R&B showed up for a quick visit.  Dogs alerted us.  Sal went out on the porch and there they were waving from the water in their kayaks.

“Just dropped by to say goodbye.  We’re leaving for the winter!”

Sal grabbed a jacket and we went down to the beach to pass some time.  Then they headed off.

Our visitors come by kayak!  It’s November 14.  It’s cold out there. 

That’s a bit different. 

Actually, winter is very different.  I know that you know that but what I mean is this – we can and do live outdoors most of the year.  Sally even more than me.  But when it gets cold, we don’t.  Not so much.  More time is spent indoors and that’s different in and of itself.

But more than that, of course, is that we do different things.  We think different thoughts.  And, for three out of four years, we actually leave and go away.  Out here, winter is not a wonderland.  Neither is it something you ignore, get in the car and go to the office and carry on regardless.  Out here, winter means changing.  It means a lot of changing.

Think of it like a bear does.  A bear is active for 9 or 10 months of the year.  Then they hibernate.  It’s not, in the least, like the rest of the year.  It’s very different.

And so it is with us, too.

Moving on……………..

I went to see a doctor today.  I am thinking of changing.  My ‘old’ doctor is OK but, really, his practice is a factory.  He is a machine.  Slam, bam, prescribe and move on.  Worse, my doctor hired the spawn of Nazis for office staff.  And then he moved into a window-less mini-warehouse-like catacomb-of-closets pretending to be examination rooms.  It’s like a horror movie. 

And he is in Campbell River.

This new doctor is on the island next door.

The new doc is a woman.  Not quite my age but no spring chicken.  She’s got an ‘attitude’ but it’s mostly a helpful one.  I thought I’d test her out.

“Well, it’s our first meeting and you already have one strike for and one against.” 

“What?”

“The room is nice.  A window,  some space.  Everything clean.  It’s good.  I like that.  But here’s the deal.  If a doctor has an emergency or even a real good reason to run late, I am OK with that.  But if I am the first patient of the day and I am on time, I think it reasonable to expect the doctor to be on time, too.  Don’t you?”

“Well, yes………………but……..”

“And another thing.  I don’t expect special treatment because I live on a remote island but I also don’t think it is special treatment to be able to communicate by e-mail, ya know?  It’s not like I am going to spam you or send you jokes.  It is just a good way to communicate.  Waddya think?”

“I agree.”  And she handed me her e-mail address.  So far, so good.

“Now, she said, warming to her challenge, any pre-existing conditions?”

“Gazillions.  Most of it old age-related.  Tubes not tubing.  That sort of thing.  But what you really mean is………….”

“Had a heart attack?”

You have to understand that I am a bit sensitive about this.  When I started with the other doctor, the first words out of his mouth when he walked into the room – even before ‘hello’ –  was, “Oh!  Chest pains?”

“No! I replied at the time, Chest feels fine.  I am fine!  Hell, man, I can lift you up and hold you over my head!”

I was exaggerating a bit but he is not a large man.  I could certainly have wrestled him and me into a stupid position.  At that moment, however, I was tempted to give it a go and fling him over my head.

He withdrew from his ready-to-resucitate position and said, “Unh, no thanks.  No proof needed.”

But I am not so sure that our relationship ever really recovered. That is part of the reason why I was interviewing Dr. Nota S. Chicken.

And she was starting out the same way!

I was going to grab my chest and draw a deep breath in but I decided to save that little joke for some other time.

“No.  No heart attack.  But it is just a matter of time, isn’t it?  I mean, I look like I am having one when I am just sitting here, right?  I mean, why not just gimme some oxygen right now just to be on the safe side?  Got any of them ‘lectric paddles handy?  Let’s give ér a go.  Waddya say?”

“Oh!  Well…….that’s………..good…………….”

I think my face was getting red. But I had to admit…………

“Well, OK.  Now that you mention it.  Everyone on my mother’s side died of heart attacks in their fifties.  My mom made it to 64.  My age now.  Dad died from complications that included a heart attack.  I think we both know where this going.”

Now would have been a good time for the chest grab joke.

“Well, she said,  that’s good.  I’ll just fill this prescription and we’ll see you again some time.” And she left.

I dunno.  A woman doctor?  I just didn’t feel the love, ya know?

As you can tell from the last dozen or so posts, I am struggling a bit here.  I know the blog is about living off-the-grid and should be mostly focused on that.  And, primarily I think it is.

But no man is an island even if he lives on one and so other issues creep into my thoughts that are not directly related to living remote.  Like politics.  Like current events.  And, if they come to mind, then I can honestly write about them.  I think.  It’s my blog.  Kinda.

Our blog?

So, anyway, I do not want to do too much on the Occupy movement, politics big or small, corporate rants or even grave threats to our existence from global warming, solar flares or any of the other many evils unleashed at us from time to time by mother nature, the devil, international conspiracies, the universe or Amercian presidents.  I’d prefer to write about ravens and seals and book clubs and garden boxes.

Well, actually, I’d prefer to write about the local people and the challenges of living in a small village spread out over 250 square miles and half a dozen islands.  The ravens and the seals and the squirrels are all very nice but, you know, I wanna keep it ‘real’.

So, let’s talk real.  For a bit, anyway.

