im no expert, been reading/researching it, specifically for later use. Talking with a few folks, heres what im looking at and this is presented purely for though provoking info off the grid is over rated and not neccessary if you ask some solar users(myself included) yes its all romantic thinking about the self sufficiency aspect of it, but honestly probably not worth it in a urban/semi rural area. grid tie is ALMOST a great answer, but if you lose power in a storm, doesnt matter how much solar you put on the roof. it still has to be stored and disseminated. ive been thinking of a hybrid type system(again for the future) where id be grid tied 99% of the time, but id also have battery storage and a set of outlets (the garage for instance) specifically for power outages/storms. i could still run a small refrigerator/freezer(mine in the garage now runs at about 2.5a) and a small TV, couple of fans and maybe flourescent lighting. off the grid. indefinitely. yeah hot showers wouldnt happen, and cooking would be strictly open fire/grill, but you know you could go as far as you want. that may very well be a good place to start for you. my uncle is off the grid in the escalante canyon, but he didnt go all in at the beginning. work your way up. Now heres the reality of alternative energy. it requires regular maintenance and periodic replacement of components. batteries are likely the most expensive part.(based on a small 35w garden pond experiment i recently completed- ha, i turned a 100$ pond into a 400$ pond in a week, more on that in a minute) and theyll need to be replaced at some point. just the way it is. same with panels, at some point theyll need to be replaced. just keep it in mind as you deliberate. as far as panels go. thin film is cheaper, eficiency is less, and life span is shorter. mono/poly crystalline is more efficient, lasts longer, but exponentially more expensive. batteries. i could go for weeks on info ive found out about solar power storage, AGM, lead acid,gel cell, etc etc etc. either way, you get what you pay for and you will pay. heres a general idea of expenses based on my very limited experience during one solar experiment. 1 30 gallon pond kit- 100$ northern tool 35w monocrystalline panel with charge controller- 80$ ebay 8w 12v DC pump- 40$ online 34AH AGM battery(electric wheel chair battery) 90$ batteries plus. various wiring/fasteners/etc- 30$ add in labor(it was me, i make about $20+ per hour) for 6 hours of work installing only. now i have probably 5-6 years of off the grid power for my stupid 30 gallon pond. then ill have to replace the battery, maybe the charge controller. hoping the panel lasts at least 10, maybe 15 years. nevermind the pump. that could go any minute now muliply that by 50-100 (sans pond kit) and add permits, inspections, engineers, designers, electricians. i dont even know what that would cost. and you should have a beginning idea of what it would cost to do a house off the grid. yep youre self sufficient, but it could take years to get the return on investment, and then youd be looking at regular replacement of something, so youd be better off, but not free. that said, i like my pond. the birds like it, and im sure the mosquitos will too this summer(crap theres another 30$ in either fish or dunks, plus algae control, talk about a 64$ tomato) i did learn A TON about solar though. matt

Probably too late to post this info now but.... I have been playing around with inflation blowers and my extensive research has shown that a shop-vac, although spectacular to watch in action is way too big!!! On the other end of the scale a small 12v PC fan inflates the poly but cannot provide enough pressure to inflate it tight enough. However, because I was bored I hooked up an old one of these things I found. http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=145&products_id=1150 It is slow to inflate but once the poly is inflated it maintains a decent pressure. It draws 0.15 amps at 12v. I have it experementally hooked up to a 17Ah battery so in theory (yeah numbers again!!) If I let the battery go down to 50% capacity it should run for 57 hours. Hook it up to a truck battery and it should run a month. If anyone is interested I have pictures but at the moment I can't FTP. Here is a link that might be useful: The blower I have.

Stewie, There are battery operated air pumps for aquariums (aquaria?). Might be good to check them out (link below). They're not very expensive, however, you'll have to spend for the battery on a regular basis. Ed Here is a link that might be useful: Air Pumps

It is exspensive to run solar . I wanted a small fish Air pump and average Water pump. To get that to work . I need to buy a 80 watt solar panel($800), inveter($39)convert dc to ac ,GPR-22 digital regulator ,car battery . It would cost about 1000 bucks. Also It doesn't mean I get the power I need to run the system.Here's a cool system you can buy . http://www.watercircle.com.sg/solar.htm I cost about $1066.48 us dollars plus shipping and the cost wiring the money.it looks like a cool system. Here is a link that might be useful: link