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I'm more worried about running out of cat food...
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Emergency Preparedness - What Are You Doing? (If Anything)
- Thread starter Sgt. Ear Ache
- Start date
A fellow could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff.
Sorry, Kubrick reference. Personally, I hate Vegas. I'll be hunkered down among my bottles. Hands up, approach slowly, give the password ("Pentode") and you won't get perforated.
OP
Sgt. Ear Ache
Major Contributor
- Thread Starter
- #45
We are guaranteed to have power failures in winter, especially when it is cold, just about every year. So when we built our new house, we put in a 30 KW standby generator running on 500 gallon propane tank. Sadly, half the time we have needed the thing, it has failed mostly due starter battery going bad! Last time it literally exploded and I had to clean up acid everywhere.Then this last time, it failed to start for no good reason. Got it serviced and now hoping it will keep going.
Looked at batteries+inverter and despite massive price drops, they still can't handle anything remotely close to what the generator produces. I can get the wattage but it would be sucked dry in hours instead of a full week. And solar is a bust in winter here when it would be needed the most.
Outside of electricity, we have our own well for water. And usually large amount of food stuffs both frozen and in cans.
Two things we can't handle: a massive tsunami or volcano erupting, both of which may happen tomorrow or a thousand years from now!
Yeah, in any sort of major event that lasted more than say 4 days I'd definitely start having electricity issues. I have some nifty lighting options and I have a couple of reasonably beefy battery backups (a little Jackery and the bigger Bluetti) which would get me through those initial days but once it came time for re-charging I'd have a struggle. As I mentioned earlier I am planning on getting some solar, but it will only be a 200watt panel probably and would only give me very limited solar charging capability. The juice would have to be rationed pretty radically at that point.
I think I'm going to get a little butane heater and maybe a dozen or so butane canisters to keep on hand. I have a single burner butane camp stove that works really well. A lot of this stuff is stuff I use for camping anyway so having it on hand as a backup emergency thing isn't particularly unreasonable.
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I could make a long post here listing everything, and come across as "one of those crazy preppers".
Make sure you have everything you would want/need for a completely self sufficient week long camping trip with bad weather expected. Scale up if you might be in a bad situation for longer.
Make sure you have everything you would want/need for a completely self sufficient week long camping trip with bad weather expected. Scale up if you might be in a bad situation for longer.
We had the house wired with a gen panel when we had it built. Power outage we fire up the gen after a couple hours of outage, swap the breakers over and it powers things like the well pump, the fridge, some light circuits, a few other outlets that will power some small heaters, utility room where things like the router and such are, etc. It's not a "whole house" thing, just some essentials. Fuel in the detached garage. It gets a once a year check as part of my routine. Carb sits drained as does it's fuel tank. Fill and prime as needed and it always fires right off.
We're on a slab foundation with in floor hot water heat. So it takes days for the house to go "cold" in the winter. Long before then the power will be back on. We picked this type of house construction intentionally.
Have a portable "hiking style" solar powered bat pack to recharge the phone if needed. Just sits on the window sill day to day. Waiting.
Couple small FM/short wave radios that can be charged by hand crank if absolutely needed. Nothing complicated, jut that "survival/emergency" kind of stuff, mostly for the led lighting and to listen to the local FM station in outages.
Other than that, as long as the house isn't burning down or floating away, we just sit tight until the power comes back on. Mankind did manage to survive long before electricity came flowing out of the walls after-all....
I'm also retired military. 30 years. Survival, escape and evasion trained. Was an instructor for a while. Also arctic survival trained. 30 years of ops. Deployed and domestic and SAR. I don't "rattle" easily in emergency situ's. That's the best tool you can have for emergencies: a brain that doesn't lock up or go off the deep end without good reason. Keep assessing and thinking, no matter what. We call it "situational awareness".
I've always got fire, first aid, light and signal on my person as well as a blade of some sort.
Might be a Swiss army knife, might be a Gerber, might just be a folding exacto.... or might be my old jump knife or (if I feel it warranted) the other more "serious" blade I had to carry when "ops" called for it. Those last two are just for when things like coyotes/etc are the concern if walking the dogs in the woods, they're not just for day to day "walking around".
