Piute Pictures Maybe?

[joe landscaper]

Benevolance, 2,000 an acre in crazy Ca. ain't bad, most of the land is owned by people who bought it in the 60's or 70's. They are either up there in years or passed it on to their kids. I do property searches at the county assesors office, get their mailing address for property taxes and send them a letter and wait for bites. The land is rugged and some of it is not easily accessable. NEED 4X4 SOMETIMES. Building materials will have to be taken up in small loads.

[Billy Bob]

Nice views, indeed!
I've been pondering the refrigeration question too, joe.  I think propane prolly makes sense if'n you're going to part-time it, and don't have to schlepp it on your back.  For full time use it sounds like some of the high efficiency, super insulated electric jobs are more cost effective, assuming you have alternative,(solar/hydro/wind) generating capacity.  That was the opinion of one dealer, (nope, can't remember who!), who sells all the various types of off grid reefers, so it kinda impressed me.
I was fooling around with the idea of a solar powered ammonia cycle system.  It can be done, but ya gotta do it yourself, (unless you have way more dinero than this cowboy!), and an accidental snootfull of ammonia gas years back disposes me agin sich critters anywho.

[glenn kangiser]

I've read up on that system, Billy Bob-- looks cool to me -the simple one -drive the ammonia out in the day - it goes back and freezes at night - what could be more simple.  Assuming the guy who made the plan I read knew what he was talking about.

[Amanda_931]

Or the chest type DC refrigerator.  Not cheap but both less power to run and a whole lot less expensive than any of the Sunfrosts.  You wouldn't want to get it out of Atlanta, but I might.  A lot of people have them in their catalogs.  I think they sound very annoying to use, but I've heard from people who like them.

(Sundanzer)  http://www.atlantasolar.com/index.php/cPath/47_48

Or a chest freezer with a different--sometimes a second--thermostat to make it a refrigerator. (a bunch of people on the web have done this--see the "refrigerator alternatives" Yahoo group.  Maybe add some extra insulation.

But I also have off-grid friends who love their Sunfrosts, price and all.  After all "they're just like refrigerators!"

I think that all of the super-efficient refrigerators and freezers use the same compressor.  Configuration, thermostat, insulation are the differences.

Also consider how you are going to get propane up there.  Will the propane truck deliver?  I don't cook much, so a grill gas bottle (20 pound) lasts a long time.  And it's not too awful to lug.  Friends refuse to have the gas truck on their property, so they use a 100 pound bottle, and we all always hear what a horrible nuisance it is to take in to fill--which they only do once or twice a year--just cooking, but they do a lot of it.  

There is currently some feeling that electricity. gotten one way or another, is always going to be available.  Propane/natural gas won't be.

BTW the Earthships near Taos survive relatively happily year-round on 7-10 inches of rain a year, according to Mike Reynolds.  He's got a book on water with interesting ideas, although it sure does read like a slick brochure for Earthships.  It's where I got the idea that a butterfly roof is a good idea if you are going to harvest rainwater.  Then Jonsey sent a link from Tasmania where they were doing the same thing for the same reason.

The Texas .pdf is everyone's first reference for rainwater harvesting.  It's been linked here before, but here it is again!

http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/publications/reports/RainHarv.pdf