Living Off-Grid

          So, recently the conversation has come up in my life about living off-grid.  Me, being from Wyoming, am 100% on board with off-grid living.  Has this goal been possible yet? Not quite.  There are many factors of living off-grid that need to be accounted for, prior to making that leap.

          One of the main things to think about, is what kind of off-grid are you thinking is best.  Yes, off-grid is mostly a lifestyle choice, but when you get into the idea, it opens up a black hole of information, choices, and sacrifices.  While writing this article, I must admit that this is a completely theoretical ideology of mine.  I don't currently live off-grid, I don't see myself going off-grid for a few more years, at least.  These are my thoughts, ideas, considerations, and possibly my own way of creating myself a long-term plan, and goal path.  My way may not always be the easiest, or the correct way, but it's my way.

          The first to consider, like stated above, is what type of off-grid.  When you are considering off-grid living, you will learn there are indeed different types.  Do you want to be completely self reliant?  Do you want to be self reliant as far as utilities go, but still have a 9-5 and utilize the grocery store and other first world amenities?  To me, going off-grid needs to be a leap of faith into the world of self reliance.  I think that in order to go off-grid, you need to fully take care of yourself and the loved ones that will join you on this journey.  You shouldn't have to go to the grocery store for every single meal.  You should have everything you need at the end of the day.  Now, is this feasible for everyone?  The short answer, no.  It isn't always ideal for every situation.  You can certainly consider yourself off grid if you are living on a secluded piece of property, are on your very own alternative energy source, and utilize an alternative source for your water.

          Power.  Face it, it's 2018 and everyone needs power.  The old fashioned way of life is dying.  Personally, I have found a great deal of enjoyment in using old school hand tools.  Hand planes, hand powered drills (you know, the old fashioned auger type, that you have to spin by hand), chisels, hammers, hatchets and saws.  Let's be real, it's a serious step to voluntarily opt to use tools that require physical exertion, when you can reach across the work bench and grab the ol' Ryobi or Dewalt.  I am guilty of sometimes cheating and using the power tools.  Think about it, sometimes I just have one or two holes to drill, or a couple screws to run.  Would it be smarter for me to dig out the hand tools, or the power tools?  Just because you live off-grid, doesn't mean you are an old timey pioneer that doesn't have options.  If you have the money and know-how, or have done your own research, you can have as much power as you will ever need.  It is all limited to what you can, and want to do.  If I build a big enough battery bank, and have enough solar panels to sufficiently and efficiently keep these batteries charged, and keep my night time power consumption (if using solar), to fall within those bounds, the options are endless. 

          Alternate energy is a complex, yet simple concept.  You must have your source of power.  Maybe not a source, let's dub the battery bank as the power storage system.  Okay, let's go full hypothetical here.  I have twelve 12V Batteries with an 8Amp Hour (Ah) life.  This means that each battery can power a device that draws one amp for 8 hours, or 8 amps for one hour (you get the idea).  Now take the 12 batteries and wire them in PARALLEL, this means positive to positive and negative to negative.  This doesn't change the voltage output.  This simply combines the capacity of the batteries.  I started with twelve 8Ah batteries, wired them in parallel.  Now I have essentially created a giant battery that is still 12V, but now instead of 8Ah, it is a 12V battery bank with a capacity of 8x12.  This gives me 96Ah capacity.  Now, we jump to the charging source.  There is an abundance of alternate energy sources.  You have Solar, wind, and water. 

          Solar is a little different compared to wind and water, so we will circle back to that shortly.  Wind and water/hydro, utilize the same basic concept, rotation.  The alternator on your car is a great example, and possible solution for these steps.  The alternator spins round and round to create the charge for your battery.  In your car, the pulley is spun by the serpentine belt.  In order to use an alternator to charge batteries, there has to be a way to spin the alternator.  This can be done in both wind and hydro setups.  Wind, if you live in a locale with a decent amount of wind, setting up a wind turbine and connecting it to an alternator, will provide the charge needed.  Get you a wind turbine (or windmill) and connect the alternator to the blades using a chain or belt driven system, then the alternator to the battery bank.  As the wind blows through your area, it spins the blades, which spins the pulley on the alternator, which charges the batteries.  The benefit to wind is that if you have wind, night or day, you are charging.  The downfall of a wind system, is that if you don't have wind, you aren't charging.

