Originally Posted by Sandemanian
I've done some research into solar water heating and it's in the plans. Right now I'm using a propane on demand water heater but it's only for showers.
When the tiny house construction begins this Spring (knock on wood), that will be a feature I want to include.
Sorry for the delay, it's been a busy week at the Of Grid Homestead and Ill be typing this in a rush- I'm at my day job.
"Water water everywhere but not a drop to drink" those words echoed through my head as I stare down at my busted steel pipe beaten squarely into 25' of clay and rock.
I stood there quietly, so quiet that my wife surely thought I had either broken my mind with the pipe or a torrent of obscenities was about to be unleashed upon the virgin landscape, when I decided that I could not allow "it" to best me and my mission to find an immediate source of water did not end simply because of my latest misfortune. It wasn't a defeat but a change of direction.
Within minutes I put together a plan of action, kissed my wife goodbye, and made my way into town for supplies.
1 hi pressure sump pump
1 12 volt transfer pump
1 plastic tote
1 35 gallon water container
100' of garden hose
2 faucet bibs
1 10" whole house water filter
1 pack of 3 charcoal fish tank filter
A variety of adapters and a roll of Teflon tape
Supply of Jacuzzi chlorine
Those were the things needed to get water into the RV quickly according to my admittedly hurried and reactionary plans.
I started by drilling out 6 1" holes into the plastic tote and then attached the fish tank filters via self-tapping stainless steel screws.
Next, I drilled out 2 holes in the water tank and attached to water bibs, 1 out and 1 in.
Lay out an extension cord and my 100' of hose and made my way down to the stream, placed them and retrieved my tote, pump,
and razor knife. Once I lay the tote and pump into the river, it began to fill with water at a quick enough rate, even through the filters, to do the job.
So far- so good. This is progress and things going according to my plan thus far honestly had me a little scared. I mean, nothing had blow up in my face yet
and I'm hours in. Attached the power and hose to the pump, cut out a notch for them in the lid, and closed it up... it began to float away due to the current.
Spotted a few large stones nearby and added them to the tote. That did the trick but now the water was dirty. Removed the stones, washed them, and replaced them
into their new Tupperware housing, then made my way back towards the house (RV), hooked up the hoses to the tank, the tank to the other pump, the pump to the house filter, the filter to a on off control valve, and it to the RV.
A flip of the switch and I have water... all over my floor. I knew something was going to be $#@!ed, did it have to be my new hardwood floors? Found 2 places where the pressure had blown apart old fittings and fixed them, tested each faucet and confirmed my band-aid was a success. Obviously, pumping water from a stream isn't long-term nor ideal in any way, but it'll do and it has done for the last couple of months. The water comes in clear but we chlorinate it regardless, then use the house filter to remove any additional "baddies" as well as the chlorine smell. We don't use it as drinking water but it's fine for dishes and showers and whatever.
Embrace the grid, you say? The grid can kiss my Irish white ass.
One of the places the water poured through a fitting was behind my composting toilet, but I got it dried up fairly quickly once I found the problem. Composting your waste, now that's an adventure! If you'd like to hear about "Poo Mountain" let me know. I'll keep it clean and it's really not as bad as it sounds. I'll never forget when I first pitched the idea to my wife...
Got any pictures?
Sure, composting is a good way to get rid of organic stuff. Rather no pics on that though.
"I am a bird"
You're not in Oregon are you... around Burns?
"The essence of the Liberal outlook lies not in what opinions are held, but in how they are held: instead of being held dogmatically, they are held tentatively, and with a consciousness that new evidence may at any moment lead to their abandonment."
-Bertrand Russell
I received positive rep for extreme sarcasm from a person who thought I was serious ... please look up Poe's Law
He's not.
From the OP:
Some and video. Posting from mobile data is rough though. I was thinking about using the free wifi down at a restaurant for that.
Please do! This thread is very interesting.Some and video. Posting from mobile data is rough though. I was thinking about using the free wifi down at a restaurant for that.
Thanks for talking story about your experiences "out" there. I have enjoyed it thoroughly and it reminds me of my times off grid. Keep up the positive attitude and good luck to you and yours!
Is your composting toilet home-made or ?
"Off the grid" includes no internet, are you using TOR?
No one here wanted to be the Billionaire.
Once again Off the grid means off the power grid. Whatever people have tried to change it to after that is completely subjective. It can mean living naked in the woods with no tools to some and to anyone not doing that to survive to them is NOT living off grid.
The only solid definition is the POWER GRID.
War; everything in the world wrong, evil and immoral combined into one and multiplied by millions.
I am curious. I recently developed a spring for an off grid client.Have to get back to work here but if you're curious as to how I finally got a working water solution here at the homestead hell, let me know.
I dug a hole at the spring site by backhoe about 10 feet deep, lined the bottom with landscape fabric and 2" gravel, then dropped 5 concrete rings in it 4" wall 2' inside diameter 2' tall each. I installed a stainless pitless through the concrete below grade and hung a submersible stainless 110v pump in it, then ran 1" hdpe 100' back to a bladder tank and well switch in the house. The concrete well has a lid and a 3" pvc overflow. The pump runs off the site propane generator.
