Going Off The Grid....am I Fucking Crazy?

[donmekka]

Ok as of lately I have been giving the thoughts of going off the grid and doing the homestead thing. It would be a huge culture shock for sure. It would be in very canna friendly state so I am thinking of setting up a large ish 40x60 greenhouse( (all legal of course) <you have no idea how great that would feel!! ). The scary part for me is I have a great job with a good amount of seniority vac security ect...
Anyone here living off the grid? Hows family life ?Hows the quality of your life?Please tell me your experiences!

 

[Wee Zard]

Yes.

Been dere! Did dat!
Trust me, it gets old
:D

Weezard

 

[LittleDabbie]

I couldn't live without my grid...

 

[donmekka]

We have small solar & wind plus 1 5k gas and one 8k diesel geny a satellite/internet and running water so we're not really roughing it. Its family's and looking to buy them out.

 

[kolah]

There's lots of ways to live and define it as "OFF-GRID." With enough cash you can live in style. Without a lot of cash you have to rough it a bit and build as ya go. It sounds like you got a damn sweet deal there. I'd jump on it.

I've been off grid for over 8 years now...living in about 200 square feet of housing....and what I call bare bone living (no running water, 300 watts of power with only two 6 volt batts, enough to run a few lights and my laptop. No TV or radio and a outdoor shithouse. I hunt, fish and grow my own food and my only real luxury is internet. I like it just fine and I make small improvements as I go. My only debt is 2 more years on the land note then I'll start building a real home, get a water cistern (and pump) and expand my solar power.

 

[donmekka]

Kolah thanks for checking in bro. I enjoyed viewing the pics of your place you have posted ! They have been a inspiration.

 

[below frigid]

In the process of moving off the grid. Well is in, septic is in. Concrete piers are poured, half of the 24- 6x6 post are up. House will be 1664 SF and have 10 kwh per day of solar. 5 miles from the nearest power pole.

 

[donmekka]

Awesome below frigid!

 

[kolah]

Thats super nice, fidgid...and I dig the set up...nicely elevated house on simple cement piers.

 

[TeterPosh]

The limiting factor seems to be how much power you'll need or how big your grow would be, in addition to your regular living needs (which aren't that big of a barrier by themselves, power wise), because running something like an 8,0000w or larger grow setup with off grid power (solar, wind, propane or diesel or natural gas generators, hampsters on wheels, child labor, doesn't matter), is both expensive to setup and operate, and often more expensive in both cases than just paying the regular on grid power bill.

Typically, I believe, the only way solar on a large-ish scale is feasible cost wise is because of state or federal grants which subsidize the up front costs, but those are typically residential only and are fairly limited, probably not enough to cover this sort of setup.

If money is no object, or at least not the main problem, then a brute force method of simple generators and a big propane or diesel tank will get it done, but generators that large are many thousands of dollars.

Do you know your daily kw/h needs for power, for your home and your grow, because that's the determining factor, along with water usages.

If I could I'd be way off grid, but we can't seem to make the numbers work when we've looked into it.

Good luck. I'm curious to see how you and others tackle this challenge.

 

[Bulldog11]

Not off grid, but I did move out of the SF suburbs. I have a well, yet I am connected to city water. Septic, looking into getting solar, but connected to the grid right now.

So I can't speak on getting 100% off grid, but the lifestyle is soooooooooo much better out of the city. When I return to the city now it drives me nuts and I have only been gone for 9 months. Life changing for sure. Good luck.

 

[donmekka]

The limiting factor seems to be how much power you'll need or how big your grow would be, in addition to your regular living needs (which aren't that big of a barrier by themselves, power wise), because running something like an 8,0000w or larger grow setup with off grid power (solar, wind, propane or diesel or natural gas generators, hampsters on wheels, child labor, doesn't matter), is both expensive to setup and operate, and often more expensive in both cases than just paying the regular on grid power bill.

Typically, I believe, the only way solar on a large-ish scale is feasible cost wise is because of state or federal grants which subsidize the up front costs, but those are typically residential only and are fairly limited, probably not enough to cover this sort of setup.

If money is no object, or at least not the main problem, then a brute force method of simple generators and a big propane or diesel tank will get it done, but generators that large are many thousands of dollars.

Do you know your daily kw/h needs for power, for your home and your grow, because that's the determining factor, along with water usages.

If I could I'd be way off grid, but we can't seem to make the numbers work when we've looked into it.

Good luck. I'm curious to see how you and others tackle this challenge.

The plans as of now are going to be to strong arm it with a generator until we can afford to go completely solar. The house power is covered already and just need power to run fans and maybe some lights to keep em in veg early on .So if needed another 8k diesel should have me covered.

 

[donmekka]

Not off grid, but I did move out of the SF suburbs. I have a well, yet I am connected to city water. Septic, looking into getting solar, but connected to the grid right now.

So I can't speak on getting 100% off grid, but the lifestyle is soooooooooo much better out of the city. When I return to the city now it drives me nuts and I have only been gone for 9 months. Life changing for sure. Good luck.

Thanks for chiming in Bulldog. I would think being more in tune with the earth would lead to a better lifestyle.

 

[donmekka]

Now the hard part! Picking strains that do well in up north and by the coast lol about as bad as it gets . @Bulldog11 any recommendations ?

 

[Bulldog11]

GSC's do well in a moist environment. Ganja Rebel had a strain called 5g's red that had amazing mildew resistance. Ancient OG from Bodhi seeds did very well for everybody I know outdoors with zero mildew. I don't think you want a chem dom variety, as those take longer to flower and can be hard to grow in area's like yours. Something quick like a good c99 cross maybe? Blue Dream obliviously. Blueberry would do well.

If anything else comes to mind I will share it.