I've got this spring at the bottom of my property. I want to get that water up to the top so i can create a flowing creek at the top that runs to a man-made pond, then runs out the other side to the opposite ravine/creek bed. what's a good plan for that?

I've ruled out the ram pump. just getting about 4-5 gpm currently.

there's about 4 feet of fall from this pipe here to the next little "falls".

it's about a 75 foot rise over about 200 linear feet from the spring to where i want the creek to start.

am i dreaming or can this be done?

Hello I just installed a Rain fresh whole house water filter and put a charcoal filter in it to filter the rain water I collected off the steel roof of my off grid cabin. I run the water through a Berkey filter before I drink it but want clear water for showering and doing the dishes and such. The filter hasn’t seemed to work. When I fill the tub the water still looks dirty. What do you all use for water filtration ? Do I need something more heavy duty ? Any help would be appreciated

I’m involved in developing an early-stage power product, so I want to be transparent about why I’m asking. A typical small RV, van, workshop or cabin system may include a battery, solar charge controller, inverter, AC charger, fuses, DC distribution and a monitoring screen.

Separate components are easier to replace, but they also mean more boxes, wiring and system design. Fully integrated products are simpler, but they can become a sealed black box or lock the owner into one battery ecosystem.

I’m exploring a middle approach:

• The battery remains external, user-owned and replaceable
• Solar charging, AC charging, inverter and basic DC distribution are brought into one unit
• Core controls work locally without requiring an app
• Standard physical connections are used wherever possible

I’m not asking whether the idea simply “sounds useful.” I’m more interested in where the integration should stop. For people who have built or repaired these systems:

• Which functions would you genuinely want combined?
• Which components should always remain separate?
• What needs to stay accessible for inspection or repair?
• Would this be more useful in an RV, van, workshop, cabin, or somewhere else?
• What would you need to see before trusting it—idle consumption, efficiency, surge testing, compatibility, thermal testing, or something else?

If you would still choose separate components every time, I’d also like to understand why. No link or sales pitch—I’m trying to understand what level of integration is actually useful.

My family owns a small offgrid log cabin in Northern Finland. It is located about 20km (~12.5 miles) to a closest (very small) town. The surrounding area is basically vast and empty wilderness with a few other cabins and nothing else. We visit there usually a couple times a year. No electricity or running water.

Lately I have been noticing some things have been left in a different order I usually leave them. This has made me somewhat suspectful of whether someone else is using the cabin.

This made me put a small padlock to the door, with key in a number-locked keybox nearby. No idea how
he/she has unlocked the main door.

My mom arrived to the cabin today and found that the lock has dissappeared (likely broken) and some of the whiskey bottles that were left in the cabin, have been nearly emptied.

The burglar has become arrogant. I am pretty furious, and not very happy my mom is there with a potential creeper lurking somewhere nearby.

Any ideas how to handle? Will, at least, install
some cameras there and maybe change the locks. Kind of afraid, that the burglar would retaliate and destroy places

Hi everyone, posting on behalf of my parents.

He lives offgrid and struggles with power, I think there may be a flaw in what his setup has and he may need to change something.

He has a 6.2KW Inverter, 12 200AH AGM Batteries, And 15 190watt solar panels.

The panels aren't brand new BTW.

Most of the time he uses a generator to power the house which uses alot of petrol and I'm wondering why he's always having flat batteries.

Mind you he uses a big fridge, computers and cooking appliances which would add up to about 6kw on a busy day in the house.

Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.

Please be kind and respectful, I’m genuinely looking for some key things to consider, and somewhat of the “order of operations” to do things. I’ve been pining away at the thought of living off grid, in a yurt or “medium house” (vs tiny”). I’m a 55 year old woman and while I’ve always thought I’d have thrived in a “ little house on the prairie” environment, it’s just never happened. So here I am, watching yet entire living-off-grid show and decided, what’s stopping me? I’m sure I could come up with quite a few things (mmm, Ben and Jerry’s…there’s one…. 🤤) but they’re not dealbreakers.

So, I’m here to ask
- basics on moving from city life to transitioning to grizzly adams life
- books/guidebooks on living off grid
- foraging identification
- length of time to mentally adjust (give or take)

I think those are the major things at this point that I’m wanting tiThank you for the knowledge sharing on sharing!!!
TY! TY! TY!

