Category Archives: Arizona

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How to Make Money with Franchises Targeting Off Grid Doomsday Preppers that Are Stocking Up on Supplies

Some Top Franchises that Target Preppers that Sell
Supplies Needed to Survive in Case Shit Hits the Fan (SHTF)

Living Off Grid - How to Make Money with an Off Grid Franchises Targeting Doomsday Preppers

Living Off Grid – How to Make Money with an Off Grid Franchises Targeting Doomsday Preppers 

What Are Doomsday Preppers?

Denver, Colorado – If you’re not a regular viewer on the Reality Television circuit, you may not know about the television show that’s on the National Geographic Channel called Doomsday Preppers. In its third season, Doomsday Preppers is a television show about preppers and survivalists that are preparing just in case Shit Hits the Fan (SHTF). Here’s how the show is described on the National Geographic website:

“Doomsday Preppers explores the lives of otherwise ordinary Americans who are preparing for the end of the world as we know it. Unique in their beliefs, motivations, and strategies, preppers will go to whatever lengths they can to make sure they are prepared for any of life’s uncertainties.”

Drama aside, being prepared is a way of life for a growing number of people. Some Americans simply want to be prepared for the aftermath of a natural disaster like Hurricane Sandy or Katrina. Those events disrupted lives and businesses for weeks, months, in some cases years.

Did you know that there are meetings taking place for preppers all over the United States? Most are likely kept within close circles of family and friends, but some meetings are public. On the Meetup.com website I found many Meetups on topics such as preparedness, prepping, disaster, survival and similar terms. Go ahead and try searching. You may be surprised.

There are literally hundreds if not thousands of websites, blogs, podcasts and YouTube channels on the topic of prepping and survival. Some have large audiences.

Prepper Franchise Opportunities with Mainstream Appeal

Let’s look at franchise opportunities that may take advantage of the prepping trend, yet also have crossover appeal to a mainstream market. There’s also quite a bit of overlap in products when it comes to hikers, campers and hunters. Keep that in mind as part of the potential target market.

I emphasize the crossover appeal when it comes to a prepper franchise, because the potential market will be larger.

Also, unless you are living the prepper lifestyle yourself, you may find it hard to break into a niche market like preppers.

Metal Supermarkets

The Anderson shelter was a popular mini-bomb shelter that was distributed to citizens in the UK during WW2. It’s a well-known fact that The Anderson shelters performed well under blast and ground shock. That’s because they were made with curved and straight galvanized corrugated steel panels – 14 of them actually.

Those wanting to reinforce a basement or building with galvanized corrugated steel panels might turn to a place like the local Metal Supermarkets franchise that makes it easy to buy reinforcing materials.

Batteries Plus

In the event of a natural disaster or something more, it’s a safe bet that electricity will be disrupted, too. It’s a good thing batteries were invented. Long-lasting batteries will be crucial to our comfort, even to our survival.

Just-A-Buck

Preppers are able to stock up on lots of items at the local Just-A-Buck store.

Everything in the store costs a dollar. I purchased toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, razors, candles, lighters, flashlights, and hand-warmers. I also bought dozens of non-perishable food items like crackers, soup, nuts and candy bars, to name just a few.

Just search Google and you will find many articles and YouTube videos on the topic of prepping at a dollar store, such as this one at Apartment Prepper.

Dollar stores are great places to get lots of supplies for not a lot of money. It’s really about volume when one is focused on preparing for a time when stores may no longer be stocked. It has to be.

Gro-O

Most off gridders are going to have to grow some of their own food. Did you know that there’s a franchise that specializes in designing and setting up organic fruit and vegetable raised planter gardens?

Gro-O is the name of the franchise, and they’re big on education. You can attend a garden party at one of their locations where you learn how to set up your organic garden.

Once you’re done learning how to grow your own food in an organic garden, you can go to the Gro-O website and purchase a few GroEasy Redwood Planters. These raised planter boxes are portable and easy to assemble. Bonus: No hardware or tools are needed.

The Beef Jerky Outlet

Beef jerky is one of those food items that has been around since before refrigeration. And it is a food of choice for many preppers and survivalists, as well as campers, hikers and others who spend time outdoors. From YummyJerky.com:

“Generally speaking, commercially produced, vacuum-packed beef jerky has a shelf life of at least one year without refrigeration. Under ideal storage conditions, some varieties of beef jerky can last for two years or more.”

That’s why I paid a visit to The Beef Jerky Outlet, a young franchisor that specializes in tasty, high-quality beef jerky. Whether your local area could sustain a retail outlet specializing mainly in one niche product like beef jerky (and related items) is something to investigate.

