Two Advice Questions: All comments welcome

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SpyderEdgeForever
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Two Advice Questions: All comments welcome

#1

Post by SpyderEdgeForever »

Hello everyone. I am glad to be back. I missed you all, and hello to those whom I have not yet had the pleasure and evocative learning experience of interacting with previously.

I have two questions for anyone on the forum who is willing and able to offer advice.

First question: How safe are stainless steel plates and bowls for eating, vs more standard materials like ceramic and pottery, porcelain, plastic, wood, and others? Is there a possibility of micro shavings of metal being consumed or is that very unlikely to present any danger?

Second question: If a person wishes to purchase a piece of land and live in a home on that land, what are the upsides and downsides to getting a trailer put on the land and living in the trailer, vs purchasing a piece of land with a house already on it?
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Re: Two Advice Questions: All comments welcome

#2

Post by jpm2 »

First question:
glass is my preference for eating and drinking from when appropriate. It seems to be the most inert. Ceramic is 2nd choice, plastic last. Wood only if nothing else available.
Stainless is not an option unless it's already proven, or comes from a source that can be held accountable.

Second question:
Putting a house/trailer on land will require you to supply the utilities if they're not already there. An existing house would probably already have everything.
You will need at least a water supply. In my area that means drilling a well, or bringing in rural water service. Also need sewer. Optional are electricity and/or probably propane gas.
Getting all the utilities to your place can be expensive, depending on location.
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Re: Two Advice Questions: All comments welcome

#3

Post by Senfkarte »

To the first one:
Stainless steel plates and bowls are fine. The amount of material, that get shaved is so minimal, that the effect is zero. Even if there would be "bigger" shavings, your stomach acid is able to dissolve metal to a certain degree. And if plastic is fine for you, metal should be even finer. It is way easier to shave little bits of plastic, than of metal.
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Re: Two Advice Questions: All comments welcome

#4

Post by ChrisinHove »

Welcome back, SEF! It’s tremendous to see you here again!
I’m guessing, but…
1. Safer than wood & plastic.
2. A caravan/trailer is far cheaper than a house, but will depreciate in value. A trailer is far more likely to get blown away in a storm, and probably more difficult to insure. A trailer will probably be less well insulated, but smaller, so cheaper to run but possibly less comfortable to live in. Materials will probably be less durable, and less easy to patch repair. A trailer will be noisy in the rain.
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Re: Two Advice Questions: All comments welcome

#5

Post by Manixguy@1994 »

The only thing I can add to comments is to do with trailer versus house not already stated is safety factor. I have seen two trailers burn and you would be amazed how quickly the structure is engulfed in flames . There is nothing left to be saved . MG2
Last edited by Manixguy@1994 on Tue Nov 22, 2022 8:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Two Advice Questions: All comments welcome

#6

Post by RustyIron »

Stainless is much preferred over radioactive ceramic dishwear.
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Re: Two Advice Questions: All comments welcome

#7

Post by bearfacedkiller »

1) I use stainless bowls all the time when cooking. I also cook on stainless pans a lot. Stainless steel is ubiquitous in commercial kitchens and food manufacturing/processing. I wouldn’t worry about eating off it.

2)Depends a lot on where you live.

Lots of folks live off grid here. You can get solar power and a composting toilet but you will still need water. It is cheap to drill a well around here. Mine is 30 feet deep. In some parts of the country you need to drill 1000 feet. That’s expensive.

Trailer could mean travel trailer or mobile home. Both are built cheaper than most homes. I lived in an older mobile home in upstate NY in my 20’s and it was very expensive to heat. Modern homes are much more efficient.

Just consider how you plan to deal with water/sewer/power and decide what level of build quality you can accept. Don’t forget heating/cooling costs.

Welcome back SEF!
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Re: Two Advice Questions: All comments welcome

#8

Post by Doc Dan »

SEF!!! Welcome back!!! Where've you been?

As to your questions, using a good quality stainless there is nothing to worry about. Just don't put it in the microwave.

As to the second question, it depends. A lot of banks and lenders will not finance anything with a mobile home/trailer on it. However, if the wheels are off and it set on a permanent foundation, then that changes the rules. They will finance it like a house. A lot of double wides these days are as nice as a stick built house. I was in the mortgage business years ago if you wonder how I know. An option to a double wide or trailer is a prefabricated house. This is simply a stick built house built elsewhere and the assembled parts erected on your property. With any of these it is a must to find out what kind of wiring and heat pump they have. Older ones often had aluminum wiring. That is against the law in most states now but I don't know about all as I am kind of out of touch. Find out what level of insulation it has, some don't have enough and utilities can be high. Some of these are very well insulated, indeed, better than a regular house, and some are not.
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Re: Two Advice Questions: All comments welcome

#9

Post by olywa »

I'm toying with putting a smallish trailer and a 20' shipping container on my rural property after digging a well, putting in septic and getting power. I'd live in the trailer while building something more permanent. I figure once I've had the basic structure in and plumbed, I could wire it and do all the finish work myself.
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Re: Two Advice Questions: All comments welcome

#10

Post by JSumm »

1.) I think stainless steel is just fine, we have switched out all of our reusable plastic bottles to stainless ones. Use stainless for camping most of the time. Ceramic at home for eating, but I swear that stuff chips all the time and we have to replace it.

2.) I think a home would be safer depending on when it was built. I spent part of my childhood in a trailer in Central Florida. Every bad storm that rolled through, we loaded up and went to my grandparents for the night.

