Living off grid has a lot going for it. You’re more independent when you’re not relying on outside suppliers for necessities like water and power. You can save a fortune on overpriced utilities, and also insulate yourself from crises – remember how energy prices spiked after the 2020 pandemic?
You’re also building in a layer of resilience. If you’re not connected to the grid you won’t be affected by problems with the grid. If a storm brings down power lines that’s only a problem if your electricity arrives through those lines.
For preppers there are other big advantages to being off grid. It’s excellent training for surviving in a post-collapse world; if society collapses the utility grid will be an early casualty.
Everyone will be off grid, and if you’ve been living that way for a while you have a huge head start. Related to that, if you’re off grid already the transition to a crisis will be more seamless. Everyone will face challenges when the world as we know it ends. For many the biggest challenge will be surviving without power and water being delivered on demand. If you’ve been living off grid, though, you won’t have this problem.
You’ve already set everything up, got used to how it works and ironed out the bugs. When everything falls apart you can focus on coping with other things, because where your water and energy come from is already under control.
I don’t live off the grid, usually, but I decided it would be a good idea to try it and see how I got on.
Would This Be Possible?
Before starting my experiment I sat down and worked out what going off-grid would actually mean. Obviously utility connections were out, so I wasn’t going to be using mains electricity, gas or water.
Did I want to be totally self-sufficient, though, or would it be OK to buy things I can’t produce myself?
The reality is, right now, I’m not in a position to be self-sufficient. The big drawback is that I don’t have enough land to grow all the crops I’d need, or to keep any livestock except maybe a couple of chickens.
⇒ The Only Plant That Will Make Your Chickens Lay Twice as Many Eggs
So for my one-month experiment should I rely on my food stockpiles, then build them up again later, or would going to the grocery store be acceptable?
In the end I decided that I’d rely completely on my own stockpiles and resources for a month, with one exception – the internet. I’d throw the main power supply switch, turn off the gas and water, and live off what I could produce or already had stored, but I couldn’t disable my internet connection because then I wouldn’t be able to work for a month. Obviously in a real crisis that wouldn’t be an issue, but it just wasn’t an option for this trial.
So what did that leave me with? For power I have 1,200W solar panel setup that will cover the essentials during the day, as long as I don’t try to run the PC and much of anything else at the same time.
Any surplus power from the panels goes into a pair of 200AH batteries, but I don’t live in the sunniest part of the world, so I can’t rely on having too much power available from them at night. If I urgently need power at night I have a small gas generator that will put out 1,800W consistently and 2,550W peak.
I had 110 gallons of drinking water stored in a pair of blue barrels, and a rainwater barrel to collect rain from the roof for non-drinking purposes. I had a composting toilet, a month’s worth of canned protein and vegetables, three times that of rice, pasta and beans, plus a small vegetable garden that would add at least some fresh produce to my diet.
How Did It Go?
With my house cut off from utilities, I quickly identified some changes I’d need to make in my routine. Unless I wanted to run the generator for long periods every day, work would need to be done during daylight when the solar panels, with their output stabilized by the batteries and inverted to domestic voltage, would be enough to run my PC reliably.
The good news was that I could also run my crockpot from it, so if I prepared a meal after lunch and put everything in the crockpot it would be cooked by the time the sun went down and the panels stopped working for the day.
A couple of times I didn’t quite get dinner cooked in time, but the batteries managed to cope with the extra demand. I also used a charcoal grill to cook outdoors when the weather allowed. This works fine for burning wood, and in a long-term situation it would also be easy enough to make charcoal for it.
Related: No-Electricity Cooking Techniques to Use During a Power Outage
I did find that, unless I wanted to run the generator, what I could do after sunset was limited. The batteries held enough power to run my laptop for an hour or two, or boil the kettle a couple of times, but I had to be very careful about how much power I used.
Switching lights on was a habit I had to get out of, because while lights don’t draw a lot of power in the big scheme of things, leaving them on for hours adds up. I tried lighting my living space with candles and oil lamps, but these are basically hopeless for anything more than avoiding walking into furniture in the dark.