Here’s something you probably didn’t know about living off-the-grid: movies are a big deal.  We subscribe to Zip.Ca, a mail-order movie store.  We frequent the old fashioned movie-rental store, the community DVD library, we borrow and swap movies from neighbours and we pore over what the library has to offer and, despite that, we still don’t have enough to watch.

“I thought you rejected TV!”

We did.  But we didn’t reject movies.  They’re different.

We are also very appreciative of those who put really good shows on those usb sticks and send them to us.  We watched Modern family that way and that was fun.

We also rely heavily on the books-by-mail from the public library.  It used to be such a good service but the woman who ran it retired a couple of years ago and the three dozen or so nincompoops they have hired to replace her can’t seem to get it right.  We are hoping that they hire the old staff person back as a ‘consultant’ so that she can re-teach them how to stuff an envelope.  I am not holding my breath.

Of course, it isn’t all their fault.  Sometimes the plane can’t get through.  And that can be problematic as well.  All our mail is always somewhat late.  Even when the plane flies regularly, the posting, shipping, transferring of Post Office bags and the plane’s schedule usually result in ‘somewhat late’ items. Throw in some bad weather and we can be ‘behind’ on our mail by two weeks or more.

The latest example of that was the mail-in ballots for the regional directors election.  Sal and I applied at the same time to the same person.  And we applied early.  We did what we had to do.  I got mine.  Sally didn’t get hers.  So, Sally tried again and her paperwork was posted a week later.  I voted.  Sally is still waiting.  The ballot will not get here and back (as a vote) in time.  So we went back to the district office on ‘townday’ but they said, “Sorry.  It’s now in the mail.  Can’t let you vote if there is a ballot out there flying around with your name on it.”

So Sal will not likely get to make her mark this election.

You’d kinda think that, if anyone understands our situation out here, it would be the local government, wouldn’t you?  But they don’t.  Some of the staff are surprised to learn that there are some constituents on the islands in their district!  Imagine that!

Living remote has so many positive aspects but I won’t go through them again.  You know, the ravens, the seals, the Orcas, clean air, blah, blah, blah…….clams…..blah, blah….oysters…….

And it has a few challenges as well.  Some of them are directly related to distance, weather, remoteness, short-time-frames and every thing else you can imagine from fallen trees across roads to cars that break down in the forest and on and on and on.  But that is not so bad.  You really have to expect that.  It was part of the deal from the very beginning.  No complaints.

But I confess to being surprised by the ignorance of city people.  Don’t misunderstand me, I was just as guilty.  Probably more than most.  I had no clue what it meant to live rural, let alone remote rural.  The average urbanite just doesn’t understand that it is quicker to fly to Toronto than it is to go from Vancouver to our island.  They don’t ‘get’ that cell phones don’t work ‘the same’ out here even tho we rely on them (for a cell phone to work well out here it has to be attached and fixed-in-place and usually with a large antennae, preferably with a booster pack installed.  That makes the cell no longer portable.  You don’t carry it around.  So you get your messages only when you get home.  Like the old days with ‘land lines’ and such). 

They don’t seem to understand that there is no other address for us other than the PO box.  If they do understand – which is rare – their computers don’t.  “What am I gonna write in for your street address?  We can’t proceed without one.” 

“Try 1-2-3 Doofus Drive.”  

“Oh good, that works!”

Mind you, the Campbell River urbanites are often pretty good.  One of the ways it shows up is quirky strange, tho.  When we go to Save-on and shop, it is often the case that something is ‘out’, stale, withered or ‘past it’s prime’.  Life in the grocery business.  But, of course, we have no choice and so we take it anyway.  Often the cashier, suspecting that we are from the outer islands (wearing gumboots is a hint) will say, “Geez, that lettuce is pretty droopy.” Or, “Hey, those avocadoes aren’t very good!”

“We know.  Got no choice.  Won’t be back for a couple of weeks.  And that is weather permitting.”

“Right!  Outer islands, huh?  I’m not gonna charge you for this.  Not worth it.  Sorry we don’t have better.”

That does not make the lettuce crisper but it is an exceptionally nice gesture and a recognition of who we are.  So, it is great.

And, I suppose, that is what this blog is about.  Who we are.  And it is really great when someone ‘gets it’ and treats you respectfully and accordingly.

Took awhile to get to the point on this one………………..sorry.

Weird topic, money.  Hate it, myself.  Boring.  But it’s relevant to living and so I will address it somewhat.  It is a hard topic to address because most people think money is a touchy subject and they like to keep their finances to themselves.  As if it is all some kind of a secret or something. 

It isn’t!  No one really cares except snobs and Revenue Canada.

But, anyway………….here we go…………

Living off the grid is cheaper than living in town.  The cost to get here is greater.  The cost of building is greater.  And the cost of much of what you do and buy while you are out here is greater and yet, oddly, the overall effect is much cheaper.

“How is that possible?”

Two reasons: one: you live differently in a positive, constructive way.  Two: you live differently in a minimalist, conservative way.

