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Posted: 9/12/2016 8:17:07 PM EDT
Just had a 22'x21' metal garage built on a concrete slab to house tractors & attachments. I plan to build dollies with castor wheels for each item to make access and efficient storage easier. The whole process got posted here (from ground clearing through construction): http://www.greentractortalk.com/forums/barns-buildings/76498-adding-metal-equipment-garage-our-parking-area-lots-o-pics.html
I could post dups of my posts here if preferred over following a link... Nick |
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[#1]
Pretty cool !! What was cost ?
I need a garage badly and trying to decide on stick build or post frame or something like a versatube or similar |
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[#2]
The concrete slab w/footings & 12 tons of crusher run was about $2500, the building with all extras (windows, 12 gauge instead of 14 and "certified" with drawings) was about $6K installed with NC tax. County permits ran $200 ($150 for building inspections, $50 for zoning), so total was just south of $9k.
Nick |
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[#4]
i like it.
looking at the picture, i think you should find a way to use for some of the space over about six feet in height. even if it is just higher shelf around the outside edge. |
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[#5]
If you don't weld then learning to weld making carts and big shelving for that over 6ft or 7ft stuff would be a decent new project to learn on.
Depending on cost of metal and how much scrap wood you have access to I could see building a loft out of wood though. Do you have plans for a hoist or anything? If built right it could be used for pulling engines or anything and also for putting stuff in the loft. Pay attention to weight ratings and blah blah blah. Nice building, I have not read the thread yet but will read it when I have some free time. I like space, I am terrible about filling every nook and cranny and then it becomes a game of move this to access that. I agree on having stuff on wheels. I buy discounted carts, build my own, have some hand me down stuff, and have a northern tool account I pay for each year and when they really clearance something I tend to load up on it. I have wheels for 4 more dollies, have not bothered to use the scrap wood I have to make em yet. And I don't have much flat floor for rolling stuff around. But what I have, I make full use of. |
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[#8]
You have some money tied up in tractors and implements!!
Nice job packing everything in there. |
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[#11]
Like it, but you need a bigger shed for all of that equipment. Like the roller mounts some of the equipment is on, makes it easy to move around. You also have a lot of trees around the building. They are great for shade but when they start falling for all the various reasons, your building is going to take some hits. You might want to move a few more back.
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[#13]
how large a property are you maintaining with that equipment? What model tractors?
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[#14]
We have a 3038e and 1025R FILB. We have 4 1/2 acres (mostly wooded) at the house and a 20 acre piece of land about 12 miles down the road that is about 1/2 heavy woods, the rest a mix of fields and some open wooded areas (like park land) formerly part of farmland belonging to the wife's mother.
Got the 3038e back in 2010 to clean up and mantain the acreage and some additional areas nearby belonging to my MIL. Got the 1025R in 2013 to help with woods cleanup and landscape work around the house when my mobility issues were getting worse (pretty much fixed now thanks to a good spinal surgeon). Most attachments were picked up for specific jobs, generally preferring to do work on our own when feasible rather than hire it done. Nick |
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[#15]
So that building cost you >$20/square foot? And it looks like you did a lot of the work yourself.
How does that compare to other builders in your local area? |
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[#16]
The inspector that came out (also a contractor on the side) said he could not buy the materials for a stick built structure of the same dimensions for what we paid for the installed building.
From what I have seen locally, a stick built of similar size runs $25K-$30K, including foundation (but exterior finish & roof is similar to that of a residence). Materials for a self built pole barn (no sides just roof) would have been ballpark $1800 (w/out tax), locally. Nick. |
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[#17]
Getting started on a new component for the building. I had already put some 12v lights up on the interior, just using any available 12v battery when light was needed, but just recently decided to make it a bit more "built-in". I've ordered a 100w 12v solar panel and 30amp pwm controller for use with a deep cycle battery that had previously been maintained for CPAP backup (no longer need CPAP). I also ordered a couple of 12v motion sensor 10w outdoor LED floods to mount above the doors outside. I'll need to put together a framework for the panel to be mounted on the building front (oriented due south) just down from the ridge, between the doors.
I'll post some pics once I get some progress. Nick |
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[#18]
I'm stealing your ideas for implement dollies and the 12v lighting setup.
Great stuff! |
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[#20]
Quoted:
Brought the 3038e back from the acreage (along with landscape blade, rake & box blade - left the rotary cutter there under shelter). Got to see what the building looks like with both tractors in residence. http://www.skhowell.com/images/1025R-3038e-garage-1.jpg Should still be able to fit in the 60" PTO tiller & maybe the post hole digger (on dollies) - probably leave the dirt movers (box blade, landscape rake & blade) outside if not attached. Nick View Quote You have hit my jelly button. I have tractor/shed envy. Very nice setup. |
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[#21]
I've been looking at the same Renogy package, although I think I'm gonna go ahead and do two panels since I'm gonna be on the roof anyways.
I think they're going on the roof, that is... |
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[#28]
OP, I can't tell from the photos if you have insulated the building. Do you not anticipate a problem with condensation and dripping?
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[#29]
No insulation, but have not experienced any condensation issues to date. I keep the 6, screened, windows either fully open (clear weather) or open about 3" (if rain expected), so maybe there is enough circulation to keep things pretty much at homeostasis. There are currently no heat sources that might give off water vapor (except maybe me when in there, but then the roll up doors are open) & the slab was poured on top of a vapor barrier.
