Category Archives: Off-the-grid

Just an update on what I am doing.
The weather is pretty nice for short periods then back to the cold.  So I have make hay while the sun shines, so to speak.
I have cleared two spots on my clearing for gardens.  The clearing is only maybe an acre total, surrounded by tall trees.  So not much sunlight gets to it.  My gardens need to be on the north side of the clearing.  The land is very rocky so it took a lot of cleaning to get it tillable.  But once the rocks were cleaned out the dirt is very good.  Basically a healthy forest floor.
This is my main garden I have been using for years

This area I just started preparing this year.   I had to remove a ton of rocks.  Some are actually boulders.

This is the new garden with the my cabin and clothesline behind.

I first prepared each place with my old Ford 9N tractor with a plow and a subsoiler.   This tractor is one of three 9N tractors I have.

After using the tractor I used this rototiller to help dig up all the rocks so I could pick them up.  The tiller is an $800 tiller that I got for $200 at Rural King.  The engine was blown up so they decided to just sell it at is.  I found it was just the piston connecting rod.  I bought a new rod for $25 and the tiller works great.

I also got some trees and berries to plant.  These are apple, pear and peach.  I will plant a few here where there is enough sun and the rest over at my daughters.
Ignore my laundry hanging on the line behind the trees.

Finally, there is a couple acre field down the road at my daughters that I am planting.   It may look very flat but this is actually the hilltop.  About 2000 ft elevation and about 1200 feet above the Allegheny river a few miles away. This photo shows the field with the second Ford 9N tractor parked in front with the discs attached. The third tractor is mainly for parts for the other two.

My daughter has chickens, rabbits, ducks and geese.  So quite of bit of this field will be planted with fodder crops like turnips, beets, squash and radishes to feed the animals.   But still plenty of room to plant lots of human food.  I plant a variety of things but prefer things that store well into winter like potatoes, cabbage, winter squash etc or things that are easily canned for storage.  Of course some fresh vegetables are available throughout the summer and early fall.

I’ll update later when I start to plant.  Probably in about a month.…

Finally. Yesterday I closed the sale of my house. No more mowing. No more upkeep. No more utilities. No more property taxes. On that house.

I bought it in 2000. Raised my daughter there. I haven’t lived there for years but have had to maintain it.

Now my only regular bills are vehicle license, inspection, insurance and registration. And the much lower property taxes for my land.

No electric bills, No gas bills, No water, sewage and trash bills.

Zero debt! In fact I’ve been debt free for years. Here’s the obligatory, if late, shout out to Dave Ramsey. “I’m Debt Free!!!”

And most of all. NO MORE TRIPS TO TOWN!!!

I really feel free.

I’ve been waiting months for the sale to complete before I go on an extended camping trip. I plan on leaving Monday. Just in time for September and cool weather.…

Okay. I have finally decided to develop an improved refrigeration system. Here’s what I’ve been using up until now.

Basically, it’s just a stock pot with a wet t-shirt thrown over it for evaporative cooling. And filled with well water, which is actually between 48 – 50 degrees. So it keeps it pretty decent for vegetables but it’s not good enough for long-term storage of perishables. I need to get the temperature down to about 40. Or lower

Since I want it to be off grid I’m going to have to make it 12 volts so I don’t have to run my inverter.

And using a regular compressor driven refrigeration unit just uses too much power for the solar panels I have .

So I’m going to use thermoelectric cooling devices. Peltier chips. What they do is when you apply voltage one side gets hot and the other side gets cold. They can lower the ambient temperature by anywhere from 15 to 30 degrees. So since I’m only needing to go 10 to 20 degrees, I should be able to accomplish this. I could buy thermoelectric coolers pre-made but they won’t fit what I want to do. Because they only lower the ambient temperature, if it’s 90 degrees out it will only go down to maybe 60 degrees. But if I can submerse it in my well water, and change the well water regularly, the ambient temperature would effectively be 50 degrees. Which means I could get down to 40 with no problem anytime of the year. And also during the winter I could still use the storage system and just use the temperature outside to refrigerate like I have been doing. So I have two peltier chips on order. They’re not that expensive. About six bucks a piece. One is just for backup. I’m only going to use one and I’m going to put it on top of that stock pot so the cold is on the inside and the heat dissipation is on the outside and then a fan blows the cold around inside and I will insulate the pot outside.

