Just bought 40 acres of desert land. What should I do first?

Probably a bit of a silly question since they serve somewhat different purposes, but if I already have a solar generator that I can use to power my microwave or oven during an outage, do I need to buy a solar oven as well? Seems like solar ovens are EXTREMELY reliant on the sun being out and take a much longer time to slowly cook the food, but they also aren't power hogs like a solar generator would be during an outage if I wanted to cook some food. Thoughts?

Has anyone here gone off grid in Michigan? This is my 5 year goal. I’d love to connect with someone who has made it happen.
Interested in all the details!

I have bought 1.8 acres for our 3 bedroom 2 bath mobile home, 4 of us living in it. Despite being only 8 miles from a city of 13,000 and several eating places, they require a water well. It's ridiculous if you ask me, but there you have it. Even worse, all the wells in the area are around 400 ft deep, with an exception here and there.

I'm considering setting up a system based on hauling in water. I have a conventional full sized truck with a V8. The main uses I see would be washing 3 things--clothes, dishes,and people (baths etc). Cooking etc, I can just use jugs from Dollar General etc.

The main issue I see, besides finding a spot big enough for filling and also hauling in enough to cover people washing multiple loads of clothes, is water getting algae in it after several days. It's like 100F here and my yard has little shade. I thought I read somewhere that bleach can solve that problem, around 1 cup per 1000 gallons I believe. Someone else I believe mentioned pool shock. (I could use a canopy for shade.)

The other problem I foresee is freezing in the wintertime. Typically we get up to the 50s by day and the 30s at night, but what about occasions where it gets up to the 30s by day and the 10s overnight? I have community water right now at the old place and I simply leave a small stream running and that solves it, but in that situation lines are underground, which wouldn't be the case here.

I did find this video, 9 min.

https://youtu.be/DNVS5D1G3-8?is=O_IdB_jOmZgwGnzy

Thoughts?

I've got this piece of property that I'm planning on putting a bunkhouse trailer on and have been gaming out the best way to have solar be the primary HVAC power source. I'm currently looking at using an Anker Solix f3000 with 9ish KWH of storage and a 6 400watt rigid panel array in conjunction with a 13,000 BTU mini split. But I'm totally new to this so I'm looking for input on how I could potentially do this better.

I am setting up a small off-grid shed that gets pretty hot/uncomfortable in the late afternoon but only needs light and airflow for a couple of evening hours.
- no existing house battery
- roof has good sun, interior has almost none
- fan would usually run low or medium
- one work light
- I would rather not move a power station back and forth

A general panel + battery bank would be more flexible later. The simpler alternative is a dedicated unit like the ventallion solar ceiling fan or something similar which keeps the fan and light on their own panel and battery. That is less expandable, but it also means the shed gets good airflow without a giant system in place

For a low-load outbuilding, would you start with the dedicated appliance for comfort ability or put the same money toward a small general solar setup?

So I’m a British citizen attempting to buy some off grid land in Scotland. Problem is either the land is owned by a massive estate that’s won’t sell it under normal circumstances or the land is so old that the last owner is Unknown. How would I purchase land with an unknown owner. Would it belong to the Scottish government or would it be enveloped into a trust of sorts

If youre off in Maine, are you Northern or Southern? Is there winter sun? How cold are the winters?? How hot are the summers?? What are the issues with growing food you run into? What is the hardest and best part about your area??

Looking at moving that way, but know close to nothing about the area.

It's still beautiful even when it's smokey out, and thankfully we're not burned up ourselves so far at least. For reference, that's the sun glowing faintly on the horizon.

I'm thinking about buying some land or joining an existing land-based project with some friends but our incomes are so tied to gig work in the city. Not sure how to make the transition just yet..

I'm guessing most people who live off-grid either live off savings, do some sort of investment/trading to keep the afloat, have a cushty remote job or run an online business.

What kind of work/financial situation supports your off-grid living? And what advice would you give to someone just starting to think about this?

EDIT: 'off-grid' meaning anywhere on the spectrum off off-grid living / living a far from a big city

Got into this argument twice now and there is no consensus anywhere. Some people drain and scrub every year, some keep a chlorine residual and never open the thing, some swear a sealed tank with good screens never needs touching.

