getting set up for off grid living. Need help?

[bilmac]

dpe.    Have you thought about propane for your refigerator? Probably more expensive initially, but with no moving parts they are supposed to last forever.

[efremtags]

if your serious about feidges, get a steca 165. You can run one on 200W of solar and 120AHbattery @ 12V.

Off grid power is expensive, it is cheaper to spend money on new appliances that are low power than it is to try to buy the solar to make the power. Rule of thumb is if it cost $100/W of consumption to buy the power. So if you can shed 50W on an appliance, you save 5k worth of solar power required to power it. That means if you spend 1k on a new fridge, it was a good investment. 

[dpe.ahoy]

Yes, I am on the lookout for a running propane frig.  This is all being done as cheap as possible, still have a mortgage payment that we are adding $1,000 a month to get paid off before I retire.  I'm still comfortable in a wall tent with propane lanterns and wood stove, so any improvment over that is gravy.   Still have 5 kids in the house, car insurance with teens is a killer .  Staying with things others might feel are not worth it to do.  DP

[no guns here]

Just wondering how the construction goes...  haven't updated in a while.  Hope it's going well....


NGH

[glock fan]

NGH,

Sorry about getting back to you so late but my mom (87) got colon cancer and the last three months have been totally focused on her.  So I haven't been down to the ranch since late December.  Probably won't be able to get down there until May/June timeframe.  Life has a way of totally changing your focus & priorities.  This came out of the clear blue.  Needless to say I am undone.  I'm preparing for the worst but praying for the best.  Today was a tough day.  Far tougher for her but tough to even witness.  I'd give up my ranch in a blink of an eye it would make her whole.  Sorry to unload here.  Thanks for asking.  Hope you don't take this the wrong way.   

[bilmac]

Sad thing to watch your folks fall into decline. About the time you get your kids raised your folks start to fall apart. Kind of like raising the kids in reverse. You have to take more responsibility for them until they are no more.

[glock fan]

bilmac,

You hit the nail on the head.  Truer words have never been said.  Everyone I've talked with in my age group have the same story regarding their folks.  I've heard my folks express some regrets lately.  Things like they wish they had traveled more or visited friends & relatives more.  If anything has come through loud & clear in the last months its don't finish your life with a list of regrets.  Having regrets is clearly regettable.  One regret I won't have is that I didn't take of my folks properly.  They were there for me.  Now its my turn to serve them.   

[no guns here]

I haven't been around much lately either.  Not for the same reasons.  I hope you and your family are bearing up well and all the problems are being resolved.  I've been back and forth from San Antonio to Oklahoma every weekend for the past 4 weeks or so to see grandparents.  My grandfather is in a nursing home with alzheimers, grandmother is across the street from him in an assisted living home.  Wife's grandfather is 50 miles south of there and just came home for hospice care from the VA with terminal cancer.  We try to get up there as much as possible but gas is so expensive now...

Thank God, I just retired from the AF and started a new job.  At least we'll be able to go back and forth some.


NGH

[glock fan]

NGH & bilmac,

Sorry to hear about your situations.  Seems like we're all going through some form of elder care issue these days.  I'm hoping by May/June timeframe that I will be able to turn my attention back to getting the ranch finished.  With all the fires going on out west, I've been very concerned about the threat of fire @ the ranch.  I got a hold of a neighbor who is going to mow/brush hog my place.  His ranch is several miles away but he was willing to do it anyway.  The biggest threats out there are fire, tornados & vandals.  Finding my place is like finding a needle in a haystack, so vandalism is a remote possibility.  However fire is one of those things where whole counties can go up in smoke.  A large firebreak surrounding my camp is my only defense.  I about had a heart attack a week ago when I saw that there was a tornado south of Ozona and another one northwest of Del Rio.  Two tornados and my place is right between them.  Yikes!  The good news is I have insurance on the place.  The bad news is if there ever is an incident out there they will probably drop me afterwards.  LOL!   Hope someday soon we will be able to report some good news for a change.  God Bless you and your families.   

