The gear I use

Victron 48V MultiPlus-II 5kVA 120V Inverter

48V inverter/charger with a built-in transfer switch. Runs the house from the batteries, charges them from the grid or a generator, and can be stacked for split-phase or more power.

EG4 6500 EX-48 Solar Inverter/Charger 6.5 KVA 120V AC

All-in-one off-grid unit: inverter, MPPT solar charger and battery charger in one box. Two can be paired for 120/240V split phase.

EG4 6000XP Inverter/Charger 120/240V AC; 6000W Output 9000W Solar

All-in-one off-grid inverter with native 120/240V split-phase output, so a single unit can run 240V loads like a well pump or dryer.

NHX-10 Split-Phase Hybrid Inverter

Outdoor-rated, UL-listed hybrid inverter with 120/240V output and grid-interactive operation. Four PV inputs up to 500V make it easy to run several array orientations.

MidNite Solar TheOne

11.4kW Hybrid All-In-One Inverter

120/240V AC; 15,000W Max PV Input Power

11.4kW hybrid all-in-one inverter with 120/240V output and up to 15kW of solar input — a big, whole-home system in one enclosure.

Victron 10kVA 120/240V Off-Grid Power System

Current Connected's split-phase package built around two MultiPlus-II 5kVA inverters. Paired together they give 120/240V for the whole house, and this is the core of my setup.

GIANDEL 2200W Pure Sine Inverter

Turns battery power into clean household AC for tools and appliances.

3.2V 280Ah LiFePO4 Cells

Large prismatic lithium iron phosphate cells. Sixteen in series make a 48V (51.2V) battery of about 14kWh — the cheapest way to build serious storage yourself.

JK 16S 200A Smart BMS (B2A24S20P)

Battery management system for a DIY LiFePO4 pack. Protects the cells from over/under-voltage, over-current and temperature, and actively balances them at up to 2A. Set up and monitored over Bluetooth.

Orient Power 51.2V 230Ah Server-Rack Battery

About 11.8kWh of ready-made LiFePO4 storage in a rack-mount case with its own BMS. No cell building required — slide it in and wire it up.

Vatrer 48V 100Ah Self-Heating Server-Rack Battery

51.2V LiFePO4 rack battery with a built-in 100A BMS, touchscreen display and self-heating for charging in cold weather. I added it when I expanded my battery bank.

Vatrer 4U Battery Cabinet

Rolling 4-shelf server-rack cabinet sized for rack batteries, with ventilation and locking casters.

TechCella 48V 100Ah Server-Rack Battery

51.2V LiFePO4 rack battery with a 100A BMS, inverter communication and a built-in display. The cheapest rack battery I've tested.

WattCycle 48V 100Ah V2 Server-Rack Battery

Rack battery with Bluetooth monitoring. In my testing, both units beat their rated 100Ah, and the BMS protections worked as advertised.

Eco-Worthy Cubix 100 Pro

51.2V 100Ah rack battery built to charge safely below freezing. I covered the cold-weather fix in a follow-up video.

Gobel Power 51.2V DIY Battery Kit (EVE 314Ah)

Battery case with BMS and breaker plus 16 EVE 314Ah cells — everything needed to build a roughly 16kWh 48V pack yourself.

MidNite Solar PowerFlo 5

5kWh, 48V server-rack battery from MidNite Solar.

MidNite Solar PowerFlo 16

16kWh wall-mount battery from MidNite Solar.

EVE 280Ah LiFePO4 Cells

Large prismatic LiFePO4 cells from EVE, a well-known manufacturer. These make up the battery pack.

JK Smart BMS (2A Active Balance)

Protects and balances the cells in the pack, with Bluetooth monitoring.

SolarEver 455W Panels

High-output monocrystalline panels. More watts per panel means fewer panels, rails and connections for the same array size.

Renogy 100W Panels

Compact 12V monocrystalline panels — good for small systems, sheds, RVs and portable setups.

Used SanTan Solar 250W Panels

Used panels pulled from commercial arrays and tested for resale. A very low cost per watt if you have the room to mount a few extra.

ALLPOWERS SP033 200W Portable Solar Panel

Folding 200W panel for recharging a power station in the field.

