Hands on DIYer off Grid Power, Dave Clough, Joseph OR

Beautiful Joseph, now attractign tourists

Beautiful Joseph, now attracting tourists

Joseph Oregon is one of those Towns where it pays to be handy. It’s not so easy to find that high paying job in paradise, but who needs the big money? 

The natural beauty of the Area  attracts tourists, but like most small towns at the base of beautiful Mountains, you often make your own job,  or you have two or more, or.. you are the minority and fortunate to have skills in an area where there’s ongoing demand, the later is Dave 🙂

On the skirts of Town, you might find that perfect piece of property, but Power might be a problem, and many of us think it a good problem as we are less likely to have neighbors who would vote for city sewer, sidewalks, and the banning of cows and horses who poop in the pasture. 

 Small towns are breeding grounds for the DIYer mentality, it is out of necessity people there learn to be more self-sufficient.  Joseph…. enjoy it while you can.. they’ll discover you soon enough.

Fire up Google Earth, and look at where Joseph is located. It looks like a great destination for a road trip to me. I bet you’ll find good food here too 🙂

Here’s a little YouTube clip sent to me by Dave and Teresa, I expect to share more about how they live, and how gifted Dave is when it comes to DIY 🙂

I’ve said it before, and it’s all so true.. “The measure of a man’s off grid power efforts is best measured by how happy his wife is. If she’s happy….. you earn a Gold Star.  Since Teresa dedicates this video clip to ‘Dave, her loving ‘talented’ Husband’.. it pretty much says it all.

Here’s a short video, small hydro with 400 feet of head!

 

GB

 

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12 Responses to Hands on DIYer off Grid Power, Dave Clough, Joseph OR

  1. George B. says:

    Friends of Utterpower might notice that LISTER clone and the PMG.. Dave was one of our test sites. Off Gridders do what others only say they’ve done.. and that is to test the heck out of things. and of course those who know the rant I’ve been on, know I’m thinking about Amonix….

  2. Paul Bird says:

    Ha ha! Yes indeed, my power system has been refined somewhat over the last few months since my girlfriend moved in to the cabin. It’s funny just how quickly a guy can get around to fine tuning things when he is getting it in the neck!

    400 metres of head, solar power at its most reliable, truly enviable!

    I will get my write up done soon George.

    All the best,

    Paul.

    • George B. says:

      Paul.. I used the Kings rule, 400 Feet, about 180 PSI Pounds, funny how we didn’t like drinking the King’s Tea, but we refuse to give up on his measure 🙂

      Hope the wounds heal on your neck 🙂 do get your story ready!

      G

  3. Russell says:

    Banning cows and horses that poop in the paddock? WTF? Is that real?

    • George B. says:

      It’s a very typical complaint from small towns.. new city folks build their version of the house of their dreams.. and then want all the amenties and controls as where they just escaped from. It reminds me of Federal Entitlements, Folks unwittingly create the same misery as they or their families left.

  4. Richard says:

    That’s how it should be done. Not some mega power plant but little one’s on peoples own piece of paradise.

    • George B. says:

      I have no problem with Mega, even the ones that don’t work like Amonix. What I have contempt for is the group of loons that insist on using our money to gamble with. They are the same as theives, maybe worse, as they rob from those yet to be born. Those children being born today.. they might someday ask their mothers…. “and you voted to enslave me?” Of course they’ll respond.. “Son.. I had no idea It would lead to poverty, and a life of debt for you.

      • Richard says:

        Your right on them wasting our money but there is a limit to the size of plants and then the cost to watt starts dropping off. I feel that lot of little plants would help with the problem. I don’t like the government putting money into projects that they don’t do their homework and therefore waste our money. I’m not against the big ones as long as someone who knows it will work and invest their money. Not our taxes. I feel it would be better to have a mix of the two but i want our system to work but not with a bunch of subsides. they make someone work only as taxes are thrown at it. Take them way slowly and the system that works will come to the front. It seems to me that government has never hear of science and how to use it. They give our money away to companies that say it will work but don’t wait for the proof. The lab doesn’t prove anything only the idea. If it works someone will use it but throwing taxes into something thinking that it will make it work is nuts.

      • Richard says:

        I live in Maine and they are taking out hydro plants that are at least 100 years old and say that they don’t make that much electricity. I feel that a 100,000 kwh a day is a lot power with hardly any cost, but they are still taking out the dams.

  5. Harold says:

    VERY NICE!!

    You certainly know how to turn me green (with envy). I still believe “hydro” is the best source of power if you can get it dependably. Four hundred feet of head! Wow!
    I would be lucky to find much over four feet anywhere around where I live.

    The last lock on the Green River is Lock #6 in Brownsville Ky, just inside Mammoth Cave National Park (About 20 miles from my place). River mile 186.1, rise of 9 feet, built in 1934.

    It’s been many years since I fished at Lock #6 but I don’t remember anything like nine feet of rise; more like five or six. The “Wild River” types have been wanting to dynamite the dam there for years. I wish them all the roadblocks to success possible. So far as I know there has never been any effort to extract power of any kind from this dam.

    If you are curious about the area drop the coordinates in Google Maps and / or go to
    http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=742739

    Pictures of Lock #6 in Brownsville KY are close to the bottom of the web site. The Lock is located at (N37 12.330 W86 15.724). There is lots of other nostalgia on this site for locals like me and maybe for you too, if you’re interested in that sort of thing.

    Thanks again George for Utterpower.com.

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