Author Topic: Update on living in off grid in Texas (Read 2702 times)

glock fan · « **on:** May 19, 2013, 11:28:44 AM »

Hi,
We'vebeen gone awhile. We've been living sorta off-grid in Texas. Not totally but closer to it all the time. Some output from our quest YTD. Rain catch works great. Much cheaper than a well and easily implemented. (Many Youtube videos available on this and cheap to do vs well.) Went with AC power with a propane fired Generac generator 22KW. Propane runs us about $ 50.00/month, including tank rental. Plus we can fill smaller bottles to run grills etc. off main tank. We don't have power outages either. We have bakup generators, howerever we haven't had a problem with the main generator yet. Hunting & trapping is great. Venison, turkey, quail & hogs. Next yr. chickens, goats & a green house for a yr. round garden. Our goal is to be eventually off-grid with a sustainable life sytle. Your thoughts and suggestions may help us get there. Your input is welcome & appreciated.

FPH · « **Reply #1 on:** May 19, 2013, 11:31:57 AM »

One problem we have here in W, TX, S. NM. We haven't had rain since Jan. Electric Co. is ot required to buy back excess electricity either,

Ranger99 · « **Reply #2 on:** May 19, 2013, 11:55:16 AM »

yep the rain has been stingy in
the western and southwest part of the state.
even out of a well, i can't hardly drink that
gyp water in west texas (abilene on west)
or i should say my innards can't take it.

glock fan · « **Reply #3 on:** May 19, 2013, 05:41:56 PM »

Rain has been hard to come by but it rains about 18" a year here on average. Ironically, we've had some of rain here this spring. A 1/2" of rain yields 600 gallons of water. So far so good. It's harder keeping the water "good" than it is getting it. Will need to figure out some kind of system to aerate the water. We have 1000 gallon cistern but hope to add another 2500 gallon tank in the near future. Water has been our top priority but we're getting by for now.

Ranger99 · « **Reply #4 on:** May 19, 2013, 05:57:13 PM »

at least you started right.
water is *the* priority.
everything else is so-so and
can be improvised.

seems like a small windmill or hand pump
or small solar electrical pump could be used
to fill an overhead tank from the cistern for
pressure then filtered between the tank and house.
a relative in east texas once had a system like that,
with a rock and brick cistern that filled with the roof
gutters, and the overhead tank was filled
with a hand pump. it's many years gone now or i
could take some pics.
oh, and it didn't have a filter. this was the early
1900's and water was where you found it.

glock fan · « **Reply #5 on:** May 20, 2013, 11:00:22 AM »

We have an Rv on site. It is 35' but doesn't have any slide outs. It works for two people, my wife & me, but it does get too close for comfort sometimes. If I had to do it over, I would get one with slide outs next time. We have a generator, water tank cistern, a water pump & pressure tank. This set up gives constant pressure water like you'd have in an RV park as long as there is water in the tank and the generator is running. The RV does have an onboard water tank that can be filled from the water cistern.. The onboard water pump is 12V so you can have running water in the RV, which runs off its batteries, without the generator running. Next step is to get a septic tank set up. No code restrictions out here but we want to do it right so we don't have a mess on our hands down the road. Might like to experiment with a composting toilet ystem to cut down on water use. I think an Rv cover is in the near future too. Shade makes a huge difference. Did I mention it gets hot out here?

Ranger99 · « **Reply #6 on:** May 20, 2013, 11:36:41 AM »

rv.
yes, any rv or mobile home should be covered
especially if you're in the south.
rv and mobile home roofs are less than optimum
and will eventually leak, plus the shade benefit
you wrote. hail will total one.

Ranger99 · « **Reply #7 on:** May 20, 2013, 11:38:36 AM »

unless that's your temporary housing,
i would hope you have some future
plan to tie it down also.

good luck with all that.

hillbill · « **Reply #8 on:** May 20, 2013, 12:53:08 PM »

you must have a wet leg on your propane tank if you are filling your own bottles? its unreal how handy that is.

charles p · « **Reply #9 on:** May 20, 2013, 01:33:29 PM »

All you need now is a gas well. Might just be gas under you now.

glock fan · « **Reply #10 on:** May 20, 2013, 09:04:20 PM »

Ranger99,
The RV is meant to be temporary housing, but we plan to keep it as overflow housing in the event we have company down the road. We bought it very cheap off Craig's list. Yet it is in great shape. Everything works and there's never been a leak yet. However, I got a price on a RV cover (40'x24') and plan to get it installed this year. The sides & ends will come down to window level. It should allow us to see out but still let wind clear hot air out that may tend to build up under canopy. This will also give us some room for shade so we can sit outside the RV midday if we want. The RV will be tied down too. We're on solid Limestone so rock anchors will be used. We get high winds out here so not tieing down the RV isn't an option.
hillbill,
We do have a wet leg on the propane tank. The company renting the tank suggested it. It is a life saver. We fill our BBQ propane tanks, etc.
charles p,
Actually a company cmae by and paid us $2K to test for natural gas on our tract. They said they found gas but don't plan to tap it yet. Now that uncle sam is starting to ship natural gas to Mexico maybe that will change. We have mixed emotions. Money would be nice but noise and people wouldn't be so good. One reason we love this place is it is pristine and quiet. This area was Comanche & Apache lands back in the day. Haven't seen any today though.