The solution was rechargeable LED lanterns. You can get these on Amazon for less than $30. I just plugged them in to charge during the day, then used them at night.
They still don’t replace domestic lighting but they’re more than bright enough for reading, doing small repairs and so on.
The ones I got were rated as having a 12-hour battery life. They don’t; I found it’s more like eight hours. That’s still enough to get you through to bedtime, though. You could also use a Coleman lantern or something similar, but these consume fuel.
As long as you have a way to generate electricity an LED lantern is basically resource-free and will give you light until you run the battery through a few hundred charge cycles and wear it out.
I didn’t have any problems with water. A hundred and ten gallons of clean drinking water will easily last much longer than a month, without even being particularly careful with it.
If I was surviving without a water connection in the long term, though, I’d need to think about drilling a well, and that could be a major expense considering I live on a hill.
On the bright side there was plenty rain during my off-grid month, so my rain barrel was a reliable source of non-drinking water. If I had to I could filter and purify rainwater, but that wouldn’t work in a long dry spell.
⇒ Why You Should Bury Your Rainwater Supply
Food was more of an issue. I was in no danger of starving – I had plenty of rice, pasta and beans, along with oil and canned vegetables. The problem was protein.
I thought I had plenty, both in the form of dried beans and as canned chicken, chili, beef stew and so on, but I’d tailored my supplies to the daily requirement of protein – about two ounces – and I found that unsatisfying.
Rice and beans with vegetables is nutritious enough, but didn’t feel like it was.
I resorted to seasonings that made things taste meatier, like Worcestershire or soy sauce, or curry powder and other strong spices, but I’m planning on increasing the ratio of canned meats in my stockpile. Longer term I would definitely need some livestock; rabbits might be a good option here.
I can also see myself, in a major crisis, spending a lot of time roaming the nearby woods with my bow looking for small game or even a deer. Basic food will keep you alive, but more enjoyable meals make a huge difference to morale.
Fresh vegetables also made a big difference. I don’t grow enough for that to be my only source of veg, so over the long term I’d need to supplement that with foraging, but having fresh carrots, lettuce and tomatoes was a real bonus.
If you have the land for it, being self-sufficient in produce is a really worthwhile goal. Root vegetables are good. Diced rutabaga, browned in a pan and heavily seasoned before adding to stews, help when you don’t have a lot of meat available.
What Did I Learn?
The first thing I learned is that my solar power and battery storage aren’t adequate. If I had twice the power generation, and three times the battery storage, I’d have been able to do a lot more after the sun went down.
Unless you have really good power generation, an electric oven is a bad choice for off grid living. I’d say a solid fuel stove is pretty much essential, and an Aga-style one will also keep your house warm and provide hot water.
I used a lot of energy heating water that could have gone into my batteries instead.
Cold showers are fine in summer and early fall, but in winter they’re not really an option. Any viable off-grid plan needs a way of heating plenty of water.
Working out the right quantities of carbs, protein and fat you need to keep you alive should just be the start point. More protein will make meals much more satisfying, and if you’re happy with your diet your morale will be a lot better.
Bread is also essential to morale, at least for me. I buy flour by the sack and keep a big barrel of it in the kitchen, but my electric bread maker uses a significant amount of power and takes over three hours to make a loaf.
I need to figure out how to make – and use – a wood-fired bread oven, because when it comes to turning a bowl of stew into a truly filling meal nothing beats a couple of thick slices of fresh bread.
Overall I found this experiment fairly encouraging.
If you have an average-size roof you can install enough solar panels to meet your power needs; the hard bit is having enough battery storage to get you through the night, but larger batteries like the Tesla Power Wall look promising.
Being self-sufficient in food takes more land than I have, and water is a problem, but I think it went pretty well and I’ve certainly identified some areas I can improve on.
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This is great. Those without training or experience are going to suffer if a collapse occurs. Reading the “Going Home” series gives another account of enduring a collapse with martial law adding to the existing off grid scenario. More people need to do this. It can be a wake up call. Water and hygiene to prevent disease are more of an issue than most think. A good read.
