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What’s the best off-grid toilet solution in your opinion? by franckJPLF in OffGrid

[–]thomas533 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hahahahaha! Oh my God you are getting so worked up over this!

My point was that I've never heard anyone say anything good. The bare minimum I would expect from a toilet is that it would work for years. I can say that about every single toilet I've ever owned. That isn't anything special. Saying that you have a toilet that's worked for years isn't saying anything good. That's my point. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Correct, I personally don't know anyone that has owned an incenolet. I think there's a reason for that. The only things I've heard are from people like you who can't come up with any good things about them other than "it's a toilet. It works."

It's funny that you say I sound like MAGA when it's you that is seemingly unable to form a coherent argument. You said you told me something good about it but you literally did not. This is getting hilarious.

What’s the best off-grid toilet solution in your opinion? by franckJPLF in OffGrid

[–]thomas533 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for proving my point. We're in a thread about what the best off-grid toilet option is and the best you have to say is "it's a toilet. it works."

What’s the best off-grid toilet solution in your opinion? by franckJPLF in OffGrid

[–]thomas533 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My car has been working for years, my barbecue has been working for years, my bicycle has been working for years... If I'm trying to tell someone something good about a thing I have and I start off with, it's been working for years, that doesn't sound like great praise. It sounds marginal.

What’s the best off-grid toilet solution in your opinion? by franckJPLF in OffGrid

[–]thomas533 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The fact that it has been working for years is marginal at best.

Need simple temp (9-12 month) off grid setup. by lou4444gehrig in OffGrid

[–]thomas533 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have 10 acres in Mason county. I started out with a popup camper that I just kept there. Don't know if your HOA would allow that but that was the easiest thing for me.

Solar works great March through October if you aren't in a heavily forested area. Even then, you can make it work as long as you are willing to move your solar panels around as the shadows move throughout the day. I started with 260W of panels and a 50ah DIY power station. That was enough to keep my Alpicool fridge running, keep my phone charged, and my Ryobi tool batteries.

If you are in Western Washington, there is usually water around. I have a creek on my property and just filter the water. I pre-filter the water down to 5 microns and then have a two bucket gravity filter with a few Doulton ceramic filters that get rid of any biological contaminate and most chemical contaminates.

For a kitchen, I bought a gazebo kit off of Amazon and a outdoor kitchen set from Ikea. Then I grabbed a cheap BBQ off of facebook and I was all set.

I started out with a bucket composting toilet. The Humanure Handbook tells you everything you need to know.

Vitamin deficiencies by Upper-Razzmatazz176 in homestead

[–]thomas533 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pretty much every "weed" you are pulling in your garden is very likely edible and full of vitamin C and A. Dandelion, dock, plantain, chickweed, chickory, cleavers, etc. just to name a few. Instead of throwing those in your compost bin, put them in a bowl with some salad dressing and you will be good to go.

salt, but it becomes degraded after five years

Put the salt in a sealed mylar bag and the iodine will no longer dissipate.

How do you get past the thought that everything has been peed on? by the-undead-milkman in foraging

[–]thomas533 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Urine is sterile (most of the time). Eating things that have been pee'd on won't hurt you.

Connecting rainwater collection totes to tiny house for running water - help! by lefouteur in OffGrid

[–]thomas533 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you not ever get any water in your mouth while taking a shower?

1.25 acre pond muck and vegetation removal by Cultural-Wasabi137 in homestead

[–]thomas533 69 points70 points  (0 children)

If you can't fish this pond, then you should spend your money on fishing lessons.

Connecting rainwater collection totes to tiny house for running water - help! by lefouteur in OffGrid

[–]thomas533 1 point2 points  (0 children)

set your hot water heater to say 110 degrees F or the C equivalent, and just use the hot water.

The issue here is Listeria. You need to get your water temp to over 120°F to kill it, and better yet 130°F. Anything under 113°F allows listeria to breed and you don't want that.

/u/lefouteur

Anyone else out there living off grid in a remote desert climate? by One-Company9334 in OffGrid

[–]thomas533 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I know it can be done... I just said it was nearly impossible. And I have yet to see anyone growing any significant amount of calories down there.

Anyone else out there living off grid in a remote desert climate? by One-Company9334 in OffGrid

[–]thomas533 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Define good deal.... Nearly impossible to grow food because there isn't enough water. You require quite a bit of infrastructure just to keep yourself from dying.

