#993 – The Expat Files: Off-Grid Living, Bitcoin, and Expats in Latin America

Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.

[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came out to play and now I wonder Hello there all you ex-pat wannabes. I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America The show that tells you just what it's like to live work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here. So let's get started I mentioned at the end of last show that this show I'd be taking up all those solar power issues I never got to last time and I'm gonna concentrate on what I think Every expat gringo and even you guys living up in the states who are into prepping a little something

[00:47] You should have on your priority list getting the hell off the grid. Believe me It's one of the greatest feelings in the world to never have to pay a utility bill again better yet You don't have to be obsessive about killing light switches Turning off the AC when you leave the room or leave the house thinking not only if you don't you'll cost you extra dough But that it's also wasteful The cool thing is you'll find out if you have the right system You could power up practically any household item and appliance that you want and in reality It won't be wasteful because you'll be producing excess power and if you don't use it, that's sort of wasteful, too What a tough spot to be in huh? Because again if you size your system correctly It's always putting out more than you can ever use now. You might ask why would you do that?

[01:33] Why would you over build your system? Well, the only real good reason for that is to have the extra reserve To last a couple of days if the weather's really trashy and you get almost no sunlight bottom line Go ahead overbuild it who cares solar components are so cheap these days You'd be foolish not to over design it by 20 or 25 percent though Remember even on the darkest crappiest days There's still some light and energy coming through or else wouldn't be able to see anything when you looked outside, right? It'd be pitch black However, even if it's super cloudy your solar panels will pick up some of that energy and turn it into electricity, too But before we dive into the solar stuff a few announcements and a quick email this show today First goes out on Friday, September 25th and as for the upcoming Sunday show supposed to go out on the 27th

[02:22] I'll be taking a vacation day. I can do that, right? I don't think I've missed a show in over a year That means Jason our program director will be digging deep into the worst of the expat files So you'll hear a repeat now You might ask if everyone's stuck in the house or wherever you're living due to this cold video crap Why would I be taking a vacation? Well, you remember a couple of months ago I reported on the fact that I went to a hard rock hotel all-inclusive and I was so disappointed with the place I said I'd never go back Well after making that comment on this show, I got an offer to go to a completely different all-inclusive resort I trust the people who invited me they say it's spectacular. So we'll see I'll be sure to let you know if it's up to snuff Oh and are you up for a little amusing Bitcoin story you long-time listeners may have heard me say I've got a very old mother

[03:11] She's something like 90 years old, but she gets around she belongs to a very active group of senior ladies I call the widows Club because all their husbands have died and left them dough So they travel all over the place Vegas, New York, California, Europe South America Central America Yep, they take cruises and frequent Native American casinos They really get around and why not they've all got the latest and greatest artificial hips knees and ankles and get this their average age It's around 85. I think there's eight of them in the group. They even go golfing sometimes man I'd hate to pee the foursome behind him. Oh and they all drive to man. That's a scary thought, huh? Anyway, as part of their weekly hangout group, they've got this widows investment club They've been doing it since around the year 2000 in the beginning. They each threw in a grand

[04:00] So they had eight grand to work with and you know, although they got hit hard in 2089 they're way up now and of course every so often a mother will ask her son if he's got any stock tips So my mother would tap me and I'd tell her I'm no good at stocks. I've never made money there I swore off the market a long time ago after I lost my first 10 G's dip in my toe and that muddy water Anyway over the years the old ladies have hit a few good ones Microsoft Tesla for them. It's a game It's fun for them. It's a social thing a club, but you know, it's not like I didn't give many advice I did in late 2015. My mother asked me if I had any tips and I said, yeah I said, why don't you each buy one of those things called Bitcoin? And so she brought the suggestion to her group and they looked at the chart and they found that it had just a few

[04:50] Months earlier hit 1,000 bucks. That was its all-time peak until then but it had retraced itself took a dive down to around 560 Now when they saw the chart and saw how much it retraced how far it crashed. They said, uh, we don't want any of that Remember my suggestion was to buy eight bitcoins one free to the ladies would have cost them around four grand They had that in their slush fund, but they hemmed in hard never did it because you know They're all addicted to CNN market news and CNN kept saying over and over bitcoins a fad and it's dead Even saying it was a Ponzi scheme And we all know what happened after that went up to 20 grand and now it's sitting around ten to eleven thousand bucks Now your longtime listeners might remember me saying I have a brother who's an electrical engineer, too