“Everyone has a plan until they get punch out.”
People and preppers should include “Murphy’s Law” it works, worked in the old military WWII to Desert Storm. The new military mindset of BOHICA tranny’s, GOD help this nation defeat our enemies and build that dam border wall, drill for oil.
EV’s are a joke.
The book should be named “Going Homeless” in Bidenomics giving an account on America going broke with open southern border and no oil drilling.
The Supreme court giving Bidenomics a win in Texas to have Border Patrol with FED Troops cut the razor wire to let in more illegals.
The Supreme Court has been weaponized against American values.
Biden is a turncoat and Benedict Arnold in conjunction with the non-elected bureaucrats running a dictatorship regime. Those people need to be in prison for treasonous acts upon America.
I think no matter how prepared or how well trained you are, in the event of a true shtf event, collapse etc. Everyone is going to suffer, even if you prep. Obviously some more than others. My best advice to everyone, including myself, is getting used to being uncomfortable/suffering. Get used to being hungry, skip a meal, maybe two. Stay up for 24 hours or more, then go to work. Whatever bad I think is coming happens, it’s not just going to come down to training, experience and gear, it’s going to come down to our ability to endure.
Bugging in or out and staying off the grid is a matter of personal individual interpretation of what prepping is all about.
Regardless of your religious and political beliefs. We can quote the bible verses all day long but that won’t put food on the table for physical nourishment. It will nourish the soul, but we still need to eat to fuel the body.
Politics is like everyone has an opinion on what works for them. Not necessary what works for others.
If you keep voting for Bidenomics your wrong, UN-American. If you vote for independence and freedom you are spot on.
I think the bugout myth and living off grid was started back in the 1970’s by the survivalist movement that was under the same historical events with Carter. Now decades latter we have similar events happening with Biden, gas, food shortages. Now the extra thorn is China and other foriegn countries owning our American farmlands.
When they control food sources, gas, no border control they have the upper hand. Is America waking up or turning over to sleep more as Bidenomics takes America down?
Your cellphone is on the grid, and withdrawal for many will exceed running out of booze and butts. Better to store extra food for hungry neighbors who have plenty of firewood. Hard winter wheat is great until you have to hand grind it, mix dough, and wait 3 hours for warm toast. We need some advise of how to survive on a limited grid.
Nikola Tesla wanted to give America and the world free energy. His backers for funding saw things different as to control energy by metered devices of gas, electricity to make a profit on the Joe and Jane six pack blue collar workers. In today’s society the unions are another buzzkill to the economy. In simple economics the more increase in the living wage myth by aggressive union tactics. The more everything must adjust to pay for increase wages. So the economy gets expensive to fixed income Americans.
So getting back to the off grid myth, in various State governments rules, laws and regulations make it hard to be off utilities that most consumers use.
The elites want us to use climate change green energy electric everything and drive EV’s. While we just want to pay the bills, put food on the table and drive proven gas powered vehicle technology.
What the elites want and what we the people want are like day and night in ideology, globalist versus the common folk.
Make biscuits or cornbread. It’s faster and saves on wood unless you’re already using the over for something else. I have hand grinders for meat, wheat and corn.
Interesting experiment. I wonder if a small wind turbine on your roof would have helped with power generation at night. Most wind turbines (and solar panels) can be connected directly to a water heater element to create heat, such as in a sand battery or water barrel. For most of us in northern latitudes 80% of our power usage goes toward heating our homes and water supply. More wind is available at night due to land and sea temp changes as the sun goes down. In addition, there are other solar solutions you did not employ such as solar water distillation, solar ovens, pumping water through exposed black plastic pipes or barrels to heat water, solar dehydrator etc. I am curious what percentage of your food stocks were consumed in one month. Great article.
Solar power and wind mills are a myth technology profited by China and European energy companies forcing American taxpayers to bleed more money to others.
