I'm an electrician and designed my own off grid system. I use several small inverter's rather than one large one. This way if one dies, I have other ones until I get it fixed/replaced!
My family & I just moved to Wasilla from California in March & it has been a HUGE change for me. The house we bought comes with a greenhouse so to battle my depression I wanted to start gardening. Before starting I kept googling things & watching many videos. That’s how I came across your channel & after watching your videos on your gorgeous garden I decided to try it and am glad to say my garden is growing and doing good. Now I want to build a chicken coop but was worried about how to build it so the chickens don’t freeze on me so again started searching & this video has helped me as well. THANK YOU. Your videos are the best!
“Give me some water, I need some water” lol That was nice getting an upgrade on the inverter. I always look forward to winter solstice. The darkness doesn’t bother me mentally but it does cut down on the amount of work I do outside. Have a great week guys.
When it gets dark here around 4:30pm I want to go to bed. I fight it. I must say that you also work very hard and I can understand the light change can add to wanting to sleep more. Hang in there, your not alone. Then in the middle of the night I am wide awake!
When it all gets to much for me I sit down and watch your videos. For a while you take me away to a place were my mind finds peace. Thanks guys but above all thanks for being you. Niall 🍀
Ive subscribed to alot of off grid channels but yours is the most informative. Im watching from sunny South Africa but content is still useful to us. Plus you guys make the videos in such a way that i always watch till the end. Thanks and keep warm guys. Oh in future episodes if you could go into more detail on how you survive financially. You did do a vid on the basics, but maybe a bit more in depth and with exact figures would help to see if this is possible for others.
As an Alaskan that has lived here for over ten years, I must say that while the light that is sponsoring this video is pretty awesome. But Energizer sells rechargeable AA & AAA batteries at every grocery store and are pretty cheap. I think you exaggerated the “tired of buying batteries” part a little bit. I love your videos and can’t wait to see more.
Me and my husband lived in Nebraska for 3 years and had chickens. During that time we experienced winters that were in the (-30’s) and we fed our chickens corn with lots of cheyanne pepper. Warms their bodies.
You guys are so flippin cute!!!! Love the bloopers at the end!! Please don't ever stop that!!😂😂😂Seems like you have everything figured out really well. It's great that the chickens have their own little lantern!!!! 💓💛💚💙💜🌈
I refill my 1 pound propane tanks from 20-30 pound bulk tanks. Plenty of RU-vid videos on how to do the refill. I always enjoy hearing your sharp shrill little rooster crowing. Howdy from Tennessee y’all!
I watched all the way through before making this comment about candles... You have Bees, in years to come when you process your honey, you're going to have the by-product of bees wax. Plan on making candles ( for back up lighting needs, as well as ambient lighting needs ). You may want to research how to make candle lanterns and candelabras to maximize that candle power.
When I first came up here I figured out I only need about 5 hours of sleep in the summer, but 8 or 10 in the winter, plus an occasional nap. I think it’s just a natural effect of light and dark, plus the cold. Hit the thrift stores for cheap candles. Thanks for the tip on the O light sale!
I put a solar system in my house,have 8-100 watt panels--6- 100 amp hour batteries--also use 12 volt- 9 watt led screw in lights bought on E bay-work like regular bulbs --very bright,use very little power have them in each room -use less on grid
Great video! My husband has just bought a rechargable head torch and it is fab. I go to work in the dark, and come home in the dark in the UK, it is making me crazy!! Love your lifestyle and get excited when you release a new one 👍
Did you happen to get the ice spikes I sent you for your boots? I hope they fit because I had to guess the sizes. I use them all the time and love them. Just don't walk on your hardwood floors because they will scratch them up.
