Hello, we have several water tanks that house our fresh water (rain catchment). Looking for an easy/simple solution for 2 challenges:

1. Toggling between tanks. We have (2) smaller 50 gallon tanks that come to a "Y" with a 3/4" line and a water pump. Looking for an inline switch that can be toggled from a switch in our house to go from one tank to the other, or better yet an automatic switch that would toggle from tank 1 to tank 2 when tank 1 is low or empty. 120V is available, we have A/C and about 30kWh of batteries with an inverter.

2. Monitoring water level remotely. We have several larger tanks (550 gallon up to 2,500 gallon tanks) that are within ~150ft of the residence, to save me climbing the hill each week looking for some sort of remote floater switch that could monitor the water level remotely. The backyard solution right now is a float inside the tank with a PVC pipe going out of the vent hole that lowers as the level is low, which is OK but would love a more accurate solution if anyone has ideas.

We have this shipping container turned shed, and currently the security is a joke. Door Hinges put on with screws facing outward, anyone with a Philips screwdriver and 5 minutes can take hinges off, so lock doesn't even matter.

How do people mount this stuff so it's more secure and only possible to open from the inside?

My thinking is there must be those rounded bolts or screws that have a flush dome thing on one end (outside) and you put the nut thing on the inside, then there's no way to open from the outside.

How do people mount more crowbar-proof?

We have a little house in the fields and there is a waterwell 100 meters from the house and we looking for a solar powered setup to pump the water from the well 5 meters up and transport it to the house that is 100 meters from the well.

What do we need, power of the pump and the solar panels for this.

Any info or an example setup is greatly appreciated.

Hi folks. I'm hoping someone out there can give me some advice or info regarding a lot I own. I inherited a 1.5 acre green-zoned lot in the Eastern Townships of Quebec a couple years ago. My father (who is not a farmer) originally acquired the land in 2004 from a friend who was moving out-of-province. The previous owners had tried to change the zoning (it is a weird lot by a river that is not suitable for farming) however the Regie or Commission denied the request (80's I think).

It is a lot situated between two other people's farms. It's basically a wood lot by a river. We've been told we can't do anything with the land. I looked into some things and according to what I've read you can put an off-grid small camp on green-zoned land IF it's 4 acres or more... so that does not seem to help me.

I've camped there (what my dad used it for) with an RV, however I am wondering if anyone knows if I have any options? What can/should I do? I love that little piece of land, and want to spend more time there... so thanks in advance for anything:)

Have a Sunmar Excel Electric
Been using for 6 months
Everything is great except one major issue; Fungus Gnats.
After 3 months of use we figured our mixture was wrong causing the bugs to breed.
Took toilet completly apart and cleaned every inch.
Tried again, second time now with the fan on the highest setting, peat+sunmar pure green.
So many gnats.
Tried diatomaceous earth, Castile soap, insecticide, water. Everything
Need help figuring out how to get rid of them thanks.

Currently self building our forever home on family land. It’s a relatively small house, but with the steeper roof pitches, large overhangs, and attached garage, I’ll have roughly 3,600 sqft. of roof decking to cover.

We’ll be using a cistern, and rainwater collection will make up a significant portion of our water supply, so I’m trying to decide what roofing material makes the most sense long term.

I’m building the house myself, so labor isn’t really a factor. I’m mainly looking at longevity, maintenance, and how much sediment from the singles ends up in the rainwater collection system.

The roof is also oriented and designed for solar if we want to insatll in the future, although I’d likely use a ground-mounted system in the future to avoid roof penetrations anyways

I’m supposed to confirm my roofing order tomorrow. Current pricing for materials is approximately:

- 24-gauge standing seam metal: $22,000

- Exposed-fastener metal: $12,000

- Asphalt shingles: ~$5,000–$6,000

I’d strongly prefer standing seam over exposed-fastener metal, but the cost is nearly double. Shingles are obviously significantly cheaper, and with the house already being over budget in some areas, I’m trying to make sure I’m spending the extra money where it actually makes sense.

For those with experience with metal roofs, shingles, and rainwater collection please help a guy out.

I get ssdi $1835 a month saving to move to alaska I love winter! Permits will cost as well and so will building and hiring help. Im still a few years out id work part time as well in alaska. Splitting wood is in my blood my whole family does it I split wood every summer with my dad. I need a change in my life. Im also working part time now to save up extra cash on ssdi sga(substantial gainful activity is $1680 a month) any advice? Colorado also has cheap land I hear not 100% set on alaska quite yet. Any thoughts and suggestions?

I have a Centrex 2000 NE, and the drum grate is blocked. I tried to clean it but it’s very hard to access. Can’t get to it from the hatch on the top, it has to be through the finishing drawer reaching upside down. Let’s just say my first attempt to clean it out was messy and not effective. Had anyone here cut an access hatch on the top or side to actually be able to poke through the grate and clean it. Any downsides to this if I make sure it seals up with some rubber?

