Heating an Off-Grid Cabin in Willow, Alaska Winter: Part 2 - Essential Tips and Strategies
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- čas přidán 11. 09. 2023
- Thank yoh to Steves Toyo In Wasilla AK fir the stove and Install.
Getting heat to our completely off grid cabin in Willow Alaska is quite the undertaking before winter sets in! Join us for part 2! Check out part one here! 👇
• Staying Warm in the La...
Atopd Link toyoheat.com/
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Welcome to Modern Homestead Alaska. We are located in South Central Alaska near the town of Wasilla. Living in Alaska and building our dream of “modern Homesteading” through the wilds of winter and the long summer days. We started building our Modern Homestead in 2021. We have since completed the upper levels of our home. Built a 16x16 foot chicken coop that dreams are made of. Our chicken ladies live in luxury as they view the beautiful lake from large windows inside the beautiful coop. We raise our own poultry, hunt for our food. We are avid fisherman And woman. We also built an amazing and beautiful wood shed. We have great big garden planes for the future. Join us as we dream big dreams and live everyday working hard to accomplish them.
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You can reach us via email at modernhomesteadalaska@gmail.com
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Stove link toyoheat.com/
If you are local check out Steve’s Toyo in Wasilla Ak
I think your son is a very lucky young man.
I agree! I would if just loved that place at his age, heck I would love it now!
You did a wonderful job to transform that cabin into a very nice place to live.
Glad to see you got the stove installed and will be on full time soon. The cabin looks very nice with a new rug and eliminating a few things. My youngest son like everything minimalist, less to clean. The bed looks so much better on the other wall. Hope you can reuse the kitchen cabinet you pulled out elsewhere. Caleb should be very comfortable living there. Have a good weekend.
Thank you so much Caleb has been able to stay out a few more times. We are getting ever closer.
I have a Toyo stove and you set the time for the self cleaning (mine is at 2 am) and it goes through the cycle of cleaning that takes about 10 minutes. Then it is done for the cleaning cycle and it automatically goes back to the heating cycle. As long as the stove is turned on and the clock is set, it will clean itself. I agree, it is wonderful heat. I was getting bronchitis every winter from our air tight wood stove. We went ot a pellet stove and I still got bronchitis. We loved wood heat! Then we went to a Toyo stove and I have not had bronchitis since. We have had our Toyo stove for over 25 years so it is an older stove with no issues. In all those years we have had it service 4 times. It is a work horse.
What! That’s amazing! We are looking into one fir the basement. I love hearing this!
You have just proven what a great tutorial maker you are! You provided excellent information for like minded people.
Caleb should be snug as a bug this coming winter! You all have done a great job.
Until our next visit….keep smiling!
❤Momma G
Ahhh i love you! I made a video out there we got a big the biggest change ever done yesterday. It was so warm abs so quite I took a nap at the cabin. I have trouble with noise when I sleep it was the first time I have slept without ear plugs in years. It was that warm and quiet (or I’m that tired) could be both.
@@modernhomesteadalaska always rest, my friend. Just listen to your body’s needs.
You are a special fried who is truly loved.
It looks so good! I adore that rug, what a statement piece. Great job momma ! What young man would not love that cabin
I just think it’s so nice and peaceful for sure!
I currently have the stove pipe hole cover that you showed! I love it. I too ended up with a hole that needed to be covered when we rerouted our stove pipes straight up through the ceiling instead of angled and out.
Love it! They are so cute!
What a cute cabin.Your son is a lucky young man. I wouldn’t mind having something similar . Great job.
I agree it’s such a beautiful place
So cool about the flu stop. Never knew that they were painted before. Thanks for teaching that to me today. Always love to see your smiling face. Have a blessed week my friend.
So cute they were super popular in the old 100 year old homes in Missouri and Kansas and such one would think with the number of people that move stove pipes around up here one could find one! Lol nope.
@@modernhomesteadalaska Never heard of it before. But now I need one. Ha!
I love your cabin, so cute. Omgoodness the hole cover you flashed a picture of, I grew up having them in our house when is. Amid and young adult, thanks Jessica. 🌷🇨🇦
Right they are so hard to find now! I think my mom found one on Etsy so we Will see if it works.
Thank you my friend!
Hi Jessica and sweet family! The cabin looks so cozy and inviting. The stove is perfect for the cabin and not expensive to operate, really efficient.
I love a wood stove. I have a brand new wood stove that my brother and I was going to install, but my insurance company said they would cancel my home insurance unless it was installed by a licensed professional.