These are a handful of the more mainstream franchises available that have overlap with the prepper market.  Do more research at the link below or put Google searches to work!

Read more => https://smallbiztrends.com/2013/12/prepper-franchise.html

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How to Heat Off Grid Homes and Cabins with Trombe Walls and Passive Solar Window Heaters

How to Build a Passive Solar Trombe Wall  Heater that Can Be Made with Stones and Sheet Metal for Off Grid Homes and Cabins

Off Grid Living - How to Build a Passive Solar Heater Trombe Wall with Stones or Sheet Metal

Off Grid Living – How to Build a Passive Solar Heater Trombe Wall with Stones or Sheet Metal

How to Build a Passive Solar Furnace Heater Also Called Trombe Wall

Phoenix, Arizona – Solar can also be used to heat a shed, cabin or home with no electricity by building a passive solar furnace heater, which is very similar to building a solar hot water heater except that you’ll be heating air inside a black box with a window and using aluminum/tin cans, copper tubing, rocks or sheets of tin roofing that are painted black to absorb heat.

As hot air rises it will flow from the heated box into a colder structure at the top of the room while sucking in colder air at the bottom of the using a Trombe Wall vacuum air pattern. To improve circulation, you can add a solar attic fan that will air circulation dramatically.

How to Heat Homes with Passive Solar Heaters and Solar Attic Fans

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Best Tips and Tricks for Using a Wood Stove to Heat an Off Grid Home, Shed or Cabin

Watch this Video on How to Add Heating Conduit Pipes, Fans, Bricks and a Damper Plate to Greatly Improve a Stove’s Heat Production

Why heat with a Wood Stove? The answer is simple-comforting, economical, and environmentally-friendly.  Whether it’s the warm glow of the fire, the crackle of the wood or the deep penetrating warmth, wood stoves have a way of making people feel relaxed and right at home.

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Enphase: Demand for Solar-Battery Systems Could Soar After California Blackouts as Customers Forced to Live Off Grid

Grid woes “will only increase the attach rates for storage” in the country’s biggest rooftop solar market, Enphase CEO says.

Living Off Grid - Enphase - Demand for Solar-Battery Systems Could Soar After California Blackouts

Living Off Grid – Enphase – Demand for Solar-Battery Systems Could Soar After California Blackouts

Enphase’s current growth is based around its core solar microinverter business. But in discussing the company’s Q3 earnings Tuesday, CEO Badri Kothandaraman focused on how Enphase’s soon-to-launch integrated energy storage system could aid Californians facing the state’s unfolding wildfire and grid blackout emergency.

California-based Enphase is far from the only residential solar equipment provider adding batteries to the rooftop PV proposition. Sunrun, the U.S. rooftop solar leader, says that a quarter of its California solar customers are now choosing to add batteries to their systems.

While Kothandaraman declined to predict how many battery-backed Ensemble systems the company will sell, he expects similar “attach rates” to those seen by Sunrun in the California market.

The demand for solar-battery backup systems could skyrocket, Kothandaraman said, with millions of Californians undergoing days-long blackouts this month under the expanded fire-prevention power outage regime of bankrupt utility Pacific Gas & Electric.

Read more => https://buff.ly/34g7G6M

#California #OffGridLiving #LivingOffGrid #Enphase #MicroInverters #Solar #Panels #Batteries #PGE #Wildfire #Blackouts #Discounts

Elon Musk Says He has the Solar Solution for California’s Fire-Related Blackouts Starting at only $15,000

Order Tesla Solar + Powerwall battery for 24/7 clean power and no
blackouts!, Musk
tweeted, adding a link to the solar section of Tesla’s website

Living Off Grid - Elon Musk Says He has the Solar Solution for California’s Fire-Related Blackouts Starting at only $15,000

Living Off Grid – Elon Musk Says He has the Solar Solution for California’s Fire-Related Blackouts Starting at only $15,000

SAN FRANCISCO — As California faces massive wildfires and extensive power failures, Elon Musk has taken to Twitter with his latest cause: equipping residents here with solar panels and giant batteries to power their homes.

In a series of tweets last week, the Tesla chief executive made a simple case to affected state residents: buy his solar and battery setup to ride out the next disruption. Power shut-offs from the local utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, will only become more prevalent over the next decade. And solar-equipped homes are more efficient and better valued on the housing market. He even offered a $1,000 discount to those affected by days of power failures caused by wildfires.

