How to Live WELL "Off Grid" Without Power or Help

 
User avatar
wsherrick
Member
Posts: 3744
Joined: Wed. Jun. 18, 2008 6:04 am
Location: High In The Poconos
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Glenwood Base Heater, Crawford Base Heater
Baseburners & Antiques: Crawford Base Heater, Glenwood, Stanley Argand
Coal Size/Type: Chestnut, Stove Size

Post by wsherrick » Mon. Dec. 16, 2013 3:07 pm

carlherrnstein wrote:I'll vote for the Aladdin mantle lamps. I picked up 2 of them a yard sale for cheep. You do have to watch them, they have their particularities, mainly the mantle breaks or gets carbon deposits on it.
Yes, you have to learn how to use them. The two I use the most is the one in the living room. It is lit on most winter nights. And the one on my desk which is lit all the time. Once you learn how the lamp behaves you know just how high to set it so that you don't get the sooting up of the mantle from having the wick too high. You must be patient. It's not the actual flame from the wick that makes the light, it's the heat from it. As the lamp warms up it causes the kerosene in the wick to vaporize faster, which causes a higher flame. If you start the lamp and leave it on a low setting, you will notice it getting brighter all by itself as it warms up. After about 10 minutes or so everything is up to temperature and then you can tweak the setting for it properly.


 
User avatar
freetown fred
Member
Posts: 30292
Joined: Thu. Dec. 31, 2009 12:33 pm
Location: Freetown,NY 13803
Hand Fed Coal Stove: HITZER 50-93
Coal Size/Type: BLASCHAK Nut

Post by freetown fred » Mon. Dec. 16, 2013 3:07 pm

INDEED ws--everything but the OINK :clap: toothy my recurve is not all that difficult to make arrows for ya know--
wsherrick wrote:Another big part of living without electricity is PLANNING AHEAD. Also a keen awareness of the environment around you is also necessary. In the old fashioned, non pre-packaged, non instant world I was raised in everything had to be thought out ahead of time. Mother would be planning lunch during breakfast, for example. Laundry day took the entire day and you still had to make three meals too. Laundry is the hardest thing to do without a washing machine in my mind. It's a like a factory process that includes Mom and all available children forced into laundry servitude. You have to plan for all of that labor and manage your time wisely or things just don't get done, period. You don't have proper meals or clean clothes. If you don't manage the garden in the summer, sit on the porch and shuck corn, shell peas or pluck feathers. You have nothing to eat for the Winter.
When November comes it's hog killing time. You can't slaughter before a hard freeze. From the hog comes your soap, lard for cooking biscuits and making pie crusts, bacon and everything else that you will eat over the winter. If you forget to buy enough salt then you waste your effort and things go waste.
The greatest maxim of childhood which was beaten, scolded and disciplined into my psyche more than anything else was this: You waste nothing. Waste was a sin and an affront to almighty God. If you thoughtlessly wasted what you were blessed with, then you didn't deserve it.

 
User avatar
009to090
Member
Posts: 5104
Joined: Fri. Jan. 30, 2009 10:02 am
Location: Live Oak, FL

Post by 009to090 » Mon. Dec. 16, 2013 8:08 pm

freetown fred wrote:INDEED ws--everything but the OINK
and that is how we made Scrapple.... Everything but the OINK goes into it

 
User avatar
freetown fred
Member
Posts: 30292
Joined: Thu. Dec. 31, 2009 12:33 pm
Location: Freetown,NY 13803
Hand Fed Coal Stove: HITZER 50-93
Coal Size/Type: BLASCHAK Nut

Post by freetown fred » Mon. Dec. 16, 2013 8:24 pm

Damn it Chris, now ya got me thinkin about Hatfield :mad: ;)

 
User avatar
dcrane
Verified Business Rep.
Posts: 3128
Joined: Sun. Apr. 22, 2012 9:28 am
Location: Easton, Ma.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Crane 404

