Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yup, we went from an off grid solar system to an on grid solar system and it's much less expensive to pay the $20 per month than to keep the batteries and the generator around. We'd have to use the generator occasionally for either heavy spot loads or for extended cloudy days. The grid tied solar system is an absolute joy.
We're currently on the second big rooftop system (we bought another house so had to get another system) and this one has a separate circuit that will stay live during a power outage. That circuit powers the refrigeration and cell phone charging station. Dunno how much power you need for your water pump, but the circuit could probably run that if it's not a huge pump.
Thanks for the update! It's always nice to hear how things are going along. For your fishing venture, you could try "Fishing Hawaii Style" by Jim Rizzuto. Volumes 1 through 3 although one of them is more for boat fishing than shore fishing. They'll probably be available at your local library or if they aren't, you can ask them to bring them in for you.
Thanks for the update! It's always nice to hear how things are going along. For your fishing venture, you could try "Fishing Hawaii Style" by Jim Rizzuto. Volumes 1 through 3 although one of them is more for boat fishing than shore fishing. They'll probably be available at your local library or if they aren't, you can ask them to bring them in for you.
Thanks, I haven't gone fishing since I was a kid so I have to learn all the basics again.
I tried going out last weekend but it was a tad windy up here
Location: I'm in the living room. That's kind of a weird question to ask.
61 posts, read 51,232 times
Reputation: 35
Nice!
Quote:
Originally Posted by bolus
I want to be more off the grid.
I'm just waiting to see how the Tesla batteries do.
I did not want to go with version 1.0.
They just installed the first few on the Island I was told.
The ~12 hour outage we had recently with no water at the same time and seeing what Puerto Rico is going through just made me want to be more self sufficient.
Congrats on your successful move.
Lots of good advice from the regulars too, as usual.
I recently landed and intend to build small but your observation about island self reliance is spot on, imho.
Why add stress to the failing infrastructure problems if you don't have to.
Modern electronics (bulbs, appliances, comm devices, etc.,) are pretty darn efficient, rain water treatments are almost perfected and batt advances will revolutionize small scale electricity storage so if you are starting from scratch it makes good sense to go 100% off grid.
Just make sure you design your system components to be individually upgradeable/ replaceable/ serviceable.
Install lots of disconnects.
It's a shock the first time your carefully measured system runs out but that's why you have a dinosaur powered backup generator.
You will figure it out and hopefully teach us what you learned.
Some will disagree but some will disagree just to join the conversation and I say welcome.
I was chatting with a neighbor who's solar array and water harvesting system has just about reached its design obsolescence point, he installed and upgraded it over the last 10-15 years, and the thought of replacing his old tech, is giving him panic attacks.
Pricy $$$$
Glad you did what you wanted to do. That fresh perspective is always/never welcomed on opinion forums.
As for fishing. Watch the Bradahs On Da Shore videos.
Just a bunch of local kids going out and catching lots of fish from shore. Perfect intro to Hawaii fishing techniques and culture.
Peppercorns in the pepper grinder molded. This place is sure hard on spices. I make candies and the humidity messes up the cooking temps as well.
A pair of dress shoes that I've had for years molded despite being in 6-months-of-constant-rain-Oregon. Leather molds here? I guess so. But, no one wear's dress shoes anyway. Get vacuum bags with descants if you live in a rainy area. Invest in chip clips.
If poi is not prepared correctly it burns your throat. Apparently calcium oxalate crystals mechanically scratching the tissue. Now I know who not to buy poi from.
I found a secret spot. I had to put the jeep on low 4x4 to get there and back. New potential fishing spot.
Several of the health food stores have bulk spices in big jars. Toss out the moldy spices, save and wash the jars and then refill them at a fraction of the cost of buying new spices in jars. I've found the healthfood store in Keaau over by Ace Hardware to have the widest selection, but most of them will cover the common spices.
Should you be so lucky as to have a gas oven with a pilot light instead of the new electronic starters, then the oven is a perfect spot to store things you don't want to get soggy (potato chips) or spices that mildew or things you want to dry.
That looks like a lovely secret fishing spot. Trees sometimes grab fishing lines, but they do make nice shade.
If it's an offshore wind while fishing, cast high so the wind will take the lure/bait out further. If it's an onshore breeze, sometimes you can use a heavier weight and cast low to the water, but it's still difficult to get the lure/bait out there. Sideways actually isn't too bad since casting across the shoreline can be quite productive. All this is why it's called 'fishing' and not 'catching'.
If you don't have old cinnamon, you can put water in a dish and add a drop of dishsoap, then put the cat/dog food bowl in the middle of that to keep the ants out. If you don't put in the soap, sometimes they can walk across the surface of the water. I have no idea how ants can drink if they can't break the surface tension of water.
We have to keep our spices in the freezer. We wound up buying a plastic basket that fits perfectly on a freezer shelf that holds most of our spices and we pull it out like a drawer when we need something. Most of the herbs we need are just trimmed from our garden when we need it.
Some things you can easily grow here besides the normal herbs are peppercorn vines and bay leaf trees. But they take awhile.
Unless you have A/C, whatever spices you leave out is going to get ruined by the climate unless you have a huge family.
Oddly enough, ground cinnamon is the only spice that seems impervious to the climate (so far).
Location: I'm in the living room. That's kind of a weird question to ask.
61 posts, read 51,232 times
Reputation: 35
Quote:
Originally Posted by terracore
Oddly enough, ground cinnamon is the only spice that seems impervious to the climate (so far).
I think i may have misspoke when i called our ground cinnamon funky.
Old was probably the correct term.
After consulting with my SO who does all our food prep, the issue with the ground cinnamon was that it was about a year old.
As she explained, in great detail, cinnamon is a seasonal spice used mostly from halloween through Christmas at least for the mainland traditions.
If she is cooking for the big family holidays she buys fresh stick cinnamon and grinds it in a spice mill because it taste better than ground.
The ground stuff hangs around longer because most spice companies add stabilizers and preservatives to keep the oils from going rancid but they can lose their flavors quickly.
She buys a new bottle of ground every few months just to keep on hand but still recommends getting a fresh bottle right before halloween.
That was a lot of info about spices. Im telling you she wo/mansplaining the devil outa that!
We've had cinnamon mildew before, but it's inexpensive enough at Costco that we just get another jar of it. We use rather a lot of it, actually. A bit in coffee is pretty good, sometimes in banana smoothies, a dusting on chocolate ice cream is interesting, of course in oatmeal, sometimes dusted on the counter to annoy the ants, sometimes in the carpet to make it smell nice. Salt, pepper and cinnamon seem to be the three common spices at the moment. Although, lately we've liked star anise in the rice cooker. Just put a pod of that in there when cooking rice and it adds a nice flavor to it. Goes especially well with laulau. Ginger/shoyu/star anise/pork seems a pretty good combination.
Hmm, I'll have to go see if they add stabilizers and strange things to the cinnamon. If they're gonna add weird things, then maybe we will have to start growing that, too. Cinnamon trees grow around here. Although, I think maybe my friend has one, so maybe I don't need to grow it myself. Bay laurel is easy and it will grow into a small tree/big shrub. Same with rosemary. Haven't had much luck with pepper vines, although my friend grows them on a hapuu near a stream so apparently they like moist shady areas, probably where mint would grow well, too. The rest of the tender herbs do well in the garden. Parsley, sage, basil, celery, etc. Also the Hawaiian chili pepper bush, that grows well.
can't ya throw a can or tub of Desiccants in a old refrigerater with spices in it
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Nice!