Victron MPPT RS 450V/100A SmartSolar Charge Controller

High-voltage MPPT solar charge controller for 48V batteries. Accepts PV strings up to 450V and charges at up to 100A, with Bluetooth and VE.Can for monitoring.

Victron Smart Solar Charge Controller 150/35

MPPT charge controller for 12–48V batteries: up to 150V of PV input and 35A of charging, with Bluetooth monitoring from your phone.

EG4 Chargeverter 48V 100A Battery Charger

Converts AC from a generator or the grid into up to 100A of 48V battery charging, sized to make good use of a generator's output.

EG4 Chargeverter Plus

The newer, outdoor-rated version of the Chargeverter: up to 100A of 48V charging from a generator or the grid.

Victron SmartSolar MPPT 150/35

Solar charge controller, so the power station can recharge from panels out in the field.

Victron Blue Smart IP65 12V 10A Charger

Weatherproof AC charger for topping up the battery from a wall outlet, with Bluetooth monitoring.

IntegraRack IR-D1 Deck-Mount Brackets

Self-sealing brackets that mount rails straight to a metal roof's deck, with no clamps to seams needed.

IronRidge XR100 Rails (14′)

Aluminum mounting rails that the panels clamp to. The XR100 handles residential roof spans with a lot of strength to spare.

IronRidge UFO Module Clamps

One clamp that works as both a mid and end clamp, and also bonds the panel frame to the rail for grounding.

IronRidge Grounding Lug

Connects the rail system to the equipment grounding conductor.

IronRidge XR100 Bonded Splice

Joins two rails end-to-end and keeps them electrically bonded.

IronRidge Square-Bolt Bonding Hardware

Bolts that attach the rails to the roof brackets.

IronRidge UFO Stopper Sleeves (40mm)

Snap onto a UFO clamp to turn it into an end clamp for the panel thickness.

IronRidge XR100 End Caps

Finish off the rail ends for a clean look.

IronRidge Wire Clips

Clip into the rail to hold PV wire and connectors off the roof.

Tigo TS4-A-F Rapid Shutdown Module

Mounts under each panel and drops the array to a safe voltage when the rapid-shutdown signal stops — what code now requires for roof arrays.

Tigo RSS Transmitter (Single Core)

Sends the keep-alive signal to the Tigo modules. Cutting its power — or pressing the shutdown button — shuts the array down.

125A 2-Pole DC Breaker (1000V)

DC-rated DIN-rail breaker used as a disconnect and over-current protection between the batteries, charge controller and inverter.

32A 2-Pole DC Breaker (1000V)

DC-rated DIN-rail breaker sized for solar strings — a safe way to disconnect and protect each PV input.

300A Class T Fuse with Block

Class T fuses can safely interrupt the huge short-circuit current a lithium battery can deliver. This one goes right at the battery's positive terminal.

200A Class T Fuse with Block

Same high-interrupt protection as the 300A version, sized for smaller banks or individual battery strings.

Chtaixi 25A 2-Pole DC Breaker (1000V)

DIN-rail DC breaker used as the per-string disconnect inside my PV junction box.

2-Pole DC Surge Protection Device

DIN-rail surge arrester that shunts lightning-induced spikes on the PV lines to ground before they reach the charge controllers.

Victron Lynx Power In – Power Distribution System 1000 Amps

1000A modular bus bar that joins multiple batteries to a common positive and negative, with LED indicators. Bolts directly to other Lynx modules.

Victron Lynx Distributor – Power Distribution System 1000 Amps

1000A bus bar with four fused outputs (MEGA fuses) and blown-fuse indicators — a clean, protected way to feed inverters and chargers.

250 Amp Bus Bars

Common connection point for multiple cables on the positive or negative side, so you're not stacking lugs on a battery terminal.

300A Bus Bars

Heavier-duty bus bars for joining several high-current cables at one point.

1/4″ Single-Stud Junction Posts

Insulated junction posts for joining a few cables or passing a connection through a panel.

200A 6-Way Fuse Block

Distributes DC power to individual circuits, each with its own fuse.

Wire Ferrule Kit (2–16 AWG)

Crimp-on ferrules for stranded wire going into screw or clamp terminals. They keep strands from splaying and help the terminal hold tight.

Dinkle DIN-Rail Terminal Block Kit

Screw-down terminal blocks that snap onto DIN rail, for neat landing points inside an enclosure.

