Off The Grid (temporarily)

[imported_GIJeff]

Heya Preppers,

Well Friday night at 11:30 I got a taste of off the grid living. It's winter, big snowstorm, lines and branches down....indefinite period power outage. I was more prepared than most, but I could have been a tad more comfortable if I'd had one item I lack. Furnaces don't run without electricity and it was 7 degrees Fahrenheit Sunday night. I kept my apartment reasonably warm using my oven to heat the place, which is not recommended at all. I am not sure where they get the idea the flame burns less efficiently and produces more carbon monoxide if the door is open, but that's not the most efficient way to use an oven to heat a space anyway. I find if you let the oven develop a high temperature, THEN open the door you get a lot more heat from it than running it with the door open anyway. In any event, some kind of kerosene space heater would have made a HUGE difference to my comfort level over the weekend, and it's right near the top of the list for things I want to purchase in the near future. Kerosene, once stabilized with sta-bil can sit for many years, up to 7-10, without degrading beyond usefulness. I had emergency candles, and even have an alcohol stove as part of my Swedish mess kit, purchased on ebay. Alcohol by the way lasts effectively FOREVER if sealed so it doesn't evaporate. I don't think it's a good idea to try to heat a space with an alcohol stove, I am SURE the CO would be dangerous, but you can cook with it if the gas goes out.

Fortunately when things fall apart the gas will likely be the last thing to stop working. It's pretty much maintenanceless except for failures in the lines which are buried. I have a friend at my BOL that has a natural gas well on his property, which means he will be able to be comfortable in his home for years potentially if he converts all his appliances to natural gas. Stores and wholesalers that cater to the Amish sell natural gas refrigerators and freezers, as do some camping supply houses since most fridges in campers run on propane. Any device that can run on propane can easily be converted to natural gas simply by changing a port, I'm told. I did have sufficient lighting in the form of flashlights and candles, but it wasn't infinitely sustainable, due to the inability to charge batteries. I may consider a small solar panel just for that purpose as my next preparedness purchase, after the kerosene heater, of course. I spent three days without power, it was restored Monday morning at 5:00 am. Needless to say none of my toys worked, so I spent a lot of time reading by candelight or flashlights. I didn't even dent the batteries in my LED headlamp in that time, but I used it most sparingly since Duquesne Light wasn't even taking calls or estimating restoration lead time. I would have run out of candles in fairly short order if it'd continued much beyond a week, and flashlight batteries were not going to last even that long. Two things you need to survive comfortably in your current location that most people don't probably have or haven't thought of are light sources that are sustainable, and SOMETHING TO DO. Board games, card games, books, survival materials you've printed from the internet because the internet will not be available in a survival situation.....something to occupy your mind and keep you from going stir crazy.

One point I'd like to make is preparedness needn't be for a world or even countrywide disaster....it could just be for something on the order of Hurricane Katrina, or a simple power outage. It's a place to start that's, easily attainable, well within most budgets, and doesn't make you out to be the “crazy survivalist” all your neighbors twitter away about when they see you. A state of emergency was declared here in Pennsylvania by Governor Ed Rendel, we got buried under two feet of snow, more in some places, and power was out for thousands of PA residents. I saw groups of kids marching around the neighborhood shouting at the top of their lungs and intimidating folks, and that was on day two. I didn't consider them much of a threat, probably just some kids feeling their power since they think most folks don't have phone service to call police due to everyone depending on cordless phones....you DO have a hardline phone backup, don't you? and thinking that most won't bother. I have a cell phone only, and figure if the cellular service is out, well I am well enough armed to wait it out or wait till someone else calls them in a pinch. The only thing I need police for in my situation is to clean up the mess after someone tries to do something unkind and profoundly unwise to me and mine, or to deal with situations where someone is trying to do something unkind to someone else and theirs and I figure it's not enough of my business for me to put myself in the line of fire to deal with it. My point is, I think we could stand to step away from our long term disaster preps and see what we can do about smaller, short term, and infinitely more likely disasters, which will work as a stepping stone to longer term preparedness.