Solar power is pretty easy to install. There are good books on the subject. Lightly used solar panels are available cheap and will last for quite a few more years so it doesn’t have to break the bank.
The Hugh commercial wind mills are a joke costing more to build and maintain than they produce. Old time water well windmills were efficient machines. They could grind grain, pump water, wash clothes, and more all by how they were configured. Same with old time water wheels. I use solar power but didn’t buy into expensive new panels. I bought up lightly used panels and other components. I did buy new wire and control panels. Reconditioned wheelchair type batteries have lasted for several years and are still working fine.
Not true at all Glenda.
We didn’t need solar and wind mills before Obama and Biden made deals with unsavory characters like China and foreign countries pushing offshore wind farms interrupting our national defense radar systems and killing ocean life like whales and birds.
All that technology is lite enslavement, dependence on China our overlords of America’s defeat. Nikki Haley is a Demoncrat operative RINO, the Demoncrats are voting for her as she is an internationalist, not an American First American.
She spent too much time working as a United Nations politician who got corrupted by UN policy meetings and forgot she worked for the taxpayers.
Used to be wind powered – water wells and during WWII my dad made a wind powered washing machine while stationed on Enowetok attole.
Harness any power to work for you.
No not the same thing, huge solar panels farms and huge commercial wind mill farms are much bigger in proportion of WWII.
These energy farms are an environmental hazard to humans and animals. Taxpayers are subsidize the EV’s, solar and wind through higher taxes. To foriegn manufactures who make tons of $$$$ profits. America does have drop in the bucket domestic solar manufactures. China has the major portion of $$$ to build up their military against our military. Without American taxpayers footing the bill, all electric green energy cost for the average American would be unaffordable.
Although we’re not to the point where you are in our abilities to be self-sufficient, I had a situation this month where the water froze. Though electricity was not a problem, we found areas where we needed to improve our ability to get water. We couldn’t take showers and had to take bucket showers. Because it was bitter cold, we had to heat the chicken’s water.
My husband and I are evaluating how we can do better in the future and what changes we need to make during the coming year to prevent or at least mitigate future water problems.
Camp stoves need fuel but are intense heat for cooking. A satellite phone. Several solar thermoses to heat water in the sun, and do very basic cooking (add freeze dried vegetables, or oatmeal with dried blueberries, for instance.) Grow garlic for health: Garlic is easy to grow, and garlic greens are wonderful, especially with fresh basil leaves. Lentils cook quickly, are good protein that goes with everything. Lima bean powder, you can buy. It thickens soup and tastes good. Grind lentils too.
I do not have one, but there are small solar appliances that either refrigerate or freeze food. Around a thousand dollars each.
How much fuel did you store for your generator? If long term, has will spoil. A propane oven will bake bread, if you have propane. Fuel is a necessary grid purchase unless you beef up your batteries and solar. Maybe add a windmill and drill a well.
How much fuel did you store for your generator? If long term, gas will spoil. A propane oven will bake bread, if you have propane. Fuel is a necessary grid purchase unless you beef up your batteries and solar. Maybe add a windmill and drill a well.
1 year inhardend containers with octain boosters and additives for the last 9mths
I spent years going to area s with out the basics of life and am amazed at how the simple life is so much the same as the complicated life
met many who moved to areas which it took several hours to get just the basics
and was offered much land to move there and become part of those who are poor, have nothing, live with nothing , and dont have the assets to go beyond where they are .
Thats what the BS AD want for you , the nato, who, wef, and other very rich who have no idea what is like to go with out the basics
one thing to talk about it , another to go thru it.
one thing is for sure , easier to go from nothing to having , than to go backwards and go with out
Marshall law always brings out much suffering , Greed, murder, rape, theft
with a society which has always had and never knows true poverty
many countries which have nothing due to their gov. and evil leaders who are evil
So shall this be in the end , as described in the True bible , must really search for to see
so many revisions and changes and many removed original text for thier end .
So much Deception and will get worse
Food, Clothing , shelter , fuel sources , and the like
well we are just about to start the great depression of world starvation and economic control , The End Game , Make YOU worship the system , beast , the anti christ , the one who says he will be like god , as god , and A god
This is the deception .
