Your Questions About Wind Generators Alaska

admin answers:

1) You have to figure it out. If it’s in Hawaii, you probably don’t need heat, and can get by without A/C, too. In other places, more would be typical.

2) Your choice!

3) Since utilities are allowed, just to be minimized, I’d go with grid-tied solar electricity. The panels can generate 100% of average usage over time (unless this is Alaska or something). The grid is assumed to be reliable, but if there are doubts, I would go with a gas-powered generator for emergencies before I went with batteries to store electricity. The cost and upkeep of batteries would not be worth it unless they were going to be used all the time – typically, and off-grid arrangement.

Our house is 1900 square feet, single story. You can look at my profile and find out web page, with details on how much our system cost, which provides essentially 100% of our electrical needs. The link is called “Our Solar Panel Project” on that page. But we have gas heat. And prices have come down since we had ours installed, so you need to research current pricing.

admin answers:

I helped my Bro-Inlaw build a VERY nice 8 x 8 8-10 years go.

It had a window, TV, full-size hollow-core door. 2 fold down beds that folded down from the wall, 6 holes and we could barely move it! (lol) We named it the “Fish Tank” because it weighed 2 tons, (we actually BROKE a 2 ton jack trying to get it on a trailer!).

Since that experience I’ve had a variety of ideas:

#1. Do you know what a “quonset hut” is? My Dad used to build them in Alaska when he was stationed there in the ’50’s.

I had this idea that I would use hollow-core aluminum piping as the frame- bolted together. The floor would be 3/4′ pressure treated with skids, (typical to most shanty’s).

Here’s the “tricked-out” part- use thick canvas as the walls. And then FIBERGLASS the canvas using resin- thus the walls would be rigid. To make the walls more “rigid” you would use wire to secure the frame.

This would be an extremely light weight rig that could (theoretically) be moved by a single person on the ice! You would then have a permanent shanty that could easily be transported/moved around like a portable! You could also have your permanent house on the ice before anyone else! (I ran this idea by my Dad, who is an engineer, and he thought it would work well.)

Why go super-light?

After lugging the “Fish Tank” around a couple seasons it ended up sitting and starting to rot. Neither I nor my Bro-Inlaw wanted to hassle with getting it on and off the ice. It was a MAJOR pain in the @ss- and dangerous!

I EVEN thought about using heavy-duty PVC for the frame- (we used 2 x 2’s and 2 x 4’s at the 4 ends on the FT and it was HEAVY). But, here in MN where the possibility of -25 for weeks at a time made me rethink- (You don’t want the frame to “crack”!)

If I ever build another one It’s going to be a super-light.

I like your idea.

I suggest you build 2 benches on either ends. FULLY enclosed benches with hatches- so you can store expensive equipment in them when your not at the shanty- (like your buddy heater, rods and reels, ETC)- locked and secured.

Have one bench that is fully enclosed, (with lid and latches) and the other have a feature where the bench folds out DOUBLE to make a small bed. Build a small table that folds out from the wall so you have something to eat and play cards on- then it can be folded back into the wall if you have guests over and need space- (or the fishing gets good!).

Get rattle reels and think about adding a wind generator OR solar generator to keep your batterys trickle charging when your away. They are really inexpensive now- (like $150)- and it’s nice to not have to lug a 60 LB battery and hook it up every time.

Hope this helps ?