Post by dcrane » Mon. Dec. 16, 2013 9:07 pm

lsayre wrote:I'm interested in being capable of surviving off grid also. As part of this I've been considering a hand pump as an addition to our existing well. But now the idea of putting one in the basement suddenly intrigues me.

http://bisonpumps.com/
Larry, I was shocked how easy it was for me to hand pound with a sledge a 2" point down about 17 feet to hit pure clear water below my foundation (i gained 6 feet instantly by virtue of being in my basement), these points are stainless and can be bought at home depot or whatever... idk if im just lucky or I hit the "mother load" river but this thing drives a 6 zone 60 head sprinkler system! I have no concern of freezing temps or taking pumps in and out, etc. (the one thing that bugs me a little is the noise for the few secs when it comes on to fill that tank).

 
User avatar
dcrane
Verified Business Rep.
Posts: 3128
Joined: Sun. Apr. 22, 2012 9:28 am
Location: Easton, Ma.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Crane 404

Post by dcrane » Mon. Dec. 16, 2013 9:15 pm

wsherrick wrote:For light you need to get some Aladdin Mantle Lamps. They are the best kerosene lamps made. They produce light equivalent to about a 50 Watt light bulb. I use them all of the time.
Life without electricity requires a rhythm of being that works with how nature works. When the Sun comes up. You get up. You take advantage of the daylight. The evenings are spent in contemplation, reading or going to bed early.
It's the way things were done for 1000's of years. Your body is naturally set up to live like that.

My new Avatar is of one of my Aladdin Lamps working during Hurricane Sandy. Be smart get a couple of these. There are plenty of them on ebay and they still make part for them as well as entire new ones.

You can also buy refrigerators that run off of Kerosene or Propane. They work just as well as the electric ones do.
Ha! 50w bright would be great! what makes these Aladdin's so good?
@ Fred... see^^^ William is drenched in bright light over their during outages! I knew their had to be an answer better than these useless candles :mad:

 
User avatar
DePippo79
Member
Posts: 734
Joined: Tue. Mar. 05, 2013 3:17 pm
Location: Hampton, NH
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood Oak 40, Stanley Argand No. 30, Glenwood Modern Oak 114, Stanley Argand No. 20 missing parts.
Coal Size/Type: Anthracite. Stove and nut size.
Other Heating: Oil hot water.

Post by DePippo79 » Mon. Dec. 16, 2013 9:17 pm

I like this guy on youtube. Type "wranglerstar" in the search bar. He's a modern day homesteader. Not a hippie tree hugging
type. He uses gas, diesel, tractors, chainsaws, etc. Lots off good how to video's. Wish I could be self sustaining. Getting sick of having to deal with people. Matt


 
User avatar
dcrane
Verified Business Rep.
Posts: 3128
Joined: Sun. Apr. 22, 2012 9:28 am
Location: Easton, Ma.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Crane 404

Post by dcrane » Tue. Dec. 17, 2013 7:10 am

DePippo79 wrote:I like this guy on youtube. Type "wranglerstar" in the search bar. He's a modern day homesteader. Not a hippie tree hugging
type. He uses gas, diesel, tractors, chainsaws, etc. Lots off good how to video's. Wish I could be self sustaining. Getting sick of having to deal with people. Matt
love that dude too!!! sometimes he's a lil' crazy though... id hate to be the dude on cam while winching the cat out :eek2:

 
User avatar
freetown fred
Member
Posts: 30292
Joined: Thu. Dec. 31, 2009 12:33 pm
Location: Freetown,NY 13803
Hand Fed Coal Stove: HITZER 50-93
Coal Size/Type: BLASCHAK Nut

Post by freetown fred » Tue. Dec. 17, 2013 7:30 am

I'm trying to figure out how we got to this wrangler thing when this started out as " live well "OFF GRID" without power or help--(self sustaining)-I guess I've got a REAL different understanding of exactly what that means to different people :? :)

 
User avatar
Sting
Member
Posts: 2983
Joined: Mon. Feb. 25, 2008 4:24 pm
Location: Lower Fox Valley = Wisconsin
Other Heating: OBSO Lennox Pulse "Air Scorcher" burning NG

Post by Sting » Tue. Dec. 17, 2013 7:36 am

I believe we were recently chastised for this type of behavior!