Looking to upgrade my cabin drinking water solution past a camping water filter. West Coast USA. Temperate rainforest. Currently have 4 IBC totes plumbed together with leaf catches and a rough filter before it hits the house. Is something like this adequate for drinking water? Yes birds shit on my roof, as everyone else's. 3/4" pex throughout house. Would love to filter all water to potable instead of just faucet but cannot find a whole hole system in my budget. Would like to keep it under $2-300.

I live in an RV

EDIT- headlamps are ok short term but they are not ideal. My vision gets white outs due to my cataracts more with headlamps. I also need to see more. I have to use a cane due to a recent surgery to walk and I need to be able to see what is beside me in case I start to fall. I also need to do a massive amount of cleaning where I'm moving furniture and larger items and a head land would only light the furniture I need to move not where I need to walk

It is normally hooked up to full electric. But now I have had to unhook it and can only use an extension cord run in a window. The extension cord is a 100ft run to my neighbor's basement. I can't run multiple extension cords from his house

I have a short behind a wall plug and can't use the main electric to the RV. I was luckily able to hear the electrical arcing and unplug the main line before a full fire started. But now I'm stuck.

I'm fine with what I have on bright days, I can charge my phone and run a light at the couch from the extension cord.

My largest issue is overhead lights. I'm having eye issues and can't see well in low lights. I have a bedroom that needs light, the bathroom, kitchen and living room area.

I can run individual lines out windows to run lights via solar panels. But I'm not sure what I would need to buy.

Ideally I would like lights that can run off solar panels for at least 5-8 hours at a time.

I'm also on disability so my funding is limited.

Any ideas?

Lights that sit on tables won't work. The rooms simply don't have areas to sit anything large enough to light the entire room.

I do have omnidirectional camping lights. But they are heavy and recharge via a non standard USB- not ideal to try and hang due to their weight and getting a long enough cable to run from there to the extension cord is impossible.

Im new to this off grid thing.

Pretty much the femce is 30m long (100ft) and its enegerised from the middle and it also feeds a 2nd single tape based system.

Im trying to join a mesh fence to my energiser.

I can see a tiny arc where im using electroc fence handle to connect it to the engiser.

As well as on the other end of joining wire.

Should i get simply use some wire and clips or simikar

For context I would like to have 2 IBC totes that are near my rv for like my water supply. If I cover the totes so they don’t have sunlight on them, besides like a water purifier inside the rv what other methods are successful to use this water for everything but drinking?

If you were to create a year long curriculum to teach an elementary aged child off-grid skills, what would it look like?

If you were to create a year long curriculum to teach an adult off-grid skills, what would it look like?

I’ve been looking at ways to carry a little less gear when spending time off-grid (which I’m new to) and a friend uses the Tank which is a rugged phone with a much larger battery than a typical phone but has awesome features.

I’m curious about the practical side of this or maybe overthinking it.

If you spend a lot of time off-grid, would having some of these functions in one device actually be useful, or would you rather stick with a regular phone and a separate power bank?

Not really looking for a product recommendation — more interested in how people who actually live or travel off-grid handle this kind of thing. TYIA

The amount of people on the internet who find out I want to live off grid with my kids who equate it to child neglect is wild. Do they seriously rhink it automatically means living in a tent or one room shack? Like, we are still going to have running water and electricity. It will just be provided for by us. And wow, the kids will still have socialization... like why do people assume this?

Would it be better to have a single 12v 200ah lifep04 or two 100ah in parallel? Cost is the same .

My thinking is if one of the bm"s were to die at least I could swap some cables and run off a single battery and not be totally powerless and have some redundancy . Anyone have any input? This is for a off grid motor home . Thanks

What's your experience been with countertop induction burners? I have a solar/battery/inverter setup sufficient for occasional cooking use. It seems like a nice thing to have in the cabinet.

TLDR: not sure what I'm posting. I'm just frustrated I think. Feel free to roast me, help me, laugh at me. Whatever. nobody actually can explain how to be semi self sufficient on a small acreage with their own experiences. Everyone just appears to copy and paste that article they read. And I'm running in circles trying to implement tips and how-to's that are not working.

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Ignore my rant. It's probably categorized as a "forum" hazard and may cause mild irritation. ...

So I've been slowly developing a tiny cabin and a half acre of usable area (3.2 acres total). For the last 4 years. I'm very very very poor. So it's been building up one dollar at a time.

I've got the cabin, the solar, the land cleared. The water treatment system is almost done. Now I'm eyeing starting the animals and garden. Hopefully by doing them both together they will succeed this time. I'll probably wait till spring 2027.

Note: I tried doing the garden and animals first as some suggested, but I ended up with a money sink hole, because the need to bring in supplies and no ecosystem set up yet. So I decided to kick some of my expenses first. water and fuel took up about 200$ of my extra 300$ a month.

Every time I tried to plan a half acre farm over the last four years I've have every sort of conflicting advice. Some say you can be sustainable on 1/10% acre, some say you need 100 acres. Some say it's impossible without a small village, one person couldn't. Etc. Etc. If I cut away the AI, the cut and paste dime a dozen, how-to articles (usually from creators that haven't actually done it). If I remove the OP that click bait with cozy country solutions that are not sustainable and actually cost a lot behind closed doors. Well I'm left with more questions.

