We Just Had A power Outage!

Hansa44

Hansa44

Justine Case
I know outages are common but unless you're prepared they can be disturbing.

The first things I noticed was no way to make coffee. :eek:

And I didn't have batteries in my radio.:shr:

And I have a freezer full of food I was concerned about.:shk:

And it's next to the hottest day of the year and I have a certain comfort zone I like to maintain.:rolleyes:

I then remembered all my stuff in Public Storage (supplies) but if their gates don't work because of no power my stuff won't do me any good. But where I live, my garage is controlled electronically so I couldnt get in there either.

Fortunately it was only off about an hour but it sure makes you realize the mess you'd be in if your stuff is spread out. Good attention getter.
 
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eXe

eXe

Techno Junkie
Buy yourself a coffee press. We have 4 of them and they come in handy for power outages.. very simple to use. Just boil water (We also have propane camp stoves for backup and they have come in handy in the past), put in coffee in the press, fill the pot up with water, put the lid on the press and push down. It will put all the grounds on the bottom and you will have a few nice cups of coffee quick.
 
Anne in TN

Anne in TN

Deceased
We had a 3 hour outage last Sunday. It was such fun! Hubby cranked up our propane generator and got our computer, lights, fridge and freezer all going. We have a second gas genny that we did not run but it would have taken care of the well pump. We also have a full size propane gas stove for back up so we could have made coffee on it had we wanted to.

I love test runs like that.
 
Hansa44

Hansa44

Justine Case
eXe said:
Buy yourself a coffee press. We have 4 of them and they come in handy for power outages.. very simple to use. Just boil water (We also have propane camp stoves for backup and they have come in handy in the past), put in coffee in the press, fill the pot up with water, put the lid on the press and push down. It will put all the grounds on the bottom and you will have a few nice cups of coffee quick.
Click to expand...

Yep. I have a propane stove. In storage. I am more inclined to just get a jar of freeze dried coffee tho'. I don't like it but it's better than nothing. (Well, almost better than nothing)
 
Teeja

Teeja

On the Beach
eXe said:
Buy yourself a coffee press. We have 4 of them and they come in handy for power outages.. very simple to use. Just boil water (We also have propane camp stoves for backup and they have come in handy in the past), put in coffee in the press, fill the pot up with water, put the lid on the press and push down. It will put all the grounds on the bottom and you will have a few nice cups of coffee quick.
Click to expand...

+1 on the coffee press. You may wish to stir the pot after you put the grounds in, then wait about 4 minutes before you "push the plunger" down, to make the coffee a bit stronger and make your coffee stash last longer.

A french coffee press should be #1 on anyone's prep list, IMHO. :)

I have this one, (pictured below) which has lasted me for years. It's bomb-proof. I switched to this one after breaking 2 of the glass ones (one of which shattered as I poured the hot water into it):

411QPS04P3L._SL500_AA280_.jpg


Mmmmm..... COFFEE!!! :cmpcf:

(always willing to turn any thread into a coffee thread) :whistle:
 
D

Double_A

TB Fanatic
Oh yea one of those moments when you wake up and say to yourself oh crap!

I had one of those about 25 yrs ago that fueled my prepper nature,

Power went out at work mid december. After two hours it was nearing lunchtime so I figured I'd just drive home for lunch as I normally would.

I took off and drove one block before I encountered a big jam-up at a non-working traffic light. Got through it after 10mins, drove two blocks and encountered a second jammed intersection with a non-functioning light.

Forget this! I hung a u-turn and drove back. Having to wait again at the first light I was stuck at I got even more frustrated and I was hungry.

So I got through that traffic jamb and decided, I'll just go to the Taco place across from work! Pulled into the parking lot, they were dark and a hand written sign said "Closed, no electricity"

Crap again!

So fine I'll just go back to work and get a cup of coffee and a candy bar in the vending machine.

NOPE!

