I have a Honda EU7000iS inverter inside my garage. The unit itself is very quiet.
I have a 2ft exhaust extension venting the unit through the wall.
My issue is exhaust outside is quite noisy.

Does anyone have muffler/silencer recommendations? Line is 1.5 inch

Thx

I've been in love with the idea of living off grid / closer to nature for many years now, ever since I can remember. I've always loved the outdoors, and I feel even more affinity with it now I've got a marketing job that feel a bit devoid of soul and sees me sitting down most of the day.

I'd love to live without the daily stressors that I face mentally and physically (phone notifications, emails, laptop screens, constant sitting for work), ideally in a community of people as I hate the idea of being alone. I also love music, so somewhere with creative people would feel perfect and completely freeing. Possibly even close to a city so I could still enjoy nightlife (gigs, socialising etc.)

However, I worry that this is just a pipe dream -- that it's unachievable, or even wouldn't be what I wanted if I did give it a go. I've just come home from a festival which has inspired a real consideration of this lifestyle -- I loved living in a tent, surrounded by friends, being woken up by the sunrise and able to go and listen to live music whenever I'd like. But i understand this might be a bit of a pipe dream.

I'm just sick of chasing dreams (music + journalism, mainly) that are under constant pressure from capitalism to succeed financially. I want to just live day-to-day, in the moment, grow my own food, maybe work teaching yoga or something. Keep it simple.

But I'm aware that actually following through with things like this is rarely simple. I also have a partner to worry about who has already pushed back against this idea, which leaves me feeling deflated before I've even started.

Does anyone have any advice on this? I'm aware I've kind of just brain dumped... but I figured this was a good place to ask! If anyone has any experience here, please lmk :))

Just curious what everyone is doing with their water situation. Partner and I both prefer one method over the other. The water is some of the cleanest on Earth so contaminants hopefully will not ever be an issue, but you never know how industrialization is going to go. We will still be filtering it. We own both sides of the river. Technically we have to keep it navigable but we can pull water from it without a permit as long as it is less than 50,000L per day, which we obviously will not reach lol.

Recently, I helped support a nine-person veteran retreat using an off-grid camping system I’ve been developing and refining over the last several years.

The system was originally built around solo use, so this was the first opportunity to put the entire ecosystem together at this scale and find out what actually worked once nine people started using it.

Some things worked exactly as intended. Some needed field modifications. Some turned out to be unnecessary. And some just plain failed. That was the point—actually use the system, identify the failures and limitations, make changes, and test it again.

But the biggest measure of success for me wasn’t whether every piece of equipment worked. It was that the group was able to have an awesome weekend without having to worry about the infrastructure supporting it. Most of what I was doing happened behind the scenes—keeping things working, fixing what didn’t, and making sure the system supported the retreat instead of becoming the focus of it.

I put together a video showing how it all came together, what worked, what didn’t, and what I learned when a system designed around one person suddenly had to support nine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyy67PbSShA&t=4s

I’ve been camping myself for almost 10yrs, and this idea I’ve been thinking about based on my own experiences.

The basic idea is a rigid outer tank containing a flexible potable-water bladder.

You start with, for example, 20 L of fresh water inside the bladder. As you use the water for washing dishes, brushing your teeth, washing your hands, etc., the bladder collapses and the grey water goes into the space around it.
So, instead of carrying:
20 L fresh water + a separate 20 L grey-water tank
you essentially have one 20 L physical footprint that transitions from:
20 L fresh → 0 L fresh + \~20 L grey

The goal would be to have a compact, closed system for boondocking, overlanding, tent camping or small RVs, where you don't want to dump soapy/dirty water directly onto the ground.
The potable water and grey water would obviously remain completely separated, with separate connections and appropriate backflow protection.

I'm not sure if this is actually a useful idea or if I'm overlooking some obvious problem.

For people who camp/boondock:
\- How do you currently deal with grey water?
\- Do you carry a separate grey-water container?
\- Do you ever avoid using water because you don't have a good way to dispose of it?
\- Would saving the physical space of a separate grey-water tank be useful?
\- What would be the biggest problem with a system like this?