I’m happy you’ve got the cabin almost done. Thanks for sharing and have a blessed day!
What that’s hard. I hope you get the stove in. Wood heat is still king of heat.
When I grew up my parents had a wood burning furnace. I agree 100% that wood heat is the best of the best. But I’m very interested in the stove you had installed. Can you share a link so I can do more research on it. Thank you Jessica for all the amazing off grid stuff you’re doing.
Thank yon friend oh I would love to have afforded a wood furnace
Very Nice, Caleb is a lucky guy! - next, Kodie? Maybe a tiny home on your homestead🤭
Noooo don’t tell but we don’t want Kodie to move out! Lol she is the off camera personality of our home. But I should just plop her in my homestead like you said. And keep her close!
Hello lovely lady😊... I have a legit question about that 500 gal oil tank... don't you think yall should anchor strap that tank to the house? Just incase the ground settles and it shifts or because of the Unpredictable earthquakes. She's a top heavy momma lol. Anyway we 🩷 yall!
I had the same question, I was told because of the weight it dies not shift! Lol I can’t see how that’s true! My mind is like yours!
I grew up in a home that had wood burning heat stoves! Having the flew cover reminds me of my grandma ans grandpa's house! They had one with pine tree and mountains painted on them!! Thanks for the memories! This home of yours is beautiful and you guys are amazing
We always heated with wood growing up. The first house I lived in till the mid 60s we burned wood in a coal forced air furnace. Where we moved to we had about 35 acres of woods and we also heated with wood even though we had an oil furnace. We have a wood stove at both our house and cabin.
Yes! I wanted do bad to find one local but didn’t! I need one! It would look so cute!
I love it!
p
We burn wood here too, you are right it is absolutely the warmest heat!!
It’s so amazing
We have a place north of there off the road system. I thought about a Toyo, but I didn’t want to run the generator all the time as the solar won’t keep up in the winter. I ended up putting in a direct vent propane heater. It’s was just a matter of deciding to haul gas for the generator or propane bottles along with heating fuel oil. The place is built with all 2x6 walls vapor sealed. We already use propane for the fridge, range and hot water. We heat our house with 2 small Toyos. We heat 3400 sqft counting the daylight basement with about 700 gallons a year in the Meadow Lakes. The Toyo cleans itself by burning on High for a timed period. We have ours set so it does it before we get up as it will warm our house more than what the thermostat is set to by a few degrees.
Wow seriously thank you! That’s such good information. I’ll for sure have him set it for the clean like an hour or two before he gets up to scoot around. Or if He like he can set if fir before he walks in after working in the colder all day. The nice warm house. I never thought oh that makes so much sense now.
This cabin is the cutest ever!!! I love it, so homey
Thank you i might run away to it.
That cabin looks awesome. You did a great job of describing how the heating system works. I’ve always had natural gas hot air. Was going to ask about cleaning it. That would be a great practice place for our son to attempt to live on his own. Till next time.😊
It is so cute! Hope you made it home for the birthday boy!
I just love what yall have done to the cabin! So cozy!
Thank you! That’s so kind!
We installed a e30 toyo a couple years ago and it's a lifesaver. Works well with the batteries because it doesn't use alot of elec. We are buying a 2nd one for the shop and goats house and chicken coop next week.
That’s amazing. We Are looking into one for our house. Wanted to try it at the cabin first
Love the cabin! It looks cozy
Thank you so much
Great video! The cabin is so cute. I thought your mom bought the cabin and Caleb was living there until she moved there. Thanks
Yes very much. But remember she is a full time care taker to my grandma so we hope it’s a bit down the road.
@@modernhomesteadalaska yes I remembered that as well. I hope too it is quite some time down the road. I think it’s awesome that Caleb is there being the caretaker for the cabin. Thanks!
I love the cabin. I want to live there.
Thank you it’s honestly such a cute place
If that river is as close as it looks, When it flows at that speed you could use a water wheel with a generator connected for electricity unless the river freezes.
It does freeze we plan to ride the Argo up it this winter to fish deep in the woods
You are a amazing Mom!! You are making sure that he's comfortable in the cabin.
Pretty good with tools also!!❤❤
Is your Mom still going to come and stay at the cabin at some point?
First thank you. Yes the goal is for my mom however she is the full time caregiver to my grandma so I hope it’s some time before she is here. As it would mean my grandmother is gone.
Thanks, Jess! This was super interesting!
Thank you that’s so kind!