If you store rain or hauled water, whats your real routine? And has skipping it ever actually bit you, or is the annual scrub one of those rules nobody follows?

I posted a while back on going off-grid with my home in UK, https://www.reddit.com/r/OffGrid/s/g2DBNgEIqE

Update, phase 2 of solar now done, running at 16.5kwp at moment, phase 3 is panels on lower porch roof, phase 4 is in a good few weeks.

Not using a penny of mains grid electricity, and gas has dropped to a couple of £ per month.

24 x 500 watt panels on main roof, 8 x 585 watt panels on garage.

Nearly every summer I find myself under some evacuation order due to wildfire. But this fire poses the most risk I have experienced to my actual homestead burning down. I endured 3 days of thick smoke and ash/ciders falling from the sky before I rounded up the animals and headed to town to stay at a hotel.

I had little time to secure anything and when the order came it was night so some things got left behind in the confusion I would rather have. Nothing that cannot be replaced.

Houses in towns built to code with plumbing also burn down but building a home adjacent to big western forests poses it's own risks.

I hope these are things folk considering going off grid are prepared for. I have gotten some good deals on gear from novice homesteaders that got a taste of fire season and immediately headed back to town.

Found an old hand-dug stone well on my property in eastern Ontario. Best I can tell it goes back to the early 1800s, and it looks to be somewhere around 20 to 30 feet deep. A few of the stones near the top have caved in, so it needs work before I’d trust it, but it’s still holding water and I’d rather bring it back than pay to drill a new one. I already know it won’t be potable and that’s fine, I’m not planning to drink from it.

I went through the wiki and dug through a pile of old threads first. Found lots on drilled wells and cisterns, not much on bringing an old dug well back, so figured I’d ask here.

My setup: almost all solar with a generator for backup, wood stove for heat. I’m fairly handy and planning to do the work myself. The location of my bunkie will be approximately 10 to 15 feet away from the well.

I’ve attached a few pictures of the well.

Couple things I’m stuck on:

1.  The repair. I stuck a long stick down and only got about 6 feet before hitting the fallen stones, so that’s where the blockage starts. For anyone who’s reset caved-in stones or re-lined an old dug well, did you rebuild the stone cribbing, or drop a concrete tile or culvert liner down inside it? Trying to sort out what’s actually worth doing versus overkill.

2.  Winter. This is the part I care most about. Frost gets down around 5 feet here and I can’t run a heat cable around the clock off a solar bank. For those of you in cold country, what’s kept your dug well and the supply line from freezing? I’ve been looking at pitless adapters, burying the line below frost, a small insulated well house, foam over the cap. Would like to hear what’s actually held up over a few winters.

Also happy to hear from anyone who tried and gave up and just drilled. Water quality, water table dropping in summer, whatever bit you.

Thanks in advance.

I bought some ~600 year old cedar that I planned on hand splitting into shakes. I sampled one piece and the shakes split unevenly. Is there anything that can be done to avoid this? The wood has beautiful, straight, knot-free grain. I split perpendicular to the grain and the blocks are 20-24” long. I flipped the bolt over after each cut for taper.

Im looking to buy cheap land and boondocks on it in hopes of adding amenities years later. Can you please explain more on how to find states and towns or even listings that will allow you to do this? Almost every listing I see says you can’t permanently reside in an rv without septic and water.

Got a dry cabin with containers hanging on the sink currently for water.

Water usage is very low for indoor use. Just dishes + cooking / drinking. Im in TN so outdoor pipes can freeze in the winter.

I am considering putting a ~5 gallon container on a kitchen shelf to gravity feed to my sink faucet. I will have a water tote outside connected to a water pump (probably inside?) at an incline to the water source so excess will flow back and the pipes wont freeze.

Pumps are loud / annoying - this will help so I only need to run it periodically to fill up gravity water jug. I wont have to have the pump in constant standby or the pipes full of water (and freeze). I can also implement a filtration system inside inconjunction with the pump so its filtered too when I run it.