Keep on Preppin'

Jeff Waite
aka GIJeff

[sartx]

Hey GIJeff – great post – you make an EXCELLENT point. I completely agree about preparing for the more likely short-term disasters. I read an article the other day about ‘factors of 10’, or something like that. Basically, it suggested making preparations for ALL of your needs for one day; should you lose power/gas/pharmacy/you-name-it. Then boost that to ten days, writing a plan and adding what it would take to survive or thrive for ten days, meeting ALL of your daily needs. Then, write a plan for what it would take to survive for 100 days, and boost your preparations to that level. Next, is 1000… (I chose to make 1-year and 2-year tiers before the 1000-day mark) You get the idea. Starting out by preparing for the more likely short-term disasters is infinitely better than taking the ‘shotgun approach’ – buying various recommended products to provide backup electricity or shortwave communication or meet other singular needs for a year, when you only have enough food and water for a few days, no deodorant, little soap, scant medical supplies, and 1 roll of toilet paper (yeah, that will be missed…). For the most part, I increase the full range of my preparations at a consistent level across the board. Having the plan written down (I use spreadsheets) really helps. It’s easy to see what items are next in line for purchase.

Just my two-cents on heating for apartments or homes that do not or cannot have wood burning stoves or similar source of heat: heating a small space is easier than heating a whole apartment or house. You can seal off one room to heat by using plastic sheeting available at a hardware store. Having a roll around along with duct tape or a staple gun and plenty of staples is a good idea. Also, for winter nights, having a good 4-season tent helps. It should be just big enough for the occupants plus one person, to have room for some supplies and the heater. It needs to be small enough so it can be set up in a room in your house after moving furniture. You won’t be using stakes, so it needs to be a ‘free-standing’ style that doesn’t require stakes except to anchor it. Propane heaters that are designed for indoor/tent use are available (do not use around small children without strict supervision). I have tent camped in 20-30 degree outdoor temps and stayed warm enough using such a heater. I’m sure it would work even better indoors out of the wind. That is likely where I would spend cold nights in a power outage. Having a good cold weather sleeping bag and thermal pad is also a huge plus, along with proper winter thermal clothing. Sleeping bags should be rated for 15 degrees colder than you think you’ll have to endure. Yes, it can take a lot of those little propane tanks for a prolonged outage. I can buy several for the current price of a box of ammo… There are also adapters that allow some of those heaters to run off the same tank your barbeque grill uses. Having at least one extra, full 20 lb tank (4.1 gallons) is a good idea.

My cent-and-a-half on batteries: lithiums have a 10-year shelf life, making them a good investment for storage even at their higher price. I also have rechargeables and a solar charger. There are some fairly inexpensive solar battery chargers available. When using the lower cost, lower wattage models, it can take a full day or more of sun to fully charge two AA or AAA batteries. It’s good to have enough rechargables on hand to allow for longer cycling times and cloudy days. The lithiums are good for prolonged cloudy weather.

Scott

[imported_BackCountry]

A propane heater would be the best option. The small canisters, as mentioned previously, can be used or larger bulk tanks. The nice thing about propane is that it will store indefinitely.

As far as natural gas goes...remember those gas lines are pressurized at pumping stations...which run on electricity. In an extended grid-down situation the back-up generators for the pumping stations may run out of fuel within a few days, then no gas flows. I'd make a move to bulk propane storage and convert the water heater and stove/oven to propane and be independent of the gas company. Propane costs a bit more, but you can control when you top off your tanks and take advantage of 'even pay' plans or top off when prices drop.

[bluewinner]

Where would one store fuel, if you do not use propane, do not have storage ( no basment, no shed)?

Hey GIJeff – great post – you make an EXCELLENT point. I completely agree about preparing for the more likely short-term disasters. I read an article the other day about ‘factors of 10’, or something like that. Basically, it suggested making preparations for ALL of your needs for one day; should you lose power/gas/pharmacy/you-name-it. Then boost that to ten days, writing a plan and adding what it would take to survive or thrive for ten days, meeting ALL of your daily needs. Then, write a plan for what it would take to survive for 100 days, and boost your preparations to that level. Next, is 1000… (I chose to make 1-year and 2-year tiers before the 1000-day mark) You get the idea. Starting out by preparing for the more likely short-term disasters is infinitely better than taking the ‘shotgun approach’ – buying various recommended products to provide backup electricity or shortwave communication or meet other singular needs for a year, when you only have enough food and water for a few days, no deodorant, little soap, scant medical supplies, and 1 roll of toilet paper (yeah, that will be missed…). For the most part, I increase the full range of my preparations at a consistent level across the board. Having the plan written down (I use spreadsheets) really helps. It’s easy to see what items are next in line for purchase.