[blind ear]

Plan  building orientation for passive energy utilization and future improvements. ear

[glock fan]

An update of note,
Last week I was worried about tornados.  Today it is fire.  A rancher sent me an email that 30,000 acres have burned in my neck of the woods and that I may or may not have a place left.  He said don't bother to try and go see.  Too dangerous to even go out there.  Thank goodness there is no possibility of flooding.  If my humble ranch survives all this then I know it was meant to be.  Today I increased my insurance with State Farm.  Surprisingly eventhough they knew about the fires they let me do it.  My insurance agent said that he had heard there were fires in that area.  He asked if I had been out there and knew anything.  I told him the truth and said no I hadn't been out there as it was too dangerous to go there.   He laughed and said well as least you're honest and let me increrase my coverage.  Not my smartest move but I'll sleep better tonight regardless what happens.  LOL

[no guns here]

It's sort of a large scale overview but this link gives an idea of where most of the wildfires are in the US.

http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/

Hope it all comes out okay for you out there.  I've been toying for years with the idea of an earth sheltered home.  The recent surge in deadly tornadoes and wildfires is really reinforcing that urge.  Guess we'll see where God leads me and what happens.

NGH

[glock fan]

NGH,

WOW! the map you attached was great but scary.  I really appreciate that you brought this to my attention.  It helps me get a handle on what is really going on and what my chances are for a good or bad outcome.  My ranch is in the middle of fires #; 11, 12, 13 & 17.  In short  it appears I'm surrounded.  However, the Deaton Cole fire, #11, appears to be the most threatening today since it is south of my ranch & the winds are blowing from the SSE @ 20-25 mph.  A neighbor rancher went by my place Friday and said it was still standing and so far no part of the ranch had caught fire yet.  He said it had come down into the east end of the canyon about 10 miles from my place but stalled out do to a wind change.  He said if the wind changes back that I'd be right in its path.  The good news is the fire fighters are dropping fire retardant from helicopters & large transport planes they use.  They aren't really trying to fight the fire on the ground anymore due to high wind and the fact the fire is so large.  They cut a firebreak & the fire junps the break due to the winds.  Seems like the wind direction changes hourly.  I do have a large firebreak around my place but I haven't been out there since winter due to my Mom's health.  I don't know if grass or brush has grown up around the place or not.  It's been so dry out there it may not have.  My neighbor said the real problem was the north side of my place was overgrown with brush & trees.  I didn't cut alot down on that side because that is the side (north) that gives me the great view of the canyons below that come together that caused my wife to call the ranch Lost Canyon Ranch.  Basically, it is in God's hand as always.  I feel horrible for the ranches around me that have burned and several have.  I'm prepared for the worst but hope for the best.  I will say this if my place burns down, when I rebuild I will most likely do an earth home as NGH pointed out.  It would provide the best defense against fire, tornados and the heat in general.  Thanks again NGH for your post & the attached map. 

[no guns here]

Not a problem... glad to pass on information.  My wife calls me the "golden nugget man" since I always pull out these little nuggets of information that have little real use but make me sound smart.  I'm glad in this case that one of those nuggets could be helpful.


NGh

[glock fan]

Finally some good news!  After burning 62,000 acres in and around our ranch the fires are out.  Rain did what man couldn't do.  Most of the ranches in the area were saved by planes that dumped fire retardant on them.  A neighbor went to my place and said everything was fine.  I haven't been able to even get out there this year due to family issues.  Hopefully in June I'll be able to get out there.  The first four months of this year have been some of the worst years of my life todate.  Can't remember when we've had so many seemingly hopeless issues to deal with at once.  The good news is that being burned out isn't going to be one of them, at least for now.  LOL   

[no guns here]

And the better news is that God will give you nothing that he can't handle.  Also, now that the area has burned extensively there is much less chance for a destructive fire to start and get out of control.  Glad to hear that your place is still standing.


NGH