I could have used just a store bought cooler and cut holes in it to put the peltier unit inside but I like the idea of the metal container. I think that it will hold the cold longer when it’s not running if it’s insulated from the outside. And also I will submerse the bottom into the cold water. I may just get a round cooler and put put the pot inside the round cooler. And have the benefits of both.

In addition I plan on something that almost all of the inexpensive thermoelectric coolers for sale, don’t do. I ordered a cheap $5 temperature control module, that runs on 12 volts and very low power usage, that can sense the temperature inside and turn on the thermoelectric unit when it needs to be and turn it off when it doesn’t need to be on.

Most of the $50 – $70 thermoelectric coolers don’t have thermostat control. They just get cold or if your reverse the voltage they get hot to warm things up. They don’t get real hot, but you can keep food warm in them too. So my unit will actually be able to do that too if I want to heat it up, but I can’t imagine why I want to do that. But here’s the unit that I ordered.

It’ll be here tomorrow. So …

It’s time to finalize my budget.  For the past month I have kept track of what I need and what I forgot.  So now I think I can make a permanent budget list.  I am going to go for the $150 budget.  I can actually get by on less but there are times I like to splurge so I will stay with $150.  I have found that my favorite cabin food is hotcakes made with pancake batter mixed with oatmeal.  And ordering groceries and supplies online is working out great.  I save on gas money.

Here is my monthly grocery, supplies and costs list.  The prices will stay pretty much the same each month although I may substitute items for variety.

Update. I have decided to wait until the end of the month to list my budget and shopping list for October. This will be my basic budget for each month at the homestead.…

I would still like to have a small pond here on the homestead.  I have been hoping to borrow or rent some heavy equipment to make it easier.  But that probably won’t happen. At least not before winter. That just leaves me, and my pick and shovel.  The land here is very rocky underneath, not to mention the gravel the previous owner brought in to drive their RV on.  So I looked over the land and realized a much better place is at the back of my property.  It is the lowest area and if I setup drainage from the cabin and deck area I think the pond with not only stay full, but will help get rid of the squishy areas around the cabin.  There is a lot of moisture in this area, as shown by the plentitude of mushrooms.
I also believe the best place for my garden is the grassy area next to the deck.  I’m sure this area was designed as an entertainment area, for parties and bonfires, but as a hermit I have no plans for using it this way.  The soil is less rocky, and more fertile.  Because of the gravel drive circling it it is a bit swampy.  But I can fix that with a little better drainage.  It is also the sunniest area on the acreage.
So I dug some test ditches at the bottom edge of the property.  It filled up immediately.  A good sign.  Lily drank some of the water and gave it her seal of approval.

There is quite a bit of rocks and old wooden timbers underground back there, probably from an old oil pumphouse or the saw mill that was once located there.  But overall it’s not too bad to dig by hand.  It is also very shady being basically in the middle of the woods.

I will need to remove some trees or the pond will just be a mosquito breeding ground.

It’s getting there, a shovel load at a time.

…

It’s been three weeks living solely in my cabin.  I haven’t updated here although I have been writing a lot of my fictional work.  My food is holding out nice.  I have realized a few things I’ve forgotten or would like and I ordered them from Amazon.  My $150 a month budget is looking very possible with no real sacrificing.  I have been completing laundry and am working on a water heater.  It will most likely be wood fired, but I might also make it capable of using propane.  The solar energy is working well.  I still would like to double it’s capacity just in case.  Been using candles at night.  They just seem to fit the woods better than the electric lights.…

I officially changed my address with all companies I do business with.  And I forwarded my mail from Titusville to the Pithole Homestead.  I plan only on returning to the house once every few weeks to check on things and mow the lawn.  So it’s official.  I live in the woods.

Although I plan on the final move on August 2nd.  That day I hope to have the house as empty as possible.…

Here’s how I stay clean at the homestead.

First the shower.

I still use the solar camp shower.  Just fill the bag with water, lay it black side up in the sun for a couple hours, hang it up and voila.  A hot shower.  By the end of the summer I hope to have water run from the well to inside the cabin.

For laundry I just use a wash basin and hang the clothes to dry.

For all washing, shower, clothes and dishes, I use original biodegradable Ivory soap.  It’s 99 44/100% pure.  What the other 56/100% is I don’t know.…