[05:37] And he got into Bitcoin around 2018 when it was somewhere around four grand And he bought some at six and a half or seven grand too. So as of today, he's way in the money Anyway, I just found out that through my brother. My mother bought a Bitcoin at around seven thousand bucks And all the sudden surprise surprise all her old lady friends want in too Even at today's price of ten to eleven grand in that funny And why is that you might ask considering they didn't budge at all and thought it was a scam at 500 or so Well, it's because they've looked at all their trades over the years and discovered They've never had one stock that even tripled their money in 20 years Now if they would have thrown their doilies in the ring when it was around 500 bucks They'd be sitting on 20 times their money in Bitcoin right now 20x

[06:26] And though they've had a small number of stocks that did pretty well as far as stock appreciation goes It's been nothing compared to Bitcoin But you know, it really does boil down to the fact with the baby boomer crowd and those merry prosthetic widow gangs Like the one my mother's in they're just completely confused how to get on board to have an on-ramp with their US funny money to buy into Bitcoin or any other coin like Ethereum Litecoin or any of the dozens of others in fact the other day my brother the engineer put it to me in a very Interesting way. He said look if you take the average baby boomer even the above average baby boomer and their parents the old lady widows And their stock clubs. I'm sure there's thousands of them throughout the states if for example My brother said you gave a baby boomer or one of those old ladies a treasure or nano ledger hard wallet

[07:15] He said for example, if he was to pass out one of those to all eight of the widows and said to him, okay in 24 hours I'm gonna send you one Bitcoin for free with 10,000 bucks All you have to do is figure out how that treasure or nano ledger works That is set it up and get it ready to receive that one Bitcoin But the catch is you have to do it all by yourself without any human help You can go on the internet and check out all kinds of sites and YouTube and everything else But you can't physically talk to a live person to figure it out That's the rule. Well, my brother laughed and said, you know What I bet none of those old ladies would be able to set that thing up properly Even with 10 grand at stake and you know what? I kind of think he's right sure There are dozens and dozens of YouTube channels that'll walk you through it

[08:02] But it's really about confidence having the confidence to walk down a path. That's absolutely foreign to you Of course millennials Gen X and wires will have no trouble at all But boomers and their parents in most cases forget about it. That's why by the way I believe captain mangoes personalized Bitcoin and crypto course for beginners is Exactly what's needed for people who have any doubts at all or lack the confidence to get on board that train Captain mangoes that human interface to get you over the first few humps and there's no doubt in a couple years the crypto world It's gonna make regular banking obsolete. And if you don't believe that here's some really extreme proof You might laugh at this, but I received one of those Donald Trump $1,200 funny money stimulus checks. They sent it to my mother's house in Chicago

[08:51] She in turn sent it to my Miami mailbox, you know the forwarding box It ended up a week or so later in my hands here in Latin America safe and sound totally secure So then I went to my Latin American bank to cash it that was about a month ago And when I asked to tell her for cash, she said she couldn't give me the cash She has to run it through the system. In other words, I had to deposit it in my account So I deposited it and it was a bit annoying knowing they wouldn't cash a US government check Especially considering here in Latin America. Everyone is nuts about American dollars They'd rather hold us dollar funny money than any of their own though Of course you and I know the US government is bankrupt and basically in default But the rest of the world especially in Latin America, they think the US dollars as good as gold

[09:36] Never realizing of course that gold has absolutely nothing to do with the US dollar. Not anymore. Not since 1973 when Nixon took the US off the gold standard and of course if you were to explain that to a Latino they think you're lying they don't believe it they think Fort Knox is just loaded with gold and That you're just a screwy gringo So anyway three weeks went by and that had shown up yet as a deposit in my account So I went down to the bank and I said how come the funds haven't arrived and she said well it takes from 30 to 45 days to process a foreign check and I said to her incredulously a US government check, too I wondered then how long it would take to cash a personal check from Sammy's Chi town pool hall in Chicago

[10:23] 30 to 45 months Maybe anyway, I walked out of there giving her an earful which is not usually my style, you know kill the messenger But I was pissed though. If you think about it It's exactly the reason crypto currencies like Bitcoin and aetherium have popped up because the transactions you do whether it's for a buck Or a million bucks is peer-to-peer. There's no middleman. No swift system. No, New York Bank Intermediary taking a cut your transaction is pretty much instant from one person's account directly to another Man, I was just stunned 30 to 45 days I couldn't believe it but that's what they call the float how banks make their money for every check they process They can delay it 30 to 45 days Not only do they get the use of that money, but they get the interest on it, but you knew that already, right?

