Life What are your hacks when the electricity goes out - Page 3

It’s blowin like a sumbitch in western Kansas and our electricity just went out. What are your hacks?
We run as much water as we can in the tub and use a 5 gallon bucket to pour in the top of the toilet for usage.
We have LED lights that are always plugged in and automatically go on when the electricity goes off. They are handy flashlights too.
It’s cold so the garage makes a huge walk in freezer.
Everyone adds layers of clothes.
I am soon buying a big generator and a MM plug-in to plug into my 220 volt plug in. Must turn the main breaker off so no electricity gets backed down the line and kills some poor lineman !

You guys?
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Me when I sit down to poop and realize I left my phone in the other room

I should probably be more prepared for something serious

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Originally Posted by Buehler445:
This is why I moved to town.

And yes the wind is a cokcsucker. Did you get any moisture to hang on the power lines or did it blow a pole over or something?

If you have NG service, dad installed a gas wall heater in the basement to provide heat if out for a long time.

Grandpa talked about in the depression, they'd cook bricks over a fire (wood fire stove in their case), and put them in the beds to keep warm.

Keep the fridges closed and they'll keep food for a long time. When you open the door all the cold rushes out.

Don't get wet. I know it's appealing to go scoop the sidewalk or whatever, but it takes a LOT of heat to get you warmed back up if you manage to get wet.

We still use our gas floor furnace to heat our home in the winter. It’s awesome, and the only way it goes out is if the natural gas is cut off.
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Pay the electric bill is a quality hack
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2bikemike View Post
False security, Its gotta come from somewhere. A lot can go wrong between there and you!

Originally Posted by Donger:
I know my local subs pretty well.

:-)

My lines are underground.

My neighbor decided to cut our shared line taking a tree/tree roots out.

:-)
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Luckily, we just pull the electric meter and plug our welder/ generator into line going to house. Will run for 8 hrs before I need to refuel.
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Originally Posted by Buehler445:
FIFY

Not a whole house generator, just something to get us by for a while.
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Originally Posted by J Diddy:
I have a question, if I may, about filling your bathtub with water when the electricity goes out. Why do you do that?

You can use the water for whatever you need water for and you can pour it in the top of your stool and it will flush!
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burn a squirrel alive
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We have frequent power outages in the winter but they typically don’t last very long - 20 minutes to an hour at most is what is typical. We get bad winds that blow trees onto power lines.

A few years ago we had a really bad storm with gusts up to 100mph in some places. Power was out for 3+ days at our house. My wood stoves could not keep up. Main part of the house would not get above about 35. So, we got a 6500W generator and put in the switch so our house could run off that. Since then we’ve had to run it for at least 2 major storms. It won’t power everything but it will power the heater and the water pump (we have a well) And what we need.

We have about a couple weeks’ worth of food in general because I don’t want a bad earthquake to prevent us from getting food. I admit, if an earthquake keeps us without power or food for >1 week, we are super hosed.

But we just got another 6” of snow last night and a bunch of wind. No power issues so thus far we are good.
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Originally Posted by frozenchief:
We have frequent power outages in the winter but they typically don’t last very long - 20 minutes to an hour at most is what is typical. We get bad winds that blow trees onto power lines.

A few years ago we had a really bad storm with gusts up to 100mph in some places. Power was out for 3+ days at our house. My wood stoves could not keep up. Main part of the house would not get above about 35. So, we got a 6500W generator and put in the switch so our house could run off that. Since then we’ve had to run it for at least 2 major storms. It won’t power everything but it will power the heater and the water pump (we have a well) And what we need.

We have about a couple weeks’ worth of food in general because I don’t want a bad earthquake to prevent us from getting food. I admit, if an earthquake keeps us without power or food for >1 week, we are super hosed.

But we just got another 6” of snow last night and a bunch of wind. No power issues so thus far we are good.

What part of Alaska do you live? Juneau is interesting.
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Originally Posted by Donger:
I quite familiar with G&T and distribution methods, thanks.

Really? you don't seem so doofus.
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Get a solar powered battery pack charge it up and get a converter to run a heater off of it
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Originally Posted by big nasty kcnut:
Get a solar powered battery pack charge it up and get a converter to run a heater off of it

To get much in the way of battery storage is still pretty pricey. Especially if you are talking about an electric heater as opposed to running the fan of say a gas heater.

I wish the solar/battery combo was cheaper. But my small propane generator, can't remember exactly but a few hundred dollars and it's not hard to have enough propane on hand to make it last two or three days cycling the generator on and off. If the power outage was local enough, could potentially buy more propane during the outage.

That much pure battery storage looked expensive. Unfortunately my roof line is shaded by my neighbors trees so I don't think solar is that good of deal for me.

I also keep thinking used car batteries that still have significant storage left in them should show up in second hand markets?
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