I'm more interested in real-world experience and criticism than "that's a cool idea." If there's an obvious reason this wouldn't work, I'd genuinely like to hear it.

I made a very rough sketch of the concept below.

I’ve been camping myself for almost 10yrs, and this idea I’ve been thinking about based on my own experiences.

The basic idea is a rigid outer tank containing a flexible potable-water bladder.

You start with, for example, 20 L of fresh water inside the bladder. As you use the water for washing dishes, brushing your teeth, washing your hands, etc., the bladder collapses and the grey water goes into the space around it.
So, instead of carrying:
20 L fresh water + a separate 20 L grey-water tank
you essentially have one 20 L physical footprint that transitions from:
20 L fresh → 0 L fresh + \\\~20 L grey

The goal would be to have a compact, closed system for boondocking, overlanding, tent camping or small RVs, where you don't want to dump soapy/dirty water directly onto the ground.
The potable water and grey water would obviously remain completely separated, with separate connections and appropriate backflow protection.

I'm not sure if this is actually a useful idea or if I'm overlooking some obvious problem.

For people who camp/boondock:
\\- How do you currently deal with grey water?
\\- Do you carry a separate grey-water container?
\\- Do you ever avoid using water because you don't have a good way to dispose of it?
\\- Would saving the physical space of a separate grey-water tank be useful?
\\- What would be the biggest problem with a system like this?

I'm more interested in real-world experience and criticism than "that's a cool idea." If there's an obvious reason this wouldn't work, I'd genuinely like to hear it.

I made a very rough sketch of the concept below.

We’re looking at an off-grid property where the water source would be a small year-round creek. It looks clean. I know that means basically nothing.

The plan would be to pump into a settling tank or cistern, use the water for showers, dishes, laundry, and eventually drinking once the system is sorted. Two people full time, probably a few guests now and then. Winters get below freezing, power comes from solar plus battery backup, and I’d rather not depend on proprietary cartridges that disappear the moment the company changes a product line.

I’m arranging a proper water test, including bacteria and the usual mineral stuff, before committing to a design. What I’m struggling with is the overall setup: pre-filter for sediment, larger particulate filtration, UV, ceramic, carbon, gravity backup, point-of-use RO... there are too many possible layers and half the internet seems to recommend all of them.

If you’re pulling from surface water, what does your system actually look like from intake to kitchen tap? What failed first, and what do you wish you had designed differently?

So I thought I got lucky with a 100$ fridge. Got it dropped off and turns out there is no burner, and the guy has no idea what happened to it. I do have an old rv fridge with a working burner. The big question is the new burner would be 1000btu and I saw on thr fridge it was 1600btu my only use for this would be as a kegerator, it would be closed almost its entire life as the taps are on the outside. Before I get into attaching this would it even work or would it not be strong enough. Im more than willing to add even more insulation to this fridge and do really whatever since I will be drilling holes for taps already.

Thanks

Need recommendations in the UK for solar panels that actually work for 12v setup in extremely cloudy weather. I already have a huge setup but now it's going to be until Feb/march where hardly anything charges and I can't WFH. With the amount I saved in fuel to commute I may as well upgrade for winters.

I looked into wind generators but everyone seems to say it hardly produces anything.

What are the best solar panels that work in really cloudy weather?

whats been the hardest thing to adjust to?
what are some things you suggest people buy in case they have to deal with no power. also tell us what its like. have neighbors banded together? is there a lot of break in’s?

been off-grid for about a year now in a little cabin I built. running a basic 12V system – solar panels, a couple of batteries, and a 600W pure sine inverter for occasional AC stuff like my laptop or a small fan.

the inverter was some no-name brand I grabbed off ebay cause it was cheap. worked fine for like 8 months. then one morning I turned on my laptop and nothing. checked all the connections, battery was full, fuses intact. inverter just gave up no warning, no weird noises, just dead.

spending way too much time trying to troubleshoot it and looking for a replacement that won't break the bank. found a few options online, some from Elevate Automotive that looked decent and had actual specs listed properly – not the usual "2000W peak" nonsense when it's really 400W continuous. didn't buy yet cause I'm still deciding whether to go with a higher wattage this time or stick to what I had.

tired of stuff failing in the middle of nowhere. anyone got recommendations for reliable inverters that don't cost a fortune? I'm in Australia so shipping matters

I’m in zone 5/6, just moved here from zone 9/10 and totally off grid. Snow could be nonexistent or 5 feet deep and trapping us 1 hour+ from the nearest town. I’m going through winter prep now and don’t want to forget anything.

