on or off grid ?

Best way to practice is to unplug everything and learn to live without. We've been off grid for about 1.5 yrs and you adapt pretty quickly. Everything is unplugged when not in use. We have a chest freezer with an external thermostat for our "fridge" which took care of the #1 power sucker. Ditch the microwave. Even the lowest power versions are hogs. I heat up everything in the propane stove or on top. I've amazed myself with how easy it was to get used to not having the microwave. You could use your natural gas for the stove and the hot water. The remaining two power hogs are the vacuum and the washing machine. We run them when we are running the generator to recharge our batteries. If you went with non-carpeted floors you could get rid of the vacuum too leaving only the washer. I haven't learned to live without that one. Good luck in your decision! It's a tough one! I've lived with NY's elec rates and they aren't much better here in AK. I figure for the price of putting in elec, I can get a nice off-grid system and never have to pay elec rates again! I'd do it in a heartbeat when we build our own home eventually!

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http://maysmissive.blogspot.com/

If I can hit the grid for minimal costs, there is no way I'd do off-grid (other than for prep purposes). No power bill sounds fine and dandy until it comes time to replace those batteries every five or six years at $2,000-$10,000 (depending on the size of the system). For prep purposes you can get by with a much smaller/cheaper system and/or good sized genset.

Yea, I went through all that too. Finally told them to get off my property. No permit, No access. They fought the septic until I got the state guy to check the soils for me. All smooth after that. I probably can't ever sell it but it will go to my kids. I did it all so I know it was done right. I had no problem with the little cabin this fall at the farm but....I didn't even call them. It is out back of the old barn. I wonder how long it will be before they come calling.

We don't have a sweeper, our floors are a mix of wood and tile, we do have a wet swiffer though, but I use "shop rags" as pads, the paper/cloth type and dry newspaper to buff. We have a laundry tub with built in washboard and a "ball" manual washing machine. We don't miss any of the "modern" appliances. We do have 3 or 4 12 volt gizmos. Sweetie spins, knits, crochets, needlepoints, darns and sews. I do some woodworking as gifts and barter supplies and build anything we need. I can weld at my brothers for structural pieces.

We do this everyday so everything is TESTED....James

James sounds like a great place to live. What state are you in, if you dont mind me asking?

I got tired of the stupid chord on my electric vacuum, so when it eventually broke, I went back to what we used when i was a kids and which i think is the best, a Carpet Sweeper.
No electric, no bill, not hassles.

I guess this is where the rubber meets the road, there are plenty of avenues for free used batteries. This is what my plan was, Telecom gives away thousands a year as well as other places. I know a few online that get them free. If things break down tho, I dont want to be slave to the system either.

I suppose if I did go off grid I could use the washer while using the generator, I could never live without that. I would do hardwood floors. I could get the house approved with its wirng so I could tap into the grid legally, I measured the length to get to the house and it is going to be a big bill to tap in also..bummer
I was kinda leaning on-grid until I measured...lol

The bill for our house is $50,000. We can do a lot more off-grid upgrades for that price!

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http://maysmissive.blogspot.com/

There are rewards other then financial ones that can come from chosing to live off the grid.

Me personally, I am just tired of all the chaos and problems that come along with living in society and I am chained to society by being chained to the grid.

I am going to live off the grid, simply because it will feel emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually good to do it. It feels good to pick up and get out of the mess of society. Every small step I make to get out of the system only rewards me with a warm inner feeling confirming to me that I am making the right choice.

The grid can make a person very passive, willing to trade their will for comfort.

One of the larger true sine waves should run a washer; although it is probably better with the generator running. My mom runs hers on occasion without the generator running via a newer xantrec inverter and the battery bank. They had a trace until a few years ago when it crapped out.

On the battery issue, I've heard the cell phone tower batteries work; however, I'm only personally familiar with the deep cycle "golf cart"" battery bank set up. They will last at the max 8 years and that is if they are taken care of very well--electrolytes always topped off, never discharged below 60% (70-80% is better) and equalized on a regular basis.

Ever been in Missouri in August? You can have some of my will for AC

West of Salem Oregon, All roads west from here are private logging roads....James

I have had a Staber washer for some time now . . .Its a darn good washer . . . . .Batterys and inverter run it just fine.

My system is large enough that I use excess generated electric to run a window AC.............

I have a fisher-paykal washer that also runs great on the inverter (modified sine wave type) also will run fine on the generator. I think it was about 600.00 dollars and is a top loader. It converts the AC to DC for some reason and has a soft start so no surge in power happens. I like it very much. sisterpine

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www.MontanaSticksAndStones.com at Goshen Farm

Amen.

I can run our washer in the summer when the water is running like mad (we're on a pelton wheel generator) but not in winter. Then again, we don't need lights much in summer here either.

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http://maysmissive.blogspot.com/

I've lived so far off the beaten path, mail only came out every other day because they delivered the other side of the route on the off days.
I've been 40 miles from a little 3 aisle grocery story. I've lived 70 miles from a hospital. I taught a one-room, K-8 country school, five miles from pavement.
All of this was within the last 10 years or so.

Never once in that time frame did I live off-grid. When DH was driving me that 70 miles to the hospital with what might be appendicitis, I sure didn't feel particularly "chained to society."
I promise you, it's not the grid, or the lack thereof, that distances you from the world.

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~*~Erin~*~
SAHM, ranch wife, sub and quilt shop proprietress
the Back Gate Country Quilt Shop

what about the geo-thermal systems? I am looking at building a new home - just in the planning stages - and this looked like an energy efficient system and an improvement over our current boiler system.

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There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do.

I have lived off-the-grid now for over 11 years using solar. But what we did was start small and keep adding more panels and improving our system little by little. I have a washing machine that I can use with our system, even though it is a small system.

Summer is much better for us sunwise. The generator we use is made special for off-the-grid systems and seems to work fine for us. Could I manage it without my husband? Not right now. But when he gets everything finished and in place it should be ok most of the time. We have a friend who has a business managing off-the-grid systems for his customers who aren't so inclined. So I could rely on him for problems.

I would never want to hook up to the grid for any reason after having lived without it. NY state is state with lots of red tape and interference. So I try to not add to that. Our house was already here as a hunting camp and we keep a low profile.

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Homesteading On The Internet
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