What will YOU do for food , work , things of pleasure , things which make your life easier
The invasion is so they will control you , make sure you worship them , NOT the Real God , The Truth, The Life from Jesus Christ who died for all mankind and will soon bring the world in to an account for thier choices
Anyone who chooses the lie, the mark , the system , the control mechanism
cannot have eternal life and will perish with all who choose this end .
YOU too must choose , you will be put in this position when the control starts
Think about it . 20 million invasion illegals , with paid cards, motels, travel around your land to start the process , think about it giving Free to invaders , and making the rest go with out , minimal , as little as they can get away with
just think , you work , they take for free , if you think this will change , your out to lunch and will suffer with those caught up in this mess
World wide couu to take down the existing as you know it and set up evil , extortion , control and removal as neccessary .
I’ve been living off grid for almost two years on a 1200 watt panel array… The key to having an abundant power supply lies in storage capacity. At present I have about 2000 amp hours of battery storage witch is plenty to get me through the night running two modern refrigerators, one full size General Electric, and the other much smaller that I used to replace the fifth wheels propane refrigerator. Another thing to be mindful of is your inverter capacity, you typically want all your power stations components to be balanced, and sized appropriately for the expected load on the system. Too large an inverter cannibalizes excessive power just by being turned on with no load, but too small an inverter will overload, and trip out. The exception to this balancing act is storage capacity, you can have as big a battery bank as you want, provided you have the generating capacity to top it off daily. Think of it like a bathtub, versus a swimming pool, as long as you can replenish by day what you consume by night, your storage capacity can be as big as you want it to be. Large storage capacity gives you two advantages, first the batteries won’t cycle as deep, and will last much longer, and second, you have a vast energy reserve for extended periods of undesirable weather… I could write a book about everything I’ve learned about living off grid, the above only scratches the surface of one aspect of off grid living. In closing, there’s a lot to learn about this lifestyle, mistakes can be expensive, and possibly life threatening, it’s not something to be taken lightly.
My Hat is Off for the Author of this article. Two Words for you Mr Mason: EXCELLENT! BRILLIANT!! I would also like to say THANK YOU to the written Comments. Bravo to each of you. Highly intelligent comments are a healthy sign of preparedness in my book. And I have read some Great Copmments on this articlem today. Uplifting and supportive comments invite a lively atmosphere of what America used to be, and needs to be again.
Cheers and Thanks
G.W. Long, North Central AZ, and the Valley of Green.
This Too Shall Pass… “You Know… That Thing!”
A wood cook stove with a water jacket in it,if you have wood (and sticks,twigs & little lumps work too,I know,I’ve collected & used them!) you can,boil water,cook,bake & have water to wash hair,do dishes,or a small shower/bath.
Reading with interest those who are bashing Biden for all kind of things. You are reminded that the power is on, the grocery stores are stocked, the water is flowing, the trash is picked up,no one has come to your door to take your legally owned weapon,I haven’t heard a fruit picker say they have been replaced by a undocumented alien, and Federal law prohibits aliens from voting. That being said a disaster is no respecter of political party in fact it is a neutral event, it effects us all. Division doesn’t help survival…it kills survival. There is no societal collapse on the horizon. But being prepared acknowledges a whole host of possibilities. I prepare now to 1) reduce my anxiety about a possible event and 2) if it ever happens I am assured I can survive until I get to a better place. That better place is one with people and/or resources. That’s what it is about…nothing more nothing less.
Okay WINDY,
You sound like Nikki Haley a double talking RINO.
Let’s all hold hands to dance and smoke a doobie too.
Your talking pie in the sky stuff as we are being flooded by an invading mob on the southern border. You must not be living in a true border State that have high crime rates since Bidenomics rules.
What do other preppers think?
Biden is being bashed for good reason. ALL the good things Trump had accomplished Biden took away his first day in office. He shut down the Keystone Pipeline and has since shut down many other sources of oil.
