Part of living in a beautiful remote location is taking care of the "entrance" fees. The snow is gone, the mud is drying up, and we can drive our 4WD Jimmies all the way up to the house now. I'm never fond of ...
Monthly Archives: March 2010
off grid construction – poles, beams, and loads
Pole building construction is one of the world's oldest construction techniques. Savings on the foundation, minimal disruption to the building site, and the ability to build on slopes or other difficult terrain give these buildings an advantage over others. I pulled out my documentation and notes ...
rethinking off grid cooking [2]
Jackie continues this series with some tasty barbecue beef. Its time to re-evaluate power assumptions about things like crock pots and determine if these appliances are practical in the right sized genverter system. In this recipe, we capture the power data for ...
Wind Power Lessons Learned
On a blustery day, probably in March years ago, I stood outside and thought to myself, "Gee, wouldn't wind power be great!" So began the my learning adventure with wind power. Keeping it real, means that when it works you hear about it, and when it ...
deep cycle batteries [3] Reconfigure Array
In the third part of our deep cycle battery series, you will learn which batteries were selected for a new smaller set of batteries to be restored if possible. Initial performance of the new setup is discussed and a video of the process is presented. You ...
Shetland Sheep Can Grow on You
Ever consider making your own clothes? Having a source of quality wool and entertainment from these wonderful animals is worth considering. In this series Jackie shares here love of sheep and how they are an integral part of our off grid ranch life. I have always ...
Can you hear me now?
After 11 years on the mountain, we have gone through 3 uniquely different kinds of phone systems. Our current phone choice is already covered at our-real-life-internet-phone-experience. With a chuckle and a reminiscent twinkle in my eye, I'll go way back and describe our first "phone" ...
deep cycle batteries [2] retirement data
In this second part of our deep cycle battery series, I provide detailed measurements for our 12 battery array that is due for replacement. From these measurements, we will eventually try to reconfigure the array into a smaller set that provides better performance. I'll ...
off grid construction – strings, pegs, and poles
Off grid remote home or cabin construction can take many forms from standard frame to earth or straw bale construction. We chose a rather simple pole building to create our remote home. Follow along in the series as you learn what works, and avoid things that ...
So, you are really going to do it?
If you're not involved in the construction trade or industry, how do you go about planning and building your off grid remote home? Many times, the amount of energy, finances, and courage that it takes to "break free" can be daunting. The luxury of a standard ...
