Once we finished installing the 10” steel pipe install for the pole mounted PV panels we next had to get the wires buried. I got a local guy to bring his Kubota back-hoe over to dig a trench from the pole to the electrical room. We then put it in 1” electrical PVC pipe to protect the wires. We pushed several of the 10 gauge cables through as fast as we could and was finished in time for him to grab his John Deere lawn tractor to start back filling.
We then had the Kubota (with a back hoe) dig out a spot out over near the mud room for the future root cellar we plan to have blocked up in the Spring. Just when he was finishing up his front wheels dropped down in a water drain ditch and ripped off his hydraulic filter and within seconds all the fluid was lost. That is why he had to use the John Deere to finish up.
The next day John and I finished connecting the PV panels, grounded each and connected it to the recently pounded in 9′ grounding rod. We then connected 3 PV panels per bank in a series with their MC connectors. There were a total of 4 banks. Next we put a 3’ piece of 2×6 in the ground and mounted the Midnite Solar Combiner disconnect box to it. Installed 5 of the 1/2” strain reliefs in the bottom of the disconnect box for the ground and the 4 banks.
Off-Grid in West Virginia 
Hi Sonny, we’ve not met, but I’m Allison’s husband. She told me I just had to look at your Blog, and I’m glad I did! I tend to think that envy is a waste of time, but in this case I just can’t help myself. You two have such a fantastic place there…the house…the land…being off-grid…the plans for bee keeping…etc. It’s almost like you’re writing our wish list of what we want to do when we retire.
Allison and I are so happy for you two, I hope you enjoy your new adventure, and I look forward to reading about it. The photos are great, and I would love to see even more photos of your control panel, genny, etc. (yeah, I’m a geek like that! lol).
You’re going to make me start looking on the internet for land again! lol. Take care, Jim and Allison
Jim,
Linda and I are glad you like the Blog. I had planned to do a blog entry on the generator and generator backup that I have installed. It all works well together although the AGS (automatic generator start) is not quite up to speed yet. I learned the hard way about how certain “Whole House Generators” are designed for Grid connected systems and how they activate based on power loss. After learning this and gaining the understanding on how to interface the logic of “power loss” to the logic of low battery. Anyway, more on that soon.
Really cool house and power plant you built. So you have the 9 cells connected into one array?
Dale,
Actually I have 8 6volt AGM (Glass Mat) in series for 48volts. The identical 2nd rack is connected in Parallel.