Camp property found, now updates.

[ArlyA]

That's a great fire pit!!!!

Ya it is nice. Got it shovel out for the 1st time on Sunday. The previous owners had not did that in some time.

 

[ArlyA]

Splitter in use. Action was plenty fast.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Yeah I was going to say the same thing about the fire pit, real nice!

 

[airbiscuit]

This one's dog tired. Where did the 2 extra dogs come from?

 

[ArlyA]

We own three and was sitting the neighbors dog for the weekend. Neighbors is in bottom pic.

 

[ning]

If we're spending your money, I'd suggest one of those LiFePO4 battery "generators" and hook up some standard 110v LEDs.

You can get a "generator" for well under $1/Wh (300Wh $230, 2000Wh $800 40# weight) and anything you power with it would seamlessly migrate to a more permanent AC power setup later.

A 300Wh (say ~270Wh usable) would run three 60W-equivalent bulbs, 8W each, for 11h straight). Personally I'd go for the 2kW ; should be a very useful amount of power while will being luggable. With a 2kW, you could literally use a microwave oven, 5 minutes on high takes about 120Wh - not very much. Wouldn't advise using a microwave to make your tea though, that's what the wood stove is for

 

[dodge man]

When I was suggesting and led setup for light I was talking something like a battery operated camp type hanging lantern. We have one for power outages that has 4 D batteries. It runs a long time on them.

It sure looks like the fun has begun! Your dogs always seem to enjoy themselves. Some dogs just love being outside.

 

[ArlyA]

Of course we plan and hope, to return to camp for the weekend. Forecast looks good at this point. We will be looking at various power options and use the system he left along with our 2000 Honda gen unit. What I like about the generators is we can bring 2 gallon of fuel and know how much time we can get out of that. Batteries never last as long as advertised, in fact I have given up on aftermarket tool battery's that don't produce the 8amp hours they claim and most fail in a year or 2 of tool use anyway. I've returned to only using Makita tool battery's 5amp hour ones.

 

[EddieWalker]

All my cordless tools are Makita and those 5ah batteries are very impressive!!! Do you have the Makita LED light? We use it for power outages in the garage. We're in and out of it all the time, but don't want to run a cord in there for light while using the generator, so we just leave the Makita light on. I think it will last 8 hours, I'm not sure, it's never died on us. During the day we use the charger off of the generator to charge up the batteries again, and do it again the next night.

We used to power the house with a Honda 2000 generator during power outages, but now we use a 10,000 watt generator, which handles the fridge and a couple of window AC units so we can sleep at night. Its loud and it uses a lot more gas than the Honda.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

If we're spending your money, I'd suggest one of those LiFePO4 battery "generators" and hook up some standard 110v LEDs.

You can get a "generator" for well under $1/Wh (300Wh $230, 2000Wh $800 40# weight) and anything you power with it would seamlessly migrate to a more permanent AC power setup later.

A 300Wh (say ~270Wh usable) would run three 60W-equivalent bulbs, 8W each, for 11h straight). Personally I'd go for the 2kW ; should be a very useful amount of power while will being luggable. With a 2kW, you could literally use a microwave oven, 5 minutes on high takes about 120Wh - not very much. Wouldn't advise using a microwave to make your tea though, that's what the wood stove is for

I think one of those battery "generators" is not a bad idea. But they are not cheap. If the place is going to stay off grid why not just prepare to do 12v everything? It was my understanding that bringing in AC power was not going to happen so why prepare for that future that will never come?

 

[hayden]

It's great to see you enjoying the place as I'm sure you imagined. You had a long haul finding the place, and totally deserve it.

Battery "generators" are well worth considering. I have a Bluetti, and there are a number of other brands. It works really well, and would silently power your lights and small appliances. Of course they need to be recharged, which you could do at home during the week, or via a gas generator at the camp. The big difference is that your gas generator runtime will be reduced so less time listening to it, and you can have total quiet in the evening.

I replaced my Honda generator with the Bluetti. My run time is never long enough to run down the Bluetti before I can get it home to recharge it, and it starts every time, unlike the Honda after sitting for more than about 5 minutes. I actually really despised that Honda, and was very happy to see it go.

 

[ArlyA]

It's great to see you enjoying the place as I'm sure you imagined. You had a long haul finding the place, and totally deserve it.

Battery "generators" are well worth considering. I have a Bluetti, and there are a number of other brands. It works really well, and would silently power your lights and small appliances. Of course they need to be recharged, which you could do at home during the week, or via a gas generator at the camp. The big difference is that your gas generator runtime will be reduced so less time listening to it, and you can have total quiet in the evening.

I replaced my Honda generator with the Bluetti. My run time is never long enough to run down the Bluetti before I can get it home to recharge it, and it starts every time, unlike the Honda after sitting for more than about 5 minutes. I actually really despised that Honda, and was very happy to see it go.

Huuumm. Did you ever have that Honda gen carburetor looked at or the decompression mec?? We've owned them for many years, and have two today and love them. We will be looking at various power options and use the system he left there, along with our 2000 Honda generator we are using there now.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Those "batteries" are not generators, but my Honda is and they are so quiet and run so long on a gallon of gas, I wouldn't waste my money of an EXPENSIVE battery!

SR

 

[airbiscuit]

ArlyA has the benefit of a currently functioning cabin, and a good Honda generator or 2. He will have enjoyable time spent up there to, see how things are functioning now, and what near term and future term likes and needs are.

Then he can decide what blend of battery/solar/generator works for him. He can get plenty of advice and options from TBN members.

 

[ning]

He can get plenty of advice and options from TBN members.

He *will*, like it or not

 

[shooterdon]

Interesting discussion. A Honda 2000 watt generator is about the same cost as an equivalent Bluetti with solar charging. The Bluetti is rated for 3500 cycles but even if it lasted 2500, that is a lot of fuel saved. Having to lug fuel a mile is just one more hassle. But Arly already has the Honda….

I have been thinking about getting something that would let me shutdown the whole house generator at night when we do not need it running. We went through a lot of propane this spring when we had no power for 17 days. Was looking at the Honda but I leaning more towards the Bluetti or similar now.

Not having to have/store fuel is an attractive feature.

 

[hayden]

I use my generator strictly for occasional portable power. Never for sustained or long term power. So the Bluetti matches my use nicely, was much less expensive vs a generator, and is much lighter and more portable eliminates gas, and doesn't have a cab that gums up every time you leave the machine sitting for a while. They aren't for all needs, but I think are a good fit for many.

 

[Sportsman762]

I have been watching this thread for a while. @ArlyA thanks for taking us along on your journey to find the right camp property. It has been fun. I am excited to see what you do with the camp, and the changes you do as your make it yours. Keep posting, and keep the neat photos coming. It looks like it will be years of work to get it to where you want, but watching the evolution will be neat. I am especially interested in what you do for a well, if you do a well.

 

[ArlyA]

I have been watching this thread for a while. @ArlyA thanks for taking us along on your journey to find the right camp property. It has been fun. I am excited to see what you do with the camp, and the changes you do as your make it yours. Keep posting, and keep the neat photos coming. It looks like it will be years of work to get it to where you want, but watching the evolution will be neat. I am especially interested in what you do for a well, if you do a well.

At this point, we are planing to gather roof water for general use, but of course not drink but bring in potable. That's what the past owners did.

I should add, we did find a septic tank in use.....

 

[Sportsman762]

So a well and some off the grid power and your set for year around living.