SouthernBreeze
Has No Life - Lives on TB
What was the name of that movie where electricity didn't work anymore?
Revolution? Loved that series.
What was the name of that movie where electricity didn't work anymore?
Goodbye World was one. 2013.What was the name of that movie where electricity didn't work anymore?
~Most folks have whole house gennies here. I judge them useless for long term grid down, although wife really wants one. My plan would be to wire it to very few breakers for very selective and intermittent use: freezer… until freezer contents can be otherwise preserved; water pump for once every other day or less to run well pump to top off water stores (lots of them); recharge 12v batteries if solar is inadequate (short daylight season an cloudy days). I prefer other uses for the propane gennie fuel. Prefer to rely on other energy sources (solar, firewood, propane heat-cook)Makes me wonder about all of these whole house generators that will keep everything running in a power down, long term situation. If you have lights and everything else running, that will surely make people notice. If you have ac, fans, and lights going, chances are they will also know you have plenty of food. You'll become a prime target. Running a whole house generator is much different than just running a quiet small generator a couple of hours every couple of days just to bump up a freezer and fridge.
~Most folks have whole house gennies here. I judge them useless for long term grid down, although wife really wants one. My plan would be to wire it to very few breakers for very selective and intermittent use: freezer… until freezer contents can be otherwise preserved; water pump for once every other day or less to run well pump to top off water stores (lots of them); recharge 12v batteries if solar is inadequate (short daylight season an cloudy days). I prefer other uses for the propane gennie fuel. Prefer to rely on other energy sources (solar, firewood, propane heat-cook)
If yer looking for the book version where electricity stopped working, Steve Sterling wrote a 3-4-5 book series which started with "Dies the Fire"
That is also true. Canning over a fire is possible but very finicky. I'd much rather use propane.Well, since you think I was making blanket condemnations, that was not my intent. But, for those who have been on this forum for years and have made no preps for times of power outages, that just doesn't register on my brain. Canning is all well and good as long as you have propane or other means of powering that canner.
Hey, don't laugh. We'll need those EV chargers to charge our portable power stations when the grid goes down.
This is our local forecast for the next three days. Here in Rawlins we’re just under 7000 ft above sea level…the winter storm watch says 13-18 inches of snow above 7500 ft. Interstate 80 is going to be shut down for at least two days…maybe more…at Elk Mountain…Just an FYI... looking like some nasty winter weather moving in today... would be wise to anticipate power outages with these blizzards...
"Ominous satellite images capture major storm bearing down on West Coast that will cause havoc across US - as forecasters predict three feet of snow, tornadoes, blizzards and heavy rain"
Approaching storm system expected to run havoc across the US
A major storm system brewing in the Pacific is set to hit the US on Saturday and bring snow, tornadoes and heavy rainfall across the country throughout the following week.www.dailymail.co.uk
Anything that makes one more self sustainable would be on that list. Seeds, livestock such as chickens, goats, sheep, rabbits, or cows would help if one really believes hard times are coming. However, I'd think about whether or not I can grow the feed to take care of them, because it's not feasible for a lot of people.Can you provide us with a list? I'm always looking for new ideas. Like I said, generators will only be useful as long as there is gasoline or backup batteries for solar operated ones.
Anything that makes one more self sustainable would be on that list. Seeds, livestock such as chickens, goats, sheep, rabbits, or cows would help if one really believes hard times are coming. However, I'd think about whether or not I can grow the feed to take care of them, because it's not feasible for a lot of people.
Do I expect total blackouts nation wide? Not this year or the next 5.OP needs a runtime.
Nationwide Blackouts Possible
Yeah, probably not.
High grade fear porn.
Look at the source, "60 Minutes".
Maybe regional outages, they would start "islanding" for local distribution.
View attachment 383616
Distribution into the blue $#itholes would be a target tho.