“Order Tesla Solar + Powerwall battery for 24/7 clean power & no blackouts!” Musk tweeted, adding a link to the solar section of Tesla’s website.

Read more at => https://buff.ly/2PPUOAe

#California #OffGridLiving #LivingOffGrid #ElonMusk #MicroInverters #Solar #Panels #Batteries #PGE #Wildfire #Blackouts #Discounts

What Electric Power Outages Mean for Solar’s Potential in California to Solve the PG&E Electricity Blackouts

Recent blackouts in California have millions of people looking for ways to keep the power resulting in a huge spike in interest in another technology – solar panels and home batteries

What Electric Power Outages Mean For Solar's Potential in California

Living Off Grid – What Electric Power Outages Mean For Solar’s Potential in California

Solar Power to Solve Northern California Wildfire Electricity Blackout Crisis

The recent blackouts in California have millions of people looking for ways to keep the power on. Some bought portable generators, but there was a huge spike in interest in another technology – solar panels and home batteries. Lauren Sommer of member station KQED reports.

Interview of Anne Hoskins by Lauren Sommer, KQED

LAUREN SOMMER, BYLINE: Power is out at every house on this block in the Berkeley Hills. You could tell ’cause all the cars are parked outside the garages ’cause the garage doors won’t open, except for one.

HOWARD MATIS: Well, it works.

SOMMER: Hi, there.

MATIS: Hi.

SOMMER: I’m Lauren.

MATIS: Hi, Lauren.

SOMMER: The lights were on at Howard Matis’s house during the last PG&E outage. His fridge…

MATIS: Which you can see – fully powered and cold.

SOMMER: That’s because inside his garage…

MATIS: OK. We can go up here.

SOMMER: …Are two Tesla Powerwall batteries, about four feet tall, mounted on the wall.

MATIS: The whole house – everything – everything is powered by these two batteries.

SOMMER: The solar panels on his roof keep them charged. Solar alone won’t usually work during an outage because it’s still connected to the grid. But batteries let you wire a house to be its own little island, a 24-hour microgrid. Matis bought this system because he expects California’s fire problem to get worse.

MATIS: I lived through one disaster, and so I know what a wildfire is like.

SOMMER: Matis lost his home in the 1991 Oakland Hills fire. Some of his neighbors died trying to escape. People there are more fire-aware now. The power lines are buried underground. But they’re not immune from PG&E’s blackouts. Matis is still frustrated with the utility.

MATIS: I’ve talked to PG&E in the past, and I realized they didn’t know what they’re talking about.

SOMMER: Folks from the utility beg to differ. But other companies see an opportunity in that resentment.

ANNE HOSKINS: We’ve had a very big uptick in – I guess we would call them leads.

SOMMER: Anne Hoskins is chief policy officer at Sunrun. It sells solar and battery systems.

HOSKINS: We have a better way than relying on this, you know, over-a-century-old system.

SOMMER: Hoskins says the batteries aren’t just for emergencies. Homeowners can use them every day to store solar power, unlike portable gas generators.

HOSKINS: They’re loud. They’re dirty. And that also contributes to the problem, in our view, that we’re facing, which is climate change.

SOMMER: But batteries are pricey. A Powerwall costs more than $6,000, plus installation. Hoskins says state rebates and federal tax credits can knock thousands off that price, and Tesla is offering a discount for Californians affected by the blackouts. Still, there’s the potential for wealthier homeowners to buy their way out of these blackouts, leaving everyone else feeling the brunt.

HOSKINS: How can we build a system so that all those investments that people are making can bring a benefit to the grid as a whole?

SOMMER: Hoskins says that’s possible. You can have a bunch of solar and batteries in people’s homes that can feed into the local grid and supply everyone. It’s called a virtual power plant. Sunrun is planning one in West Oakland, where 500 low-income households will get solar and batteries. The idea is that making power locally means you don’t need as many big transmission lines to bring it in from far away.

Read more of Lauren Sommer, KQED report => https://buff.ly/2NM45Xk

Off Grid Living - How to Install Solar Lighting Systems for an Off Grid Property

Guide to Off Grid Living Launches New Living-Off-Grid.com Website to Complement Its Facebook Groups and Pages Targeting Arizona, California, New Mexico, New York and Texas

The Facebook pages/groups and off grid website provide info on building off grid homes, producing solar power, growing organic gardens, raising livestock and harvesting rainwater

Sacramento, California (November 11, 2019) – The Guide to Off Grid Living announced today that it has launched a new website, Living-Off-Grid.com, to educate people that want to buy a rural piece of property and build an off grid homestead in Arizona, California, New Mexico, New York or Texas.

