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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 11:42 pm 
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We're going to have to pay $378 to get the value on the other lot. This so called "retro-appraisal" will allow us to add the property to the mortgage, which would allow us to build on that property without the need to do another appraisal. These are the positives. I'm trying to stay optimistic. :mrgreen:

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Tue Dec 17, 2013 11:21 pm 
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The meter pole is installed!

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Here's the first grounding rod

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Here's the second grounding rod

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 9:30 am 
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In your area are alpacas still money makers? Or are they for personal enjoyment? My neighbor, actual ex ,just moved to Florida. Son has them 20-25 and lost 2 or 3 cria's. With the costs of care and vet bills, he's not making money.


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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 10:44 pm 
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Here's a 10' foot section of culvert and the piece that connects the 20' foot piece to make a 30' foot culvert. The black roll is driveway fabric (12.5’ X 360’ roll).

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Getting the ditch dug out for the culvert.

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It's pretty common to have the ground frozen at least 12" inches down this time of year, however, we've had a very warm season so far. The ground is still frozen, but only a few inches. With the day time temps now hitting in the 50's, it thaws pretty quick once you start working the ground.

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Last edited by dieselenthusiast on Wed Dec 18, 2013 11:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 11:10 pm 
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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 11:12 pm 
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Cherrie 274 wrote:
In your area are alpacas still money makers? Or are they for personal enjoyment? My neighbor, actual ex ,just moved to Florida. Son has them 20-25 and lost 2 or 3 cria's. With the costs of care and vet bills, he's not making money.


That's a tough question. The well established alpaca ranches are making good money. The smaller alpaca ranches are more for hobby. New Mexico has one of the largest alpaca ranch's in the Southwest with approximately 200 head on 1,100 acres. In general, alpaca are very low maintenance, disease resistant, and their birth rate is highly successful. I would certainly question why he has lost 2 or 3 cria with such a small herd. Here in New Mexico you can raise a herd on land that would not support even a pair of cattle. Alpacas are gentle on the soil with small appetites. There are also several tax advantages to owning alpaca which helps.

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 11:20 pm 
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yellocoyote wrote:
Progress being made - nice!

Not nearly enough snow there yet. ;)


We've had some really warm days/weeks. You can see a little bit of snow on the sandstone bluffs and in the shady parts on the ground. We never know what we're going to have this time of year. We could have 2' feet of snow on the ground or in this case almost none. I've been out on the property nearly every weekend taking advantage of the good weather! Heck, I just recently mowed 3 acres!

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 Post subject: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 11:35 pm 
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I can't remember what it was that took them. His vet is apparently knowledgable about alpacas.
He had them sheared/ shorn and had good wool(?) that he sold. I guess you get a report back on the quality and he had a some real good wool.
The son has MS and can't care for them, without help. His folks spend a lot of time with him in spring and summer.
So it might be his folks opinion about not making money.

Want some of Michigan snow? I think we've had snow since Thanksgiving.


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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 12:38 am 
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Cherrie 274 wrote:
He had them sheared/ shorn and had good wool(?) that he sold. I guess you get a report back on the quality and he had a some real good wool.


Alpaca fleece is called fiber since it has no lanolin, which makes it hypoallergenic. Fiber is warmer, softer (not prickly), and is naturally water-repellent.

Cherrie 274 wrote:
Want some of Michigan snow? I think we've had snow since Thanksgiving.


We've had various snow fall since October, but these warm spells has kept it from accumulating. Our big snows typically occur in January, February, and March. A few years ago we had 4' feet of snow on the ground at one time.

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 2:38 am 
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I knew they told me the young had a different name so I googled. I got lazy when I posted wool(?).
I had sheep when I was young. One of our horses bit mine and I still have the mouth full wool. It's still oily 40 years later.
I still think about raising sheep, again.
Regret not getting some acreage. Guess that ship has sailed.


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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 11:56 am 
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Cherrie 274 wrote:
I knew they told me the young had a different name so I googled. I got lazy when I posted wool(?).


That's why I clarified!

Cherrie 274 wrote:
I still think about raising sheep, again. Regret not getting some acreage. Guess that ship has sailed.


You can always get acreage, it just may require that you uproot and make some sacrifices. It's something that we've had to do many times. We moved/lived/worked in 5 different states in 6 years. It's taken a long time and a lot of sacrifices to get where we are, but eventually it all comes to fruition.

