To GRID/or Not to GRID that is the Question

[Sourdough]

Would a reasonable person choose to be off grid? I dragged a 12'X24' cabin to the back of the property via a washed out logging type trail. Parked it with just enough room to add a 24'X18' addition.

As there is no power back there, I am now wondering what I was thinking. At the time it seemed like a good idea to have a hidden "drop'back" cabin, that would be walk-in only.

Now I am wondering if people might be interested in renting it for the summer months, but I don't think so. When the romance wears off, people want electric.

Would you choose to be off grid........? Or only do it if you had no other choice.

[DOGMAN]

My neighbors have a couple of little cabins with no electricity and no running water and rent them out to tourist for weekly rates. They actually advertize it as "rustic and charming" they get rented out all the time. Its all in the way you advertize it. Some people are willing to pay for "roughing it"

[rebel]

I like the idea and was thinking of doing the same with a little cabin. It's main use would be for a hunting cabin. A wood stove, oil lamps and an ice cooler. With room for a bed, small table and a chair. I was also thinking about making an ice house that could serve as the cabin and fishing house. The interior size for this would be roughly 7 X 12.

[trax]

7 x 12? Not planning on having any company over, huh rebel?

[Beo]

Hopeak that's a perfect little hunting cabin, use it for hunts, just to get away(i know you already are away:D storing food sources, or rent it to a hunter.

[Beo]

7 x 12? Not planning on having any company over, huh rebel?

I agree, we call that an outhouse :D

[Riverrat]

Add a couple of solar pannels and put a small fridge in it, you could rent it out full time.

[trax]

I agree, we call that an outhouse :D

That one big single seat in the center is always a giveaway.

[Rick]

7 X 12? I've heard of jail cells bigger than that. Just heard about 'em, mind you. Didn't have to pay anything to stay...uh...just heard about 'em.

I wouldn't have any trouble staying in an off grid cabin if I had too. It wouldn't be my first choice or one I'd choose for myself. However, there's no reason that electricity can't be supplied via renewable energy. Either solar panels as the birthday boy said or wind or water generated. No need to get all radical and do away with electricity. Where would I plug in my Wii?

[trax]

try one of them jail cells, your roommate will tell ya where to plug in your wii....

[Gray Wolf]

Add a couple of solar pannels and put a small fridge in it, you could rent it out full time.

And a couple of paddle fans.

[crashdive123]

Hopeak - I think some people would enjoy the experience and seek out those sort of diversions from their everyday life. Many people probably would not. If you want to make a couple of extra bucks (maybe quite a few of em) and not have too much traffic on your land, I think it would be an ideal opportunity.

[rebel]

A 7 x 12 ice shack is respectable. What do you use? My guess is, NOT.

[Rick]

Your guess is, RIGHT. TDW and I will be ruffing it this week-end in one of Illinois' finer state parks. We have the Bluff Cabins overlooking something and near the lodge. All I know for sure is it has electricity!

[JRR]

Only thing I'd miss is internet and air conditioning.

[crashdive123]

Summers are a bit shorter up where Hopeak is.

[Rick]

Hopeak lives so far north...

How far north does he live?

He lives so far north he uses a ptarmigan for a rooster but only once every six months. Hopeak lives so far north his compass will only point south. Hopeak lives so far north the North Star follows him. He lives so far north he considers Polar Bears a sub-tropical carnivore.:D

[rebel]

If your ice house/cabin were 4 X 8 then you could use it to haul your atv and, it would tow behind the atv on trails without too much problem. Two could ice fish. One could use it for a hunting cabin. With a rack system you could haul a small boat and gear on top. It would make a nice bug out unit for two or three. With the need for security, two could sleep in rotation with the third. If you used a pair of good size solar panels and a few batteries with an inverter you could have a minimal electrical supply. However, this is my minimalistic and mulit-function approach to a damn fine out house!

[Assassin Pilot]

Actually, my family has a small cabin out back in the homeland (Finland). It is completely off-grid, and they have put considerable thought into powering it up. But I think it would be kinda cool to keep it nice and simple, a place to get away from it all.

[Nichov]

Offgrid doesnt mean no electricity... you could build a windmill or install solar panels... I met some people who are off-grid with electricity.

[Sourdough]

I had a Winco Windcharger on my homestead back in the 70's and what with the batteries, the grease and oil and adjustment maintaince, it is not worth it. No daylight in the winter, the solar panels are covered with snow. The biggest problem is battery cost, and useful battery life. You can drop $4,000.- on deep cycle batteries easy, And be replacing them in three years.

I just bought a 6,KW diesel 1,800 RPM diesel generator.

[Rick]

70's? Jeepers. They used vinegar and clay pots back then. Gens and batteries have come a long way since then. You have to get to Anchorage more often!

