Living Off the Grid

[Prairiepiss]

If you are looking at Kansas. I would stick to the east 1/4. Over towards the Missouri border. Where its not just a flat nothing. LOL

[superdaveva]

Now looking at Wyoming, no state income tax, no tax on food. Left Florida because of work, no work here. Need to sell my house this spring. Looking for a little private land to build a small cabin on. Need to garden , fish and hunt.

[SoMo]

Winters are very cold and the snows are deep there, figure on 3-8 cords of wood to heat thru the winter. Beautiful country out there tho.

[HDNB]

Now looking at Wyoming, no state income tax, no tax on food. Left Florida because of work, no work here. Need to sell my house this spring. Looking for a little private land to build a small cabin on. Need to garden , fish and hunt.

funny what a few miles does. everything booms here. you can get a job doing anything in a minute, the opposite really...way more jobs than workers. any y'all want to freeze your knackers off suffer through 10 months of winter and two months of bad sledding...anyone with skills can jump an immigration line here with a sponsor from a company. we got 21 yr old kids working in plants pulling in 150k a year regular time and 250 a year if they want the overtime. then you buy a place in florida for vacationing in...welcome to the alberta oil bubble.

[HDNB]

so back on task here...sorry ...this thread has got me researching to learn more.
these evacuated tube solar water heaters...has anybody tried using this as a heat source for runing a still? it sounds like they can achieve some crazy temperatures.they are pretty cheap on ebay
i'm really wondering why i don't have a couple of these at least augmenting the heating in the house/shop.

[Prairiepiss]

Little update.

Solar system is coming around nicely. The wife did 4 loads of laundry. We charged the batteries in the MH. And watched a 3 hour movie before bed. Next morning it was rainy. But at 9 am the batteries were at 97% and charging.

Stopped by a swap meet. Came home with a pot belly piglit. So now we are going to need to find a male companion for her. LOL Price was right. Couldn't pass it up. $25 didn't seam bad at all.

Took a trip up to the city. Picked up my new project. A 1948 Gravely model L walk behind tractor. With a brush hog attachment a rotary plow attachment. And a sulky. My wife traded for it. The guy we got if from. Said he got it from a guy that restored it. And it ran great when he got it. But he left it sit out. And it wouldn't run now. The gas tank is half full of turpintine. So I'm sure the carb is all gummed up. I haven't had a chance to look at it yet. Since I just got it home last night at midnight. Not really what we needed. But better then what we have.

Have 660 foot of fence to put up. No posts. And can't afford them. So I'm cutting down trees and making them. Don't know yet how I'm gona get them in this rocky ass ground. But I will figure out a way. Somehow.

Eater source is starting to bug me. Need to find one soon.

[Truckinbutch]

I'd fight shy of them hobby breeds of pigs . Not much return for the effort . Around here anyof us full time farmers that owns a post driver would be willing to donate/rent a day of our time to a new neighbor that wants to build fence on his place . Have everything in place and ready and 6,000 feet of fence posts is not beyond the scope of a day's work . You can do the detail work at your leisure after the posts are in the ground .
Good way to start gettin acquainted and makin an impression in the neighborhood , too . Local folks respect a feller that want's to keep his fences up . They will also tell you the best local trees for making fence posts .

[superdaveva]

How much to drill a well?do you have locas trees there

[Prairiepiss]

My wife has been fighting getting a pig. And she is the one that bought it. So I can't say much. And the way things are going. We won't have much freezer space. So I'm liking the idea of smaller amounts. But this one just sets me up for getting a bigger one later. We will see.

I haven't checked on a well. Why check when you know you can't afford it? Wells are around 300 ft deep around here. Or so I have been told by a few.

I lucked out. One of the guys at work grew up just down the road from here. And he lives not that far from there now. He knows all my neighbors. He has introduced me to a couple. There are two more guys from work that live in this area. They haven't been here as long. But still have helped me out quite a bit.

As far as asking for help. That's something I am bad about. I don't like to ask for help. I will offer to help in a heartbeat. But something in me just don't like asking for help. I'm kind of a loner at stuff like this. My wife has even been pissed at me. Because I'm not telling them what to do to help me. By the time I het home from work. I only have a few hours of light. So I try to get as much done as I can. And if I spend the time trying to tell them what to do. I get nothing done. And even when I do tell them. It doesn't get done to my satisfaction. And then I'm a Dick for saying something. Sory for the rant.

The hardest part of the fence install. Might just be clearing the path for the fence.