Vending machine was dark and would not work without electricity. The coffee was gone and there was no making any more until the power came back on!

From that moment on I carried a thermos of HOT water to work everyday during the winter. I kept packages of Hot Chocolate Mix, Tea Bags, Instant Coffee & Lipton Instant soup.

I bought a plug in the outlet Powerfail light at Radioshack that would come in when power goes out.
 
fairbanksb

fairbanksb

Freedom Isn't Free
A portable generator has no problems running a coffee pot a refrigerator and a fan or small room air conditioner.:whistle:
 
Maryh

Maryh

Veteran Member
We've had 3 power outages since last March. Firswt one flooded the basement because the battery backup sump pump had a dead cell and the gas generator had not been run and the old gas built up varnish in the engine. What a mess. They are all working now and we were ready last time but didn't need gen back up battery worked. Bought a Freeplay windup radio and that was awesome. 60 windups and you get 15 minutes. Great reception also have a windup flashlight but lights only a short time before needing another windup. Our power was off 36 hours from an ice storm and we are only 20 miles north of Dayton. We also added a hand pump on top of our well casing. Water horribly rusty but drinkable!
Didn't like it. Give me electricity any day!!!
 
eXe

eXe

Techno Junkie
Teeja I like that coffee press.. one of the reasons we have 4 is because they are all glass. I figure post SHTF, one might get broken so I got extras whenI saw them cheap.

I may have to buy that one now :) Anyone want 4 slightly used glass coffee presses? :lol:
 
Loretta Van Riet

Loretta Van Riet

Trying to hang out with the cool kids.
Hansa44, we lost power for 3 1/2 days last August. My biggest concern was no cool air movement in the house. Made it difficult to sleep. I was very surprised that the QUIET bothered me. I am so used to the background noises in my home... the little humm of appliances, etc.

We had lent out our generator the previous week to a relative with a power outage and so were without it (DH kept ribbing me about that).

Coffee was not an issue as we learn from past outages what is really important to us. So we had coffe... just NO FAN. We now have two mid-sized battery operated fans I found at Walmart (use D size batteries)

Oh, and I found I like to have talk radio quietly in the background. It seemed more "normal" to me. We have several radios that operate either by crank or batteries.

Did you miss anything else from your everyday routine?


Loretta V.
 
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fairbanksb

fairbanksb

Freedom Isn't Free
Maryh said:
We've had 3 power outages since last March. Firswt one flooded the basement because the battery backup sump pump had a dead cell and the gas generator had not been run and the old gas built up varnish in the engine. What a mess. They are all working now and we were ready last time but didn't need gen back up battery worked. Bought a Freeplay windup radio and that was awesome. 60 windups and you get 15 minutes. Great reception also have a windup flashlight but lights only a short time before needing another windup. Our power was off 36 hours from an ice storm and we are only 20 miles north of Dayton. We also added a hand pump on top of our well casing. Water horribly rusty but drinkable!
Didn't like it. Give me electricity any day!!!
Click to expand...

Thanx for getting me off my dead butt. I mentioned the generator then read your post and realized I hadn't had mine running in a while. Just pulled it outside and cranked it up. It's running now. Thanx again.
 
Hansa44

Hansa44

Justine Case
Loretta Van Riet said:
Hansa44, we lost power for 3 1/2 days last August. My biggest concern was no cool air movement in the house. Made it difficult to sleep. I was very surprised that the QUIET bothered me. I am so used to the background noises in my home... the little humm of appliances, etc.

We had lent out our generator the previous week to a relative with a power outage and so were without it (DH kept ribbing me about that).

Coffee was not an issue as we learn from past outages what is really important to us. So we had coffe... just NO FAN. We now have two mid-sized battery operated fans I found at Walmart (use D size batteries)

Oh, and I found I like to have talk radio quietly in the background. It seemed more "normal" to me. We have several radios that operate either by crank or batteries.

