03x04 - Methane Meltdown

[bunniefuu]

-Look at that right there.
-It's, like, a power plant.

Marty: that thing
is gigantuous.

That pizza place is called
radioactive pizza.

[ Laughs ]

-For real?
-No.

Is he kidding?

This is not
the wilderness.

This is where
the homesteaders live.

A concerned father got
ahold me and said,

Could you please
help out his kids?

Apparently, they just can't
make it on the homestead,

And so they're trapped
here in the city.

I guess our job is to get
them back out there.

I'm taking us
deeper and deeper

Into the concrete jungle.

Narrator:
marty raney's been building
homesteads for 40 years.

Marty:
I was raised off-grid

In the toughest place
on earth, alaska.

And I've taught my kids
everything I know.

Misty: a homestead needs to be
nurtured every day.

You get out what you put in.

Matt: I have the utmost respect
for wildlife.

Hunting is a privilege
and a necessity.

Narrator: together,
the raneys save homesteads...

Misty, shut it down!

...on the edge of disaster.

We're gonna get struck
by lightning.

Let's get out of here!

This is crazy.

We're really worried that
we're not gonna make it.

Marty: mis!

My résumé?

I'll show it to you
right now.

--Captions by vitac --
www.vitac.com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

Marty: is that the ohio river
right there?

Check it out.

This side is ohio,
and the other side is...

West virginia.

Wow.

We went to school,
even if it was in the sticks.

Narrator:
the raneys have been called
to a couple's rented house

Deep in the suburbs of ohio,


Their homestead.

Marty:
this is the address.

-Hello.
-Hey.

-How you doing?
-Hello, sir.

-Are you eric?
-I am.

This is my son, joe.
-Joe? Nice to meet you.

I'm marty.
-This is my daughter-in-law.

-Ashley.
-You live here?

-Yeah.
-That's right.

The homestead is about an hour
and a half south of here.

-And you're...
-I live in cleveland.

This is our unfortunate reality

Until we get the homestead
off the ground down there.

Why?

Their jobs are here.

They're trying to maintain here

And build up the homestead
at the same time.

That's why we need help.

I called the raneys because it's
my daughter-in-law and my son,

And they're on the brink

Because of all
this financial responsibility

And the stress of trying
to maintain two places.

It was his idea.

It was my idea,
but she had to say yes.

Yeah.

Narrator: a year ago,
ashley and joey keffer,

Caregivers at
a mental-health facility,

Gambled their entire
$38,000 life savings

On 4 acres
of forest land in ohio.

This is the house.

It's not very big.

Here's the kitchen over here.

This place, to us, is about
getting off the grid,

Having less bills,
spending more time together.

Narrator:
the land came with a cabin,

But they soon realized
their dream homestead

Was missing
almost everything else.

Joey: the soil that is
at the property

Isn't deep enough
to maintain a good garden.

Ashley: and we don't have any
power at all,

So we have oil lamps.

We don't have a bathroom,
so we just have an outhouse.

We have to walk, like,
down kind of by the woods.

It's pretty terrifying
just because, like,

I can't see anything.

[ Animal howls ]

There's something in the woods.

Nothing wants to live
where you [bleep]

Narrator: unable to survive,

The keffers were forced
to abandon their homestead

And rent a crumbling
townhouse 80 miles away,

Clocking in 160 hours
a week to pay bills

Of over 1,000 bucks a month.

Joey: we're making payments
on two houses,

So now we're stuck
in a vicious cycle

Of having to work
to make all our payments

And then not having any time
to work on the homestead.

Mm-hmm.

On their days off,
joey is the only one

With homesteading skills.

Ashley: joey is pretty much
the man around here.

I'll do, like, the laundry,
the cleaning, the dishes.

My dad is very worried
about us down here.

♪♪

And I don't want to worry him.

I want to get this place
in order and make him proud.

Means everything to me
to see my son succeed,

But if we can't get help
from the raneys, it's over.

