I have a yanmar 20 kw and it's been the best generator I have every had. It's been flawless for at least the last 10 years. I think it has 18000 hrs on it and the only thing I've done to it was change the turbo once for a couple hundred bucks.
@OffGridWithChrisandKristie
Жыл бұрын
Curtis your channel inspires us constantly! Not only to make our own dreams happen but also to make content. We are in the far north east corner of BC and there’s definitely a few things that we need to consider living above the 56th parallel in a forest! Your system is the best of the best, and those armchair warriors are only annoyed that they’re not able to do it themselves, either because they’re lazy or haven’t made the decisions that would financially allow them to be so free. Please keep doing what you’re doing, if you can get through to just one family, it’s all worth it!
@offgridcurtisstone
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for saying that.
@neelsscheepers8841
Жыл бұрын
Curtis, live your life the way you want and don't let others tell you how. Living Off grid is adapting to what electricity you have and not what you wish you had. Keep up the good work!!!!
@rongray4118
8 ай бұрын
The same windbags spouting what everyone else "should do" are the same windbags who "vote" to personal rights altogether...or so it seems these days.
@jeffdible8171
Жыл бұрын
A very well thought out system with multiple redundancies. Site appropriate applications with site appropriate technology. Inspiring Curtis!
@michaellydon4119
Жыл бұрын
Kudos to you Curtis. Though you're not even finished yet, your site is significantly more sustainable than 99% of the homes that your viewers have. It's great seeing the state of the art in living off grid today, and hearing the issues/insights that present when doing that in real life. Thank you. Excellent job. And viewer's unconsidered + ignorant comments are sad. But such is the case with most humans. I wish you continued resilience in dealing with this reality of life. All the Best to You and Yours.
@grow-with-R-and-S
Жыл бұрын
Another great video Curtis. Thanks for spending the time to film, edit and post all your vids. We have adapted some our gardening practices from the info you present. Keep the great job your doing. Nice generator!!! Enjoying our Gravenhurst winter
@dropshot1967
Жыл бұрын
Aside from all other arguments about a generator or more solar, I think diversifying your power source is very important and has big advantages. It gives you options and reduces the number of single-point failures. I really like your setup ad what you plan to do.
@funghouls5498
Жыл бұрын
Completely agree with you mate
@padraics
Жыл бұрын
Why not diversify further by tying to grid to make use of it instead of burning diesel in winter? Can still have the generator to be completely autonomous if power were shut off. Genuine question, not an argument
@TheWickerShireProject
Жыл бұрын
I'm seeing heat reclamation on the diesel pipes. Food for thought. Love the set up and how you explain the levels of off grid. No system is perfect except the one that works for you. I get the idea the True off grid is a cabin in Alaska but, again as you said you would never see or learn anything from that persons hermit lifestyle as it could never be shared out. We use a generator to keep the battery going on bad days as well. Why would anyone let their system crash? Ok watching.
@bendeleted9155
Жыл бұрын
This is high-end but realist off-grid. I am envious. Nice work.
@montanaboobie
Жыл бұрын
There is so many different led Lights out there. They truly do cover the spectrum. I have an off grid ranch in Montana
@craigdawson7632
Жыл бұрын
LED is getting better, worth looking into again. You can pick the light spectrum you want now days. 2.6-3 umol/joul is getting good. Blue light is a legit issue but you don't need so much blue in it now
@ArthursHD
Жыл бұрын
There are any color LEDs. Can buy RGB led and turn off the blue light completely :D so you get a funky light. There are warm white LEDs with low blue light output. Incandescent is still more yellow.
@petesfeeder
Жыл бұрын
I appreciate your approach to off grid. If I wanted to see how I did things it wouldn't be learning. Keep crushing, stay free. Much love
@petesfeeder
Жыл бұрын
And you're on point. Diy means it's part of your "career". The system depending on me makes me the manager, mechanic, electrician.....
@TABLESAWTIM
Жыл бұрын
I appreciate you Mr. Stone. I look forward to your future wood to electricity videos. My wife & I expect to emulate your families system, in Northern ID. Thank you sir.
@dcretney
Жыл бұрын
I am definitely interested to see how Curtis does wood to elec.
@wx7slc
Жыл бұрын
You are right on and it is refreshing to hear someone honest, strong and brave enough to share your point of view. Best of success in realizing your project!
