Living without- challenge

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Thinking freezers, what kind of generator would you chaps reccomend to run a small chest freezer? is there a multifuel one?

What size do you need for a dometic dwelling?

Sandsnakes
 
Biggish one. Its the startup demand that can knock out the genny (there is a surge in drain as the freezer kicks in). There should be a plate on your freezer giving wattage - find a genny at least twice that size (for surge).

Gennies come in petrol (two and four stroke), diesel and propane (less common). Most are only one fuel

Red
 
Thinking freezers, what kind of generator would you chaps reccomend to run a small chest freezer? is there a multifuel one?

What size do you need for a dometic dwelling?

Sandsnakes

There are multifuel fridgefreezers out there, 240v/12V/gas bottle.
Possibly the best place to look for them are mobile-home online shops, I belivee they are more somewhat expensive than the just 240V options though.

I tried to make sure that all my things, answerphone, wifi, radio, LCD TV etc which have transformers all run at 12V.
That way if in a power cut and I need to use any of them I can attached them straight to 12V batteries and not have the waste of stepping up through a inverter and back down to 12V again.
 
Thanks chaps,

when the brand new one I have dies I will go multi fuel freezer, whish I had know that last night when I bought it!:rolleyes:

Red define big, how big in physical dimensions are we talking about here? I dont want a monster in the garden the size of a steam engine!

Sandsnakes
 
My idea is not to go off grid though I may invest in a generator for the freezer. The idea is to pare it down to a working minimum with only one thing ever working at one time (apart from refridgeration) think of how many times you boil a kettle and watch it while the tv is on. Extend this into other areas and you begin to see a pattern of use that squanders your own money and time.

The reason I was saying look at it as an off grid system, is a lot of the people who have gone from grid, to off grid, have some very interesting things to say about a lot of stuff. My favorite was the bloke who was being driven nuts by a mysterous power drain, until one day he looked down at the cooker, and a led blinked back at him.

Biggish one. Its the startup demand that can knock out the genny (there is a surge in drain as the freezer kicks in). There should be a plate on your freezer giving wattage - find a genny at least twice that size (for surge).

One of the new systems, seems to be, go offgrid, and then choose your charging method, so the sort of last resource being grid power. No grid power, use genny if needed.

All that said, it a lot of money to do right, or get wrong. One of the big things they have found is having your house aligned right can make so much difference, and life so much easier.

Just as a bizarre question, why could you not now take your house 12 volt? I know there is the odd item that has to have big juice so step up, instead of stepping down. They are doing it with lighting circuits, so it must be in theory possible.
 
12v is possible , & quite easy, transform 240 to 12 hahaha, 110 is common in most countrys, but you can have what you choose..we are not held to anyone , or forced to use what is from some large company, it is just convenient.Get a 3kv diesle generator , (£700) that will run the whole 3 bed house, it will also teach most to turn off what you dont need, especially when you come to put the kettle on ! but if you have a rayburn or some multi stove, bingo you cracked it, your food cook slowly to perfection all day, your warm, & a good copper kettle ...now there's an idea ! ;)
 
thanks for the ideas guys, keep them coming. I am begining to think of going off grid, problem being that I live in a house split into two.

So I am going to get a small gennie to run the freezer and possibly rig it so it kicks in if we have a power cut. New roof soon, so real hardcore insulation and boarding in the loft plus a couple of solar panels and a seconday water tank to feed pre-heated water to the boiler.

Any other thoughts? Cant do aga as size is an issue.

Oh yes the sparky comes today to rip up floor boards and put in a new ring main, consumer units and RCD's... bliss!

Sandsnakes
 
Any other thoughts? Cant do aga as size is an issue.

Oh yes the sparky comes today to rip up floor boards and put in a new ring main, consumer units and RCD's... bliss!

Sandsnakes

As your paying the sparky for a fair sized job and they've got to wire into the main fuseboard, if your seriously considering solar/gen setup it might be a good time to ask how much extra it'd be to pre wire it with disconect and change over switchgear.

Also some home insurance does cover rodent damage to wiring so worth checking yours.
 
"Doing without" is a challenge at first, no doubt. Weaning yourself off of all the stuff you've been sold.
If you have a bit of stamina, a splash of conviction to be a little more independant and the courage to look in the eyes of those who say "nay" then, I'll tell you, you'll have more of an objective perspective and insight into the state of humans. Get through the first bit without spending a fortune on so called green alternative crap and you'll feel satisfied. Real freedom will begin to seep in.

A hint to this is that huge nuclear reactor in our sky.
It is as simple as this.

Scott
 
Glen, sorry to say my insurance does not cover rodents and wiring. I was going to us solar energy to pre heat the water rather than being involved with batteries and power cells as storage.

Sad to say thay did not finish, still only have one socket but also have the joy of floor boards up and dust and grime every where... ugh!

Sandsnakes
 
What is it with london contractors, they arrrive, leave their tools and then runaway... I am begining to realy appreciate microwaves! God I wish I was in the woods!

Sandsnakes
 

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