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Mon Dec 30, 2013 10:38 pm 
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Looking good. Your power pole, with outlet, looks just like the one I have. We pulled power on our land about 8 years ago when the price was cheap. Now all we use it for is charging our cell phones when we are camping/fishing. Hopefully this year we will put up the barn. It's my retirement land so I'm in no hurry to get things going right now plus paying as we go will help out once we decide to move there for good.

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 3:13 am 
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CIMARRON13 wrote:
Looking good. Your power pole, with outlet, looks just like the one I have.


I was picky and requested a pole that looked good and was straight! I've seen some poles that were old looking and chalky and/or had a bow to it. This pole was still a little green and even had traces of bark on it!

CIMARRON13 wrote:
We pulled power on our land about 8 years ago when the price was cheap.


Everything you see in the above pictures (pole, box, labor, etc.) cost me $1,500. It was a good deal in my opinion. Running electric to the well and beyond will cost me though!

CIMARRON13 wrote:
Now all we use it for is charging our cell phones when we are camping/fishing.


We had to have water and electric before qualifying for a construction loan, so that was the biggest benefit. Once we get power hooked up, we have considered living in our camper. All we would need is the well pump, pressure tank, and septic.

CIMARRON13 wrote:
Hopefully this year we will put up the barn. It's my retirement land so I'm in no hurry to get things going right now plus paying as we go will help out once we decide to move there for good.


What's the purpose for the barn? The more you can do now, the easier it will be later on. My suggestion is to make a list of all the things you need done in chronological order and begin to accomplish them as money and time permits. This is what I would have done if I had already known which property we were going to build on.

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 3:33 am 
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dieselenthusiast wrote:
CIMARRON13 wrote:
Looking good. Your power pole, with outlet, looks just like the one I have.


I was picky and requested a pole that looked good and was straight! I've seen some poles that were old looking and chalky and/or had a bow to it. This pole was still a little green and even had traces of bark on it!

CIMARRON13 wrote:
We pulled power on our land about 8 years ago when the price was cheap.


Everything you see in the above pictures (pole, box, labor, etc.) cost me $1,500. It was a good deal in my opinion. Running electric to the well and beyond will cost me though!

CIMARRON13 wrote:
Now all we use it for is charging our cell phones when we are camping/fishing.


We had to have water and electric before qualifying for a construction loan, so that was the biggest benefit. Once we get power hooked up, we have considered living in our camper. All we would need is the well pump, pressure tank, and septic.

CIMARRON13 wrote:
Hopefully this year we will put up the barn. It's my retirement land so I'm in no hurry to get things going right now plus paying as we go will help out once we decide to move there for good.


What's the purpose for the barn? The more you can do now, the easier it will be later on. My suggestion is to make a list of all the things you need done in chronological order and begin to accomplish them as money and time permits. This is what I would have done if I had already known which property we were going to build on.

The barn will be a metal biulding that will eventually be the house. Right now we maintain our ag exception by keeping cattle on the property. Half the barn will be the house and th other half will be the shop. We don't have a deaded easement so getting a building loan is not possible. Pay as we go is the only option

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 4:07 am 
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CIMARRON13 wrote:
The barn will be a metal biulding that will eventually be the house. Right now we maintain our ag exception by keeping cattle on the property. Half the barn will be the house and th other half will be the shop. We don't have a deaded easement so getting a building loan is not possible. Pay as we go is the only option


Ah, gotcha.... You have your own challenges too, huh? :lol: Pay as you go is always the best option. We're somewhat taking that same philosophical approach through small loans and paying them off before requesting additional funding. Our combined property is now 2/3 paid off in which the bank was happy to take 1st position on it (low risk). We pulled a loan when the well was drilled and paid that off within 4 months. We now have a loan for the meter pole, electric, and driveway. We should have that loan paid off in February. I'm putting together another loan proposal for the well pump, pressure tank, and electric hookup. I'm sure the bank is tired of me, but I'm in their noses every chance I get. :mrgreen:

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Wed Jan 01, 2014 12:47 pm 
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dieselenthusiast wrote:
CIMARRON13 wrote:
The barn will be a metal biulding that will eventually be the house. Right now we maintain our ag exception by keeping cattle on the property. Half the barn will be the house and th other half will be the shop. We don't have a deaded easement so getting a building loan is not possible. Pay as we go is the only option