          Water or hydro power.  This setup utilizes the same basic concept as the wind turbine, but instead of the wind spinning the blades, it utilizes the current of the water to spin the blades.  This system only works if you have a flowing water source nearby, or the massive amount of wire and cable to reach a flowing water source.  Everyone has, at some point in their life, seen the most important part of a water system.  The water wheel.  You have seen them in movies and pictures.  These can be created fairly easily.  one way is to set up a log or other circular piece of material that can spin and wont roll away from you.  Then you create a round housing around that.  One way of doing this would be an old metal 55 gallon drum.  Cut flaps out of the side (only cut three sides of your rectangle).  Then bend these out to create fins that catch the current of the water forcing the barrel to spin.  then out on the edge of the water (on shore) place your alternator and attach the belt or chain system to the end of the center support pole.  Now you have a spinning water wheel that will spin the alternator's pulley, creating your charge.  This system will need regular maintenance.  You should check on this regularly to prevent a catastrophic failure of any kind.  Face it, gravity is something we have.  It can and will pull the whole system down into the water.  The benefit to a water system is that, as long as there is water flowing and spinning the water wheel, you are charging the batteries, day or night.  The downfall, again, is that water is a constantly changing thing.  Summer might bring drought, which will take your water level down.  You have the snow melt in spring, taking the run off and increasing your water level, carrying your whole system down a raging river, which used to be a pleasant little stream.  Now you have no power and have to rebuild, and possibly find or replace your parts that are now missing.

          Another alternative power source is solar, or the sun.  We all know of, or have seen, someone that utilizes a solar system on their house.  This concept can be extremely tricky, and involves a lot of math that I am not 100% sure about.  You have to know how much power you use, to make sure your system receives enough charge to carry you through the night, through cloudy bad weather days, and so on.  You may not always have the best sunlight, or not enough sunlight in your area (seasonal issues).  A quick Google search can guide you on how to learn how much power you consume, and how many and what size solar panels you will need.  I think most of my research has told me to position the panels in a Southern direction.  There are angles and degrees and whatnot that have to be calculated for your area to maximize your sunshine use.

          So, back to theoretical land.  We have our charge source all set up, we have our battery bank all set up.  Now, we have to connect the two.  There is another very crucial step here.  You need to have a charge controller to make sure you don't overcharge the batteries, this also prevents batteries draining, and a voltage meter so you can always see the charge level of your batteries.  The next thing needed is an inverter.  Battery power puts off DC or Direct Current.  You need AC, or Alternating Current, to power your household devices.  So, your charge system is connected to your alternator, your alternator is connected to the charge controller, which is connected to your battery bank, which is now connected to your power inverter.  Whew! This topic seems to have opened my eyes quite a bit, and now I feel like I have been rambling.

          One important step that needs to be discussed.  Voltage.  A 12V battery system will  not be able to power everything.  There just isn't enough juice here.  Which brings us to another step.  Wiring the battery in series. To connect batteries in series, use a jumper wire that is thick enough to handle the current, to connect the negative terminal to the positive terminal.  This now has changed two of your separate 12 V 8 Ah batteries into one big 24 V 8 Ah battery.You can do this as many times as needed to create enough Voltage to carry your load.  Now you should have an open positive and open negative, creating your larger battery with two smaller ones.  

          We also need to discuss battery types.  Lead Acid, deep cycle batteries are your best bet, these batteries are designed to be discharged and recharged several times.  But, you never want to over discharge your batteries.  This is why we have the voltage meter and charge controller in place.  Sealed Lead Acid batteries require much less maintenance.  The other type is a "flooded cell".  This is the type that you have to constantly maintain the water level.  This will add extra maintenance to your system.  