Last edited by presence; 01-13-2016 at 11:27 PM.
'We endorse the idea of voluntarism; self-responsibility: Family, friends, and churches to solve problems, rather than saying that some monolithic government is going to make you take care of yourself and be a better person. It's a preposterous notion: It never worked, it never will. The government can't make you a better person; it can't make you follow good habits.' - Ron Paul 1988
Awareness is the Root of Liberation Revolution is Action upon Revelation
'Resistance and Disobedience in Economic Activity is the Most Moral Human Action Possible' - SEK3
Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo.
...the familiar ritual of institutional self-absolution...
...for protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment...
look into thermosiphon; you just have to position your tank higher than your panel; that can mean tank in attic near the ridge and panel on the south roof near the gutters.
You can rig up a panel really easily with a grid of half inch copper, a 2x4 frame, some black or dark colored tile, and a sheet of glass. Just lay the tile on the roof in the 2x4's, copper on top and seal. As long as its below the tank it will cycle on its own.
'We endorse the idea of voluntarism; self-responsibility: Family, friends, and churches to solve problems, rather than saying that some monolithic government is going to make you take care of yourself and be a better person. It's a preposterous notion: It never worked, it never will. The government can't make you a better person; it can't make you follow good habits.' - Ron Paul 1988
Awareness is the Root of Liberation Revolution is Action upon Revelation
'Resistance and Disobedience in Economic Activity is the Most Moral Human Action Possible' - SEK3
Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo.
...the familiar ritual of institutional self-absolution...
...for protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment...
Thanks for sharing Wooden. Sounds like its been a wild ride from the start. With your humor and determination no doubt you'll tame that bitch in no time.
Sorry for the lengthy delay between updates but we've been seeing a lot of cold wet weather and staying dry and warm was a priority.
I believe I was going to review our experience with composting and composting toilets, otherwise known as "Humanure"! Catchy, no?
It's not as exciting as it may sound and I could dress it up but I want this to be as real as possible. It's really just disposing of waste. End of story.
One issue with being off-grid is what to do with your waste. We have a septic on premises but that requires a $#@!-ton of water with each flush and does not equal a minimalist lifestyle. Selling this to my wife and daughter wasn't the easiest thing, but after showing them several videos on it and building one myself for their review, it was agreed upon that we would **** in a bucket.
Things you need:
3-4 Lowes or Home Depot buckets
30' or so of pine 2X4s
1 sheet of 1/2" plywood
2 hinges
1 toilet seat (designer of course)
Basic hand tools
After framing out the box, I covered it in plywood, hinged the top, and cut an oblong hole just larger than the toilet seat itself, installed the seat, sat the bucket in place, and it was complete. Easy breezy like a Sunday afternoon.
There is no smell outside of the initial odor that everyone experiences when dropping deuces and once you cover your deposit with a layer of wood chips or saw dust (your flush), it actually smells like pine. No biggie, right? The bitch is in composting it.
An eagle sours high above the snow capped majestic Poo Mountain as I work my way near the back. A bucket in my hand and determination in my heart, I take a deep breath and ascend... but there's no stink. Why? Because after depositing the bucket into the compost heap (the bucket does smell when dumped), I cover the contents in a thick layer of natural debris like hay and mulch, which keeps the middle warm and the microbes happy. They work their magic over a period of several months (you can see the pile shrink between deposits) and after a couple of years you have safe rich composting soil.
Turding in a bucket isn't going to be for everyone and composting that waste isn't going to be either, but it's doable and after a couple of months, it begins to feel the norm. I located some designs on a better approach to the composting and will probably being construction on it after this Spring rolls around, but Poo Mountain is working just fine for the time and while an incinerating toilet is desirable, the $2000 price tag has that on a back burner.
Filling sewers and septics with waste water just isn't us and this is a cheap and safe environmentally friendly alternative. Since we are not running enough water to flush a traditional toilet, how do we shower? I mean, do we walk outside through snow and ice, a couple of hundred feet to the shed that was converted into a giant bathhouse of sorts? Yes. Yes we do. And it's a nice hot shower utilizing rain, snow, and river water, whatever is handy.
Things you need:
1 Tarp
2 ....
Well, this is getting long. I can always tell you how we bathe after a nice hot poo some other time if you want. I really need to get back to work, y'all.
Thanks or reading and I promise some pics (not of Mt Poo) soon.
This post is the $#@!!
Awesome, thanks for the review. I could live with something like this if I'd live off the grid. I'd try to make use of some other materials that would probably make it a bit less '$#@!house' and a bit more 'toilet' like. Also making it that much more expensive.
Also, if I had some kind of way to capture rain water, I'd dig in a couple 250gal caged tanks and fill those with rainwater that you can use for flushing toilets.
