Low Watt Items For SHTF, Off Grid Living and Camping.

Prospecting Australia

Help Support Prospecting Australia:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Sep 4, 2014
Messages
8,935
Reaction score
6,776
PLEASE Can a Moderator Sticky This Thread, :Y:

As I posted earlier I bought the Bluetti EB180 1800Wh SoGen / Battery Box 2 weeks ago so I have been replacing all my Appliances with Low Wattage Items for Camping or During Power Outs or when the SHTF my life can go on as close to normal or as near as damn it,

Anyways I hate using the House Automatic washing machine because it does everything to preset programs and I got no say in the matter, Where it can chew anything from 1.4Kw or 1400 watts and waste about 18 gallons of water and some of these programs can take up to 2hrs 35 mins and that is a lot of wasted power,

SO with that I ordered a Low watt Twin Tub washing machine They claim it uses 250w on Wash and 150 On the spin cycle, according to the Sticker on the machine and the Manual It uses 180w to wash and 116w for the spin cycle, I got this from Amazon for around $223.18c AUD, No doubt you can get them cheaper if you shop around.

I tested it and was impressive setting the max wash =15 mins and spin time = 6 mins and although it was impressive it washes that well there is no need to max out the timers,

I Plugged it in to a Kilowatt meter and put it on wash for 12 minutes and then I changed the water and rinsed the items of clothing and then I put them in to the spin dryer and here are the end results and I figured I used 2 and a 1/2 to 3 buckets of water +/-

Wash Cycle = 12 minutes = 35w
Rinse Cycle = 4 minutes = 21.19w
Spin Cycle = 4 minutes = 8w
Total power used 64.19w, Total Time 20 minutes,

Doing the same wash load using the Automatic washing machine can use 10 to 20X the power used by the Twin Tub,

ECO 60* = 1,020watts and 49L of water, saving 955.8w
ECO 40* Synthetic wash = 500w and 52L of water, saving 435.8w.
ECO 40* Cotton wash = 1140w and 49L of water, saving 1075.8w.

Thats impressive by any standard let alone the power saving on the Grid Bill, But what is more important you can wash a lot of Clothes using a SoGen with an Inverter of 250w and upwards, and the Time, Water and Power Saved makes this One a Winner,

Hope that helps,

PLEASE ADD USEFULL ITEMS YOU FIND TO THE TREAD

1642933029_my_washing_machine.jpg
 
The Next Item I bought was a single Plate Induction Hob / Stove from Amazon Rated at 800w, I bought this to use in the Camper / Van or in the House and it is small enough to be Stowed anywhere and uses very little power, This cost me $83.68 AUD.

For this One It will run easily from a 1000w Inverter, Although 500w would be the lower limit I would use and switch the power setting to suit, On 1 it uses 100w, 2 = 200w, 3 = 450w, 4 = 600w, 5 = 800w and these figures are pretty accurate,

Test 1 set to Max =5, I filled a Stainless Steel kettle up with 2L / 2+Qts of cold water, That took a while to Boil which was to be expected seeing how cold the water was, But when I heated up some food in a proper induction SaucePan thats when things really speeded up, Anyways here's the results,

2L Cold water = 14 minutes set to 5/Max = 190w used,
Regular Can of Chicken Soup = 3 mins 30 secs Set to 5/Max = 41w used
Regular Can of Chicken Soup = 6 mins 11 secs Set to 3/Medium = 45w used,
Heating a Large portion of Chilli = 4 mins 10secs Set to 4/80% = 41w used.

This little Gizmo really impressed me and it is neat and compact and is a great way to warm/Cook food,

Hope that helps.

1642933161_my_induction_hob.jpg
 
The last thing I bought this week is a Cordless Electric kettle/Jug, They Claim it uses 900w So again I put it to the test and Plugged it in to the Kilowatt meter again and tried it out, It has a capacity of 1L or 1.05Qt which makes it perfect for filling up the Stanley Classic, This One Cost me $25.98c AUD from Amazon.

I rerun the Full test again because I had to swap out the meter,

1st Meter test, Full to the 1 Litre mark, = 8mins 28secs = 125.29w
@ 0.8L = 6mins 39secs = 93w, Enough for coffee or Tea for 3 people,
@ 0.6L = 5mins 12secs = 72w,
@ 0.5L = 4mins 19secs = 59w, Enough for Coffee or Tea for 2 People,

2nd Full 1 Litre Test
@ 1.0L 1.05Qt = 8mins 02secs = 113w
noting that in the 2nd test it was 26 secs faster and used 12w less, before each test I filled the kettle with cold water to cool it down and then refilled it again with fresh Cold water, I saw the power draw vary between 820 and around 880w during all the tests which is below the sales quoted wattage of 900w, So I think this one is a Keeper too for those who what a few comforts of home, I like it and it is great for Off Grid or SHTF or Camping etc,

Hope that helps,

1642933258_my_cordless_kettle__jug.jpg
 
I use one of these @ around $35

1642940868_companion_kettle.jpg


800ml power 900-1100 W, works well off the Honda 2kVA or mains, too high for my liking from an inverter. But it collapses and takes up much less space when packed n stacked. :)

When the genny aint running I use something like this

1642941081_kettle.jpg


On the stove and as I'll have compressor fridges, my LPG is for the stove n hot water only. :) :coffee:
 
I have always had a top loader auto washing machine, except once when I had a twin tub for a couple of years until I could afford a new auto.