“Today’s world is full of high-technology gadgets, computers, cell phones, cloud-based services that are all dependent on electricity, but as more than 2 million people found out in California, that can change instantly overnight and without warning,” said Robert Hoskins, Editor, Guide to Off Grid Living. “Our Guide to Off Grid Living is written specifically to help people learn how to survive as long as the sun is shining and the clouds are raining.”

“Even if you live in a suburban or a downtown urban environment, almost anyone can prepare themselves and their family to live in a world without water, gas or electricity from the local utility company, which might vanish overnight, whether it be just for a couple of days or many months at a time,” Hoskins continued. “Imagine what it would be like to live in a house with no utility or grocery bills.”

For shelter, the site provides insightful information that beginners can use to research, plan and build their first off grid home, cabin and/or shed.

Off Grid Living - How to Build a Shed, Cabin, Tipi, Yurt, Earthship, Tent, Wilderness Shelter, Bunker, Tiny House or Steel Building for an Off Grid Property

Off Grid Living – How to Build a Shed, Cabin, Tipi, Yurt, Earthship, Tent, Wilderness Shelter, Bunker, Tiny House or Steel Building for an Off Grid Property


For energy, the site details how to harness solar energy to produce electricity, heat, hot water, lights and ovens for cooking.

Off Grid Living - Installing Solar Power to Produce Off Grid Electricity

Off Grid Living – Installing Solar Power to Produce Off Grid Electricity

For food, the site details how to plant organic raised-bed gardens, how to build aquaponic gardens/fish farms as well as how to raise chickens, ducks, rabbits, bees and other live stock to put food on the table.

Off Grid Living - How to Build a Greenhouse to Support an Off Grid Aquaponic Garden and Fish Farm

Off Grid Living – How to Build a Greenhouse to Support an Off Grid Aquaponic Garden and Fish Farm

For water, the site details how to collect water utilizing rainwater harvesting systems using rooftops and collection barrels and cisterns, how to build a fresh water ponds for raising fish and aquatic plants and how to drill your own well if the water table is close to the surface.

Off Grid Living - How to Install Rain Barrel Cisterns to Collect Rainwater and Store It to Provide Water for an Off Grid Homestead

Off Grid Living – How to Install Rain Barrel Cisterns to Collect Rainwater and Store It to Provide Water for an Off Grid Homestead

 

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Contact:
Robert Hoskins
Living-Off-Grid.com
512-627-6622

How to Build a Duck House and Duck Pond for an Off Grid Property

Off Grid Property – How to Build a Duck
House and Duck Pond for an Off Grid Property

Click on the photo to see more pictures:
Off Grid Property - How to Build a Duck House and Duck Pond for an Off Grid Property

Off Grid Property – How to Build a Duck House and Duck Pond for an Off Grid Property

How to Build a Duck House and Duck Pond for an Off Grid Property

Arizona – Duck housing can be as simple or as elaborate as you choose. Whether you convert a small doghouse or build a custom shed, the one thing a duck house must be is predator-proof. Domestic ducks move very slowly on the ground and can’t fly, so they are extremely vulnerable to predators—especially at night—and need a safe place to sleep, lay their eggs and maybe even raise ducklings.

Ducks, unlike chickens, don’t need roosting bars and will rarely use nesting boxes, instead preferring to make a nest in one corner of the house on the floor. An old playhouse or a gardening or potting shed works quite well for duck housing. As long as it’s fitted with a door and has hardware cloth over any openings, any of these structures will get your ducks’ approval.

Source: https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/gardens/animals-and-wildlife/a-guide-to-duck-houses

Please join our Off Grid Living Discussion Group on Facebook

  1. To learn more and discuss off grid topics, please join our free Facebook group at:
    Off Grid Living: Prepping to Live Off the Grid
  2. Or, read more topics in our “Guide to Off Grid Living” at:
    https://LivingOffGrid.Home.Blog/Guide-to-Off-Grid-Living/

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#OffGridLiving #LivingOffGrid #Ducks #Ducklings #DuckHouse #DuckHut #DuckPond #Bathtub #KiddiesPool #Covered #DuckRun #Floating #KiddiePool

Rustic Outhouse and Bathroom Design and Decorating Ideas for an Off Grid Sheds, Cabins or Homes

Off Grid Living – Rustic Outhouse and Bathroom Design
and Decorating Ideas for an Off Grid Sheds, Cabins or Homes

Click on the photo to see more pictures:
Off Grid Living - Rustic Outhouse and Bathroom Design and Decorating Ideas for an Off Grid Sheds, Cabins or Homes

Rustic Outhouse/Bathroom Design & Decorating Ideas for an Off Grid Sheds, Cabins or Homes

Off Grid Living Bathroom and Outhouse Design Ideas

Arizona – Many off grid cabins use self composting or septic systems. In addition, many off grid bathrooms are designed to conserve and separate gray from #2 waste which is either composted or fed into a septic tank.

