Off The Grid

Home brew radiator

I'd like to give this guy a plug. We ordered our skid steer adapter from him and ordered the version without the extra steel plate. The plate is included in cases where you want to convert your existing bucket to fit back on the skid steer adapter. Once I got the box open, I realized the plate hadn't been included. I had ordered the wrong version. So... called him to see about getting the plate. He was super nice about it and told us the plate is $100 and he'd split the mistake with us.... so $100 for the plate and he ate the shipping. You rarely find customer service like that these days. https://asktractormike.com/

One of our group memebers was helping a friend of his today install two rows of solar panels.

#Hacks Thirty on thirty

Got 2nd wall done. We dug a trench under the walls so the clear panels can sit in the dirt as an air seal. Also notice the screw pattern.... I'm screwing every other rib, but I stagger by one rib on every other course of screws.

We have a tradition. Every New Year's Eve, we throw two Tomahawk ribeyes on the smoker grill and thats what we have for dinner. We can only afford it once a year but man is it special! Whatever you all do each year for New Year's... I hope it was safe and spent with family surrounding you. May God bless your 2026 and I pray that he will direct all of our paths. Whether you follow our family's journey of transforming a farm into a regenerative agriculture model or if your a casual Telegram user that happened to see this post... thank you for being part of our lives and we wish you the very best in 2026. Find a way to pay it forward this week. Do something kind for someone with no ulterior motive. We need less griping and more doing.

This is the leveling we had to do for greenhouse.

Got one end wall done. Still have to do the other and instal trim for the wiggle wire.

TLDR: ICF house with 4800sqft used 8kwh for heat, 1500sqft used 24kwh.... 3x the power for 3x less sqft. So this makes ICF 9x more efficient. Tale of two houses. House 1:1500sq ft total, two separate buildings 900+600sqft, total of 250ft of perimeter wall. Wood construction with spray foam insulation. In fairness, he's got two separate buildings so he's got excessive perimeter walls. House 2: 4800sqft, 1/3 in the earth, 200ft of perimeter wall. ICF construction. Coldest night of the year so far. Heating energy used in house 1: 24kwh, house 2, 7.88kwh. The photo is my neighbor's newly commissioned solar, he has 64kwh of battery and began the night with 93% battery, 60kwh. His minisplits pulled 24kwh all night, lights and fridge pulled 4kwh. ICF for the win.

Food for thought for ICF houses. You can do the floor for the 2nd floor and/or the roof with litedeck ICF blocks. These don't have to be mcmansions... they just make a really well insulated house. Any size house. ICF is the trifecta.... air tight, insulation and thermal mass.