Living off grid

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ZNP

ZNP

Well-known member
#61
Sep 14, 2020
37,497
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#61
RichMan said:
Living off grid is simply to not be connected to utilities such as electricity, water, gas, phone, cable TV, sewer.
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I thought it meant you took the red pill and then got flushed out of the matrix's power generation.
 
iamsoandso

iamsoandso

Senior Member
#62
Oct 6, 2011
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#62
No it's when my wife keeps trying to get me to use a cell phone and I take it and put fish hooks on it and it makes those neat-o vibraions and noises in the water...
 
R

RichMan

Guest
#63
#63
Handyman62 said:
Yes I would.
Can't afford one.
If I could afford an electric car I could afford a new battery pack.

Electric cars have virtually no maintenance which would offset the new pack price. Plus if you have a large enough solar array you can charge you car and not have to buy gas, which at todays price may more than pay for that battery.
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I don't know about no maintenance.
Electric motors and all the sophisticated computers and drive train are just expense problems waiting to happen.
It would take a 40 to 50 thousand solar system and a $12,000 home charging station is what I am reading.
Besides, there are no charging stations where I live and shop.
Just another toy for the rich.
I will never buy one.
 
Lanolin

Lanolin

Well-known member
#65
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
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#65
RichMan said:
Living off grid is simply to not be connected to utilities such as electricity, water, gas, phone, cable TV, sewer.
I have a simple solar system to power lights, TV, and internet. Designed and built it myself at a cost of $1800.
I do buy about 200 Gallons of propane a year from a local provider. It is a convenience that I can live without if necessary.
Last July we got satellite internet. Another convenience we lived without for 15 years and can again.
I buy about 50 gallons of gas a year to power a well for water, chain saw and wood splitter.
Again it is a convenience that I can live without if necessary.
I have several large springs and creeks that I can get water from if need be.
I have 187 acres of trees, so I have enough fire wood for heat and cooking to last longer than I will live.
It would cost me 4 or 5 times as much to live in a city with all utilities even with the money I spend on those conveniences.
But what is most important is the peace of mind that if need be, I am completely self sufficient if and when the grids go down. I would not even notice unless some one came and told me.
How did we get here?
40 years of living a simple life, saving money instead of spending it on things not necessary.
We have always been debt free. If we could not pay cash we went without and still do.
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where did you get the 187 acres of trees from...just wondering
 
Lanolin

Lanolin

Well-known member
#66
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
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#66
also where is the gas from...a local provider but where do they get it from? Just wondering Do you have a composting toilet and grow all your own food?
 
Handyman62

Handyman62

Well-known member
#67
Jan 10, 2021
602
267
63
Rural South Carolina
#67
RichMan said:
I don't know about no maintenance.
Electric motors and all the sophisticated computers and drive train are just expense problems waiting to happen.
It would take a 40 to 50 thousand solar system and a $12,000 home charging station is what I am reading.
Besides, there are no charging stations where I live and shop.
Just another toy for the rich.
I will never buy one.
Click to expand...
Electric cars need no oil changes or tuneups, but like any other vehicle there are wear parts like tires, wiper blades and other consumables and also like other vehicles they sometimes need repairs.

I honestly don't know where you got your information about the size and cost of the solar system you would need but it's far cheaper than the price you mentioned to be able to charge a car. You also don't need an expensive charging station.

I built a solar system with 6 kilowatts of solar, 6 kilowatt inverter, 24 kilowatts of lifepo4 battery backup and it cost about $12,000 and I put it all in myself. Had I paid to have it put in it would have been more than double that.

It's a very modest system but in the summer I have enough excess solar to put a few kilowatts a day into an electric car. That wouldn't get me very far but if I didn't drive much it could be enough to keep it topped up and ready for use if needed. If I had doubled my panels and inverters size at a cost of about $6000 more I could keep a car charged up with ease even if I drove it to work everyday.
 
R

RichMan

Guest
#69
#69
Lanolin said:
also where is the gas from...a local provider but where do they get it from? Just wondering Do you have a composting toilet and grow all your own food?
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I have a normal flush toilet with a septic system like most country folk do.
Yes, I grow most of my own food, have fruit trees and berries, and raise my own meat.
 
R

RichMan

Guest
#70
#70
Handyman62 said:
Electric cars need no oil changes or tuneups, but like any other vehicle there are wear parts like tires, wiper blades and other consumables and also like other vehicles they sometimes need repairs.

I honestly don't know where you got your information about the size and cost of the solar system you would need but it's far cheaper than the price you mentioned to be able to charge a car. You also don't need an expensive charging station.

I built a solar system with 6 kilowatts of solar, 6 kilowatt inverter, 24 kilowatts of lifepo4 battery backup and it cost about $12,000 and I put it all in myself. Had I paid to have it put in it would have been more than double that.