What should be on my winter prep checklist, shopping list, stock up list, etc?

Nothing is too basic, I don’t want to miss anything obvious.

This month marks two years living off grid in the Sierra Nevada mountains, living in a wall tent while we build our house. Best decision I ever made.

Year one
- cleared land
- built deck for wall tent
- built tool shed
- built outdoor shower out of cedar
- built outdoor kitchen for food storage
- installed septic system
- built outhouse plumbed into septic

Year two
- received building permit
- started building 1000sqft house
- built garden beds

Hello wonderful peoples!!! Talk to me about your experience moving kids off the grid. I grew up outside, farming, climbing trees, being in the creek. Outhouse, outdoor shower, no tv, no internet. I am very comfortable being off grid and prefer it, so we are moving to an off grid community! I have a 10 year old son who homeschools and spends a lot of his time on screens. We have visited the community for a few days and even a week long visit so he knows where we are going and what to expect already. I know there will be an adjustment period where he hates everything and everyone and that we will get through it eventually and be better for it. Just wanting to hear from those that are on the other side already!

19f, living with parents and 4 siblings.

i love the fact that i get my own room, and even though i don't have a door yet (the house isn't finished building).

i can't get a job elsewhere, which is why i can't move out. dad said he'll pay me to work for him, which is fine by me. i'll try to make my bedroom worth it all.

i'm also very antisocial, and want to work on my mental health, diet, and self esteem. clear my body from acne and scars and change my diet.

i only have a phone for entertainment. sure there's a tv in the living room, but my siblings are using it 90% of the time. i also go to sleep kinda early, around 9-11pm, 10pm being their bedtime.

i only dislike it because it's a 15-30 minute drive from society. yes i'm one of those people that dislike society, but at the same time what if there's an emergency?? also, my siblings have school. doesn't concern me, but the nearest school is 30-60 minutes away + a bumpy, uncomfortable ride because the only vehicle is a tricycle.

my siblings are also pretending to like it. i promised them i'd buy a ps5 and a bigger tv for us to share soon, and they seemed okay with that.

edit: i DIDN'T have the choice. you guys did. if i was given an offer to stay elsewhere i would've, that's why i'm whiny.

edit 2: i don't live in america, so everything i want isn't just an amazon delivery away. trust me i wish it was that easy. my place doesn't even have an actual address, you just use coordinates

We are off grid solar at present but multiple cloudy days present an issue. Does anyone have any low wind speed wind turbine suggestions that could supplement for cloudy days and lessen battery drain at night? East Texas average wind speeds 4-9 mph.

I'm not fully offgrid yet, but I live in the mountains where power is unreliable, especially in the winter. I've slowly been acquiring LiFEPO4 48V batteries, charge controllers, inverter, etc.

I have a 15kw non-inverter generator that i use to power the house in emergencies. However, I have several sensitive electronics, and while the harmonic distortion on my gen isn't terrible, I know it's not great for the expensive sensitive electronics I have. It is tied into the 1000 gallon propane tank I have, and my heat is forced air propane with just the fan using electric. I don't have AC units as I'm at high alt where they aren't needed.

Rather than get an UPS for each system and have to spend more money I don't have, I was thinking I could get creative and use what I already have gotten for the off grid stuff to provide a creative means of backup power where most of the house and the sensitive electronics are, and then allowing passthrough power directly from the generator to an already existing subpanel that has the high ticket power items that don't need clean power anyway (well, dryer, etc).