When you live off-the-grid in a cabin/cottage/remote sense, you need to buy food but, over time, you tend to gather, grow and forage much more than when you were in the cul de sac.  You ‘positively’ live more off the land.  By comparison, a garden was discouraged in the ‘burbs.  So was hunting.  Fishing?  Fuggedabout it.  Plus there was no time.  Out here, living off the land is a pastime, a hobby, a form of entertainment and a constant source of marvel.  You get ‘hooked’.

Of course, our little garden doesn’t make a huge dent on our budget but gathering oysters, clams and the odd fish helps.  Being ‘gifted’ eggs and such helps.  Making our own wine helps and ‘making do with what is handy or what floats up on the beach’ helps even more.

But even if you add up all the freebies, supplements, trades, swaps, gifts  and recycling, it might make only about $400.00 a month difference to the cashflow.  It just ain’t that big a deal yet.  And even that is easily offset by at least half by the more expensive burning of fossil fuels for energy instead of ‘buying’ BC hydro.

“So, why is it cheaper living?”

Mostly lifestyle.  I burn fossil fuels to make energy but I don’t use a full tank of fuel in my car driving in a month.  And I use free wood for heat.  In fact, I probably do only 200 kms a month driving the car on an average month.  I did more than 1000 kms a month when I lived in the city.

There’s an irony there.  In theory, I was closer to everything in the city.  But,in practice, I drove a great deal more to get there.

And no one sends out for pizza or Chinese take-away out here.  I don’t frequent restaurants hardly at all anymore.  There is virtually no dry cleaning and my suits, shirts and tie budget is as reduced as Sally’s Jones of New York budget.  We wear Costco jeans now.

We don’t go shopping for the sake of entertainment by finding something new, either. Now we shop for the basics, the essentials.  There ain’t much in the way of discretionary spending out here.

Living off-the-grid is as much about living differently as it is about whether we are plugged in or not.  No Starbucks.  No services by Lawn-care inc, the Pool-boy ltd or Windows-R-us.  Now we do our own thing.  And it is remarkably less expensive in the overall lifestyle even if, on any one item or even many of them, you spend more.  Generally speaking, things cost more because of the remoteness but you still spend less because of the remoteness.

You can quote me on that.

When we first came out here almost 8 years ago, I saw a couple about our age disembarking from a small boat and looking a lot like ‘locals’.  I went over and introduced myself.  Mentioned that I was morphing into a local and needed to ask a question about how much it cost for them to live out on a remote island.

They hemmed and hawed and then said, “$1,000 a month!” Then they had a little more discussion and he corrected himself, “Sorry.  Forgot the taxes.  Costs us $1050 a month!”

I asked about a dozen people the same question over the ensuing months and the highest income reported at that time was $22,500 a year.  The lowest was just over $4,000.  I have kept up that completely un-objective survey over the years and I would say that a couple not burdened by a mortgage and having the odd mod con at their disposal and a decent, healthy lifestyle lives out here for between $24,000 and $36,000 a year.  All in.

The difference between then and now?  Mostly the higher price of fuel.

One of my neighbours lives on about $5,000.00 a year and he lives well.  A few others live on even less than that (but not so well).

“Dave!  What’s your point?  We don’t want to live like that!”

My point is simple.  You have to work to spend more than $36,000 a year out here (again, assuming that you are finished building and debt free).  This lifestyle is simply not consumer oriented.  We got no stores!

Except for the optional winter getaway, you would be hard-pressed to maintain half of your old spending habits.  I don’t think you could. Those of you who think that, because you can’t get by on the 100K income you both earn now, you have to keep at it til you’re dead, are dead wrong.

Living off-the-grid is cheaper than living in-the-cul-de-sac and the lifestyle is more rewarding.  Financially, it’s a good deal.  And for me, comparing lifestyles, it is a great deal.

Rafe Mair is an ex-politician, former lawyer from the right, conservative, make-a-buck side of the political fence.  But, more than that, he is a natural-born resistance-type.  A Contrarian.  He’s a call-it-as-he-sees-it type and he has the skill and the presence to make you listen. 

He is now 80 and as fiesty as ever but his politics have changed over the past ten years or so.  He is no longer right-ist.  He is reluctantly slightly-left on only a few things, he is mostly libertarian-cum-anarchist and he has become our province’s most ardent environmentalist.

Rafe Mair is the one providing the environmental movement energy these days and he is doing a helluva job. He is primarily a ‘river-keeper’ and fish-protector but he includes almost anything in his campaign that attacks the government-think, corporate-think and media corruption that he sees as the root of most environmental and social problems. 

And he has urged us to read the message from Occupy’s Jack Etkin.

The Corporate Media is the propaganda arm of Corporate Canada.  Right now the media is trying to ‘define’ the Occupy movement in a negative way.  And all of the rest of us 99% must remember that The Media is the mouthpiece of the 1%; it is not our friend, it cannot be trusted, and we must always watch the corporate media with an eagle’s eye because it never stops trying to lie to us and mislead us about everything of importance.

Since the big ‘Occupy Protests’ of a few weeks ago, the media has focused all of its attention on ‘the camps’ that have been set up across Canada.  Here in Victoria, the focus is on the camps around Victoria City Hall and in Vancouver.  It is relatively easy for the media to make the camps ‘look bad’, and now someone has died in Vancouver and the officials are saying that the camps have togo.  There may be trouble and it will all end with anger  which is what Corporate Canada wants.