[HDNB]

guys in the mountains here just make a zig-zag fence on the surface since a post hole requires dynamite.
another guy close to me made a really cool fence by weaving cut-downs and dead fall through the live trees. i'll see if i can remember to get you a photo of it. basically you get a fence and a path at the same time!

[Halfbaked]

Have you ever considered canning the pig when its time to butcher if you don't have space in the freezer? I like canned meat deer, pig (sausage, tenderloin, or chunks) (salt cure the hams). Nothing is better than fresh but canned is my pref over frozen. When the family is outside working you can prepare a canned pork meal in 15 minutes with out having to plan what you are doing unlike frozen. Initially yes it is a little more work.

About being a dick..... I have been through what you are going through. When a family goes through a move and it involves stress (remember she has it also) you have to handle everything with kid gloves. A move with having to fix/build/remodeling has 10x times the stress. Females will give you more effort if you tell them what they did right or great rather than what they did wrong. If you are talking to a friend about your project they want all the credit. If she bought the damn pig and you didn't want it a month after you get the pig she needs to hear she is right and you just couldn't see it. Thanks for the insight you couldn't see. I won't rant but everything that I would say is not cause I am smart. Its cause I have messed them up way to many times. Her project or your project is not worth screwing up the big pic (or should I say pig pic). You might win the fight (so you think) but you will never win the war.

I got that ask for help issue also.

[HDNB]

I got that ask for help issue also.

ya know how you don't mind when someone asks you for help? and how you like to help others, and find satisfaction in doing so?

so do they.

don't be so selfish as to deprive them the opportunity to help you, and find the same satisfaction in their lives.

all you gotta do is say Thank-You! (and a good beverage helps too)

[pfshine]

Thats very true i live in vegas and the heat here is still between 105-115. My ac went out about 3 weeks ago man is it hot. I was doin ok by myself while the wife and babe were gone but when they got home they weren't havin none of it. So i asked for some help and called in some Favor's and today i have a brand new ac and a cool house for the grand total of nothing. Asking for help although i hate it didn't hurt my pride and now i can actually live in my house without dieing.

[Truckinbutch]

Dead on , HDNB . Folks in my area are glad to meet ya and help ya until you prove to be such a dick that they collectively decide to not give a fuck about ya . That's when you are REALLY screwed . Feller has to be part of the neighborhood to have neighbors .

[goose eye]

With tractors you make sure parts is around cause they
all break down. While back you could get a grey tractor cheap
but couldn't get parts no time soon. Any of the farmalls
A up to 140 is good little tractor with parts everywhere.
The 100 hp tractor are best deal. They to big for
hobby farm and way to small for big ones. 2705
or1086 somethin like that.
why aint you stringing wire. They for solar hot box cover 10
mile of wire. You can mix with barbwire if you see fit.
Barter is best way
pot belly pig. Ha ha unless you rendering lard you played
hell.
Forgot to say to load them tires on that walk behind
If you got briars or such round there. It a pain cleaning
the rim if you get new tires but it'll save the cussin. An
Fussin from flats. Its a foam
So I'm tole

[Prairiepiss]

I didn't even think about foam fillin. It needs new tires. So when I get some. I will get them filled.

Heres a pic of the little thing. High tech stuff here. Lol

[goose eye]

Get ag tires. You aint worried not ruttin .

So I'm tole

[Prairiepiss]

Yep I'm lookin for some AG tires for it. I want somethin that will get good traction. And no I'm not worried about rutts. Well not until I get a lot more done. I will just get some foam filled wheelbarrow tires for the sulky. Smooth would be good for that. I'm working on a dump trailer for it. And need to find a blade for it. But first things first. Getting the thing running good.

[goose eye]

Yup gettin it running is a big thang. Wheel weights will help you start talkin push blabes
an breaking land an get you a umbrella holder for the sun an a cup holder
an a little tool box on it. Aint gotta be big. Hold a hammer spark plug an adjustable
wrench. you good to go.

So I'm tole

[Prairiepiss]

The wife thinks we will be able to RO anything and everything with the gravely. While everyone else thinks its a joke. I think it will do a lot of work that I don't have other equipment to do. And I need to work with what I have. We don't have that much that needs to be brush hogged. So I think it will work out great for that. Especially since a lot of it is smaller paths through the woods. And making fence paths. It will be good for dragging logs up out of the woods. Where I can't get my truck. As far as tillin up ground. I have my doubts. The land is so rocky here. I don't think it will work very good for that. At this point anyway. Once I get it setup the way I want. Then yes it will be good for tilling. And with other attachments. I think it will fit in nicely for some of the things we want to do.

