Need Advice to Living Off Grid

reply to post by Tucket


As I was telling sparticus above I actually was looking into Ecuador...I think it was Zaruma Ecuador in the mountains but I was worried about visa laws. Id hate to get settled and not approved..but that was actually my number one location if I decided to just leave the usa. The best part about my situation is I can just up and leave if I didnt like it in a foreign country but If I invest in an off grid lifestyle im really putting down roots.

If you're in the woods solar panels won't do much nor would a windpower generator.
If you can find a piece of land where a creek flows downhill year round you might be able to generate from a ramjet at the bottom of a hill.

You don't heat with a fireplace.
You waste wood.
Get a woodstove.

A Gassifier might be your best bet energywise.

Plant a garden and you can count on wildlife eating most of it.
That's why you'll end up eating most of them.

Good luck, I wish I was in your "predicament".

That cabin in Nagano looks pretty sweet.

reply to post by dlbott


Great post bot....ya I agree on the avoiding cold weather areas...I went to Montana recently and thought that for sure was where I wanted to live..but I went in the summer and everyone there told me I will not like the winters if I'm not a winter person. Such a beautiful place.

A cistern and well using a pump is what Im thinking for water which you had mentioned. Living next to a river could be nice if im not in the flood plain. Never really thought of putting it a couple feet down. Seems so brilliant! Thx again for the comments.

reply to post by Asktheanimals


Ya I saw some windmills that can be put 100 feet up but I couldnt get a price on them....that would help living in a semi wooded area but ya with a decidious forest id be clearing leaves and branches off the panels a bit a bet. Ive sound places in tennesse that have patches of wood on cheap land with some open land...its everywhere out there...could stil have my woods and open land.

Ya im very lucky to be in the situation im in but it came at great cost I assure you haha.

cosmicexplorer
reply to post by AliceBleachWhite

 

You know have thought quite a bit on sailing....I think I would love it, but Ill be honest I am intimidated to hell about it. I was in the infantry for four years and walked everywhere.....Im afraid id make an awful sailor. One thing to add though...at one point before this OP I was looking at cruises around the world. I am by no means rich but found a way to afford a cruise that goes back and forth from the USA to Europe at a rate of 47 dollars a night. I could afford that...and thought....maybe I could live on a cruise ship for the rest of my life haha!

Well, thing is, you don't need to sail all the time. If you have your boat, live-in slip fees in the US at many Marinas can be as low as $30 a month. That's if you want a place to tie up to 'permanently'.
It's like having a house, that just happens to float.
You don't have to go anywhere if you don't want to.
Having that option, however, is what's key.
You can park your boat in some locale near the equator and never see winter ever again, and still live the land-lubber life on the cheap.
The benefit comes with having the ability to move anywhere on the planet at zero notice.

Bug out bag? Your whole home is a bug-out vehicle/bunker.
I say 'bunker' because, well, it's hard for anyone to shoot at you, or drop a nuke on your head when you are 1000 miles away. Bunkers separate you from a threat with a thick barrier of stuff like concrete and steel. I think separation away from a threat by 1000 miles of just air is even better than steel and concrete.
Thus, open-air "bunker", home, and bug-out vehicle.

It carries more than a backpack, and will get you further than your feet will. Land can get taken away from you, but, it's hard to take the ocean away from someone.

AliceBleachWhite

cosmicexplorer
reply to post by AliceBleachWhite

 

You know have thought quite a bit on sailing....I think I would love it, but Ill be honest I am intimidated to hell about it. I was in the infantry for four years and walked everywhere.....Im afraid id make an awful sailor. One thing to add though...at one point before this OP I was looking at cruises around the world. I am by no means rich but found a way to afford a cruise that goes back and forth from the USA to Europe at a rate of 47 dollars a night. I could afford that...and thought....maybe I could live on a cruise ship for the rest of my life haha!

Well, thing is, you don't need to sail all the time. If you have your boat, live-in slip fees in the US at many Marinas can be as low as $30 a month. That's if you want a place to tie up to 'permanently'.
It's like having a house, that just happens to float.
You don't have to go anywhere if you don't want to.
Having that option, however, is what's key.
You can park your boat in some locale near the equator and never see winter ever again, and still live the land-lubber life on the cheap.
The benefit comes with having the ability to move anywhere on the planet at zero notice.

Bug out bag? Your whole home is a bug-out vehicle/bunker.
I say 'bunker' because, well, it's hard for anyone to shoot at you, or drop a nuke on your head when you are 1000 miles away. Bunkers separate you from a threat with a thick barrier of stuff like concrete and steel. I think separation away from a threat by 1000 miles of just air is even better than steel and concrete.