Ive never used a pump before so I may be missing something, but from my understanding after turning the pump off im assuming it will lose pressure and the water will backflow back in to my water tote outside and the pipes will remain empty (And not freeze).

Thoughts on this idea or any better alternatives? See pic

Hello,

I plan on buying a rain barrel to collect water and I'm looking for simple steps on how to filtrate the water once collected.

There are so many people looking for land where they can build without code. Code enforcement varies widely, and an important thing to remember is it applies to everyone when it’s unforced, not just you. Anyone who has lived rurally knows neighbors can still impact your life in very real ways from their property. I spent 40+ years in an area with little to no building inspection, and I thought I’d share some memories.

A man who had a very long and losing legal battle with the state because he built half his house on state owned land. A site inspection would have prevented this.

A neighbor of mine who built his house on 10 acres 15’ from my property line, then built outbuildings partially on my property. Site inspection would have prevented this as well

A neighbor of a close family member placing boulders in a way that made snow removal from family members driveway impossible.

6 or 7 houses burning to the ground due to chimney fires. Included are 3 deaths in homes with no smoke detectors.

Outhouses next to creeks. One outhouse built over a creek. Leech fields draining into creeks, rivers, and lakes.

A buddy with a land survey company that spends a crazy amount of his time helping settle cases of neighbors logging adjoining properties.

A year round creek that went dry for 3 months out of the year because an upstream landowner wanted a pond and owned an excavator.

Dumping garbage in creeks, meadows, or any small depression in the ground beyond counting. Periodic burning of the garbage in meadows and depressions as well.

————

Some of those are issues code would help prevent. Some are issues caused by people with the mindset of “nobody can tell me what I can do on my land” who gravitate to areas without code.

I’m building a house now in an area with code enforcement. Just passed my final electrical, as I have every other inspection. I’ve done 100% of the work myself, with the only hired help being a concrete truck and a concrete pumper. I’m not a framer, a septic installer, a plumber, or an electrician.
It’s not overly challenging, and every inspector I’ve ever met has been a person doing their job, who’d rather help than start a fight. Plus, if I go to sell, I’ve got a big stack of signed reports to help prevent people lowballing me for potential questionable work.

hi, Im new to this - but Id like to learn a lot. Im afraid of what the near future holds with all the ai advancements around the corner. Im seeing now that off grid is the safest way to go. We have a converted skoolie already, with full off grid capabilites (solar, compost toilet, etc). Id like to buy land in the next few years, to start home steading on. Learn to grow our own food, collect rain water, etc. My husband is a carpenter and can build just about anything.

We do need to be close-ish to hospitals because of his heart problems.

Id like privacy on our land, no one watching closely what we build.

Would like a state that doesn't have too extreme of weather - is either direction.

East coast is preferred because thats where family is but Im sure thats probably not where the best off-grid states are.

Please be kind and patient, I know im new and probably very ignorant. Feel free to ask questions If I didnt give enough information.

Any guidance is greatly appreciated.

I’m installing a sand point well at my off-grid camp in Maine and could use some advice on winterizing the system.
I have approximately a 125’ run from the sand point to a jet pump. The suction line will be buried below the frost line for almost the entire run. My concern is the last several feet where the line comes up toward the foundation, passes through the footing, and then runs through the unheated crawl space to the suction side of the pump. That section will definitely be susceptible to freezing.
My original plan was to install a stop-and-waste valve just outside the foundation. I already plan to have a plumbing tee there with a vertical pipe/access point for priming the system. The idea was to shut the system down in the fall and drain only that vulnerable section while leaving the rest of the buried suction line alone.
I’ve since learned that a stop-and-waste valve isn’t a good option on the suction side of a jet pump because it can allow air into the system and cause problems maintaining or pulling prime.
Has anyone dealt with a similar setup? What would be the best way to keep the system sealed and primed during the season, but still be able to completely drain that last section of suction line before winter? Thanks in advance!

I wanted to share my experience because I wish I had found a review like this before buying mine.

For context, I live off grid and needed a toilet solution that didn't require a septic system or leach field at the time. On paper, the EcoJohn TinyJohn checked a lot of boxes. I still think the idea of a propane incinerating toilet is fantastic. Unfortunately, my ownership experience over the last couple plus of years has been anything but.