The dream dies right here
on this property.

Marty: I've never been faced
with this situation before.

A lot of times, the homesteader
is on the brink of failure.

These guys have already failed.

This isn't
a representation of us

Or how we live
or who we are at all.

Marty: what's going through
my mind is this --

At minimum, my goal

Is that you never set foot
in this place again.

You never come
through that door ever,

The rest of your life.

Mm-hmm.

I think it's time we drive
out to that homestead.

-Mm-hmm.
-Sounds great.

-All right. We'll follow you.
-Let's go do that.

-Please.
-All right, guys.

Narrator: the raneys and keffers
head 80 miles off-grid

Into wayne national forest.

This is more like it.
There's farms.

It's green.

Matt: it sure beats
that power plant.

Narrator:
the appalachian plateau

Is one of the richest forests
on earth

With close to 20,000 homesteads.


And game fall prey

To coyotes and black bears.

♪♪

-This is it?
-This is it.

Marty: nice place, guys.
Real nice.

Joey: thank you.

Can you give me a tour
of this place?

Sure. Yeah.
I'd love to.

-Okay.
-After you.

-After me.
-After you.

Narrator: the raneys have only


Into the keffers' homestead.

Fixes will be funded
by the thousands saved

By abandoning
their on-grid rental.

So this is your well.

How are you guys getting water
all the way down there?

We have a bailer
tied to a rope,

And we just drop it down.

Oh, it's far down there.

It's 125 feet.

Can you lift that
water out of there?

To about this point.

And it leaks,
so you have to be fast.

See, I pretty much lost,
like, all my water.

You might as well put a thimble
on the end of that rope

And lower it down there.

I mean,
you're getting drops.

Matt:
she can't get the self bailer

Out of the well fast enough

To even get herself a glass
of water, let alone a bucket.

So you don't ever
get water by yourself.

No.
I don't ever do it.

That was actually
my first time.

Really?

Yes.

Narrator: bailing water isn't
ashley's only struggle

On the homestead.

We have coyotes every night

Come walking around
the homestead.

-Really?
-Mm-hmm.

-You've seen them?
-Yeah.

I mean, I have to come outside
to use the bathroom

In the middle
of the night.

I mean, there has been a time
where I was actually,

Like, pretty much
stuck in there.

I'm yelling for joey
when he's inside because,

I mean, I hear something,
like, right outside the door.

Literally right
outside the door?

Right outside the door.

When people are out hunting
or in the wilderness, you know,

You got to answer
nature's call,

And they get mauled
by a bear.

It's not super common,
but it can happen.

This is, like,
nervous laughter

I think I'm seeing here.
-Yeah.

Matt: these people definitely
haven't set themselves up

To make animals more
conditioned to staying away.

All right, joey.
I don't see a garden.

No garden.

What are these?

These are the raised beds
that we built.

Oh, okay, because I've never
seen beds this shallow.

Yeah.

But you need a foot
or two of soil

In a raised bed, right?

The thought was, it would
break through the paper

And be able to grow
into the soil underneath it.

Oh, okay.

I hate to break it to you,
but these definitely,

They won't work.
-Uh-huh.

You know, just plant
in the ground

If you want to plant
in the ground.

Build a raised bed if you're
gonna build a raised bed.

-Yeah.
-And do you have any livestock?

We don't have any way
to keep them safe down here.

Okay.

It's really important
to have your food

Sorted on any homestead,

But this one in particular,
it's one of the main reasons

Why they're stuck

In that dilapidated
house in the suburbs,

Is because they don't have
a reliable food source.

Narrator: all the keffers have
on the homestead

Is their 25-by-15-foot
a-frame cabin.

-I like this place.
-Thank you.

Wow.

So this is your primary
source of heat?

Joey: yeah.
That's correct.

-How do you cook?
-We do it outside.

And why is there
a little range right there?

Well, one, I'm not sure
if it even works.

