Questions And Answers
Below you will find answers to some of the most commonly asked questions.
Many people join The Off Grid Project adventures somewhere in the middle. Many of the following questions have been asked and answered before but it is understandable that not everyone has the time to go through all of the videos made during The Off Grid Project.
Remember - the only stupid question is the one that is not asked.
The Off Grid Project Q & A
Q. How did you find the land you are staying on?
A. I simply asked around. Check with older families who have property or farmers. Many will welcome a bit of extra income. I asked people if I could stay on their property in my camper and eventually found a couple who took me in.
Q. What is your monthly rent?
A. It is $200 per month just to stay on the land. This is cheap for NY. A campground costs $700 a month for example.
Q. Do you plan to rent forever or purchase land one day?
A. I do hope to buy a plot of land for myself one day soon. I hope to build a small cottage and keep the projects going.
Q. Why dont you move to a cheaper state and buy land?
A. Moving your whole life is not that simple. I am deeply involved in my church here and I believe it is the place I am meant to stay for now. It costs money to move everything as well.
Q. Do you plan to go back on the grid after the project is finished?
A. No, never.
Q. Will the videos and experiments end after the book is written?
A. No, I will keep going as long as possible. I have more experiments than time. I have an ever growing list of projects and experiments to share with people.
Q. How do you get internet?
A. I have a Verizon cell phone with 4G internet. I get good reception just about all over with this.
Q. How to you shower or bathe?
A. At first I had to use a container of water and a wash cloth. Now I have an outdoor shower with a solar heater. Its a Coleman camp shower.
Q. Do you plan to live in the RV?
A. Yes, I do plan to move into the RV full time when it is fully renovated.
Q. What are you going to do with the old camper?
A. For a while I will use it as a work shop and storage. Eventually I will give it away and get a smaller camper or trailer to keep my tools and experiments in.
Q. Do you plan to get the RV and/or generator running?
A. Yes, I plan to get them both running but they are lower priority. I need to get a place to stay for winter first.
Q. What do you plan to do for heat in winter?
A. I will use a wood stove for primary heat and passive solar heating for secondary heat.
Q. How will you get heat into the RV?
A. I will build a small pallet wood shed over a fireplace and pump heat into the RV through the front passenger window. I will also probably have a water boiler system pumping heat through base board heating in the RV living room. There is an on board propane heater but it takes about 5 gallons per day to run and is too expensive.
Q. What will you do for electricity in the winter months and cloudy days?
A. I hope to have a reliable generator running to power a standard high amp battery charger for emergency. I also hope to build a gas powered alternator/generator soon and run it on wood gas for free.
Q. How much solar power and batteries to you plan to have?
A. I hope to eventually have 800 watts of solar panels (of my own) and ten golf cart batteries bringing my whole system up to about 1000 amp hours. This should be sufficient to power all of my needs.
Q. When will the book and DVD be released?
A. The Off Grid Project and experiments will carry on through to the end of 2013. After that I will begin working on the book full time. I have already been working on it here and there but publishing takes time. It should be released by Spring of 2014.
Q. How can I get a copy of the book or DVD?
A. Simply visit The Off Grid Project homepage, scroll down a bit and choose which one you want. You can pre order and pay now. All proceeds will go towards The Off Grid Project experiments.
Check out the projects covered on the list to the right.