          So, initially I talked about both water and electricity.  This got away from me a little bit, so we will create a new article in the near future discussing water sources.  I hope this helps answer a few questions.  Remember, I am not an expert, and do not know everything.  This is all information that has been gathered in my off and on years of research.  I hope it answered some questions that you may have, and has helped in your journey to becoming an off-grid member of our great nation.  

Tim

Fire Starters on A Budget

          Okay, so I was surfing YouTube a few weeks ago, like I do most every day.  I came across a video of a guy that claimed to have made 100 fire-starters for about $3.  Of course, I was skeptical.  For those that don't know, the main source of heat that we use at my house, is my Fisher wood burning stove insert.  I am always looking for ways to make the process easier and faster.

          I went ahead and tried it out.  Honestly, I am so glad that I did.  Go to your local dollar store, buy a pack of "cotton rounds", these come in a pack of 100.  Then get two candles of your choice, I used those tall religious looking ones because of the amount of wax you get for $1 each, and they come in fairly decent colors (you will learn why in just a minute).  In total I used almost a whole pack of the Cotton Rounds, and the two candles we bought.

          This is how to make these nifty little fire-starters.  Prepare your work area.  You will need parchment paper or aluminum foil, your cotton rounds, tongs or pliers (that you don't really care about), a pan or metal bowl to melt the wax in, and your candles.  You can get the wax out of the candle however you choose, I used a trusty old butter knife and my wife,  She dug the knife in and carved all the wax into a little metal camping pot I use for "garage projects".  I actually just did my part to go green and save the planet.  I already had a fire going in the wood stove, so i just placed the metal pot right on top of the stove to melt the wax.  You can probably put the candle right on the stove or however you want to retrieve the wax is up to you.  I then laid out my cotton rounds into little stacks and placed them on the counter behind my parchment paper.  Now keep in mind, most things I call mine, are actually my wife's, and she normally doesn't know what I'm doing.  For example, I couldn't find the old silicone tongs we have, so I used a loose leaf tea ball contraption she has (to be safe I did count that she had more than one).  You then dip each cotton round into the wax.  They do tend to soak up a massive amount of wax, so we only dipped one side and then laid them down so that the wax dripped down through the other side.  Let them dry, and then store in a Ziploc bag, or even batch into stacks of five or ten, and vacuum seal these to keep in a bug out bag, or survival kit.  My first batch is in a gallon Ziploc bag by my wood stove.

          I take mine out when it is time to use it, and just basically push it down over my thumb, breaking the wax and exposing the cotton interior (you can see in the video what I'm talking about).  I normally rip mine in half for maximum cotton exposure.  I then place on a thin flat piece of wood inside my fireplace.  Then light the starter and gently place your kindling on top of and around the flame.  I normally go with the tee pee route for kindling placement.  Then gradually add your bigger wood pieces.

          I was skeptical at first.  I experimented with the first couple and actually timed the burn time on these fire-starters.  I must say, I am rather impressed with these.  They average just shy of 6 minute burn time per starter.  That 6 minutes allows a decent amount of time to gradually build the fire up without fear of burnout.  I have been using these for about two weeks now, and I have only had to use one per fire started, I imagine that if you get capable enough, you can use half of a starter per fire.

          I hope you find this as useful as I did.   And keep checking back as we add more content (more frequently now I hope). 

Mock-Spaetzle and Mock-Cheese-Spaetzle

Boil and strain any kind of egg noodle/pasta. Add a teaspoon or so of vegetable oil, and stir.

Note: This works best with broken fettucini, but rotini or standard egg noodles work too. If you can find it, use actual Spaetzle, which sometimes can be found in the foreign foods aisles of some grocery stores.

While the noodles are still hot and slightly wet, put them into a bowl. Mix in a few dashes of nutmeg, ground black pepper and salt - use as much or as little as you like. Stir with a wooden spoon until well mixed

Add a few tablespoons of softened butter, and stir. The noodles will become slightly sticky, and serve well with a spoon.

I like to add a dash of dried parsley for looks at this point, but it's totally optional.