I was told that it might,
and we don't know

How to use
the natural gas well,

Which is what
it's tied into.

Natural gas what?

There's a well in the woods
that's part of the property

That they have access to,

But nobody can tell them
how to make it functional,

How to activate it.

Dude,
I've got to see this.

So here it is.

You've got to be kidding me.

This thing is epic.

Yes, it is.
I know it. I know it.

Look at it.
Oh, my god.

I want one of these.

Never in my lifetime
did I ever think

I'd be on someone's property

And find out they have
a gas well, a pump jack.

I'm just gonna
ask you right now,

Why haven't you guys
come down here,

Got this running,
taken advantage of the benefits

This could be
to the homestead, man?

I guess I'm just too
worried about it,

The whole thing going up.

I only have to do it
wrong one time.

I get that there's
a risk here, but, man,

It's gonna be a game-changer.

If we can get it working,
we can breathe life

Into their dream
and this homestead.

Narrator: if marty can fire up
the old gas well,

He should be able
to feed gas to their cabin

And power a water
pump in the well.

Misty needs gas to heat
a year-round greenhouse

And chicken coop,

And matt's plan to ward off
predators at night, gas lamps.

Hey, guys.
How's it going?

-Good.
-Good.

Marty: good. Good.
All right.

Do you think this is
a homestead right now?

Right now? No.
No, it's not.

Right now, you're torn
in two places,

And you live in two
different homes,

And ultimately,
that isn't working.

You talked about your dream.

You talked about being
unhappy in town, right?

Your life can change
dramatically

In the next week or so,

But everything
relies on one thing,

And that is
the natural-gas well.

Narrator: coming up,
misty doubles down

On the keffers' food crisis...

You need a very quick solution
to a huge problem.

...and marty turns up the heat
on the homestead.

Misty, shut her down!

Narrator: deep in the foothills
of the appalachians, ohio,

The raneys are trying
to save a couple forced

To abandon their homestead
due to no food,

Power or a viable water source.

We're in dire straits.

Without the raneys' help,
we will lose everything.

But marty's plan to revive
the homestead

Relies on a derelict gas
well that hasn't run in years.

Back in the '80s, I was
working in the oil fields,

And we converted a 500-man camp
from diesel to natural gas.

Can we get the wellhead running?

Honestly, it's a long shot,

But I've fixed every
vehicle I've ever owned,

And I started driving
at 11 years old.

Narrator:
to see if the gas well works,

Marty first needs to get the old
motor that powers it running.

Marty: what do you know
about mechanics?

-Little.
-How about you?

Probably less than him.

Okay, so you know a little,
and you know less.

Put that together,
it's not bad.

Let's get started.

Joey: I'm a little bit nervous
about it,

But it's a risk-reward thing.

The risk just happens to be
our life in this situation.

Marty: when you look at any
motor in the world,

You don't know the history and
you're trying to get it started,

You're looking for two things.

You're looking for spark,
and you're looking for fuel.

Narrator:
if the spark plug is damaged...

Come on.

Narrator:
...the engine won't fire up.

It's tougher than
a woodpecker's lips.

I would say it's
probably still good.

Let me put that plug back in.

Okay.

Now we're going
to see if it runs.

Please be careful.

I don't know what's
gonna happen.

Give it some pulls.

Try it again.

Try it again.

Okay, so you got spark,

But it's
not running smoothly, right?

Right.

Do you have any clean gas here?

Yeah.

Feel free to put in that
fresh gas there, dad.

Good man.

Good job.
That's it.

Okay.

This is basically the moment
of truth now, guys.

You ready?
-I'm ready.

♪♪

[ Engine starts ]

Yeah!
Like a sewing machine!

Yeah!
Well, a live sewing machine!

A big sewing machine!

[ Whistles ]
misty!

Joey: hey, ash! Come here!
Come here. Come here.

-That's cool.
-Yeah.

