No Power

[doc pops]

Our power went out at 1030ish last night and did not come back on till 0545 this A.M.. This got me to thinking. Yup we have a geny, yup can get the same water we drink w/o power, cook with gas, have lighting outside via solar.
We have candles, kerosene/hurricane lanterns, and Coleman lanterns. How long would this last?
Security, we have a core group, from 20-30 miles out. They would be in bound. But when?
I only have a half of a tank in my yota, what if it is short term, long term. I would have to show up for work the first day for sure. Then what. I only. Had a half tank. Then we were back to security, I work (2) counties away 54 miles. That leaves my wife and 94 Y/O grandmother at home alone. Yes we do have (2) good biting dog's, yes my wife is armed. My son is about 15 miles out. I don't worry about me, the trappings of the world. See I took a year off some time ago and lived off the land for about 9 month to see if I could. Lost 35 lbs. need a hair cut and a shave. I can do this again, we live in Fl. but to do this with others in tow.
Yup to restocking of fuel, look deeper into solar power, many a couple more dogs. Yea, I will have to get that one past the wife. Then there is more feed to stock. Horse, hog, chickens, goats, dogs.
How much stores is enough? How much garden? Maybe the concentric circle hidden garden?
2 people would have a hard time watching over our property till the group got there. How long till people from the metropolitan areas started to show up. How long till my neighbor's run out of food? He says he will"hunt & trap", though I have never seen or heard tell of him doing it. They have 5 kids. The neighbors north of them have ??
So how do you get those who live for immediate gratification to see the light. Wow.
Things to ponder??
Good luck, be Safe, and God bless you!

 

[jontte]

odd, we had no power yesterday here,the other house had partly,I boild me some water to get coffee with my esbit-cooker, put it on the stove and that was it. my only worry was if it continues my freezer with all goods says good by..no problems now.
have been thinking, mad-Vlad is about to cut gas-supply from us,so perhaps I have slightly colder in here this winter

 

[doc pops]

We are in the process of emptying our freezers. We had 4 down to 2. No kids at home any more. We want to get down to the small one and use the big one only when we slaughter or harvest game. Just for the reason you described. Stay warm brother.
Good luck, be safe, God bless

 

[jontte]

You too Brother!
I wouldn't have that problem,but I keep something stocked there if I have to get my kids here in an emergency, something they like to eat

God Bless You and watch your 6

 

[jimLE]

we've had the electric go out here i don't know how many times..on 2 occasions it was out 4 hours one time..and almost 2 hours another time...if it wasnt for the 3 oil lamps..we weren't prepared for the 4 hours at all..

 

[jontte]

typically, these types of things occur when it's dark never in the height of summer

 

[doc pops]

We live at the end of a power grid. This is an every summer thing. However for some reason this time it got my mind to turning.
God bless

 

[Brent S]

Our power went out at 1030ish last night and did not come back on till 0545 this A.M.. This got me to thinking. Yup we have a geny, yup can get the same water we drink w/o power, cook with gas, have lighting outside via solar.
We have candles, kerosene/hurricane lanterns, and Coleman lanterns. How long would this last?
Security, we have a core group, from 20-30 miles out. They would be in bound. But when?
I only have a half of a tank in my yota, what if it is short term, long term. I would have to show up for work the first day for sure. Then what. I only. Had a half tank. Then we were back to security, I work (2) counties away 54 miles. That leaves my wife and 94 Y/O grandmother at home alone. Yes we do have (2) good biting dog's, yes my wife is armed. My son is about 15 miles out. I don't worry about me, the trappings of the world. See I took a year off some time ago and lived off the land for about 9 month to see if I could. Lost 35 lbs. need a hair cut and a shave. I can do this again, we live in Fl. but to do this with others in tow.
Yup to restocking of fuel, look deeper into solar power, many a couple more dogs. Yea, I will have to get that one past the wife. Then there is more feed to stock. Horse, hog, chickens, goats, dogs.
How much stores is enough? How much garden? Maybe the concentric circle hidden garden?
2 people would have a hard time watching over our property till the group got there. How long till people from the metropolitan areas started to show up. How long till my neighbor's run out of food? He says he will"hunt & trap", though I have never seen or heard tell of him doing it. They have 5 kids. The neighbors north of them have ??
So how do you get those who live for immediate gratification to see the light. Wow.
Things to ponder??
Good luck, be Safe, and God bless you!