I am running behind on this. My mom was supposed to help with freeze drying stuff ... I bought the freeze dryer and she was/is putting in her time. The problem is that my mom is kinda stuck on the "fun" and "easy" stuff ... candy, ice cream, veggies, "neat" things she sees on youtube. We have enough eggs for 2+ years at this point. So not kidding. After Christmas I guess I am going to have to be a little bit brutal and tell her that playtime has to end and we need to focus on cleaning the freezers out ... hers and mine ... and getting more of substance into the FD. Every time I try and schedule some time to cook for the FD she has some other project going in the space. I love my mom. I love that she wants to help. But she doesn't like to think about potential problems because she already has so many she has to deal with during normal waking hours.What I was trying to say is that those batteries that store solar will eventually have to be replaced, or am I wrong about that?
I agree with you about electricity being nice to have, but we are able to go off grid at any time we choose. It won't be easy, but it's doable. Yes, we have a gas generator, but we also know that gas will become unavailable, eventually, in a total grid down situation. We have back up plans for that, as in having our place set up for 1800's living. I'm also canning all meat from my freezers, before there is a need to do so.
Do I expect total blackouts nation wide? Not this year or the next 5.
I do expect a lot more of what happened last week in NC. Either stupidity or criminal activity that shuts down sections of the grid for days or weeks on end. That I expect to happen a lot more than now.
I also expect it to hit large population centers 1st. Mostly California
I am running behind on this. My mom was supposed to help with freeze drying stuff ... I bought the freeze dryer and she was/is putting in her time. The problem is that my mom is kinda stuck on the "fun" and "easy" stuff ... candy, ice cream, veggies, "neat" things she sees on youtube. We have enough eggs for 2+ years at this point. So not kidding. After Christmas I guess I am going to have to be a little bit brutal and tell her that playtime has to end and we need to focus on cleaning the freezers out ... hers and mine ... and getting more of substance into the FD. Every time I try and schedule some time to cook for the FD she has some other project going in the space. I love my mom. I love that she wants to help. But she doesn't like to think about potential problems because she already has so many she has to deal with during normal waking hours.
I moved the freeze dryer to her place and she is so proud of it. I'm gonna hate having to bring it back to mine if I can't get her to accept the need to changing.
I believe you are correct.Not sure keeping battery’s cold is good for them as alkaline goes
Rechargeable prior to charging or during is reasonable
Cold runs battery’s down
Am I wrong?
~Most folks have whole house gennies here. I judge them useless for long term grid down, although wife really wants one. My plan would be to wire it to very few breakers for very selective and intermittent use: freezer… until freezer contents can be otherwise preserved; water pump for once every other day or less to run well pump to top off water stores (lots of them); recharge 12v batteries if solar is inadequate (short daylight season an cloudy days). I prefer other uses for the propane gennie fuel. Prefer to rely on other energy sources (solar, firewood, propane heat-cook)
Not sure keeping battery’s cold is good for them as alkaline goes
Rechargeable prior to charging or during is reasonable
Cold runs battery’s down
Am I wrong?
I sort of agree with you.Do I expect total blackouts nation wide? Not this year or the next 5.
I do expect a lot more of what happened last week in NC. Either stupidity or criminal activity that shuts down sections of the grid for days or weeks on end. That I expect to happen a lot more than now.
I also expect it to hit large population centers 1st. Mostly California
FYI you've probably already checked this out, but they do make hand pumps for deep wells, and I'm assuming 100 feet plus. However, the cost is like snot-de-business high, and IMHO to high to warrant the cost, for a possible use sometime in the future.Same here. Trust me, they run out really fast when you really are trying for the "whole house" thing. We've put it in the budget and pulled it out many times. When the power goes down our neighbor's immediately kicks on. Loud bunch of nonsense as it runs a wall unit AC (window shaker) in two rooms (one of them the master bedroom), his well, and the breaker to his frig and freezer. Also runs the breaker to his washer and dryer because of the circuit it is on and because his wife can't handle dirty laundry backing up.