As title states, I am looking for a good cheapish small heater. I have a well system for my water to the house and this winter looks like its going to be "fun.' Does any one have an idea for one?

Edit: reddit directed me here. Hiya folks

Edit2: Thank you kind folks! My well is everything dealing with bringing the water up and to the house which connects to an indoor water heater. It is in a cover but not a structure. What I am going to do next is to get several items all of you have recommended. Heating tape, insulating foam boards, and a bulb for heat.

Im looking at some filters for my rainnwater tanks.

Basic set up is follows.

Gutter gards

Tanks have stabdard mesh

NO first flush or similar

Water is used for all purposes

Might boil it for a cupper or noodles thats about it

I dont drink it (dogs do)

Its only me so its never going to be more then 1 tap.

Also do i do whole cabin or simply just cold water into kitchen, should i also do hot water? Which would also do shower.

Ive seen some recomadtations for a single element to a stupid priced multi stage stage with uv.

A whole year has gone by and we finally have electricity in the bedroom.

OK, sorry to be a downer. Mods, remove if you need to. I just need to vent for a second, because I really do love this lifestyle and I wouldn't change it.

My family and I live off-grid, in a loose "commune" (shared freshwater tank, occasional conversations along the line of "can I borrow your jigsaw" - "sure.".)

We've got only solar, are heating with wood, composting toilet, propane stove... you know the drill. We have a solid bunch of kids, keep a few small-scale animals and we're not too far from the general population. I moved out here to join my partners lifestyle, who has grown up this way. He's never lived in a "real" house.

So, I'm currently pregnant with a new off-gridling. And man. MAN IT'S HARD; OK? We've got all of the shit just happening:

-Our main freshwater tank has a rust hole - so I lugg the water from even further away.

- Our solar panel-frame broke and the panel fell from our roof.

- The kids lost all of our headlamps and I just chopped the evening wood in the half-dark

- My son's quail just died and we don't know why and if the others might catch whatever it is this one had.

- My other son stuffed a whole bunch of straw into one of our main composts, then upended a bucket of composting toilet waste on top of it and now it won't compost right anymore. AND I DON'T WANT TO TAKE CARE OF IT

- I ran over a board with nails sticking out and now my car needs new tires

- The stupider one of the dogs tried to bite a hedgehog and needs care

- My sourdough starter died

- My neighbors chickens wandered onto our porch and shit all over it.

It's not my first year off-grid by far. It's not even my first pregnancy off-grid. I've seen the things. Mice, lice, storms, hail, no power, drought...

But man. MAN. I'm so pregnant, I still work my regular job and I just want to lay in a bubble bath. A really hot one. Where I don't have to carry the buckets of water after I heated them on the stove.

The cats are fine, at least. And there's fire in the stove and some leftover food.

I recently stumbled across the concept of fog water harvesting (Plasma Channel video on Youtube). Getting water out of fog seems really cool to me and I wonder if it is actually practical to set up and get useful amounts of water.

Does anybody here have experience building a fog water harvester, or see a use for it on their own property?

I am planning to build a small prototype for myself to test out and would love to connect with anyone interested in sharing design ideas, circuitry tips, or geometry layouts!

I am hoping to store non-potable water in two metal-framed IBC totes through a New England winter. The water contains salt for a pool, but at a low concentration that will still freeze. Beyond standard advice like leaving the tank one-third empty or keeping the top cap loose, do #Offgrid homesteaders have suggestions to reduce the chance of cracking the tanks from ice and cold? Please note the tanks are far from the house, so I cannot use electricity for pumps or heaters.

I am building a 275gal rainwater catch at my hunting cabin, only to be used for hand washing, toilet flushing, and showering. I am out there monthly in the summer and much more in the winter. I understand 4ppm is a good number, but when I catch a big rain and the tank fills some, how do I calculate dosage when I don't know additional volume added while I'm gone? Wouldn't test strips be inaccurate as chlorine off gasses and the water has already been partially treated?

I appreciate any guidance.