Ashley: it's amazing.

So right now, if this thing
works, 2,000 feet down,

It's pumping oil
and trapped gas.

Right.

Narrator: the horizontal arm
on the top of the pump jack

Drives the long, vertical,
steel pump rod 2,000 feet down.

This sucks oil out of the sand
and up through a central pipe.

Any gas will then rise to the
surface under its own pressure.

I don't see any oil
getting pumped out,

So we might have issues.

Oh! Look!
-Whoo!

Nice.

-We've struck oil!
-Yes, we did!

It's the most amazing thing
to see oil energy

Just coming out of the ground.

I mean, literally, like,


Away from their front door
out of this pump jack.

It's totally amazing.

Marty: we're gonna see
if we got natural gas.

We're gonna flare it.

Narrator: flaring, lighting
the gas direct from the pump,

Will prove to marty
that natural gas

Is being drawn up
from the well.

Everybody ready?

-Ready.
-Ready.

Off the record,
I'm a total pyro.

Sorry.

Did it end up
in the dna of my kids?

Absolutely.

Tell me when.

Marty: give me
the slightest crack.

Go.

All right.
Oh, man!

-Oh!
-Whoo!

Whoo!
It worked!

-Yeah!
-Whoa!

Whoo!

I love it.

Do we pay a little
extra fire insurance

On our place in alaska?

You tell me.

-Yeah!
-What do you think?

-It's great.
-You like it?

This is the best thing
that could happen today.

This is amazing.

Read that.
How many pounds you got?

Ashley: 11.

Narrator: 11 pounds per
square inch of pressure

Should be enough to supply
all the needs of the homestead.

This is an unbelievable
giant leap forward,

But to get that gas from
the wellhead to their cabin

And to other locations here,

We've got a lot of
work ahead of us.

Misty, shut her down!

♪♪

Narrator: the next morning,
marty is ready for action.

What are you doing?

Well, got a few items that
we're gonna need today.

We're about to do
something very cool

That we've never done
at a homestead yet.

Narrator: the plan is use
a $170 conversion kit,

Allowing the raneys' gasoline
generator to run on natural gas.

This will power a $250 pump

That should supply joey
and ashley with water 24/7.

This goes on the front
of the carburetor,

And then we hook this
basically safety diaphragm

Up to the natural gas line
and turn on the natural gas.

I didn't know it was
possible to do that.

Yeah.
It's cool.

Let's make the conversion.

Get that air cleaner
off, please.

Marty: listen.

An engine is basically
a controlled expl*si*n.

I don't care if it's
running off gasoline.

I don't care if it's propane.

I don't care.

I mean, I'll take that pipe and
shove it in the back of a cow.

That's methane.

The point...

[ Laughter ]

This thing will run, fact.

♪♪

Narrator:
with water soon to be on tap,

Misty and ashley
can start to address

The homestead's
critical lack of food.

Misty: you need to get out
of the weather,

And you need to get
in a greenhouse.

Extend your growing season,

So we're gonna build
a hoop house out of pvc pipe,

And then we're
gonna heat it.

It's super easy.

It's super cheap,

And I've seen materials
around here that we can use.

Oh, wow. Okay.
Well, that's exciting.

Misty's plan is to build
a $500 hoop greenhouse.

Plastic tubing will be bent
across a timber frame,

Then covered with
plastic sheeting.

Hose pipes attached to marty's
gas-powered water pump

Will feed four raised beds,

And a gas heater
will allow the keffers

To grow crops year-round.

When's the last time
you did this,

A big
construction project?

Oh, something like this?
Never.

-Never.
-Joey is the builder.

I've always just kind
of been the one

To just hold things
in place and...

Okay.
Why is that?

I wish I could help out more,
if I knew what I was doing.

Misty: ashley, you know,
in her own words,

She does a lot
of the woman's work,

But there's no such thing
as woman's work

And man's work
on a homestead.