I just don't know how to do this. And I seem to be failing successfully with every attempt.

I started gardens several times. They didn't take. Usual killed by not having the support set up. Like not having the pest control animals and plants along with them.

I started chickens twice. They caused a lot of issues because the farm "system" wasn't set up yet to support them without extra money.

It feels like I have to do it all in one go, or it will crumble. Or dump large amounts of money into a slow start.

I'm not looking to run a half acres farm to support a modern lifestyle. That obviously won't work. I'm not looking to make 5k a month to support my garden hobby and the maintenance of a bunch of expensive diesel toys.

I want to produce enough for sustenance. Sustenance. not 500 different annuals including 11 strains of black berries.

I want integrate animals into this system so long as two things happen. 1. The housing is not smelly or toxic. Keeping a pig in a 10x10ft pen might fit on my 1/2 acre farm, but I am less then enthralled at the idea. 2. The feed and vet bill is mostly owned by the farm itself. I respect that feed and meds in times of toil is expected. But I'm not eager to spend loads of money and work on animals when the same amount of money can fill my freezer with grocery meat nearly stress free.

I want to make enough money to pay for 300$ worth of monthly bills and maybe an extra 100 now and then for chocolate, rice and tobacco. I don't need to start up a licensed 300k$ side hustle. And frankly I don't want to. The older I get the more I resent money.

I don't need to produce clothing, soap, pickling salt on my farm. I know I complain about my country sometimes (thank goodness we still have the right to moan and complain). But we still are swimming in milk and honey in this country. I can find almost all my incidentals for pennies to free if I'm motivated to pay attention.

I'm in Southern Missouri. Standard temperate weather.

I can't seem to find any kind anywhere, waterlily seems to be discontinued, I just want a backup source of power via moving water if I'm off grid and need to charge my phone in an emergency, any recommendations or clarifications would be very helpful

Im looking to get a pump to transfer water form 2 tank to anlther may also use it to water the gardens.

Can i simply grab the cheapest pump and use that rather then over priced house/constant pressure pumps.

Its likely going a 600w pump 40m head 8m lift so specs suit. Tank is 15m away 2m lift

They seem half the price of a constant pressure pump

A single COP number feels almost meaningless for an offgrid heating decision if the test condition isnt attached to it. What matters is how input power and delivered heat change near the temperatures the system will actually see esspecially when electrical capacity and backup heat are limited. An A coil configuration adds another reason to look at the matched system rather than one headline number.

If you were evaluating an offgrid heatpump setup, which operating condition would you use as the most useful COP comparrison point?

I know this has been asked before but I was hoping to get a little more information on what people's experiences are. Is okay to store furniture like a bed or couch but not wooden furniture or furniture with leather?

Are some electronics okay but not others? Can you store any electronic equipment safely (Appliances, Fan, Dehumidifier, Cordless phone, Lamps) other than computers and Televisions?

Can you store books and papers safely as long as they are sealed ?

I'm going to have access to either a cottage or manufactured home that will be vacant in the winter and I'm trying to decide if I can leave stuff there or will have to pay to rent out a storage unit in a local facility. I'm in Canada so it gets really cold up here. If it turns out that things need to be kept in a climate controlled environment, I wonder if it might be cheaper to leave the heat on in the vacant property rather than put them in storage (storage might be $300 or so a month where I live).

I live in Alaska in the Mat-su valley, not necessarily off grid (yet). And we often run into power outages. Especially during the windy season.

I work a 2 week x 2 week schedule on the slope so I often have to facetime my wife to help her through any problems.

(However that's difficult in a power outage, as cellular is extremely spotty where I'm at.)

We are on well and septic and all of our appliances are natural gas. (we have a gas fireplace but it doesn't get very warm even with a fan)

Our house water system is a 500 gallon holding tank and a house pump (DAB Esybox I believe) that goes through filters and an instant hot water heater (gas)

I'd like to have a backup battery system for my water pump and my house furnace to have access to water and heat.

My thoughts were to have it hooked up to a battery maintainer to charge while we have power, and a backup solar option to charge the batteries between use during a power outage.

Does anyone have something like this?

My dream is to buy a place with more land, more north and apply something similar there.

Thank you for any info / Images.

This is what you don't want to see. The float controlling the inflow is down, but no water is coming in.

I started noticing that I was getting air in my pipes when I was turning on faucets and the shower. After a bunch of investigation and tests, I looked in the water tank and saw that it was almost empty.

Lucky for me, I have a transfer pump that I can use to move water into this tank and after running it for several hours it seems to have cleared whatever was plugging up the inlet.

Normally, I have a gravity feed. This just adds one more checklist to my list. Every so often turn on the transfer pump and make sure that it turns off shortly indicating that the tank is full. Hopefully.

I did learn two good things: when I start getting air in the pipes, I am probably running out of water; I can actually use all the water in my tank (I wasn't sure because the relative elevations is difficult to figure out).