Glad to see you guys back making videos! I was getting worried you guys were silenced by big real estate or something, good to see my worries are unfounded For now
We're all good! Just had some job changes and other life events to adjust to :) We're back up to speed now! Excited to share more ideas and help others learn to build an alternative off-grid / semi-offgrid lifestyle.
Absolutely! Every home, office, store and community SHOULD take the local trees and plants into account for the planning process. We can’t afford not to. And the benefits are huge.
I found your channel yesterday and I am in love. I found a youtube channel that is aligned with how I feel :) Some ideas to try in the future: 1. exercise equipment connected to generators to convert kinetic energy to electric, 2. bike connected to a clothes washer/ drier, 3. utilizing Wirtz pumps to raise water above you for electricity free showers, 4. connect the methane gas to replace the wood and fire for the biochar metal bins, 5. use the biochar bins and the local clay to make LECA balls and do hydroponics These are ideas I've been researching for a business idea and am happy to pass it along for you guys as proof of concept (haha pass on work for others so you benefit later with a well made how to video)
Great ideas! I've thought about the exercise + bike connections before too. It's best when practical work connects to physical motion. The bike + washing machine idea is GREAT. So practical. Glad you're here!
It's always been so weird to me that people don't see the potential with using exercise to generate power as if somehow that makes it a less viable form of exercise or something? Like you're already going to be doing physically intense workouts, might as well use it to generate power while you're at it!
Have you guys made something about urban homes transitioning into self sustaining one, like starting from net metering from solar panels and then maybe a backyard greenhouse here and there? Oh also love you guys its so real how off grid living is becoming a dream for most people
Great to see you guys back at, saw your video awhile back about the biopod set up and now I have 5 of them set up around the property to cut down on throwing away food waste and of course feed all the animals, my tilapia go crazy for them
To clean filter your roof rainwater, use a cheap First Flush unit, about $30, which automatically diverts to flush the first roof clean of rains, so only clean water thereafter goes to tank. Also in the tank inlet just use a bucketfilter first with nylon cloth + filled with clean sand and biochar layers. We do that in Australia and it works fine. Never been sick. Also throw a limestone in the IBC rain tank to manage tge PH acidity. The water will be better than what you get out of a tap.
@@acornlandlabs sorry forgot to mention the 20L bucket filter only need to be 1/3rd filled with filtration material like cleaned Gravel, Sand, then Biochar. If you are still worried about rainwater hygiene, you can try a Ceramic Doulton filter and the tap point, but this requires water pressure, so a water tower or higher ground 4 to 6m up elevation might be needed. Ensure your IBC tote is clean to begin with. If not just get a 12v ozone generator and pipe that into the water for a few hours with bubble stones. The tote should be kept covered and dark, but you can put a flyscreen mesh over the tote cap hole to let in a tad of sunlight, which blooms surface algae that eats up any excess nutrients and is safe. Useful if you have a LOT of birds/animals pooping on your roof all the time. Ensure to take water about 20cm or more, up from the bottom of the tank, not the tote bottom ground level tap.
Love these videos! Can I suggest looking into some native grasses native to the southeast? Native grass roots grow deep and are much better for erosion control; our imported turf and feed grass has pretty shallow roots even when tall
Can you please do a tutorial on the biogas system? I want to do it so bad it seems awesome and I don’t know the first thing about doing it. If you have a video you’d recommend that would be cool too, thank you :)
I would research aquatic filter plants native to the region and try to reintroduce those, maybe even make some artificial wetlands off the river. Cattails, wild ricecand river cane bamboo are usually safe bets in North America.
The cost of the driveway, I get it. The permeability, not such a big deal; let it runoff appropriately into the adjacent soil... and it does exactly the same thing, just make sure you don't have ridiculous volumes of hard surfaces that create too much runoff for the smaller space to absorb. That can also be assisted with retention ponds that you could use for other purposes... such as doing some water-source heat pump which would make it very efficient, or fish, fire suppression, or growing other things that could be useful. Also, why take your #2 to the woods? After a separate digester for it... get the gas... use the fertilizer from it on the grass to help it grow.