@NEW_INSITE
Жыл бұрын
I love the hydronic heated concrete floors. I experience them first when I was in Korea back in the 70s. They had a small burning device outside the room that you put a round block of charcoal that had holes through it. In Korea it was called yeontan. Like remember having to go out sometimes in the middle of the night putting in a new block of charcoal as the other ones burned down slowly. But they worked great, they were efficient and safe. I also experienced the other type of floor heating in Korea which had basically a chimney system going underneath the concrete floor where the hot gases went through the chimney system and heated the concrete floor. That was called on doll Heating. The bad thing about that type of system was when the floors got a few years old they started to build cracks and you get carbon monoxide leaking into the room. If that happened and you woke up with just a headache consider yourself lucky, there were many deaths because of that type of heating system.P.S Liked and Subscribed.
@DanielGraham-gj5it
Жыл бұрын
Great video Curtis. I love the honest off-grid lifestyle perspective. Your Generator is AC coupled into this system.
@offgridcurtisstone
Жыл бұрын
Boom. Thanks Daniel.
@richardallankellogg
Жыл бұрын
I really like your system. You have a good balance between ideal vs practical. I noticed that high tower with the wind power on it. I would love to have a property like that and would put a GMRS repeater on the tower to provide communications for miles around. Of course, you may not want or need such. One thing I haven’t seen from you (I’ve only watched the last 2 videos), is there utility power available to you if you wanted it, or were you forced to go off grid? (I realize you want to be off grid, but just curious). Keep up the good videos. I really liked this one.
@seek2find
Жыл бұрын
Calculating the diminishing returns is an important part of making those kind of decisions like whether or not to add more solar panels etc etc.
@anthonygaffey9667
Жыл бұрын
he did spend $14000 on the gen plus install, if he could get the solar to cover his needs for around that price I think it would have been worth it. But now that he has already got the generator the diminishing returns compared to the running cost of the generator no longer make since.
@marksmith4627
Жыл бұрын
@@anthonygaffey9667 Yes, but relying strictly on a system that can develop problems and in an environment that is not reliably sunny in the winter, makes having a separate generator backup more sense.
@bradcavanagh3092
Жыл бұрын
Just wondering what the go is for scheduled maintenance of your generator? Does your management system alert you when it's clocked enough hours or is it up to you to check the hour meter?
@Djkyle65
2 ай бұрын
The commentary is awesome never seen this channel before but its getting a thumbs up from me.
@BlainsTube
Жыл бұрын
Your videos come across like a snapshot of where you're at right now. I'm guessing you're not trying to say that you've arrived at the end of your homestead journey. You do a great job of explaining yourself and your situation. Keep up the good work along the way.
@groundspeed3954
Жыл бұрын
I like your system: it's reliable, available, and maintainable. Demonstrated technology wins every day in my mind.
@ugsisr
Жыл бұрын
We used to follow your channel but fell off awhile.... Your new place is very impressive... Congrats and may you and your family enjoy many years there..
@BattleAx342
Жыл бұрын
I have to say I am very impressed with the way you can live up in the mountains off grid I wish me and my family could do that but being in our mid to late 50s is not going to happen. That generator is bad ass dude. Great video.
@beatrizviacava-goulet3450
Жыл бұрын
Network many in ur situation ...maybe a group of u all can share land ...is coming those times ...hope this empower the many... these parasites ones are buying and chopping the lands ...let's get together and minimize the damages if we keep teaching and learning passing it forward is the key ...🧐😳🤔🫂👍🌎🗣❣️
@roballan4944
Жыл бұрын
Happy to see you chose a diesel genset. Although I would recommend a low speed diesel over the 3600rpm one little guys. They don't really last and are not worth rebuilding. Keep an eye out for general construction /mining light plants. They usually run 3/4 cylinder Isuzu or Kubota engines and will run upwards of 20,000 hours. They sell for cheap at Ritchie Bros and Kijiji. They are usually 12-20kw and often offer 120/240v.
@1960ARC
Жыл бұрын
I have a diesel smart car that is close to hitting 100,000 miles and no engine issues. I wonder if it would be possible to convert such a small engine to run a generator.
@smjones4238
Жыл бұрын
This Yanmar genset is an 1800rpm set, so NOT the buzzy (3600 rpm) little gasoline/propane burner.
@Refertech101
8 ай бұрын
I love my Isuzu Power plant, can be rebuilt in position is the big wining one for me, I can do a major over haul with not moving a thing.
@tamaradewilde9924
Жыл бұрын
We have had bad luck with energy efficient appliances. Our repairmen that kept coming to our house for our energy efficient dryer and washing machine gave us a hint. He said to go buy rebuilt used older models of machines. Best advice ever!