Problem with the new house is there is a full length bench next to the wash trough and a front loader is all that will fit. I got an AEG, although German the machine is now made in Italy. At least it's not China, so that's a plus.

Uses bugger all water, but does take longer, but who cares, I'm retired anyway. I might get the power meter connected and see what a cycle uses in 240 VAC juice.

About the only thing I can do in the house to go greener is switch the main breaker off, lol.

Just for some useless info lol;
AEG stands for Allgemeine Elektricitts-Gesellschaft AG which loosely translates as General Electricity Company. It is part of the Electrolux group of companies.

Hey, I did my apprenticeship at Simpson Pope, which was later part of Electrolux and have a German parent. :)
 
No Power Needed,, But I am/have Ordered one of these water Filtration Systems which is a Glorified water filter that takes out any Nasties known to man, They make them in various sizes I ordered the small one to fit in the Van which is all I need, The Man said it will filter out about 4 to 6 loads a Day,

See the Specs Below,,,

1643027049_travel-berkey-system-nmcl-e-commerce-2__80041.1601338490.jpg


Description

Travel Berkey is a smaller version of the Big Berkey system and is perfect for small households of 1-2 people.

The system comes complete and ready to use with 2 x Black Berkey original purification elements (Same filters as in other Berkey water filter systems) and utilizes the latest technological advances in water purification today.

Constructed of highly polished AISI stainless steel, stainless model 304' that is one of the longest lasting stainless steel on the market today.

The Travel Berkey comes with 2 black purification elements.

Lifespan - 11,356 litres per filter. (22,712 litres per set of 2)

Berkey Filters removes 99,999% of Chlorine, Viruses, Harmful pathogenic Bacteria, Cysts, Heavy Metal, parasites and hazardous chemical contaminants and other impurities while leaving undisturbed the essential minerals your body needs.

Holding Capacity: 5.7 litres

Material: 304 Stainless Steel

Finish: High Polish Stainless Steel
Filtered Water Capacity 1.5 gallons (5.7 litres)
Height (in use) 46 cm
Diameter (in use) 19 cm
 
We were using two twin tubs in the old days, one for washing, one for rinsing same water for all the washing(four people).
Start with the tea towels and whites and work towards the work clothes. (TANK WATER TIMES).
 
silver said:
We were using two twin tubs in the old days, one for washing, one for rinsing same water for all the washing(four people).
Start with the tea towels and whites and work towards the work clothes. (TANK WATER TIMES).

I love using this twin tub, it's quick and fast and saves power and water,

I forgot to add it only weighs 13kgs,

J.
 
I just did 3 lots of washing and it used 184w with a total time of 1hr 7mins, So about 7 minutes wasted changing the water and swapping each load from the washer to the spin dryer etc, So nothing out of the ordinary with an average of 61.3w per load,

While running with a heavy wash load it averaged about 180/190w while running and running the spin dryer as well saw it peak at 440w with Both motors running at startup droping to 315w while running, which is to be expected using both motors at the same time, Plus I gave it longer Rinse cycles just to see how it affected the total power draw, :perfect:
 
Induction plate looks like a keeper RR and size makes it very practical for camping :Y: ) The washing machine I'd probably leave at home as it's easier to just pack a few extra pairs of jocks :lol:
 
Diginit said:
Induction plate looks like a keeper RR and size makes it very practical for camping :Y: ) The washing machine I'd probably leave at home as it's easier to just pack a few extra pairs of jocks :lol:

The Induction plate measures about 188mm x 60mm x 230 and weighs about 1.4kgs, And I think it is perfect for those tiimes when there is a Fire Ban in the area. then it comes in to it's own. :Y:

Oh and it came with it's own travel bag too, :perfect:

The Washing Machine is handy if someone is going bush for a month or so or for Off Grid Living etc, Sure beats trying to find the Mrs a nice flat Rock, lol :playful: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Well my Berkey Water Purifier turn up this morning at 09:30 which was only 21 hours from when I Ordered it so I am happy with that, :Y:
 
Isn't that the difference between camping and what they now term as glamping? :8
 
I've lived off the grid now for close to 20 years and there is NO need to skimp on power usage but one does need a decent battery, inverter and most of all a decent battery charger. Back in '03 we bought a 25K off grid system and with rebates we were 17K out of pocket. Now with the time this has paid itself off in spades......

The inverster is an Australian Made Selectronic SA32 2400 watts pure sine wave and is still going today, the battery charger is a 80 amp solid state one and our backup generator is a Paramount Brown's 7KVA one that is sensitive enough to run the house on it's own and can run 2 0ff 15 amps circuits at the same time.

