6 months living off grid in the highlands of Scotland

[@LeesArts]

You are living my dream mate, my family and I are from Fife in scotland and currently planning our move to the highlands to start our life offgrid living.

[@beyondtheworkbench]

Excellent! I hope you have a good move and good luck with your off grid setup

[@LeesArts]

Thanks :) @@beyondtheworkbench

[@hoa3512]

What’s your reasons for living offgrid?

[@LeesArts]

@@hoa3512 I have a lot of reasons honestly, out of my top 3 though my first and most major one is i dont like being in populated areas, i enjoy being isolated and living with nature, growing my own food etc. Second one is that when i have lived isolated and on food i grew myself i have never felt more freedom even if the work is harder than my office job and i have wanted to live like that full time and thirdly if and when i decide to have children i think its a much greater environment for them to grow up in.

[@pete_dl1585]

To fix the damp issues in the trailer home, i suggest you have a look at a reciprocating heat recovery ventilation system. An example is the "Vent-Axia lo-carbon heat save" . Reciprocating ones are not perfect, but much better than nothing,

[@beyondtheworkbench]

They look great and I hadn't heard of them AND they weren't as expensive as I was expecting as the air exchangers I have looked at were a lot of money. Thanks for the tip

[@pete_dl1585]

your welcome. The only word of warning is that there is a risk that the fan inside these units will be overwhelmed by a strong wind and so air movement will only go one way. I think they have guidance for placing them on walls not facing the prevailing winds.

[@beyondtheworkbench]

excellent thanks@@pete_dl1585

[@happyglampers9053]

You’ve achieved so much in 6 months. Remember years back when I was based at the gare loch, just how cold life can be. Looks like you’re coping very well. Keep up the great work. And… the days are getting longer 👌👍👏

[@beyondtheworkbench]

Thanks, we have noticed the days are getting longer which makes a nice difference. What were you doing at the Gare loch?

[@mikemcdonagh2049]

Id be tempted to connect to the grid under those conditions. Well done for not doing so.

[@beyondtheworkbench]

thanks, we really want to stay off grid for our power and water needs (internet may be considered on grid but at least we are not connecting to cabled internet)

[@Pringu1988]

Can’t believe it’s been 6 months already! Been loving watching the journey you and your family have been on so far, you must be proud of what you achieved in such a short amount of time. Keep it up dude 👍🏻

[@beyondtheworkbench]

Thanks! I called Nicole by accident the other day forgetting you weren't my local any more

[@petershores]

Love the positive mental attitude and like everyone else commenting so grateful for the updates and insight to what and why you’re trying to do what you’re doing off-grid. Please keep it up my family really enjoy following your trials and tribulations and agree - it’s worth it! X

[@beyondtheworkbench]

Thanks Peter! its really nice to hear people like watching

[@michaelmason5459]

Hi I commented on you last post about lowering your generator but you would have to alter pipes, but then noticed the holes to bolt generator on sides, so if you bolt plates to fit on top off bolt holes not underneath at side say 50mm wide then increase hole for generator by 25mm all around screw plates down with generator in middle of the larger hole, the base of generator where water comes out, will be lower than the top of wood base it sits on but pipes should still fit and the generator can only leak downwards below fitting plates. If that makes sense. Regards Mick.

[@beyondtheworkbench]

All sounds really good. I may be changing the turbine in the next few years once we work through the pipework upgrade so I don't want to invest too much energy into getting things perfect yet. I will keep your suggestions in mind when we come to it

[@jeanhelliwell8160]

Love your videos, can't wait to see what's next

[@beyondtheworkbench]

Thank you I am excited for it

[@insAneTunA]

You will get there. It is all a learning curve. I have a small aquaponics system, which is a pond combined with grow beds filled with gravel in which I recirculate the pond water in order to grow vegetables with it. The first years I had issues with frost but I kept improving the system and this winter I had no issues with the frost whatsoever. Even with -7C I kept the pump running without any issues. I agree with you that as soon as you have the bottleneck in your electrical storage system worked out things will get a lot better. 👍

[@beyondtheworkbench]

That's really interesting about the aquaponics, we were thinking about a system like that. Do you light the plants or use natural lighting to do the growing?