Slotted Aluminum DIN Rail (12″, 2-Pack)

Mounting rail for breakers, terminal blocks and surge protectors.

UL-Listed 10 AWG Wire Ferrules

Ferrules sized for 10 AWG PV wire landing in breakers and terminal blocks.

1″ Liquid-Tight Conduit (100′)

Flexible, weatherproof conduit for protecting wire runs outdoors and between equipment.

Power Grommet (2 AC Outlets + 3 USB)

Panel-mount outlets and USB ports, set into the lid for easy access.

Cloth Wiring Harness Tape

Fabric tape for bundling and protecting the internal wiring, the way car manufacturers do it.

90° Flat-Plug Y Splitter

Low-profile splitter that gets two AC outlets from one inside a tight enclosure.

Filament Strapping Tape

Strong reinforced tape for strapping the cell pack together.

Watts247 4-to-2 PV Combiner Box

Combines four PV strings into two outputs, with fusing for each string — a tidy way to bring several strings down to the charge controllers.

VEVOR 20×20×6″ NEMA 4 Enclosure

Weatherproof steel enclosure I used to build my DIY PV junction box. Available as a UL-tested version from VEVOR or a non-UL version on Amazon.

Awclub Clear-Cover Breaker Box

Enclosure for DIN-rail breakers, with a clear cover so you can see breaker positions without opening it.

Otdorpatio 12-Way Distribution Box

Weather-resistant 12-position DIN-rail enclosure for housing PV and DC breakers.

DeWalt Storage Rack

Heavy-duty steel shelving used in the power room.

8″ × 8″ × 72″ Wireway

Metal wiring gutter that runs along the wall and connects the equipment, giving conductors a protected path between devices.

4″ × 4″ × 48″ Wireway

Smaller wiring gutter for shorter runs and lower conductor counts.

Ridgid Pro Gear 2.0 Rolling Tool Box

Rugged rolling case that serves as the enclosure for the whole portable power station.

Victron Cerbo GX System Controller

The brain of a Victron system. Connects inverters, chargers, shunts and batteries so they share data, and sends everything to Victron's free VRM portal for remote monitoring.

Victron GX Touch 70 Display for Cerbo GX

7″ touchscreen for the Cerbo GX: live power flow, battery state and settings at a glance on the wall.

Solar Assistant (Orange Pi Unit)

A small computer that reads data from many popular inverters and batteries (EG4, MPP and others) and shows dashboards locally and remotely.

RS232 Cable for Solar Assistant (MPP/EG4)

The communication cable that connects Solar Assistant to an MPP Solar or EG4 inverter.

Victron Lynx Shunt VE.Can – Power Distribution System 1000 Amp

1000A battery monitor in Lynx form with a slot for the main system fuse. Reports state of charge and current to the Cerbo GX.

Victron SmartShunt 500A

Battery monitor that measures every amp in and out to show accurate state of charge, on your phone over Bluetooth or on a GX device.

Victron MK3-USB Interface

Connects a MultiPlus or Quattro to a computer for configuration with VictronConnect or VEConfigure, and for firmware updates.

Victron VE.Direct to USB Cable

Links a Victron charge controller or SmartShunt to a USB port, on a computer or a GX device.

Victron Temperature Sensor

Plugs into a MultiPlus, Quattro or Cerbo GX to measure a temperature, whether that's battery temperature compensation or, in my case, monitoring my wood boiler.

Mopeka Pro+ LR Wireless Propane Monitor

Ultrasonic sensor that sticks to the bottom of a propane tank and reports the level over Bluetooth — it shows up right in the Victron VRM.

Mopeka Pro+ Remote Outdoor Antenna

Extends the Mopeka's Bluetooth range when the tank is far from the receiver.

DROK 0–90V 300A Battery Monitor

Shows voltage, current, power and remaining capacity using a Hall-effect sensor around the cable.

Eaton 100A Double-Throw Safety Switch

Manual transfer switch that selects between grid and inverter power, so the two can never be connected at the same time.

Micro-Air EasyStart ASY-368-X48

Soft starter for central A/C and heat pumps. It cuts the compressor's startup surge so an inverter can start it without tripping.

EasyStart Universal Installation Kit

Wiring and hardware for installing an EasyStart.