[11:12] So anyway, all you guys and gals who really want to get into crypto But just don't know how to get on board or don't have the confidence Shoot me an email the expat files at gmail.com and I'll send you all the info on Captain Mango's personalized Cryptohandholding course for beginners. Alright one last thing before we get into the solar stuff. I've got this very interesting email. It's from Carol She says dear Johnny. It's an interesting future. They're cooking up for us here in uncle Sam land With no statues, no monuments, no museums, no cinemas, no gyms, no history and no schools or university No genders, no heaven, no hell and no chucky cheese Carol Speaking of heaven one thing's certain I guarantee the music really sucks up there

[11:57] But as my brother likes to say and he's the smart guy in the family If you go to heaven it might be bland and sterile and the music might suck But that's where all the women will be Just like nursing homes and French class in high school. He figures in heaven. The women will probably outnumber the guys ten to one I mean look almost all the gangbangers are men almost all the major criminals are men man Outnumber women ten to one in the prison system all the despotic Genocidal dictators there are men to think Stalin gang is Khan the Nazis Pol Pot Mao Castro Chavez not to mention wave after wave of brutal Spanish conquistadores Then you've got the fact that 99% of all dirtbag politicians are men I know I know you might be thinking what about Hillary and Mad Max in waters Well the gender juries out on those two don't you think?

[12:47] Let's get back to Carol's email. She says I've heard you talk about racism in Latin America You've pointed out that in many Latin countries. There's a great deal of racism between locals Classism too, but you've never mentioned if you're running to any gringos and expats who are racist Just wondering Johnny. Hmm. Good question Carol full disclosure here I am a racist and there are three races. I don't particularly like at all In fact, I'm repulsed by them the worst being the Klingons those ugly smelly snaggle-toothed Lying two-faced green bastards. They just don't mix or assimilate and the Romulans. I've got no love for them either Those smiling white robed germ freak untouchables They knife you in the back in a Vulcan second speaking of Vulcans you could have them too sure

[13:35] They're smart, but they never let you forget about it Yeah, they win the argument most of the time, but man, are they sore losers really? Come on You want to mate with one of those and have your kids come out with ears like that and green blood Live long and prosper my ass So there you have it Carol. I am a gringo expat racist. So shoot me Just saying By the way, do you ever wonder why I don't have a fake book twaddle or insta crap account? Well, I shouldn't have to explain it now that all this social media craps coming home to roost man I'll tell you if I lived in the station was working for the man and like most everyone else addicted to social media I'd be scared as hell doesn't matter if you're a garbage man or a college professor one old tweet or post out of context Repackaged could get you fired wreck your career or kill your chances for advancement in a New York second, but you knew that already, right?

[14:28] Doesn't that piss you off? The only saving grace being is if you're your own boss, you can give those SJWs the one-finger salute What about tearing statues and monuments down? Isn't it wonderful how we're so much smarter and enlightened in our times than those old crusty white guys like? Washington Jefferson Lincoln in Churchill. What a shame people were so stupid back then the idiot masses Let guys like that rise to positions of power. What a disgrace. We've got their numbers now. Thank God. We're woke But I digress you think All right. Let's spend the rest of our time talking about solar We'll start with the unanswered questions from last week's show like for example, what size solar system Do I recommend for a fifteen hundred to two thousand square foot home?

[15:15] Okay, let's get one thing straight. You always want to have battery backup I know the fact is up in the states Most people don't have battery backup because they can sell their power right back to the electric grid Of course you get a lot less for it than when you buy it, but you can still sell it back However, that means you're not really off the grid and your SOL if the grid goes down and you know They've got those rolling brownouts and blackouts in California And really that's just the beginning of the bad things that are about to come So let me just give you my rundown on a perfect system for a house That's fifteen hundred to two thousand square foot Even if it's three or four thousand square foot this will work for you and you'll never pay an electric utility bill again Though again, I do not recommend you disconnect completely from the utility grid Sure, you're not gonna use their power

[16:02] But you have to be able to switch in if there is some kind of emergency Let's say for some reason lightning strikes your solar panels or a tree falls on your roof Then of course, you'll need parts and your system will be down for a while So in the meantime, you just flip a big old breaker and now you're back on the grid again I understand in the states just to be on the grid Even if you don't draw any power at all, you're gonna pay 20 to 30 bucks a month just to remain connected Well here in Latin America, it's more like three to five bucks a month just to remain connected They tell you that monthly connection fee is to keep the street lights burning So although your aim is to go off the grid don't disconnect not permanently now for purposes of this discussion We're never gonna talk about you selling your power back to the grid here in Latin America