If there was a home on the property and it is an older home, I would want to live in it until I could build a newer home on the property partly to take advantage of the newer energy efficiencies. I work in the home building industry, and I see the benefit over an older home. I am reminded of this everytime I stand next to one of my windows or exterior outlets, and I can feel the winter breeze. Homes today if built to code are sealed pretty tight. Of course, that can have drawbacks too like poor air quality.
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Re: Two Advice Questions: All comments welcome

#11

Post by The Mastiff »

Hello SEF.

I like stainless for cooking. I can scrub it with brillo pads when it gets nasty and it looks good again. If something goes wrong and you do get rust ( almost never, you have to just about try) sandpaper can fix it. I have one skillet that is over 30 years old and it works as well as it did new.

It's great seeing you back here! A lot of people here remember you fondly and have hoped you would return. You weren't forgotten. :)

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Re: Two Advice Questions: All comments welcome

#12

Post by JRinFL »

Welcome back SEF!

1) There is no practical way to verify or vet every product that you use, so you will need to research best brands and trust that they are looking out for the safety of their customers. That said, I use stainless for drinkware and would use it for eating off of, except that I prefer Corelle or glass for plates, bowls, etc.

2) This greatly depends on where the land you have, or wish to buy, resides. In Tornado Alley, I would not want a trailer. The same goes for areas with frequent wildfires, hurricanes, or heavy frequent snow. If the land is in middle of a desert, a trailer will work fine, IMO.
If I had the money I'd build using steel frame and cinderblock construction. If built properly, that should survive most anything that mother nature decides to throw against it.

As other have said, there are lot of extra expenses on undeveloped land. Can you have a well dug? If so, is the water safe? Will the ground support a septic tank and leech field? If not, then you are looking at a sewer hook up. That assumes there are services in the area at all. Offgrid is appealing, but the upfront costs are high unless you are willing to live primitive, or mostly primitive.
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Re: Two Advice Questions: All comments welcome

#13

Post by legOFwhat? »

RustyIron wrote:
Tue Nov 22, 2022 7:32 am
Stainless is much preferred over radioactive ceramic dishwear.
You think I make this stuff up?

fiestaset-871359609.jpeg

maxresdefault-194652143.jpeg
I'd be super curious what the background radiation would be where that plate is.
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Re: Two Advice Questions: All comments welcome

#14

Post by James Y »

Welcome back, SEF.

I can't answer your second question, but as to the first:

I still use most of the stainless steel pots and pans that my mom used, and that I used to play with, as a baby. Most of these pots and pans are older than I am (I'll turn 60 next May).

They might not be plates and bowls, but I've still cooked, scraped, and transferred food from them onto dishes and into bowls. They've been scraped and scrubbed a ton over the years, and I haven't turned gray yet.

🙂

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Re: Two Advice Questions: All comments welcome

#15

Post by skeeg11 »

For trailers with limited space, Corelle plates and bowls by Corning are really stackable and leave a small foot print. Seem to be a very durable and inert material. Ubiquitous and easily replaceable.
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Re: Two Advice Questions: All comments welcome

#16

Post by The Meat man »

bearfacedkiller wrote:
Tue Nov 22, 2022 7:36 am
1) I use stainless bowls all the time when cooking. I also cook on stainless pans a lot. Stainless steel is ubiquitous in commercial kitchens and food manufacturing/processing. I wouldn’t worry about eating off it.

2)Depends a lot on where you live.

Lots of folks live off grid here. You can get solar power and a composting toilet but you will still need water. It is cheap to drill a well around here. Mine is 30 feet deep. In some parts of the country you need to drill 1000 feet. That’s expensive.

Trailer could mean travel trailer or mobile home. Both are built cheaper than most homes. I lived in an older mobile home in upstate NY in my 20’s and it was very expensive to heat. Modern homes are much more efficient.

Just consider how you plan to deal with water/sewer/power and decide what level of build quality you can accept. Don’t forget heating/cooling costs.

Welcome back SEF!
Yeah we are looking into building a house right now, and the well driller said right around our area the wells are anywhere from 400 to 600 feet. Also with enough shale to necessitate full casing. How's $10,000 for a well? :grimace
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Re: Two Advice Questions: All comments welcome

#17

Post by Naperville »

Long time no see! Hope you're here to stay.

We just threw out our Calphalon pots and pans. All pan and pot coatings are dangerous because they release PFOA and PFAS, forever chemicals that give you cancer. Stainless pots and pans are the best.

Makes me wonder about knife coatings now that I think of it.
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Re: Two Advice Questions: All comments welcome

#18

Post by TazKristi »

SEF! I did a double-take, thinking this was an old thread! Welcome back! You've been missed.

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Re: Two Advice Questions: All comments welcome

#19

Post by kiwisailor »

Hi SEF, nice to hear from you again (so to speak)..
Instead of a trailer home, how about a boat?
Take the mast off, can be used for other things.
It will have;
Self contained water + collector and filtration.
Solar power+ wind generator, maybe built in power genie.
Cooking and heating.
Water proof.
You can probably pick one up VERY cheap and trailer it in.
Just don't collect too many pets, you might get nicknamed Noah.
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Re: Two Advice Questions: All comments welcome

#20

Post by shunsui »

I'd go with a house. A friend of mine has spent a few years of his life trying to build something on his land and it's not going smoothly, although he is "living" there.

Stainless steel is probably as good as anything else.
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