That type of mentality
doesn't work.

It's everybody doing
everything every day.

Let's get
our first hoop up.

Okay.

And then,
hold your side down.

Narrator: it's time for ashley
to learn homesteading,

Misty-style.

Does this guy fit in here?

We'll cut some more
of these at 2 feet.

Hit right here.

Way stronger
than you look.

I'm really impressed
with misty.

She works really hard.

She knows a lot.

I mean, I'm used to basically
the stereotypical woman's work,

But she doesn't do that.

She does much, much more.

Marty: pull it.

Narrator: straight ahead,
it all comes down

To marty's macgyver generator.

Come on, baby!

And his gas-powered plan
is under serious pressure.

Marty: if this gauge gets
any lower, yeah,

We have issues, real issues.

Narrator:
in the wilds of ohio,

The raneys are answering
the plea

From a desperate father.

Eric: I worry about them.

The homestead
is below unlivable.

Narrator: marty is staking

Joey and ashley keffer's
entire future

On an 80-year-old gas well...

-Whoo!
-Yeah!

Narrator: ...that he hopes
can provide the power

To grow food, pump water

And protect them
from predators.

On this homestead, they have
a natural resource

More valuable than gold,

But to get it up to their cabin
and appliances and lighting,

That's another animal.

♪♪

Narrator: the first project
marty is hooking up

To the old pump jack

Is a gas-powered generator
and water pump.

Just go 20 feet.

But matt also has a gas build,

A bright idea to tackle
ashley's predator-filled

Nighttime outhouse trips.

So these animals are
just coming in at night

Under the cover of darkness,

And there's nothing really
that's warding them off.

I think it's a really good idea
to just add a gas lamp

On that dangerous journey,
you know, for ashley.

Narrator:
he's using traditional lamps

And attaching them
to the top of locust wood logs.

I cut a groove
in this area for the plumbing

Because I can just shave it down
a little bit at a time.

It's pretty medieval, you know,
and it's definitely old-school.

I mean, animals are cautious,

And it's gonna make
any kind of predator

Think twice about
coming across this field.

♪♪

Perfect.

Narrator:
over at the hoop greenhouse,

Misty's apprentice
has made the final cut.

We finished the greenhouse.

That is awesome news.

-Done.
-Awesome.

Now we are going to
build a chicken coop.

Good. Yes.
Yeah.

It's building a box
and putting a roof on it.

We'll run some chicken wire

And have a nice
little chicken run.

-Ready?
-Yes.

-Okay.
-I am so ready.

Narrator: misty and ashley
get to work

On the plywood chicken coop

That'll provide the keffers
with a vital source of protein.

Misty:
the great thing about ashley is,

She's eager,
and she's a quick learner.

I mean, you can be fooled
because she looks petite,

But she's actually
really capable.

Oh, yes!
I did it!

Perfection.

I think I'll kind
of blow joey away.

He'll...i think he'll be quite
impressed with my abilities now.

Back in alaska,
matt has chickens,

And I have a 5-year-old,

So we're up
before anyone else.

And every morning,
we sneak over to matt's,

And we steal
all of the eggs.

We don't leave any
for anybody,

And we make the best
breakfasts ever.

And then matt wonders
why his chickens never lay.

Yeah.

Matt thinks something is wrong
with his chickens,

But really, I'm what's
wrong with his chickens.

♪♪

Okay, buddy.
It's the moment of truth.

We've got gas
to the engine.

Narrator: finally, marty's
gas-powered water pump

Is all set to fire up.

It's a crucial first test for
the 80-year-old gas well.

Matt! Misty!
[ Whistles ]

Eric: you're gonna want
to see this.

-What is it?
-It's one of a kind.

Okay, so you guys know,
we've got the flame thrower

Going down over the bank,

But we've introduced
that natural gas

Right into the carburetor
on this generator,

And p.s., The raneys are giving
you guys their generators.

You're giving them
the raney-rator?

