WranglerX
Elite Member
Have you looked into something like this....
Using a container to store implements
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For those uses get a generator.
HawkinsHollow
Veteran Member
Super cool! But do you know how much something like that would cost? Especially anywhere far from a major port.For members who don't knoe these exist
40 FT Side Opening Shipping Container | Aztec Container
A 40 ft side opening shipping containers are an excellent choice for portable onsite, secure storage. Can be customized to your specs. Buy shipping containers here.www.azteccontainer.com
DaBear3428
Platinum Member
my neighbor got one of those and i helped him partially install it until he gave up and hired some one. i looked at those and the kit cost as much as a assembled tube building and then you have to put together. also did not like that the trusses are in like 20 pieces and just not as sturdy as the welded tube truss building that are the same price (actually less considering labor).Have you looked into something like this....
DaBear3428
Platinum Member
all depends on the cost of the container, I see adds for 18 x 21 buildings with 2 roll up doors and a man door for less than 7k installed, the roof slopes so no rust out issues and roll up doors are a lot easier to use.
2 Car QUALITY 100% Steel Garage Metal Building Equipment Storage...
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victoriatx.craigslist.org
I have a 20' on my hobby farm yard the inlaws use for storage when they downsized. Possible ideas for utilizing wall space? Imo it can utilize a smaller spaces using 8' walls being some what organized however it won't be very useful if it's unorganized and stuff ends up piling in there making it ramped. 5 Tips for Organizing Your Shipping Container Shed
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Vigo327
Platinum Member
I am powering my whole house 100% off grid with 10kw of panels and inverters and a 3000lb pile of deep cycle lead acid batteries. So i can confidently say, yes powering a shipping container from solar/inverter/battery will be very easy and even fairly cheap. You could potentially piece together a minimalist setup that would do that stuff for under $300 (highly dependent on how much battery you want), and by the time you hit $1000 you could even include a $150 ac window unit in the $1000 and sit in front of it taking a break when the sun was good. Seriously! Go for it!
Edit: I should elaborate i suppose.. the key is mostly in USED solar panels. A used solar panel that isn't broken is basically 95-99% as good as new and depending on how old it is it might be 1/10th the cost of new. I bought my 240w panels for ~$36/ea. The battery in the setup only needs to be large if you intend to actually power things overnight. The block heater overnight is a lot more expensive to build around, than a circular saw that's only used when the sun is up. During the day the battery will mostly serve to give brief surges of power during motor starts for your saws etc, but if you have at least several hundred watts of panels (which is possible to do for $100 depending on your patience watching the local facebook marketplace, craigslist etc) it will not do much else and thus doesn't need to be very big at all.. UNLESS you want to power a bunch of stuff overnight. Lights barely count. If they are LED you can light up a half acre with a car battery overnight. But electric heating elements could be a big deal depending on how big they are. If you're talking about a 40w heater running for 8hours a night, that's 320 watt-hours and again even a car battery could comfortably do that. If you're talking about a heater way over 100w, and ive seen some coolant heaters up to 1500w, then you are getting into buying a bunch of battery to support that and it will get expensive quick. If you give up on the block heater idea this goes right back to being cheap.
Somewhat unrelated and a little pie in the sky: My old 2009 Prius had a coolant 'thermos'. It was a highly insulated canister that stored hot coolant, and when you started the engine cold it would release that hot coolant into the system and heat the engine much quicker. It could keep coolant hot for 3 days. A diesel would need to be heated BEFORE it started, but still thought that was a cool anecdote..
I bought my 20' container for $1600 and i WISH they were still that cheap. I'd buy more.
Edit: I should elaborate i suppose.. the key is mostly in USED solar panels. A used solar panel that isn't broken is basically 95-99% as good as new and depending on how old it is it might be 1/10th the cost of new. I bought my 240w panels for ~$36/ea. The battery in the setup only needs to be large if you intend to actually power things overnight. The block heater overnight is a lot more expensive to build around, than a circular saw that's only used when the sun is up. During the day the battery will mostly serve to give brief surges of power during motor starts for your saws etc, but if you have at least several hundred watts of panels (which is possible to do for $100 depending on your patience watching the local facebook marketplace, craigslist etc) it will not do much else and thus doesn't need to be very big at all.. UNLESS you want to power a bunch of stuff overnight. Lights barely count. If they are LED you can light up a half acre with a car battery overnight. But electric heating elements could be a big deal depending on how big they are. If you're talking about a 40w heater running for 8hours a night, that's 320 watt-hours and again even a car battery could comfortably do that. If you're talking about a heater way over 100w, and ive seen some coolant heaters up to 1500w, then you are getting into buying a bunch of battery to support that and it will get expensive quick. If you give up on the block heater idea this goes right back to being cheap.
Somewhat unrelated and a little pie in the sky: My old 2009 Prius had a coolant 'thermos'. It was a highly insulated canister that stored hot coolant, and when you started the engine cold it would release that hot coolant into the system and heat the engine much quicker. It could keep coolant hot for 3 days. A diesel would need to be heated BEFORE it started, but still thought that was a cool anecdote..
I bought my 20' container for $1600 and i WISH they were still that cheap. I'd buy more.
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ArlyA
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Seems last fall I found them priced for 20ft ones on criags L and FB marketplace they were advertised as just $1999!! But they shipping to here was another $1000. Not really low cost storage.
I live off grid full time and use a solar system for our electricity. I also regularly work on and do construction projects (including solar system installation) for others in the area who are also off grid. What you describe could not be done practically with a small solar setup. Lights and battery charger are doable. Running power tools and/or a block heater is not, particularly the block heater, which is almost always going to be used when the sun isn't shining or high in the sky. For those things, a 2000-3000 watt inverter generator is the way to go. For lighting and for charging cordless tool batteries, a panel or two, charge controller and battery/batteries would work well, but might be more expensive than it's worth. For lighting, a very simple, inexpensive solution is to get a wire adapter for your cordless tool batteries and some RV lights that are compatible with the voltage. Charge the batteries at home or in your vehicle and plug it into the adapter. Works great for small sheds and outbuildings.
DaBear3428
Platinum Member
agreed the big issue is block heater. the rest is easy and cheap