Toyo stoves are great. We have a 300 in our generator shed so the diesel generators won't have to do any cold starts in the winter. We have 2 of the 700 Toyos in our house, one upstairs in the living area & one downstairs in the "basement". We keep the basement around 54-60 (our water system and solar battery bank are down there) & the upstairs is set at 68 daytime & 64 night time. Also have wood stoves (Alderleas) up & downstairs. Can't have too many heat sources in Alaska, we're a little North of you around latitude 62.
If Caleb needs more cabinet space it looks like there's room on the wall above the counter for a couple🤔.
Thank you! That’s fantastic! I love hearing we got the right set up.
I think upper cabinets or shelves would be wonderful to add in. Great idea! Also he does have so much space upstairs and a full conex he can use.
Love watching your Vlog, wish I could live in Alaska, has always been my dream❤️
Nice thank you so much!
Your doing a great job guys, Keep it up another great video. Thank you for sharing
Thank you friend
Love your cabin! Awesome place!
Thank you that’s so kind
Thank you so much for sharing this with us
Thank you for watching friend.
You did a wonderful job with it.❤
Thank you that’s so kind
I love my Toyo. very economical and a nice steady constant heat.
Love it hoping it’s amazing!
Igniter self cleans for a few minutes at 2 AM and will display ‘CL” until done.Manuel started clean is also available and your manual says how to do it if needed.
Great thank you! It’s worked super well this winter all in all
This little place is absolutely adorable. My dream! ❤. Can’t wait to see more of it. How cute decorated for the holidays it would be!
Yes I told him do some fall decoration he laughed.
Really enjoying the off grid cabin videos! 👍
Thank you! It’s so peaceful out there.
Hi Jessica, how lovely that Caleb will have his 'man cave' where he can have his own space! Great job! Hope you are not to cold yet, i know you don't like being cold.
Thank you! I’m not cold yet but I think I’ll have Aaron clean my Cookstove pipes this weekend so I can be ready for that guest fire
I was just outside cooking came in cool off n see ur video n man that rvr water looks good n nice n cold live to just sit in to for few sec lol 😅😅😅
It’s honestly so peaceful. I like to just open the window abs listen and great times just sitting by a fire out there.
Hi Jessica. Love the look and the way you organized the cabin. You are so good at explaining how everything works. I just hope it all stays warm and nothing freezes during the winter. Kids are very lucky to have such loving parents. ❤️
Oh thank you that’s fine kind! I’m nervous for sure but hoping we can get it ready for winter
The cabin is looking awesome girl.
Thank you so much
Love the cabin! I have very fond memories of my home as a child in the interior of British Columbia, and wood heat ❤ it dropped to cruel temps in winter and we stayed summery warm with our wood heat❤
Love it! Wood heat is the winner for sure
Hi there Jessica! Brrr no heat. Hopefully Erin will have everything hooked up and working soon.
It’s all heated to the burn you out now! Lol
I was so impressed to see Aaron teaching your kids how to do things the correct way. My Dad did that with my 2 brothers and they
honestly can do and fix just about anything on their homes.
Yes he is honestly so good at teaching them. Thank you so very much.
Your Toyo is the same one I have. I love it
I think it’s the winner for sure.
Wow, you made that cabin look so awesome and cozy and not so crowded upstairs as well. Looks beautiful and so inviting. I also love the bear skin rng hanging on the wall. It was meant for that cabin. You did an awesome job explaining the new heat source. I know Caleb is go to love it there once you get the electric in.
It’s such a cute place it just needed less stuff all over made it feel way better inside.
Good morning Friend !
Hello friend!
I guess that’s nice a second home, Enjoy Family 9-12-2023 ❤
Thank you
It’s only 60 degrees here in Ohio and raining ☔️ love the living room rug it’s very cozy , just ask Kodie lol . Are the bars on the windows and doors for the bears ? I like how they look . Thank you for sharing 🌻🏡🌻
Lol the little bears! It’s been fun only because I wouldn’t decorate my house like the cabin but it’s so cabinish looking.
Jessica, I love your transformation of the cabin for Caleb! I am so glad to see you move the bed to the middle/side of the room, looks great. The kitchen/living room looks great also. I know Caleb will be warm, and toasty, this winter. God bless you all!
Thank you I agree the bed moved was the best thing I did.
Great video. We heat by wood and hang dry our clothes by the fire. Wouldn’t have it any other way.
I love it love wood heat!
The cabin looks great. Love the bear rug in the loft. I watch you and feel like such a slug as you do so much and get so much accomplish. Is the cabin close enough to the main roads so your son can get in and out for work when the snow starts?
