Planning a day with 2-3 inches of afternoon snow...

Photowhit
Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,002 ✭✭✭✭✭
Well, I've been up since 4:30-5, guess I should get up and be somebody...lol. Not getting back to sleep at 9am.
Bonus sunshine, before the storm today!

Planning my Saturday;

Burn barrel and cleaning paper goods!

Haul in as much firewood as possible before the storm, though I pretty much did that yesterday.

Top off house battery, be sure the solar array broom is undercover and easy access!

Be sure to get pork sirloin on the grill by noon!

Check/add wood to woodstove!

Enjoy lunch.

1:30 Snow, nap...lol

5:00 swept snow off solar array, I know you don't want too, but it'll be dang nippy in the morning! Should be bright enough to get some decent charging Sunday!
May be an image of outdoors
Home system 4000 watt (Evergreen) array standing, with 2 Midnite Classic Lites,  Midnite E-panel, Magnum MS4024, Prosine 1800(now backup) and Exeltech 1100(former backup...lol), 660 ah 24v Forklift battery(now 10 years old). Off grid for 20 years (if I include 8 months on a bicycle).
- Assorted other systems, pieces and to many panels in the closet to not do more projects.

Comments

  • wellbuilt
    wellbuilt Solar Expert Posts: 763 ✭✭✭✭
    Nice , my panels are ice up for the foreseeable future ☹️ They are frozen and won’t melt when is below 20o 
    Out back  flex power one  with out back 3648 inverter fm80 charge controler  flex net  mate 16 gc215 battery’s 4425 Watts solar .
  • Photowhit
    Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,002 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Should melt in the teens if you have direct sun and can get some exposure.
    Though perhaps you might be saying -20... no help there!!!
    Home system 4000 watt (Evergreen) array standing, with 2 Midnite Classic Lites,  Midnite E-panel, Magnum MS4024, Prosine 1800(now backup) and Exeltech 1100(former backup...lol), 660 ah 24v Forklift battery(now 10 years old). Off grid for 20 years (if I include 8 months on a bicycle).
    - Assorted other systems, pieces and to many panels in the closet to not do more projects.
  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,730 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    edited February 2021 #4
    Add to the list,  keep the snow shovel where it won't be buried so you can dig out the solar array broom ;)

    When this happens here, there is a store in town that has beer, ammo, and gas. They should add pork sirloin, I know they have tri tip,  veggie sandwiches, beyond beef burgers, my favorite is fish tacos!

    Oh yea, make sure you have a tow rope in your vehicle. I almost got stuck up on the mountain 2 nights ago. As I punched thru 2 feet of snow by going way to fast on a mountain I thought,  there is no place like home.
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

  • 706jim
    706jim Solar Expert Posts: 514 ✭✭✭✭
    My frozen panels would melt nicely once the cells were uncovered from snow, if even just partially. I invested in a car window scraper to help remove ice safely. Enjoy the cold! (At least there are no bugs at this time of year)
    Island cottage solar system with 2500 watts of panels, 1kw facing southeast 1.3kw facing southwest 170watt ancient Arco's facing south. All panels in parallel for a 24 volt system. Trace DR1524 MSW inverter, Outback Flexmax 80 MPPT charge controller 8 Trojan L16's. Insignia 11.5 cubic foot electric fridge. My 30th year.
  • Chris11
    Chris11 Registered Users Posts: 130 ✭✭

     there is a store in town that has beer, ammo, and gas.
    You have a store that still has ammo? 

  • wellbuilt
    wellbuilt Solar Expert Posts: 763 ✭✭✭✭
    My panels just don’t melt off @20o or below once they freeze hard they stay frozen , it needs to be very sunny 
     maybe in a few more weeks the sun will be high enough in the sky to melt some snow . 
     Any way I went from 16” of snow , to a 5’ snow drift across most of it .☹️
      And someone put my panels 30’ in the air .
     I’ll have a scraper to put on the end of my pole for next trip up in a few weeks
    Out back  flex power one  with out back 3648 inverter fm80 charge controler  flex net  mate 16 gc215 battery’s 4425 Watts solar .
  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,730 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    Chris11 said:

     there is a store in town that has beer, ammo, and gas.
    You have a store that still has ammo? 

    Some ammo these days. We are a small rural county and the store has you place an order and they call when it is in. Our big problem is the tourists going thru town on the way to Yosemite National Park.
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

  • Photowhit
    Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,002 ✭✭✭✭✭
    So we only got an inch or so of dry snow, It did get down to -1 overnight. I was going to wait for double digits to go clear the snow but have nice sun penetration through the upper clouds, distinct shadows, so I went out and cleared them a few minutes ago, 5 degrees (11ish). I was surprised I wasn't getting much of any power through the 1", after clearing the 4Kw area of the array, it had gotten a bit darker, only 5-600 watts charging, but that will top me off if it doesn't get much worse.

    The snow fell on sub freezing panels and was dry, so was easy to clear... More, maybe today, certainly tomorrow, before it gets really cold mid week. 
    Home system 4000 watt (Evergreen) array standing, with 2 Midnite Classic Lites,  Midnite E-panel, Magnum MS4024, Prosine 1800(now backup) and Exeltech 1100(former backup...lol), 660 ah 24v Forklift battery(now 10 years old). Off grid for 20 years (if I include 8 months on a bicycle).
    - Assorted other systems, pieces and to many panels in the closet to not do more projects.