It's a very modest system but in the summer I have enough excess solar to put a few kilowatts a day into an electric car. That wouldn't get me very far but if I didn't drive much it could be enough to keep it topped up and ready for use if needed. If I had doubled my panels and inverters size at a cost of about $6000 more I could keep a car charged up with ease even if I drove it to work everyday.
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A friend was quoted $40,000 to install solar on his house.
You do have much more solar than I do.
 
iamsoandso

iamsoandso

Senior Member
#71
Oct 6, 2011
8,048
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#71
hmm living off the grid seems to be highly dependent on the hardware stores and the economy still operating nowadays. In he old days it was all about living in a world without them at all. Anyone know any good ideas for candle wicks made without borax? Speaking of candles it's probably wise to mention small hive beetles,varroa mites ect. and that most new beekeepers will loose several hives before they can get them through the winter.
 
iamsoandso

iamsoandso

Senior Member
#72
Oct 6, 2011
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#72
A good idea for all those metal items everyone collects up prior to the anticipated collapse of society would be to learn to identify the different types of metals and how to make a simple forge to re-shape them.
 
iamsoandso

iamsoandso

Senior Member
#73
Oct 6, 2011
8,048
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#73
lol, my old spoke shave was worn short from re-sharpening so I went to Home Depot several years back to get another one. I ask three or four employees where they kept them and they all said the same thing "whats a spoke shave?",,lol. That's one really good example of me being glad the economy hadn't collapsed yet so I ordered another one off line.
 
iamsoandso

iamsoandso

Senior Member
#74
Oct 6, 2011
8,048
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#74
Here I looked through YouTube and this is pretty close to my old net jig(my pegs are closer so I can make different net's on it other than crab net's). There's several ways to do this, you could just tie off to a tree limb or something and if you can tie a sheet bend just take right off. Anyway look up a rabbit "purse net" for example. Here's the video of the jig,,mine's a little different but you can see the idea of how it works...
 
Lanolin

Lanolin

Well-known member
#75
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
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#75
RichMan said:
I bought it with money I earned with honest work,
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what kind of honest work just wondering. I dont know how you can buy 187 acres of trees. Do you just cut them or do you look after them as well? Like grow mushrooms, hunt, and forage?

so what is your job now and how do you earn a living.

You didnt answer my quesrion about the gas though. where does your local provider get the gas...?
what would you need the gas for...? Do you have a vehicle, how do you get around?
 
R

RichMan

Guest
#76
#76
Lanolin said:
what kind of honest work just wondering. I dont know how you can buy 187 acres of trees. Do you just cut them or do you look after them as well? Like grow mushrooms, hunt, and forage?

so what is your job now and how do you earn a living.

You didnt answer my quesrion about the gas though. where does your local provider get the gas...?
what would you need the gas for...? Do you have a vehicle, how do you get around?
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You are not really this foolish are you?
 
Mii

Mii

Well-known member
#77
Mar 23, 2019
2,082
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#77
ZNP said:
They cost 10 cents each, after 2 hours they will kill all the bugs and germs. You can then take the top off and let it air out if you wish. You can't taste the chlorine but it will be the first thing to evaporate out.

I think a combination of both makes the most sense, what if you can't boil water? Nice to have a back up.
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In boy scouts we were encoraged to do both. Boil is a default...tablets in a pinch.
 
Lanolin

Lanolin

Well-known member
#78
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
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#78
RichMan said:
You are not really this foolish are you?
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no asking YOU a question, if you live off the grid, but you are buying oil, so what makes you feel superior to ppl living on the grid. You are still relying on others and imports...so what is the point, you are still interacting with others on the grid.
 
Lanolin

Lanolin

Well-known member
#79
Dec 15, 2018
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#79
also, I think it takes money to buy oil, like they arent accepting fresh produce for payment.
 
R

RichMan

Guest
#80
#80
Lanolin said:
no asking YOU a question, if you live off the grid, but you are buying oil, so what makes you feel superior to ppl living on the grid. You are still relying on others and imports...so what is the point, you are still interacting with others on the grid.
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Place close attention. I will only say this once.
At no time did I say that I am superior to anyone one.
I said the way I live is not for everyone. It is a choice I have made.
To live off grid does not mean I live in a cave and fight the local wildlife for food.
It simply means I do not rely on the local utilities as most people do and as I did for most of my life.
For convenience sake, I use about 200 gallons a year of propane to power my frig and to cook with.
Can turn those off today if I wish and live without them.
I buy 50 gal of gas a year to power a water pump, a chain saw, and a log splitter.
Again this is for convenience sake and can stop using these today if I wish.
If the power grids go down, you will be without water, lights, heat, cooking and many other things you rely on to live every day.
I will not. My life will continue with little inconvenience. I will not miss for one moment what you require to live every day.
 
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