List of off-grid resources - Videos, websites, and threads

I’m just about ready to send out an ebook for my kickstarter backers about off-grid homes, and I’m compiling a short list of resources and further reading at the end.

To make the book even more helpful, I was wondering if anyone here had recommendations for various helpful bits and pieces online such as specific Permies threads, videos, website articles, and so on?

So far I have included links about:
Jean Pain compost water heating
https://waldenlabs.com/compost-water-heaters-from-jean-pain/

Chest freezer to fridge conversion
https://www.5acresandadream.com/2020/03/chest-freezer-to-fridge-conversion.html

Root cellaring (with or without a root cellar)
https://practicalselfreliance.com/root-cellaring/

Larders
https://www.lowimpact.org/posts/praise-domestic-larder

Cool Cupboards
https://www.abdallahhouse.com/2012/05/cool-cupboard-completed.html

Branched drain greywater system
https://oasisdesign.net/greywater/brancheddrain/

The Humanure Handbook (scroll down to download chapter by chapter)
http://humanurehandbook.com/contents.html

Permies rocket mass heaters forum
https://permies.com/f/260/rocket-mass-heaters

Water tank storage calculations
http://tankulator.ata.org.au

Tales from Green Valley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRj1YYnsBGk

Do you have any favourite free videos, articles, threads and so on that you think would belong in a list of helpful off-grid resources?

Kate Downham wrote:

Tales from Green Valley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRj1YYnsBGk

Do you have any favourite free videos, articles, threads and so on that you think would belong in a list of helpful off-grid resources?

Love that you included Tales from the Green Valley.  It is the Stuart era farm technology mini-series that is part of a larger BBC series that tracks farm and self-sufficiency across a number of historical eras.  I highly recommend all the mini-series:  Secrets of the Castle, Tudor Monastery Farm, The Victorian Farm, The Edwardian Farm, The Wartime Farm.  It has been invaluable for me, and is really entertaining!

[edited for spelling and italicization]

For rainwater calculations in the US, this is a great site.  It also works for any area, but it can calculate monthly rainfall for you with a US zipcode:

http://rainharvestcalculator.com/Calculator


As for the chest freezer-to-fridge conversion, we have one of those and I would add one key thing most people don't mention... caulk all the seams inside the chest freezer. We used a silicone, I think it was one for aquariums, may have been for kitchens.  

We've been using this setup for a fridge for three years now. Because it doesn't have a drain setup like a standing fridge does, they collect a lot of condensation at the bottom.  We clean ours out every two weeks or so. The more things you store in there like vegetables or fruits - things that will transpire - the more moisture.  This isn't a big issue to me, but it's good to know ahead of time.  The chest fridge does what it needs to and uses very little electricity, and I actually lose (aka forget and let rot) less food in it versus our small upright fridge.

Some good resources, thanks for sharing the list. We are still early in our journey, being over halfway through building a house in rural MO. Even having pretty much everything needed for the solar system other than the 3” pipe for building the rack, going to have to grid tie to begin as money and time pretty much ran out!

At least the RMH will be getting built in a couple weeks and the family can move in to the partially finished house and stay warm. Other systems such as gray water are going to have to wait until resources regenerate a bit by the spring. Can explore what you shared though, for sure, thanks again!