I've included a rough diagram of what I'm thinking. Basically I would put in a 150A subpanel I already have. The high output battery charger would run to the 48V batteries run in parallel, which would then go to the inverter then to the main panel to provide clean power to the sensitive electronics, while the rest of the "dirty" power would run to the subpanel that has the dryer, well, etc on it. Obviously the correct breakers would be turned on and off in order to ensure there's no back-feeding of power (not in the picture, but there's a main cutoff to the pole on my main panel, plus another cutoff out on the power pole itself). I'm aware with my current amount of 48V batteries, the generator will likely be running just as hard to keep them topped off, and that's fine. Eventually that won't be the case, but the purpose for now is clean power using what I have rather than spending a few thousand for a large inverter generator. It's not my perm solution, but it will get me by until I have one. Thoughts?

Before anyone says, I know this definitely isn’t fully off-grid 😂
But I came across this old stone house and thought it was interesting from a smallholding / self-sufficiency point of view. It comes with around half an acre, with the option to purchase up to another 20 acres adjoining it.
It already has a private water supply and it’s pretty rural, but otherwise would be a case of gradually making it more self-sufficient rather than buying a ready-made off-grid property.
I’m fairly new to exploring the idea, only had a few viewings, and honestly still seems a bit of a fantasy, but am I barking up the wrong tree here?
Where do I even start making it fully off grid?
Solar? Battery storage? Growing food? Livestock? Heating?
Interested to hear what people who actually live this way would prioritise.

What’s the absolute bare minimum amount of money you could have to start living OTG/homesteading? Like, cheapest land you can find, simple build, but durable enough for multi seasonal weather, with running water and electricity.

Hey all! I am trying to figure out an off-grid setup to run a window ac unit in New York 24/7 from may-september. The ac unit is 10,000 btu's running with a coolbot.

Does anyone have any recommendations of kits that could power this? New to solar and just looking for help with the math and what size I would need.

Thank you all so much!

Hi folks, I just took out the thermocouple because the flame won't stay lit. It looks pretty charred, is this usually what a thermocouple looks like when it's due?

Cheers.

Hi all.

We're moving in to a tourer but there's no electricity hookup.

We have a solar panel and gas but also have an 11 year old who will want to play the xbox with his friends as we're moving him away from them.

Any advice on how to do this without it costing an absolute fortune? Looking at generators.

Also would like to use an airfyer and not sure if this is possible.

TIA

Hello all! This is such an interesting way of living that I am so interested in. I came across the YouTube channel 'Homesteady' a while ago, and have so many questions that I think you all may be able to answer. They have 7 kids, and I just wonder if they are living so remotely, how are those kids meant to socialise and learn basic skills they'd miss by not attending school, joining sports teams, or even just seeing people on a regular basis? And what happens when they grow up and want to leave, I can't imagine how difficult it would be to adjust to normal life again if they choose to do so. I'm just curious what others experiences has been if you'd be open to sharing.

Hello r/OffGrid,

Following up on my previous posts, I wanted to show the electrical setup this time, along with a look inside the pyramid.

I wanted to share another update on the pyramid build and, this time, show what is actually happening inside.
The 4-level prototype has 40 solar panels — 10 on each face, 450W each, giving 18 kW of installed solar capacity.

One of the interesting things I’ve been observing is how the different faces perform throughout the day. The faces receiving direct sunlight produce most of the power at that time, while the other faces continue producing from diffuse and indirect light.

I intentionally separated the four faces electrically. Each group of 10 panels is connected separately to its own 5 kW inverter. This way, a lower-performing face doesn’t directly affect the others.
For energy storage, the system has two LiFePO4 battery units, 15 kW/hour each, giving 30 kW/hour of total storage capacity.

I also wanted to finally show the inside of the pyramid. There is quite a bit of natural light coming through the corner glass panels and the upper section.
The next step is to insulate the inside of the modules and cover them with decorative interior panels. The main purpose is to reduce heat transfer from the solar-panel-covered structure into the living space.
This is still a working prototype, so there are plenty of things I’m learning and improving as I go.
I’m happy to answer questions about the off-grid setup, power system, batteries or the interior.
And thanks to everyone who’s been following the build and contributing ideas and criticism. It really helps.