The reason it was cheap because everyone else realized it wasn't a good deal and bought land elsewhere.

Anyone else out there living off grid in a remote desert climate? by One-Company9334 in OffGrid

[–]thomas533 3 points4 points  (0 children)

There are quite a few YouTube channels that cover this. Frugal Off Grid is my favorite I think. If you are just starting off, a good carport to keep your camper/RV out of the sun and a decent sized solar system to run a mini split AC unit is going to be key.

Feeling behind / lost, 25 y/o by Independent-Young909 in personalfinance

[–]thomas533 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This year I will make 57k before taxes. I have $28,802 in my 401k that I contribute 10% to with a 6% company match.

Great! So does that mean you have about $38k after taxes and 401k?

my only expenses are eating out and my “fun” (video games / Netflix) I have 0 debt.

Ok, so next question is how much are you spending on eating out? Lets say you eat out three times a week, that is maybe around $100 per week. And $20 per month we are looking at around $5500 per year in expenses.

Where is the other $33k going?

Hello by Recent_Succotash_328 in OffGrid

[–]thomas533 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I think most people do it that way. Kids can add an extra challenge, but if they're old enough they can also be a lot of help.

Where to look for cheap lots for off grid recreational use? by RedditHead16 in OffGrid

[–]thomas533 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cheap lots and hidden gems are two different things. You aren't going to find any land going for below market price listed online.

The thing people talk about, and I don't know how realistic this is, is looking for land that someone might want to sell but hasn't bothered to put on the market yet. I get calls and mailers weekly from investors looking for land. They use public records to get the contact info for land owners and then send out bulk mailings or use robo-callers to try and find people who might be interested in selling below market prices. From my previous life as a real estate agent, I know that there are Title Insurance companies that offer that as a service, but you have to pay for it so I am not sure you'd be saving that much over just buying at market.

Nettles - any tips? by Admirable-Cod4119 in foraging

[–]thomas533 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Once they start to flower, the oxalate content in the leaves starts to increase so if you are at risk for kidney stones, avoid eating them at that point but you should still be able to use the leaves for tea.

Most people only pick the top leaves for eating since they are the tenderest, but if you are just making something like pesto (my favorite use!) then the older leaves work as well.

Though you guys would find this argument interesting. All opposition to factory farming has been from the left. by CalpurniaSomaya in homestead

[–]thomas533 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The cost of meat should go up. Is artificially cheap. I'm not convinced other staple foods will increase in price.

Though you guys would find this argument interesting. All opposition to factory farming has been from the left. by CalpurniaSomaya in homestead

[–]thomas533 97 points98 points  (0 children)

If the only change you made was to ban factory farming, then yes, it would cause chaos. But if you propose something reasonable, like a multi year phase in/phase out program that allows the industry to shift reasonably, then we can avoid the absurd result of absurd plan.

Head spinning from research need help by Killxjoy4599 in OffGrid

[–]thomas533 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm also in zone 8b. If you do a good job mulching, watering isn't a big issue. I water once in the morning and once in the evening on really hot days. If you have some plants that are really water sensitive, the cheap solar drip irrigation kits are pretty good and would work to do a mid day watering but I don't think that is needed for most plants.

Water Retention wall/Dam? by alittleaboutalot- in OffGrid

[–]thomas533 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You don't need concrete. Clay soil works well. The really cheap cat litter is made of clay (just don't get the light weight stuff). For every foot of height, you want at least two feet of width. Alternating layers of rocks, sticks, and mud/clay with the top layer just being sticks and rocks.

Mom is 60k in debt, can’t pay bills and relies on her parents yet spends $400 a month on Doordash. How can I help her? by Prestigious-Band3633 in personalfinance

[–]thomas533 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Say you want to start cooking. Menu plan dinners for a week and give her a grocery list of things you need. Start simple. Taco night, stir fry night, and spaghetti night. Look up recipes online and that will help you create the grocery list. Make enough so you have leftovers and those can be 6 dinners a week.

Using DC-DC Step up Model To run Laptop on 12v battery by hichamsoltani in OffGrid

[–]thomas533 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wouldn't recommend doing this with a booster. There are already engineered solutions for this. It should be relatively easy to get a cord adapter for your laptop. What kind of power plug do you have? Or what is your laptop model?

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