Hayden Ross YES! Thank you so much! Just the day before I was saying to Arielle that I was done falling on the ice ( we both went down pretty hard a few times) and that I was going to get us some ice cleats, then we got your package! They fit great and we are very grateful to have them thank you again :)
Fish oil is a necessity in Norway in the winter! If you can't stand the taste then omega-3 supplements with vitamin d and c are great too. But usually it's only those three supplements you need if you are on a balanced diet :)
If you really like candles have you looked for battery powered candles that you can recharge? Battery powered candles have really come a long way these last couple of years in terms of realism :)
Snow makes a huge difference with it how bad the dark time feels. I live in Finland and bit more in south than you since the shortest day is little bit less than six hours in here but I spent couple years in more north. The winter didn't feel half as bad in there even with less sunlight during the day with getting the snow early and having it through the whole winter. It is the darkness of the ground that drains the energy out from you with everything being black around you. If the darkness starts to get you one way to treat it is to get a bright light lamp and run that on the mornings when you wake up while you eat your breakfast, since you have to sit straight front of it for it to work. I do that on those times when I feel like the darkness gets too much. One thing I hope you have thought is that you take care of your D-vitamin suplements because that is something you do need to take during winter when there is less sunlight. In Finland they actually recommendates to use that also during summer even with the nightless night. But you don't get enough of it during winter this up in north and it is vital to your body. Since you have moved up from south and area that has a lot more sun through the year, your body has also adapted to have it more what means that you will need to supplement it also bit in highter dose than those who are born and raised in the area. That is something I learned through a friend who moved here from Australia. When your D-vitamin runs low it does affect to your moods and immune system and you will catch all kinds of colds a lot more easier. But it also affects to your bone health and other things too so it is really important to take care of it that you get it enough during winter. And the batteries...like someone else commented, why you don't get those rechargeable batteries? Those are great. I use them for things like my mouse and I don't even remember when I bought batteries last time.
You are a great couple full of TRUE love .... Your videos never speak about your love ! BUT this love is so obvious !!!!! It is why I love your couple and its plans !
Always buy inverters that have removable fuses. If it shorts out, it will simply shut down and you don't have to worry about disconnecting the wires and getting shocked cause it will simply shut down. Will save the battery bank too. Shorted inverter can destroy battery banks. Just saying. Have some experience on solar systems. You can get those rechargeable solar head lamps. They are really cheap.
Hope and pray your personal power goes on, and on. Never dismay. Your personal energy is great, no problem exist that cannot be solved. Remember that, stay with your beautiful life and be happy. Love from Mallorca.
Regarding trouble getting up early in the winter: I have a wake up light that turns on the time you program it to, and I have to say this makes a huge difference for me! Makes waking up so much easier and it actually still tricks my brain into thinking the sun is up! Amazing! I could see this also helping you guys. Maybe you can even make one yourself
Safety tip: put a breaker between the battery pack and the inverter. That way you have a manual way to disconnect the batteries from the inverter, and should a short occur, it'll disconnect the pack automatically. Panic situations + leatherman can lead to wrong decisions real quick.
We live up here also, we get our rechargeable headlamps on Amazon. We get 18000 lumens for abt $16. They hold a charge for a couples of days and we’ve had them for a couple of years without any problems. Just a thought.
As usual, your editing of the wildlife and your area is superb. It must take a good bit of work to get footage that lasts only seconds in your videos, but, I appreciate all of that work. Thank you.
Great information. You two light up my day lol Yes I have this light changing issue mid Dec. But like you both keeping busy, still going outdoors having the right light and just rest like the trees do . Come the Solstice we will all be looking through those seed catalogues and making plans . really enjoy the bloopers too after all we are just human... Cheers
Sleeping to 6:00-7:00? That IS sleeping in.....for me. Even in the lower 48 I don’t like our lack of sunshine. Looking forward to getting the winter solstice over with.
Thanks for the plug on the Olight. Never knew about them, but on your recommendation I ordered one! Your shows are well put together...but the bloopers are great too!
Love the beautiful opening shots, the birds, kitties and Bo photo-bombing the shot of the ice crystals. And, as always, the outtakes are a crack up. Keep warm!
Love all the scenery in the snow. Looks beautiful..!! Nice to work with a good customer service company.. Great talk. Thanks for sharing..!! Have a warm and wonderful day you two..!!
We lived in Fairbanks for 4 years. Don't remember the lack of sun making me want to sleep more. The snow reflex's light's and is "lite" due color. So it wasn't bad. Cold... Glad to see the straw bails around the bottom of the coop. Stay warm and safe. God bless
Tricia Sklodowske it really only seems to make me want to sleep in, I think it must be my circadian rhythm or laziness :) The reflection of light off the snow is incredible outside in the winter.
