The McBoiko's Land
the land the yurt the critters photo album the methow
raising the yurt #1 raising the yurt #2 raising the yurt #3 floor plan living off the grid

water electrical propane woodstove



     Water System: back to top
  1. The well is to the left of the driveway by the gate. You can drink the well water but it has a slightly "off" taste.
  2. In the summer, it is not necessary to do anything.
  3. In the fall/winter/spring, we drain the system when we leave so the pipes won't freeze. When you arrive, the system's valves will be "open" to drain and the pump circuit will be "off". The valves need to be closed before you start the pump.
    1. Outside the yurt, there is a shut-off valve with a PVC cover and a rebar stick in the shape of a "T". This drains the pipes between the yurt and the shut-off valve.
    2. See the floorplan for an illustration of the "open" and "closed" positions.
    3. Close the valve by turning the rebar "T" a quarter turn.
    4. Don't lift the rebar; it's difficult to reseat properly!
    5. See the floorplan for location of all the valves mentioned below.
    6. Close the valve in the bathroom. The valve is the blue knob behind the blue water tank (but it's more accessible from the bathroom to the right of the toilet). This closes the valve that drains the water tank.
    7. Close the valve in the kitchen to the right of the sink beneath the tile counters.
    8. Close the three valves on the hot water heater.
    9. Turn on the electrical system (see electrical for instructions and flip the pump circuit marked with red tape in the grey fuse box to "on". This automatically pumps up the water when the tank gets low.
  4. When you leave in the fall/winter/spring, you need to drain the system so the pipes don't freeze.
    1. Open the grey fuse box on the electrical system and switch the pump circuit to "off". It's marked with a piece of red tape.
    2. Turn on all the taps and drain the water.
    3. When there is no more water running out of the taps, open the three valves on the hot water heater. The water will drain into the blue garbage can.
    4. There is an illustration on the floorplan.
    5. Open the valve in the kitchen to the right of the sink beneath the tile counters. There is a bucket to catch the water.
    6. Open the valve in the bathroom. The valve is the blue knob behind the blue water tank (but it's more accessible from the bathroom to the right of the toilet). This opens the valve that drains the water tank.
    7. Empty the water from the toilet tank and plunge out the water in the toilet bowl.
    8. Put about 1/2 cup of antifreeze in all the drains: the toilet bowl, the tub, the bathroom sink and the kitchen sink.
    9. Turn the shut-off valve outside the yurt a quarter turn to the "open" position.
    10. Don't lift the rebar; it's difficult to reseat properly!


     Electrical System: back to top
  1. The solar panels produce DC current which is stored in eight large batteries in the box below the electrical system. The DC feeds into the white vertical box labeled "DC Disconnect / Overcurrent Module".
  2. The top switch on the left side of this box is marked "Solar Panel Input". It disconnects the solar panels from the batteries. The bottom switch on the left side marked "Trimetric" turns on and shuts off the red trimetric meter above the DC Disconnect Box. The middle switch on the DC Disconnect Box disconnects the batteries from the converter.
  3. The horizontal white box labeled "Power Conversion Center" converts the DC current to AC. The display panel on the converter allows you to turn the converter on and off and to start the generator. (If set up properly, you can sell energy back to the grid - but we're not even connected.)
  4. To turn on the power:
    1. Flip the main switch in the middle of the DC Disconnect Box. "On" is up; "off" is down. We leave a light switch on so a light will come on as soon as you do this.
    2. Press the red "ON/OFF MENU" button on the Converter. The green display panel will say "Set Inverter OFF SRCH ON CHG". Use the "SET POINTS" buttons below the display to move the cursor to the "ON" position.
    3. Open the grey Fuse Box and flip the pump circuit marked with red tape to the "on" position.
    4. Be sure all the water valves are closed before turning on the pump!
  5. To turn on the generator:
    1. The red box on the side of the cabinet is the on-off switch for the generator. To start the generator, flip the switch to "on" and press the start button.
    2. You can also use the digital display panel buttons on the Converter to start the generator. Press the green "GEN MENU" button. The display panel will read "Set Generator OFF AUTO ON EQ". Use the "SET POINTS" buttons below the display to move the cursor to the "ON" position.
    3. The generator should start right up. If it doesn't, you may need to choke it. Pull the choke out while someone else presses the start button and push the choke back in once it starts.
  6. Reverse these procedures to turn the generator off.


     Propane Appliances: back to top
  1. The propane tank is behind the yurt. In the fall/winter/spring we leave the propane tank on. In the summer, because of the increased risk of fire, we turn it off when we leave and back on when we arrive. Lift the housing and turn the knob on or off as necessary.
  2. To turn on the refrigerator, follow the instructions at the bottom of the fridge. (It can be tempermental and sometimes it's hard to get the pilot to stay lit. Just keep trying!)
  3. There are lighters in the left-hand drawer below the tiled kitchen counter to light the burners on the stove or the pilot for the oven.
  4. The hot water heater also has instuctions on it. It is easier to keep the pilot lit if you turn on the hot water tap at the kitchen sink before you try to light it.
  5. When you leave, be sure the refrigerator is off. Empty any perishable foods and leave both the freezer and fridge doors open so it doesn't get moldy. The dried goods in the glass containers and in the plastic cooler are "critter proof" but be sure these are closed and no other food is left in the yurt!
  6. Check to be sure the stove burners and oven are off when you leave.
  7. And be sure the hot water heater is off as well.
  8. In the summer, close the valve on the propane tank behind the yurt.


     Woodstove: back to top
  1. In the fall/winter/spring, we always leave kindling and wood in the wood bin inside for the next time we come.
  2. When you're starting a fire, you need to get the draft going. It's easiest if you put kindling on the bottom, bigger wood above that and paper on the top. If it takes too long to get the draft going, it gets quite smoky in the yurt.
  3. The air intake valves are "open" when they are pushed in (allowing more oxygen into the woodstove) and "closed" when they are pulled out. The air vent for the valve on the left is below the stove. The air vent for the valve on the right is above and to the right.
  4. Once the fire is going good, close the air intake valves so you don't go through as much wood. Especially important at night so that you will (hopefully) still have hot coals in the morning!
  5. Please leave the wood bin full for the next folks. It can be loaded from the outside with the help of a "stacker" inside.
  6. If the fire goes out before you leave, please remove the ashes.
  7. Also please leave the door of the wood stove closed - for fire safety if it's not completely out when you leave and also because twice we've had starlings fly down the stove pipe!! If this happens, you still have to remove the dead bird/s from the stove but better that than also having to clean the entire yurt!


back to the top
 return to previous page