You're giving them the old
generator that barely works?

As you can see, I didn't
tell them about this plan.

If this engine works, you're
gonna have endless amounts

Of water, super easy,
zero effort.

If it works, it's going
to be a miracle,

But we're going
to try it right now.

[ Engine sputtering ]

[ Engine starts ]

[ All cheering ]

There's your water.

Nice bucket!

That's a lot more
than I can pull out!

Narrator: four days ago,
joey was the only one

Who could hand-haul water


Now the keffers have water
at the touch of a button

And can run water lines to
the greenhouse and their cabin.

Now I can get water myself

Instead of depending on my
husband every single time.

Eric: yeah.
Look at that.

Narrator: marty keeps running
the generator

To check the gas well

Can provide water
to the homestead 24/7,

But at 30 minutes in,
there's a problem.

Let me go check that gas.

I don't understand.

That's basically half
the pressure we've had.

Narrator: the gas pressure has
suddenly dropped

From 11 to 5 psi.

Marty: I mean, that's
concerning. That's bad.

Misty has asked me
to heat the greenhouse.

Matt wants some light.

I'm thinking about
a cooking range

And a heating source
for that cabin.

I mean, if this gauge
gets any lower, yeah,

We have issues, real issues.

If this thing fails,
the homestead will fail.

Narrator: in ohio,

The raneys have been called
to save a couple

In crisis, stranded
in an on-grid hellhole.

This isn't
a representation of us

Or how we live
or who we are at all.

Marty's plan to resurrect
their dream homestead

Depends on an old gas well.

Like a sewing machine.

But the gas pressure
is fluctuating wildly.

Marty: this used to read
almost 12 pounds.

It's been as low as 3,
and now it's back up to 7.

♪♪

Narrator:
with just 2 days left,

Marty needs to find a solution

To safeguard the keffers'
water supply.

We are gonna build
a water tower,

A gravity-feed water system
for this homestead.

We won't have to rely on
the generator to fill buckets.

Narrator: marty will use trees
from the forest

To build
a 10-foot-high platform.

A 300-gallon water tank on top

Can be filled
in just 20 minutes,

Providing an entire week's
worth of water

That can then be gravity-fed
around the homestead

On tap at any time of day,

But it's an extra build on top
of an already packed schedule.

I know how much work
has to be done here.

This isn't playtime.

They got to put on
their big-boy pants

And give it h-e
double hockey sticks,

Or it's not gonna work.

Good job.
No time to spare.

Quick. Quick.
Quick.



Thank you.

This thing will last longer
with the bark off of it

Once it's buried in the ground.

Does this look hard?
-Yeah.

Wrong answer.
Okay.

Guess what's going
to happen next.

-I'm gonna do it.
-Exactly.

The whole tree.

Question -- why are you
standing there?

This is what I like to see
on a homestead, right?

The father and son working
together, people are sweating.

I love it.

[ Whistles ]
look! Whoo!

Hand me a saw, please.

I don't see a saw in my hand.

Quick. Quick. Quick.
Push. Push. Push.

Joey: I get marty's intensity.
I do.

I don't even know how to
describe it other than intense,

And that doesn't do it justice.

Marty:
slide it over there, please.

But I got to prove to them
that we're serious about this.



Keep busting my a*s
until everything is done.

Narrator: just 5 hours later,
the water tower is finished.

-What do you think?
-I think that's really cool.

That's really...yeah.
It's awesome.

-Okay.
-Yes.

Just when you two thought
you were gonna

Just hug each other

As the sun goes down
on some romantic ohio,

You know, storybook
homestead tale, unh-unh.

Hey, mist.
-What?

Draw a line from there
to there on the grass.

That's gonna be a trench
this deep and that wide.

It's gonna be a water line
to the greenhouse.

You can see right now
that's a big task.

Yeah.
It is.

Get a good night's rest

Because it's going
to all begin tomorrow.

