Given a home in Central,AK planning on moving there (Fairbanks: construction jobs, buying)

[blessteve]

HOLY CRAP!!! When I read the first post I thought" DAM I would be there in a second." But then I read this and said HOLY CRAP that is a long way for some Taco Bell.

Originally Posted by Marty Van Diest

Because it's been awhile since I lived in Fairbanks, but I think the road to Central and Circle is not kept open in the winter,

You will need to depend on air transport in the winter or a 100 mile plus run by snowmobile

[Arcticthaw]

Originally Posted by megensmom

We are starting to really budget hard so that we can about as close to $10,000 saved up for our trip.One of the things we are getting ready to do is send my husbands resume out to mining companies,etc. He has all the skills needed for a job in that field in fact he works in a rock quarry now. We have heard there is Fort Knox but what other mining companies are they?
We have gotten pictures of the new place so we know what work we will need to do ASAP after we arrive. I have also contacted the Utlities companies and will pre-pay for those so that they are on when we arrive.
My main learning thing now is going to be food storage. If anyone has some good links or info. I would love to have it. We are a family of 5.

This site will help you with lots of information you need.

http://www.alaska.edu/uaf/ces/ (broken link)

Pogo mine is another mine but is closer to Delta, about 200 miles from where you plan to live.
There is gold mining locally but I am not sure how that works as it is mostly smaller operations and I would expect a local reference situation.

Check in with the school, they are always looking for new students, the student population is small so they need everyone to keep the state funding. So they may be able to give you more helpfull information.

A source of phone numbers is either acsalaska.com the yellow pages in the bottom left of the page. If you know the name your looking for
White Pages Phone Directory with Free People Search

I am unsure on the road closure, they tried to stop maintenance in the winter last year but I think that was resoved. You may have to call the Department of Transportation Northern region to find out.
A great web site you folks should check out is State of Alaska Home Page

[JavaPhil]

Untitled Document
Red Dog MineSite | InfoMine
Alaska Miners Jobs in Mining

[Marty Van Diest]

Originally Posted by blessteve

HOLY CRAP!!! When I read the first post I thought" DAM I would be there in a second." But then I read this and said HOLY CRAP that is a long way for some Taco Bell.

I think that's the type of thing many people who don't live here have a hard time grasping. And Central is closer to Taco Bell than are most Alaskan communities.

I tried to look on the web but I haven't been able to find out if the road is maintained in the winter. Call the DOT

[megensmom]

Thanks for all the great help. Now I am studying up on power inverters and batteries. Let me just say that from a stand point of someone not familiar with it I am totally confused.
I understand HOW it works but I am confused as to how to set it all up. I think we are going to go with a 2,500 watt AIMs inverter but when it comes to batteries I am clueless.I am trying to figure out should I just get normal deep cycle Marine batteries or do I need a special type of deep cycle batteries.
I think I am going to try and find a system that someone wants to sale and get it all at once. And then we are going to need a generator as well.

[blessteve]

Originally Posted by megensmom

Thanks for all the great help. Now I am studying up on power inverters and batteries. Let me just say that from a stand point of someone not familiar with it I am totally confused.
I understand HOW it works but I am confused as to how to set it all up. I think we are going to go with a 2,500 watt AIMs inverter but when it comes to batteries I am clueless.I am trying to figure out should I just get normal deep cycle Marine batteries or do I need a special type of deep cycle batteries.
I think I am going to try and find a system that someone wants to sale and get it all at once. And then we are going to need a generator as well.

I worked with this guy for awhile and he was very smart and very cheap
and very cheap. AND off the GRID. He was a very interesting fellow to say the least. I do remember one conversation about his batteries and he stated
that golf cart batteries were the best choice. Reasonably priced, easy to get blah blah blah. And black and white TV's use less juice then color.
He had a 1960's kerosene fridge. 1950's mobile home. The cheap bastard
would buy regular pop corn put it in a brown paper bag for the mic and tell me how much he would save by doing it this way. His wife was the same way. They were about forty and said they had saved alomst a million so far.

Well good luck and have fun.

[JavaPhil]

Best batteries for use on the inverter are UPS deep cycle batteries, marine deep cycle batteries and then 8D starter batteries. Prices are most expensive to least expensive. Note: I didn't say cheapest! Make sure your batteries are stored in a cool dry area. Anything above 77 degrees will cause your batteries to lose lifespan quickly. Hotter is worse. A 5 year battery stored in 95 degree temps might last a year and a half.

[megensmom]

Ok now I am feeling a little dumb. I went and did a google for UPS batteries. It came up with all kinds of different batteries. How do you know which ones to get?

[JavaPhil]

It depends on the load requirements. Smaller loads equate to smaller and fewer batteries. Compute the load in amps you are going to need to supply for your needs. Most batteries are rated in amp-hours. A 12 volt battery rated at 70 amp hours will supply 7 amps at 12 volts for 10 hours. For 120 volts, you will need 10 batteries in a "string" connected pos to neg from the positive on the charger/inverter and ending on the negative side of the charger/inverter. If these are 70 amp hour batteries, they will supply 7 amps at 120 volts for 10 hours, or 14 amps for 5 hours. There are actually some losses in efficiency to run the inverter. Most inverters are rated from about 92 to 95 percent efficient. Tying a 2nd string of batteries in parallel will double your run time. UPS "gel-cells" run up to as high as 400 amp-hours, but are correspondingly more expensive. So-called gel-cells are actually "absorbed glass mat" batteries. They have a fiberglass matrix wrapped around the plates that has absorbed the acid electrolyte into itself. These are also called maintenance free, sealed, valve regulated batteries or SVRLA batteries (LA is lead acid). These batts last about 5 years under great conditions. Typically 5-10 percent fail in good conditions over the lifespan of the battery.

Sorry, I got carried away there. If you have any questions, go ahead and ask.

[megensmom]

Actually that helps make sense in "real" terms. So my next question is WHERE to buy these batteries? I know that some companies are better than others and since some here may have already bought a few I would welcome their input.
Also can you mix sizes?

Is this the type I will need?
Powersonic PS-12350 PS12350 Sealed Lead Acid Batteries at Portable Power Systems (http://www.gotbatteries.com/items.asp?params=batteries/SLA/1/Powersonic/PS-12350/PS12350/SL108/35L108S9 - broken link)