Yes, the power is on and costing me way more than ever. Some people absolutely cannot afford the price of electricity. (Biden caused)
The water is flowing and costing a fortune (no not Biden’s fault for this one). Mine is moderately priced, but my uncle pays over $100 per month just to have water- he is 81 years old and not using much water. All of his neighbors have sky-high water bills.
My trash is picked up but I get charged a fuel charge fee for the higher gas prices. (Biden caused)
No one yet has had the gestapo come to their door, but Biden and other dems keep trying to undermine the 2nd Amendment.
I dated (for 9 months) in 1982 an illegal fruit picker (ZI didn’t find out until 5 months in) and he’d been brought here at age 15 with his 17 year old brother by his dad and was dropped off in El Paso and told to make a life. This guy never worried about being deported as he said he’d be back in 2 months time. Even in 1982 he knew how to sneak into our country. Biden has opened the entire border and has allowed in over 13 mjillion people (they honestly do not know how many as many come in without anyone knowing). (Biden caused). This will ruin our culture and our country and most of these people only want handouts and they have no love for our country or our laws.
Just read a week or two ago that MA (I believe this is who it was) is going to allow illegals to vote- another democrat making this rule.
Now you know some of why people are so against Biden.
You are right- during disasters we all pull together and help one another and we do not worry about color of skin, gender, religious affiliation or political affiliation. Humans are humans and we help them.
Collapse is coming, we just do not know when. It is not as far as you think as there is a global plan for a one world government.
I do not fear being a prepper as I was dirt poor from November 1974 until within just the past 18-20 years. I’ve lived without running water, an outhouse, raised 8 kids on a shoestring, and began learning how to prep by March 1975. Many people had very hard times in the 1970’s as the recession was brutal, as was the inflation.
I remember tough times of the 70’s too… it was very important to have a job where the payroll checks were good.. if you don’t know how to prepare and cook a squirrel you better learn soon.. Yes it’s much harder than you think..
Thank you for standing up to some of the thoughtless comments associated with this post. I’ve noticed that these feeds tend to have an amplifying effect on people who voice all sorts of opinions and beliefs which have both to do with the content. Rationale is in short supply these days. Peace to all
Amen Windwalker !!
Love , from Ridge Runner .
Hi,
I find this article quite useful.
We live in the North Island of New Zealand
Our climate is quite mild (more than it used to be)
We have 14 panels (max 5.0 kW) and a Tesla battery (14 kWh). Also Gas hot water, heating and cooking hob. plus HW jug, electric fry pan etc.
The electricity runs at 98% when there is enough sun to recharge and export.
However on a grey day or worse the battery will empty (at 12%). we generate up to 30+ kWh per summer day and as low as 1 or 2 kWh on a cold wet winter day.
In winter the electricity does not keep up with usage. In fact quite pathetic.
If SHIT occurs we would need to use a fire pit and Dutch oven to cook.
I plan to build a pizza oven which would cover the cooking needs and could provide some hot water??
Hot water and heating are the outstanding issues.
I have a 3000 litre water tank but not yet installed.
Food storage for dry goods is ok but fridge and freezer present significant electricity usage. Will have to be rather diligent on conservation.
Thanks for your article, there is more to do.
Ian S
Solar panels don’t work well in the snow country USA States. We still need coal fired plants to produce electricity.
Electric vehicles in the snow country are useless, a hybrid or gas vehicle is better suited.
The best way is too use all forms of technology together not just go all electric.
I have 12, older 150w panels and 8 , 100 ah 12v batteries wired to power a 48 v system. I run a regular home size fridge and a small fridge in summer. No separate freezer. I have a 100 w panel with a 100 ah 12v battery I used like a generator. I cook and heat water on wood either indoors or outdoors year around. I love the many new rechargeables mostly using USB ports. Lanterns, laptops, flashlights, smoothie blenders ect. I also use12 v vehicle lights run off of the generator for camping and a reading nook at home. Rainwater catchment in 330 and 370 gallon wire cages containers. Sent to 55 gallon drums for animals and garden. Most setup gravity fed. Gravity drip irrigation to trees and soaker hose and p in garden.