Did you miss anything else from your everyday routine?


Loretta V.
Click to expand...


Actually my instantaneous reaction was I missed a number of things. My computer was a big loss. But if the power had been out for any length of time I'm pretty good at entertaining myself and it's a good time to meet neighbors. (If you're in an apt. complex.)

I have battery operated clocks (atomic) so that wasn't an issue. Have plenty of food. Seldom let the gas in my car get below half a tank so at this point I think I can say "no" to your question.

I absolutely HAVE to go over and get my propane stove today. That was the biggest loss I felt. There would be more by the end of the day, I'm sure.
 
TECH32

TECH32

Inactive
fairbanksb said:
Thanx for getting me off my dead butt. I mentioned the generator then read your post and realized I hadn't had mine running in a while. Just pulled it outside and cranked it up. It's running now. Thanx again.
Click to expand...

Just make sure to run it under load or it might not produce electricity when you need it.
 
D

Double_A

TB Fanatic
Teeja said:
+1 on the coffee press. You may wish to stir the pot after you put the grounds in, then wait about 4 minutes before you "push the plunger" down, to make the coffee a bit stronger and make your coffee stash last longer.

A french coffee press should be #1 on anyone's prep list, IMHO. :)

I have this one, (pictured below) which has lasted me for years. It's bomb-proof. I switched to this one after breaking 2 of the glass ones (one of which shattered as I poured the hot water into it):

411QPS04P3L._SL500_AA280_.jpg


Mmmmm..... COFFEE!!! :cmpcf:

(always willing to turn any thread into a coffee thread) :whistle:
Click to expand...

Very sleek! But Pricey. I ordered one from Amazon.com anyway. I've broken two glass presses. With this being double walled all stainless steel, it should last a long time.
 
B

big_sarge

Inactive
My two cents

Hansa,

This is constructive criticism, not an attack on you.

If you are looking to be prepared then you must consider what will happen in the beautiful PNW.

BTW -- I grew up in Portland...graduated from Franklin High and OSU.

But some of the biggest things you would have to prep for are...

a volcano...highly unlikely but Mt. St. Helens shows we cannot rule this out. Just think if this had blown towards PDX.

an earthquake...say that there was a moderate EQ this morning on the Juan de Fuca fault. Say this is what caused your power to go out.

How prepared would you truly be...it sounds like you have many single points of failure based on power. I know that no plan is perfect but if you assess the likely events that could happen and then try to mitigate the effects of those you may be better off than just buying a few things and storing them somewhere.

Just my two cents...it's better to learn this way than the hard way.
 
Milk-maid

Milk-maid

Girls with Guns Member
I have a feeling that as soon as the summer is in full swing we are going to see a lot more brown-outs and black-outs making the rounds. We should all be prepared for these. I bet they do this just to conserve fuel.

Second thing, I remember reading some time ago where a neighborhood was without power for several mornings in a row and no one could get their cars out of their garages to go to work, because of electric garage door openers. This is why I asked hubby not to put one on the new garage. Anyone else remember reading this?

Power outages affect us in the strangest ways.

MM
 
fairbanksb

fairbanksb

Freedom Isn't Free
Milk-maid said:
I have a feeling that as soon as the summer is in full swing we are going to see a lot more brown-outs and black-outs making the rounds. We should all be prepared for these. I bet they do this just to conserve fuel.

Second thing, I remember reading some time ago where a neighborhood was without power for several mornings in a row and no one could get their cars out of their garages to go to work, because of electric garage door openers. This is why I asked hubby not to put one on the new garage. Anyone else remember reading this?

Power outages affect us in the strangest ways.

MM
Click to expand...


All garage door openers I have ever seen have a pull cord that disengages the door opener so you can open it by hand. I know mine has one.
 
L

Les

Inactive
Hansa44 said:
I know outages are common but unless you're prepared they can be disturbing.