What county in Georgia allowed you to install a composting outhouse??? Also what is zoning on your new seven acre property??? I'm asking these questions because Georgia seems very strict on some of these things and I would love to follow your path
They don't allow it -- we just did it and keep it quiet and private. More people need to do that. Then zoning dept will either get overwhelmed or change rules.
@@OffGridGuides@hebrew984 so with that reply, I wouldn’t do it unless you go through the red tape. Either they were too lazy to do it or are the typical don’t tread on me type of people and have a certain disdain for the govt. The fact that that they are on social media the govt if they wanted to will eventually find them and for you Hebrew its not worth the headache and fines.
Hey, could y'all work on an easy user interface algae fuel system that grows algae and can process it into biofuel onsite? I think if we can make a system to easily and affordably do it at home like the home biogas, then we could have easy access to automotive fuel. You could also make a biodiesel system as well that processes used vegetable oil and has the benefits of glycerin as a side product. If you set up your own alcohol distillery you could use the methanol that is produced from that in your fuel processing. You could be completely independent of fossil fuels.
The US has put millions of dollars into just this kind of research in the past, the problem is seperating the oil from the algae and keeping microbial "weeds" out while also scaling efficiently
I'm curious! Would you guys be willing to collaborate with people in other countries? Places like Australia, Canada, other english speaking places (Or not, spice it up!) to see if it's applicable in different climates/all over the world? Or consider adjustment for those different climates & material costs?
Yes, this was intentional. We purchased the property some years back after it had been logged. We've taken care to leave the regrowth. We love poplars!
For the first time ever, my husband brought up the idea of moving our family off grid. I told him I would 100% live in a tent, etc to have that life for us and our kids. But then he pointed out that the ones who seem to make it work are those that make money youtubing their off grid life, and we don't want that. Is this lifestyle possible without also working a 9-5 job or putting it all out there on youtube?
Absolutely. In fact, having to film everything can be a distraction. You'll want to try to find remote work if possible, or local flexible work. We don't make a ton of money with youtube. Start small and grow!
You have a theme going Pete 😂 for years we’ve just called this “the land”. The acorn garden has lots of acorns from oaks. This land really just has sweetgums, privit and polars!
I just want a small piece of land. I don't want more than I need. Less than about a .25acre but there's none that small available. I just need a storage place while I travel.
I am having trouble finding information about permitting for methane digesters. Are they treated as on-site sewage typically? Anybody have any good resources for this?
You likely won't find any info because towns and cities don't know this tech exists yet. My guess is they will try to ban them at first and people will have to fight to make them legal in suburban / urban areas with proper permits and installation.
@@HaHaThatIsFunny They cost 1/10th or less of a septic system. They have a 10 year life expectancy. I really don't like spetic systems after owning two homes with them... Septic systems are shoddy tech at best and very expensive.
@@acornlandlabs with how much my wife and I make and how much are bills are it will take us at least 5 years to save anywhere close to that amount, with the rate of inflation the price will be 2-4x by then.
Hey can you please address the elephant in the room for me? Joe is associated with this “green” company but also the Bennett Family of Companies that is a huge Trucking company of Diesel Trucks that also owns a professional racing team. This channel starts to feel a little like green washing. I mean all of this is great but feels a little trivial when Joe’s other channel is making money off of fossil fuels. Am I wrong? What am I missing here?