But the camps are not the Occupy Movement, only a small part of it.  The media is focusing on the camps because that is where they want the focus to be.  They DON’T want the focus to be on what the movement is really all about, and that’s because they want us to forget about that.  

Occupy is about the lack of democracy in Canada, but there is little mention of that in the corporate media.  Occupy is about the corruption of our governments by the billionaires and the elites, and how those people are bankrupting entire nations and destroying our planet.  Occupy is about the ‘free trade deals’ the 1% have imposed on us; deals that have cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs and led to record corporate profits and record homelessness and record food bank use.  Occupy is about the nuclear disaster in Japan that is going to kill millions of us, and about how all the Big Media is corporate and how it lies to us and misleads us every day of the year.  All of that is what Occupy is about, and The Media’s job is to make us forget it – if they can. 

The media could be leading us in a discussion about how to improve our democracy and make it work better for us, but they aren’t.

The media could be giving us information about how we can fix up our tax system, but they aren’t.

The media could be telling us about climate change and fracking and how we can move towards a sane environmental policy, but they aren’t.

Instead the media are focusing on a few dozen people living in tents.  Why are they doing this?  Because that is where they want the focus to be.  And until the rest of us come to grips with how corrupt and manipulative the Canadian media is, we are going to keep losing.   We’ve got to keep our eyes focused on our real enemies; and the real enemies are the corporations, their politicians, and their media.  And we have to keep some real solutions in mind, and in my opinion two of the best solutions are more democracy and a free press.  Let’s Occupy That!

As you know, I tend to think that way myself.  But they say it better.  And more people listen.  I do, however, want to add yet another comment on the whole thing.  It’s a small pont.  It’s about ‘labels’. 

Your average Canadian is a fiscally conservative open-minded liberal person with a very minor socialist tendency on the larger social issues like health care and education.  The problem is that the fascist-like, undemocratic, corporate-oriented exploiters have managed to comandeer the labels.  Those who waste billions and destroy the environment are the ‘Conservatives’.  Those who have rewritten the laws to prohibit democracy and who have supported the destruction of the environment while bankrupting our social services call themselves the ‘Liberals’.  

If you are stupid, you tend to think that, because you have conservative values, you are a Conservative.  If you have liberal tendencies, you must be a Liberal.  Not so.  The labels are not the party. 

Do you honestly think BEST Foods is the best food?  Do you think Western Family is run by or for western families?  Safeway is the safe way?  Of course not.  We know that is all just marketing and branding.  

Right?  Well, political parties are all about labels and branding and image and marketing, too.  Calling yourself the Corporate Toadies or the New Fascists just doesn’t sell well.

Just for the record, there is no more conservative party on the planet than the Green Party.  Think about it!  Their mission statement is to protect the planet.  What could possibly be more conservative than that?

The reason I bring all this up one more time is that today the ‘them’ is going to oust the ‘Occupiers’ around the nation (or so says the media). 

Our so-called democracies are going to silence the peaceful protestors. 

Why?

I wasn’t going to write much on wind as a power source because, for all practical intent, it does not work.

I mean, of course it works. Some. The propellors spin. But at 10 mph, I get 1 amp. At 15 mph, I get 1 amp. At 20 mph, I get 1.5 amps and at hurricane force, I get the whole 8 amps.

Today, I got 8 amps.

Today, it blew like stink. Wahoo! I love it when that happens. I just love the wind a’howlin’. It’s like a spring rain for me. A cleansing of the air.

Which is weird.

We already have clean air but, somehow, it feels even cleaner, fresher and more infigorating when it just howls.

And I make a bit of power. Finally.

But as far as value-for-the-dollar and ease of installation, windpower comes up last as one of the alternative powers. It just doesn’t produce.

And we have a relatively windy location!

The practical side of it is daunting, too. Assuming that you are a do-it-yourself type and you want to put up a tower that is (supposed to be) 30 feet higher than any nearby trees, then you are looking at a tower in the 75 to 100 foot range. It is likely not too big around – maybe a ham radio tower or a 6″ diameter pipe.

Now imagine who the owner is (that’s you!). Chances are you are in your fifties or older. Cottage age. And so now you have a 25 pound wind gen in one hand (400 watts) or maybe a 60 pounder (1 kw) and you have to get to the top and place that puppy up there and wire it in.

This is daunting. NOT impossible (Sal went up like a chimp – see past blogs for the entire story) but it is daunting for mere mortals.

Bottom line: explore the other alternatives on your option list first.

Townday yesterday.  Long day.  Went to Comox and back (dogfood) and did all the usual running around in Campbell River.  But we left early, hustled (ate lunch as we drove), drove fast and got back by 5:00 pm just as darkness was setting in. Dogs were happy that their dinner was not late.  Sal and I were beat to our schneez.

And so I’ll divert a bit from the Alternative energy blog-of-late and spend a paragraph or two on ‘shopping day’ logistics.  It is definitely energy related.  Kinda.  In a personal energy kind of way.

Out here, logistics are big.  Go to town and forget milk and it is another six hours and $100 to correct your mistake.  So, a ‘list’ is incredibly important. 

I know, I know….you knew this.