Let's go!
-All right.

[ Animals howling ]

Narrator: the raneys arrive
early the next morning,

But the keffers
have beaten them to it.

-Nuh-uh.
-Hold on.

You got to be kidding me.

Misty: what time did you guys
get up this morning?

-5:45.
-You guys. Nuh-uh.

-Yeah.
-You dug this by hand.

-Yeah.
-Look how deep it is.

I think
it's about 34 inches.

You guys!

This is the most
impressive thing I've ever seen

On any homestead ever,
and that's a fact.

I would totally
agree with that.

Ashley came a long ways
from doing laundry and dishes.

She's out digging
a 3-foot-deep trench.

She's just blowing
my mind right now.

"Homestead rescue,"

You don't think this girl
is a homesteader?

Show him your résumé.

Huh?

I always knew she had it in her
to do this kind of stuff.

She just had to find it,
and I'm very impressed with her.

As ridiculous as it sounds,
it was nice digging.

We're talking
and spending time together.

Narrator:
marty and matt waste no time

Filling the trench
with underground pipework

That'll bring water
to the entire homestead.

Matt:
it's in the ground, right?

Now it's up to
the gas-powered water pump

To do its job
and fill the tank.

Let's go.
Let's fill it.

Okay.

♪♪

[ Engine starts ]

♪♪

Matt: more gas?

♪♪

That's not good.

Marty: we don't have enough
gas pressure,

And that really,
really makes me unhappy.

Stand by.

Narrator: the fluctuating gas
pressure has dropped again,

This time to 2 psi.

Marty: we got issues.

Everything is completely
dependent on the gas.

Joey: and now
we have pressure issues.

Yeah.

He could hardly get
the generator running.

We're definitely not going
to pump the water up there,

Do something in the house.

I don't think
it's gonna work.

Hmm.

Are we in a spot
where we can leave town?

No, not even close.
-Mnh-mnh.

Then we're just
kind of screwed.

Narrator: just one hour later,

The pressure
is still fluctuating.

We don't have one thing
hooked up to this

Except the generator.

It's something down there
in that hole,

Something 2,000 feet down.

We need to build up all the gas
we can and store it.

That is
an incredibly good idea.

Straight ahead, the raneys roll
the dice on one last gas fix.

Turn the valves.
Make sure all the valves are on.

The whole homestead rides
on one flip of the switch.

Narrator: in ohio, the raneys
are running out of options

To save an abandoned homestead.

Marty has placed all his bets
on an old gas well...

That's basically half
the pressure we've had.

Narrator: ...but it's a gamble
that isn't paying off.

If we hook up a heater,
a range, a generator,

Lights and heat
a greenhouse,

This thing is not going
to produce enough gas.

♪♪

So you get it as tight
as you can

Without ripping
the fence out.

Narrator:
it's the raneys' final day,

And everyone is hoping
for a marty miracle.

Misty: I can see kind of the
worry on joey and ashley's face.

The gas pressure needs
to be sorted out

Because a lot of things rely

On that being a resource
on this homestead,

But I know my dad,

And I know he's going
to make something work.

He has to at this point.

Matt: come on down, dad.
Bring it on.

Ashley: what does he have?

Narrator: the homestead survival
now rests on a rusty,


From the junkyard

For just 200 bucks.

Okay, guys.

I got all excited the first day
I got here about natural gas,

But we've seen the gas
pressure fluctuate

Down there at the wellhead.

I've tried everything,
and it's come down to this.

Just like how we
built that tower

And put that water
tank up there.

Right.

This tank
can do the same thing.

Narrator: the plan is to fill
the tank with 500 gallons

Of reliable stored gas,

Protected from the fluctuating
pressure 2,000 feet down.

The keffers can then pump water,
run a gas range,

Heat the cabin and greenhouse

And light the route
to the outhouse.

If this thing works as a holding
tank, you should be good to go.