I want something for our well but in Florida we have to have them drilled too deep for a well bucket or simple hand pump ... at least for secure potable water. We had a solar generator but we kept losing the prime on the well due to it being so deep and a submersible pump and the solar gen not able to keep it powered up sufficiently to keep it running through the water system we have ... peroxide and salt. Additional problem is the well is closer to the barn than it is the house. We plan on some experimenting out our BOL this year but who knows if it will work. For now at least I am fixated on water storage at the BOL and water processing at our primary home. At our primary we are backed up to a pond and swamp and normally have access to water 24/7/365 but it will need significant processing to make is usable for anything other than gardening. At our BOL a sinkhole in the utility easement drained the natural spring and it hasn't come back. We are going to try and fill the sinkhole and repunch into the spring assuming it still exists. There is a year-round wet pond on the property next to us near our fence line but I wouldn't use it on a bet due to cattle and horses having fouled it for around 50+ years.
Next comes a cistern set up using run off from our new barn and the new carport we built. We've already installed the gutters for both but need to get the water tanks fixed up and make sure that we can keep it from growing algae without having to use too many chemicals. Maybe a solar powered UV system.
I swear the money goes out as fast as it comes in.
Food-grade 55-gallon plastic barrels, as used by soft drink bottlers. About $20 each from your local hardware stores.Lowe's still sells "wash tubs" in 1, 2, and 3 sizes.
Food-grade 55-gallon plastic barrels, as used by soft drink bottlers. About $20 each from your local hardware stores.
I'd look into buying an inverter that you could hook up to your car battery and plug your freezer in for an hour or so a day. If you cover the contents with a mylar space blanket, then wrap the outside with sleeping bags or comforters, the food will stay frozen with only fairly short "on" periods.That’s a huge blanket statement.
Even for a lot of preppers, going several weeks of a blackout is a tall order.
We would be fine for a week but any longer would be a little sketchy. Im not worried about having food but I AM worried about potentially losing all of the meat in the freezers.
Not all of us are able to afford a generator.
This reminds me; I need to stock up on more candles and fresh batteries.
I just opened a large pack of batteries that I bought last spring and every single one had corroded! Grrrrr!!! I need all sizes but that’ll cost a pretty penny.
We had a load of clothes in the washing machine when a 1000 year flood took out our electric poles and primary roadway.
( we're on a ridge-top, damage was a couple miles away)
A 7500 watt gas generator would not run the "high-tech" washing machine.
A 1000watt pure sine wave inverter hooked to 12volt batteries would not allow the machine to run.
Being summer, we broke out a clean 5 gallon bucket and a new toilet plunger.
We had 2 under 10 years old staying with us. They thought "washing clothes" with the plunger was great fun.
I later showed them a spring about a 1/4 mile away where their great-grandmother and 3great aunt would do laundry. By hand. With water heated on a campfire. Every couple weeks...
They still talk about "doing laundry" on the deck during that outage. We went 7 or 8 days that time. Other outages have been longer.
I rambled. Point I was making: our high-tech washing machine wouldn't work. Yours might not either. Make other provisions...
cary,Not only exactly as SB said, but also being on THIS board, knowing that a genie is a must for even short term emergencies last been a long, in terms of years, conversation.
So to the point of why not, isn't a reference to getting out and buying one on the spur of the moment, but rather over the long term, saving money and making it priority, why haven't they done this?
Even low income families can make it a priority, and save for it. If you're putting 10.00 a week into prep items, they won't do you much good if it's frozen without a genie. So stop filling the freezer buy on a as use basis, and put the money into a genie.
Not only can they use your advice in attaining one, but brand new ones are going for 349.00 2000 watt inverters on Amazon or a 4650 watt for 319.00
just googled "gas powered generators portable" 10.00 a week for 32 weeks it's done.
a running generator does have the liability of literally shouting "SOMETHING OF VALUE LIVES HERE" . . . as quite as you try to make them they will still be heard - and from a greater distance than you might think.For alot of us who live in city areas, any form of a generator that cannot be kept totally noiseless and completely hidden puts us at risk of attack from Gibsmedat Gangs who will think nothing of stealing the noisy generator and then breaking our door down to get whatever else might be in there.
