Shipping Container Project: Solar is up!

When most people ask how my “tiny house” is progressing; they want to see pictures of the interior. Everyone is fascinated by the flooring choice, wall materials, countertops, and bathroom fixtures. However, I get very few questions about the systems that actually run everything. The entire thing is designed to be 95% self sufficient and operate in an off-grid format.

For all my fellow Energy Nerds out there — this one is for you!


Solar System Overview:

  1. Three 330 watt panels on the roof connected to custom tilt + turn mounts (Roughly 1kw of solar input total)
  2. Charge controller for managing the solar power (Renogy Rover 60 AMP)
  3. 24V Battery bank = 4x 180AH 6V deep cycle batteries wired in Series
  4. 3000 watt inverter with 9000 watt surge capability.  (AIMS Pure Sine)

Now the above system overview is probably too simplified for some people and a bunch of gibberish to others. First, I’ll provide a basic description of how this all works, and we can get technical later.

ThreePanels
View of the 3 tilt turn panels installed

Whenever the sun is shining it’s releasing Energy that can be captured and used. The three solar panels on our roof are harvesting this energy and sending it (through thick wires) down into the container where it hits the Renogy Charge Controller. The charge controller stabilizes the solar power and inputs it safely into the batteries. It insures the batteries do not receive TOO much solar electricity (which would result in battery failure and be unsafe). It also keeps the solar electricity moving in one direction — you wouldn’t want electricity going BACKWARDS towards the panels. Basically, a charge controller is required in any off-grid solar system.

Rover60AMP

After the charge controller — the electricity is pumped into our battery bank. This is essentially four large batteries designed to be capable of holding various amounts of electricity at any given time. The amount of electricity contained in the batteries is displayed on the charge controller as a percentage. 0% meaning we have no usable solar electricity stored in the batteries and 100% meaning we are fully charged. Above you can see that I currently have 71% of usable electricity remaining, with 102watts of electricity going into the batteries from the Solar Panels. (the sun was setting at this point, because normally our panels are inputting around 700W on a sunny day) Making sense?

BatteryBank24V
6V batteries wired in series creating 24V battery bank

The next step is getting the sunlight energy from the batteries to the house. This is done with our AIMS 3000W Inverter which converts the battery electricity to usable “household” electricity and sends it to all the outlets, lights, appliances, etc… Whenever the Inverter is turned on, the outlets throughout the shipping container are active. Plug something in and it works! Just like a standard household outlet. The 3000W part of the Inverter is describing how much maximum electricity we have available through this size Inverter. FOR EXAMPLE: 5 lights, radio, the mini fridge, fan, and my laptop use about 265 watts — well within the capacity of this Inverter. As you turn things on, the amount of watts rises, with the maximum available being 3000 watts.

This particular AIMS Inverter also has the option to charge the batteries from a standard “on-grid” source of electricity. If the container was near a structure that has grid power available; you can plug the container into a outlet (insuring proper breaker size for the amp draw) and have this charge the batteries or even bypass our entire system and run the shipping container off standard power.

AIMsInverter
AIMS Inverter hard at work

We will get into mechanical systems in a separate blog — but I want to note that our Minisplit (which is how we have air conditioning during summer) uses roughly 825 watts and is the biggest electrical user in the shipping container. Recently, during a sunny 90F day — I worked for 6 hours with the Minisplit providing AC the entire time. The batteries had a 100% charge when I arrived and were at 45% when I left.

Using a very inexpensive wall mounted power meter; you can view the total amount of electricity being used at any given time. Below you can see that I am using 463 watts of electricity at this point in time. By looking at this little power meter, and comparing it to the Renogy Charge controller — you can actively see if you are using more energy than the sun is currently inputting. Pretty fun thing to do as you turn things on and the sun moves around 🙂

Solar used monitor
We were using 463 watts of electricity when this picture was taken

Solar System Budget:


  • 330W Solar Panel x3
    • $215 each = $645 total
  • Renogy Rover 60 AMP Charge Controller (12/24V)
    • $215 total
  • AIMS 3000W Inverter/Charger
    • $925 total
  • Solar LCD Power/Energy Display
    • $20 total
  • 400 AMP/Hour 6V Batteries x4
    • $85 each = $340 total

$2,145.00 total cost before wiring, disconnect, switches, etc


I’ll write up a technical article later that outlines how/why we wired everything including wire sizes, connections types, lengths etc.

For now, this is a good overview of where we started at for our Shipping container tiny house renewable energy system. We plan to double the battery bank in 1-2 weeks, but for now this is working great.