@Zkpe02
Жыл бұрын
Well done! Excellent review with detailed real useful information 👍
@brotheralec8998
24 күн бұрын
I live on 2 acres and my family helps with projects from time to time. Our next project is a on site generator. Going with gasoline because of the need to convert to biogas in the future. We are actually looking to use an engine from a car. Possibly use the heat/ac components and use the radiator system as a source of heat. Along with charging 12v.
@jacalnan
Жыл бұрын
Super interesting projects! You do a great job explaining everything and thanks for sharing!
@davidorcutt9246
Жыл бұрын
Never seen you before. You are just straight and open… I like that!!! Subscribed!
@butchclifford8733
Жыл бұрын
This video is not up on Rumble so I will reluctantly comment here. Diesel at $150.00 per year for the one month in question amounts to 66 years to reach the $10,000 amortization expense amount. The genset expense of $13,000 is a necessary redundancy in the off-grid system so this expense cannot be included in this discussion. Price vs Worth = Value, smart. Love your videos, you are an inspiration Mr. Stone. ( Off-grid with Schneider and Honda Gensets for 6 years, FREEDOM!).
@simon359
Жыл бұрын
Well, I’m glad I don’t have to read through all your comments! Too many people who’ve never experienced going off grid and finding out it’s a long process and it’s a learning process too! I myself didn’t know anything about electricity, and it took years to get comfortable and finally build the system I wanted. But even after that, it takes time to figure out whether you did it right or you need to add here or there to it. If people could do anything in life, it should be less judgment on everybody else, and we’d all be a lot better off ! 🖖
@melissasmess2773
Жыл бұрын
I burn up about 20-25Kwh a day too, thinking about turning off the water heater. I probably won't use a generator just so that I can say I'm off grid. I love Yanmar, have one of their tractors. Nice place you're building. Thanks for sharing!
@spacemanspiffy6596
11 ай бұрын
Curtis, your doing awesome!!!
@spacemanspiffy6596
11 ай бұрын
Love the rant, yes at some point, even if you might do a better job with DIY, its best to hire out. Family time is priceless and hard to catch up on. People without kids wont comprehend this.
@monkeymhn7
Ай бұрын
From experience in generator installation and event power support I agree that Diesel generators are most efficient when run in the 40-80% range. Also the engine is less likely to wet stack and the gen head gives the most stable output and reliable service. Please explain what a tidy tank is and how it is different from the usual fuel oil tank.
@cranerigging3604
Жыл бұрын
That's a nice generator setup and I like the way it's automated to start up ! 👍 Those Yanmar engine's are pretty bulletproof . We have one in a JD skid loader and all we have done to it is change oil & filters after 5,500 hours . We use a truck mounted gas driven welder /generator if the power fails for temporary electricity to the home . At 24:22 is the reason we stay with rural electric power company as if I do the math our annual power bill is around $ 2,000.00 So $130,000.00 will buy a lot of energy for many years to come .
@racingtogreen2023
Жыл бұрын
Our "off-grid" art studio, with Mini split A/C and heat pump, in Texas, has a cheap transfer switch, as the shed is there to be used. It still provides about 9/10ths of it's power from the sun, and that is what I'm hearing here, do what works. We're looking to move to the tropics, which is why I'm training on off-grid, and watching your videos, has probably convinced me to put in a Diesel generator. Where we're going uses a lot of Diesel, so will be easy to get. I am testing panel movement. I do wonder if you get sun tracking at all that goes over the panels, if a simple, single axis tracker with linear actuators might provide an increase that is usable since you said you can tilt them yourself. The cheap $40 actuators can move 300lbs, per, and can be controlled by a $65 ebay tracker, which might be worthwhile looking into. I built one with an arduino, just because I do like to geek out and have the time. I had two of the 12" actuators running off three 18650 3.6v batteries. The actuators and controller, use very little power. But, it sounds like it's just easier to use the generator. I only suggest it, because it looks like it would be pretty simple to cobble onto your current system, and could be done for probably close to a $100 per rack. And hey, moving panels are cool...
@benjaminp6924
Жыл бұрын
Been doing laundry in a mop bucket for three yrs no prob, led lights have many options now like yellow Amber white specs, life is not about being comfortable it's about teaching our children the will of heavenly Father, thanks for your uploads they help those whom diligently observe
@Coleen-Love
15 күн бұрын
Love what you have done! -- QUESTION -- Is that yanmar a four cylinder or three as I can't tell the model number?? Also, any big preference between Perkins vs Yanmar vs Kabota engines for a generator? Not sure if you got into th weeds on that issue. Sure would love to listen to that running under load to hear the sound!
