Mobile Solar SolMan

Adding Solar to your tiny house can be a daunting task if you are not up to date on all the latest technology and how it works together.

A couple of weeks ago we had a “Meeting of the Tiny Minds” and Bill Kastrinos of Tortoise Shell Homes told Jay, Stephen, Michael and I about this great solar solution that was out there.

What if there was a simple solution to this and all you had to do was plug and play? SoleMan a company based in Willits, California has come up with just that kind of solution.

They call their system the “one small, easy to move, all in one integrated unit, ready to point towards the sun at your best location, and deliver up to 1200 watts of AC power, and 12 volts DC power, and even charge all your Ni-Mh smaller batteries.”

This little unit is on heavy duty bicycle wheels so you can have your Tumbleweed home in the shade and easily roll your solar unit where it gets the most sun.

The cool thing about the SolMan is that if your needs grow, so can the SoleMan. You can add another solar panel easily and even a third. The second one sits on it’s own stand and can be adjusted as needed. If you chose to get a third panel they have a bracket that attaches all three together that can be folded up for moving.

No need to deal with big panels and connecting them to your roof and knowing you have to park your home in the sun to get the most voltage to your system.

Here are list of the SolMan features:

1. Silent Operation: No sound whatsoever. Won’t bother your neighbors or you with gas generator noise.
2. Clean Operation: No gas needed, no gas cans to transport, no fumes or exhaust to worry about.
3. No additional costs EVER! : Once you buy a Solman, it doesn’t cost anything else to run, as long as you can point it towards the sun.
4. No recurring gasoline costs, that are only going to go up, no oil changes, no short life span, as unit is designed to keep working for years. ( 20 year PV panel warranty)
5. Completely self contained, integrated unit: Ready to go, plug and play green power. No engineering or electrical skills needed.
6. Transportable: With ramps, the Solman can go with you in the back of a small van, SUV or truck. It can be laid horizontal safely.
7. Mobility: 26 inch heavy duty aluminum spoke and rubber bike tires and perfect balance allow the unit to be wheeled to any location for the best sun, and can easily be turned thru the day for maximum solar tracking and optimal PV energy input.
8. Deep Cycle Batteries: “2 or 3 -100 (200 to 300 amp-hr total) deep cycle sealed gel cell. No acid spills or venting. No maintenance.
9. Enclosed battery Container: Optimizes battery life.
10. Two 12 Volt Auto Plugs: Plenty of places to plug in your 12 volt accessories, lights, chargers, etc.
11. One heavy 30 amp marine trolling motor plug on exterior, for water pumping, external battery charging, or additional external inverter.
12. All external plugs have covers and are set up for outdoor use, even in the rain, and all critical components are inside and protected from the weather.
13. Array only switch: to route unused, excess PV power during the day to external battery charging or water pumping.
14. Blue Sky Solar Boost 2000E MPPT PV Charge Controller: can handle up to 25 amps or 3 PV panels, and Maximum Power Point Tracking gives additional 10% to 20% charging efficiency to PV input.
15. 120 Volt Magnum MM-AE 1200 watt Inverter/Charger: this unit has a built in 70 amp charger for when your batteries are down, and you have access to a gas generator, or the grid, you can just plug in the unit and bring your battery bank up to full charge in as little as two hours, also has an AC transfer switch, that automatically senses external power and switches load to that when on.
16. Magnum Inverter remote switch and status lights on back of unit.
17. Fuse Protected: 150 amp inverter fuse, triplex plug 20 amp and exterior 30 amp plug.
18. Heavy 15 amp solar PV-in plug, wired to solar controller for adding an external solar panels.
19. Toe piece L on bottom, allows for easy transport of optional external PV panel.
20. Solar PV panel hinged for easy access to internal box, and latches and locks if needed.

So if you are looking to take your tiny house off the grid and become independent and want to use solar as your main component this SolMan option is worth looking at.

Of course there other other RV and home options so do your research and choose what is best for you and your situation. I just like the idea of plug and play and having everything put together where you need it and mobile to boot.

by Kent Griswold

Why Buy a Tiny House?

Why would  you want to spend $15,000 to $50,000 on a little house when you could add a real addtion to your house and have a permanent improvement built right on to your existing house?

This article is assuming you are building a tiny house as an additional room along with your existing home.

Here are a few suggestions that may also get you thinking of other  reasons this might apply for building that tiny house.  You can than decide what would work best for you and your circumstances.

1. Permits Costs: The cost of a permit has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few years. I want to give you an idea what an average permit will cost you today. In most places in the U.S. they range from $15,000 to $50,000. Just to add another room or addition to your existing home. Remember that is just to get a permit to build your addition.
2. Permits may not be available at all: Some towns, cities and counties no longer will issue a permit. You are banned from any new construction or additions in some areas of the country. This takes the ability to add to your home completely out of your hands. The answer is NO!
3. Permit Time: Once a permit is requested it can take up to one to two years to process. If you need a space addition right away, it won’t happen. It is necessary to plan way in advance and to know your needs are long before the construction can even start.
4. Mobile: If you build a little house it can be moved when tenancy or purpose changes. It is not contained by a permanent foundation, but can be connected to a truck and towed to your new location and used again for the same purpose.
5. Little Houses can be Sold Separately: When it comes time that you no longer need the additional space you can sell the little house separately from your real estate. It is easy to get back your investment, without completely selling your existing home to downsize. Or if you are living in this home and need to upsize because of additional family members, etc., you can sell it and migrate upwards.

