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groingo
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# Posted: 5 Oct 2012 10:40pm
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The fun of going off grid....again:
First, the solar just didn't pan out, simply too little sun exposure, then plan B was power from the stream, thanks to many years of experience and some great USGS info which said this was not the stream to try hydo on due to its extreme swings, so the next step was to go conventional and reduce power consumption even further, I managed to get it down to .21 kwh a day now, a reduction of nearly 75% over my previous use.
The key has been the development of my non electric cold water cooler and my new deep well hand pump for water all to remove any and all electricity from the equation.
Heating also got a monster shot in the arm by reducing the size of my wood used in my Waterford stove down from 16 inches to 10 inches making for faster starts and greater fire control (no more heating the out doors)now with much quicker initial heating of the stove thanks also to redesigned interior stove heat shielding plus I can now burn small one inch diameter wood I wouldn't have considered before due to the low heat versus energy to cut the stuff, this thanks to Fiskar which makes an adjustable handle bypass lopping sheer that makes the job of cutting up small limbs quick, easy and fun and especially very useful now for heating while last years wood used was just shy of a cord this season should easily be 1/2, and I am expecting a nasty and cold one this year!
Battery regeneration via constant ten amp charger using my Yamaha 1000eis generator which is super frugal on gas consuming 1/2 gallon every 12+ hours and it only needs to run four hours every two to three days so far but if gas prices go too much higher I will convert it to propane which is nearly 1/2 the cost with little penalty in efficiency.
The battery house is my old 8 by 12 shed which gets good sun exposure during the days, is fully insulated and holds heat well into the night so battery temps will be much improved.
The bottom line is that generating electricity in my location is just not practical, while being hooked up to the grid has become a real moral issue, especially knowing what a scam they are pulling on the public especially when it comes to your actual power use and what they bill you for.
All in all, am ready to ride this train.....Choo Choo!
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Owen Kellogg
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# Posted: 6 Oct 2012 08:35am
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Sounds like you've figured out a lot of things. Thanks for passing on the info. The woodstove mods sound interesting. How big is your cabin?
I'm still "part time/practicing" off-grid, but I'm staying at the cabin tonight and it's going to get down into the 30's. I'm going to install a wind-directional chimney cap -that I made- and try it out. I've been having problems with downdrafts blowing smoke into the cabin on windy nights when the fire dies down and there's not enough heat to pull out the smoke. It usually happens after I go to bed. Talk about a rude awakening!
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groingo
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# Posted: 6 Oct 2012 02:47pm
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As far as downdrafts, try cracking a window 1/4 to 1/2 inch which will help equalized the pressure and stop the back drafting and I assume you are damping the air intakes down all the way, you may want to leave them cracked a bit again to equalize pressure in the stove.
The other problem may be if you have a lot of tall trees close by, for that you may need to extend the chimney above the roof line by at least 36 inches.
Finally, a chimney hat screen could cause such a problem, be sure it is super clean so it can breath.
I am living for my second year in my 200 square foot cabin, last season I spent a lot of time in bitter cold but with the windows open as my stove kept getting carried away.
Now I have a system, no stoking fire after 8:00, and flanel bed sheets, it will be cool in the morning but now the stove fires up much quicker and the place is up to temp (65 to 70) in round 20 minutes.
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 6 Oct 2012 08:01pm
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Choo Choo Chugga Chugga Choo Choo.........ride like a hobo and don't look back 
I like how you worked out your issues with being off grid...thanks for sharing and inspiring those of us that are/will be facing the same obstacles...best of luck to you 
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Monte
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# Posted: 7 Nov 2012 06:05pm
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I agree completely with scam.
We were going to be charged over $6000 to have ONE pole to get electricity to our cabin, plus I was supposed to do all the clearing, and construct the box with all these ridiculous parts I know nothing about. We were required to sell them the 'right away' for one dollar, and pay the $400 membership fee to the electrical co-op. Then comes paying them on top of all that every month. Are you kidding me?
So, here's the plan: buying a NorthStar 8000 surge (6500) generator with honda engine to run both the 300' well and the two room cabin (plus bathroom as third area). Wondering if I need the 11,000, but thinking of trying the 8000.
Purchasing two little propane-powered heaters, one for each room for the winter. Need to look into AC for the summer via propane.
Want to see if I can find a propane powered refrigerator, but with the generator, may be okay with regular small one.
We are paying to have a septic system dug in a few weeks--ridiculously expensive but want to flush a toilet, not dig a hole in the dirt with my heel....
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 7 Nov 2012 06:30pm
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Quoting: Monte Want to see if I can find a propane powered refrigerator, but with the generator, may be okay with regular small one.
Servel, model 400, is one of the best, but at 8 or so cu ft can be small. Crystal Cold (I think that is the name) makes some nice ones too. However the cooling apparatus is just about the same as in the Servel. CC may not work as well as the Servel in very hot weather.
I would hate to depend on a generator to run my standard electric refrigerator.
I've never heard of a propane fueled air conditioner. Doesn't mean there is not one. A heat pump is probably the most efficient type for cooling.
My opinion on the $6K cost.... if I could have got grid power for 6K instead of the 55K the power co-op wanted I might have done it. Grid makes it very easy to run A/C and refrigerators and freezers. I'd at least think about it, as I want the fridge and everything else to run itself if we're away for a period of time.
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Monte
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# Posted: 7 Nov 2012 07:45pm
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As far as the frig, our town residence is just 1 hour and 15 minutes away, so we figure we'll be taking cold stuff back to that residence anyway. Great information about brands. Thanks.
This is the propane heater I'm looking at: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_13?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=mr% 20buddy%20propane%20heater&sprefix=mr%20buddy%20prop,aps,266&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Amr%20bu ddy%20propane%20heater
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cabingal3
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# Posted: 8 Nov 2012 05:48am - Edited by: cabingal3
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groingo it takes time to work it all out and get things tweeked.thanks for sharing your knowledge and experiences with us on this.we are off the grid but dont live out at the cabin yet.so our experiences are limited to just sort of a short lived camping experience.so its good to hear how u are doing this.
monte-wow.thats some crazy stuff the power company wants u to do and all the money.i think we are gonna hit some of those things if we want to hook up.thats why i think we will end up being off the grid.
i saw an alaskan show where they had a propane heater in the wall.it cost them 1000$ a month to get warm in their cabin.we have a little heater.a big buddy.sure does the trick but once we live out there.we will have our wood stove going by then.takes time to do and figure out what our needs will be.
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