@tonyshipman257
Жыл бұрын
Curtis, Thank you for taking the time to share this. This is the first video of yours that I've seen, so far. Know that I'm not judging. I'm merely asking questions to better understand your system(s). Do you have Bi-Facial panels? We would like to have solar and an off-grid generator setup large enough to run our entire property. We are working towards some of those goals. Maybe some day soon. Take care, Tony
@offgridcurtisstone
Жыл бұрын
No. They weren't available when we built the system.
@tonyshipman257
Жыл бұрын
@@offgridcurtisstone Thank you for responding. Your setup is the kind we want / plan to do for our farm and outbuildings. (Outdoor furnace, solar and back up gen.) Tony (Ontario Canada)
@mochoman5532
Жыл бұрын
Curtis, look into making biogas from waste, and compost heating. Compress the biogas and run the generator.
@hendo19742
Жыл бұрын
BIG CHANNEL, GREETINGS FROM THE UK!👍🇿🇦🇬🇧 SUBSCRIBED👍
@northlander1948
Жыл бұрын
Yanmar diesels are awesome, truckers love those things. I also have transitioned from single with no money and lots of time to family life with some money and much less time. So I 100% am with you on “is it turn key?” Lol
@Wrenchen-with-Darren
Жыл бұрын
Dude, spot on!!! I use some l.e.d. but, like you... not in the house.
@ambersmith6517
Жыл бұрын
this was down to earth a very awesome video!
@belieftransformation
Жыл бұрын
Awesome info & progress! Brilliant set up! Blessings to all 🤗💜🇨🇦
@TheLizardKing1967
Жыл бұрын
An Old Amish trick i learned. In the Wintertime, i wash my clothes and let them dry by hanging them up in my house. It's FREE, no power to run the dryer and it puts moisture back in the air.
@carl8568
Жыл бұрын
You need to be weary of mould doing that though, too much moisture in the air is not good.
@judyjahnz2363
Жыл бұрын
Life is always trade-offs and choices, sacrifice for something better. Someone with power might not be able to do wash in a power outage either, which are happening a lot more often now. Being prepared for whatever happens is the idea. No one is fully prepared for everything all the time.
@jameefloch7530
Жыл бұрын
Good for you!! LED is BAD!! Also energy saving off grid refrigerators start at 2K!!! Takes time. Off grid in the UP Mi.
@carl8568
Жыл бұрын
I purchased a blue light free, zero flicker LED bulb for next to my bed. I would have gone with an incandescent bulb but i'm only working with a mere 6.5kw of lead acid storage and my old incandescent bulbs literally used 10 times the power as this new one. I haven't noticed any real sleep disturbances as yet.
@homestead685
Жыл бұрын
if solar panels all broke(or if you opted out of solar).. how many hours per day would you need to run the generator to charge the batteries and live like you do now?
@JoLe1991
Жыл бұрын
if you need efficient and natural light for extended time (e. g. >30 minutes) you should go for ceramic metal halide lamps, the top model from philips is actually more efficient than LED's and produces a full spectrum light. model name is MASTERColour CDM-T 70W/830 G12 1CT/12 i have 2 of these bulbs along with the corresponding driver and there's nothing out there beating them in terms of light quality and electrical efficiency combined
@aliensgotme
Жыл бұрын
Were offgrid in central BC and need to run our generator every few days for a few hours to keep up with the house. This the first year ever needing to run it past the 5th of February, it's an older system but over the last summer I noticed a big difference in the suns energy output. Have you noticed this same problem? Or maybe our panels are just getting old.
@offgridcurtisstone
Жыл бұрын
Big time geo-engineering happening in recent years. It definitely dampens solar, but not debilitating. Part of the reason I did the size of system I did.
@Choose_Fun
Жыл бұрын
incredible location. Very beautiful and certainly far from all. Logistics for you probably does not cost cheap ( And also I am impressed!
@dc1544
Жыл бұрын
I agree those who are not trying to get off grid have no clue. I only have to cover 75 days of not enough solar to cover my loads. In my research I found Heli 2.0 48V kit with 5 blades to be the best. I am seeing an average day with winds 5-15mph produce 14kw. Since you already have your poles you could add 2 of them or even make it just 1. For $2100 it could make a huge difference on cloudy days and save you diesel. I will be buying one this summer and installing it. I will leave the brake on till i need it since I see no reason to wear out bearings etc and have to use a dump load heater. besides my testing of it. I have 58kw of lifepo4 batteries with 9400 watts of solar. When I get mine up and running I will get you my data if you want.