Fire is just an old Ronson Variflame Windlite that used to be my father inlaw's. Small, thin, easy to light and unlike a zippo, doesn't let the fuel evaporate off while sitting in your pocket.
The light is usually a simple small turtle light. Yes,there's a "flashlight" on the iphone, but I must carry an independent light source in case the phone is dead, broken or lost.
First aid might just be a simple gauze pad in a jacket pocket.
Signal is something most all of us carry anyways: iphone. But there's also fire and light that can fill in for that if needed.
Our survival acronym was "Double F, Double S, Double U". In that order of priority: First Aid, Fire, Shelter, Signal, Water. Everything else was an "as you had time" priority. Notice no food in that list. You can go weeks to months without food, but only days if you don't have water. We also used to tell the guys: you don't ration water, you ration sweat.....
I've always got a "go bag" ready in the closet. Nothing foolish, just a few essentials (like a hand pump water purifier and some toilet paper!) in case we have to flee a wildfire, flood, etc. There's a biger bag beside it just in case the "away" is expected to be more prolonged. It's just a bigger ruck with more stuff. Mostly seasonal weather type gear and more things like toilet paper, more first aid stuff, some camping supplies, etc.
Defense? Lets just say I'm not overly worried about defending myself for my family if I have to. No guns in the house either. Best policy is deescalate or avoid if at all possible and I have several, lets say..."uncommon"...skills to fall back on if needed.
I'm not a "prepper" by any means. I don't get that stuff at all. More power to those that do it if they want to, I just don't get sitting on a pile of stuff in some bunker like complex. Makes you imobile and a target. This whole SHTF thing is a mystery to me anyways. If that's where someone's mind goes, well, more power to ya but I can't follow.
For me though, it's just old habits die hard, so I need a little bit of "just in case" in my back pocket. Especially if in the past you've had to use those old habits "in anger".....
I've also "planned" for just in case the "little boys" start throwing the "big stuff" around: Our house is located between two primary targets (100 kms from one and 29 kms to the other) and 10kms from a high priority secondary target....there are some things I just don't want to see the other side of. I'd rather it just be quick and painless....
We're on a slab foundation with in floor hot water heat. So it takes days for the house to go "cold" in the winter. Long before then the power will be back on. We picked this type of house construction intentionally.
Have a portable "hiking style" solar powered bat pack to recharge the phone if needed. Just sits on the window sill day to day. Waiting.
Couple small FM/short wave radios that can be charged by hand crank if absolutely needed. Nothing complicated, jut that "survival/emergency" kind of stuff, mostly for the led lighting and to listen to the local FM station in outages.
Other than that, as long as the house isn't burning down or floating away, we just sit tight until the power comes back on. Mankind did manage to survive long before electricity came flowing out of the walls after-all....
I'm also retired military. 30 years. Survival, escape and evasion trained. Was an instructor for a while. Also arctic survival trained. 30 years of ops. Deployed and domestic and SAR. I don't "rattle" easily in emergency situ's. That's the best tool you can have for emergencies: a brain that doesn't lock up or go off the deep end without good reason. Keep assessing and thinking, no matter what. We call it "situational awareness".
I've always got fire, first aid, light and signal on my person as well as a blade of some sort.
Might be a Swiss army knife, might be a Gerber, might just be a folding exacto.... or might be my old jump knife or (if I feel it warranted) the other more "serious" blade I had to carry when "ops" called for it. Those last two are just for when things like coyotes/etc are the concern if walking the dogs in the woods, they're not just for day to day "walking around".
Fire is just an old Ronson Variflame Windlite that used to be my father inlaw's. Small, thin, easy to light and unlike a zippo, doesn't let the fuel evaporate off while sitting in your pocket.
The light is usually a simple small turtle light. Yes,there's a "flashlight" on the iphone, but I must carry an independent light source in case the phone is dead, broken or lost.
First aid might just be a simple gauze pad in a jacket pocket.