The first things I noticed was no way to make coffee. :eek:

And I didn't have batteries in my radio.:shr:

And I have a freezer full of food I was concerned about.:shk:

And it's next to the hottest day of the year and I have a certain comfort zone I like to maintain.:rolleyes:

I then remembered all my stuff in Public Storage (supplies) but if their gates don't work because of no power my stuff won't do me any good. But where I live, my garage is controlled electronically so I couldnt get in there either.

Fortunately it was only off about an hour but it sure makes you realize the mess you'd be in if your stuff is spread out. Good attention getter.
Click to expand...

I Kept stuff in a public storage for 5 years, cost a bit over $70 dollars a month. Then I saw an add for a place that would build me a nice very well built storage shed, my color scheme, well pretty much to my specifications,delivered to my lot and rent it to me with 1/2 the rent going towards purchase. The one I got cost me a bit over $70 a month and in 4 years it was mine. That was a lot better than walking away from public storage after 5 years....I've bought 2 sheds from him. The guy has a pretty good business going.

I have all my stuff on my property...
Les
 
fairbanksb

fairbanksb

Freedom Isn't Free
Milk-maid said:
I remember reading that too, but people said the door was too hard to get open manually.
Click to expand...

If you already open and close it manually then you can do it when you disengage the electric door opener. It doesn't change the operation of the door.
 
Hansa44

Hansa44

Justine Case
fairbanksb said:
If you already open and close it manually then you can do it when you disengage the electric door opener. It doesn't change the operation of the door.
Click to expand...


There's a box by the door that you have to punch the numbers into. It's a rented garage along with 5 others side by side. Not able to disengage anything. An axe might work.
 
nharrold

nharrold

Inactive
Hansa44 said:
There's a box by the door that you have to punch the numbers into. It's a rented garage along with 5 others side by side. Not able to disengage anything. An axe might work.
Click to expand...

Look closely at the belt trolley or gear rider that physically moves the door open and closed. You will see a short lever that can be used to disengage the electrical component and allow you to open the door manually. (The string that is typically tied to the lever for your convenience may have been lost in the shuffle...)
 
Hansa44

Hansa44

Justine Case
nharrold said:
Look closely at the belt trolley or gear rider that physically moves the door open and closed. You will see a short lever that can be used to disengage the electrical component and allow you to open the door manually. (The string that is typically tied to the lever for your convenience may have been lost in the shuffle...)
Click to expand...


Thanks. Just printed this out. There are times I've wanted to work in the garage without the whole darn neighborhood watching me.
 
D

DrJerry

Inactive
You guys need to live in the mountains. We get power outages at least once every winter, sometimes several times. We have propane stove, kerosene heater, which doubles as a coffee warmer, oil lamps, and a battery operated TV. If we get snowed in without power, we huddle next to the kero heater and watch 10" TV. While drinking hot chocolate. :whistle:
 
H

Hermit

Inactive
Hansa44 said:
Yep. I have a propane stove. In storage. I am more inclined to just get a jar of freeze dried coffee tho'. I don't like it but it's better than nothing. (Well, almost better than nothing)
Click to expand...
That's something that shouldn't be in storage.

My two-burner Coleman stove bit the dust yesterday, just when I really need one. Propane cylinder wouldn't screw into the threaded thingy, which apparently is stripped.

Everyone should have at least two easily portable stoves for cooking, a bigger clunky one that takes cheap 1 lb cylinders of propane, and a backpacker type that is small, lightweight, and burns something better than propane for cold weather.

I'm not happy, I had to go start an illegal campfire out in the woods to cook my chicken and veggies before they went bad. Anyone ever try to burn redwood? It is not very easy and doesn't give off much heat. It must have taken an hour (though it WAS an entire chicken deboned) cooked in water (which never even came to a simmer).

Oh well, good thing it's drier now than it was a couple of weeks ago.

