I went to Brewer’s Marine in Hamilton yesterday afternoon and I have to say, it is a very cool store for a Tiny Houser like myself. Sadly, their webpage does NOT do them justice at all – it is not navigable unless you know who makes what you need. Still, they are very nice in when you visit them there and they have all sorts of GREAT Tiny Stuff for people who are downsizing (or for you smart folks that are started or are starting small). One of the really cool things was a tiny dish rack. I already have one that folds so I am good but if I would have seen this first…
Tim helped me out MASSIVELY with what I need. He tested each of the lights for brightness and counselled me about my wiring needs. He spent a full half hour with me so that I would get exactly what I need and be happy with my purchase. You simply don’t get service like this from huge corporations. Again, another reason why I buy from small business when I need stuff.
The 12v items here are the ones I purchased (They are in the order shown and listed below):
– waterproof connection box (which is where the wires from the battery will come in and become divided)
– LED spot light to light the dog garden (bright but a little costly)
– 16 gage coated wire ( I could save a few cents a foot using single wire but I thought this would be neater)
– 3 LED reading lights with rotating heads and build in switches. Two for the main floor and one for the bedroom.
– LED Tiny light for the Tiny In house
– LED 12 bulb interior/exterior light for the cloth porch
– LED interior/exterior-underwater for the North door
– 4 toggle switches for the lights that do not come with these built in
– 12v receptacle plug
The total cost was $427.70 which would be ~$100 less if I had not purchased the spot light for the dogs. Not cheap, but the items are guaranteed for 10 years and I am great at keeping receipts.
After I left there, I went to Guillevin which is a little electrical supply store to purchase 100 feet of metal (then PVC/both rodent and weather proof) coated wire to get from the solar panel to the battery case. I needed a hundred feet of this and along with the Marrettes the cost was $93.17. Holy expensive stuff that wire, but still, I have everything (I think) I need for the job now.
With the solar already hooked up, charged, working, tested and ready to go, the only thing that I have to do is install the stuff that I bought. It means that I have to tear THO apart to get this stuff installed. It will be a big mess, but I think I will do this one light at a time. As well, I think that having lights, real lights without the tiny battery waste is certainly a positive. Marine deep cells that I have for the solar system simply last a lot longer and are loads stronger; at least this is what I have read and understand to be true.
Anything I am forgetting? Any volunteers for the installation or anyone who wants to learn along with me for your own purposes?
Tiny House Ontario 