Anker SOLIX E10

The core of Anker's whole-home backup system: the power module (inverter) plus B6000 battery modules, which stack to add capacity. Mine runs a set of dedicated circuits.

Anker SOLIX Smart Inlet Box

Connects the E10 to the house panel through a dedicated inlet, so it can back up circuits during an outage — the simpler alternative to a Power Dock.

Anker SOLIX E10 120V/240V Power Strip

Plugs into the E10 for both 120V and 240V outlets when running it portable.

Anker SOLIX Smart Generator 5500

Inverter generator that can DC-charge the E10's batteries directly, for fast, fuel-efficient recharging when solar isn't enough.

Anker SOLIX Smart Generator DC Charging Cable (10m)

Connects the Smart Generator 5500 to the E10 for direct DC charging.

BLUETTI EP800 + B500

Home battery system: the EP800 inverter with stackable B500 battery modules.

BLUETTI FridgePower

Battery backup built specifically to keep a refrigerator running through an outage.

BLUETTI AC200L

2,400W portable power station with a 3,600W power-lifting mode and UPS function.

Anker SOLIX C1000

Compact portable power station with ultra-fast recharging and 2,400W surge.

ALLPOWERS R1500

Portable power station for camping, outages and job sites.

Lum Power 1000

Portable power station.

60V 5A Bench Power Supply

Adjustable bench supply for testing gear and for top-balancing new LiFePO4 cells before building a pack.

Hydraulic Knockout Punch Kit (1/2″–2″)

Punches clean, round holes in steel enclosures for conduit fittings — far easier than a step bit on thick boxes.

Hydraulic Lug Crimper

Makes solid, consistent crimps on large lugs for 2/0 and bigger battery cable.

IWISS MC4 Crimp Tool Kit

Crimper, wire stripper and spanners for building your own MC4 solar cables.

Hurricane 1000V Insulated Screwdriver Set

Insulated screwdrivers rated to 1000V for working around live terminals and breakers.

HKS Ratcheting Ferrule Crimper

Ratcheting crimper for ferrules and small terminals. It won't release until the crimp is complete.

Kill A Watt EZ Electricity Usage Monitor

Plug-in meter that shows exactly how much power an appliance uses — handy for sizing a system.

Klein Tools CL380 Clamp Meter

Auto-ranging, true-RMS clamp meter up to 400A with a built-in non-contact voltage tester. Measures current without breaking the circuit.

Klein Tools Cut-Resistant Work Gloves (2-Pack)

Nitrile-dipped, cut-resistant gloves that still work with a phone screen. These are not rated as electrical insulating gloves.

VEVOR Digital Torque Screwdriver

Tightens breaker and terminal screws to the manufacturer's torque spec — loose connections are a leading cause of heat and failures.

ADS1013D Handheld Oscilloscope

Portable 2-channel, 100MHz scope for looking at waveforms, such as checking an inverter's AC output or switching noise.

CIGMAN Laser Level

Self-leveling cross-line laser for laying out rails and mounts straight.

Vatrer 48V 105Ah Golf Cart Battery

Drop-in LiFePO4 replacement for a lead-acid golf cart pack, with Bluetooth monitoring. I installed one in our Club Car Precedent.

Bopga 48V 105Ah Golf Cart Battery

Compact LiFePO4 golf cart battery that comes with its own smart charger.

Novaic GR Plus 48V 105Ah Golf Cart Battery

LiFePO4 golf cart battery. I opened it up to see what's inside.

Segway Navimow X4 (X430)

All-wheel-drive robot mower. I tested it on steep slopes, under tree canopy and around livestock.

Navimow MowGate

Automatic gate that lets the mower pass between fenced areas on its own.

Mammotion LUBA 3 AWD

All-wheel-drive robot mower, tested on the same steep, rugged yard as the Navimow.

DC-DC Buck Converter

Steps battery voltage down to 12V for small DC loads like fans, lights and electronics.

Danger Sign

Warning label for the power room or battery enclosure: high DC current and multiple power sources present.

Noctua NF-B9 92mm Fan

Quiet, high-quality fan that moves heat out of the enclosure.

92mm Fan Filter Grills (4-Pack)

Dust filters and finger guards for the vent and fan openings.

W1209 12V Thermostat Board

Small temperature controller with a relay that switches the cooling fan on only when the box gets warm.