Gideon35T Posted December 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2012 I was wondering when someone would catch that ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PyROTech Posted December 8, 2012 Report Share Posted December 8, 2012 here ya go... http://imgur.com/a/qF25a Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon35T Posted December 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 I read that guys full article a while back but he didn't have the interior done at the time. Amazing what people can come up with for design. Plus, as the house is very efficient he has a relitively small solar system for his square footage. Good trade off in my opinion. As for me, I replaced the single wall piping for the wood stove with double walled/insulated this weekend. We'll see if that helps my creasote issue. I also gave the horizontal pipe some more angle and added a creasote/ash catch can thingamajig I made. I'll report back. In the mean time, I'm working on getting the cistern setup nailed down. Hopefully I will have enough storage for Sarah, myself, and the gardens/orchards soon. Also, Nick Rosen (author and owner of off-grid.net) and I are talking about doing a book together. If that happens I'll setup a discount for all volvospeed supporting members. It's only talk right now mind you. We'll see how it goes as I've been doing articles for the site anyways, haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastboy Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Well done,it is a big endeavor going off the grid. My parents decided to do that a few years back and have been living in the house now for 3 years with no major problems or issues. Being in Canada we had some obvious differences in climate and building regulations but it was fun being a part of the build. Here's my Dad's Wiki.. yopu can contact him with anything if you need another perspective on things... warning, he's a hippie. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Braden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon35T Posted December 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Nice! If only I had the time and resources to have cattle here. There's plenty of cattle around but they require several acres per head for grazing in the desert. Being at a higher latitude I'm sure he's sees a great deal of benifit from having both solar and wind. I've shied away from wind but have that luxury being closer to the equator, haha. Did your parents make a slow transition or build it and jump in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfishing3 Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 if you need another perspective on things... warning, he's a hippie. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Braden hahahahaha. very cool G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastboy Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Nice! If only I had the time and resources to have cattle here. There's plenty of cattle around but they require several acres per head for grazing in the desert. Being at a higher latitude I'm sure he's sees a great deal of benifit from having both solar and wind. I've shied away from wind but have that luxury being closer to the equator, haha. Did your parents make a slow transition or build it and jump in? The wind turbine has had it's minor issues, they are in an area that can get a lot of wind(the farm is named Windrush) so the turbine has been maxed out a couple of times and blown a couple of components up but nothing too serious. The power supply can get a little dicey during the winter months if we have 3 or 4 days without sun but they manage the power well. (They do have a propane powered generator to help out during the long and dreary parts of the year if the supply gets too low, but they only added that this year) The build took quite a long time if you base it against a regular construction timeline but if you look at the attention to detail it was worth the extra wait. They still have all of their usual luxuries, my mother is is used to the finer things in life and had certain demands if she was going to buy into his ideas. Once the house was completed there was no waiting, they moved right in. It's heated by the wood burning fireplace for the winter* and the house was built to deflect the sun in the summer so it stays cool even on the hottest summer days. This past summer was very warm & humid here and the warmest I ever saw the inside temperature was equivalent to 75 Fahrenheit. It is finished to an extremely high standard inside and they have done a lot of house tours & open houses to educate and help other looking to do something similar. *they did install a furnace for winter months as they have taken to heading south for the Feb/Mar. of each year and they don;t want their piano to buckle with the temperature fluctuation so the house is set to 14 Celsius to keep it in check. when they are home it is off as a fire in the morning will heat that place for the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burn-E Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 hahahahaha. very cool G As opposed to Mike who only thinks he's a hippie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon35T Posted December 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 The area I'm in actually averages 9.7mph sustained winds year round. The problem is that it's an active system with movie parts and will therefor always have issues. Combine that with the fact that I live in the optimal location for solar which is passive ... I opted for just solar. I see more and more off-gridders opting for wind to help offset shorter days in the winter throughout the country and into Canada. I'm glad your mother was able to have everything she wanted. The biggest thing with explaining off-grid to people is that they think you plan to live like a cave man, lol. There's no shortage of luxury in the design, setup, operation, etc of the household. So long as you're smart enough to add those things in from the beginning! It's funny, you brought up the point that they take vacations and that creates problems for heating. They installed the furnace and fixed that issue but as I'm taking things to a more extreme degree I don't really have that luxury. I'm not very prone to taking vacation anyways ... But, I can't just not feed the animals or tend the garden while I'm out somewhere else, haha. Someone asked me recently and I had to explain that the setup is a part/full time job with no vacations. It must be maintained to perpetuate itself. I do have Sarah to help but other than that there's only the cat ... And she sucks and gardening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
survolvo Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Dastardly Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 I grew up in a house 2 miles from the road that was 100 percent "off grid" only used propane tanks my dad picked up. Yes we even had a propane refrigerator. My mom was (is still) an avid organic gardener, and my dad was a framer and furniture maker. We didn't live 100% self sufficient, (we still had a truck and my dad was self employed) but if the need arose we could have and I still could now. But with that being said I love my electric guitars and my stereo crap so kcuf it..keep me tied in until doomsday I know a lot more about this than I let on..but I am staying out of this party for the most part. Besides where is the adventure in "preparedness"... Also, I don't give ratsass how you "get" your internet...if you have it and use it you're on the biggest grid of them all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon35T Posted December 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 It's about dependancy. We're not dependant on the grid. No amount of distruption can have a negative impact on our lives. I like volvospeed and all ... But I'm pretty sure I can survive without it for a while ;-) lol We plan to ditch the internet eventually anyways. While it's a nce luxury it is just that, a luxury. Once I retire we don't need an extra bill for that luxury. Update to the woodstove - I checked my creasote/ash catch and it was completely clean. Looking up/into the pipe everything is still shiny. Appears to be working just fine. Now I can move on to improving the insulation of the place. It was a little too chilly this morning for my tastes. I have some creative plans for keeping it warm/cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Dastardly Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Cool. Now you can sit around and stare at sand all day. Why does preparedness equate to f.u.c.k.ing boredom? Be ready I suppose, but enjoy what modern life has to offer while its here.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon35T Posted December 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Sand deserts are very few and far between in this world. The only sand in Arizona is relegated to the dunes where you can sit and stare and sandrails all day. "Preparedness" would likely be boring. However, self sufficiency is not at all. I have no shortage of things to do and will be tending the plants and animals full time once everything is up and operational. I DO enjoy modern life. We have smart phones, computers, a few hundred dvds, we go out regularly, etc etc etc. We're not cave people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fudge_Brownie Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 But it sounds more like you've just kept yourself busy with "busy work". And I think his comment was based on "We plan to ditch the internet eventually anyways". So when you're done with the day's chores, he's wondering wtf you'll be doing with that free time. No internet, and it would be difficult to go out without a car since you've already said you don't have much need to leave the house. You could make your own clothes, but you've chosen not to because it simply isn't worth the time. You could do it to keep yourself busy, so you have plenty to do. But you wouldn't find enjoyment in it, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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