For Mock-Cheese-Spaetzle, mix in some glassed onion bits. Put it in a bread pan, and top it with some mozzarella and/or cheddar. Heat it in an oven until melt.ed.

Roast Beast Toppings

1-2 lbs Mushrooms
1-2 lbs Baby Carrots
1-2 Onions
A fistful of Parsley, finely chopped
Beef Stock/Broth
Ground black pepper

Boil some mushrooms in beef broth until cooked.

Cut the onions in half, then slice the halves and separate the layers. You should have long, thin pieces.

On a high heat, sear the carrots in a pan. Cook it good and hot until the carrots start turning brown/black on one side, then add the mushrooms (w/out the broth), onions, pepper and parsley. Once the onions turn glassy, add just enough of the broth to cover the bottom of the pan. Scrape anything that got stuck to the bottom of the pan and mix it all together. 

Remove from heat and serve as a side to dark or roasted meats. 

Convert this into a soup:
Bring the Broth to a boil, and throw a fistful of noodles into it. Once the noodles are cooked, add the veggies back into the broth.

Convert the veggies into a stew:
Instead of adding noodles, use diced celery, large potato pieces and some pieces of left-over roast. Once the potatoes are cooked, add the veggies back to the broth. Done!

Danny’s Roast Beast

This is based on a couple of German recipes for Sauerbraten & Roast Venison. It is best served with spaetzle, a German egg noodle. I’ll include a recipe to imitate a more gourmet spaetzle variant at a later time. I vary the seasoning depending upon availability, remember that everything here is approximate, and I often omit two or more ingredients, such as onions and mustard seed. I never leave out the salt, bay leaf or the red wine – it wouldn’t be right without those.

3-6” Fir or Spruce Twig, washed well
- Alternately: use a small handful of fir or spruce tips
1 Onion, coarsely chopped
1 cup dry red wine (or more if you like)
1-2 bay leaves
4 dried juniper berries
1 Tsp Mustard seed
¼ tsp Allspice
10 black peppercorns
2lbs Venison or Beef
- You can use a leg, back strap, tenderloin or any kind of red meat roast as long as it is low on gristle

½ tsp Salt (I like using ground sea salt, but it shouldn’t matter too much what kind you use)
2 tbsp butter (unsalted)

Marinade the Beast:
In a medium saucepan, bring the red wine, bay leaf, juniper berries, mustard seed, allspice and peppercorn to a boil. This helps to release some of the flavors into the marinade. Pour the hot mixture into a large bowl and add the onion and fir/spruce.  Let it cool a little, we don’t want to cook the meat at all yet. Add the meat while the marinade is still warm. It should be enough to just cover the meat – if not, add more red wine. Cover and refrigerate for 24-72 hours.

Sear the Beast:
Remove the marinated meat from the bowl, pat it dry. Sprinkle salt on it (or grind it if you wish). In a large pot (ideally one that can be baked), melt the butter and sear the meat on a medium-high heat. Make sure to get all sides, leaving the meat to sit for a while on each side. The pan should be hot enough to cook only the outside of the cut while leaving the center cool and raw. This seals the moisture and flavors in, while a making firm, flavorful outer crust.

Optional step: Before searing, rub an excessive amount of salt into the outer layer of the meat. Let it sit for no more than 10-15 minutes, and then rinse it thoroughly. This further retains moisture and tenderness in the meat, while making the crust savory/salty. Be very careful not to over-salt it or let it sit too long though, as the salt will overpower the flavors.

Roast the Beast:
Pour the marinade into a separate bowl and set it aside for now. Remove the fir/spruce form the sieve and discard. Put the rest of the sieve contents into the pot with the meat. And simmer for 3-5 minutes. Add the marinade back to the meat, and bring it right to boiling. Use a wooden spoon or a whisk to loosen the fond (the scrapings from the bottom of the pan) and stir it into the marinade. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the meat for 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 165F.

Optional Step: If you want the beast to be fall-apart tender, put the whole pot in the oven at 165F for a few hours before continuing.