But did you know that we have several lists?  We probably run six or so lists-on-paper and another casual íf-I-see-it-in-my-travels-list in my head.  We have the ‘when we go to Vancouver/Victoria’ list, the when we go to Costco list, we have the ongoing food and ‘stuff’ list and we have project lists.  If you have a few projects, you will have a few more lists.

Every town trip carries all lists.

And, when you get shopping, you take what you can get.

Regardless of the list, it is impossible to get it filled fully every time.  Got ten items on your Home Depot list and you have had a ‘good run’ if you got seven of them. Generally speaking, a 70% achievement rate overall on all lists is good.  80% and it was a great day!  Get everything there is even on just one of the lists and we sit waiting for the ferry with a a grin our faces!

“Wow!  You went to the fabric store and they had everything!?  I can’t believe it!

“Yeah, I know.  It was amazing.  After the list was all crossed off, I started to look on the nursery and electrical store list and asked the clerk at the fabric store if they had junction boxes?  She just looked at me!  Hahahahhahah!”

“Hhahahahah!  Sal, you are a riot!”

It is a kind of humour you have to live to fully appreciate.

“Sorry, sir.  We don’t have nails just now.  Out of hammers, too.  But a shipment is due tomorrow.  Can you pop back into Home Depot tomorrow?”  (No, but maybe you can ‘pop over’ to Read?)

“Sorry.  Doctor was held up.  I can fit you in tomorrow same time?” (unh…….doesn’t ‘appointment’ mean the same thing to a doctor as it does to the rest of us?)

“Yes, sir, we carry those.  I’ll have them in by Thursday at the latest.”  (May as well make it a Thursday in the next month)

“The computer says we have a dozen but I can’t seem to find any.  I think the inventory is wrong. I’ll have to check with the manager.” (Good.  While you do that, I’ll do the grocery shopping, pick up the lumber, take the propellor in, see the doctor, pick up Sally’s fudge and get some tuna for sushi.  Can you talk to him within the next hour and a half?  ‘Cause by then, I’ll be back!)

You’d be surprised by how many times I have gone off to do six other chores and come back a while later to hear, “Oh, you’re back!  I know he’s in.  I saw his car.  Let me just try to reach him now!”

As it was, we were full to the brim, anyway.  If we ever got everything on all the lists it would take us 12 hours and an extra car, anyway.  That is why you ‘take what you can get’ regardless.

For instance: if I need cement, 4×4’s, lag bolts, staples, fencing, some hardware and some paint and stain for a fence and I went to the store, I would be lucky to get most of it.  Sometimes none of it.  On occasion the wood is there and so is the cement but all the hardware is on back order.  Advice: take what you can and try again and again for the hardware on future trips.  Reason: the hardware comes in when the wood inventory is low.  And there is no cement on that day because the local contractor just loaded up.

And so it goes.

“Doesn’t that drive you mad?”

“Not anymore.  When I was younger, I had a schedule to keep, people who had expectations of me, things to do, people to see and ‘deliverables’.  I lived a juggling act.  It has taken me awhile but now I have slowed down.  I am ‘on island time’.  For me, anyway.  The to-do list is really a wish-list, a maybe-it-will-happen list.  And mostly a maybe-not list.

The only thing that drives me mad?  Not having a book to read.  Now that’s annoying!

Please note that I am shifting to: http://www.offthegridhomes.org sometime real soon…………..kinda like………..this……….

Back to electricity. We have propane hot water-on-demand, a propane stove, a propane fridge and a propane freezer. So, we replaced a lot of common electrical appliances with more expensive, harder to find propane appliances to reduce the drain on the electrical system. And that helps no end.

In the long run, of course, energy is energy and you are still ‘feeding the beast’ (some corporation) when you buy propane rather than being linked to the grid conventionally. But not all óff-the-grid’ decisions are based on being idealistic, frugal or minimalistic. Sometimes you do it just because it works.

Out here we have a fabulous barge service that can fill my big propane container and I am then good for a year. No carrying, no batteries, no major infrastructure or high tech stuff to worry about. Just good ol’ gas. Easy. Simple. And it still allows me to be off-the-grid and independent.

For a year, anyway.

It’s a compromise.

My solar panels are 80 watt ‘ers. I have 8 of them. They are wired up to pump out 48 volts. In August, they are perfect. I can usually go the whole month just on the panels (if I started with a full charge and didn’t use many tools or big draws). Another 8 (someday, I hope) and I am covered for probably three whole months June, July and August. They have cost me about $5.00 a watt or $500 each when purchased. Plus the cost and labour of installing a ‘carrying structure’ for them to sit on. NOT cheap.

Today, the total watts per panel are generally higher (lowest is about 130. Highest about 240) and they are less cost on a per watt basis. I found some in Georgia advertised for $1.50 cents a watt. Canada, despite NAFTA and sometimes having a stronger dollar is always more expensive. No reason. We’re just easier to rip off. So, I doubt very much if you can do better than $3.00 a watt as I write but I am not as up to date as I could be.

I’d say a reasonable sized system for that imaginary 1500 sft house would be somewhere around 1500 watts. Of course, you can make a big difference on your overall ‘draw’ at 500 watts and you can boil away the lake in front of your house if you want to go much bigger but a reasonably ‘good investment’ estimate would suggest around 1500 watts. I’d be ecstatic at 1200 myself. Think: $10,000.