Just my two-cents on heating for apartments or homes that do not or cannot have wood burning stoves or similar source of heat: heating a small space is easier than heating a whole apartment or house. You can seal off one room to heat by using plastic sheeting available at a hardware store. Having a roll around along with duct tape or a staple gun and plenty of staples is a good idea. Also, for winter nights, having a good 4-season tent helps. It should be just big enough for the occupants plus one person, to have room for some supplies and the heater. It needs to be small enough so it can be set up in a room in your house after moving furniture. You won’t be using stakes, so it needs to be a ‘free-standing’ style that doesn’t require stakes except to anchor it. Propane heaters that are designed for indoor/tent use are available (do not use around small children without strict supervision). I have tent camped in 20-30 degree outdoor temps and stayed warm enough using such a heater. I’m sure it would work even better indoors out of the wind. That is likely where I would spend cold nights in a power outage. Having a good cold weather sleeping bag and thermal pad is also a huge plus, along with proper winter thermal clothing. Sleeping bags should be rated for 15 degrees colder than you think you’ll have to endure. Yes, it can take a lot of those little propane tanks for a prolonged outage. I can buy several for the current price of a box of ammo… There are also adapters that allow some of those heaters to run off the same tank your barbeque grill uses. Having at least one extra, full 20 lb tank (4.1 gallons) is a good idea.

My cent-and-a-half on batteries: lithiums have a 10-year shelf life, making them a good investment for storage even at their higher price. I also have rechargeables and a solar charger. There are some fairly inexpensive solar battery chargers available. When using the lower cost, lower wattage models, it can take a full day or more of sun to fully charge two AA or AAA batteries. It’s good to have enough rechargables on hand to allow for longer cycling times and cloudy days. The lithiums are good for prolonged cloudy weather.

Scott

[Unregistered]

Where would one store fuel, if you do not use propane, do not have storage ( no basment, no shed)?

Do you have a crall space? I have found that a good place to store things. You can hang things from the joists or put in plastic bins to keep out water/bugs. You can also try the attic. An off site storage unit that is close to home is a good thing to. That will also give you room to store extra supplies.

[Unregistered]

Do you have a crall space? I have found that a good place to store things. You can hang things from the joists or put in plastic bins to keep out water/bugs. You can also try the attic. An off site storage unit that is close to home is a good thing to. That will also give you room to store extra supplies.

No, I do not have a crawl space. Good idea. Thank you.
I thought one could not store propane/gas in the attic because of the heat and fumes. I also thought that one could not use propane in the house; like in a space heater because of the fumes.

[Unregistered]

No, I do not have a crawl space. Good idea. Thank you.
I thought one could not store propane/gas in the attic because of the heat and fumes. I also thought that one could not use propane in the house; like in a space heater because of the fumes.

My gas stove runs on what ever gas I give it. I have ran a propane tank to it when the gas was off to the house for 3 days while the gas company did repars to the lines in the area. A attic should be vented so the fumes can go out(there should not be any & if there is its a leak).

[Urban Ninja]

Greetings fellow preppers!

I'm out in the burbs northwest of Chicago, and we've had two major outages this summer so far. I came across an interesting item at Wal-mart when I went to re-stock up on cyalume light sticks and another lantern.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Essential-...wered/14245080

It's an LED lantern than you can charge off the outlets in your home, a charger in your car, or by cranking it manually. It has NiMH rechargeable batteries. One minute of cranking gives you ten minutes of light. It also has a cell phone attachment to charge cell phones on. Pretty nifty. Not sure what the maximum light output duration is, but still not bad for $45 for sort term use considering you'll never run out of power as long as you can give it a few cranks. .