Author Topic: Welcome to the Preppers Place!  (Read 15510 times)

Offline catseyes

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Re: Welcome to the Preppers Place!
« Reply #15 on: April 28, 2012, 11:29:05 AM »
We intend putting on solar panels here once we sell the Melbourne place.

Gary, I saw a program on survival that said water cannot be kept indefinitely in plastic bottles.  They recommended using them and rotating the stock.


Offline catseyes

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Re: Welcome to the Preppers Place!
« Reply #16 on: April 28, 2012, 01:07:22 PM »
Just remember too, if there is a major disaster,  if you are in the city you will be trapped there.   The Civil defence guys, once they get into action will not let people wander in and out as they like.   Get out early.  There will be NO water.  There will be NO septic system.  Toilets will back up.  There will be DEAD people so disease will spread.

Also small towns will have enough to support only so many people, you will find after a day or two it will be unlikely that they will let you into some towns.   I think you will find that they will close their 'borders' to outsiders.   


Offline Christine

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Re: Welcome to the Preppers Place!
« Reply #17 on: April 29, 2012, 06:04:50 PM »
Did you work out how many you needed and instal them yourself or did you get a company to do it?
If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family anatidae on our hands.
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Offline Saturn

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Re: Welcome to the Preppers Place!
« Reply #18 on: April 29, 2012, 10:08:16 PM »
Did you work out how many you needed and instal them yourself or did you get a company to do it?

The solar panels? It's all DIY 12 volt parallel array. I keep adding to it as funds become available. The system is expandable. The only limit is $ and enthusiasm.

Offline Christine

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Re: Welcome to the Preppers Place!
« Reply #19 on: April 30, 2012, 12:34:40 AM »
We are thinking of adding solar too
If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family anatidae on our hands.
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Offline Saturn

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Re: Welcome to the Preppers Place!
« Reply #20 on: April 30, 2012, 01:46:57 AM »
Keep in mind that 12 volt solar has one major weakness - the battery. Like food they have a limited life whether you use them or not. They need to be topped up on a regular basis or they self discharge and die. When in use they have a limited number of recharge cycles, like all rechargeable batteries. Depth of discharge determines the number of recharge cycles.

The longest lasting batteries are those specifically designed for stand alone solar. These are expensive but can last for 20 years. Next are camping, caravan or UPS type AGM deep cycle batteries. These are cheaper but only last 4 to 6 years of constant use.

Businesses and schools that use UPS batteries often replace them before they are exhausted. If you have contacts that work in that industry you may be able to score some batteries cheap or even for free and still get a year or two out of them. But remember they will eventually fail whether you use them or not.

If it comes to the crunch, wet cell car batteries can be used as a last resort. They don't like to be deeply discharged or tilted, they discharge corrosive flammable gases and corrode wire and terminals, but in a pinch they will work and are readily available. 

Offline Christine

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Re: Welcome to the Preppers Place!
« Reply #21 on: April 30, 2012, 08:16:45 PM »
Ah ok. I hate the whole battery management routine. I find it difficult and tedious.
If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family anatidae on our hands.
Douglas Adams


Offline Saturn

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Re: Welcome to the Preppers Place!
« Reply #22 on: April 30, 2012, 11:06:26 PM »
I may have made it sound more complicated than it actually is. Once in operation the charge controller does everything, but you need to know a few parameters to set it up in the first place.

I'm a radio/electronics technician but still found there was a learning curve to setting them up. Then again campers, caravaners and 4WD enthusiasts do it all the time to have power in the bush. 

 


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