All of the Off Grid Appliances In Our Cabin
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I’ve been asked a few times about what we are using for off-grid appliances (large appliances) in our new cabin so today’s article is all about that! I’m not sure if there is more or less than you would think, you’ll have to let me know in the comments!
I think that everyone who moves off grid has their own idea about what they want their lives to look like and we are no exception.
Personally, I didn’t want all the bells and whistles of a “regular” life but I also didn’t want to go as rustic as having to wash my clothes in the stream or cook over the woodstove.
Here are all of the appliances we chose to purchase and why. None of this is sponsored or anything like that, but it was important for me to give you exact brands, so I’m just being specific here. 🙂
Unique Off Grid Propane Stove
The cabin came equipped with a wood cookstove that was full of rust and over 100 years old. While she was a beautiful thing (and I’ve kept her for something else later!), I didn’t feel like it was safe to cook on her. We then took the time to research other wood cookstoves and found many reports of chimney fires because of how the ovens work. I also had no desire to use a wood cookstove in the summer.
Regular propane ovens use between 100 and 600 watts of electricity at a time, even though they mostly run on propane. That’s a fairly significant amount of electricity for something we would have to use 3+ times a day!
I came across the Unique brand of ovens as one of the only off-grid propane oven options. Honestly, I wish I had more to choose from but they just are not made! We bought the regular (classic…I’m not sure what it was called) version of the stove (not the retro which looks cool but was more expensive). The stove runs only on propane and uses a D battery to spark the ignitor (no lighters or matches!).
So far, I’ve been happy with the consistency in which it’s baked our food. My only complaint is that the oven randomly turns off. We have a call from the company about this, and I’m wondering if we need to adjust something for altitude.
Hearthstone Heritage Woodstove
After spending quite some time with a local fireplace dealer and doing our own research online, we ended up with the Hearthstone Heritage Woodstove for our “furnace”. This stove will heat up to 2000 sq feet. (Our finished cabin will be around 1200 sq feet.)
Why did we end up with this stove? Honestly, my husband really liked the soapstone design and we liked that it would provide more of an even heat.
The cabin came with a gas fireplace (definitely wouldn’t have done much for the cold!), which we removed, put in a new chimney, and placed this woodstove in its place.
So far, it’s keeping us warm! I like how pretty it is and that we chose to get one with the opening to the firebox on the side for cleaner loading. It’s worked well, and the dealer told us that if we take care of it, it should last us a lifetime (he had the same one in his home). It should have no problem heating the entire cabin once the bedrooms are finished with how we’ve designed it to be.
Plus, we have a plethora of wood on our property, so it’s completely free (just work!) to heat our home.
Recpro RV Fridge
This is the only appliance that came with the cabin that we’ve decided to keep and that’s because the sellers just bought it before we bought the cabin so it’s brand new.
This fridge is 10 cubic feet (apartment-sized) and has a small freezer. It’s running off our solar power (we aren’t totally sure of the draw because of how the system is currently set up).
So far, I don’t love the deep shelves because my food gets lost and then it freezes at the back of the fridge. The freezer seems to work well though.
We aren’t going to replace this right now since it’s brand new but it would not have been my first choice. Someday when we buy our own, I’d like one that’s a little bigger.
Electrolux Washer
Guys, let me get one thing straight. With 3 children and another one on the way I was NOT handwashing all of our clothes. Maybe that makes me snooty, I’m not sure but it just wasn’t something I was willing to do!
But here’s something I didn’t know: You can get a full-sized washer that uses an extremely small amount of electricity!
I didn’t know anything about ElectroLux before we bought this washer, but I did a search of the most efficient washers based on the data that EnergyStar has collected. ElectroLux had many of it’s washers on the top of the list so we ended up ordering one in (from Lowes).
It has no problem at all running off our solar power. In fact, I’ve run 3 loads in a day once and we still had no issues, even with our very small system. The washer we got uses about 10 gallons of water per load, which we currently pump into a wash basin outside. We then use another pump to spread it around the yard once the load is done. I use all plant safe soaps throughout our home so it doesn’t kill anything.