The dry cell batteries we got originally only lasted 10 years before one went reverse voltage and lucky for me I was there and shut the system down in time. So I arranged for a free forklift battery 24 volt 600AH to replace the dry cells. Well that battery is stil lgoing strong and it does take a few months to transform the forklift battery to it's new life. They are designed to have 100's of maps drawn thru a shift then charged overnight. Now with charge coming in while charge is going out does transform these batteries and the best part one can know the state of charge by just checking the specific gravity of the battery fluid. Now they do use alot of water so it is important to keep a check on the levels.

For washing we bought a front end loader Fisher & Paykel 64 litres per wash and it works fine off our inverter, the dishwasher which we got for free only uses 16 litres per wash and is a portable one it had only done 2 wash's since new and it just plain works for us.

One thing I will note when we use the washing machine and dishwasher we use them at the same time and put the genset on to help out the battery, which still gets a charge as the input current is greater than the output current.

All in all this black duck will never see a power bill again
 
RuddyCrazy said:
I've lived off the grid now for close to 20 years and there is NO need to skimp on power usage but one does need a decent battery, inverter and most of all a decent battery charger. Back in '03 we bought a 25K off grid system and with rebates we were 17K out of pocket. Now with the time this has paid itself off in spades......

The inverster is an Australian Made Selectronic SA32 2400 watts pure sine wave and is still going today, the battery charger is a 80 amp solid state one and our backup generator is a Paramount Brown's 7KVA one that is sensitive enough to run the house on it's own and can run 2 0ff 15 amps circuits at the same time.

The dry cell batteries we got originally only lasted 10 years before one went reverse voltage and lucky for me I was there and shut the system down in time. So I arranged for a free forklift battery 24 volt 600AH to replace the dry cells. Well that battery is stil lgoing strong and it does take a few months to transform the forklift battery to it's new life. They are designed to have 100's of maps drawn thru a shift then charged overnight. Now with charge coming in while charge is going out does transform these batteries and the best part one can know the state of charge by just checking the specific gravity of the battery fluid. Now they do use alot of water so it is important to keep a check on the levels.

For washing we bought a front end loader Fisher & Paykel 64 litres per wash and it works fine off our inverter, the dishwasher which we got for free only uses 16 litres per wash and is a portable one it had only done 2 wash's since new and it just plain works for us.

One thing I will note when we use the washing machine and dishwasher we use them at the same time and put the genset on to help out the battery, which still gets a charge as the input current is greater than the output current.

All in all this black duck will never see a power bill again

Thats an impressive setup But the cost involved it the clincher and the older we get the less likely we are to break even, The best way to do it is the way you did buying it 10+ years ago :perfect: :Y:

I could easily add another 6 deep cycle batteries to my kit and wire up my 6 X 150w panels and have all the power I need, They might not sound like much compared to what you have but my original Idea was to mount them on top of an RV/Mobile Home but my plans changed. :mad: :(

My goal here is to be able to get by without running very large inverters and massive solar arrays, Now I am using a 1800Wh Lithium Pack and 2 or 3 Solar panels, and This is how the Low Wattage Appliances came about, None of these Items are over 900w and while running and finishing their cycles they don't use more than 125w from start to finish which can be replaced within 20 minutes of solar using 2 or 3 panels,

A washing machine might seem an odd thing to post here but some Guys here go Bush for 2 and 3 months at a time so it only makes sense for them to own such a thing rather than drive 4/500ks to the nearest town to do laundry,,

As for the Induction Hob, because of Bush fires that have been happening across the Globe more and more places are outlawing Camp fires and In some cases Gas Stoves Too, With the Induction Hob there is Zero chance of starting a fire so It is a nice option to have or as a backup for a Gas powered stove where permitted,

I have bought a few other Items I haven't posted yet, But with all those I have posted and other Items I have I could in effect get by using as little as 465w per day at home and most likely even less while off on one of my trips, And apart from the Lithium pack the most expensive thing I have bought is the water purifier and my total amount of Battery power I have is around 9Kwh which could last me a couple of weeks without charging, I also have a Normal Generator which I could use to top up the batteries if needed.
 
I tried to find some specs on my AEG front loader, so have others as I found a few Googles on the same topic. The only comment I did find was that they use approximately 2/3 of the water capacity of a top loader.

The AEG only has one water inlet from the cold tap and an internal heater if a hot wash is wanted. I don't use this as we have cold water washed for decades. I should point out that before my life in defence design, I was a Washing M/C design drafter, including testing them in the lab, all top loaders.

The only way I can see for me to know the power usage is to connect my power meter.

Although a little off topic - I got some info for my new van.....

I asked the dealer's workshop manager what size solar panel is on the roof. They did not know, but I have measured it at 1500 x 670mm. They gave me the Melbourne factory phone number, so I followed up. I gave them the VIN of the van, they pulled the manufacturing record. Here's the kicker......

Their records show my new van has 2 x 80W panels installed. As above it's one panel and bigger than an 80W. Since then, they have emailed with, "Solar panel specs - 135W to 150W (existing 1500 x 670) riveted or screwed to roof? - Bonded to roof with glue, still waiting on specs."

So still no definitive sizing, or brand lol.

My concern is that I want to double the array and would prefer to use the same panel brand re voltages or at least similar. Wattage can be more or less as it's not as critical and the existing controller will handle 340W.
 
Top