Trying to do this right the first time...

[TheElderBrother]

I run a small nonprofit that offers a chance for disabled vets and teens in Scouting a chance to learning knifemaking. We used to do this in my home workshop, but we were given a 12x8' pod-type container to use to get the shop out of my wife's way.

The problem is, I need to get it powered up. Donors have given us a few hundred bucks in Home Depot gift cards to use for materials.

Would it be best to dig a trench across my yard, and pull a 110 volt line from the house to the new shop, or, can you feasibly use solar to run a small workshop. We mainly run the 2x72" belt grinder, the drill press, band saw, and a couple of angle grinders, but rarely more than one at a time. But we also have a heat treating kiln that will draw a good bit of juice once we set it up. All these tools and machines are 110 volt.

What kind of budget would it take to set up a solar system, so the investment we make in this new shop can come with us to the next house if we move? I hate to spend money renting a trencher and buying AC power materials, etc., then paying an electrician, but end up leaving most of that cost behind if we go to a new place later on.

There's a lot to think through...

Many thanks,

TheElderBrother

Any advice would be a great help.

[NortonDommi]

With Solar power the biggest cost is storage. I know people who use banks of deep cycle batteries and they are expensive. Just this morning I watched a video about PWRcell vs Tesla. Here is a link to one mans experience with the PWRcell product. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ4...MiLfvBDhnFQ4hQ
I think it would pay to invest a lot of thought into what are your exact needs and the costs involved. Do you have to bury a power line?

[TheElderBrother]

Thanks for that. I'll read up on that system and see if it might work for us.

Burying the line is preferable, and that's not the most complicated part of the project. We can rent a trenching machine, and buy some PVC pipe for the cable. That's a piece of cake. But if we can go solar for the same money, I'd really like that.

[jdurand]

When I lived in NJ my father and I dug a trench and ran power from our basement across the yard to the garage. Worked fine for all the time we lived there.