But, again, you have to have the battery capacity to ensure you store and use what you make. Sympatico.

One thing we don’t have is a dishwasher. That may have been an error. Sal is starting to rebel. My hands are turning pink. We are not happy. Having said that, a dishwasher is a big juice draw. Stupid big, really. And, if it is just the two of us we are OK. Mostly. But, when you have guests or a dinner party, the dishes thing can be a drag. I don’t have a good answer so I came up with a bad one. We tell the guests to wash up.

Well, we do that to the young people, anyway. When we can. The W’fers. The Chinese students. And sometimes family. Sally’s sister Mary is great! And that sharing-of-the-dishes-chore seems to have taken the ‘edge out of it’ for us. It’s not great hostessing but most people like to ‘chip in’ and so we say, “Really? Really? You want to help? Really? OK! Great. You’re on dishes. See ya later!”

Other than that, our power system is almost adequate. We always have light (but we turn them off when not in use), we always have enough juice for the computer, the movies and all the battery chargers. Power tools are no problem. But I can’t weld. No dishwasher. We ‘manage’ our usage and the system is demanding of maintenance and attention. It’s not all ‘buy it, install it and forget it.’

Alternative energy is a constant chore, a major initial investment, an ongoing expense, a challenge to your skills and abilities, a techie mystery and a fickle off-the-grid partner. (Not unlike a spouse now that I think about it.)

Remember: Sparks can fly

I am reluctant to write too much about batteries. Mostly because I don’t know very much.

But I do know this: get a big system. And that means hours and ‘size’. Lots of amp/hours. We have 600. I’d prefer to have 1000. But, just so you know, you pretty much need a battery charger ‘sympatico’ with the amp hour or ‘reserve’ of juice those amp hours represent. The rule-of-thumb is that your battery charger should deliver at least 10% of what your reserve is. A 600 amp hour battery bank needs 60 amps of charger.

But not all amp hours are the same. That is why ‘size’ matters. Let me explain:

You can get a battery with 200 amp hours that will fit in the engine compartment of your car and weigh under 60 pounds. Or you can get one that has the same amp hour rating and you can’t lift it. “Why is that?” I dunno. Plate thickness mostly, I think. Makes no sense to me. But, essentially, it is like Bud Light and Regular Bud and, I suppose, Heavy Bud. All beers. All drinkable. But you want heavy Bud.

Heavy, deep cycle batteries last longer. That’s the simplest reason to have them. And the heaviest are the BIG Surette 2 volt batteries that retail for about $500.00 or more a pop. If you have a 48-volt system like I do, that means 24 batteries of 2 volts each weighing in at a total of almost 4000 pounds and costing a minimum of $12,000.00 not counting all the ‘bells and whistles’ (like cables). Batteries are the heart of your system.

So, in this case, go BIG if you want to stay home.

There are variables here, of course. You can choose to have a 12 volt system (which would mean less BIG batteries). You could go 24 volts. I went 48. The higher the voltage the less resistance in the lines and the less thickness you need to compensate. If I had to do it over again, I’d go 24 volt so that I could afford the BIG two (or four-volt) volt batteries.

Bear in mind that other mfgérs make BIG two-volt batteries and they don’t market them as much so they are not as expensive. But they are still NOT cheap. Big 2-volts well maintained can last 20 to 25 years. That’s important for a whole bunch of reasons not the least of which is transporting and carrying.

They are not, however, the best value. Not as a rule. The best value comes from getting the biggest battery you can that is still ‘mass produced’ and, in my searching, I concluded that D-8’s were the best bang for the buck. D-8s are 12 volt Caterpillar tractor/heavy-duty industrial batteries that are used in everything from forklifts to buses, from tractors to bull-dozers. Plus, at 150 pounds a battery, they are still somewhat manageable.

I have 12 D-8 batteries in the three ’48 volt banks’ and they add up to about 600 amp hours. The good part? They are about $200 each. They’ll last about 7 years – give or take. So, they are 1/3 as good as Surettes but at 1/3 the price and, because I have a 48 volt system, I can afford them as well as carry them.

You can also buy 4-volt batteries (almost as heavy-duty as the 2 volt), 6-volt batteries and, of course, the common 12-volt battery. And, when you do choose which ones to get, remember to get the ‘maintenance shockers”. These are little boxes that take a bit of juice from the battery and ‘shoot it back in at miliamps’ in an effort to stave off sulfation. They work. I have three of them – one for each bank. Cost: about $50 – 75.00 each.

If I was building a 1500 sft house and doing it again, I’d still go D-8’s even tho Surettes or other BIG 2volt batteries are better. And I’d get more of them. Plus, I’d ‘house’ them very well with thick insulation and even a bit of heat if I could. Get really heavy cables for connecting and keep the batteries topped up with ‘charge’ and water. Best tip: install them so that the battery tops are at waist level so that servicing and maintaining them is easy. Then do it. It goes without saying that even tho they are at waist level, they are covered with plywood (one battery exposed at a time) so that you don’t drop something on them or short them out.

Batteries is where it all starts and ends.

