"Home Stead" Living

[Randy]

Anyone on here "Into" living off the land type living? You Know, non-electric, Solar, non-solar, Candles. oil lanterns, Raising most of your own food. Lets hear about it, talk about it. Randy

[beenthere]

That wouldn't be 'living' by my standards. That would be roughing it, or primitive camping. It was great while elk hunting in Colorado and Idaho for about 3 weeks at a time. But not any longer. 

[Jeff]

Well, I gotta think that we wont be hearing to much from the non-electric delegation.

[Stump Jumper]

you got a good point there Jeff.

[Haytrader]

Not trying to be a smartelic but I camped out for a year while carrying a rifle.
Now, my idea of 'roughing it' is leaving the bedroom window open about an inch.

 

[tnlogger]

it woun't be bad if ya had solor powered laptop and a connection  cause we all need our daily ff fix

[pigman]

Randy, I think that most of the people that live like that are not members of the Fourm since they would have difficulty connecting to the internet without electricity. I suppose they could use solar cells for power. I have a few neighbors that live like you describe. They wear black hats and drive horse and buggies, but I don't think they are members of the fourm. I like visiting with them, but I also like to get home to my electricity and other creature comforts.

[Lenny_M]

 Roughing it??? Thats living
  When we started out. 3 room camp,no water ,no sewerr, no power. I lied about the water.  The Brook ran 24/7x365 days a year
 We upgraded th camp a bit. Hand pump and small drywell
 NO RENT AND NEXT DOOR TO THE HOUSE WE BUILT. Everyone though we were nuts.  We had 3 kids when we moved into the house. 4th was on yhe way.
  My morgage 000000000000000 The people that thought we were nuts are still paying 1000-1200  monthly and probally will be to near retirement age
                                 Lenny

[Fla._Deadheader]

  What a bunch of Sissies.  

  My wife LOVED living without "Grid" electric.

  We had TV (21" color, electric kitchen appliances, All the hot water we could want, telephone, lights, Propane refrigerator. Nice hot showers in the bathroom from spring fed water tank.  Nuttin to it.  

  Can't get too deep into this thread. Leaving for CR on Thursday. Gotta go check up on Fred, and make sure he don't get into trouble.

[Rockn H]

When we are at our river camp, it's primitive in the winter.  During the summer too until we crankup the generator for the a/c.  We have a 300 gallon water tower we fill every 4 days or so.  Propane refigerator and hot water heater with oil lamps for light sometimes.  We have 3 deep cycle batteries we use to run a 2500 watt inverter.  It powers flourescent lights and the TV and satelite dish and ceiling fans.  I have a 3hp motor and a delco alternator that I recharge the batteries with.  When the temp. gets hot we crank up the generator for the A/C and other electrics.   About as off grid as we get.  If time ever permits, I would love to play with some wind and hydro power and do away with the generator all together.

[Buzz-sawyer]

Randy
Been livin close to nature since about 1984....we raise our garden and hunt for meat, we also use electricity....but are into  ALL KINDS of alternative energy. from wood gasification to biodiesel, to using the earth as a battery.
I do it because I enjoy a simpler life. And its fun.

[sprucebunny]

I lived on a 36 foot boat for three and a half years including one winter in Maine .It was the coldest winter in 50 years but we did get to plug in.
Other than that winter , we lived on 12 volt. And for 8 more summers, too .
Almost didn't connect my house to the grid and except for needing my Forestry Forum fix and a hot shower, I would be perfectly happy without electricity.
I plan on building a camp soon that will be off the grid. Gonna have to look into satilite internet

[Randy]