Thank You,

Written By:

Luke Langhals

Shipping Container Project: DIY Steampunk Bathroom Vanity

Material List for this project is at the bottom of this page:


PART 1: Countertop

It began with a question…..what should I make the bathroom vanity out of for the Container? Given the off-grid, and tiny aspect of this home, I wanted something that fit the ‘fun’ aspect of this construction. It had to be a little funky and it also had to be pretty cheap. I’ve done Penny Countertops, I’ve tried copper, I’ve done reclaimed materials, I’ve experimented with concrete…what should I try in this particular project?

The answer was to jumble everything together and see what happens. I nicknamed the project Steampunk Vanity.

I began with the the cabinet box itself. A jumble of reclaimed 2×3, 2×4, and live edge wood off cuts that were spliced together into the bathroom box. The bathroom counterop space was drawn in the plans as a 24″x56″ surface. It would sit on top of the condensing (all in one) washer/dryer, and it would house the bathroom sink + faucet +storage.

I went to the garage and cut myself a 24″ x 56″ section of 3/4″ plywood to give me a platform to work with. I then walked around my basement to find a suitable sink shaped vessel and discovered and older copper looking wash-bin that would eventually work as my sink.

Steampunk Counter wood 2019
Here is pretty much what I started with!

The copper wash-bin was pretty deep but I wanted part of it to stick up above the countertop surface. I traced a circle around the bottom and then made a second circle slightly larger; this would allow part of the wash-bin to go underneath the countertop and the other part to be exposed on top. This is more understandable in the next picture…..

Steampunk counter wood cut 2019
Wallah! it fits!

Next, I decided to re-utilize my leftover “feather” concrete for the surface. This would lightweight and should give offset the copper with a nice modern/industrial feel. I mixed up a small bath and began applying it as I did before. One….layer….at….a…time 🙂

Steampunk Counter First layer 2019
First Layer being applied

Each layer of feather concrete is about 1/8 of an inch thick. I used 5 layers to get a solid feeling surface over my plywood base. I love it when friends stop by and say “hey, can I help with whatever weird project you’re working on….”

Steampunk Counter Bridget 2019
Bridget lending a hand. Friend’s do help out sometimes!

With my multiple layers of concrete smoothly applied, I next pulled out an old sock and rubbed applied the concrete sealant. This process again is outlined in my previous BLOG.

Steampunk Sink in No Edge 2019
Sealant on + sink dropped in

After 2 applications of sealant, I could tell that the trim/edges of this project just weren’t going to do it for me. I wanted something to surround the concrete countertop and frame the project with a fun application. Of course I turned back to my favorite thing…pennies.

I cut a 1.5 inch trim board to size and screwed it into my newly made concrete countertop. The back side and right side will be against walls, so I only required trim on the front and right.

I painted the squared off trim black, and began gluing pennies to the top edge and front edges. This was my first time doing pennies on a vertical surface and liquid nails secured them perfectly. I supported them from the bottom with the table so they wouldn’t slide down before the glue set, but after this they were attached pretty well before Epoxy.

Steampunk Pennies before epoxy 2019
Penny edge held on with glue before Epoxy

I taped the edges the best I could with HVAC foil tape to prevent Epoxy from getting on the concrete counter. Push the tape down firmly to insure the Epoxy doesn’t make it’s way under your tape barrier. I poured a very think line on top and spread this around using a foam brush. I continued to go over the surface with thin lines of Epoxy, using the foam brush to ‘pull’ it down over the vertical pennies where it (for the most post) would stay put. Drop clothes on the floor stopped any drips.

Steampunk Counter Penny Edge 2019
Foil tape on — ready for Epoxy pouring

After the Epoxy dried for 12 hours, I carefully pulled the the tape off and removed any excess using a razor blade and fine sand paper. I placed the copper sink back into place to insure everything fit.

Steampunk Counter Done 2019
Trim finished, counter finished, before installation

PART 2: SINK

So…..we now have a countertop with trim, and a spot for a copper wash-bin. However, this is not a functioning bathroom vanity unless I find a way to make this copper bin into an actual working sink vessel!

First step was insuring the basin was waterproof. I filled it up to the brim with water and allowed it to sit for 2 days straight. The water level did not lower at all, and this was a very good sign for my DIY sink!

I wanted to protect the finish and insure the sink held up over time. I brushed water based Polyurethane to coat the entire inside of the basin with 3 different coats. Allowing each coat to dry 2-3 hours between coats. This insures the Poly is still tacky to the touch when the next layer is going on and supports adhesion between layers.