Narrator: marty and matt race to
hook up the tank to the well,

And with the pressure at a solid


Marty:
soon as I crack this valve,

The pressure is going
to fill this tank.

Matt, open it up!

All right.
Wide-open.

I hear gas.

Yeah.
It's filling.

I can hear it.

The gauge is rising.

Come on.
Look at this.

Yeah.
Listen to this.

This should be enough gas
to run anything

And everything
at the same time.

That's the theory.

Come on. Let's go.
Let's test it.

The whole homestead rides
on one flip of the switch.

If the gas well doesn't work,
we're stuck in town

For however
much longer, too long.

Okay.
Turn the valves.

Make sure all the valves are on.

You coming in here?

Oh, yeah, natural gas.

Oh, lord.

Wow.
Look at that thing.

Joey: wow.

Oh, yeah.
Look. Look. Look.

Look at that blue flame.

Come on.
Let's light some lights.

Matt: it should work.

Unbelievable.

Gas on.

There it is.

You can come out here and have
a tomato in january if you want.

This thing is a cooker.

Matt, fire it up!

[ Engine starts ]

Narrator: but the ultimate test

Is whether
the gas pressure will hold

When running
the generator and pump

That provides water
to the homestead.

Oh, yeah.
We're getting water.

We have water
in the greenhouse.

Yeah!

This is just awesome.

I mean, I don't have
to do anything really.

I can just watch it
water my garden.

Narrator:
as the sun begins to set,

Marty has one last surprise
for the keffers.

All right, guys.
You're ready to take a shower.

Untie this from the tree.
-Uh-huh.

This gravities down.

Dead center,
it hangs over the burner,

So now it's a hot water heater.

Please come into
the shower, please.

Turn it on, please.
-Turn it on? Okay.

Turn it on, kid.

That's my girl.

Ashley: that's so cool.

Hot water will
come out of there.

-Wow.
-That's really cool.

I'm so excited.

Narrator: seven days ago,
the keffers were stuck

In a run-down suburban house
struggling to pay the bills.

Their deserted homestead
was a cold, dark cabin

With no food, unreliable water
and predators

Stalking them
under the cover of darkness.

Now, thanks to marty
firing up an old gas well,

The keffers have fuel for heat
and cooking throughout.

Water pumped by
a gas-powered generator

Runs to every corner
of the homestead.

Gosh.
Yeah, there's a lot of pressure.

Narrator: ashley's nighttime
journey to the outhouse

Has been lit
to ward off bears and coyotes,

And a heated greenhouse and a
predator-proof chicken coop...

Finally here.

...provide an all-year-round
food supply.

Now the keffers can finally
become homesteaders.

Marty: dad, you're the one
that started all this.

Okay?

I mean, what are you
thinking right now?

I'm thinking I'm grateful
to the raneys.

I'm thinking I'm proud
of my son and his wife,

And I am so excited that
they finally get to come here

And live their dream.

You're a team,
and I'll tell you right now,

When it comes to homesteading,
you're one heck of a team.

Joey: my dad is proud
of what we do down here.

I feel incredible now.

I mean, any dark feeling
that I've had, that's gone.

We can finally be happy
and start a new life.

♪♪

Marty: right now, tonight,
as the sun sets in ohio,

That's a happy couple.

-Goodbye, you guys!
-Bye.

-Woo-hoo!
-See you!

Odel-ay-hee-hoo!

Ashley:
after you guys left,

We went back
to town for one day,

Went to work and decided
we couldn't do this anymore.

We were done, so we packed up
and moved down here.

Joey:
the garden is doing great.

Look how much taller
the peppers are

Than when we planted them.

Back there, the tomatoes,

They're just now
starting to change.

When you guys left, that was
on 7, and now it's reading 6.8,

So that's awesome,
and we use it every single day.

Now that we have these lamp
posts that matt made us,

It's a lot less scary to go
to the outhouse at nights.

We took the leap,
and we're doing good so far.