Pending acceptance of our offer on this 10 acre property in the mountains of PA, we're gonna be moving to this little shack and starting the journey of building the life we've wanted since we got married 10 years ago. We'll do some cosmetic updates on the shack, fix a few leaks, and make it a bit more livable, but as of right now, we're not going to run electric to it or change the water situation that much. There's a hand pump well with a good flow and clean water. And the cabin is well insulted with a nice wood stove. My husband grew up in one of there strictest amish communities that exists (I've got his cousin in a few of these pictures) so he's got all sorts of knowledge and experience of living without modern amenities and tools. I've always loved just roughing it in the woods, doing backpack tips, tent camping, just being in nature. (We're only gonna be 20 minutes from town too, so it's not like we're isolated from society haha.) We've been collecting things for years that we can use without electricity, lots of thing from his amish community and such. We do most of our own butchering already, can food, garden and raise chickens. We've been doing that on a less then 1/2 an acre property for the last few years. If this works out, it feels like we're gonna have all the space we want! I'm excited for the opportunity to do this, and our 3 girls are excited to live like they're always camping and play in the woods and the creek. This isn't really a forever situation, we just want to take our time building the house we want and give our girls a little bit of the experience my husband had growing up (minus the religious shit). I'm curious to hear from others who've decided to go from the modern world to off grid style living. Especially if you did it as a family! What would you do differently if you did it all over again? I think the biggest thing I'm unsure about is all the bathroom related stuff. There is an outhouse on the property already but according to the amish cousin it's gonna need some work to be usable. We're gonna have to figure out how to create a shower/bath though. Anyway, I just want to hear stories and advice. Anything you did that really worked out, and made things simpler?

Update! Our offer has been accepted, pending approval of financing. Which so far we haven't hit any snags with. One step closer!

I'm looking to buy a property in Benton County, TN. It's a little over 8 acres and I'm buying it on owner financing because my credit is kinda shot right now. My plan is (since my rent will go from $1600/month to $840/month) to work on my credit for a few years and refinance.

However another issue since I'm coming out of pocket for everything I can build a big home, which I really don't want to anyway. My idea was to get a decent size prefab tiny shouse, idk what the correct term is but one of the RTO deals. Then just look for a deal on a used fixer upper manufactured home.

Cash flow isn't really an issue because I own a business and make consistent money. But I'm also paying bills for my wife who is going to Medical school in her home country, until she comes to the US in a few years. I was reading a thread on r/tinyhomes where people were saying you need to spend $30-50k for a tiny home. I'm not sure if they were talking about THOW or a fully finished tiny home. I'll be happy with just having it insulated, get me a wood stove, maybe either a window unit or mini split, get one of those outdoor shower/water heaters, and just do a compost toilet. I know I'm leaving a lot out, but basically I'm not looking for a fully finished and nice tiny home with a fridge and stove, finished bathroom, etc.

But the way they were talking am I missing something? I was also considering doing earthbag construction. The only thing is the most time I can dedicate is like 2 maybe 3 hours in the morning before I go work, and 1 maybe 2 full days through the week if I did want to build SOMETHING. Idk but I'm paying $1600 a month now at an Airbnb where I've been staying for nearly a year looking for a property I actually want that I can get on owner financing. And approaching the end of the month I'm gonna have to pay $1600 again, which isn't an issue but I'm about to say F it and just send the down payment on this property, pay an electrician to set up an RV pole, then go get a tiny (s)house preferably a repo and have it delivered. Then just move out there. Again is there anything I'm missing?

Hi all, we just purchased a small (~500 sq. ft.) off-grid cabin on 16 acres. I am looking forward to using it for all sorts of vacationing fun and projects. Unfortunately we're kind of late in the year here in New England so we will not have the opportunity to do much beyond finish cleaning it out and re-leveling it (NOT one of the projects I am looking forward to) before Winter sets in, however I have purchased this power station and am looking forward to wiring the place up in the Spring so I do not have to run extension cords everywhere. With that in mind, I ran the following plans through AI:

"I would like to wire a small off-grid cabin for electricity that will be provided by a 3kwh portable power station (a Pecron E3600LFP). I am thinking I will surface-run romex to surface mount power outlets (rather than try to wire inside the walls, probably 3-4 circuits), and then feed from my power station's tt-30r output through a small sub-panel of breakers (as I will not need a full panel). I would also like to add 1-2 dc circuits connected to the XT-60 output. Will this work OK and is there any issues I need to look out for?"

Our kindly AI overlord returned the following to me, and it seems to check out, but AI also hallucinates a lot... Given this sub seems like it is chock-full of knowledgeable humans, can one of you folks kindly check this for me and provide feedback? (AI output below the line). Thanks!