Thus, open-air "bunker", home, and bug-out vehicle.

It carries more than a backpack, and will get you further than your feet will. Land can get taken away from you, but, it's hard to take the ocean away from someone.

if u go boat only ( which is the best idea if you can afford s bigger boat) is get a vesps.

light cheap portable land transport

reply to post by cosmicexplorer


Ecuador is amazing. One the main reasons I like it is because the USA hasnt sunk its claws into it as deep as some other SA countries. Im actually moving there in a few weeks to do volunteer work. If you end there in the next while get ahold of me. My goal is off the grid as well..

Tucket
reply to post by cosmicexplorer

 

Ecuador is amazing. One the main reasons I like it is because the USA hasnt sunk its claws into it as deep as some other SA countries. Im actually moving there in a few weeks to do volunteer work. If you end there in the next while get ahold of me. My goal is off the grid as well..

working/camping my way there in my supervan 3 year plan starting aftet christmas

cant wait

reply to post by AliceBleachWhite


Oddly I never really thought about just parking it haha....Ive seen boat houses on the river which in my head seemed more appealing but I guess its no different on any body of water. Good advice...ill take a peak at boats which I have never done before. Curious how affordable it is.

reply to post by Tucket


I actually looked at some volunteer work myself down that way...let me know what you end up doing if you wish to share....ive met a few natives and expats there that thought it would be a great way to check the place out first and really get to help out. Thx for posting

reply to post by Another_Nut


Taking a van to ecuador? Is there a way through the Darien gap I dont know about cause id love to drive there!!! That would be great seeing everything on my way down. Ecuador would be a great place to live of grid for the climate but I just dont know anything about the infrastructure there to help get me set up. But If I ended up there id probably just live in a hotel...some are about 20 dollars a night and they dont look that bad haha. Free utilities!

Hope I address all your concerns. I live off the grid part of the year and down here in Fl. on a boat now and then off the grid. I once lived a number of years on a boat off grid.

First internet. I use my cell exclusively for a hotspot. Being in a valley, reception sucks, so I have to use a cellular booster which takes more electricity. You mentioned tv, reception there is poor but I did find an antenna which gives a few stations. But then I refuse to be programmed by the media so I seldom turn it on.

Water in my case is out of a creek. I carry water for drinking etc. both on land and when on a boat. Using 12 volt pumps works well for feed and having a portable hot water heater when needed, the instant type.

Solar is now affordable, I have this on the boat and in the cabin. Get an efficient inverter for when you use 110 volt things, like a tv. Oh yea, get an led tv, mine takes about 1-2 amps to run.

On my boat I use a composting toilet, natures head which works well as well as on a second old house boat. At the cabin, I stock up on some sawdust and just layer the bad stuff, tamp it down between uses and cycle it into a pit I dug back in a field. My wife preferred this to messing with a composting toilet. If you are male, use a tree for a pee, the trees love you for this. If female, carry it out, mix in a little h20 and feed the flowers.

You mentioned a fireplace. A small airtight wood stove is far more efficient and burns a fraction of the fuel a fireplace would use.

If you have not already built a cabin, think insulation. Another thought is to explore old but good campers, the kind that cost a lot new and can be purchased for little today. I saw a couple cheap that you can drive right onto a property, jack up to level and have a fine home. It gives instant kitchen and living. Build and outbuilding for the sawdust toilet however and turn the toilet into something else. Our cabin is 18 by 18 and we are happy there, more so than the 3 story log home we sold before moving into it. But then we are on a pristine creek, the home being on skids so no taxes apply. We purchased a life lease as well to the property. Be creative and be willing to live as a minimalist. Stay happy, Sailormon

I second the sailboat idea:

sail transport network

reply to post by sailormon


Great post with great ideas....ill need no tv though haha....only internet....i havent turned a tv on in several years!! But sometimes Ill watch stuff online. Thx again mate.

signalfire
I second the sailboat idea:

sail transport network

Very nice link...never knew that existed..this is why I love you guys. Im so ignorant to anything sailing...now I gotta do so much research on it haha....thx for the link

reply to post by cosmicexplorer


rephrase

equidor is my final destination. the gap can be a two year journey by itself lol

no i will be shipped from panama most likely

but

if you wanna finance the effort im down to try it lol

always been a fantasy

reply to post by cosmicexplorer


A good blue water rated sailboat is what you'll want if you want all the trims and perks for any ambiguous apocalypse.
Anything with an engine is fine and nice and all, but, engines require fuel where sailboats only need some good wind which is essentially free.

