look up ya boy Dick Proenneke
Living off grid
- Thread starter Jozz
- Start date
Yeah, living without running water I couldn't.
What kind of land is it? Hilly? Forested? Do you get lots of sunshine?
I am imagining a Swiss Family Robinson style abode for you.
I am imagining a Swiss Family Robinson style abode for you.
subscribed, I have a college buddy who does (small) water-power installations on Orcas Island / San Juans.
While his home hydro-system seemed to require regular tinkering relative to stream flow variation it seems like a good supplement to solar -- i.e. charge your battery bank when it's rainy...
While his home hydro-system seemed to require regular tinkering relative to stream flow variation it seems like a good supplement to solar -- i.e. charge your battery bank when it's rainy...
Much hilly... For Quebec it might even be called "mountainous" It's basically a big rock since nearby trails are littered with huge rock slabs.
edit: it's about 500ft from summit to river
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This is a cool channel. His totally off grid. Chris has wind, solar and hydro. For off grid hydro can be amazing:
www.youtube.com
This guy is off grid and was too far away to get power from the grid and as a super sweet hydro setup and some beautiful land
www.youtube.com
Kris Harbour Natural Building
My goal is to buy some woodland in wales in the UK and build a house with natural and re-cycled materials. I spend most of my time at the moment making things that will be beneficial for the future projects such and a water wheel/turbine a wind turbine, woodworking benches and holding tools...
www.youtube.com
This guy is off grid and was too far away to get power from the grid and as a super sweet hydro setup and some beautiful land
MrHydrohead
Everything Micro-Hydro off the grid in the Colorado Rocky Mountains This channel is about a spring fed power system that functioned for 17 years producing po...
www.youtube.com
Lift is already there, on the other side of the road.
This is looking south. MTB trails, and they run the lift for bikes 5-6 week-ends a year.
Theres gotta be an artesian water source on that mountain somewhere. Find one near the top, filter it, pipe it downhill. Every 40 ft od vert put a power generating turbine in it.
Then you can have a microwave and a blender!
Chainsaw + chipper + https://centralboiler.com/ = heat
Then you can have a microwave and a blender!
Chainsaw + chipper + https://centralboiler.com/ = heat
100% wooded. It's the boreal forest so a good mix of hardwood like oak, maple, beech, some soft wood like birch and probably a good chunk of hemlocks, white cedar, pine, spruce, etc. Can you say "maple syrup"!!
I could probably get a small portion logged each year for money, but that would be last resort.
build something small/basic first......how deep in the woods do you want the house to be?
There might be tax advantages to that.
Our land in maine is a wood lot and we only need to cut a small portion commercially every 10 years.
Hard to say, depends on the slopes and orientation of flat sections. There seems to be a forest road already built, so that would cut cost to build near it. The access to the river seems pretty steep. That region is opening up (covid) next week, so we will be able to go check it out.
I'll check on that.
We have been talking about parking Frita out there until we can build something. But we have also looked at recreational properties that we can park but not build on.
A guy here in town has 20 acres of rec property and dropped a container on it. He converted it into a tiny house and it doesn't break the no construction clause since it isn't considered to be on a foundation.
A guy here in town has 20 acres of rec property and dropped a container on it. He converted it into a tiny house and it doesn't break the no construction clause since it isn't considered to be on a foundation.
I gather he does not have services?We have been talking about parking Frita out there until we can build something. But we have also looked at recreational properties that we can park but not build on.
A guy here in town has 20 acres of rec property and dropped a container on it. He converted it into a tiny house and it doesn't break the no construction clause since it isn't considered to be on a foundation.
I've been debating different ideas for building on my land since I got it around 5 years ago. We've considered everything from "do nothing" to building a full-on house for full-time living, and everything in between. At this point we've got power, water, and a small shed. Having a pretty pimp van to stay in makes it too easy to procrastinate - it's a pretty rad van camp. But this whole covid thing has definitely got us thinking that we need to make something happen up there.
We have the van also, but it would probably get sold since we would not be using it for a few years. Actually, it would be live in the van while building cabin and living in the cabin while building the house.
All of the sudden that sounds like a lot of work...
At least the trails are close.All of the sudden that sounds like a lot of work...
The remote living people I know are basically consumed by living remotely.
I spend a lot of time fighting back the forest that’s always trying to reclaim the land.
Why?
when I lived in the mountains I had a 250 gallon propane tank, fire station had a 500 gallon Those hooked up to a propane generator for power. we would lose grid power for up to ten days at a time. Add solar, potbelly stove and about ten cords of seasoned oak and we were set. I refilled the propane 3-4 times a year
On edit: there are more regulations and permits needed for a 500 gallon tank than you want to deal with. almost none for 250 gallons. the cheap and easy solution is to have two 250s and that keeps the powers that be out of your hair
What applies to California does not necessarily do so in Quebec...
Pooping in a Outhouse in January always sucks. I know I am soft.
Uh, yeah. It's going to be a lot of work regardless, but you know that. You could save some time, work, and money by skipping the cabin part and picking up a used trailer for cheap to live in while you build the house. Plenty of time for cabins and other fun stuff later.All of the sudden that sounds like a lot of work...
There are pros and cons no matter what approach you take. But don't get discouraged, one way or another it will work out. Probably. Eventually.
Correct. He has a really nice solar/wind setup with battery bank. He's an older retired vet. I have only seen pictures and talked to him at a party. He got me thinking about it for our purposes.
true but there is a certain level of flammable fuel storage in most areas where you transition from residential size to commercial and that's where the permit and regs kick in. it does vary by area. Here a 250 only needs a chain holding it to a slab and it can be near a structure. A 500 had to be bolted to a slab of specified thickness with two shut offs and a certain distance from all structures and special fuel lines buried at a specific depth etc
i watched that the other week as i am always thinking of mountain land...lots of cool ideas/concepts but i absolutely hated the guy by the end. like a lot of folks who do this, he's way too fucking full of himself. there's another similar one with a guy in (idaho?) who has a big community garden and a semi-buried greenhouse.
the houses are cool.....guy is a flake....
Usually when people accept to be filmed or create their own YT channel, they seek the attention.
I must be soft too. Dangling your bare ass out at -15 to rid your body of the disagreeing Nepalese food you had for dinner was not a fun exercise. Invigorating with all that cold breeze airing out your balloon knot though.
There are a couple of YouTube channels I subscribe to that could potentially provide some inspiration. They've both built off-grid homesteads in the Pacific Northwest and have taken different approaches to the problems they've encountered. Could provide some good binge-watching material for a rainy afternoon.
Wranglerstar: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMIjEnXruVHtvgSVf6TgfUg
Pure Living For Life: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChhBsM9K_Bc9a_YTK7UUlnQ
I don't recall where Doug & Stacy are offhand, but here's another that could be useful.
Off Grid With Doug & Stacy: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChit3QKk051fCsqliwVrbuQ
Wranglerstar: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMIjEnXruVHtvgSVf6TgfUg
Pure Living For Life: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChhBsM9K_Bc9a_YTK7UUlnQ
I don't recall where Doug & Stacy are offhand, but here's another that could be useful.
Off Grid With Doug & Stacy: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChit3QKk051fCsqliwVrbuQ
Okay. That is problem number one. And if you've not even done any sort of taking care of a garden? Yeah. Look at that first.
During the Iditarod, interior Alaska, at lodges with no running water, during COVID where they wouldn't let you back inside unless you'd thoroughly slathered up with hand-sanitizer. At -20F that's the last thing you want to put on your hands outside in the cold.