OFF-GRID update salted with poetry
Something about leaving and coming back
We had an electricity breakthrough with our high-desert Abiquiu glamping site. Right before my epiphany, I was experiencing a slow (stubborn) spiral towards giving up on solar completely and forking over thousands to tie into the grid (somewhere between $10,000-$20,000). But the fate of the residential conformism gods would not have it’s way with me, yet.
Thanks to the 'all-holy' YouTube algorithm finding me, combined with ChatGPT (I know, I've crossed over), I was lifted back into the fluffy, partially cloudy sky of self-sufficiency. I'll spare you the wonky details, but the bottom line is that we now have a system that can power both an AC and a heater simultaneously.
Over the weekend, me and some buddies installed a shade structure, 2,000 watts of solar panels, a starlink dish, a 5,000 watt solar inverter/charger, and two Lithium 48v 100ah rack batteries—whooo-buddy! We got Power! Freedom! 'Merica!
Are we moving to New Mexico permanently? The short answer is "no." The long answer is a bit more complicated. I always struggle explaining to folks what this property is for. The closest I have come is a rambling, lightly edited freewrite that I penned while out on the property this past trip. Read at your own risk.
Leaving and Coming Back
There is something about leaving and coming back to the city; the routines of progress through a time gap in my other life
Quite felt for a better chance to get it right.
To try again: leaving and coming back.
Where is back? Where is the birth place of my heart?
Cameron asked, “are you more city or country?”
I am torn in the murky low-tide pools of Argentinian asado potatoes, where the smoke infuses the whole potato.
Finding where the parallel stream lands, side by side, there is no way except to stop and listen to the leaving and coming back.
When we meet for the first time and I haven’t fully communed my being with you, and I want a little more of you, there is something about leaving and coming back.
When they decided it would be better, for the group, if we shot him and buried him in a special place, there is something about leaving and coming back.
When they ask if we are moving out here permanently, where it’s so quiet you can hear the raven’s wings beating the air, I say, “my purpose isn’t the destination, there is something about leaving and coming back.”
If you’d like something a little less poetic, below is a parts list to build your own system.
Build and parts list
10 Solar Panels - ECO-WORTHY 195 Watt Solar Panel 12 Volt Monocrystalline: https://a.co/d/0YSXyLC
2 Batteries - ECO-WORTHY 48V 100Ah Metal Case LiFePO4 Lithium Battery, 5.12kWh: https://a.co/d/6c7D7cJ
Solar inverter charger - ECO-WORTHY 5000W Solar Hybrid Inverter Charger, Multiple Parallel Convert 48V DC: https://a.co/d/6k2BrSw
Battery cut-off switch - Ampper Battery Switch: https://a.co/d/34gjHbu
Solar cut-off switch - DC Miniature Circuit Breaker: https://a.co/d/gngHz8k
Solar panel fuse - Renogy 15A Male and Female Connector inline: https://a.co/d/hgTHi87
Battery fuse - InstallGear 0/2/4 Gauge AWG in-Line ANL Fuse Holder with 100 Amp Fuse: https://a.co/d/evDYyQG
DC bus bar - MOFEEZ Power Distribution Block Bus Bar, 4 x 5/16" Posts: https://a.co/d/6O3C9Xf
Step down voltage - KInuoxj 20A 240W DC-DC 24V 36V 48V Step Down to 12V Converter: https://a.co/d/4LNf2YU
12 volt panel - WUPP Boat Marine Fuse Block Panel: https://a.co/d/545jdUX
