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Off Grid Alaska

mooseoutfront

By mooseoutfront
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mooseoutfront
mooseoutfront

After posting some in the non-Texas Winter weather thread, I had some requests to start my own thread about my life in Alaska.   The backstory...My wife and I have lived completely off the g

mooseoutfront
mooseoutfront

Yesterday started off so nice.  The Lights were out on my way to work.

mooseoutfront
mooseoutfront

Hard no  

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Hate

Hate 20106

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42 minutes ago, HornOnTheBayou said:

What?!? No, you take over South America. Then, slowly spread through North America while everyone else fights over Afro-Eurasia. 

You could try to do the same in Australia and just build enough armies too defend, but if you want to win, you have to control the ME.  It's the key to Africa, Europe, and Asia. 

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Upgrayedd

Upgrayedd 5810

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3 hours ago, Hate said:

They key to Risk is controlling the Middle East.

 

3 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

You misspelled  Kamchatka.   

 

2 hours ago, HornOnTheBayou said:

What?!? No, you take over South America. Then, slowly spread through North America while everyone else fights over Afro-Eurasia. 

 

1 hour ago, Hate said:

You could try to do the same in Australia and just build enough armies too defend, but if you want to win, you have to control the ME.  It's the key to Africa, Europe, and Asia. 

Ukraine not weak.

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AeroHorn

AeroHorn 749

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8 hours ago, TexasEd said:

Have you thought of going with a solar/wind turbine and battery option for power?  Still off grid but not relying on gas generators.

I thought of this too but realized that in such extreme weather and north latitude, probably they are not practical. With sun absent for 6 months and low over the horizon the rest of the time, batteries requiring heating to be functional, and probably wind turbine also requiring winterization to work, gas generators may be the only feasible year-around solution.

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shadow_operative2.0

shadow_operative2.0 15947

Posted
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He addressed solar/wind in the thread that inspired this one. 

On 1/18/2022 at 7:38 PM, mooseoutfront said:

Where we live gets hardly any wind, so a wind turbine is just not worth it.  We've toyed with installing a battery system with an inverter, but stuff like that is probably around twice the price up here as you would pay for it in the lower 48.  The biggest drawback to a battery system for us is the space it would occupy in the cabin.  We realistically only have about 350 sq ft of living space when you take out the footprint of the woodstove and the clearance it needs around it.  We utilize basically every inch of it already.  That leaves solar panels, which are great in the summer when it's light all the time.  But right now we get less than 5 hours of daylight a day.  We're gaining light now, but 24 hours of daylight is still a ways away.  We'd have to run the genny to charge the battery bank up any way.

We've got 5 battery packs that I take to work and charge on a rotation.  That usually gets her iPad and blue tooth speaker charged for the week.  On the weekends we have to run the genny to charge things up.  We run the genny every morning because we are insufferable coffee snobs and I have to have my Nespresso before I head to work.

We get our drinking water from a local restaurant/bar.  They have a coin op dispenser that dishes out 5 gallons for a quarter.  We haul it in those blue Coleman water cubes.  We have 7 of those, so when everything is full we have 35 gallons.  We melt snow on the woodstove for humidity and dishwashing water.  We usually only have to fill drinking water once a week in the winter.

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Bevo

Bevo 13564

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1 minute ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

I'm a huge fan of geothermal, but it doesn't seem to be used up there much, based on a google search.

Yeah, I noticed that too. It is kind of surprising though: I backed out because of the cost of drilling in my area. With as much oil and gas and water wells as there are in Alaska, the drilling would be much less expensive there. Plus, with smaller homes, they wouldn't need as many holes.

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troph

troph 24781

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Awesome thread. 
 

@fattyflattie I want an invite to your fiends place.

Cabin with all the necessities and no connectivity? Can I have books, pen and paper, music and sex? That sounds like vacation, easiest $100k you could make.

northern lights? Omfg.

I get SAD in Texas during January and February, no effing way I could do winter in Alaska. Summer? If I’m so lucky I will. 