Since there's a variety of options from hull types like fiber/ferro/steel/wood or anything else, as well as type considerations between sloop, ketch, yall, schooner, and there's also your keel types between full, fin, fin racing, bulb and wing, Swing and Centerboard, etc., plus technical considerations with equipment, I would strongly recommend you get a cheap box of an apartment, and take sailing classes, as well as maybe just hang around some marinas or boatyards to learn a thing or two before making any kind of commitment.

Sailboats CAN be inexpensive, but, those are usually the older ones, and as with anything, anything with some age will likely have its quirks.

New boats will cost you the same as a middle class 3 bedroom home if not more.

My personal recommendation is for a 30' - 40' Full Keel, Steel Hull, Cutter Rigged Sloop for apocalyptic durability, and ease of operation and maintenance.

Outside of that, if I had $10 Million to float, I'd get a Nautor Swan. I'm, however, a little shy of having $10 Million expendable for a boat.

Suffice to say, there's options and options and options and more options.

Take some time and talk to some folks before dropping any money.
Find some old guy working on his boat, and volunteer to chip in some help on your time just to learn a thing or two.

Take a year, or season of learning and looking and talking to people.
You'll get an entire ocean full of opinion.
In sailboats alone, there's the different hull types and even there, you have preferences between single hull and big catamarans.
There's a boat for everyone and it's recommendable you take your time in finding what's the best fit for you.

For instance, if you're going to keep it parked 99% of the time, you might consider a Catamaran in that they usually offer more living space.

It's all a matter of preference, form and function.

Energy:

Forget solar - panels wear out after about 5-10 years and have to be replaced. They output very little energy for their size, only work when the sun shines, and are probably the most expensive energy you can find.

If you pick a location that has a lot of wind, a windmill will work. You'll have to contact the manufacturer to get a price; you can't (that I know of) just buy a windmill kit complete off the shelf. It has to be sized based on your needed height to access the winds, expected loading, and the equipment used to store and convert the energy to AC.

The best bet is a water wheel if you can find a location with running water. Plenty of power for the size, dependable, easily repaired, and not as expensive as you might think. Second, and a good backup, is a gassifier... but you will also need a generator adapted for hydrogen and a source of wood chips.

Use LED light bulbs exclusively. They have a 20+ year life span, consume less energy than any other light source readily available today, and fit a standard socket. I would go ahead and wire the cabin (yes, I recommend a cabin) for 120VAC standard wiring so you can have the little luxuries that make life easier.

Water:

A well. Period. You'll need about a one horsepower pump at least, and you can have running water. Add in a septic tank and you can have a toilet. Don't let anything except the toilet water into the tank and it'll last forever. Everything else needs to go into a drain somewhere, with an inline grease trap if that drain is not well-isolated. It will smell.

NEVER put anything other than septic-safe or purely organic waste in the toilet. That includes ashes, bleach, cleaners, etc. They kill the bacteria that make the septic tank work. While I'm on the subject, just before you put the lid on the septic tank, toss a freshly-killed chicken into it. That helps start the bacterial action.

Make sure the field lines for that tank are downstream from your well, or it may contaminate your well. Also, plan to put them underneath an area where you can plant a garden... self-fertilizing (and yes, it is safe).

Do NOT just pump water from the stream to your cabin. It can be contaminated. Well water is usually not, but no harm can come from having it tested. Most rural areas have testing services.

You will need to allow for a good 2000 watts of instantaneous power per horsepower minimum. Average won't be that much unless you leave the water running.

For hot water: there are designs for solar water heaters and they work good... just time your showers for when the sun is shining. You can also add in an inline water heater that will handle any additional heating you need. Smaller units (one efficient shower and/or faucet) come in 120VAC sizes, making your wiring and energy system smaller and more efficient.

Internet:

DirectTV. As long as you provide the power to run it, it is self-contained. And you get TV as well.

Good luck.

TheRedneck

reply to post by Another_Nut


I honestly would consider it....and if we get kidnapped im really good at talking my way out of # like that...no joke hahah....im in brother! But I need to visit my family for a bit...ive been travelling around quite a bit havent seen em....so hoping to give them one year at most before I do it again.

reply to post by AliceBleachWhite


omg even in the link you sent that boat looks damn close to letting water in! Haha im gonna have to man up for this sailing thing. I do love the water so much and I dont get sea sickness at all. I probably was a pirate in my former life if one exists. I just ordered "Sailing for Dummies"!