"I am a bird"
Just how retarded are you? GTFO
I have enjoyed reading this thread. Thanks for sharing your story here, Wooden Indian.
I have spent the past four years slowly working to get as off the grid as possible. I'm on propane and am working on solar panels (but they are pretty expensive). My water comes from a well across the road. And I have been growing an orchard at the back of my property to be more self-sustaining. Little by little, I am making progress. But it is sllllloowww progress...
I had horrible experience with what was supposed to be a composting toilet. Much better off to build a solid outhouse with a back door. Composting humanure isn't that hard-- or gross-- if you do it right. I actually do have pics
I spent a lot of time in an off the grid, then on the grid, tiny cabin with my family of 5. I really enjoyed reading your posts, OP, makes me miss the good old days. There are lots of tradeoffs to the lifestyle. I would do it again in a heartbeat if I could find the right place.
Did I miss the part where you say why you burn kerosene instead of wood?
My outhouse was pretty sweet, a two seater with a window-- and a blueboard insulation seat in winter
My hat's off to ya, Wooden Indian. Not sure if you're a Adam Kokesh hater, or not, but he's homesteading in AZ. right now and doing a video log of it:
there's more..
Diversity finds unity in the message of freedom.
Dilige et quod vis fac. ~ Saint Augustine
"I'll believe in good cops when they start turning bad cops in."
It's been a while but I promised I would tell a little about our shower set up here at the off-grid home site.
If you are one of the many Americans that have taken a weekend trip in an RV, you are all too well aware that the shower facility often leaves much to be desired. The average man’s shoulders are as wide as the shower itself and it would be fair to say that my shoulders and back are a little more full than most. But even my wife and daughter would be unable to do more than sit facing the water, daring to not move their arms more than inches from their sides.
Luckily, that shed on the property, while dirty and experiencing rot near the front facing floor, was in otherwise fine shape after replacing the doors. So, after cleaning and some repair, what I saw was a 10X15 shower room, and driven by my need of clean balls, I sprang into action.
Things you need:
1 large heavy tarp
2 rolls of plastic
1 DC pump
1 staple gun
Drill
50 gallon tank
Hose
Stinky balls
1 Propane tank
And a propane heated Camp Shower.
First I poured a bottle of water on the floor and watched the direction it naturally ran towards and drilled a 3” hole in the floor at that corner to act as a drain, then laid down the large tarp, stapled around the edges, put up the plastic sheathing, stapled as well, hung the camp shower, drilled out a hole in the wall for the propane line, made a shelf on the back side of the shed for the tank to rest on, installed the shower unit on the other side, dragged in the 50 gal tank and placed the DC pump to its side. Then a quick connection of 2 hoses and I was ready to place the 12 volt battery.
The water is pumped from the stream to the main house tank where it is chlorinated and then run through a Whirlpool whole house filter then pumped up to the shower 50 gal tank where it will service approximately 5 showers with the small DC pump powering the Camp Shower installed on the inner wall. The water is hot and the flow adjustable. Perhaps the biggest issue is moving the battery to and from the shed as I take it out to a charger after each use.
It may not be a spa at Trump Tower, but for $300, it sure does beat the hell out of that cramped, low water pressure, closet in the RV. Coming across the yard wet and cold sucks. But that’s only for a few moments and fair trade in my caveman opinion.
House construction begins in 2 weeks and the shower room will be converted into a power room for my batteries, generators, inverters, and all that good stuff.
Also, here are a few pictures I shot during the last snow.
The first is me walking up from as far as I can drive my truck, 2nd the path leading back to the stream where I gather my water, and the last the stream itself.
Do you even generate, bro?
This video seems wildly appropriate.
Thanks for the update/motivation!!
Last edited by P3ter_Griffin; 03-11-2016 at 11:07 AM.
Wooden Indian, every one of your off-grid posts inspires me to get my own family as off the grid and as self-reliant as possible.
This week, I planted two new fruit tree saplings in my orchard, which I started last year and which has already produced some fruit. By this summer, I will have 20 fruit trees.
Get the berries going if you haven't already. I've got Apples, pears, peaches, nectarines and plumbs growing. Along with just about every type of berry that grows here. They seem to give better bang for the buck early on where as the trees will be in the years to come.
Thats a fantastic idea. The only thing I'd be worried about would be what happens during flash flooding. My creek can come up 10' if it rains very hard and fast. I could transfer the power through a gears or belt system but at some point the cost to build some thing like that out weights the power it would produce.Do you even generate, bro?
This video seems widely appropriate.
Thanks for the update/motivation!!
Who gives a $#@!, you made it and it works. It's cold out there so I bet a hot shower really makes you happy.
Do you have plans drawn up for your home?
"I am a bird"
Totally. I currently have three berry bushes and a grape vine. More will come in a few weeks. I was surprised to get a small harvest last year, since you're not supposed to get any fruit the first year, but I did. I have one acre, so there's plenty of room for more in the future.
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