This is very (very) late to the party, but the kill-a-watt is measuring AC draw, which comes after all the losses of the inverter. I would think if you measured the current draw right at the battery, just running the 7W DC bulb would use significantly less power than the interver + the 3.5W bulb on AC... The inverter might be pretty efficient at near full load, but just plugging it in with zero load probably uses more power than the bulb.

Thinking about it more, you could avoid using the inverter a lot of the time with these couple items:
Cigarette Lighter Ports with switch: https://www.amazon.com/ONLINE-LED-ST.../dp/B00PXAN1DU
Car Laptop Charger: https://www.amazon.com/Outtag-Univer.../dp/B071SDW4QG

You'd probably want to go for a battery monitor like Captain mentioned, and find one with a low voltage cutoff so you wouldn't risk running the batteries dead by leaving something on.

Converting from DC to AC back to DC is not very efficient, especially when the DC to AC part is designed for high current and you just need an amp here or there a lot of the time. The laptop puck also has USB outputs, which could charge your phone.

I also noticed they have fans and a range of small coolers/refrigerators designed for cars, so you'd have a lot of accessory options. You might already have some things from your van living days, but if not, they could be useful the next time you travel.

Yes, this is where I think I made a mistake. ... The problem, I believe, is the piece of stove pipe which attaches to the actual stove. The next connection isn't what it should be.

That said, we got about an inch of rain yesterday and I did not have any problems. Maybe drilling the holes helped. Not sure I want to take it apart unless I have to.

Thanks for this, definitely something to consider. I have suspected the inverter might not be the most efficient way. ... my load consistently draws ~.4 to .5 amps according to the killawatt.

the only thing is you get water in and it will rust out inside. and you have to clean it out at least once a year or risk a fire from igniting the creosote that builds up inside

I've been thinking about buying an electric moped/motorbike to get in and out of town. Which would be a no-brainer, if I had grid-supplied power.

Seems like the batteries are a range of sizes, but ~1.5 kWh is high-end of them. It's 7 miles into town, so that's not a problem. Just wondering how large of a solar array I'd need to make this work.

That's like 525 Wh to go in and back?

ive ridden them plan on maybe 15 mph. and much less on hills where you also need to pedal some.
plus they are expensive so you have to spend lots of time making it theft proof when unattended. they are cool though.

for about 300 or less you can get a small gas powered setup to put on a bike of your choice. and it uses very little gas. just more noisy than electric. and you have a real bike that pedals easily if you want. and has more power for hills.

many states require that they are insured, and you wear a helmet. and you cant get away with riding on sidewalks at times like with a regular bike.

This is another situation where there seems to be more than 1 way to skin a cat. Quite a few online resources specify female end up & male end down. When they put the connection on your stove they intend for you to keep installing the stovepipe in that configuration.


Does the crimped end of my black stove pipe go up or down?


National Ag Safety Database

I would hope they're not advertising a 40 mile range meaning you'd have to completely drain and damage the battery to do that, so it might be a little better than your 525 estimate. The battery capacity on the scooter is about the same as one of your marine batteries, so it wouldn't take that much of a battery upgrade to do it. But if you're going to have to regularly run the generator to charge it, you're probably better off getting a gas scooter. I think you said you already have to run the generator most nights for a bit?

It didn't sound like you were interested in being on the grid, but it really would make your life so much easier if it's an option, and could be cheaper. You can still offset your usage with solar using a grid tie inverter. Those generate as much AC power as they can from your solar cells, and push it onto the grid. If you're consuming less than that at the moment, your meter runs backwards. Not having to maintain batteries is huge, and you can bank credits in the summer and draw on them in the winter when your panels aren't generating as much. And you can spend more money on panels, which will generate power for the next 30 years, instead of batteries that will need to be replaced in 2.

Thank you again for this. I'm not sure how it will work out long-term, but this morning I'm running everything on DC power. Took me a couple of tries--I think I fried the first charger puck with reversed polarity. ...

Looking forward to seeing if this makes a difference. ... What is/was the low-voltage shutoff monitor you/Cap mentioned? A device I can wire into the converter setup?

Appreciate the advice and ideas, but you're right--I just don't want to connect to the grid.

The solar setup I have isn't capable of tying back to the grid, it's just a 12v DC setup .... But you are right that it might be cheaper and definitely would be easier.

I'm just very resistant to anything that will bring this place into contact with more people, bills, forms, etc.

Yeah, something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Galley-Power-.../dp/B0147DYUN8

Just hook it up in between your battery and your DC loads like the laptop charger and DC LED light, but not the battery charger or the inverter. Setting the cutoff is a little confusing because it just has the one rotary switch, but, for example, if you set it to position 8, then it would disconnect all your DC loads when the battery voltage drops under 11.7V, and keep everything off until the battery gets charged up to at least 12.8V.

A long time ago you had linked to this:
https://www.amazon.com/bayite-6-5-10.../dp/B013PKYILS
That is a DC equivalent of the kill-a-watt device you were using, and you could install it as well if you wanted to monitor how much power you're using for different things.

Pleasant surprise to see the new issue in the mailbox today. I forgot about it. You can count me in for the next set even with the double dip on issue 5

Bump for updates. Enjoyed this thread and have always had an innate desire to do something similar. Thanks for a good read!

overall the best although not cheapest way to be off grid

is to have a large propane tank. and use that for refrigeration, heat, cooking, hot water, generator use, with a wood stove for primary or back up heat.
and charging batteries during no solar times.
then having as much solar power as you can afford and have room for. and same thing for batteries.

it would be nice to see if op has moved on or is still living his adventure.