[yellowcab]

laterevent (http://laterevent.ru)latrinesergeant (http://latrinesergeant.ru)layabout (http://layabout.ru)leadcoating (http://leadcoating.ru)leadingfirm (http://leadingfirm.ru)learningcurve (http://learningcurve.ru)leaveword (http://leaveword.ru)machinesensible (http://machinesensible.ru)magneticequator (http://magneticequator.ru)magnetotelluricfield (http://magnetotelluricfield.ru)mailinghouse (http://mailinghouse.ru)majorconcern (http://majorconcern.ru)mammasdarling (http://mammasdarling.ru)managerialstaff (http://managerialstaff.ru)manipulatinghand (http://manipulatinghand.ru)
manualchoke (http://manualchoke.ru)medinfobooks (http://medinfobooks.ru)mp3lists (http://mp3lists.ru)nameresolution (http://nameresolution.ru)naphtheneseries (http://naphtheneseries.ru)narrowmouthed (http://narrowmouthed.ru)nationalcensus (http://nationalcensus.ru)naturalfunctor (http://naturalfunctor.ru)navelseed (http://navelseed.ru)neatplaster (http://neatplaster.ru)necroticcaries (http://necroticcaries.ru)negativefibration (http://negativefibration.ru)neighbouringrights (http://neighbouringrights.ru)objectmodule (http://objectmodule.ru)observationballoon (http://observationballoon.ru)
obstructivepatent (http://obstructivepatent.ru)oceanmining (http://oceanmining.ru)octupolephonon (http://octupolephonon.ru)offlinesystem (http://offlinesystem.ru)offsetholder (http://offsetholder.ru)olibanumresinoid (http://olibanumresinoid.ru)onesticket (http://onesticket.ru)packedspheres (http://packedspheres.ru)pagingterminal (http://pagingterminal.ru)palatinebones (http://palatinebones.ru)palmberry (http://palmberry.ru)papercoating (http://papercoating.ru)paraconvexgroup (http://paraconvexgroup.ru)parasolmonoplane (http://parasolmonoplane.ru)parkingbrake (http://parkingbrake.ru)
partfamily (http://partfamily.ru)partialmajorant (http://partialmajorant.ru)quadrupleworm (http://quadrupleworm.ru)qualitybooster (http://qualitybooster.ru)quasimoney (http://quasimoney.ru)quenchedspark (http://quenchedspark.ru)quodrecuperet (http://quodrecuperet.ru)rabbetledge (http://rabbetledge.ru)radialchaser (http://radialchaser.ru)radiationestimator (http://radiationestimator.ru)railwaybridge (http://railwaybridge.ru)randomcoloration (http://randomcoloration.ru)rapidgrowth (http://rapidgrowth.ru)rattlesnakemaster (http://rattlesnakemaster.ru)reachthroughregion (http://reachthroughregion.ru)
readingmagnifier (http://readingmagnifier.ru)rearchain (http://rearchain.ru)recessioncone (http://recessioncone.ru)recordedassignment (http://recordedassignment.ru)rectifiersubstation (http://rectifiersubstation.ru)redemptionvalue (http://redemptionvalue.ru)reducingflange (http://reducingflange.ru)referenceantigen (http://referenceantigen.ru)regeneratedprotein (http://regeneratedprotein.ru)reinvestmentplan (http://reinvestmentplan.ru)safedrilling (http://safedrilling.ru)sagprofile (http://sagprofile.ru)salestypelease (http://salestypelease.ru)samplinginterval (http://samplinginterval.ru)satellitehydrology (http://satellitehydrology.ru)
scarcecommodity (http://scarcecommodity.ru)scrapermat (http://scrapermat.ru)screwingunit (http://screwingunit.ru)seawaterpump (http://seawaterpump.ru)secondaryblock (http://secondaryblock.ru)secularclergy (http://secularclergy.ru)seismicefficiency (http://seismicefficiency.ru)selectivediffuser (http://selectivediffuser.ru)semiasphalticflux (http://semiasphalticflux.ru)semifinishmachining (http://semifinishmachining.ru)spicetrade (http://spicetrade.ru)spysale (http://spysale.ru)stungun (http://stungun.ru)tacticaldiameter (http://tacticaldiameter.ru)tailstockcenter (http://tailstockcenter.ru)
tamecurve (http://tamecurve.ru)tapecorrection (http://tapecorrection.ru)tappingchuck (http://tappingchuck.ru)taskreasoning (http://taskreasoning.ru)technicalgrade (http://technicalgrade.ru)telangiectaticlipoma (http://telangiectaticlipoma.ru)telescopicdamper (http://telescopicdamper.ru)temperateclimate (http://temperateclimate.ru)temperedmeasure (http://temperedmeasure.ru)tenementbuilding (http://tenementbuilding.ru)tuchkas (http://tuchkas.ru/)ultramaficrock (http://ultramaficrock.ru)ultraviolettesting (http://ultraviolettesting.ru)