Ah, gotcha.... You have your own challenges too, huh? :lol: Pay as you go is always the best option. We're somewhat taking that same philosophical approach through small loans and paying them off before requesting additional funding. Our combined property is now 2/3 paid off in which the bank was happy to take 1st position on it (low risk). We pulled a loan when the well was drilled and paid that off within 4 months. We now have a loan for the meter pole, electric, and driveway. We should have that loan paid off in February. I'm putting together another loan proposal for the well pump, pressure tank, and electric hookup. I'm sure the bank is tired of me, but I'm in their noses every chance I get. :mrgreen:

The good thing is we don't have to deal with building permits and have gotten work done on trade. We let our electrician hunt for a weekend for hooking up our fuse panel and quad box on the pole. Only cost was the materials used.

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 9:47 pm 
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Using driveway fabric eliminated the need to go through a lengthy process that would normally start by using a 2" gravel base. Once the 2" gravel gets worked into the ground (4 - 6 months of driving on it), then 1" gravel is used as the next layer to fill in the gaps. Once 1" and 2" gravel is beat into the ground (2 -4 months of driving on it), then a thick layer of crush is spread over that. So rather than going through that process, we had 4" - 5" inches of crush laid right over the driveway fabric. There will be very little maintenance needed on this driveway. The fabric keeps ruts from forming and the rock from sinking into the ground. Depending on soil conditions, I've seen 2" gravel get swallowed up and the driveway in need of repair in less than 2 years of use. The driveway fabric may cost a little up front, but the money saved in gravel makes up for it fairly quickly. Gravel is paid for by the pound, so you don't get as much gravel with crush as you do with 1" or 2" gravel; however, the powder that comes with crush does become like concrete which makes for a nice smooth driveway. 2" gravel will cut, chunk, and/or puncture tires. 1" gravel isn't easy on tires either. Crush is the way to go in my opinion.

The driveway was constructed at one of the higher points on the property and situated in an area that usually does not see snow drifts. We also didn’t need to worry about putting in bar ditches since the driveway is relatively on flat ground and not in an area where water will runoff during monsoon season.

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Last edited by dieselenthusiast on Sun Feb 09, 2014 12:24 pm, edited 4 times in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 2:44 pm 
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Given your conditions (excellent solar recovery potential, excellent water conditions from the well) have you given any consideration to construction of one or more elevated cisterns? They could present an interesting way for storage of both water as well as power...
Using solar to run the pump(s) needed to bring water from the well up into the cisterns, then using the reverse flow of water to re-generate electricity. You'd essentially be creating your own hydroelectric system, as well as providing a pressurized water supply for your needs. You might not even need a tower depending on your terrain (i.e.: you have sufficient vertical drop to create pressure to run a hydroelectric generator) and even possibly have it be an almost closed-loop system... upper and lower cisterns.

I have no idea if it'd even be feasible or how productive it would be in terms of energy recovery, but it's just a thought that popped into my head.

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 10:16 pm 
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sota, your ideas have logic and would theoretically work, however, there's a lot of situational involvement and cost factors in the scenario you presented. Workable? Yes. A good solution for me? Probably not. The hydroelectric system is a fantastic setup for those who have a natural flow of water though. You have the right idea for sure. Thanks for posting.

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 Post subject: Re: Going off the grid
PostPosted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 2:07 am 
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Over the last several months we’ve been designing an electric/solar/hand pump water system. Part of the design includes the construction of a well house that will be large enough to adequately hold the necessary equipment and protect the system from freezing temperatures. We decided that an underground vault (below the frost line) would be the best setup to meet these needs.

The well house will be a concrete cast that is 5’ feet inside diameter and 8’ feet deep. A 36” x 36” aluminum hatch will be cast into the concrete lid. There will be steps cast into the side of the vault to maximize space. The bottom of the vault will be open to the ground to allow draining in the event of a leak. There will be 7 holes precast in specific locations and sleeved to specific sizes. The holes will be used for electrical and water inlets/outlets. The entire well house is reinforced with rebar with two layers of concrete mesh.

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Last edited by dieselenthusiast on Sun Jan 26, 2014 12:16 am, edited 4 times in total.

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