7 Off-grid Projects for Survivalists

Going partially or totally off grid is very doable. There are advantages to not relying too much or completely on commercial electricity; one of which is you save money on bills. Another of course is, it prepares you better in case the grid collapses due to a disaster or other reasons.

The following are DIY off grid projects that include making your own solar power system, powerless refrigerator, rocket stove and rainwater collection system.

Here are 7 projects that can be helpful if you are planning to go completely or partially off-grid.

DIY Solar Power System

A solar power system harvests clean and efficient energy which also happens to be free. Solar power systems are environmentally friendly and low maintenance. It also operates quietly, unlike a generator, so you don’t have to worry about attracting unwanted attention after SHTF.

Building your own solar power system is a great project that can greatly benefit you in the long run.

This awesome tutorial can help you get started: solar power system

DIY Solar Still

Water is very important and you need it to be able to survive. In the event of a major crisis that collapses the grid, the water infrastructure might become compromised.

Though there are a lot of ways you can get water in an emergency situation, there is no guarantee that you will always find water that is safe for drinking. Making your own water still can help ensure you have clean drinking water during emergency.

Click here to learn how to make your own solar still.

Pot-in-a-pot refrigerator

Storing your food for a long period of time can be tricky without electricity. Although, storing fruits and veggies such as apples, potatoes, and onions in root cellars is an old-fashioned way of preserving food, a lot of people do not have root cellars or they don’t have much space to make a root cellar.

One simple solution is to make your own pot-in-a-pot refrigerator (zeer pot), wherein you can store and preserve your foods.

Click here for the tutorial.

DIY Rocket Stove

The rocket stove was initially developed for cooking by Dr. Winiarski of the Aprovecho Research Centre. The intention was to introduce an energy-efficient means to cook food in the developing countries. The principles of the rocket stove however have attracted preppers who are always looking into ways to efficiently cook outdoors when the grid collapses.

Some of the attractive principles of the rocket stove are:

• insulating everywhere around the fire save for the space where the heat passes the cooking pot
• using thin wood and burning only small amounts at a time for complete combustion
• ensuring a good flow of air into the firebox
• forcing hot air down narrow passages around the cookpot

There are many ways to construct a rocket stove; you can make one out of wood, bricks, or cans.

Click here to find out how to make a rocket stove using soup cans.

Rainwater collection system

Collecting rainwater can be a good help and you can save on water bills. You can use the collected water from the rain for your garden, lawn, car washing and others.

Check out this tutorial on how to make your own rainwater collection system.

Here is a simple way to make your own rainwater collection system.

DIY Laundry machine

Laundry machines make it easier to wash your clothes, but without electricity, they are useless. Although you can still wash your clothes manually, it will be an arduous task to do. Luckily you can make your own laundry machine. This DIY laundry machine is easy to make and it is pretty versatile.

Learn how to make your DIY laundry machine here.

DIY Solar powered charger

When you get disconnected from the grid, your gadgets will become useless once they are drained of their batteries.

If you have solar chargers though, keeping your electronics up and working will not be a big problem. You can make your own solar powered charger, click here for the how.