First of all I would like to apologize for such a long time between posts. About ten months have gone by with a huge learning curve. Many of my original plans had to be updated or changed.
As far as the original plans for the building everything went well. We built a single room that was almost 500 square feet. We purchased a carport and closed it in with sheet metal. We have almost six inches of ridged insulation.
I have attached a few pictures of the progress. The best addition is the front porch. We can sit for hours and just look at the river and the area around us. We have added wind generation and solar power along with a propane powered generator. If you are using straight 12 volts we have plenty of storage. If you are using an inverter to supply 110 volts that is another matter. All inverters work with a close tolerance in operating voltage. The one I purchased goes from 12.8 to 11.2 so with the six batteries for storage this does not last as long as I would like it to. The wind generator works great when you have a hefty wind blowing. Solar cells are a slow recharge source.
Winter is upon us and I love the wood stove. We have enough wood on our place to last at least fifteen years. We had an ice storm last year so a lot of trees came down, I have not cut down a live tree yet. We have mostly cotton wood and pecan in the area. I mix them up to help control the rate that the fire burns. The cotton wood is almost like kindling it burns way too fast.
I have attached some pictures as far as progressin building. In looking back this is the best move I have ever made. We go out every Friday night and camp out. It is great to look at the stars and listen to the coyotes bark and howl. We have a deer feeder about twenty yards from the cabin; the raccoons seem to be eating most of the corn. We have a mixed breed dog that loves to chase them when she goes out the door. I am waiting to see what happens when she catches them, I think it will be a surprise of her life.
Already adding an addition to the cabin, will try to update my post a little more often.
PS;
The deer was taken just east of our place by my son. The picture of the water is what you see form the front porch.
8 Responses
For Rick: I would be cautious on recommending that “everyone do something” until your an official full time “Off-Gridder”. Right now your experience is very limited. Just FYI, we have been living off-grid for 4 yrs and continue to learn.
Wondering how it’s going. (fellow okie). If you want, e mail me at iskybluepink@yahoo.com and we can shard experiences.
my cabin is off-grid in far SW Texas..but not living there yet. Rain catchment is very common out there with typical 12″ annual rainfall. 1000SF roof area if fully guttered will yeild 600gallons. In TX there is a state law that any rain catchment materials you buy are exempt from state sales taxes.
I am planning on living in a 40 ft. container house. I have the property set up and I am looking forward to living off-the-grid. I am going to be using a 20K silent generator which everyone should be using instead of the fuel/gas-guzzling generators out there. My next project would be to find a way to save rain water and store it. If anyone is doing that currently, please contact me.. thanks
Our house started as our hunting cabin and we did a lot of work to it and moved in full time about a year ago. It’s 18 X 38 kitchen, dining/living room combo, bathroom, bedroom, and utility room. We love it. The outside is made out of boxcar bottoms (tongue in groove oak). We have a guest cottage and a barn. We have a well and a large garden. We’re 2 miles from electric lines. We have 8-80 watt solar panels and 8 L16 batteries. We heat with wood, and have a propane fridge and range. We have a wood cook stove in the barn and another in the guest cottage. We have a 110 deep well pump that runs off our solar. (we have a 5000 watt inverter). We have a small propane generator for back up but usually only use it in the hottest part of the summer for air conditioning. We always say if we can do it, anyone can.
I live in oklahoma and i would love to have an off-grid home…where do i start to learn…sylvia what does your house look like?
was wondering if you might think its possible since yo live near a river to make a water power generator, this would make power constant, not dependent on clear skies or wind velocity. just a thought.
Nice to hear from a fellow Okie off-gridder. Sounds like you’re enjoying life and getting things figured out. It will get easier as time goes by. Good luck.