For your Coleman lantern, most good hardware stores carry an adapter that connects to a regular size propane tank instead of the little cans. Also, you can refill the little cans with it. Lot cheaper. There is also a space heater similar to the lantern we use down here in the south for hunting when it gets really cold (like in the 40's) Ha.
With a little luck next year your honey bees will provide you with wax cappings at honey harvest time. I see candle making activities in your future! What fun!
Yep. We hibernate in winter and just don't sleep in summer. Fair trade-off (been here all my life and I'm 64) especially if you love this place as I do
The interesting and kinda funny part about the inverter converting from DC to AC to charge electronics is that the power supply for the device is then swapping it right back to DC!
great video , have thought about solar charged flash lights , and one that is self contained , and its been about 3 years now it is led and work great , so might of that and it does not take for them to charge , i keep mine in window so the sun keeps it charged up so look into it , that might some so save on battery and charging up , the sun does all the work for ya lol
I'm in North Idaho and I love watching your show I'm completely off the grid I have a generator as a backup if need be but I've only got one solar panel that's putting out a 100 watts to a 2 battery bank system but I I'm learning and thank you. I couldn't afford very much but this is my first winter and it's been bad but my basic system is doing well as long as I keep the snow brushed off my solar panel. But I do use a lot of smaller rechargeable lights that I put in my windows during the day to charge for my trailer and for my chicken coop
Seems quite similar to what we have here in Finland 🙄 however so far im personally not ready for off grid living.. but maybe some day 😉 Greetings! U have great videos! 🤗
@@elidine well there s lots of snow in northern finland, but im only 200km (110miles) north from the most southern places.. normally we have lots of snow all the time from mid october to mid april, but this year has been abnormally warm autumn/winter, so currently only a little snow which comes and goes (which im grateful for; i heat my house with wood only, so the colder it is the more work it is to keep the house even around 50-60f degrees 😧) Im already waiting for the summer so much 😅
But i had to check what is actually our shortest daylight here.. it is 5hrs 21min 😋 but hooray, soon the light time will begin to increase again. In october to december we always have also incredibly cloudy weather, after september theres been less that 10hrs sun shine all together. Its quite tough for the psyche 😋
Watching your videos on your Playlist in order from the first one. Been about a week now I am on this one.. I have to say. With the exception of the one where you are eating the pig head.. I find these so relaxing and I am living vicariously through you. Wonderful to see
After I moved into my homestead to be earlier this year I now know what darkness is 😉 I had almost the same amount of daylight where I lived before. But, that was in a city. You had all the street lights all the lights from others windows and car lights, so... Even if I many time complained about it being dark, I now can confess that I didn't know what I was talking about 😂 Now a days it is DARK outside. If you're not able to see the moon 🌕, you're not able to see your hand in front of you ✋🤔😂 We are not off grid, we have electricity but we bought a generator so we now we can get lights on and water running even if the power will go out. I started my RU-vid channel last week so I can document the Homesteading, my Prepping, canning, cooking and also my dumpsterdiving ❤️ Keep up the good work and continue sharing with us so we learn more ❤️ Greetings from Sweden 🇸🇪
I can highly recommend the petzl REACTIK 220 headlamp. Its usb rechargeable and has reactive technology that automatically adjusts the light output depending on the ambient light. Like when you look at someones face it dims so it dosen't blind them. I have had one for 3 years and its still running strong. They run about $80 on Amazon. I have a bunch of rhe olight products and love them as well.
Love your out takes!! You can always say, “I just brushed my they and foam has covered my I teeth and now I can not see what I am saying”. Also you can state “ Words are hard and sentences are a nightmare because, they use all of those darn hard words”. Love the vids!!
Opening video was gorgeous. Glad the chickens are doing well. Eric, rebuild the old converter before you might need it. What no food? I like reading the comments and Adriana G suggested ash on the ice. Stay warm and Ariel, get Eric to do your chores for a long sleep in. LOL
Beautiful photography in the intro! As you know, the daylight situation is the reverse in the summer with just a few hours of darkness. Well when I was looking to work up there I met the guy who ended up hiring me ,in the lower 48. In his questioning of me and my work ethic, he alluded to the fact that they worked all day. I assured him that in my self employed construction job in Georgia, I worked from sunrise till it got dark....and sometimes even under a portable light for another hour or so (this in the summer). I had not counted on the daylight being so long in the summer up there! Once on a day off in Kodiak, we went into a bar at around 11;00pm with daylight outside, raised hell and listened to the band, and when we came back outside, it was daylight.....again!....we'd missed nightime!