Too Many Non Contributory and Off Topic Posts

:D

 
User avatar
Rick 386
Member
Posts: 2508
Joined: Mon. Jan. 28, 2008 4:26 pm
Location: Royersford, Pa
Stoker Coal Boiler: AA 260 heating both sides of twin farmhouse
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: LL Hyfire II w/ coaltrol in garage
Coal Size/Type: Pea in AA 260, Rice in LL Hyfire II
Other Heating: Gas fired infared at work
Contact:

Post by Rick 386 » Tue. Dec. 17, 2013 8:13 am

Sting wrote:I believe we were recently chastised for this type of behavior!
:D
Naw, the way I interpreted that warning was referring to the upper section of the site. I think we are allowed to wander all over creation here. He wants to keep the upper section clean for search engines.

So FF, how many arrows do you make over the winter ?? Do your chickens have ANY feathers by spring time ???

I can't see how anyone can live totally off the grid in an urban environment. You need space. At least enough space to get the outhouse away from the main house !!!

Rick

 
coalnewbie
Member
Posts: 8601
Joined: Sat. May. 24, 2008 4:26 pm
Location: Chester, NY
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: LL AnthraKing 180K, Pocono110K,KStokr 90K, DVC
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Invader 2
Baseburners & Antiques: Wings Best, Glenwood #8(x2) Herald 116x
Coal Size/Type: Rice,
Other Heating: Heating Oil CH, Toyotomi OM 22

Post by coalnewbie » Tue. Dec. 17, 2013 8:33 am

Wind, sun, water, whale oil, coal... I want some recommendations for cheaply, efficiently, functionally going "OFF GRID" and living like a KING!
Well Rick, I am now a convert. I am going down to the duck pond and catch me a whale or two and make some lamp oil. This is going to be exciting.

 
User avatar
freetown fred
Member
Posts: 30292
Joined: Thu. Dec. 31, 2009 12:33 pm
Location: Freetown,NY 13803
Hand Fed Coal Stove: HITZER 50-93
Coal Size/Type: BLASCHAK Nut

Post by freetown fred » Tue. Dec. 17, 2013 9:00 am

Chicken feathers??? how URBANE ;) I agree 100% Rick, in urban areas, it will come down to--survival of the fittest both physically & mentally--there will be a WHOLE LOT of weeding out there. The Creator has given us so much on this earth that could keep a person going for an awful long time--all this talk about kero, gardens, etc--my question is where would people get the petro or seeds to harvest--ya really want to talk survival or some yuppy version of when we loose power for a couple hrs? If anybody saved those Mother Earth News from the 70's, there is a whole lot of realistic info available :)

 
coalnewbie
Member
Posts: 8601
Joined: Sat. May. 24, 2008 4:26 pm
Location: Chester, NY
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: LL AnthraKing 180K, Pocono110K,KStokr 90K, DVC
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Invader 2
Baseburners & Antiques: Wings Best, Glenwood #8(x2) Herald 116x
Coal Size/Type: Rice,
Other Heating: Heating Oil CH, Toyotomi OM 22

Post by coalnewbie » Tue. Dec. 17, 2013 9:27 am

Yes FF, so many people think those times were romantic. You worked from dawn to dusk just to survive. Mod. cons. are just that and most of us can't live without them.

 
User avatar
SMITTY
Member
Posts: 12496
Joined: Sun. Dec. 11, 2005 12:43 pm
Location: West-Central Mass
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520 Highboy
Coal Size/Type: Rice / Blaschak anthracite
Other Heating: Oil fired Burnham boiler

Post by SMITTY » Tue. Dec. 17, 2013 9:51 am

Yep - we saw first hand when Hurricane Sandy rolled through that most east coast dwellers completely melt down after just one week without power. :shock:


Post Reply

Return to “Coal News & General Coal Discussions”