@paulmaxwell8851
Жыл бұрын
As Curtis mentioned in an earlier video, he simply does not have the wind resources at his location. I have several neighbours who spent tens of thousands on wind turbines, and yes they do spin nicely up there. But they rarely ever generate useful power, because we do not have significant wind. These folks did not do their homework, ie site appraisal. Spend your money on photovoltaic panels and don't waste your time and money on wind, unless a qualified energy consultant verifies you have the wind resources.
@dc1544
Жыл бұрын
@@paulmaxwell8851 In winter wind is higher. His are not spinning or doing anything because they are end of life. 4 months a year in late fall to early spring the wind doubles in all northern states. To catch the wind you need to be at least 30' up and his are higher. Not all Wind turbines are created equal. That is why I have been researching which ones actually perform. This is also why I said I will let him know how mine do in 5-15mph winds. Turbines at 12 mph produce about 25% of rated output. 20mph 50-65%. 28 mph is the sweet spot where you get about 100%. So with wind at gusts 5-15 mph it should average 400-600 watts per hour. 9,600 watts - 14,400 watts in a day. I bet he can attest to he gets wind over 10 mph a lot in winter. I see so many turbines not produce. That is why I researched which ones do at an affordable price. He already has the tower which is the most expensive part. So again I will test it and let him know. Then he can decide if he wants to do it. I ahve soalr/batteries inverters and I am off grid all but 75 days in the shortest days Nov to end of January.
@allthingsgrowing
Жыл бұрын
I am curious. And unless you have answered this in another video, that I have not seen. May I ask why you didn't get a generator that runs off propane? Natural gas? Etc... What made you decide on the diesel?
@Capoe3
Жыл бұрын
He has a lot of equip that runs on diesel. So has storage around of diesel for the Generator and the equipment.
@sierge1
Жыл бұрын
Curtis serious question. What will you do if diesel fuel becomes unavailable?
@offgridcurtisstone
Жыл бұрын
If diesel becomes available we're all in big trouble.
@cak4468
Жыл бұрын
How cold can it get in the winter where you are at? Do you have any worries about cold starting the generator, without any block heater, in cold temperatures?
@offgridcurtisstone
Жыл бұрын
It warms up really nice. Hasn't been cold enough at -32c.
@michaelchownyk5255
Жыл бұрын
Those server rack batteries have battery management systems already built into them except they do not communicate with your inverter. I think what you need as a Schneider Connext battery monitor. It’s a $900 item and it has a prescaler box which then connects to the major positive and major negative of the DC bus. All of the current that goes in and out of your battery pack goes through a 500 or 1000 amp shunt and it acts as a precision resistor to determine the current exactly. This is measured overtime and when programmed properly to the size of your actual capacity it will give you a read out in percent of full. That will provide a very accurate means to determine your actual state of charge. I have one. I live off grid too. Lithium iron phosphate batteries have a very flat discharge curve. It’s very hard to determine the actual state of charge through voltage. I like your system thanks for posting the video.
@offgridcurtisstone
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for that. Can you tell me the exact model you're referring to? thank you.
@rustywrench2119
7 ай бұрын
Just curious about fuel gelling. Do you have a heat blanket or heater on it?
@offgridcurtisstone
7 ай бұрын
Yes. It stays plugged in.
@BrianRiffle
Жыл бұрын
Many home standby generators turn on and run once a week for 30min - 1 hour as part of a self test. Do you do something similar to ensure the generator stays lubricated and ready to go?
@offgridcurtisstone
Жыл бұрын
Yes.
@joeykunz
Жыл бұрын
I was with you about LEDs a few years ago but they are indistinguishable now vs incandescent. Check your color temps on the newer stuff, 3000-4000k. even the Edison led bulbs are nice now.
@jangolian5253
Жыл бұрын
Constant invisible blinking and emiting crazy amounts of frequencies is much bigger problem than color temps. Even new LEDs still use PWM modulation, nothing has improved.
@douggibson9084
Жыл бұрын
WOW, Curtis geny shed looks great. 80 20 best gain, excellent rant. Could you imagine if it would cost your viewer to rant $5/ rant. Can you imagine. Hahaha
@AdrianvanWijk
Жыл бұрын
On the viability of using the radiator heat from the Generator: 1 liter of diesel = 10kWh of heat. So 450 L of diesel (450 x 10 kWh) = 4500 kWh of heat blowing out the window. (Note: The electricity produced is in addition to the heat energy). So what's 4500 kWh of heat energy worth in the winter. Is the capital cost worth it? What is a comparable capital cost per kWh for solar?