The small propane tank that you use for your lantern can be reloaded with an adapter and use a 20lbs propane tank and transfer to the 2 lbs tank. i have one and reload those small tanks easily.
The lack of sun is my biggest concern for you (vitamin D)..thanks for the update,,you are still young and can handle some of those obstacles, but I live in New Jersey and have lights on for most of the day..for me and my plants. I'm too old to do what you're doing but very interested to see how you live up there..stay warm and be safe.
Wow you guys ! What a beautiful start to your post. I am now watching on my TV and it was amazing. I always enjoy your video's thank you ! 🇨🇦 Craig (OH ) have a Merry Christmas 🎅
Refill your 1lb Propane bottles directly from your 5 gal tanks with a $7 adapter on Amazon. This comes out to about 75 cents per full bottle rather than $4 retail. If you want to buy one locally, AIH in Wasilla carries them. You can also buy brass screw -on caps for them if you are worried about the seals starting to leak over time. Three Bears is still the cheapest place to refill your bulk propane tanks in this area ;)
Hi , have binge watched nearly all your videos. Am really impressed !, Can you spell out the name of the head torch that you are impressed with please?. I really like the look of the life you two have carved out for yourself . You seem to keep busy all the time, and eat very well. I like the hunter gatherer , and grow your own food, sort of life!. Keep up the good work ,and stay safe . Best regards Andy ( from the UK)
Another great video! I don't have issues with the darkness. I had an issue while in Juneau my first year because we went through 4-6 months of rain, fog and over cast. It was almost like claustrophobia. When i could finally see stars i spent hours on the deck looking up. I also have a harder time in the summer with all the light. I have blinds, blackout curtains and regular curtains on my bedroom window so i can sleep.
I have 2 recommendations for you. For indoor lighting, I think you will find that an oil lamp is way cheaper than the propane lantern. I have a couple for power outages, and they work great. Get ones with the reflectors, and they throw off a lot of light. Also, try rechargeable AAA batteries. Will save you a lot in the long run. Great video. Thanks for sharing!
I like to use my led bike light as a pocket flashlight. It's SUPER bright, rechargable, and fits into my pocket really nicely. Three different light levels. If I keep the bike bracket attached to the light, then it can stand on the table. Expensive but worth every penny.
We are off grid and use Milwaukee cordless tools. (M18-batteries). And we also have several Milwaukee LED lanterns and flood light. In the evening we just plug the batteries into the chargers and within an hour they are fully charged. The lanterns run several days on medium and they put out a lot of light. The lantern is even better and lights up the hole place (600sq ft) but goes thru one battery a day. They also have usb ports to charge your phone, computer etc.
Another piece of astounding videography! Well done, y'all! The best way to describe that sleepy-just-wanna-cozy-up and sleep feeling to those of us in the lower 48 that is not Washington State. 😉 Wahington gets a lot of rain and clouds, but in a great deal of the rest of the 48 there is what most think of as regular daylight. I get the same feeling on those spring to early summer days during a rain storm. I believe a lot of folks feel the same way as I've heard it from others many many times. So, for anyone who still couldn't visualize the feeling I hope that helps. I'm really glad the solar company was so gracious! That is stupendous customer service! Y'all are also really the perfect people to be sponsored by Olight. They made the right choice in your channel.
I love to watch your videos what you are doing is my and my late husband dream that we never got to fully get to have as I did all the canning and baking and drying of food he was a hunter and fishing person I made fishing rods for a very long time for lamaglas and G Loomis for a long time more years than I want to think about. We always wanted to homestead as we had 7, children but it wasn't in the cards for us my youngest son and husband had cancer and sadly my husband passed away from his and my son made it thru 2 bouts of cancer then I got the cancer and heart attack and had open heart surgery and that dream was never able to happen . But I truly appreciate and believe in what you are doing.
To check the freshness of eggs, put them in a bowl of water. If the sink to the bottom, they are fresh. If they float, gasses developed from going bad!
