Off grid machine shop??

[Wayne02]

Came across this while surfing. What a beautiful place!
http://www.homesteadsforsale.com/larry.htm

I could maybe handle living off-grid if not for my beloved shop... kind of spoiled with internet as well I guess.

Wonder what type of generator set-up it would take to run a home shop with lathes, milling machines, plasma cutters, welders etc????

Wayne

[x39]

I've got some friends who run a fairly large auto/truck repair/restoration/paint/welding/machine shop. A few years back they got in a spat with the electric company and told them to get lost. They've got a Caterpillar powered generator that is about the size of two large cars piled on top of one another that just idles along all day long and powers the whole works with nary a hiccup.

[lenord]

Wayne and/or Someone who knows,


A little off topic question here....

Why are the properties so beautiful and so cheap ? Are the winters too cold ? Getting to be a Canadian citizen too hard ? Some unknown superfund like site close by or what ?

Lenord

[BillH]

Says its a homestead, makes me wonder if you really own that land.
Well, no cable modem, thats for sure... Even a phone?

[Rustybolt]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by lenord:
Wayne and/or Someone who knows,


A little off topic question here....

Why are the properties so beautiful and so cheap ? Are the winters too cold ? Getting to be a Canadian citizen too hard ? Some unknown superfund like site close by or what ?

Lenord</font>

Because it's in the middle of nowhere any yuppie wants to be. You can buy a lot of cheap land in the parts of Montana that don't have mountain views or grows wheat. And it's even cheaper in North Dakota. All this presupposes you don't mind six solid months of winter.

[snowman]

Becoming a Canadian citizen really shouldn't be all that hard.

If you've got the money to buy that, you've got the money to be a Canadian citizen. They require that you have at least 10k in a savings account, and skills that will get you a job. It does take a couple of years of probation.

Once I finish nursing school, I may move. I like my wilderness a little less "tamed".

-Jacob

[Chester]

When most people see the isolation and distance from town, they just move on to other listings. Health care and probable lack of 'phone service would be another deterent. My guess would be that it is an estate sale. The price is average for the location and would take forever to appreciate much in value. Sure would make a neat summer retreat for the right party. If interested, look at www.mls.ca for other properties in Canada.

Location, location,location.......truer words were never spoken. A few years back my wife's uncle died leaving a hand built masonary home with a tripple bay workshop/garage anybody would kill for, sitting on 100 acres of prime mixed woodlands. The south edge of the property abutted the U.S. border. It was sold for the give away price of $65K Cdn. The problem was that it is in the Province of Quebec. He had two sons living aroung Montreal and they even weren't interested.

There are many properties here that can be had for next to nothing because of back taxes. Most are out in the middle of nowhere and will never be worth anything. Have a friend whose father willed him some of those and now he is stuck paying taxes or throw them away.

[wierdscience]

Off grid shop,if I did it,I would use a diesil motor,something cheap and long lived like a Perkins 3cyl tractor engine.

I would have a alternator(10,000 watt)for lights and small tools only and use hydraulic pumps and motors to run the big tools.
I had it figured once to plumb the shop with 1-1/4" black iron pipe,1 pressure,1 return for the mains and reduce down to 1/2 or 3/4 for the branches,run the system at 900-1000 psi and about 30gpm.
Hydrualic motors can be had for $100 -125 these days and many of those can deliver hp in the 5-7-1/2 range.
Plus you also have foward/reverse and variable speed with the right valving.

[This message has been edited by wierdscience (edited 01-01-2005).]

[PSD KEN]

Problem is: Canadia wouldn't allow you to bring your pistols in.
I'm considering Idaho, up in Panhandle, a bit nippy, but cheap.
3rd generation here, but, but tiring of the "Peoples Sozilistii Republik of Kaleefornea"

[Buckshot]

..........PSDKen, had a brother living in Bonners Ferry, ID. A beautifull area with a quiant little old timey downtown. Not much happening and quiet. People would drive to Libby, MT to buy stuff (no sales tax). Snow burden isn't too bad for being so far north. Best part was electricity was like 3.5 cents/Kw. The town owned part of a dam.

My wife would move to Sand Point, ID in a heartbeat. That's about midway between Bonner's Ferry and Cour'dlene. It struck me as being "mid-America" stuck in the 1930's.

I recall going to town with my brother and parking next to a 4wd Ford p-u with a gunrack and a couple rifles in it. Windows were rolled down. I pointed it out and my brother just said, Yeah, and they're probably loaded too."

He was a ER doctor and had to move. People wouldn't leave him alone in the store, in resturants or at home. Tiny little hospital and a couple private practice physicians in town were flakes.

Best,
Rick