Signal is something most all of us carry anyways: iphone. But there's also fire and light that can fill in for that if needed.
Our survival acronym was "Double F, Double S, Double U". In that order of priority: First Aid, Fire, Shelter, Signal, Water. Everything else was an "as you had time" priority. Notice no food in that list. You can go weeks to months without food, but only days if you don't have water. We also used to tell the guys: you don't ration water, you ration sweat.....
I've always got a "go bag" ready in the closet. Nothing foolish, just a few essentials (like a hand pump water purifier and some toilet paper!) in case we have to flee a wildfire, flood, etc. There's a biger bag beside it just in case the "away" is expected to be more prolonged. It's just a bigger ruck with more stuff. Mostly seasonal weather type gear and more things like toilet paper, more first aid stuff, some camping supplies, etc.
Defense? Lets just say I'm not overly worried about defending myself for my family if I have to. No guns in the house either. Best policy is deescalate or avoid if at all possible and I have several, lets say..."uncommon"...skills to fall back on if needed.
I'm not a "prepper" by any means. I don't get that stuff at all. More power to those that do it if they want to, I just don't get sitting on a pile of stuff in some bunker like complex. Makes you imobile and a target. This whole SHTF thing is a mystery to me anyways. If that's where someone's mind goes, well, more power to ya but I can't follow.
For me though, it's just old habits die hard, so I need a little bit of "just in case" in my back pocket. Especially if in the past you've had to use those old habits "in anger".....
I've also "planned" for just in case the "little boys" start throwing the "big stuff" around: Our house is located between two primary targets (100 kms from one and 29 kms to the other) and 10kms from a high priority secondary target....there are some things I just don't want to see the other side of. I'd rather it just be quick and painless....
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In the US do you have 'vehicle to home' standardised?
Then you can get a cheap used EV with huge battery pack to power your home.
Ford F150 lightning comes with optional Ford V2H solution and people have said their homes have been powered for a week - that model is not cheap though.
Emergencies come in many different ways and forms. It's impossible to be totally prepared, ever.
Here in the Bay Area in CA, the mostly likely is a big earthquake (we have plenty of ho-hum ones), and for that I have two packs prepped in different locations (water supply, emergency food/tools and such), as well as an established meeting point with my GF (a 1.5 hour walk I should be able to do no matter what, very close to her). I do have a ladder if I get trapped on the upper floor (where my bedroom is). And I probably spend more time thinking about my cat's safety in that situation than my own.
Here in the Bay Area in CA, the mostly likely is a big earthquake (we have plenty of ho-hum ones), and for that I have two packs prepped in different locations (water supply, emergency food/tools and such), as well as an established meeting point with my GF (a 1.5 hour walk I should be able to do no matter what, very close to her). I do have a ladder if I get trapped on the upper floor (where my bedroom is). And I probably spend more time thinking about my cat's safety in that situation than my own.
Freezers & refrigerators run great on large USP's for several days.
Naturally that was not helpful when we had an Island wide power outage for 3 MONTHS after having had 185 MPH average winds with 223 MPH gusts.
An aerial photo showing the southern end of Saipan almost completely destroyed by Super Typhoon Yutu November 4, 2018 in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Photo credit: © James May/ZUMA Press
OP
Sgt. Ear Ache
Major Contributor
- Thread Starter
- #51
Yikes...yeah I'm definitely not set up for any sort of event of that kind of duration. That's a real challenge...
I've lived at the end of dirt road alongside a trout stream in the middle 450 acres of protected land for over 30 years in N MI along the 45th parallel. Guaranteed to lose power a dozen times a year at least since the lines are all arial and go through the forest. I do have a generator but I'm sure the gas is spoiled and carb trashed as I haven't even looked at it in years, never really had a need outside of fridge/freezer worries but most of these outages happen in winter and otherwise the river runs about 45 degrees even in summer which, of course, can be treated/boiled and used for cooking and drinking. When I built the house I put the hot water heater on the second floor, throw the pressure valve and 80 gallons of potable water pressure fed through the system. Wood stoves heat 2 buildings, LP gas cooktop lights with a match, a small 12V solar system for a few lights (and music!) and enough canned and dry harvest goods to last a good year for the two of us probably. Fishing rods and hunting rifles of course. Sauna for bathing.