 

 

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jeevsie

jeevsie 3733

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On 2/4/2022 at 5:13 PM, mooseoutfront said:

I have 4 total drums.  Three of them are frozen to the ground right now because you know, winter.  The fourth is loaded into the truck and filled at a gas station.  There used to be a bulk plant in Fairbanks where you could get gas for generator use without the road tax, but a major snowstorm collapsed the roof and they've yet to rebuild.  Anyway I use a hand cranked transfer pump to pump the fuel out of the drum in the truck to the empty one on the ground.  The same transfer pump in used to fill up 5 gallon cans for use in the generator or to fill up the wheeler or snow machine or our personal rig directly.  I replaced the hose that came with it, about 8 feet I think, with a 25 foot arctic grade hose. I rotate which drum I'm pulling from so the gas doesn't go bad, but when one is empty I immediately fill it. 

Do they only sell an arctic grade diesel up there? I thought diesel turned to gel when it got that cold?

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Herbie Hancock

Herbie Hancock 7344

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Do they only sell an arctic grade diesel up there? I thought diesel turned to gel when it got that cold?

Diesel sold in the south is different than what is sold in northern states and Canada during the cold times. They got really creative and called it Winter Diesel. No paraffins in winter diesel which is what causes summer diesel to gel when it gets cold enough.
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Immaculate Vibes

Immaculate Vibes 114

Posted
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2 hours ago, Kennythetiger said:

Someone negged you for this?  

Yes. I have a stalker. It’s a CR thing. He’s negged almost every post of mine over multiple years and multiple posts. Pretty weird. I’ve tried ignoring it, reporting it as harassment, nothing works. 
 

47 minutes ago, Bevo said:

Internet and surly in particular is serious business.

exactly. 
 

44 minutes ago, JMFP said:

I think because it was already covered?

lol no. 

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BabaYaga

BabaYaga 15288

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18 minutes ago, smuggs said:

Seconded. I'd also like to see a pic of your stove setup. How big is it and are you up in the middle of the night to load it?

We have a section of the ranch that were old Indian campsites.  Lots of mounds.  Buckets worth of flint.  And red rocks.  Lots, and lots of red rocks.  Apparently they'd throw them in the fire, then at night put a few in each dwelling to heat the pace overnight.  Wonder if something like that would work?  Just throw a few big ones into the stove and they hold the heat longer as the fire eventually dies down.

Never got to try myself camping as the tent has a synthetic ground tarp.

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smuggs

smuggs 9352

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24 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

We have a section of the ranch that were old Indian campsites.  Lots of mounds.  Buckets worth of flint.  And red rocks.  Lots, and lots of red rocks.  Apparently they'd throw them in the fire, then at night put a few in each dwelling to heat the pace overnight.  Wonder if something like that would work?  Just throw a few big ones into the stove and they hold the heat longer as the fire eventually dies down.

Never got to try myself camping as the tent has a synthetic ground tarp.

Hot water in a Nalgene bottle shoved down in your sleeping bag works great.

We had a stove in our house growing up. It was large, could handle 16" logs and had a fire brick liner. I'd reload it before bed and choke the flue down and it would run most of the night but by 4-5am it was done putting out any meaningful heat. But a February pre-dawn morning in the Hudson Bend area sure as hell wasn't -70 degrees. That's gotta be a brutal first cup of coffee.

 

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BabaYaga

BabaYaga 15288

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15 minutes ago, smuggs said:

Hot water in a Nalgene bottle shoved down in your sleeping bag works great.

We had a stove in our house growing up. It was large, could handle 16" logs and had a fire brick liner. I'd reload it before bed and choke the flue down and it would run most of the night but by 4-5am it was done putting out any meaningful heat. But a February pre-dawn morning in the Hudson Bend area sure as hell wasn't -70 degrees. That's gotta be a brutal first cup of coffee.

 

Or getting up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.  Of course that might help with the warm Nalgene bottle use......;)  Time for a refill!

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davidg

davidg 4036

Posted
Posted

This popped on one of my FB groups:    15acre offgrid homestead with a 400 sqft cabin and everything you need to live this life for $125K.  Only catch is that is  the 20minute UTV or snow mobile ride to get to the cabin.

 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/294280969394278/

 

15 Acre Alaskan Homestead

A true fully functional Homestead off the road system and off-grid. About a 20-minute groomed trail ride by snowmobile or quad depending on weather and trail conditions. Private area to park vehicles off the road. 45 Minute trip to Fairbanks.