Next step was installing a functioning sink drain. I stated by purchasing a pop up drain from Amazon. It’s important to choose one that does NOT HAVE OVERFLOW, because DIY sinks don’t have a built in overflow section.

Next, I used a 1.5 inch hole saw bit to drill a hole in the center of the basin’s bottom. I dropped in the drain and realized that the sink bottom would need to slope towards the drain. Without an indented area around the drain, water would collect and sit within the basin.

I used a hammer, flat head screw driver, and wood blocks to pound the edges of the 1.5 inch hole and create a sloped area for my drain to sit. I inserted the drain per it’s directions and tested it ability to hold water.

Steampunk Sink Testing 2019
No leaks!

With the drain working, the countertop complete, and the penny edging installed — the next step was relocating my “Steampunk” bathroom vanity project was nearly complete. Next, I started a DIY faucet project….but we can talk about that later.

Steampunk Counter In Container 2019
Countertop + Sink Basin installed in the container

Written By:

Luke Langhals

 


Material List:

3/4 Inch Ply Wood — — — — — — — — $19.00 — — — (Had extra laying around)

Concrete Layers — — — — — — — — — $26.00 — — — (Ardex Feather Cement – Amazon)

Concrete Sealer — — — — — — — — — $24.00 — — — (Quikrete Cure & Seal – Lowes)

1.5″ Poplar Trim Board — — — — — $7.00 — — — (Had extra laying around)

600 Shiny Pennies — — — — — — — — $3.00 — — — (Got at the bank)

Epoxy — — — — — — — — — — — — — — $23.00 — — — (Famowood 1 qt. – Home Depot)

Pop Up Drain w/o Overflow — — – $10.00 — — — (Antique Brass – Amazon)


 

Shipping Container: Windows and Doors

We began putting the windows and doors into the shipping container. The holes were cut with a plasma cutter and windows were inserted similar to any standard construction.

There will be 3 windows total and two sets of double doors. The windows are triple pane to increase comfort and air-tightness; we are trying to eliminate thermal breaks and keep the entire container under 2 ACH (Air Changes per Hour). Unfortunately the doors are only double pane for affordability but they have a decent U-Value for being low cost and off the shelf.

Interior framing is underway. A full wrap of 4 mil plastic for our vapor/air barrier and then 3″ of continuous Poly Iso on the floor, walls, and ceiling. No thermal bridging for us 🙂 Having a continuous blanket of insulation makes the shipping container a lot like a very large Yeti Cooler. The goal is to be able to heat/cool the entire 320 sq ft interior with low amounts of energy.

Door Install Feb 2019
Sub flooring is installed directly over the rigid Poly Iso floor insulation
Jason Cutting inside 2019
Jason – Cutting the window penetrations

Shipping containers come with a set of double doors for loading/unloading contents. We decided to make this end of our container the Master Bedroom and provide it with the secondary entrance and sliding glass door. This should let plenty of natural light into the sleeping area.

Further, the original steel shipping doors can be closed over the new bedroom door. I think this will be a cool feature for security, transport, and privacy.

Container Bedroom Exterior door Feb 2019
Sliding glass door framed and installed off the planned Master Bedroom – February 2019

Another update coming soon! This project is developing quickly 🙂

Shipping Container Arrives!

Our 40′ high cube shipping container has arrived at the build site in Athens, OH. We had the seller paint it ahead of time and we will begin cutting openings for windows and doors ASAP.

We transferred the container from the delivery truck to our own trailer. This will allow the entire project to be mobile as required.

The interior is going to offer about 300 sq ft off living space. This will be after the walls are framed and insulated.

img_2463
Trailer Transfer: January 2019
img_2468
On our Trailer and ready to be turned into a sustainable home!
jan 2019 jasons floor plan
Current Floor Plan: By Jason Morosko — January 2019

Enjoy the pictures and be ready for an update when we start the construction process!

Written By:

Luke Langhals

Shipping Container Tiny House: Design Phase

STAY TUNED!

I’ve officially partnered with several fellow Eco-warriors to build a shipping container tiny house project. We will be receiving our 40′ high cube this week and begin work immediately. I will be outlining our progress on here as much as possible.

My initial design drawings are below. We are planning for a rooftop deck, solar system with battery backup, composting toilet, and propane hot water. Details on Insulation, finishing, electrical, window/door etc will all follow soon.

design12019
Possible Exterior Design
design22019
Possible Interior Design

Overall, we are all looking forward to this project. I’ll try to keep everyone updated on our failures and success along the way.

Written By:

Luke Langhals