[16:49] There are only a few countries that are geared up for it, but I say don't bother. It's just not worth it I say spend the extra dough for batteries and go completely off the grid now You'll either be living in the lower altitudes or in the Altiplano and if you're in the Altiplano You won't need air conditioning. So you could have half of this system that you'll need if you're at lower altitudes Where you will need air conditioning at least in your bedrooms So let's first talk about if you're in the Altiplano as of right now Here's my ideal system 12 solar panels of the newer models that came out just within the last year or two They'll put out either 360 to 400 watts each 360 to 400 watts per panel that means if you've got 12 solar panels when the Sun is shining

[17:35] Let's say between 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock Your system will be putting out between 4 and 5,000 watts an hour now always remember You'll be setting up your solar panels in groups of three You tie three of them together in series and you take the two wires out and run them to your combiner box And for those of you who've asked me already to send you all the details and pictures and diagrams on the system I recommend you'll see a box called the combiner box That's where the final wires from the solar panels will meet up so there'll be one circuit breaker for every three panels that are connected in series as Recommended you'll have 12 panels grouped in threes That means you'll have eight wires two from each series group going into the combiner box with two very heavy gauge final wires Coming out that go into your power wall circuit

[18:22] That's your all-in-one battery and regulator unit that converts the DC voltage coming off your panels to alternating current 60 cycle AC usually 110 volts for your wiring in your house, you know lights refrigerators TV, etc Okay, so you've bought your 12 solar panels. You get them on OLX. They're probably a hundred bucks apiece You've just spent 1200 bucks and all the mounting gear to put them on your roof or whatever It's called racking by the way solar racking that'll cost you probably another 500 bucks and a good combiner box around 200 So you're closing in on two grand the next tip I have is what you need for the heart of your system the all-in-one power wall It's called a power wall because Tesla came up with it first So the name stuck though

[19:07] There are lots of Chinese clones that seem to be just as good and half is expensive from that You'll get your hundred ten volts AC that'll run everything in your house and your battery storage is in the unit, too And they're mighty heavy something like 300 pounds. That's really all you'll need if you're in the altiplano Now when you order a system or buy a system You'll tell the manufacturer that you want 110 because your system can be wired for 220 volts to that be for air conditioners and an electric car if you have one and I suggest you do eventually And that's why if you're living on the coast or in lower altitudes where you'll definitely need air conditioning You'll want to have the system I just described 12 solar panels and a power wall or a power wall equivalent and you'll want to have an identical system an exact copy though not wired for

[19:56] 110 but for 220 volts and that system will power your air conditioners exclusively and electric car if you have one now Here's the thing about air conditioning in Latin America. They don't have central heating or central air conditioning In other words, they haven't got any ducks in the walls because all the houses and buildings are concrete or concrete block So then how do you get air conditioning going under those circumstances? For one thing you don't want to use window air conditioners Those things are clunky ugly and they use a lot more power than the newer systems called a split system Split meaning to one part of the system is in your room And the other part will be outside it could be long ways away and that's the thing with a fan and a blower in it It's outside. It operates pretty much like a refrigerator

[20:41] The compressor and the fan are in that unit outside and they're connected to the inside unit by an insulated copper tube That's about an inch in diameter. And if you got one of those let's say in your bedroom It's very silent because the blower and compressor are outside somewhere now down here in Latin America They use those split AC units all the time. So they're pretty cheap For example a living room or bedroom unit could cost around five or six hundred bucks So definitely if you live in the lower altitudes, especially near a beach or the ocean You'll want to have one of those in your bedroom and maybe one of them in your living room and maybe one in the guest room Well for one thing you should always get a 220 volt unit. They're more efficient than a hundred and ten volt unit They use a lot less power. So here's how it works up suppose You've got three air conditioners and they're running all the time. Well, actually they won't be running all the time

[21:30] It's like a refrigerator will go off half the time and beyond half the time But maybe the fan is going all the time, but the actual compressor that uses all the power is only going half time Here's the story on that your average living room or bedroom will need a unit. That's from 8 to 10,000 BTUs That's how they're rated in British thermal units BTUs. Of course, some of them are rated in tons. One ton is 12,000 BTUs Just for the conversion factor there. Alright, let's talk about power usage in your batteries and such if you've got a power wall Which I recommend doesn't have to be a Tesla power wall But there are other companies making equivalent power walls the Tesla unit installed being around 8 grand and they're Chinese competitors around 4 grand They're basically the same thing using the same components now in that altiplano system