Yes. Ish lol! The road is tough traveling. He is looking into a truck over the car to get up and down in winter.
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I'm so excited for Caleb!! It's a big deal to live on your own! 🎉 ( although I'm sure you will see your son a bunch, mine visits at least 4 days a week,lol) I 100% agree Jess, wood heat is the most cozy comfortable heat. You all are such a great example and wonderful teachers for you kids.❤ Take good care. 😊
Wow that you! That’s so very kind. Yes Caleb will be here or we will see him all the time. I hope that is the goal anyway
hi so cool
Thank you kindly
The TOYO stove converts heat from the gravity drip pot through the Heat Exchanger.Lower the outside temperature equals lower heat inside available.Cranking up the heat beyond the graph that comes with the unit just drinks back diesel wastefully.Need more heat buy bigger model.With lots of insulation and heat trapped in logs , you should be fine I would guess.
Very interesting thank you for sharing
Some people add a spiral in copper tubing that comes out of supply tank in case of earthquake or other movement.
Im a new subscriber :) Question where is his bathroom + Shower ?? 😃 Loving the Channel 🥰
Hello welcome! They are outside. But he mostly showers at our house in winter until we can build an inside shower this summer. Bathroom is an outhouse
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I hate fuel oil. One tiny drop will stink up your home for a very long time. Propane is much cleaner. I prefer to burn wood mysref but have a propane furnace for back up. Best of luck to you!
Thank you. That’s such a great point. If you don’t haul your propane abs can get that in winter that’s a great choice I completely agree!
Cabin is looking very cute. For energy if it was me I would put up a clipper wind turbine they are 400-800 watts and are used on sailboats. You could put one on each corner and double your energy. Solar is also useful but not so much in the winter. The saying goes when the sun dont shine the wind howls. Oil is iffy as the Gov is removing fossil fuels which really puts rural alaska in jeopardy. We are down to one refinery in the Kenia and they are only working at a third of capacity ordered by the Biden administration.
Girllll yes! You hit the nail on the head it is exactly why when we built we had a oil stove as the bid and design of the basement. When things with the Biden admen made it crazy so we changed to the blaze king and wood.
Just love the cabin. So peaceful there. Looking forward to future videos from the cabin. Must be so nice to spend time there with your family. Thank you for sharing. Take care🥰🇺🇸
Love it! Thank you so very very much
Jessica it looks so homely and cosy ❤❤ Your explanation on the new heating source was excellent 👍👍👍👍 👏👏👏 Love from the UK x
Thank you that’s just so nice of you to say! I appreciate it!
the cabinet u took out could u put under coar area? then he'd still have storage a place for keys ect
Yes we moved it into the outside conex for now it might go in the shower room for towels and such.
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Hello ❤️
Where did you get those cool lights?
Home Depot they have so many many choices.
What are dimensions of this cabin? You have made it super functional (and adorable!).
I believe it’s a 16x12 with full loft. Thank you so much
What are the lights you're using and where did youget them
I posted all the links here czcams.com/video/2HVxtp_61QM/video.htmlsi=hNE3nwdFs-uC-yZ6 in the description box
Hey can I ask you a question where did you get those 12 volt lights at can you give me like a model number and where you got them at I'd be interested in that stove that you got what kind is it if you could let me know I really appreciate it thank you
If it’s ok I linked all the lights in this video. You can watch it or just go to the description boxczcams.com/video/2HVxtp_61QM/video.htmlsi=N2b_RXEhnseoHw5L
Hi Jessica could you tell me where you got the lights from, please.
Yeah the Home Depot. They have a full section from long to round bright and soft lights, Motion, switch and remote all battery operated. I had no clue the variety. I got the ones I did based on having to attach to the side of a 2x4 but the ones I got fir the out house and bath house I’ll show in another video they are super bright and different. But not putting a drain on the off grid electrical. Thinking about putting them in my chicken coop so I don’t have to run an extension cord on winter.
@@modernhomesteadalaska Thank you we don't have Home Depot here. I liked how bright they were
What are you going to do about the sulfuric acid that off gases from the batteries?
What batteries do that.
Does the kitchen stove work? Is it ran off of propane?
Yeah it does it’s propane. And we have propane lights. But no propane heat anymore
Hi Jessica
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Will you be anchoring the big oil tank for earthquake reasons or maybe the river rising?
Sooo I had the same exact question I’m being told no! I want to talk to one of the engineers Aaron works with and double check that though. They say the weight of it keeps it from shifting! But a bridge weighs a lot and they fall down!