@Wrenchen-with-Darren
Жыл бұрын
I love my water/water woodstove, hot water. Love your system. I thought mine was the best...... well, I'm #2 now. Lol
@gs12pilot
Жыл бұрын
How are you dealing with cold diesel fuel. Do you treat it?
@offgridcurtisstone
Жыл бұрын
Nothing to manage there. Doesn't matter.
@scruples671
Жыл бұрын
Led lights can accuracy reproduce the light spectrum better than incandescent bulbs. Look at the specifications of the bulbs your buying. But where you are at below zero temperatures could be an issue at startup. But led bulbs are phenommely more efficient.
@MrDanrn999
Жыл бұрын
Thank you
@tdewtx
Жыл бұрын
Love it, you tell those sily trolls.
@camaro53085
6 ай бұрын
I'm with you on the LED lights. The light from them is very unpleasant and I can't stand them. I have stocked up on incandescent bulbs when they were phasing them out.
@WarriorGnome
Жыл бұрын
THANKS for sharing!
@therealdja
Жыл бұрын
My friend I love your videos, you've taught me many many things. Is there any chance in future videos you can turn up your volume just a bit, sometimes its recorded so low hard to hear, please. Have a great day!
@mute7116
Жыл бұрын
Hello Curtis, family (and crew). I came across you I think just before the covid debacle really kicked off...definitely before your move. I really liked what you had/have going on. And the political/life talks were a bonus. You and I made the property purchases nearly at the same time. I'm a year ahead of ya on my exodus. And it has been a wild ride for us during this shit show. We are all paid off and there is no debt. We are debt free and we absolutely love our imperfect property and more perfect location. We are blessed. We are on the more diy end of the spectrum but, definitely not out of arrogance; like off grid elitist snobs. Our position is one of worldview and financial. Of which our worldview has affected our financial...hahaha. My wife and I were both govt employed and while she liked her job working with elderly in a community connections capacity, I already was becming disenfranchised with govt polcies and public burdens that I was entangled in on a daily basis. Forward to CV. My wife was the first to exit her employment. She couldn't stand what was being done with the elderly and the the whole of the spirit of her job was being oppressed. She was greatly saddened and I supported her in her decision to leave. We were both, "no maskers" and our fight, though similar, were different. I was right in the fight due to the profile of my job and I felt double crossed due to a lot of reasons. First and foremost our county is a rural county on the opposite side of the state of oregon. We were and have already been in a fight for our livelihoods and culture. And my fight was and is of a position that, we can win. Through the years it started to become evident that, my community was too weak to win. Personally and individually too weak to win. The audacious thoughts that, "it is not our position to chop off the hand that feeds us" type bullshit; grant money clinging. CV sealed my fate and reinforced the bulwarks of my/our very existence. And so, I too left. It is quite a story ours. The details left unsaid here do no justice to the totality of both Canada's and America's struggle. But it is a story many know. Any whoo...never at loss for words to say this; you do you. I watch you when I can and am stoked for ya. Stoked I found your channel. And those of us who cannot or choose to not build at your capacity can always find scalability from what you are doing. From layout and resource arrangement to building styles and ideas. There is plenty to gain from, in information alone. Fk the naysayers. Happy to know your channel...sorry I cannot always afford the membership. I sign up when I can. But I have to make choices. And my choices lead to other choices...none of which are beholden to curtis stone's choices...or yours to mine. "Community" always has it's jealous cowards...and they should set themselves free. But they cannot. They are the clawing panicked victim of drowning, the lifeguard will not save.
@littlegriffoffgridalberta6837
Жыл бұрын
Awesome videos, I have a small solar system that works for my needs & big deal if you have to run a generator while you do laundry, I do to but everything else runs great , Good job :)
@littlegriffoffgridalberta6837
Жыл бұрын
Sorry not interested in down loading any new apps, thanks
@Refertech101
8 ай бұрын
Gen will all ways be AC normally, I really aut to put in a master bypass but then again 21Kw plant is thirsty at partial load (3Kw cont) it uses 10L every 4H apx
@duncancremin1708
11 ай бұрын
It took me a long time to find LED lights I can use to read by. I hate the blue/white ones that used to be all there was. My energy bill was such that I had to find ones that work for me. Now, at least here in Ireland, they’re commonly available. I need warm white and they have to be dimmable. Those are a little less efficient than the cold white ones, but they have a much more natural colour and, unlike the cool ones, they can even power a solar only calculator. For what it’s worth, changing all my incandescent bulbs to LEDs, did make a small, but noticeable difference to my bill. The biggest change we need to make, if we stay on grid, is to stop using electricity to heat water. But that requires a level of inconvenience I don’t want in my life, so off grid is my next idea.
