Suburban Off-grid living

[Denim Deb]

Sunsaver, not every woman out there HAS to have those high powered, high tech appliances. If we did not have so many clothes, and if I didn't have health problems, I'd find some way other than a washing machine to wash the majority of my clothing. I don't know that I'd ditch the washing machine all together, but it would be nice to have an alternative.

Oh and

 

[BarredBuff]

to SS!

You need to add some animals to off grid home................

 

[dragonlaurel]

There was no power lines to the property. We had no $ then, so no alternative energy stuff unless we scrounged it together ourselves. We did make a solar oven (the el cheapo) version that worked pretty well. Taped foil in a cardboard box and put a piece of windshield over the top.

 

[GOOGLE NIKOLA TESLA]

sweet work!! love hearing this! good job! i have a large satellite dish i want to put mylar on and make a hot focal point to heat water with a heat exchanger. they can get very powerful, a 20 - 30 ft dish can melt metal lol,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tt7RG3UR4c&feature=related

 

[sunsaver]

Eastern Kentucky is beautiful. My dad's family is from the area around Hazard.

Theres a company in India that makes a hand-cranked washing machine that can give clothes a good spin dry at the end, like a giant salad spinner. It would be the best comprimise for off -grid. I would expect about 15 or 20 panels would be able to run a washing machine when the sun is shining, but the batteries are just for lighting, tv and electronic entertainment at night. I draw so little power that they should last 10 years or so.

There's a self adhesive mirror film that can be glued on to parabolic shapes, to make an excellent mirror. Not sure who sells it.

I made a gradual transition to off-grid, so i really didn't rough it much. I had to learn how to cook with wood, and had a lot of of cold showers, but other than that, it was a relatively seamless transition from normal to the off-grid lifestyle. I used oil lamps for a while, because my battery would often go dead, and the inverter would shut the lights off. Now i have more batteries, and the power is on all the time. I always get a kick when a nieghbor asks, "did your power go out during that storm last night?" Or even better: "so what does your electric bill usually run?"

 

[sunsaver]

Thanks for all the warm welcomes! I went on a couple of solar power forums and started talking about going off-grid, and the admin. kicked me out. Apparently the energy industry frowns upon the idea of people learning how to generate they're own electricity and go off-grid. To those who would attack me because of my lifestyle, i always explain that: i don't live this way because its cheaper, because it's more reliable, or because it's better for the environment. I live this way because i want to be free. If i don't want to work, i don't have any bills that are forcing me to go to work. Oh sure, i have to work on growing food all day, caring for the cats and chickens, or going fishing, but its not the corporate rat race. And hanging around the garden all day or fishing for supper really aint what i call work!

 

[BarredBuff]

Do you already have animals?

 

[TanksHill]

Did you say you used an "ice box"?

g

 

[sunsaver]

Two rhode island reds, two cats, an attic full of mice and rats, so the cats are lazy. There used to be green garden snakes all around, but unfortunately the cats seem to have gotten rid of them. I saw a black racer one day that i thought was a moccossin. When she streaked away she moved so fast that i almost wet my pants. Those snakes are scary fast! There are a couple ground terapins that hang out by the compost pile and eat bits of leftovers. for a small forest garden in the middle of a subdivide, there is an amazing amount of diversity. Screech owls often move into my back yard, because of the mice. I saw a blue heron in the ditch one day when every one was at work and all the nieghborhood kids were in school. Its my two cats that i love most!:bun

 

[BarredBuff]

Since you suburban Australorp hens wouldnt be bad for ya. Thought abour meat rabbits?