Awesome question 🤣 Joe is the videographer extraordinaire for Acorn, and is learning about off grid as we go. Kemble (myself) is really passionate about all things off grid. We both work regular 9-5 jobs as neither of us is wealthy, and Acorn doesn’t pay our income to support our families. We both have kids, and Joes work for the trucking company pays the bills. I work in telecom to pay the bills. Offgrid living alone can’t support a family with kids income wise right now. We’re both very young and still working full time. Joe doesn’t own the trucking channel. We both believe these off grid ideas have huge potential for a new way to live simply. But we still have to work 9-5 to keep it all going. We, like society, are in a transition phase. I hope this helps. If anyone wants to fund Joe to go full time here I’m sure he’d say yes 😂 Sadly big university dollars or govt grants don’t tend to help fund independent projects like ours. It’s a slow and steady journey.
@@acornlandlabs thank you for being transparent. I get it acorn land labs is a passion project not 100% of your income. I appreciate that you are real people. I wish I could be greener than I am currently. I pray that one day this endeavor will be more financially stable for you, and Joe. One thing I can say that pleased me about the other channel is that Joe tipped his hand and let out that he is a believer and if you are too Kemble, then you can call me brother too. We serve a good good Father. I pray that he blesses your family this week. Greetings from CA. Also if this comment gets too much negative attention I will delete it. My heart was to try to understand, not make things difficult.
@@TioMostFrioYour question was great! Joe and I were filming tonight and had a good laugh about the reality of our current setup. I am a Christian too, and I’m thankful to meet others who enjoy this journey and lifestyle goals. It’s so very encouraging to hear from other believers online. Please don’t delete your comment! We want to always be real and transparent with everyone. God bless your week too, new friend from California! :)
Is it your christian-ness that allows your moral compass to be comfortable making money from car racing, etc while professing a more noble green lifestyle?
@@az55544 We don't make any money from car racing. Like many people working to support families, we do not control what our employers do. Your comment here isn't really helpful in the big picture. We do our best and encourage others to do the same. I don't know what you profess (or don't profess), but I wouldn't use that to critique you :) That's your business.
"We're cutting down on co2 emissions." No, you're not! The amount of CO2 released would be the same, you're just taking advantage of the free energy in this process. You're not sequestering CO2.
It cuts down on methane emissions. Joe meant to say “cutting down on Methane emissions”. Didn’t catch that in realtime 👍 Now, the fertilizer produced does help grow more biomass. I could make a stretch argument saying this DOES help sequester more carbon and CO2. But you’re right, we meant to say METHANE :D Glad you’re listening close! We try to always be accurate and sometimes there’s an error. And we remedy :)
So glad to see a new video! I was just worried about what happened.
We're happy to be back! 2024 had lots of new adjustments for us to get used to. Back at it now!
Podcasts too???
@@Rohmeo-us5qrwe will start those again soon too!
Glad to see you guys back making videos! I was getting worried you guys were silenced by big real estate or something, good to see my worries are unfounded
For now
We're all good! Just had some job changes and other life events to adjust to :) We're back up to speed now! Excited to share more ideas and help others learn to build an alternative off-grid / semi-offgrid lifestyle.
I love that you are incorporating plants and the environment into your design. I hope you have plans to plant even more native plants and producers!
Absolutely! Every home, office, store and community SHOULD take the local trees and plants into account for the planning process. We can’t afford not to. And the benefits are huge.
New today. Love your vision. Will share with my adult kids. In this economy, it's rough for them.
I'm grateful for you two. What you bring to help people live is great. Don't you ever stop please!
I found your channel yesterday and I am in love. I found a youtube channel that is aligned with how I feel :)
Some ideas to try in the future: 1. exercise equipment connected to generators to convert kinetic energy to electric, 2. bike connected to a clothes washer/ drier, 3. utilizing Wirtz pumps to raise water above you for electricity free showers, 4. connect the methane gas to replace the wood and fire for the biochar metal bins, 5. use the biochar bins and the local clay to make LECA balls and do hydroponics
These are ideas I've been researching for a business idea and am happy to pass it along for you guys as proof of concept (haha pass on work for others so you benefit later with a well made how to video)
Great ideas! I've thought about the exercise + bike connections before too. It's best when practical work connects to physical motion. The bike + washing machine idea is GREAT. So practical. Glad you're here!