[22:17] I was talking about before where you don't have air conditioning you use 12 solar panels and one power wall Which has a 12 kilovolt battery in that's of course what you'll be using at night Because in the day your solar panels will be putting out four to five thousand watts an hour for at least six hours They'll be powering all your appliances and charging your batteries at the same time So a Tesla power wall or anti power wall has around 12 kilowatts of available energy to use at night But you can really only use 10 kilowatts of that because you can't drain it down to zero That's never recommended only down about 80% of that value around 10 kilowatts and there's protection built into the system You can never force it to discharge below 80% it'll shut itself off first So remember this effectively you've got around 10 kilowatts of usable energy at night

[23:04] Now if you're in the altiplano you won't have air conditioning The fact is you're just never gonna put a dent in that battery at night Because you'll probably only use at the most with lights refrigerator TV computers, etc All going around two or three kilowatts the whole night and remember your power wall can put out 10 kilowatts So that power wall of yours will have enough storage to power you up for three consecutive nights So figure three days and three nights when you've got an absolutely dense cloud cover So remember if you're living in the altiplano one power wall, it's just a thing You'll never have to pay the electric company again except for their hookup charge But remember you got to get 12 solar panels of the modern type that are 360 to 400 watts apiece Now I know most expats and gringos won't be living in the altiplano

[23:51] They'll be by the beach somewhere a lot of people absolutely love that that's their retirement vacation dream So then what well as mentioned you have two identical systems. In other words You can have 24 solar panels and two power walls One of the power walls will run all your regular appliances and stuff as mentioned and one of those power walls will be wired for 220 volts that'll run your air conditioners and charge your electric car when you finally get one more on that later So then again, what if you're running three air conditioners at once? Well, if you've got the split type which I recommended everyone uses down here now the most important number on those units when you buy them It'll say right on the package a number called a SIR number SEER number That's an efficiency number and the highest SEER number I've seen is around 25

[24:38] But most of them are between 15 and 20 try to go for the biggest number most of the newer units are around 20 Which is very good most older units 5 or 10 years old have a SEER number of around 10 Not good why because here's how it works out if for example, let's make this easy. You've got a mini split air conditioner That's 10,000 BTU and be absolutely great for a bedroom living room kitchen Whatever now, of course, you won't need that if you're in the Altiplano We're talking about if you live on the coast or in lower altitudes. Here's what you do You take the 10,000 BTU you divide it by the SEER number by the way It stands for seasonal energy efficiency ratio SEER SEER Okay, so 10,000 BTU divided by 20 and you get 500 that 500 number is the approximate

[25:28] Wattage that it uses every hour. Remember, it's always turning on and off. That's just an approximation 500 watts an hour now if you have one of the old split units that has a SEER number of 10 that means it's using a thousand watts an hour, right? 10,000 BTU is divided by 10. So the newer unit is twice as efficient as the older one Here's the thing if you've got three air conditioners running and each one is 10,000 BTU during the day The solar panels are powering them up. So you don't have to worry but at night when there's no Sun You're using battery power and as mentioned before your power wall will have about 10 kilowatts of power 10,000 watts available. That means you'll be able to run one air conditioner with a SEER SEER number of 10

[26:14] For 10 hours at which point your battery will be depleted. It needs to be charged up the next day However, if you're running an air conditioner with an SEER number of 20 It's twice as efficient and will run for 20 hours before the batteries depleted So in other words, you could run two of those air conditioners all night long. No problem But remember this at night you'll only want to run your air conditioner in the room You're in that would be your living room den or family room wherever you're hanging out Then you'll turn that one off when you go to bed. You'll turn on the air conditioner in the bedroom Why would you run an air conditioner in a room? You're not gonna be in that's why so many gringles the next pass only run One air conditioner at night in the bedroom. So with one air conditioner running you'll have plenty of battery reserve the next day However, if you're running two air conditioners all night, you might think you're cutting it close with the battery

[27:03] But you're really not because at night since there's no Sun and the air is cooler Your AC unit will not be working as hard as it does during the day So those previous calculations are worst-case scenario bottom line. If you've got two complete power wall systems That's 24 solar panels in total 12 for one unit and 12 for the other You'll be able to run five or more of those split air conditioning units during the day and two maybe three at night Oops, we're at the end of the show. I knew we wouldn't get through this. We'll finish it next time. So stay tuned You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America If you need some help with your own plan B We can schedule a one-on-one phone or Skype consult Just send me an email the expat files at Gmail dot com And if you want to get on the waiting list for my next week long expat

[27:48] Insider seminar in Central America where you're guaranteed to get a two to five year head start on your plan B Send me an email the expat files at Gmail dot com. No spamos