Having said that, this lead acid battery technology is just a step ahead of the horse and buggy. All sorts of universities and private companies are working on improving battery technology and I suspect that they are only about five years away from putting something better on the market. But, right now? BIG lead acid is the way to go.

Putting together an alternative energy system is not as easy as it looks. And it looks hard because it is. And it is expensive. And it can be confusing, too. If there is an ‘operational foundation statement’ it would be this: Don’t believe what you read. Your case will be different. And don’t think that you can ‘do just part of it’. To do it right, the system has to be balanced and the parts have to be sympatico right from the start.

Part of the reason for the difficulty is that much of it is counterintuitive. That which you think you need, you don’t. That which you dismiss as ‘not so important’ is really, really important and much of what you need is never mentioned by the salespeople because few of them actually live off-the-grid. And, even when they do, each system should really be tailored to your needs rather than what they happen to sell.

I know that sounds like a bit of crap. But it isn’t.

For instance, one of the things the experts tell you to do is to ‘add up’ your appliances consumption rates, add in the lights and fridge and all that and then add a percentage for future demands. If you do that, you might find yourself looking at ‘needing’ 10 or more kilowatts of power. Then you look around to find the cheapest 10kw power genset. Generac or Powermate or one of the many wastes-of-money Chinese made ‘cheapies’ thinking that, “I won’t really use the genset that much. I am going to go solar and save the planet!”

The reality is that your solar panels are great in the summer, good enough in the shoulder seasons (if you have enough of them) and simply inadequate (unless you went mad and purchased 6 times what your summer needs require and even then……..) in the winter. In the winter, you will use your genset. Trust me.

“But what about wind power? I am gonna add a wind turbine for winter supplement!”

We did that. And it works. Kinda. Not ‘kinda’ enough, tho. The typical 1kw turbine (or less) just doesn’t make enough juice. Turbines need to really spin before any amount of electricity is made. REALLY spin! Think 20 mph and more. Under 20mph and it is almost useless. And you need bigger-than-normal-budget units on very expensive and very high towers to have the slimmest of chances of making a real difference.

Hydro power is far and away the best but that is a whole other chapter.

But let’s go back to the genset for a minute. You likely don’t need the 10Kw you ‘added up’. In fact, you are likely to only need around 3kw but 5 or 6.5kw is likely good enough to cover everything.

The reason? You are some kind of profligate waster-of-energy if you are running everything at the same time. Who turns all the lights on, washes clothes, dries them electrically and has all the computers and TV on at the same time? That’s crazy.

It’s takes very little in the way of thinking conservation to reduce half of your energy use. Generally speaking, we use 12 amps of power from our Honda Eu 2000 watt generator the most. I’d estimate that we used 4 times that when we lived in the cul de sac and we weren’t very wasteful even then.

For instance: jettison the electric hot water heater. Go demand. Go propane. Save a bundle. Dump incadescent bulbs – go compact flourescent. Put your fridge in the right place and you can halve the energy use. And you can do that kind of thing to almost all uses.

Still, I’d prefer to have double that which I have. I should have 5000 watts. Here’s why: We have an Outback inverter charger. It converts DC to AC power. Juice from the batteries goes to making ‘juice for the house’. But the inverter will only process 2500 watts (which is fine for daily living for us) and it will only charge the batteries at 20 amps AC. To do both at the same time, I need 5500/6500 watts. That gives me all the power that I can use plus a smidge.

In other words: my inverter/battery charger and my generator go hand in hand. In fact, the whole system has to go ‘hand-in-hand’. Sympatico.

Some people will think they need two Outbacks and 5000 watts of power-on-tap and maybe they do. But we don’t. And we have all the modcons. I would advise starting at 2500 watts of inverter power and building your system around that.

And, even before that, build your system to use less electricity.

If you do that, you need less generator. You need less fuel. You have less to worry about.

As for the generator: most of us out here have opted for diesel because the fuel consumption is less and the machine will likely last longer than we will. That part kinda makes sense. But not really. Honda’s Eu series have éco-throttle’. That means that the machine powers up and down as the load changes. I have found that an eco-throttle machine uses much the same fuel as a diesel because the diesels run at a constant rate and consume fuel you don’t use. The eco-throttle goes through more gasoline on a ‘combustion-cycle basis’ but, with the throttle control, it saves more fuel overall.

Plus the damn Hondas seem to go forever, too. My neighbour has had his Honda 5000 for over 20 years. 25, I think. It is just ‘clapping out’ on him now but 25 years is pretty good.
“Wow! Good to know. So, we’ll go get the Honda Eu6500. Thanks!”

Well, I can understand why you might want to do that. I am tempted myself. But I am also considering buying two Eu3000 s instead. “Why?” Well, machines break. Even Hondas. It would be nice to have to repair only one and still have the other working. Plus Honda allows you to ‘pair’ the two up for those larger loads. So, if you are just messin’ about in the summer and the solar panels are doing the bulk of the work, you can just fire up one unit and go about your chore. Plus, a 3000 is easier to lift and carry than a 6500.

This ‘fine-tuning’ is so critical that I may, in fact, get a Honda Eu 3000 and, when it is paired up with my Honda Eu2000, I will have the needed 5000 watts. Plus the Eu2000 is only 50 pounds. I carry it all over the property – no problem. That’s a HUGE deal.