It's always been so weird to me that people don't see the potential with using exercise to generate power as if somehow that makes it a less viable form of exercise or something? Like you're already going to be doing physically intense workouts, might as well use it to generate power while you're at it!
So glad you guys are back
Have you guys made something about urban homes transitioning into self sustaining one, like starting from net metering from solar panels and then maybe a backyard greenhouse here and there? Oh also love you guys its so real how off grid living is becoming a dream for most people
I’m so happy y’all are still going! I’m excited for the future!! Great video!
Thats really good. cant wait to see the long series. like 3 hr video would be so good.
Great to see you guys back at, saw your video awhile back about the biopod set up and now I have 5 of them set up around the property to cut down on throwing away food waste and of course feed all the animals, my tilapia go crazy for them
That is awesome, love hearing that about the Tilapia!
Great to see you back! Very inspirational content 😊
Nice, looking forward to this year
To clean filter your roof rainwater, use a cheap First Flush unit, about $30, which automatically diverts to flush the first roof clean of rains, so only clean water thereafter goes to tank.
Also in the tank inlet just use a bucketfilter first with nylon cloth + filled with clean sand and biochar layers. We do that in Australia and it works fine. Never been sick.
Also throw a limestone in the IBC rain tank to manage tge PH acidity.
The water will be better than what you get out of a tap.
Awesome pro tips!! We will do this :)
@@acornlandlabs sorry forgot to mention the 20L bucket filter only need to be 1/3rd filled with filtration material like cleaned Gravel, Sand, then Biochar.
If you are still worried about rainwater hygiene, you can try a Ceramic Doulton filter and the tap point, but this requires water pressure, so a water tower or higher ground 4 to 6m up elevation might be needed.
Ensure your IBC tote is clean to begin with. If not just get a 12v ozone generator and pipe that into the water for a few hours with bubble stones.
The tote should be kept covered and dark, but you can put a flyscreen mesh over the tote cap hole to let in a tad of sunlight, which blooms surface algae that eats up any excess nutrients and is safe. Useful if you have a LOT of birds/animals pooping on your roof all the time. Ensure to take water about 20cm or more, up from the bottom of the tank, not the tote bottom ground level tap.
Woohoo! Haven't even warched the video yet, but I'm glad to see one is out. Was worried about you guys 😅
We're happy to be back! 2024 had lots of adjustments to get used to :)
Love these videos! Can I suggest looking into some native grasses native to the southeast? Native grass roots grow deep and are much better for erosion control; our imported turf and feed grass has pretty shallow roots even when tall
Can you please do a tutorial on the biogas system? I want to do it so bad it seems awesome and I don’t know the first thing about doing it. If you have a video you’d recommend that would be cool too, thank you :)
I would research aquatic filter plants native to the region and try to reintroduce those, maybe even make some artificial wetlands off the river. Cattails, wild ricecand river cane bamboo are usually safe bets in North America.
Really cool idea! 💡
8:04 eastern leopard box turtle!
Very informative. Thanks.
Unbelievable Guys
So much appreciated for
All this information,
Worth to stay following “
So glad you enjoy it! Happy you’re here :)
you guys are amazing!
The cost of the driveway, I get it. The permeability, not such a big deal; let it runoff appropriately into the adjacent soil... and it does exactly the same thing, just make sure you don't have ridiculous volumes of hard surfaces that create too much runoff for the smaller space to absorb. That can also be assisted with retention ponds that you could use for other purposes... such as doing some water-source heat pump which would make it very efficient, or fish, fire suppression, or growing other things that could be useful.
Also, why take your #2 to the woods? After a separate digester for it... get the gas... use the fertilizer from it on the grass to help it grow.