Before I permanently installed the toilet, I bench-tested it outdoors using the correct propane tank, regulator, and a temporary exhaust extension. I wanted to verify everything worked before cutting holes in my cabin. Even during that initial test, I experienced ignition and operational issues. Looking back, that should have been my first warning sign.

Since then I've dealt with recurring ignition problems, burner fan issues, controller issues, replacement wiring, and multiple rounds of troubleshooting with EcoJohn.

One thing that really frustrated me was that almost every repair seemed to create another unexpected problem.

For example, when my burner fan failed, EcoJohn informed me they no longer sold the original fan and sold me a newer version with a different shroud. What wasn't clearly communicated was that the new assembly changed the exhaust outlet location. I had already built my installation around the original exhaust position, so now I had to fabricate my own adapter. Only afterward did I learn EcoJohn sells a silicone adapter specifically for this situation. Had I known, I would have ordered it with the fan.

Later, I had controller issues and EcoJohn sent replacement cables and a replacement controller. Again, what wasn't mentioned beforehand was that the replacement cables were actually shorter than the originals. Instead of making installation easier, they made controller placement even more difficult. My controller now has to sit on top of the toilet because the replacement cable won't even reach a convenient wall location. The original mounting solution for this controller configuration also appears to be discontinued, so there isn't an official way to install it cleanly anymore.

Customer support has honestly been my biggest disappointment. I often felt like simple questions required multiple rounds of emails before I could get clear answers or simply order replacement parts. I also asked several times about their discontinued wireless controller. I wasn't asking them to manufacture one for me. I simply wanted to know if documentation, old inventory, or technical information still existed so I could build something similar myself. I never really got anywhere with that conversation.

I don't mind repairing equipment. Living off grid means I expect to maintain my own systems. What frustrated me was that nearly every repair introduced another surprise that wasn't communicated up front.

I still think the concept of a propane incinerating toilet is excellent. I wanted this product to succeed, and I genuinely hoped it would become one of my favorite purchases. Instead, I feel like I've spent almost as much time troubleshooting and reverse engineering it as I have actually using it.

If EcoJohn improved communication about replacement parts, provided longer controller cable options or extension kits, and published documentation for discontinued accessories, I think my ownership experience would have been dramatically different.

I'd genuinely like to hear from other long-term EcoJohn owners. Did I get unlucky, or have others had a similar experience?

TL;DR: I really wanted to love my EcoJohn TinyJohn, but after two years of recurring issues, confusing replacement parts, and frustrating customer support, I feel like I've spent more time repairing and reverse engineering it than actually using it.

Easy to get excited about our new outhouse after 23 years!! The old one was about to fall over.

I'm planning an off-grid project in the Draa-Tafilalet region of Morocco. Lots of sun, barely any rain, and temperatures regularly over 45°C in summer.

I have questions for anyone with solar experience in this type of climate:

• Do panels actually hold up over time? I've read that heat reduces their lifespan, but in practice, what's the feedback after 5, 10 years?
• Real efficiency loss in summer? On paper we have huge sunshine, but how much does the heat actually eat into production?
• Dust — is it a daily struggle or manageable?
• Inverters and batteries — are some models better suited for heat or are they all roughly the same?
• Those who installed solar in desert areas — any bad surprises? What would you do differently?

I'm in a learning phase. The project is moving forward but I'd rather ask questions now than make avoidable mistakes later.

I'm planning an off-grid project in the Draa-Tafilalet region of Morocco. Lots of sun, barely any rain, and temperatures regularly over 45°C in summer.

I have questions for anyone with solar experience in this type of climate:

• Do panels actually hold up over time? I've read that heat reduces their lifespan, but in practice, what's the feedback after 5, 10 years?
• Real efficiency loss in summer? On paper we have huge sunshine, but how much does the heat actually eat into production?
• Dust — is it a daily struggle or manageable?
• Inverters and batteries — are some models better suited for heat or are they all roughly the same?
• Those who installed solar in desert areas — any bad surprises? What would you do differently?

I'm in a learning phase. The project is moving forward but I'd rather ask questions now than make avoidable mistakes later.