Well--------We got a Discussion started. I have been living OFF Grid for 5 years now and Looooooooooooovvvvveeee IT, but I do have a part-time Business that I work at, at night,(15 hr's per week) which is where my computer is. I bought my sawmill to cut lumber for my cabin that I am going to build down by my lake. I did buy the sawmill to cut my lumber to build my cabin. I bought it from a Sawyer that wanted to retire---------------so he sends me cutting jobs from his repeat customers that calls and didn't know he retired. Back to the Off-Grid. I do have several Large solar panels that keep my batteries charged. I do have TV, vcr, (Did have Dss Satelite, but to busy getting my Home-Stead set up to watch TV), running water, swimming pool, hot water and a fridge that run off of gas and I can run my AC(Window) on the hot nights. I pretty much have the things I need just like most people, but No Electric Bill each month, I do have a generator, but never use it. Gas cost me about $200 per year, but I heat my water and run my heat with gas, but that will be cut way back when I get the cabin built because I will install a outdoor wood furnace to heat the house and water(got slab's to burn ). Its not a Money thing at All, I am not rich, but if I were to win the lottery I don't feel I would want to live anywhere else or any other way-----------I Live exactly where I want---------------I Love to camp-------And thats how I started this------------camping there, put down a well(hand pump) ETC Etc, Etc. Then I moved there 5 years ago full time, except for hanging around my shop. I sell and repair CB's and CB related equipment at my night job.  My Girlfriend LOVES it Too, but she doesn't live there full time yet------------Waiting on our house/Cabin. One of our things we like to do is hang the Cast Iron pot over a fire and cook a stew, soup, etc. She had rather be planting or messing with the animals than to go to Wal*marts(boy did I find a Rare Find )  We do raise chickens, rabbits, guniea's, ducks, worms, crickets(sometimes), got our pecan, peach, pear, apple tree's growing, blueberry bushes and other things growing like our garden, We love Canning, making bread Etc. Its a Dream and My Hobby to one DAY--- go to town, get some supplies(rice, flour, sugar, salt, Etc). Come home and live for Months before having to go back to grocery store. I know this life is Not for alot of people, but I LOVE working towards that DAY of being Close to living a self-reliant life.   Randy

[Bro. Noble]

We used to raise all our food,  Had kerosene lamps and a battery radio.  We did have running water via a ram and a spring.  Had a Maytag with a gas engine.  That was a good life,  but the folks sure were happy when REA came through in 1947  Telephones didn't get to our neighborhood till about 1970.  Had to drive about 15 miles to a pay phone

I miss the neighborhood that exhisted then and am thankful for the memories of that way of life,  but NO WAY would I want to go back to it.

[Corley5]

My Great Grandmother Alice Collins-Vroman always said " The only thing good about the Good Old Days is they're gone"   
The old camp in the UP was wired up for twelve volts that we ran off the truck batteries.  Dad had two batteries in both vehicles for the lights and the trolling motor .  The well siphoned.  You could always tell when someone had been messing around with it because if the hose was picked up too far it quit running .  We kept a bucket of water inside next to the door and got  fresh water several times a day.  The water was super hard.  Orange iron deposits built up in the well overflow and stained the water bucket the same;D  The backhouse was out back.  One winter when we were there it was 28 below inside it.  The Coleman lamp warmed it up to 15 below.  We cooked burgers and steak outside over a wood fire but did have a gas cook stove.  Heat was a woodstove of course.  It was always fun to get on the roof to take the can off or put it back on the chimney.  The TV ran off the cigarette lighter in the truck and sometimes we got two channels.  Lots of good memories from weeks during the summer and weekends the rest of the year spent at "Bear Cabin" but it was always nice to come home to conveniences   The new cabin has power, indoor plumbing etc but still only two TV channels sometimes.  It's a great place but it's not the same

[Paschale]

hey Buzz...how do you use the earth as a battery?

[Buzz-sawyer]

paschale
Basically using zinc and copper driven into the earth .using soil as the "electrolite" is in a lead acid battery....try to get a pic for ya

[sawguy21]

No power and dad's idea of running water was two kids with buckets That was fine at the summer cottage for a week or so but I don't want to live that way.

[pigman]

Well DanG Randy, I misunderstood your first post. I thought you ment living without the creature comforts, instead you ment living off the grid. I sure would like to live off the grid but I'm just too lazy to do all the things necessary for that.

[Randy]

Well Pigman I was just getting a conversation started----------Some people on here might like to ROUGH-IT . I like the challege of having some modern things, but on solar. Alot of my neighbors think I want to be a Hermit-------------Far from that-------------I love having people to come and visit. I just enjoy very much doing what I am doing. I am going to try a Pic or two. This is some of my solar panels on a Home-Made Tracker.
This is a pic of My Lake. Love my Little Place. Randy