If anything it will be entertaining to watch the kids use it. LOL

[goose eye]

You break it then disc it then run your rows.
just don't plant the plow to deep each turn.
might take 10 turn an set the mold board as you go.
Put weights on the plow to help. Take your time don't
give up.have the young's picking up rocks as you go


So I'm tole.

[HDNB]

heres a photo of the natural fence i mentioned. not the greatest photo, but this fence is a lot mor robust than it looks in the pic. maybe 4.5-5' tall and foot thick.

[SoMo]

Brush row or split rail fence, used a lot in frontier days, HDNB.

[superdaveva]

I have a small hand held jack hammer that I welded a cup shaped piece of pipe to and drove t post in with. A small 800 watt generator ran it, kept it all in a lawn kart. Lots of rock here, we would use them where our post driver shattered wood post. If you use a solar fence charger just use 4 or 5 ' post. For hogs we would use 3 lines 6 12 and 20 inches off the ground. If you want some thing mobile, those step in post and cord type wire work great. Just one string nose high will keep out a 1500 pound cow, animals hate electric! Good luck

[superdaveva]

got my greenhouse planted,lots of greens carrots radish herbs. i have a back up gas heater but my flower pot heater has worked fine.10 hour burn candles under a flower pot. i light one every night its getting under 50. i also have a dozen 5 gal buckets filled with water painted black for thermal mass. everything is doing great. ive got some hot beds made from sliding glass doors , im going to stick a candle under one and see what happens.

[Prairiepiss]

My green houses. If you want to call them that. Failed. This onset of really cold weather. Kicked out ass. We ended up with one good cucumber and a bunch of potatoes. From our fall planting.


Little update on our off grid stuff.

Solar system is working great. The batteries however are not holding as much charge as we hoped. But we are getting by. Made it through 4 days no or very little sun. Batteries got down to 60% ish. But were back at 100% before noon on the first day of sun.

I have devised a plan to increase my charging at low light times. As it is now we have 6 panels two strings of 3 in series. And two panels I'm not even using. I'm building a controller that in low light conditions. It will switch it so that all 8 panels will be in series. So that when the 6 panels get below charging voltage for my 24 volt system. Around 25 volts. It will switch and provide around 67 volts. Which my mppt controller can process in to don good charging. So it will go from needing a third the sun light to an eighth the sun light to charge. My charge controller has a 150vdc limit. I can't go over it. Or I would wire them all in and not worry about it.

Anyway. Still no water. The spring only flows a day or two after a good rain. We have found another spring just the other day. But using it will be more difficult. And not much flow. But all indications on both springs show there is water there. And it stays there just not to far below ground level. So digging a shallow well looks like our new plan. Just not an easy one. For now we are still hauling water and collecting some rain water.

Heat well we are using more propane then I expected. Am going to do insulation work this weekend. To try and cut the usage down. This cold was not expected to come on so quick and so cold. And to top it off. Our heater pilot light is dealing us a fit. When its windy it likes to go out. The it kicks on the blower. And blows cold air. We didn't realize it was off one night. Wasn't as cold that night. And the blower ran the batteries in the motorhome down to nothing. So low it wasn't turning anymore. Ugh. At least it wasn't the main batteries. Since then we have been watching it closely. And have to relight it quite often. I need to get a different heater. That doesn't use electricity. Budget is really really tight. Oh and a big propane tank.

Gota go. I'm not on here much at all any more. But I will try to get on every once in a while. And check in.

Side not busted out some Apple wine I made the other night. And it was actually really good. Had to bring it all in so it wouldn't freeze. And thought might as well try one or two of them. LOL.

[HDNB]

Good to hear from you mr. p, i was just checkin' your stats since we had not seen you for a while.
good to hear you are makin out. winter's a bitch...everything comes to a halt here when the water stops flowing so i def understand your cool weather challenges. (at -20*C today the water was running slow for sure!)
patience and perseverance you can piss a hole through a stone!

[Truckinbutch]

Mr Piss and SoMo ,

I owe you two an apology . Your bean seeds are vacuum sealed in packets and ready for mailing . Life just kind of got ahead of me and SOH recently and I haven't made it to town to thee post office to mail them to you . I swear to get them sent before planting time .

[cranky]

What a great thread. I just discovered this thread and had been wondering what happened to Mr. P. Looks like he has begun on the path I would some day like to follow. I still need to read all of it but I will be doing that over the next few days as time allows. Again, great thread!

[Prairiepiss]

It's not like we can plant them TB. LOL

By the way. We finally have an address. Woo Hoo.
Will pm it to you in a bit.