I am not so smart. My first genset was a Coleman that was so tempermental it took a lot to get it to operate near 60 hz. The OutBack is even more tempermental and won’t accept juice that is not delivered right at 60 hz. So, I was always ‘tinkering’ with it to get it to rpm just right. Cheap generators just won’t ‘do the job’ when solid state electronics are on the line. And my inverter was the first thing on the line.

Which reminds me: buy appliances that are basic. Try to avoid the ones with ‘computers’ in them. Lots of folks out here who went for Maytag top-loaders and fancy big screen TVs found that their gensets just would not deliver the ‘smooth’ power that the appliances need. Our washer is the ‘bottom’ of the line. No bells or whistles. And no problems, either.

My second generator was a used 15kw diesel genset that is built like a tank and has to run at the full 1800 rpms to get the ‘juice’ just right. That means that if I want to run a skill saw from it, I have to burn half a gallon of diesel an hour. Plus the start-up is complicated and the damn thing is noisy. It’s like having a Freightliner idling in the garage.

Then I got the Honda Eu2000 for a camping trip and it was perfect. Quiet, too. So perfect, in fact, that it is our main daily genset even tho we run the whole house. To be fair, it is inadequate. I have to kick up the Freightliner for the odd ‘big’ draw. As I said, we need 5000 watts. But the 2000 will give us half what we need which is fine 80% of the time.

Bottom line: really, really think about gensets a lot before buying one. Not only for the reasons stated but because there are other factors at play as well like portability, noise and size of ‘shed’ needed to house it. But, without a doubt, an oil-burning, polluting, noisy machine is gonna be part of your alternative energy, off-the-grid system. Get used to it.

More tomorrow.

When I post about ravens and seals, people comment. Almost always in a complementary way. People love ravens and seals.

When I write about local people, I don’t usually get written comments but I always get a ‘local’ saying, “I read what you wrote about Jerry. Pretty funny! True, too.” Local people like reading about local people as long as it isn’t them.

When I write about me and my screw-ups, accidents, misadventures and various embarrassments, I get the most comments. People love to read about me screwing up. And it doesn’t seem to matter how much screwing up is being written about. It is all good.

“Hey, Dave! Chainsawed off a limb lately? Ha ha ha!”

And when I write about the Amazing Sal, women write back and tell me that I am undeservedly lucky and that I should appreciate her even more than I do and boy, oh boy, they sound like they just want to slap my silly face for some reason. The more I heap praise on the Ol’ Puddin’, the more likely I am to be reminded that I don’t deserve any of it.

I am not stupid. I will never write a critical word about Sal. Ever! They’d hunt me down and skin me alive.

It’s politics and philosophy that gets the least in the way of comments. I know that. I feel the same way when I read some other nut’s point of view on things. What a drag! So, I try to curb the tendency. Honest. As I said before, “Forgive me, please. I can’t help myself most of the time.”

But I can right now. I am going to be good. I promise.

Let me start with a brief summary of possible topics. There is the Read Island Development plan. Mind you, it is mostly just in my head but it’s a plan. Of sorts. It includes some woodworking, maybe some boat-building. It includes some housing construction. Maybe. Maybe a ‘clutch’ of units somewhere for those of us too old to keep up the ol’ homestead but not wishing to retire to the city. There are the potential ‘income stream’ ideas. And there is the ongoingness of just ‘keeping it all together’ on a day to day basis. Lots of material there.

There is the winter retreat. We try to get away three winters out of four. Two out of three, anyway. And we try to make it interesting. A cruise ship or an all-inclusive resort is not our style nor within our budget. So we usually try to ‘get local’ and travel like the footloose youth we once were. That aspect is wearing a bit thin but we still think that way even if it is getting harder to do. I suspect that we will have to get really creative soon. Mind you, we are planning on Argentina next year. Fly there and chicken-bus around. So the spirit isn’t dead.

There is always good ol’ China-watching. And not-so-good US-watching. I confess to not having much interest in Canada-watching but every once in awhile…………

And then there are the obits. That’s something, eh? I never passed a minute reading obituaries until about five years ago. I still don’t do it on a regular basis but, I must confess again, I do read them when I can. I keep expecting to know someone. Sometimes I do. Weird.

I’ve got spiritual stuff to write about but that seems to elicit much the same response as politics and philosophy. So, I may censor myself on that. Maybe not.

We’ve got great kids. I’d love to write about them but they prefer to remain relatively anonymous so I’ll respect that. But Em is going to China in January. That should be good for a few columns.

There are the dogs but as much as some love to hear about dogs, I am not one of them. The dogs wag their tails, chase sticks, smell each others butts and like their dinner at or just before 5:00. ‘Nuff said.

‘Course there are the W’fers. But they are seasonal and it isn’t the season.

And there is ‘living-off-the-grid’ teachings. How to do stuff. But I am currently disinclined that way for some reason. I’ll get back to batteries and solar panels someday. But not now. Just for the record: Sal and I ‘serviced’ the battery system yesterday. Water, cleaning, charging…….that sort of thing.

So, that’s the ‘index’. Any preferences?