These are five good reasons to buy a tiny house or space on wheels. Do you have other ideas or good reasons to do this? If so please use the comment section to give us your suggestions.

by Kent Griswold (Tiny House Blog)

Partner with Tumbleweed?

Want to sell the a Tumbleweed House from your store?

This summer Jay drove the Fencl across the USA as a show model. Now it’s time to sell. We will be promoting it for sale this September on our website. If we don’t sell it by the end of the month, we are looking to partner with a trailer / mobile home dealer to sell the house.

You should be near Connecticut and able to pick the house up. Currently the house is at Jay’s in-laws. [Read more]

Finish this tiny house yourself

Lusby for Sale

Last year I was inspired Jay’s beautiful Tumbleweed houses and wanted to follow in his footsteps. I attended his workshop and bought plans for the Lusby. Not being handy myself, I hired a professional builder of custom homes to build the exterior of my tiny house. Its home was to be on a perfectly picturesque New Hampshire lake. I put my traditional, 4 bedroom home on the market and waited… and waited…and waited. Not even one offer did I get, even after dropping with price by a third. With three kids in college, I couldn’t afford to keep holding on to both properties. I sold my lakeside lot and am now selling my tiny house.

It is completed on the exterior; the interior is partially done. Here are the specifications:
Dimensions
House width: 8’
House length: 19’
Trailer Size: 7’ x 18’
Road Height: 13’ 5″
Dry Weight: 8,000 to 10,000 lbs (estimated)
Porch: 7 ½’ x 3’
Main Room: 6 ½’ x 6 ½’
Kitchen: In main room
Bathroom: 3’ x 6’
Loft height: 3’ 8″
Ceiling height: 6’ 3″
(All measurements are approximate.)

The following features are currently a part of the tiny house:

1. shingled roof
2. cedar siding (painted)
3. exterior front door (African Mahogany with glass center panel)
4. pet door for cat or small dog
5. 3 windows and screens on each long side
6. loft windows (cannot open)
7. fiberglass shower
8. electric wiring
9. cable TV wiring

These items are included with the house but are not installed. Many are still in original shipping cartons.

1. 2 interior doors (African Mahogany)
2. antique style brass door knobs
3. stained glass inserts for loft windows plus extra piece that could be fastened to the front door
4. tiny toilet
5. bathroom pedestal sink with porcelain faucets
6. living room, bathroom and bedroom
7. handmade Cape Code lantern style porch lights
8. stainless kitchen sink (faucet not included)
9. kitchen sink cabinet
10. recycled jeans batt insulation (more is needed)
11. electric water heater, 10 gallon
12. wood stove, stainless steel enclosure and chimney pipe

What is not finished?

* the interior walls (drywall) and finish trim are not in
* interior doors are included but not installed
* finish flooring is not included
* lighting fixtures need to be installed after drywall is in
* porch lights need to be installed
* outlets and light switches are not included
* wood stove needs to be installed
* plumbing and kitchen fixtures need to be installed
* kitchen cabinet for sink needs to be installed (and more cabinets need to be purchased for rest of kitchen)
* kitchen appliances are not included
* stained glass inserts for loft windows need to be installed
* insulation is not complete
* ladder to loft is not included
* closets have not been built

The tiny house is currently in southern New Hampshire. You are welcome to come and pick it up or I’ll help you find a company to bring it to you.

I will include a free acre of land in northern California. Please see

http://elainelwalker.com/tinyhouse-forsale/index.html

for more information as well as photos of the house and land.

Fencl Coast to Coast Tour

Jay left Tuesday on his Coast to Coast tour and is taking the newly built Fencl to show tiny house enthusiasts across the country. This is the first completed Fencl built from Jay’s plans and if you would like to see pictures of the Fencl build you can visit the Tiny House Journal.

Jay is having over 14 open houses and and several workshops along the way. Here is the Open House schedule and you can view the workshop schedule here.

Tue May 26 - Reno, NV 6:00 pm
Wed May 27 - Salt Lake, UT 6:00 pm
Thu May 28 - Cheyenne, WY 6:00 pm
Sat May 30 - Boulder, CO 5:30 pm
Tue June 2 - Omaha, NE 6:00 pm
Wed June 3 - Des Moines, IA 12:00 noon
Wed June 3 - Iowa City, IA 6:00 pm
Sat June 6 - Chicago, IL 5:30 pm
Mon June 8 - Indianapolis, IN 6:00 pm
Tue June 9 - Cinncinati, OH 12:00 noon
Tue June 9 - Columbus, OH 6:00 pm
Wed June 10 - Pittsburgh, PA 6:00 pm
Thu June 11 - Philadelphia, PA 6:00 pm
Sat June 13 - New York, NY 5:30 pm

Get the locations here.

If Jay is stopping in your home town or is close enough to drive to, be sure and go visit him and see this beautiful home.

Kent Griswold publisher of the Tiny House Blog has his readers taking pictures and giving descriptions of the open houses between San Francisco and New York. You can follow the links below to get the full story. Below is a sampling of the pictures from a few of the stops so far.

Next Page »