What county in Georgia allowed you to install a composting outhouse??? Also what is zoning on your new seven acre property??? I'm asking these questions because Georgia seems very strict on some of these things and I would love to follow your path
They don't allow it -- we just did it and keep it quiet and private. More people need to do that. Then zoning dept will either get overwhelmed or change rules.
@@OffGridGuides@hebrew984 so with that reply, I wouldn’t do it unless you go through the red tape. Either they were too lazy to do it or are the typical don’t tread on me type of people and have a certain disdain for the govt. The fact that that they are on social media the govt if they wanted to will eventually find them and for you Hebrew its not worth the headache and fines.
Imagine asking for permission boomer
@@JoeMagillacutty I figured and thank you
No video in 2 months, did the turtle disease get them? haha I love your videos, please don't stop. Great content.
Hey, could y'all work on an easy user interface algae fuel system that grows algae and can process it into biofuel onsite? I think if we can make a system to easily and affordably do it at home like the home biogas, then we could have easy access to automotive fuel. You could also make a biodiesel system as well that processes used vegetable oil and has the benefits of glycerin as a side product. If you set up your own alcohol distillery you could use the methanol that is produced from that in your fuel processing. You could be completely independent of fossil fuels.
The US has put millions of dollars into just this kind of research in the past, the problem is seperating the oil from the algae and keeping microbial "weeds" out while also scaling efficiently
I'm curious! Would you guys be willing to collaborate with people in other countries?
Places like Australia, Canada, other english speaking places
(Or not, spice it up!) to see if it's applicable in different climates/all over the world? Or consider adjustment for those different climates & material costs?
Absolutely. Much of the tech we use will work in Canada and UK. Almost everything we use here in Georgia will work in Australia and NZ!
Are those trees intentionally coppiced? Either way what a lucky find, thats a nice little jumpstart on sustainable firewood
Yes, this was intentional. We purchased the property some years back after it had been logged. We've taken care to leave the regrowth. We love poplars!
For the first time ever, my husband brought up the idea of moving our family off grid. I told him I would 100% live in a tent, etc to have that life for us and our kids. But then he pointed out that the ones who seem to make it work are those that make money youtubing their off grid life, and we don't want that.
Is this lifestyle possible without also working a 9-5 job or putting it all out there on youtube?
Absolutely. In fact, having to film everything can be a distraction. You'll want to try to find remote work if possible, or local flexible work. We don't make a ton of money with youtube. Start small and grow!
I would be extra careful with pallets as holders for solar panels. Wood might be dangerous if get heat up from panels.
We'll keep an eye on things! :) Nothing has gotten hot yet.
@@acornlandlabs Yes, I was wrong with that question. It may be problem when you use water heating pipes with panels.
If you need a name for the rural site, I think "Pecan Land Lab" or "Walnut Land Lab" would be really good ones!
You have a theme going Pete 😂 for years we’ve just called this “the land”. The acorn garden has lots of acorns from oaks. This land really just has sweetgums, privit and polars!
@@acornlandlabs Sweetgum Land Lab also has a nice sound to it 😂
Man, I want a foot pump sink. I feel like it would use a lot less water and you wouldn't have to touch germy handles to turn it off.
It’s a great concept! Easy to use
I just want a small piece of land. I don't want more than I need. Less than about a .25acre but there's none that small available.
I just need a storage place while I travel.
Are you guys on public land or did you buy it?
Bought it
@@acornlandlabs how much?
$35k in 2016
You guys should grow fungi, and incorporate fungi into some of your systems.
We will eventually! Love sautéed mushrooms 🍄🟫
I am having trouble finding information about permitting for methane digesters. Are they treated as on-site sewage typically? Anybody have any good resources for this?
You likely won't find any info because towns and cities don't know this tech exists yet. My guess is they will try to ban them at first and people will have to fight to make them legal in suburban / urban areas with proper permits and installation.