We haul our water in. We have thought about drilling. No septic (Out House) Electricity is not far down the road from the homestead. This property will increase in value considerably when the electricity comes through.

Aurora Borealis showings nightly during the winter months.

Insulated Wilderness Cabin. Comfortable Livable Cabin Wood and Propane Heat back up. The cabin has electricity from solar and generators but is not wired. Propane Fridge, Freezer Chest, Range Oven (Appliances run very efficiently and were expensive when purchased). Propane Hot water Shower. Queen Bed, 3 5 drawer dressers for clothes and storage, 65 Inch TV, DVD player, 2 Recliner Chairs, all kitchen utensils- pots pans, mugs, plates, etc...

Back addition has two desks for online workspace or school. The bathroom area of the cabin has a Toilet for Number 1 only during cold winter months that drains through plumbing down the hill into a hole. a shower tub with propane water heater, and a vanity with a mirror

Internet Satellite Service through Hughs Net: Works Great except when it rains really hard or an exceptionally hard snowstorm. Have not had any issues with it thus far. We also have our home telephone hooked up through the internet service.

Propane Tanks: 2 60 lb, 2 50 lb, 1 40 lb, 1 20 lb

18X18 Workshop with Wood Stove Complete with all the tools you will need. Everything stays with the Homestead Many cordless Dewalt Tools, Welder, Plazma Cutter, Air Compressor, Table Saw, etc...

Trapping Equipment: Many different types of traps and snares, stretchers, fleshers, and knives. Everything you will need to start your trapping experience. Another good way to supplement your income on the homestead.

Generators: Generators (Honda 2200i 2 Generac Generators (3500, 6500) 1 Firman electric start 9500, craftsman 3500 really fuel efficient All in working order

16X16 Guest Cabin on Western 5 Acre Lot Wood Stove/ Propane Heat back up. Walls and door need work. Possible rental for hunters or for those that just want to get out of the city for a weekend getaway. Another good way to make some money on the Homestead.

Solar Power Shed: Completly insulated 8X8 building, $6,000 Inverter, 3 solar panels, 4 6 volt batteries for a 24 Volt system. Cord hook up for the back up generator. 12X12 Chicken Coupe with feeding boxes, waterers, and nesting boxes built-in. Our chickens are extremely good layers. We sell our extra eggs to a local dealer in Fairbanks. Another good way to pay for feed and make a little extra money on the Homestead. 10X8 Duck Coupe Many ducks that are prolific layers. Can sell eggs to local dealer.

Dog House with Pup with great bear detecting abilities. I believe we have not any problems with critters coming for our animals is due to having her outside.

Silver Fox Rabbits: 3 separate bunny hutches for breeding meat rabbits. There are 3 does and 1 buck for breeding. Great Producers. Can sell bunnies on craigslist to make extra money.

2005 Polaris Snowmobile 2019 4 Wheeler 2021 6 Seater Side by Side (Wheels and Tracks) Tracks work great in the winter for the trails and are able to haul all your supplies and equipment into the homestead with ease and comfort. Large Heavy-duty trailer for hauling just about anything anywhere All the vehicles are in working order and run great. Two place sno-go trailer (unregistered)

This is a fully functioning Homestead. If you are looking to get out of the city and live the life of your dreams this is a turn-key opportunity with everything staying in place.

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271546366_5116488588361909_3638953978076

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mooseoutfront

mooseoutfront 3643

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On 2/3/2022 at 9:02 AM, TexasEd said:

I have not seen anything mentioned about chickens.  Is that a decision not to have them or are they just very hard/impossible to keep alive through the winter?

We don't have any type of livestock or chickens.  My wife grew up showing heifers in Texas, so she would really like to get some livestock.  It's just not feasible with no type of meaningful electricity to have them.  We would probably have to double our firewood output to keep them warm during the winter.  And chickens only lay in the winter if they have some artificial light to mimic daylight.  We've thought about raising meat chickens during the summer, but chicken is my least favorite form of protein.  I'd rather just go shoot some grouse for our poultry. Lot's of folks who have electricity keep chickens year round.

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