My usual way of preparing nonelectric coffee is to use a basket from a coffeemaker, use a paper filter, and pour the boiling water over the grounds. I didn't know stainless steel French presses are available, Teeja!
 
S

Stormy

Inactive
Coleman makes a drip coffeemaker that is designed to sit on a propane stove that works very well. That's what we have.
 
D

Double_A

TB Fanatic
DrJerry said:
You guys need to live in the mountains. We get power outages at least once every winter, sometimes several times. We have propane stove, kerosene heater, which doubles as a coffee warmer, oil lamps, and a battery operated TV. If we get snowed in without power, we huddle next to the kero heater and watch 10" TV. While drinking hot chocolate. :whistle:
Click to expand...

Don't forget to get an Digital to Analog converter if your portable TV is older. It won't after Feb 09 when we go to all digital.
 
fairbanksb

fairbanksb

Freedom Isn't Free
Stormy said:
Coleman makes a drip coffeemaker that is designed to sit on a propane stove that works very well. That's what we have.
Click to expand...

I have to get me one of those. We have the coleman portable camp oven that sits on the stove and I do have a small percolating coffee pot but I don't think it makes more than a couple of cups of coffee.
 
S

Stormy

Inactive
It makes a full 12 cups, fairbanks, and works great! We used it once this winter when our power was out due to blizzard conditions. I got it a couple of years ago and IIRC it was about $37.00.
 
K

kelee877

Veteran Member
COFFEE...cheap and easiest way to make coffee...but a fondue pot... a used clean one...does up water for coffee in a pinch....

We have about 5-6 fondue pots....the fuel for them is cheap at the dollar store and the bottle goes a long way....

When SHTF..we will use one for warming soups...one for warming water...one for the pasta,s and rice...and one for oil for meats...

they are cheap and easy to store...you can even store the fuel in the house
 
K

kelee877

Veteran Member
I know most people don,t like instant but in an emergency coffee is coffee....boil the water on the fondue...
 
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S

sparkky

Inactive
for us propane types, Coleman makes an accessory called a "propane tree".
it securely attaches to a BBQ grill tank and has 3 threaded outlets. I keep a lantern permanently on the top and have a hose I use to feed the 2 burner camp stove. I can get it in from the garage and set up in about 10-15 minutes. it works great!! neat, clean, quick and easy.

also keep an old 6-8 cup perk coffee maker in the pantry, we're morning coffee people too!! LOL

while rearranging the garage/pantry a while back I ran across our 2 other propane lanterns so I put new mantles on them and got them ready to go. forgot what a PAIN dealing with those silk mantles is!!
I keep the lanterns hanging from the garage ceiling on wires for easy access and keep the mantles safe.

a 2500 watt 12v/125v inverter to run from a vehicle battery is a wise investment also. it's enough to keep the fridge and freezer cold.

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?product_id=5115-775T&categoryid=5600

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?product_id=5475B580T&categoryid=5600
 
MtnGal

MtnGal

Has No Life - Lives on TB
TECH32: "Just make sure to run it under load or it might not produce electricity when you need it."

What does that mean?

The home I moved from was fully generated so everything came on weekly. I've purchased a small one for the new place. Haven't removed it from the box yet. I have to learn now before it is needed...LOL.

How often should I start it? Full load? does that mean actually hook it up to freezer or something?

Thanks, MtnGal
 
zoose

zoose

Inactive
Good Grief Charlie Brown.

Forget about coffee makers and get a GENERATOR.

6000 watts will run a fridge, freezer a TV and other things but it won't run your house.

But it will make things easier.
 
n7ekg

n7ekg

Membership Revoked
I had an urge to go out and get a UPS last weekend (one of those nudges that I know from experience not to ignore), so I picked up one on Sunday and installed it. Wednesday night, the power went out here for 2 hours. I was able to shut down all the computers safely. I was working at the time, no telling how much work I would've lost without the UPS.

Someone was looking out for me, that's for sure! :)
 
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