few hours till I had to leave and take my friend to Dialysis .
Something to remember that those small batteries in stand-alone units age fast.
But it paid off big having a small engine alternator to charge the bigger system if it is brought down by a failed battery.

 

I usually try and keep one of those Battery jump boxes plugged in to a wall outlet to stay charged for unsuspected battery failures .

 

I have a jump pack I just didn't think of it at the time. funny how that goes