I have 20, 270 Canadian made solar panels to upgrade to. 300 sun day average here annually. My 8, storage batteries will last 3 days and nights if I’m carefull. I’d like to add more batteries. They are the key to sucessfully going solar.
I grow mixed grains for the chickens and several alfalfa plants u harvest weekly to share with chickens and rabbits and an area I can close off where I grow a mixture of things for both rabbits and chickens. Rabbits and chickens will eat kitchen scraps, leftovers, and garden excesses. What is left after that goes in the compost.
I agree adding a bit of meat to gravy’s, pot pies, pasta sauces, and beans makes them more satisfying. With chicken, rabbit, or venison I aim for 4 oz servings. Doves or quail, if I were hunting, one per serving or more for hard working men. Sun dried green beans and onions developed a meaty flavor of their own. Plan ahead and prepare well.
I have both electric and manual flour mills. Even a manual meat grinder with the sausage stuffing attachment. A hand cranked apple peeler and much more.
Great experiment!
As an agency emergency manager, I spent the last 25 years trying to convince fellow federal managers to prepare for the many contingencies for which we have plans. I was only successful getting a few of them to start, even when I was at FEMA HQ. It wasn’t much better when I served in the Army. This is just one reason why our country is not very well prepared for contingencies. We all must prepare our families and communities — the cavalry will probably be late and a dollar short.
I think everyone needs to consider exactly how to cook and bake…in the article you were trying to cook something in a crock pot which takes all day. They have Pressure Cookers that you can put on top of a wood stove OR..and electric pressure cooker NINJA Foodie..you can cook an entire roast in twenty minutes instead of cooking it all day in a crock pot…this also applies to a pressure cooker on top of a wood stove…NOW…in regards to bread…instead of baking bread how about making PITA…OR..NAAN..bread. You can simply drop the dough on top of a wood stove and it will be done in 2 minutes ..or in a hot pan with no oil….also you can make Tortillas..which are just flour and water..and drop them on a hot pan…I think the cooking and baking should be thought out a little better
I rewired my house addition, no electricity for a week. I heated 1/2 gal. of water on the camp stove and used a pump up 1 gal. garden sprayer for showering. Mix it with cool water until comfortable, don’t burn yourself. I could stand in the shower, rinse, soap up with a washcloth, rinse, shampoo my hair and rinse it all off with less than a gallon used. My plan for off grid cleanliness
Thank you to the author for your trial and for writing the article. Thank you Claude for making it available to us. This is exactly what I would hope will make up the majority of the articles presented. Everything presented rings true, solar power can only be small portion of the daily power for the household. Burning wood can be a good option for space heating, cooking, and heating water. The issue of wanting fresh vegetables sounds very familiar, that was the case in Vietnam where a lot of our army food was canned. We would eat locally grown tomatoes and cucumbers but the higher-ups disapproved because of local sanitary practices and the risk of disease. We did it anyway, I guess the risk seem small compared to that of lead poisoning(getting shot). Anyway, thanks for your insights.
I would suggest having a rocket stove and use that for heating water. Once the water is heated, either use right away or use some and store some in thermoses or other insulated bottles for your hot water needs throughout the day. I have a few of those shiny coffee carafes that hold a half gallon or so. In an extended outage, one can be kept at the sink and useful for washing things with warm water.
Mixing done of the hot water with cold water in a camp/solar shower will give you a warm or hot shower. Sounds like you have a bathroom so you can tie the solar shower bag to the shower and use that.
A wood stove inside can provide heat and a cooking surface. Too hot for summer use most likely.
To make bread, you can make it by hand, put it in a cast iron pot (Dutch oven) and bake it with coals from a fire. Sounds as though you were alone, so one loaf should last a few days. You can also make bread in your crockpot.
You can also make bannock bread, which takes about five minutes and complements any stew or soup.
For figuring protein needs, I go with a minimum of four ounces meat, fowl, or fish.