Yes, however fuel and gasoline will slosh if moved enough from a quake but checking never hurts 😉
@@andreamorrison8419 amen!
I have seen those plates in the Vermont country Store magazine about 20 years ago. Sorry, but I would imagine they still have them. Mamaw and Papaw had those on every wall in every room in every color. It reminded of a paper plate hanging on the wall. Some of them had pictures of Jesus or angels. And since my family was and is still very rooted and grounded in paper plates with religious pictures, HA, I would walk from room to room as a child fearful of disturbing or offending Jesus and his angels. I hope you find them. Thank you for a moment of remembering a beautiful memory.
Oh I love places like that. I need todo more visiting the New England states. We created our heating off the engineering there.
I just assumed off the Vermont comment. But I could be wrong in where you all lived. (Aaron’s grandpas house was just like that in Colorado so what do I know)
Wondering what the temperature is there right now?
50s it’s pretty nice.
He needs a fire extinguisher 🧯 and a shotgun incase the bear gets in. Lol. You never know when you have to hang another bear on the wall. 🙂👍 Stove sounds Awsome.
2 fire extinguisher in that cabin! You are 1000% correct on that. Thank you fir watching
I have had Toyo Lasers as my primary heat for 18 yrs now. I have a 73 at 40,000 BTU, a 300 at 15,000 BTU and an old 30 at 15,000 BTU (for -20F windy days). Average usage is 3.25 gallons of pink Kerosene in the dead of winter. Note that they burn best with Kero and can go a decade w/o service. Diesel requires much more frequent servicing because it burns dirtier. Also, the Lasers are NOT a drip feed. They are gravity fed (even with the factory lift pump installed) to the fuel pump where a computer controlled pump sprays the Kero onto the burner mat where it is atomized and burned. (Think of a 1950's pot burner only computer controlled) See here for my complete Kerosene delivery system:czcams.com/video/p1jS-brnQlw/video.html
Amazing information I like the color of your tank. Thank you for sharing
It is white to reduce internal heat build up in the hot summer months.
Wasn’t this cabin supposed to be your mom’s cabin?
I might have missed it.
My mom takes care of my grandma full time. So For now Caleb lives there. I hope it’s a while before my mom, as that would mean my grandma has gone to be with the Lord.
What is the name of the heater?
Here is the link. However if you are local I got it from Steve’s Toyo in Wasilla AK
toyoheat.com/
thank you I live in md but I will found a similar stove like this one. I like that it is small and I would use it as back up heat source. Currently I have oil to heat my house (about 1800 sf) but I use my heat pump until it gets too cold then I switch to oil. I would put this type of stove in the room I occupy the most.
Are these stoves expensive
In the big scram of how much a new stove cost I say no they are not. Total with install and all (not the tank) around 2k, where as forced air would be 10 times that
Thank you
Who does the cabin belong to? I thought you bought it for your Mom. Is Caleb buying it from you?
Great question wish the answer was simple. It’s my moms/ my siblings and I our inheritance. My mom is a full time care take to my grandma in NV to cold here for my grandma. My mom won’t live in it until my grandma (very long from now we do honestly pray) has passed. Soooo Caleb is living in it, helping us get it working in a way that no matter who lives there it’s easy to live in.
Rugs on floor
So cute works well together
This video was not good, nor bad. I can only say it was so,so. Not really to my liking. No thumbs up, nor no thumbs down. This is all I have to say.
Well thanks for the comment. Maybe next time. If not no hard feelings.
I don't mean to be rude but why you keep going over the same thing over and over and over
I don’t know that I do, it could be my brain damage. I tried seeing what you are saying but I’m missing what ever it is you didn’t like.
You talk too much. Get to the point.
Thanks for the rude comments. Even those help our channel grow. And to think I allowed you to be part of my life my family and what we are doing out here in Alaska. You came for a visit and treated me rudely. Thought your momma would of raised you better.
@@modernhomesteadalaska obviously you are too thin skinned for CZcams if you can’t handle the truth. If telling you that you talk too much and need to get to the point was so horrible I would hate to see how you would fall apart if someone said something really rude! Get over yourself. You do this for the money not just to share your family and life. 🤦🏼♀️
@@cherie6756 $556.00 for a month of work last month. Yep I do it for the money! If you can live off that in Alaska go ahead and try! You were rude and don’t like being called out for. So you placed the blame on me. You are right i have heard much worse. But all that together does not make you less rude!
I love this cabin! Great job and congrats! 🎉🎉😊
Thank you so much.