@codyralph50
Жыл бұрын
Curious on your boiler set up your doing. You mentioned you are doing propane backup boiler. With all the diesel you have stored on site already have you thought about doing a fuel oil boiler instead of propane since fuel oil is diesel. Just curious about that because you mentioned for you diesel is easier to get/store on your property.
@dudeusmaximus6793
Жыл бұрын
We are looking at a wood gasifier to run the generator and charge the battery system.
@trevorrisley5419
Жыл бұрын
Awesome stuff, man. You’re lucky to have snow. I really miss snow. I know that’d eventually get old having constant snow, but man, I miss it. I live in Kansas, which twenty years ago had tons of great snow.😢
@MadnessOfOurTime
Жыл бұрын
I cant find any info to support that it snowed more in Kansas 20 years ago. I'd really like to learn more but Im having trouble finding it, I love this sort of stuff.
@trevorrisley5419
Жыл бұрын
@@MadnessOfOurTime I have never looked into statistically, but I have discussed it with fellow Kansans an innumerable amount of times over the past decade. It has always been unanimous agreements amongst all of us born & raised Kansans. Darn near every Christmas was marked by very heavy snow; that beautiful kind that “crunches” and makes perfect snowmen. But now? It’s usually not too bad of weather on Christmas. It’s literally been t-shirt and shorts weather.
@zubek559
Жыл бұрын
Thank you for all you've taught me Curtis!
@azoracooperative9102
Жыл бұрын
You can filter the LED lights with colour gel for photography, amber or along that spectrum of light. Very easy to retro fit
@seek2find
Жыл бұрын
How big is your diesel tank? How often do you fill it? Or top it up?
@seek2find
Жыл бұрын
600 liters I think you said
@seek2find
Жыл бұрын
About once a year or so, I heard you say. Great setup!
@offgridcurtisstone
Жыл бұрын
once a year or less for that one.
@livingron9983
Жыл бұрын
Not sure if its an issue for you in the effin cold climate but us in semi tropical need to add fuel 'conditioners ' or stabilizers to stop fuel going off when stored. Less of a problem for diesel, but you can still get microbial growth that can totally destroy your fuel and clog up the fuel lines and filters. Just something to be aware of.
@torreysworld
Жыл бұрын
Can Power Diesel engine off of hemp seed oil as well. Only need to press seeds for oil and pretty much golden, very little refinement needed. Another reason to have Diesel engine for bad scenario, can generate new fuel w/ little homemade input
@kenyonbissett3512
Жыл бұрын
Something I find interesting is a home enclosed in a greenhouse. A home in Norway 🇳🇴 at or above your latitude was successfully using a greenhouse for food and heating. The video is on KZitem.
@trevorrisley5419
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for sharing your gorgeous setup with the world, man. I enjoy learning about your means of electricity procurement. When and if I ever get off-grid I want to have something very similar to you. Solar with batteries + diesel genny + propane genny. Redundancies, redundancies, redundancies!
@user-qn1sx1bo7w
Жыл бұрын
Hi Curtis,wondering about microbial growth in diesel after 6 months of sitting, but it sounds like your fuel doesn’t sit that long if you are using it for equipment.
@offgridcurtisstone
Жыл бұрын
Never heard of that being an issue, but you can put stabilizer in it if it's going to sit long anyways.
@dealerovski82
Жыл бұрын
first time hearing of LED issues. considering everything else that I recently discovered is bad that everyone else consider normal I will just take you word for it. but please send me a few links on the topic.
@offgridcurtisstone
Жыл бұрын
I have. Not worth the effort. But in a SHTF scenario, all hands on deck!
@dsheney
Жыл бұрын
You have a 48 volt battery system but yet your trip conditions for generator to start is at 49.5 volts which is 55% charged. Is it because you do not like your batteries to be no lower than 50%? Which is more concern with lead acid but not lithium.
@itninja7771
Жыл бұрын
What do you do for a living. You stated you do not have a day. Just curious.