If you’ve never hear of using black soldier flies in tandem with composting toilets, you should do some research on them. They are a great way to turn human manure into free chicken feed.

Different areas of the country have different regulations about this. For example, most cities are against it and only more rustic regions of the country will generally be accepting. Even if you are allowed to have one however there will be a lot of restrictions put in place including the distance away from any water source for sanitary reasons.

Feel free to like, share and make comments about which off grid bathroom design you think will work best for your home.

Please join our Off Grid Living Discussion Group on Facebook

  1. To learn more and discuss off grid topics, please join our free Facebook group at: Off Grid Living: Prepping to Live Off the Grid
  2. Or, read more topics in our “Guide to Off Grid Living” => https://livingoffgrid.home.blog/guide-to-off-grid-living/

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#Arizona #OffGridHomes #OffGridCabins #OffGridSheds #OffGridLiving #LivingOffGrid #HowTo #Build #Rustic #Outhouse #Bathroom #Bathtubs #Design #Decorating

How to Heat Water with Solar Hot Water Heaters and Stove Water Heating Jackets

The Benefits of Using Passive Solar Heating and Wood Stove Water Heating Jackets to Heat Water for an Off Grid Shed, Cabin or Home

Click on the photo to see more pictures:
How to Use Off Grid Solar Collectors to Product Free Hot Water

How to Use Passive Solar Collectors to Product Free Hot Water for Off Grid Properties

Various Types of Solar Hot Water Heaters to Heat Water for Off Grid Homes

United States – There are many options for solar water heaters that range from inexpensive home-made jobs to high-end state of the art commercial models.

If you switch to a solar water heating system, your use of electricity or propane will drop significantly; that number will approach zero rapidly if your backup heating system is a wood stove or firebox with a water jacket rather than occasional use utility electricity.

The home-made options are typically not suited for use during times of the year when temperatures dip below freezing. You would need to winterized them before any threat of fall or winter weather arrives.  There are probably hundreds of variations that may be found on the internet. They range from coils of black plastic pipe on one’s roof to coils of copper inside a box with outer glass cover (creating a greenhouse effect).

Some of these utilize a DC electric circulating pump. It pushes the heated water into a storage tank and bring fresh cool water into the heater.  This pump may be activated by a switch that is temperature controlled. But some are directly connected to a solar panel and only run when the sun is shining (precisely the same times that the water is being heated and needs to be circulated).

Evacuated Tube Solar Hot Water Heaters

Evacuated tube models are composed of numerous rows of glass tubes with another smaller tube inside each of the larger tubes.  A vacuum is pulled between each of the two tubes which greatly lessens the loss of heat to outside weather.  Water or an antifreeze solution is then circulated through the inner tubes.

The advantages of evacuated tubes lie in greater efficiency and less heat lost.  So they work quite well even during surprisingly cool temperatures.  However they are somewhat fragile and may not be as suited to areas with a great amount of snow and ice due to the potential for breakage from buildup.

Flat Panel Solar Hot Water Heaters

These heaters look much like solar electric panels but contain tiny water passages which enable a great amount of surface area to come in contact with the heat from the sun.  While not as efficient as evacuated tubes, flat panels still work very well and are certainly more rugged when faced with heavy snow and icy conditions.

Typically an antifreeze solution is circulated through the tubes or panels and the hot fluid is routed inside to a heat exchanger which transfers the heat of the fluid to the home’s hot water.  There are some varieties of evacuated tube heaters that are called drain down systems, which do not require the use of antifreeze because the water drains away from exposed areas once the water cools off.

Thermo-Siphon Solar Hot Water Heaters

It is possible to set up a solar water heating system that doesn’t require an electric circulating pump.  This would be called a thermo-siphon system, operating on the principle that heat rises.

This was the type of system we planned to install for our cabin in the summertime.  The disadvantages would be the amount of work involved in installation, significant cost of commercial systems, and reliance on an electric circulating pump (unless it is set up as a thermo-siphon system).

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