Nick |
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[#31]
Quoted:
One last (I think...) piece to the solar power thing, I added a couple of monitors, one tracking solar panel output to the controller and one tracking battery power consumption by attached loads (lights, inverter, etc.). This is absolutely unnecessary for a simple application, but I wanted to see the numbers & the cost was modest (about $40 for displays & parts). Each monitor is using it's own ground connection shunt & they are seriously oversized for this application (shunt is good for 100 amp). This could have been accomplished with just one shunt by tracking controller -> battery vs. panel -> controller. But since one came with each display & I wanted panel side without looking at controller losses, I used two. Displays have optional backlighting, so lit & unlit (top display is solar panel, bottom display is battery use) http://www.skhowell.com/images/2016-10-24-solar-02.jpg http://www.skhowell.com/images/2016-10-24-solar-01.jpg This is right after install & twilight is coming quickly. One thing I have seen so far is that the 27w worklight floods I put up in the interior are actually drawing about 18 watts each, all four on draw about 72 watts total. The displays show volts, amps, watts and accumulated watt-hours. They have the ability to retain watt-hour data, even with power off, until cleared by the operator. If the panel feed is turned off, the top display will turn off, but the LED volt-meter will continue to show solar panel voltage. Nick View Quote I wish one of y'all would do a solar power tutorial...from the basics up...from simple to complex...here in Homestead and Garden. |
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[#32]
I think the motto for solar projects should be: Location! Location! Location!
The numbers I saw on the meters was not what I had hoped for so I started digging deeper. After checking everything out, the equipment looks fine - but the location kills the efficiency. After checking out the panel by itself "as installed", I dismounted the panel from the wall and took it to full afternoon sun and put my meter on it. It produced, pretty much, as specified in the documentation 22.35 volts open circuit & 5.77 amps dead short (docs say 22.4v @ 5.92A). The installed location pretty much robs it of over 90% of its potential. The best readings, isolated in the installed location, were like 20.5v & .40 amps. Just too much shade. Cost of conductors are too high for relocating the panel (it would take 75 - 100 feet to get beyond shade), so I'll leave it as is for now. It pretty much performs like a smart trickle charger. It does add to the battery charge, just not very quickly. At some later point I may re-purpose the panel & charge controller elsewhere (pond pump or outdoor lighting feature?) & just start swapping out charged for discharged batteries as needed in the building. Nick |
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[#33]
I had been playing with some numbers & thinking about the cost/return associated with a better location and using less than optimal conductors. Out of curiosity I built a roughly 65' 10 awg "extension cord" with the MC4 connectors I have on hand to empirically test some of my assumptions about performance with that much of a run. I figured even a 10% loss is no big deal since output at the current location is 95% + lower than optimal.
I removed the panel from the building & took it out by the driveway. Angle wasn't perfect and at about 2:30 PM, so shadows were starting to encroach on the area, but measured 20.9 volts & 4.9 amps directly at the panel. Hooked up the extension cord & measured at the far end, getting 20.7 volts & 4.49 amps. This is a moving target with some shadows moving in and out, but it looks like line loss is going to be no big deal. At the original location on the building, the panel was generally producing less than 0.25 amps (best seen was 0.4), so this is massively better. Going to start roughing out a reasonable mount for the panel that won't offend the wife's sensibilities & will protect the panel from damage from lawn mowing, flying rocks, grandchildren, etc. Nick |
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[#35]
Quoted:
OK, this is my initial re-mount of the panel. Might go to a pole mount at a later date, but need to get the utility locator folks to mark phone & power runs before digging. It is a simple cobble-together of 1" EMT & some chain link fence & conduit hardware. The front legs were spread to the limit of the joints & hammered a couple of inches into the ground, as was the rear support, for a bit more stability before mounting the panel. The legs used for the building mount were used to set the angle on this mount, attaching to the emt with self tapping screws. http://www.skhowell.com/images/Solar-20161030-01.jpg http://www.skhowell.com/images/Solar-20161030-04.jpg The extension line was run down the eave & then tree supported over to the panel http://www.skhowell.com/images/Solar-20161030-11.jpg Here it is just coming into pretty much full sun. http://www.skhowell.com/images/Solar-20161030-09.jpg Producing over 50 watts going into the battery (14.56v @ 3.46 amps) for the first time. (Note: a meter proved defective & was pulled pending the arrival of a replacement). http://www.skhowell.com/images/Solar-20161030-12.jpg Even with worst case conditions, this location should not produce any less than if the panel were on the building. Nick View Quote That's really interesting. I admit I'm surprised you didn't have more drop over that run. |
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[#36]
I think the numbers are held down somewhat by the battery condition (nearing full charge). When I turned on the inside lights (72 watt load), the panel output numbers jumped to 67 watts & 4.7 amps. All the numbers are generated while the panel is attached to the PWM charge controller inputs, which in turn is connected to the battery.
Nick |
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[#37]
Well, for the first time since getting started with the solar panel thing, the controller is showing the slow blink on the battery status that indicates it has gone into "Float" charge status, with the battery readout sitting on 13.8v
Nick |
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[#38]
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[#41]
It didn't take long to fill that building up
This is more of a PSA for a good thread. The Fed extended the 30% tax credit for PV and hydronic solar systems. Geothermal is gone .Gov link, just to aggravate them |
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[#42]
Very nice work OP. Really liking the the implement dollies.
Your electrical/solar skills are beyond my abilities, but I think I will purchase that solar system. Thanks for this link to this thread. |
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[#44]
Thanks for all the great info as we may be building a metal building in the next year or so for similar storage.
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