@weliveonearth8012
Жыл бұрын
Light bulbs produce heat, and heat the space they are in. LED are more important in a warm climate b/c not only are they a "less efficient" form of light, they also work against your Cooling unit. In a cold climate, they are slightly reducing your need for Heating so it doesn't really matter that they use more energy than an LED. However, if you say you don't like LED light that's probably your choice of bulbs. I once claimed to be bothered by LED lights until I found 3w "warm" bulbs (claiming 25w equivalent). We even use five 1w bulbs above our dining table. Early LED generally came in "cool" color and way too bright so I thought it was bad EMF or blue light but it's just not the case. Main source of blue light is sunlight. Keeping lighting dim and pleasant is of value More lights of a lower intensity so that your iris doesn't close, then a dimmer room seems brighter. Under counter lighting also helps in this way, even though it's less efficient as much of the light lands on surfaces you don't see. Overall, I agree that lighting is not a place to be trying to gain efficiency, just make it pleasant and save elsewhere.
@FalconEagleEye7
Жыл бұрын
I personally think your doing AWSOME - I've been 100% off Grid for over 5 years FORGET the IDIOTS - Keep it up VERY impressing system you have designed
@SolarTechFL
Жыл бұрын
7 years offgrid here Used to use my diesel gen constantly. Now I only use it 3 times a year.
@FarmsVilla
Жыл бұрын
Going on 5 months off grid here. It’s been a huge wake up call that’s for sure. I need a bigger battery bank as well as a bigger generator. 😳
@dhansonranch
Жыл бұрын
Interesting. I am curious how the generator works when temps reach -30 C and colder...not once it is running, but rather if it needs to start in those temps. I am sure it has a glow plug, but wondering if 3 minutes is enough time to warm up sufficiently before the electric kicks in. Additionally, does it start periodically to ensure things are working? Do you add anti gel to the diesel? I, like you were at first, would be leery of all the electronics to make the system run. Those boilers are great - wish I would have put one in years ago.
@offgridcurtisstone
Жыл бұрын
Works fine. It has a block heater in it.
@dhansonranch
Жыл бұрын
@@offgridcurtisstone Oh okay. I did not realize. Thanks.
@eugeneputin1858
Жыл бұрын
Hey Curtis, what about one of those cheap diesel heaters attached to some sort of spinning drum to dry clothes? that 37kwh gallon of diesel will be almost fully utilized that way. Might even pay for itself in that year alone
@offgridcurtisstone
Жыл бұрын
Sounds like schlepping brother. We have something that works, why fix it?
@jimbertrand2499
Жыл бұрын
Love your honesty and down to earth context. However I DO like LED lights. Just my choice...
@timdaman8218
Жыл бұрын
I want to connect the generator engine cooling system to the wood stove to keep it hot using less wood. However I would plan to run the generator much more often but using waste oil for fuel.
@silverbackag9790
Жыл бұрын
Have you seen high CRI LED lights that also have good R4 (red) values and are flicker free? These are photo/video grade and are more expensive, but much much better. They generally don’t have all of the fluffy features such as dimming (which just slows flicker rates) or color adjustments, but they are incredibly good.
@firecloud77
Жыл бұрын
Where do you buy them? Any brand names you recommend?
@a4000t
Жыл бұрын
I have to use 4000K to 4500K leds ,i cant stand the 5000K+ ones that are on the edge of blue.
@silverbackag9790
Жыл бұрын
@@firecloud77 Waveform lighting is the gold standard. American Green Lighting has some high bay shop lighting that looks interesting.
@silverbackag9790
Жыл бұрын
@@a4000t I like 4000k for the most part. It looks the most "natural" for day to day although I have some 5600k photo/video lights that are really good.
@jangolian5253
Жыл бұрын
Flicker free just means higher flicker frequency (more than 100Hz). They are still blinking and emitting frequencies, only a bit faster.
@tracipapp8698
Жыл бұрын
Pay no attention to the “armchairs”. Your vids are informative & inspiring! Thank you! I love what your have built for your family, but one word comes to mind: faraday. Protect you & yours; many economic ways to do it.
@Erik_Swiger
Жыл бұрын
You've mentioned how little diesel fuel you use, and that it might sit in the tank for a long period of time. There used to be some sort of problem with mold or something like that, growing in diesel fuel that is stored for long periods. Is this something you have to worry about?
@butchclifford8733
Жыл бұрын
Unlike gasoline which starts to deteriorate after 30 days diesel can be stored 6 months and longer!
@Erik_Swiger
Жыл бұрын
I like the warmer LED lights, but the flicker is a problem. One of my personal off-grid goals is a network of low-voltage LED lamps running on 12/24vdc, that don't flicker.
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