Lots of good points doc. I have thought of trying to go without electricity for just a weekend, but with the wife being ill, no a/c isn't an option. I would love to practice, as I feel it is only a matter of time before it becomes a reality. Maybey this winter I can talk her into it. I think security is going to be tough for everyone. As you pointed out, it's not just marauders from the cities to deal with, but neighbors in your community. Even good people can loose their values when their children are hungry. I actually had working on the fence (so I can get two outside dogs) on my work list for this weekend. I really don't have too much more to get the property closed off, it's just been so hot that I lost any passion for finishing it. I am trying to get an lp regulator for my generator so I don't have to worry about gasoline, but even with a 500gal tank, how long will it last? You can't prepare for everything, but I think learning to do things without power will help ease us all into what I fear is on the horizon. I keep working towards goals I set for prepping, but sure wish I had a small group to share the work together with. Well, was good to hear from you doc. Sometimes if you think of all we need to do at once it can seem overwhelming. I guess we just keep plugging along.

 

[Dani]

We went without for two weeks with basically no problems. We did put the freezers on generators. The part I hated was doing the laundry by hand, but you do what you need done.

 

[jontte]

aah,the glorious feeling of doing laundry by hand
I sometimes practise that here...just did it with my boots...no smell, fresh
but would I live rural,that's something I would practise alot..just to be on the safe side what to do if there wouldn't be any electricity

 

[tr2212]

The part I hated was doing the laundry by hand, but you do what you need done.

I've never thought about that before. This may seem like a dumb question, but how do you do it?

 

[jimLE]

not a dumb question..might look into wash tubs and washboards..mainly wash boards..their self explanatory at least up to a point..

 

[jontte]

now you have to help me here friends, what do you call that pump you use when your toilet is clogged?? has a wooden shaft and a rubber thing...
any way, have a brand new one,which I use if I do my washing by hand..put my dirty laundry in a bucket and I use this pump and well,like I would do butter in a churn, up and down...semi-automatic
then I just rinse the laundry..

 

[jimLE]

pump you use when your toilet is clogged?? plunger?...
they're
also good for clogged sink drains as well...use a stopper in one sink while using the plunger in the other sink..that is if you have a double sink.

 

[Maverick]

our power blipped yesterday shutting everything down I think around 2 or 3pm pacific standard time

 

[jontte]

pump you use when your toilet is clogged?? plunger?...
they're
also good for clogged sink drains as well...use a stopper in one sink while using the plunger in the other sink..that is if you have a double sink.

that's the word I was searching....
multifunctional thingy I learned it from my grandma..she never had a washing machine

 

[jontte]

weird...power out here and there..any solarflares you know of??

 

[jimLE]

not that i know of..but yet i aint been keeping up with solar flares for a while now...

 

[Brent S]

now you have to help me here friends, what do you call that pump you use when your toilet is clogged?? has a wooden shaft and a rubber thing...
any way, have a brand new one,which I use if I do my washing by hand..put my dirty laundry in a bucket and I use this pump and well,like I would do butter in a churn, up and down...semi-automatic
then I just rinse the laundry..

Just have two plungers, one for the toilet and one for the laundry!

 

[lonewolf]

we are in an area that is right at the end of the supply chain, for everything not just power, power cuts are a normal part of life, living without power isn't hard to do it just takes a bit of organising and readjusting.

 

[Brent S]

we are in an area that is right at the end of the supply chain, for everything not just power, power cuts are a normal part of life, living without power isn't hard to do it just takes a bit of organising and readjusting.

It will certainly be easier if you plan ahead. I think I could manage ok, but am taking steps towards making it easier. I really wish solar wasnt so darn expensive, even with diy. One thing I need to have ready by spring is a solar pre heater for water. Not only will it help save on the electric bill, but in a loss of power I'm not taking a cold shower!....

 

[QuietH3art]

We are so spoiled. Three years ago, we had a hurricane come through here that had our power out for a week. I was able to borrow a generator and moved the small ac unit from my shed to my living room window.
If we had an outage now, well, no generator and one of my danes chewed the cord off the ac unit anyway. I have enough clothes that I wouldn't have to do laundry for at least 2 weeks.
I can't stand in a cold shower, but I wouldn't have problems with a "washcloth bath" in cold water and now that I've cut my hair short, that's not an issue either.
Yes, I'd be uncomfortable in this heat for a couple of weeks, but I'd live.
I keep very little food in the fridge or freezer so that would be eaten first with very little if any loss, so we could still eat. I do have a propane grill that I can also put charcoal in, if necessary and I have a spare bag of that.
I think my next purchase definitely needs to be a battery or wind up radio, although I can always listen to the radio in my truck or on my cell phone. I can also charge the phone in the truck. Yes, I definitely should get that third backup radio.
I have to say, there isn't much I would miss if we lost electricity for awhile.

