my set-up

[Canuck]

I've had a few requests for my set-up so I will give some details.

This came about as festivals and events were charging up to $50 for hydro. I wanted to be self suffcient and carbon nuetral

Here is my set-up for the Highland games. I have a Pfaff 1245 in the trailer. The trailer opens up, I have a cutting table and display area. I use solar panels to generate electricity. I can run the machine for 30 hours on a charge. Details follow the photos.

I have two 80 watt sanyo solar panels that generates in total 160watts of power at peak sun. This is hooked up to a battery charger controler. I have two 75 amp/hour 12volt deep cell batteries hooked up in parallel. Giving me 150 amp hours of power(Gell batteries is an option but not worth the extra cost for this application)

There is a 1000watt inverter/charger. This converts the 12volts DC into 110 volts AC. I can also use this unit to charge the batteries by plugging into a regular 110volt outlet.

At first I ran a clutch motor to run the sewing machine. The odd time I would have to pulse the motor to get the flywheel spinning so I wouldn't tripp the internal breaker on the inverter.

This year I purchased a DC motor. (These are the ones we can now run industrial machines with. they plug into 110AC and convert to DC) This motor works great.

The trailer is a (Bear Trailer) Utility trailer 4.5'x8'. I have extended the sides and split and hinged them so they open up into work tables. The tailgates drop down to give me a floor of 4.5'x12'.

I have also attached swing arms with pipes to hang my kilts off of.

I drive the trailer into two 10x10 Caravan Canopies and that's the booth.

Set-up is less than an hour and strike is about 45 min.

[Kevin King]

That just might be one of the coolest darn things i've seen.

[Johanna]

I'm going to move this to "How do I do that?" because this is so freaking cool. Thank you for sharing Canuck. I love this place! I learn something new here everyday. Your kilts are fabulous, too.

Johanna

[Canuck]

I'm going to move this to "How do I do that?" because this is so freaking cool. Thank you for sharing Canuck. I love this place! I learn something new here everyday. Your kilts are fabulous, too.

Johanna

Thanks Johanna,

The set-up attracts a lot of attention at the festivals, and I even manage to sell a kilt or two. I tell folks they can get a kilt made out of hemp and it was sewn using solar energy!

cheers

Robert