Dang it's cold now....

[alfsauve]

The Jackery would certainly have some convenience after you set up an input point on the unit.  I bet you can find that you can design and run your own solar for less with more capability.  Victron makes some very reliable pure sine wave units that fail over to battery like a UPS backup.  They have the charger/inverter models or you can go with separate charger and inverter and most of the chargers can be hooked up to a generator to charge/maintain the battery for extended use.

I actually have a Victron fail over charger unit with a single 100Ah gel cell as a backup to my house sump pump.   I could put together a system as I did for the fridge/freezers and do it cheaper using gel cells as opposed to LiFeP, but as much as I enjoyed that exercise, I'm more in the mood for a off-the-shelf unit.  The prices have come way down in the last 2 years and if I hit a sale I could come out about the same price-wise.

Decided to swap out the single gang wall mounted box that interfaces to the furnace with a dual gang box.  One side will have a dual outlet, both hot, one for the air conditioning  sump pump and one for the the battery charger.  The other side will have a DPDT a/c switch that can choose between a/c mains and a plug-corded input(pigtail some call it).  The furnace will remain hard wired as such and switch will serve as a cutoff for when the furnace needs servicing.  If I choose an auto-switch over then it will be external through the corded input.

YES ITS COLD HERE.  15 this morning.   10mph wind with 20+mph gusts.  I think I truly understand why all those people retired to FL.   The urge is strong. 

[Big Frank]

It feels like 15 here too, but it's 22. I really don't want to go out there, but my snowplow isn't going to fix itself. This is usually the time leading up to the warmest part of the day, when I can work for a couple of hours before it starts to get dark.

[Big Frank]

I replaced the shearED pin on my plow today. While putting it back together I figured out the easiest way to take it apart next time, if I can remember. It might only be a 5 minute job once I get my tools out there. Once I get the springs unhooked and pull the cross-pin out, the shear pin should fall right on the ground if I get the hole in the square tube lined up. And it loos like it would be a whole lot easier to unhook the bottom of the springs first. That's part of what I figured out when I put it together. I was wearing long johns and had to come in and take the top off because I got so hot chopping ice in the driveway. It was in the low 20s I guess, and I was out there with my coat unbuttoned and a T-shirt on. I eventually had to button my coat for awhile before unbuttoning it again. My hands and feet didn't get cold, and that's the most important thing besides getting the job done. It's 21 degrees and feels like 15 right now, 15 minutes after sunset.