 

[Maverick]

or on my cell phone. I can also charge the phone in the truck. Yes, I definitely should get that third backup radio.

Most cell towers have 12hr, 24hr or 3days of backup power of fuel/battery, did your cell work 3yrs ago when you lost power for a week? we have 3 days of cell usage here in a power outage, in the first two days of the outage we had we could only text due to network congestion, internet and phone calls was out of the question on our phones.

 

[QuietH3art]

Most cell towers have 12hr, 24hr or 3days of backup power of fuel/battery, did your cell work 3yrs ago when you lost power for a week? we have 3 days of cell usage here in a power outage, in the first two days of the outage we had we could only text due to network congestion, internet and phone calls was out of the question on our phones.

I'm not worried about being able to call or text anyone. My youngest son lives with me and my youngest daughter lives across the street. My oldest daughter lives 20 minutes away and has the same phone as me so will be in the same "boat" so to speak. But for news updates, I have the possibility of using the phone or the radio in my truck. I did have cell service the entire week we were out 3 years ago.

 

[jontte]

what worries me is my freezer,if something happens during winter,no problems with that,just put food out on my balcony..heating could be a problem, but I have that sorted out soon..
but to be honest,it's amazing how unprepared we are here,can imagine what it would look loke when panic sets in..

 

[Maverick]

We don't keep much in the freezers, I have more ice then food in em so, really no loss.

 

[jimLE]

I'm not worried about being able to call or text anyone. My youngest son lives with me and my youngest daughter lives across the street. My oldest daughter lives 20 minutes away and has the same phone as me so will be in the same "boat" so to speak. But for news updates, I have the possibility of using the phone or the radio in my truck. I did have cell service the entire week we were out 3 years ago.

might try looking into eton radios..they have a solar panel and hand crank for recharging..plus you'd be able to use it for recharging the cell phone,that is if you have a cell phone charger that'll plug into a usb port.plus you can get a power cord for it.not to only keep those batteries charged.but use it to recharge other 3A batteries as well

 

[QuietH3art]

might try looking into eton radios..they have a solar panel and hand crank for recharging..plus you'd be able to use it for recharging the cell phone,that is if you have a cell phone charger that'll plug into a usb port.plus you can get a power cord for it.not to only keep those batteries charged.but use it to recharge other 3A batteries as well

I picked up an Eton radio today, Jim. I wasn't sure about it because I didn't recognize the brand name.

 

[Gazrok]

One of the reasons I'm looking for a diesel generator that is reasonable. A generator or two is great, but eventually, you run out of gas. Stockpiling gasoline is kind of dangerous, yet diesel is much more stable, so doing the same for it is a lot less risky (and easier to get the wife's buy-in).

 

[Brent S]

We are so spoiled. Three years ago, we had a hurricane come through here that had our power out for a week. I was able to borrow a generator and moved the small ac unit from my shed to my living room window.
If we had an outage now, well, no generator and one of my danes chewed the cord off the ac unit anyway. I have enough clothes that I wouldn't have to do laundry for at least 2 weeks.
I can't stand in a cold shower, but I wouldn't have problems with a "washcloth bath" in cold water and now that I've cut my hair short, that's not an issue either.
Yes, I'd be uncomfortable in this heat for a couple of weeks, but I'd live.
I keep very little food in the fridge or freezer so that would be eaten first with very little if any loss, so we could still eat. I do have a propane grill that I can also put charcoal in, if necessary and I have a spare bag of that.
I think my next purchase definitely needs to be a battery or wind up radio, although I can always listen to the radio in my truck or on my cell phone. I can also charge the phone in the truck. Yes, I definitely should get that third backup radio.
I have to say, there isn't much I would miss if we lost electricity for awhile.

I know I could survive, but he-- yes I would miss all the comforts from electricity. I think of when I'm canning. even with the stove and running water it's alot of work. It would be twice as hard having to wash in a creek and heat cans over a wood fire. Dooable, yes, fun no. And a washcloth is definately all I could stand in the cold!