Ranger99 · « **Reply #11 on:** May 20, 2013, 10:59:41 PM »

if you're sitting on rock with no deep
soil, that kinda rules out a leachfield for septic

i don't know if aerobic would work under those
conditions , but i kinda doubt it, and you'll
likely have to go with composting toilets.
(no pun intended, but ironic anyway

)

Bigeasy · « **Reply #12 on:** May 21, 2013, 12:12:48 AM »

Considering your location (windy), would a windmill power source work better for you? I would think cheaper, and more reliable in the long run than a generator, but that's just a guess...

Larry

Couger · « **Reply #13 on:** May 24, 2013, 11:57:53 PM »

Quote from: Bigeasy

Considering your location (windy), would a windmill power source work better for you? I would think cheaper, and more reliable in the long run than a generator, but that's just a guess...

Windmill?

Great idea! Maybe even more than one, if multiple windmills were needed?

glock fan · « **Reply #14 on:** May 26, 2013, 10:57:37 AM »

Good news on tying down the RV and the RV cover. Been down at the ranch this past week. A neighbor came over with a portable generator, heavy duty drill and rock drill bit. We test drilled some holes and it turns out there is more dirt than I thought. We used a combination of patio anchors and mobile home rock anchor tie downs with rebar to tie down the RV. Also, we located what apears to be a great location for the septic. It is down the slope from the RV with a really good drop. There is a natural ledge there that is about fifty feet wide. From there the drop continues to the next ridge down, like a stair step so to speak. My neighbor seems to think we can cut back into the ridges and that there will be plentyof soil for good drainage. So much for my feeling we were on solid rock. The best news out of all this is I discovered a new friend who seems to want to help & whose advice & expertise seem to be solid. Given how windy it is out here, wind power will be a definite option. I think a combination of solar & wind power will be very viable. However, I will have to rely on my generator for a while. Due to cost, I have to priortize.

Ranger99 · « **Reply #15 on:** May 26, 2013, 12:46:01 PM »

northern has a lot of wind stuff
and inverters available, and you
might check and some of the larger
boat shops for the smaller generators (sorry-this should read WIND generators)
used on ocean-going sailboats.

Bugflipper · « **Reply #16 on:** May 26, 2013, 03:34:54 PM »

To aerate you could look into the solar fountain pump at harbor freight. Rigging it up as a floater with the sump under water and a short head would give the most output.
www.harborfreight.com/solar-powered-fountain-pump-66093.html

glock fan · « **Reply #17 on:** May 26, 2013, 04:12:47 PM »

Bugflipper,
I bookmarked the pump @ Harbor Freight. Great idea. Looks like it might work for us. Pretty inexpensive too. Will let you know how it works out.

Bugflipper · « **Reply #18 on:** May 26, 2013, 07:00:16 PM »

For wind power a lot of folks use treadmill motors for their windmills. I've gotten several treadmills for free. Folks buy them and get tired of them taking up space.
It's getting harder to find cheap used batteries to make a battery bank out of. Some golf coarses will let you have their old cart batteries for the deposit fee. Often times a little acid will get them back up to working order. You can even make batteries out of a 5 gallon water bottle, lead, solder, wire and acid. If the sulfuric acid is to high just learn to make it from copper sulfate. A budget doesn't mean you have to do without until you get the money saved up. It just means you need to research things more and spend less.
Good luck.

glock fan · « **Reply #19 on:** June 29, 2013, 08:24:12 AM »

Another update-
We put up a metal horse barn structure with a tall center stall to cover the RV. We put a drive through garage in the south side stall and a cabin in the north side stall. The whole structure is 40'x52'. Neighbor ranchers have come over to help us do this. Kind of like an old fnshion barn raising. It was hard work but fun too. We have running water & electricity throughout. We even installed a septic system. The folks helping us are big DIY types, which is what you have to be to make it out here. I basically watched, learned and did what I could. They were the ones with the expertise. I've never met a group of people this kind and giving. While few and far between, there is clearly a sense of community out here I never would have expected. They seem to be interested in what we will do next. Kind of like we're a form of entertainment. For example, the rain catch system was thought of as a novelty but now it is working so some of them are thinking of installing their own rain catch systems. Of course we'll help. It's how things get down out here. Imagine real neighbors that help each other out gladly, We are planning on building a screened in gazeebo and another cabin later this year. They will be stand alone structures adjacent to the horse barn. Too hot to do anything now. Hits 100 degrees almost every day. When we work, we get up at 4:00 a.m. and work until about 10:00 a.m. and knock off. Usually take a siesta until about 6:00 p.m. Maybe work after the sun goes down for an hour or two, finishing things up or build a camp fire and look at the stars. Wind & solar are on the radar. Probably won't happen until next year though. Running out of pesos. Will have to save up.

Ranger99 · « **Reply #20 on:** June 29, 2013, 10:39:43 AM »

glad to hear that you have some decent neighbors.
it used to be that way here everywhere, but now
there's too many people that's moved here and brought
their problems and bad attitude with them.
those kind of folks you have around you are the best
asset you can have when you're trying to live the
life and it's something you can't buy.

mannyrock · « **Reply #21 on:** June 30, 2013, 05:18:19 AM »

I have zero experience with this stuff, but in order to keep your water in the cistern fresh, couldn't you just drop in one of the big chloride tablets (used for swimming pools) once a month? Or, pour in one gallon of full strength bleach? You can get no-name full strength bleach for as little as $1.50 a gallon at some places.

Mannyrock