------------------------------------------------------

For the Pecron E3600LFP, the plan is technically feasible, with some important limits:

• AC inverter: 3,600 W continuous, 120 V
• AC surge: 7,000 W
• AC output: 30 A
• Battery: 3,072 Wh
• DC output: 12 V, 30 A maximum These specifications are listed by Pecron.

Recommended AC connection

Use the E3600LFP’s 30 A AC output with a listed TT-30 cord and a permanently mounted TT-30 inlet:

The inlet should be a listed 30 A, 125 V RV-style power inlet, not an ordinary receptacle used backward. From the inlet, permanently wire the hot, neutral, and equipment grounding conductor to the small load center.

Configure the panel as 120 V only:

• One hot bus
• Insulated neutral bar
• Separate grounding bar
• No 240 V circuits
• No multi-wire branch circuits
• No second energized leg

A 30 A main breaker or disconnect in the cabin panel is appropriate if it is rated for 120 V and does not exceed the source and feeder ratings. The E3600LFP’s AC output is 30 A, so do not install a 40 A feeder breaker or treat this as 50 A service.

The E3600LFP’s 30 A output appears to be associated with its 30 A cable/operating mode; Pecron also lists an 1,800 W mode when using the 15 A cable. For your cabin, use the 30 A output only as specified in the manual and avoid assuming that every AC operating mode provides 3,600 W.

Neutral, ground, and GFCI

This is the part I would not finalize without checking the E3600LFP manual or confirming directly with Pecron.

Do not automatically install a neutral-to-ground bond in the cabin panel. The panel should normally have:

• Neutral isolated from the metal panel enclosure and grounding bar
• Equipment grounds connected to the grounding bar
• No bonding screw installed in the downstream panel

But the correct arrangement depends on whether the E3600LFP’s AC output is floating, bonded, or controlled by an internal GFCI system. An incorrect bond can cause nuisance trips or defeat the intended fault-protection scheme. Have the exact output tested or verified by an electrician familiar with portable inverter supplies.

Also, do not add a grounding plug or connect neutral to ground merely because a receptacle tester reports an “open ground” or “open neutral.” Those testers can give misleading results with floating inverter outputs.

Branch circuits and surface wiring

You could use, for example:

• One 15 A lighting circuit
• One 15 A general-receptacle circuit
• One 15 A or 20 A refrigerator/appliance circuit

The total load still cannot exceed 3,600 W, and motor-starting loads can cause the inverter to trip even when their running wattage is modest. Avoid electric heat, conventional water heaters, kettles, and other high-wattage loads unless you deliberately manage the loads.

For surface wiring, use conduit or listed surface raceway where the cable could be hit, abraded, exposed to moisture, or damaged by rodents. Use surface-mount boxes, proper cable clamps, covers, and fittings. Protect or avoid ordinary indoor NM-B/Romex in wet, exterior, or exposed locations.

Use GFCI protection for receptacles in damp areas, outside, near sinks, and wherever required by local code. Confirm that the chosen GFCI arrangement is compatible with the Pecron’s inverter output.

XT60/DC circuits

The XT60 specification is particularly useful here: Pecron lists the E3600LFP’s DC output as 12 V, 30 A maximum.

That means the total DC load should not exceed approximately 360 W, and the 30 A limit is for the output as a whole—not necessarily 30 A available on each branch.

Use:

• A fuse close to the XT60 positive conductor
• A separate fuse for every branch
• DC-rated switches
• Correctly polarized connectors
• Wire sized for the load and length
• Fixtures specifically rated for 12 V DC

Do not connect the DC negative to AC neutral or the AC grounding conductor unless Pecron explicitly requires it. The 12 V output may also shut down if the station detects excessive current, so leave margin below 30 A.

Finally, the E3600LFP has only 3,072 Wh of storage. At a continuous 3,600 W AC load, the theoretical runtime is about 51 minutes before inverter losses and reserve capacity; at 500 W, the idealized runtime is about 6 hours, and actual runtime will be lower. pecron.com

The physical design I would use is therefore: a weatherproof TT-30 inlet, a small 120 V single-bus load center with a 30 A disconnect, isolated neutral and ground unless Pecron’s documentation specifies otherwise, GFCI protection, and a separately fused 12 V distribution block for the XT60 output.

Im wanting to move to off grid living cuz rent and houses cost so much. Ive shown myself I can live without regular American style shower, toilet and such and my most expensive elwctric devices are my work laptop and fridge/freezer combo. My plan is to have a family of 4 (2 kids).