Not a prepper in any way, I'm a freaking artist, we just like to live and eat well inexpensively and this is how you do it in the north, it's just part of the way we live.
The above comments make me realize that I need to at the very least build a still if I hoped to enjoy surviving something more apocalyptic than a week without power.
Not a prepper in any way, I'm a freaking artist, we just like to live and eat well inexpensively and this is how you do it in the north, it's just part of the way we live.
The above comments make me realize that I need to at the very least build a still if I hoped to enjoy surviving something more apocalyptic than a week without power.
It is interesting that potential issues can be so different in different parts of the world, although the risk to electricity supply seems universal, even if potential causes may be quite different. Without electricity your heating system stops working, and so do your fridge, your internet and your mobile phone system, or the water supply. For us in Western Europe without hurricanes and overhead local power lines, electricity has always been utterly reliable, except for the very occasional digger damaging an underground cable that would be repaired in one or two hours. Personally I cannot remember that ever happening to me.
The new concern is hybrid warfare by Russia. That is increasing all the time, and even though authorities are on high alert (e.g. the Dutch navy is now patrolling the Baltic), there are modern risks, such as hacks of power stations, the water supply, or the banking system, or destruction of under water cables and fuel pipelines. So governments have advised people to be better prepared, and ensure that they can get by for a few days before services are restored. The Swedes were probably the first, but other countries have followed. None of us here in the Netherlands have generators (we never needed them, and they would be very impractical), so I looked at our own situation. Luckily we are keen on outdoor activities and have outdoor stoves and enough fuel to cook meals for something like a week, if not more. It is easy enough to stock canned food for a week. We still have a portable FM/AM radio, but I will have to buy new batteries. We have some good battery headlights, plus a big Makita 18v light with rechargeable batteries that will be fine if we briefly need more light. It will get cold in the house, even though it is well insulated, but again our outdoor gear will help, with down jackets and sleeping bags. From what I can see, the biggest challenge will be drinking water (I can live with not washing for a few days). Enough bottled water takes up quite some space, and also needs to be replaced after a year or so. I might get some purification tablets as well. Finally, our central bank has advised us to keep some cash at home because plastic will not function in such an emergency. I could really do without any of this.
The new concern is hybrid warfare by Russia. That is increasing all the time, and even though authorities are on high alert (e.g. the Dutch navy is now patrolling the Baltic), there are modern risks, such as hacks of power stations, the water supply, or the banking system, or destruction of under water cables and fuel pipelines. So governments have advised people to be better prepared, and ensure that they can get by for a few days before services are restored. The Swedes were probably the first, but other countries have followed. None of us here in the Netherlands have generators (we never needed them, and they would be very impractical), so I looked at our own situation. Luckily we are keen on outdoor activities and have outdoor stoves and enough fuel to cook meals for something like a week, if not more. It is easy enough to stock canned food for a week. We still have a portable FM/AM radio, but I will have to buy new batteries. We have some good battery headlights, plus a big Makita 18v light with rechargeable batteries that will be fine if we briefly need more light. It will get cold in the house, even though it is well insulated, but again our outdoor gear will help, with down jackets and sleeping bags. From what I can see, the biggest challenge will be drinking water (I can live with not washing for a few days). Enough bottled water takes up quite some space, and also needs to be replaced after a year or so. I might get some purification tablets as well. Finally, our central bank has advised us to keep some cash at home because plastic will not function in such an emergency. I could really do without any of this.
Gary_G
Active Member
We have a 20kw Generac installed with automatic transfer switch on a 500 gallon tank. It only failed to start once in the 8 years we have had it and that was a bad gas regulator. As I type, its running as out power is out due to bad storms. Most of the house functions off the generator except for the stove. The well pump, hot water heater and two 2-on HVAC heat pumps. If I were to do it all over I would just do a whole house like @amirm has. We have plenty of food and bourbon other wise.
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