[@insAneTunA]

No I do not use additional lights. I have an outdoor system, and all I use is a single high efficiency variable pump. Although I am highly interested in off grid projects and regenerative farming and permaculture and such, my system is a hobby project that was born out of curiosity. I am from the Netherlands and here we have fully automated greenhouses where robots do all the work, from seeding to the harvesting, and all the other thinkable conditions are computer controlled as well, including the lights. That was not the direction that I wanted to go. I try to keep it as simple and as cheap as possible. Besides that, in order to get any benefits from growlights you need very powerful growlights, even LED growlights that actually work as advertised consume a lot of energy. And those lights are not cheap to buy either. It might be worth to do that when you fully rely on your own grown food as a family, but my system is a hobby project, and I do not rely on my system for my food, so for me it is not worth to buy those expensive and energy consuming lights. I learned that aquaponics is much easier in areas where there is a mild climate. In your situation I would recommend one or more greenhouses and a 25cm thick layer of composted aerated wood chips, and to grow your food in that. And I would recommend you to learn as much about composting and the use of wood chips and the micro biology aspect of it as possible. For example at the channel from the soil food web school from Dr. Elaine Ingham. Growing food inside a greenhouse will be much easier, and much cheaper. And you will have instant good results. And you will also have a much longer season in which you can grow food due to the higher temperatures inside the greenhouse. And you can grow a much wider variety of vegetables and fruits. @@beyondtheworkbench

[@beyondtheworkbench]

Great. I really liked the idea of aqua/hyroponics but when you have to generate the power to run the lights it gets crazy very quickly. Our single light used 400w continuous and I could only grow a handful of broccoli under it. We will definitely look into the pollytgnnels thanks for the advice@@insAneTunA

[@insAneTunA]

Poly tunnels will give you the most bang for the buck, even if one gets destroyed so once in a while. But the real magic comes from composted wood chips. I strongly recommend you to invest in a wood chipper and to invest in learning about the value from composted wood chips. It will be the best investment that you can make in regards to sustainable growing organic food. On my channel I made a list from recommended channels who share valuable information about permaculture and other related subjects. @@beyondtheworkbench

[@corymacauley2706]

Loving the series 🎉

[@beyondtheworkbench]

Thank you

[@inquisitiveexplorerlee3299]

Rome was not built in a day, that being said you are doing good work in prioritising what needs to be done in your situation. The bigger picture is a few years down the line, but will be worth it especially when you look back and smile to see where you have come from 👍

[@beyondtheworkbench]

I hope so! Having a tidy up at the moment to make it look a bit more like someone lives here so definitely enjoying ticking some bits off the list

[@zodzod9378]

Yes your get there this summer not long and it will warm up Rob cant wait to see the new power bank instalation ! Little john from chichester

[@beyondtheworkbench]

Thanks Little John. (I hope your name is Little John because it's cool) I am really impressed with the new inverter so far. Video coming out next week

[@agentbertram4769]

You will get past these problems in time. I did and now life is good. (Argyll)

[@beyondtheworkbench]

Great I am glad to hear you made it past the challenging bit

[@EddieEggman]

Hi Rob, recently binge watched your journey so far and have really enjoyed following your progress! Excited for the next chapter and can't wait to see what you've achieved after a year! I am currently trying to sell my better half the idea of selling up and moving off grid, but she's not having it - I'll be sure to show her the clip of you saying how much you are enjoying it despite the challenges 🤞

[@beyondtheworkbench]

Thank you, I hope you manage to persuade her as it's a really great way of life. So satisfying when everyone else has a power outage and you are smug in your self generated power

[@oneorangedog]

A nice update, thanks. I watch with great interest as we are just starting a similar journey in our woodland in Northumberland... developing our YT channel soon too.

