Hack my Homestead: Recent Episodes
Shawn Mills
A podcast that explores homesteading and provides usable information to its listeners to help build, or improve their personal homestead or farmstead. We cover topics from animal husbandry to hydroponics to alternative energy and Permaculture.
Today we talk about really dialing in on your climate and geography preferences before you start looking for your perfect piece of Raw land to develop into a Homestead
Today, we talk about the thing that you really should do first before you even start looking at off grid to acquire for homesteading.
Today we talk about how our systems worked out during the super cold snap here in Tennessee and what projects we have now that that has been experienced
Today we talk about getting ready for some way below average temps getting ready to hit Tn and prepping the Homestead.
Today we talk about how we deal with load shifting and being really energy conscious while off grid when you have a string of cloudy days. We are currently experiencing about 10 consecutive days of cloud cover in our part of Tennessee, and that requires us to really manage our power usage more than we normally do.
Today I talk about what the word of the year is and then talk about what my personal word of the year is going to be for 2024 and why I chose that word and what I am planning on doing about it for this year
Today we talk about the different options for mounting solar panels and what I learned this year from actual hands-on experience.
Today we talk about the specifications of the eco-flow Delta plus battery pack, and how to replicate it at home using components you can buy straight from Amazon
Today we talk about the different things. We are working on at the Homestead and the plans that we have over the next couple of months.
Today we talk about the complete and total gutting of the residential rooftop solar industry in the state of California, which may be exactly what state regulators were trying to make happen when they passed their new rules that went into effect this year, and then change the rules. which gutted the entire reasoning for The new rules in the first place
Today we talk about setting smart goals and what that means and why goalsetting is much better than a New Year’s resolution as well as talk about some of my goals for the podcast next year
I’m getting a bunch of questions about Black Friday deal so I thought it be best to just throw out some information to guide you as you evaluate the plethora of black Friday deals being offered by solar companies today
Today we talk about a recent solar installation workshop that I ran in Southeast Tennessee for a group that is running their own PMA food club.
Today we talk about the terrorist attack on Israel that happened over the weekend and some things that we can take as lessons to apply to our own lives in the much more relatively stable areas. We live in without a lot of work, but would potentially large positive consequences.
Today we talk about the different zones in Permaculture and how we utilize them in our design process
Today we talk about the projects that we have planned through the fall and winter this year to get us ready for the spring planting rush
Today we talk about come current events. I discussed what I told my daughters about the government shutdown, what I think about the UaW strikes against the Detroit Three Automakers, and Bloomberg’s Blockbuster report that companies in the S&P 100 hired 94% non-white workers in 2021 post the George Floyd murder and related BLM Rioting.
Today we talk about the seven layers of a forest and how to re-create them with productive and beneficial species in a Permaculture designed food forest
Today we talk about the final nine design principles of Permaculture, and how all the different design principles interact with each other and end up creating really beautiful designs and systems that can, in fact be permanent
In this podcast we review the permaculture design basics including the Prime Directive, Ethics, and a quick overview of the first few principles. Permaculture is a design science that strives to create a circular economy within the systems we utilize while implementing the basics of agricultural design. For example we are trying to break the linear consumption model and design systems that have a greater output than input, even if that output is measured over a long period of time, like a nut tree's production
Today we talk about what’s happening on the Homestead and the progress on some of our ongoing projects as it begins to get cooler
Today we talk about the New Mexico governors unconstitutional gun restriction for Albuquerque county and why I think bad decisions should have bad consequences
Today I talk about some of my thoughts and lessons learned from my trip to Hawaii last week where I visited some of the fire impacted areas
Today we have Kody Hanner on the podcast to talk about her homesteading journey and her homeschool curriculum business. Kody is a Mother to 6 kids and has been homeschooling her children for the past 7 years.
Today we talk about cardboard and how I like to put it to work for me on the homestead!
Today we talk about all the stuff that’s happened since my last podcast. It’s been a busy one and I didn’t even mention the trip out to Texas to see Jack Spirko and some other members of the Survival podcast community.
Today we talk about how a friend is losing his grid access due to a nosy neighbor and how our moving plans have changed.
Today we talk about whats been going on this week as we make the move from AL to TN and get the Off Grid Homestead set back up for full time living.
Today we talk about off grid generator use to supplement our Solar production on the off grid homestead and what new types of options are out there for Generator Technology.
Today we talk about the basics of the numbers on the back of that solar panel. What they mean, how to use them to determine the right way to wire up your array, and what happens once the photovoltaic effect has happened.
Today we talk about energy policy, and how that will prevent access to the grid to some people, this summer, potentially creating a deadly issue.
Today I talk a little bit about whether a first flush diversion system is worth it and go through what my process is for cleaning out our rainwater collection system as we get ready to move back to the offgrid Homestead full-time
Today I talk about the project we worked on over the weekend of creating a DIY outdoor shower from 2 IBC totes.
Today I talk about some concerns and some things that I am excited about now that I am officially quitting my JOB and planning to run a Hack my Homestead as a full-time business
Today we talk about the difference between lithium, iron phosphate, batteries, and lithium ion batteries and we dive a little bit into the chemistry of a lithium, iron phosphate, battery, and how it actually works inside the cell
Today we talk about why are you might choose one battery voltage over another and what the pros and cons are as well as a little bit about wiring things in parallel and series
Today we talk about what the solar water pump in Kickstarter is actually going to cover and how is it going to be delivered
Today we talk a little bit about my experience over the weekend, installing a new solar system for the offgrid Homestead, as well as a little bit more in-depth conversation around the upcoming Kickstarter for solar water, pumping.