So far, I totally LOVE this thing. Our clothes smell so good and are so clean after a wash. It takes about 45 minutes for a regular load, and I hang everything to dry on drying racks when it’s done. (And it’s so well rung out that drying usually only takes an hour.)
And, that’s all we have set up so far! I’m not sure what (if any) other appliances we will need in the future but that’s all we have right now.
I hope this article helps some of you that were searching for some off-grid large appliance alternatives!
My Other Posts on Off Grid Life:
- Crafting a Life Off the Grid
- Why We Can’t Live in Our Off Grid Cabin All Winter
- What It’s Like to Grocery Shop for Our Off-Grid Cabin
Merissa Alink
Merissa has been blogging about and living the simple and frugal life on Little House Living since 2009 and has internationally published 2 books on the topic. You can read about Merissa’s journey from penniless to freedom on the About Page. You can send her a message any time from the Contact Page.
We just bought an Electrolux Washer and Dryer for our new centre. Was not familiar with the brand either for a W/D but so far, loving them! Great choice.
I love my Electrolux washer! It was a gift before the birth of our sixth child a few years ago and has held up super well to heavy use. One thing we have noticed is how gentle it is on clothes- getting them very clean without wearing them out with rough agitating.
Enjoying each update, Merissa! God bless your family!
Thank you for sharing that! I hope this will last well long term but you never know with appliances these days 🙂
Thank you for sharing your research & information on living so frugally! When I first started reading your article, I thought you might have found a wringer washer! (That’s what my Mom had when I was growing up!) I am currently reading a book called, “Farm Girl, A Wisconsin Memoir” by Beauna Coburn Carlson… The author was born in 1926, so she talks about how their family’s frugality through the depression & dust bowl days… They actually had running water (windmill & gasoline operated pump) & used a wringer washer. they had a hose that siphoned the rinse water out into the yard, & her Mother would use the soapy water from the washing machine to scrub the porches or the outhouse!
Please, what kind of soap do you use in your washer? (there’s so many chemicals in most laundry detergents)
THANKS for sharing!
I considered a wringer and washtub style method but in all honesty, with 3+ kids and everything else I’m just not up for that task. Luckily this washer works great on our solar system and I don’t have to worry about it! I’m using Ecos soap (fragrance free). I’ve been using it for many years because it’s the most “grey water safe” soap that I could find.
I use to live on a ranch out in the mountains of Nevada and it was run off batteries. We could only play the radio or the record player not both. We did washing with the old wringer washer. Weived 2 miles from the closest road and 3 hrs from the closest town. I trained mustangs for a living. It was fun and hard work but loved it.
Hi Merissa:
I love all your blogs. You have given me so many ideas & recipes. Oh & I love your off grid living. I wish I could live like you but at 70 years it’s just not feasible. I absolutely love where your living. I have always wanted to live in Wyoming. I love the snow fall they get every year. I could sit and watch it snow all day lol. Oh and that sweet puppy needs a good fluffy bed with a blanket in front of the stove he looks so cold. My fur babies all have fur beds with blankets in the winter in front of the fireplace and they love it. God bless you and that sweet baby your carrying. I pray you have a smooth labor & delivery. God bless you all & have a wonderful winter in your new home.
Glenda
We’d tried so many blankets and beds for Kady and she refuses them all! She loves the cold weather and the snow and then will come and and wrap herself in a tiny ball next to the fire. She’s definitely a snow loving dog 🙂
Thank you for sharing this information. I love these choices – modern yet energy saving. Living in a rural area and near a national forest, we try to be mindful of what we are using because of potential power outages.
Did you share about your solar system set up? I would love to read about it.
I haven’t shared about the solar system yet as it needs some work that we won’t get to until next spring. It’s a very simple little system though so I’ve got it on my list for my husband to write about 🙂
We’ve had a Hearthstone Heritage wood stove in our 1100 sq ft ranch home for 3 years now, and exclusively heat with it. It’s been one of our best purchases.
The guy that owned the fireplace store we bought it from also had the same one and he told us he’d owned it for over 30 years and loved it. We loved the feature of more even heat 🙂
Oh the Ellectrolux products are typcally European ones.I used to live in Poland and we had microwave and a vacuum cleaner.All were running very smoothly for a loooong time;)