[@beyondtheworkbench]

Great! I hope your channel takes off as I am sure it will. Northumberland is beautiful

[@hankcuccina5260]

That power pole would fix all your problems.

[@beyondtheworkbench]

It would make life a lot easier. But I have never felt its worth it if its easy

[@hankcuccina5260]

Easy in the long run saves time and money. But you do have youth on your side and will work iit out for yourself. I do like your videos. @@beyondtheworkbench

[@rb9580]

Since you have an excess of generating capacity, a limit on battery charging capacity and a 24/7 need for heat in the caravan through the winter, would it not be worth setting up an electric dump heater to use that excess capacity? A simple resistive heater and charge controller upstream of the Ecoflow?

[@HPLP85]

Or even a immersion coil.

[@rb9580]

@@HPLP85 Absolutely! But I was assuming an unlimited need for heat output that could simply be left running, while there is always a risk of a hot water tank reaching capacity and boiling. Ideally the excess could also contribute to a combined heat and ventilation system to keep the caravan aired, warm and dry - but that would be much more complicated in the short-term while getting hold of a suitable charge controller and heater would be quick and easy. (I think I might also be looking at using the Defender engine as a generator if the petrol one is inadequate - the engine is sitting there and could easily be put to work).

[@beyondtheworkbench]

Im so glad you mentioned the defender engine as I looked into that, there was a 240v converter you could get from some of the electricity companies converted defenders but they are really expensive bits of kit on Ebay

[@rb9580]

@@beyondtheworkbench Cost is always an issue! And it is always a trade-off with convenience/simplicity, power demand and life-style - no point in basing a system around the defender engine, if the vehicle is often not there when power is needed. But the ecoflow unit and the petrol generator would not have been cheap either (unless provided by sponsors!). A quality 1kW pure sine wave inverter could be had for less than £150. But all this is academic, as you have ample generating capacity! 🙂

[@beyondtheworkbench]

Yea the eco flow was because we didn't have to do any major work getting it up and running but it was far from cheap so it will be going on Ebay when we are done with it@@rb9580

[@Wistowtbone]

need a digger to bury those pipes. - digger will be essential for your spot ... I only have 1 acre and I want a digger.

[@beyondtheworkbench]

I have had so many times that I have wanted one. They are really expensive to rent here because of the delivery so I might have to get a tractor with a digger on the back

[@Wistowtbone]

@@beyondtheworkbench yes looking for one but jcb 1cx second hand would be ideal for me

[@terryhere3889]

I’m confused why your water isn’t inside your barn and haven’t got insulated jackets on them to give them a chance, and why didn’t you plane your power needs before moving onto the land and buy a bigger battery bank, plus why not have a log burner in your caravan as a second backup? Love your life tho and your land, I would be happy with an acre or two let alone 50 lol

[@beyondtheworkbench]

Everything for us has been a mad rush so water barrels outside was better than no water as we were rebuilding the collapsed parts as we went. Very little here is permanent though so versions 2 3 and maybe even 4 will be better planned out

[@the_big_rascal]

Hydroponic broccoli 👀😂

[@beyondtheworkbench]

It was so much effort for 3 broccoli

[@paulevetts9771]

lol brocolli

[@beyondtheworkbench]

😄

[@missing1person]

At the peak of your prime I don't understand why you would go "off grid"... That's for old retired people. Now it is time for travel and work.

[@beyondtheworkbench]

I can see why you think that. I was ready for a change after our big property development

[@occamraiser]

Am I the only person who noticed that he is walking under power-lines while telling his tale of off-grid infrastructure failures? There is NO REASON to not be on the power grid. He's using electricity, made by a PETROL GENERATOR FFS. This seems like the most pathetic middle-class eco-wank imaginable.

[@beyondtheworkbench]

Thank you for your thoughts