Today we talk about a few of the benefits of oversizing your solar off grid system during the initial installation, and how that could save you time and money in the future. Also keep an eye out for the Kickstarter for Solar Water Pumping
Today we talk about hunting and how that can make homesteading easier on a small holding it can’t run large scale livestock
Today we talk about different considerations when pumping water directly from the solar panel and how to calculate total dynamic head
Today we talk about some of the contributing factors for the rush of people to embrace the Homestead or farmstead lifestyle.
Today we talk about the recap of the 2023 LFTN workshop in Lancaster Tennessee. I do a quick rundown of how the workshop has evolved over the years and the speakers from this year‘s event.
Today we talk about how to manage expectations and both being overwhelmed and being shamed for what’s happening on your property during the spring rush
Today we talk about the difference between a shallow and deep well pump, and the different considerations you need to take when designing a solar system to run either of them
Today I talk about the primary differences between raising chickens and raising ducks on the Homestead. And Muscovy ducks were the thing that I could not think about during the podcast. I literally remember the name right as I was hitting end on the recording.
Today I talk about an idea that I had while listening to a different podcast that I answered an expert panel question on that related to send batteries. My general idea it was that it was a bad idea, but there were ways to strip the bad parts out and recycle the good parts into a good idea.
Today we talk about the power of persistence, and how I believe it is the most important driver of success.
Today I talk about when I think it’s appropriate to being the state into an argument between peers.
Today we talk about why you should put conspiracy theories where they belong and focus on your personal liberty, and what you can do to improve your own life
Today we talk about some of the initiatives for the month of April and 2023 in general.
Today we talk about different types of first flush, diversion systems, and whether they are useful or not on rain water catchment from your roof
Today we talk about how to think of behind the grid/meter solar with battery is basically like a whole home UPS that gets charged from the sun
Today we do a brief after action report on the self reliance festival in Camden Tennessee
Today we talk about whether I think the housing market is going to collapse in 2023 or early 2024.
I am back from Salt Lake City and talking about the Silicon Valley Bank run and collapse, and what I think that means for the rest of the banking sector
Today is a throwback where I take a few questions from my expert council segments at the Survival Podcast and repurpose them as content for this audience while I'm out of town. We discuss Solar appliances, well pumps, and log splitters.
Today Ive selected several expert council segments from my 4 year library of segments from the survival podcast. Todays theme is small systems.
I am out of town this week so Ive compiled three expert answers from my segments on the Survival Podcast in the theme of Batteries. Hope you enjoy and see you next week!
Today we discuss why you may decide to use new vs used solar panels on your project. Whats the actual difference in cost and production?
Today we discuss what we considered when taking the family off grid. What appliances made the cut and how we made those decisions.
Today we start a multi part series discussing how we ended up living off grid in the first place.
Today we talk about our indoor lettuce growing system using hydroponics to deliver super fresh salad greens at a very low cost.
Today we talk about the difference between an inverter, an inverter charger, and an all in one inverter.
Today we talk about a project where someone wants to pump water from a well approximately 1/2 mile away from the house using solar.
Today we talk about our recent GsD project on the skoolie Nd my thoughts on building a community of doers.
Today I share some thoughts on our homeschool journey. Both if our daughters are now in Public High School, but for their elementary and middle school years we homeschooled them for a variety of reasons. In hindsight i think this was a great decision and I share why on the podcast
Today we have a brief discussion on the different types of solar panels, and a few things to consider when designing an array, and which panels are the best
Today we discuss a few things to keep in mind when in the market to buy raw land for your future homestead.
Today we talk about some battery basics and things to consider when deciding between a Flooded Lead Acid battery bank or Lithium Iron Phosphate battery bank and wiring in series vs parallel.
Today we talk about tax credits because it’s tax season. We are talking about the solar investment tax credits what that is how long it’s good for what you need to do to apply for it and we cover the energy star tax credits for things like wood and pellet stoves, insulation, water heaters, heat pumps.
Today we talk about the house and wise of building out a school bus into an RV conversion, called a skoolie, and the costs and timeline of our project. We’re looking at this as an alternative housing option.
Today we talk about incubating and hatching out chicks and selling them as a business model where you can be in the chicken business without having to process chickens, or find people willing to pay enough for your eggs to make a business
Today we talk about the difference between flooded lead acid and lithier and phosphate, batteries, and how those differences apply to a solar offgrade system
Today we discuss things to consider when developing your consulting rate as either a side gig or a full-time consulting business. This question came up on a telegram group, and I thought it was an interesting thought process so I recorded it while I was driving from Indiana to Alabama. Enjoy the show.
Today we talk about what to expect in 2023 relating to pricing and availability of solar panels, charge controllers, batteries, inverters and balance of system components as well as some of the macro impacts. The electric vehicle industry is having on these components.
Today we talk a little bit about the transition from a Hack my solar to hack my Homestead and talk about the options for alternative heating when the grid goes out