Listening to Jeff Brown on GB this morning said all you need is few of table spoons of water and the amount of lithium in your cell phone to generate the energy you would consume for 10 years and the technology is here and wouldn't take but a few years to ramp up to. He predicts a couple of compact fusion reactors would be made before 2030. They are about the size of a semi trailer.Saw a headline of a new breakthrough in Fusion so all this may be mute anyway. Or it could be hopisium.
Thank you! Thays a good idea too!I'd look into buying an inverter that you could hook up to your car battery and plug your freezer in for an hour or so a day. If you cover the contents with a mylar space blanket, then wrap the outside with sleeping bags or comforters, the food will stay frozen with only fairly short "on" periods.
Of course, UNWRAP the outside of the freezer before plugging it in... if you block the air flow slots, it can overheat and burn out.
Summerthyme
The rest of us must make the best with what we have.
This. I dont see a govt shutdown of the grid. They want control. If you kill all the power there is no way to control. Their challenge is going to be providing enough to keep the masses at bay while implementing their energy policy and dealing with the very real infrastructure issues. Longer term outages will be due to weather, cyber and physical attacks, infrastructure failures and not the powers that be pulling the plug.I sort of agree with you.
I talk about going back to 1800's living, and that is a possibility, and I think it's important to prepare for that type of living, in reality I don't think a total grid down forever is in the cards.
Rolling blackouts with 2-8 hour uptimes is more like what I see, as a nation wide thing. Saw a headline of a new breakthrough in Fusion so all this may be mute anyway. Or it could be hopisium.
Nevertheless people all over the country have, and can experience 1-2 weeks without power due to lots of different things including weather.
The main reason I don't go for a total blackout forever scenario, is banking, and governmental operations depend on electricity. I mean they don't really care about us, but they need it. And if they are using it and don't share it with us little ignorant people, us little ignorant people might just get to the point where we have had enough. So throwing us some crumbs in the 2-8 hour variety will keep the peasants in line.
With inflation that's my 2 bits, instead of cents.
Like this one?I'd look into buying an inverter that you could hook up to your car battery and plug your freezer in for an hour or so a day. If you cover the contents with a mylar space blanket, then wrap the outside with sleeping bags or comforters, the food will stay frozen with only fairly short "on" periods.
Of course, UNWRAP the outside of the freezer before plugging it in... if you block the air flow slots, it can overheat and burn out.
Summerthyme
We had a local feed store open up and they stock 3 different sizes of barrels. I was very happy about that one. Cheap also.Food-grade 55-gallon plastic barrels, as used by soft drink bottlers. About $20 each from your local hardware stores.
You can get them with lids or with a closed top and bung holes. With lids they're good for collecting rainwater, and you can dip a bucket or scoop to get water. With bung holes (get a wrench) they seal nicely and you won't get bugs or critters. With a bung you can put a faucet in the bung hole and turn the barrel on its side, and just open the faucet to get water. Otherwise with a bung you'll need a siphon or a barrel pump. Either way for longer storage you'll need bleach or equivalent to keep growth under control.We had a local feed store open up and they stock 3 different sizes of barrels. I was very happy about that one. Cheap also.
The point to my posts is:For alot of us who live in city areas, any form of a generator that cannot be kept totally noiseless and completely hidden puts us at risk of attack from Gibsmedat Gangs who will think nothing of stealing the noisy generator and then breaking our door down to get whatever else might be in there.
You can get them with lids or with a closed top and bung holes. With lids they're good for collecting rainwater, and you can dip a bucket or scoop to get water. With bung holes (get a wrench) they seal nicely and you won't get bugs or critters. With a bung you can put a faucet in the bung hole and turn the barrel on its side, and just open the faucet to get water. Otherwise with a bung you'll need a siphon or a barrel pump. Either way for longer storage you'll need bleach or equivalent to keep growth under control.