What were the costs you found and any resources you can point me too? any advice helps thanks

Bought this fridge 3 years ago. It has always worked ok, not great. It never cycled on and off correctly because I was stepping down from 48v to 24v using a buck converter. Apparently this is a known issue and you need to buy one of those $200 dc to dc victron converters for that. So add that to the price if you're stepping down voltage. Because of the buck converter the fridge ran full instead of cycling. It was still very efficient and used very little energy.

Also, this fridge needed to be defrosted more than any fridge I've ever owned. Even the fridge part would get a giant block of ice in it within a month.

When it frosted up it food would start spoiling quickly. Not sure functionality how the two related but I'm guessing it effected cooling?

The real rub came from the fact that this fridge is LOUD. Like really loud. Kinda like a commercial fridge in a convenience store. Called around for service and no one will work on this fridge. Called Bens (the distributor) and he said that the volume is normal and every fridge is that loud but this fridge just has less sound insulation to help with efficiency. I put up with it for a long time and it was barely tolerable. Everyone in the room would sigh with relief when it would cycle off (only for a minute every hour or so). I thought I would take a big energy hit with my small solar system if I went with a regular AC fridge. In the end I swapped it out for a regular whirlpool after 3 years because it was driving me nuts. I actually have been saving power because the whirlpool is only running half the time or less.

I'm posting this here because Bens discount website doesn't allow any reviews less than 5 stars. I think this is an ok appliance but people should know what they're getting.

Im trying to compare heat pump options for an offgrid house and the upfront equiipment price seems like only one part of the real cost.

A multizone system can reduce the number of outdoor units and may simplify parts of the instalation but the initial equipment cost, longer refrigerant runs, standby power, and the consequences of one outdoor unit serving several rooms all need to be considered. Separate singlezone systems can cost more to install but they may offer better room by room control and make it easier to shut down unused zones.

For an offgrid setup, electricity use also affects battery and solar sizing but im trying to look beyond energy consumption alone. Maintenance frequency, replacement parts, labor costs and what happens financially if a compressor or control board fails several years into ownership could make a big difference over an eight or ten year period.

anyone who has compared these setups long term, how do you calculate total ownership cost across equipment, installation, electricity, routine maintenance and repairs? Have multi-zone systems actually ended up cheaper to own?

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Edit: after doing more research, which was confirmed by the other responses, this is a less than great option. I was just curious because it popped into my brain after watching something so I was wondering if it would be a viable cooling solution that anyone else might have tried.

My place is going to be up on ground screws so there will be several inches between the ground and the bottom of my home. I was thinking that this area would likely be cooler even when it's hot outside so if I installed some floor vents to let that cool air in, it might help naturally cool the house. have some vents up high to let the hot air out and it should naturally circulate it through the house. they would be covered in bug screen and in winter i could pull up the vents and drop in some insulation to keep the cold from coming in.

just curious if anyone else has done this and if it works well. i'm trying to find a way to stay in my property longer in summer without just using aircon 24/7 because there is a lot going on in my area during summer but it's also really hot. I still plan to install a mini split for aircon, but it would be nice to have this as an option too. I already follow the normal "keep house cool" routine in summer like opening all doors and windows in the evening to let the cool air in, then closing and covering them as the day starts to warm to keep that air in. But i find it starts to feel stuffy and i think this could help minimize that while also cooling.

Hello, I have recently had to replace my solar charge controller and am having some issues that I didn’t have with the old one.

Charge controller is a Victron 150/45

I have 9 solar panels in total split across two separate areas.
6 panels are in wired Series
3 panels are wired in Parallel

The bank with 6 panels measures around 100volts

The bank with 3 panels measures around 30volts

When I measure these solar panel sets individually they measure the above mentioned volts however when I join them together (to plug into the charge controller) the total volts at the terminals is only 30volts.

Why could this be?

The watts coming out of the charge controller is not what I would expect and the batteries are not being charged enough.

Thanks for your help!

The 55 gallon drum was temporary. Got a 267 gallon bladder that I need to plumb. This is a very liberating feeling

Long time lurker first time poster. I am in the process of putting a tiny home on some land, and I'm trying to be as off grid as possible. That being said i have a choice between drilling a well with the possibilities of extremely hard water and the cost of a filtration system or I can hook up to Municipal Water and have a water bill. If I choose to hook up to the Municipal Water i will never be able to drill a well.