TESTIMONIALS (CLICK FOR MORE)

Charlie,

Six of us just watched your DVD here at the office and these people are on fire now! They were really excited with what they saw. Again, thanks, this is going to change several peoples lives, especially now that they can see that they can do it.

Mark

[RESPONSE: Mark and his friend Jim came to visit us recently to see what we are doing here. They each bought one of our DVDs. When they got home, they watched the DVD and then responded with the email shown above.]

“Charlie, your presentation is educational and inspirational! It is thrilling to see how the Lord provides, and how you effectively utilize His resources. Thanks for opening my eyes!”
Jeff Thomas, Executive Producer, The Derry Brownfield Show

Hi Charlie -

That was nice of you to reply so quickly, .............Yes, your DVD was wonderful, beyond helpful and entertaining as well,..I have watched it about 8 times so far, I believe I got it through, or heard about it through Derry Brownfeld's show.

I will be doing what you did, all solar, with the Gen backup and charging, so I am concerned as to the 12 (kw) being too small. I'm leery of just about everyone until proven otherwise, hehehe, especially these days.

In your case, the info I got out of your DVD was invaluable and cheap, given the cost to buy the DVD, I may try to have our neighborhood General Store carry it, so I may buy a few more to spread around here.

I have some experience with diesels, primarily backhoe and loaders, Heavy Duty stuff, but this little engine may be something altogether new.

I'd love any feedback you have to give,

Thanks - Todd

[RESPONSE: Especially if you talk to the "experts." There is so much misinformation out there it isn't funny. In fact, it's really sad because there would be a lot more people with solar panels if they knew they could do this by themselves. How many solar panels are you going to be able to buy to start with? I am working on adding more to my system. I wish I had 24! I wouldn't be concerned with the 12kw being too small, especially if you are planning on doing your house like we have done. How do you plan to cook, dry clothes, heat water, and heat your house?]

"Your DVD makes it look so easy. You really had no experience when you started out?"
D. Cook, Evansville, Indiana

[RESPONSE: We did not have any building, framing, electrical, plumbing or heating experience when we started building here over 6 years ago. We have done these things simply by reading books, watching videos and asking knowledgeable people to explain the things we didn't understand. It is amazing how many people are willing to share their knowledge of how things work and how open they are to discussion.]

Hi Charlie,

After watching the video, I came up with the following questions to create a plan for myself.

Where did you find the outbuilding and plans for $6,000? What brand is it? Does the outbuilding have metal siding/ roof?

[RESPONSE: The shop "plans" were just my own plans. I used 4x6x10' oak studs for the load bearing walls. Those studs were only 6.20 each. I put the studs on 6 foot centers. The wood framing for the shop was very simple. I had less than 1,500.00 in all of the wood. The metal sides, metal roof and insulation was purchased from the local lumber yard. The cost was around 4,000.00 for all of that. The plans were just simple designs. Nothing fancy. The shop is just a giant box, basically. The guy that works the lumber yard was a wealth of information and was very open about giving me suggestions, etc.]

Also do you have building plans for the house?

[RESPONSE: The house plans were also just simple plans drawn out on a piece of paper (I used my computer to give me "cleaner" drawings). The costs of building start to escalate as soon as you get the "professionals" involved. I knew what I wanted, drew it out, then built it.]

Where can a person find a water tank that holds 800 gallons?

[RESPONSE: Tanks are readily available from any farm supply store. Internet sources are abundant. Salvage yards are a good source. They aren't hard to find.]

Is there a web site for Pex tubing?

[RESPONSE: Most plumbing supply houses carry the Pex tubing. The brand name that I used was from a company called Vanguard. You could find them easily on the Internet. If you have trouble locating, I can help you get it. http://www.vanguardpipe.com]

Do you heat the outbuilding too with the boiler or how does the outbuilding get heated?

[RESPONSE: The shop is not heated. As far as metal buildings go, it is well insulated. It has never been so cold inside the shop as to freeze any water that is inside.]

Does the cost ($60,000) of the house include any of the boiler/plumbing costs or is it just the frame cost of the house and the $7,200 is additional to the house?

[RESPONSE: The 60,000.00 included all of my heating pipes, but did not include the 5,200.00 for the furnace itself. The 60,000.00 DID include the nearly 6,000.00 for the cost of the well. I went back and looked at my list of $ spent and noticed that my figures included many things that were not directly house related, such as tools, etc.]

Do you run any air-conditioning for summer cooling?

[RESPONSE: I am planning on installing a geo-thermal based cooling system this spring that will not require electricity to run. Hot air will be displaced with cool air through the use of a solar fan assisted vacuum instead of condensing pumps and motors.]

I find the video very interesting and would like to make a plan for myself. But I really need info on the outbuilding as it would be a quick building to start with and could live in it while the house is being built. That is why I would like more info on what outbuilding package you found or if you just got some materials and made it. If it is your own creation, could you point me to where I can find plans similar to it or email them to me?

[RESPONSE: I noticed that you really don't live that far from us. Why don't you plan a trip down here to see exactly what we are doing and how you can implement it. I wish that I would have made the shop livable while we were building the house. It wouldn't have taken that much to do it. It's a gret idea.]

Did you install a pipe under ground between buildings to run the wires and pipes or are they just direct burial cables and pipes?

[RESPONSE: The pipes from the inverter room to the house are all underground.]

Thanks so much for the information! I really liked your video and look forward to starting my own independent trek towards energy freedom.

[RESPONSE: Awesome, Don! I hope that I can be of more help to you. Would you mind if I posted your questions and my responses on my website? I wouldn't use your full name on there.]

Sincerely,

Don S., Olathe, Kansas

I just finished watching your video. I thoroughly enjoyed it. For the last few months I've had the urge to learn more about energy independence so I've been reading and watching everything I could get my hands on. Your video was a great help. I've also been interested in bio-diesel and have actually been successful in making and burning it. You mentioned using old transmission fluid in your generator and I just wondered if you could provide me with a little more info in the area.

Thanks,
Jerry Davis

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