Set the meat on a rack in the oven to keep it warm while you work on the rest. (if you slow-roasted it, use a baking sheet instead)

Roast Beast Gravy:
In addition to the Roast Beast Marinade, you’ll need:
½ cup Sour Cream
2-3 Tsp cornstarch
OR
½ cup Sour Cream
2-3 Tbs butter, or oil
3-5 Tbs flour

Strain the Marinade one last time. Discard the contents of the sieve. Mix the sour cream into the marinade. At this point you have two options:

Cornstarch:
Thicken the gravy with cornstarch – In a separate bowl, mix cornstarch with just enough cold water to dissolve it to the consistency of milk. Bring the Marinade to a boil in a saucepan, then rapidly whisk in the dissolved cornstarch. Remove from heat as it begins to thicken.

Roux:
Roux can be used instead – melt butter or lard or any kind of edible oil in a saucepan, whisk in flour until it has the approximate consistency of toothpaste or buttercream icing. Continue to heat and whisk until it is as golden brown as you would like it (darker works best for this recipe). Remember, though; the longer the flour cooks in the oil, the more roux you will need to thicken the gravy. Once the roux is just right, begin to slowly whisk the marinade into the saucepan. Remove from heat as it begins to thicken.

Extra Points for Roast Beast toppings:
Boil some mushrooms in beef broth until cooked. Sear some carrots in a pan. Cook it good and hot until the carrots start turning brown/black on one side, then add the mushrooms, diced onions, and finely chopped parsley. Once the Onions turn glassy, add just enough of the broth to cover the bottom of the pan. Scrape anything that got stuck to the bottom of the pan and mix it all together. Set it aside.

Serve the Beast:
Pull that Roast out of the oven and put it on a platter. Slice the meat into ½-1 inch pieces.  Lay it next to a nice pile of spaetzle (or mock-spaetzle) and top it all off with the carrot/mushroom toppings and a little gravy.

A couple hour trip to the store

        It's 5:45 AM, it is currently 51 degrees outside.  Over the next two hours, the temperature will actually DROP 4 degrees.  Just East of Yellowstone National Park, my dad and sister are headed out of town.  It's elk hunting time!!  They arrive at their determined vantage point to "glass" the area around 6:20 AM.  Within a few short minutes, the elk are in sight, it's a smaller herd, but they are elk.  There is only one problem with these elk, they are hanging out on private land.  Now our hunters must wait and see where these four legged walking grocery stores are headed.  In the distance, they can hear an elk bugle.  They notice that three little "rag horn bulls" are headed up the river, in the direction of the public land.  They jump back in the truck to head these elk off.  My dad and sister are in luck, these elk walk right through a slice of public land that sits in the middle of private land.  Not only did these unsuspecting beasts walk right into the kill zone, they were only 100 yards away!!  Now to wait and get the perfect shot.

       The elk are now in a position to be taken.  My dad shoulders his 30-06, lining the sights up on the lead bull (the one on the left pictured above).  He gets the right sight picture and squeezes.  The lead bull is now in a pile on the ground, DIRECT HIT!  My sister lines up her shot on the newly appointed lead bull (now about 40 yards further out).  She is using her grandpa's 270win.  This elk only got to lead the herd for a short moment before, he too was piled up.

      The current time 7:15 AM.  In roughly an hour and a half, my sister and father "shopped" for OVER 400 lbs of fresh meat.  

     To some people, this is the best way to fill your freezer for the upcoming winter.  If you were ever a kid going hunting with your dad, the thought probably crossed your mind; "who decided that we should put hunting season in late fall/early winter?"  Well, whoever decided that, knew that the upcoming winter was the best time to have a full supply of fresh meat.  

The Basics

My name is Tim.  I have been a licensed amateur radio operator since 2015.  I live in the High Desert area of California up in the mountains.  We are prone to wild fires, floods, and occasionally snow.  I currently live near one of the most dangerous dams in the country, it is man made, and sits on a fault line.  I have found radios as an extremely reliable form of communications.  Here is where I will share my limited knowledge and things that I learn as I go.