I have Luci lights I use for camping, and they are handy in the house, too. They can recharge in sunlight/daytime conditions, so no need to use stored energy for them.
A good experiment to try for sure. All of us can learn a bit when we turn off modern energy switches
For lighting, use Alladin kerosene lamps, non pressure, mantle style, equal to 60w elec bulb…..take a look at Lehmans.
Today Be Thankful , you are still recieving the benefits of Gods Grace and Love
as they are , and will be taken away in time
like everything it takes Time , it takes time for the long train to stop and you feel the effects
sudden stop means train wreck
sudden calamity, koas, total anarchy
still take s time
when is the question
Why is already determined
like sowing a crop , reaping the benefit
like the boiling of the frog in the frying pan
nobody wants to loose and go down with the ship
everyone want to survive the coming collapse
but not everyone wants to make the sacrafice or give up something in the process
that is why failure
when the faucet is cut off , what ever you have will be your starting pt .
Then the crime sprees will begin
as in proportion to those who have integrety, conscience and ethics
you may see life as a protected idealogy , but there are many coming that see life as a thing to lie to , take from , steal from , get all you can to survive
The Human Condition : self, lust, perversion, liars, cheets, thieves most of the elite, politicians , crime familys, those who never work only scheme on the lower class
The God Given Option : Jesus Christ salvation to all who believe , trust, follow
Ten Commandments of the old testiment . Seek , Read , Try to understand why
A little trick I learned in the military during cold weather training. If you are in a cold winter weather locale, with minimal heating available, this trick will help you stay warmer at night while you sleep simply by using your metabolism. We were taught to eat your biggest warm meal immediately before bed, and to lay in your sleeping bag or bed with blankets while eating. Your body will create more heat while digesting your big meal and keep you much warmer, plus you pre-warmed your sleeping bag or bed before trying to sleep. It worked for me. Luckily, I live in Florida now, so wintertime cold isn’t too bad even if the grid goes down. But I did camp out at a Scout leader’ course when the nighttime temps went down to about 15 degrees F. I slept in sub-zero weather in the military so 15F is not a biggie to the prepared. Knowing the cold temps were predicted, I had food available to eat in my tent before I went to sleep as our provided evening meal was served a little too early to provide the body heat you want. Unlike some of my colleagues, I also had a warm sleeping bag, clothing, and some extra snivel gear like a wool watch cap, etc. Oh, and a trucker’s pal for those middle of the night bladder interruptions to keep my exposure to the cold at a minimum.
Pay attention to the chemistry of any batteries you consider for your solar / wind systems. Old school lead acid is very simple and refresh-able (empty, flush and replace the acid) to extend their lifespan. Most batteries fail due to debris in the bottom of rectangular cases that short-out the vertical plates. Sealed zero maintenance batteries are nor refresh-able. Lithium is a known fire risk so if you choose that chemistry for batteries make sure you locate them where a fire will not spread.
You might consider getting a small wood cook stove., You can find them at yard sales, and some resale stores yard sales and some people who don’t have a mind will give them away. We bought one in the 90’s and in 2000 a friend gave us a camping wood stove. It’s small but it works. I use a wood heat stove also to heat and cook on (soup or chilies. I have learned to cook breakfast on it and other similar meals Just be sure to be extra careful around the stove and teach the kids to stay away from it unless you have taught them about uning them only for cooking
Much has been mentioned about using propane and gas generators when the EMP strikes but those people forget that there will be no electricity to pump the gas to bring you the propane or the gas for your generator. We will have to have to find other ways to power our homes and cook our meal. We will have to have a way to get drinkable water and water for all other necessities because water districts will not be able to pump any water for our use. people need to start studying up on the items and skills they will need to survive.
I was very disappointed in the people who tried to bring politics into the discussion of off grid living and survival techniques and facts. Any smart person knows that regardless of which party is in control of our government we will need to be knowledgeable of HOW to survive and live because NO government party will be here to help us! We will need to learn to be able to survive on our own.