@@acornlandlabs thank you, I had a feeling there was an unawareness... Or my Google was broken 😂
@@HaHaThatIsFunny They cost 1/10th or less of a septic system. They have a 10 year life expectancy. I really don't like spetic systems after owning two homes with them... Septic systems are shoddy tech at best and very expensive.
You can put human poo in them??
So how would you guys solve the problem of off gridding with a bigger family and having to do the laundry for said family? 😂😅
Working on it! :) Future video
Would be nice to have $25k and buy everything outright from the get go.
It takes time and patience to save and chip away at it. It’s worth it though.
@@acornlandlabs with how much my wife and I make and how much are bills are it will take us at least 5 years to save anywhere close to that amount, with the rate of inflation the price will be 2-4x by then.
Yep. Like I said, takes time and effort
@@acornlandlabs you didn’t read everything I wrote
Is there any alternative methane digester? Would rather not support an Israel made product right now.
First
Nice. Sharpshooter.
.
Hey can you please address the elephant in the room for me? Joe is associated with this “green” company but also the Bennett Family of Companies that is a huge Trucking company of Diesel Trucks that also owns a professional racing team. This channel starts to feel a little like green washing. I mean all of this is great but feels a little trivial when Joe’s other channel is making money off of fossil fuels. Am I wrong? What am I missing here?
Awesome question 🤣 Joe is the videographer extraordinaire for Acorn, and is learning about off grid as we go. Kemble (myself) is really passionate about all things off grid. We both work regular 9-5 jobs as neither of us is wealthy, and Acorn doesn’t pay our income to support our families. We both have kids, and Joes work for the trucking company pays the bills. I work in telecom to pay the bills. Offgrid living alone can’t support a family with kids income wise right now. We’re both very young and still working full time. Joe doesn’t own the trucking channel. We both believe these off grid ideas have huge potential for a new way to live simply. But we still have to work 9-5 to keep it all going. We, like society, are in a transition phase. I hope this helps. If anyone wants to fund Joe to go full time here I’m sure he’d say yes 😂
Sadly big university dollars or govt grants don’t tend to help fund independent projects like ours. It’s a slow and steady journey.
@@acornlandlabs thank you for being transparent. I get it acorn land labs is a passion project not 100% of your income. I appreciate that you are real people. I wish I could be greener than I am currently. I pray that one day this endeavor will be more financially stable for you, and Joe. One thing I can say that pleased me about the other channel is that Joe tipped his hand and let out that he is a believer and if you are too Kemble, then you can call me brother too. We serve a good good Father. I pray that he blesses your family this week. Greetings from CA. Also if this comment gets too much negative attention I will delete it. My heart was to try to understand, not make things difficult.
@@TioMostFrioYour question was great! Joe and I were filming tonight and had a good laugh about the reality of our current setup. I am a Christian too, and I’m thankful to meet others who enjoy this journey and lifestyle goals. It’s so very encouraging to hear from other believers online. Please don’t delete your comment! We want to always be real and transparent with everyone. God bless your week too, new friend from California! :)
Is it your christian-ness that allows your moral compass to be comfortable making money from car racing, etc while professing a more noble green lifestyle?
@@az55544 We don't make any money from car racing. Like many people working to support families, we do not control what our employers do. Your comment here isn't really helpful in the big picture. We do our best and encourage others to do the same. I don't know what you profess (or don't profess), but I wouldn't use that to critique you :) That's your business.
"We're cutting down on co2 emissions." No, you're not! The amount of CO2 released would be the same, you're just taking advantage of the free energy in this process. You're not sequestering CO2.
It cuts down on methane emissions. Joe meant to say “cutting down on Methane emissions”. Didn’t catch that in realtime 👍
Now, the fertilizer produced does help grow more biomass. I could make a stretch argument saying this DOES help sequester more carbon and CO2. But you’re right, we meant to say METHANE :D
Glad you’re listening close! We try to always be accurate and sometimes there’s an error. And we remedy :)
@@acornlandlabs makes sense.
Nuclear power better bro quit yapping