Tried adding pictures directly but as with so many Lemmy communities I got a 403 error. So they are attached via the imgur link.

It is a useful tool for figuring out needs based on what’s going to be running. But it seems too DIBuy instead of DIY. The results say inverters but they are all plug and play all in one systems. Not DIY.

Now I understand that popping prebuilt systems in the results is easier than building a DB of the constantly changing variety of batteries, inverters and charge controllers. But right now it seems all buy and no build.

I picked up a Kill A Watt that shows peak usage so I can make sure the CA is rated correctly.

Thank you for the input on batteries. This has me conflicted because if there is just one battery and it fails the system dies. But if I have multiple batteries and just keone fails the system still dies and I have to replace every battery anyway since you can’t mix and match. But that last option has more cables needed.

I have a basic handyman electrical kit so I can crimp standard household gauges 10 and smaller wires but will eventually have to get crimps for heavier cables.

I’d love a calculator where you plug in how many watts you need at a given volts and it tells you the inverter size, battery capacity including cranking amps and solar cell wattage for a given zip code so that I can minimize the amount of manual math needed.

And at what size system do I need a cooling fan? And how big does that fan need to be?

An issue we have this week is the hurricane. Multiple people on Facebook looking for a place to sleep that has power so they can run their CPAP. Any system capable of charging a tool battery (essential for chainsaws after a storm) is more than capable of running a CPAP overnight. And with a tool battery adapter you can charge a cell phone.