Solar Stuff...

[Grant H.]

was looking at this for sometime in the future in order to possibly power an off grid cabin, thoughts?
http://www.earthtechproducts.com/xan...-3-panels.html
doesn't look too bad, but then again I know little about this stuff!

That wouldn't be a bad little system to run a few small things with, my only complaint with that source of it is that I can buy the same parts (different but similar panels) for $1600 on Amazon right now, no shopping around to bring the price down.

That price can be brought down by sourcing some of the parts differently.

1. Instead of 2 12VDC 100AH batteries, get 2 6VDC 215AH batteries for just over the cost of 1 12V/100AH battery at Batteries Plus. They are golf cart batteries. Better life cycle expectancy, more storage (marginally), and cheaper.
2. The Xantrex name isn't bad, but there are equally good and better items out there for the same money.
2a. The Powerhub thing? Fancy replacement for an inverter. I can get a Bestek (reasonable quality, use one in my work truck everyday) 2000 Watt inverter for $180 on Amazon.
2b. Charger. Their chargers are fine, they work. I see them used frequently in the O/G world for AC charging of LARGE battery backups. The price point for this one ($100) is pretty hard to beat.
3. Shopping around for 300 watts of panels may very well yield a significantly better price. $.50/watt isn't unheard of right now.

So, built quickly as I would do it?
$330 - Panels: https://www.amazon.com/ECO-WORTHY-Po...r%2Bpanel&th=1
$100 - Charger: https://www.amazon.com/Xantrex-C35-C...rge+controller
$180 - Inverter: https://www.amazon.com/BESTEK-2000W-...Binverter&th=1
$200 - Batteries: https://www.batteriesplus.com/productdetails/sligc110

Total: $810+tax/shipping depending on where/when you buy. So around 35% of their price!
Just my thoughts!