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Living with no electricity

3191 Views 27 Replies 12 Participants Last post by  Kelotravolski, 
S
http://stevequayle.com/News.alert/06_Prep_tips/071123.no.electricity.html A very good article
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T
+1 you can never be too prepared
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P
I have a 450 W generator at my dads house that belongs to me, all I have to do is go get the thing. At 1300 miles away, it can wait, it's not going anywhere. I wish I had that thing now, I'd be fixin it up to take with me turkey hunting in the spring. That way, I could run a space heater in my tent and wouldn't have to worry about propane fumes and possible suffocation.... Not good... Good post Shooter!

Edited to remove confusing typo.... :wink:
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Z
Great post shooter z. You really don't realize how dependent you are on electricity until you no longer have it. I remember when I was a kid growing up in Michigan in the early '80s. We had a really bad summer storm the summer of 1980 and were without power for 15 days. Not pleasant during the summer heat. After we got through that, my father bought a generator and has kept one ever since. Good lesson.
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R
Good link!

shooterz and I live in an area that's prone to power loss during winter ice storms, so we know first hand what its like to go without power for a while. Last ice storm we had put us out of power for five days!

Our winter kit includes an emergency kerosene heater, 5-8 galons of fresh kerosene, camp cook stove, plenty of propane, tons of candles, several oil lamps with a few galons of lamp oil and lots of blankets and winter clothing.

Cell phones are charged via mobile charger and wifes car has a built in AC converter to run small stuff if the need arises. I check the weather daily and when they are calling for possible ice/winter mix I make sure all the phones and spare batteries are fully charged. Also make sure the winter gear, heater and cook stove is accessable just incase.

Generator would be nice but we have managed without one for so long I dont think I will bother. Just something else to store supplies for and maintain.

rimfirehunter
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L
other than the lack of computer i'd be fine. We have food stove for heat, oil lamps, etc.

For the necessity of power: car battery + inverter.
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K
We (meaning my parents can't do much with a dorm room) have a wood stove, 5 or so propane stoves, a year supply of water, a year supply of food, sleeping bags/cold weather gear. axes hatches saws and guns. We do not have enough propane or enough wood to live normally for a year but the axes and saws could help us get more. And the guns are so the neighbors cannot kill us when we come to chop down their trees. lol.
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L
I think we're good on firewood. We've only got 30+ acres of trees :wink:
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G
Surely you are mixing beans with potatoes.

So you have nearly half a megawatt generator, (.45mw).

I doubt if it is going anywhere, unless you have a rail system close by. I bet it weighs more than can be carried on any road surface without special permits.

Lets hope that this is a typo or perhaps this is what it takes for the "modern american" to rough it.

My house uses less than 900kwh per month or about 1.25kw per hour. Probably our peak is less than 5kwh. We live rural and keep things cheap.

Please tell me that you don't have a 450kw generator.
Your Jokey

I have a 450 KW generator at my dads house that belongs to me, all I have to do is go get the thing. At 1300 miles away, it can wait, it's not going anywhere. I wish I had that thing now, I'd be fixin it up to take with me turkey hunting in the spring. That way, I could run a space heater in my tent and wouldn't have to worry about propane fumes and possible suffocation.... Not good... Good post Shooter!
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G
Prolly a 45 kW generator
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6
Very good information.

The one thing that I don't have in my house I wish I had is a fireplace. I have one of those natural gas ventless units but would prefer not to have to rely on it in an emergency. I could get by on it but would definitely hate that bill when the time comes. That brings to mind something else. If you have a natural gas stove it will still work in an emergency. I remember the big blizzard of 1975 here in Michigan. We had nearly 3 feet of snow and lost power for at least 3 days. My folks house had a fireplace so we all got cozy in the family room. We had a gas stove so my mom could cook. We also had a small generator so my dad would run it for a short time to run the well pump and keep the rest of the house from freezing up.
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S
Re: Surely you are mixing beans with potatoes.

So you have nearly half a megawatt generator, (.45mw).

I doubt if it is going anywhere, unless you have a rail system close by. I bet it weighs more than can be carried on any road surface without special permits.

Lets hope that this is a typo or perhaps this is what it takes for the "modern american" to rough it.

My house uses less than 900kwh per month or about 1.25kw per hour. Probably our peak is less than 5kwh. We live rural and keep things cheap.

Please tell me that you don't have a 450kw generator.
Your Jokey

Description: Caterpillar 450 kW Standby Diesel Generator, Caterpillar Generator End Model #: 5846, Generator End Serial #: 58BH45187, Caterpillar Engine Model #: 3412 PC, Engine Serial #: 3853719, Arr. #: 7N7707, 96.5 Hours, Year 1978, 563 kVa, 60 Hz, 1562 Amps @ 120/208 Volt, 3 Phase, Currently Set @ 120/208 Volt, 10 Lead Reconnectable (High/Low), 675 Hp @ 1800 Rpm, Auto Start/Stop, Safety Shutdown, Air Cleaner, 1600 Amp Circuit Breaker, Roof Mount Muffler, Block Heater, Std Generator & Engine Panel, Engine Mount Radiator, Sound Attenuated Enclosure, Dimensions: 242" L x 100" W x 9120" H, Approx. Weight: 10000 lbs.

Hey it's only 5 ton Had one at my fire station up in Maine great little thing to have :D
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M
Prolly a 45 kW generator
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45kW generators aren't exactly portable either. I suspect it is a 450W generator. http://www.poweredgenerators.com/guardian/quietsource-45kw.html
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Thayldt21
I am more than certain he actually neant 4.5KW as you can pick one of these up for 1500 or so at Orchlines (Spelling) And Either lows or home depo.

Family had One of the smaller 3.5kw but tried to run it to long and burned it up. Back when elnenio came threw in 96 I think.
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G
I could live without electricity, but I can't live without Internet :)
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P
You're right Mike_AZ it's 450 watts, not KW, sorry for the typo.
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S
I could live without electricity, but I can't live without Internet :)
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So please tell us how will you get internet with electricity? Do you have a super secret internet system over yonder that we in US are not privy to?
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G
45kW generators aren't exactly portable either. I suspect it is a 450W generator. http://www.poweredgenerators.com/guardian/quietsource-45kw.html
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I meant "4.5 kW"... I figured since the everybody else was looking stupid, I might as well do the same. :oops:
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4
Read about this in the Popular Science magazine.

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/flat/bown/2007/green/item_59.html
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G
My Dad has been off the grid for nearly 10 years. Solar, wind and pedel power (for real emergencies). Everything feeds into a bank of 12v marine batteries and his house is wired for 12v.

He can also plug the house into the deep cycle marine bateries he uses in his pickup in a worst case situation.

He uses an inverter for power tools and everything else runs off the intermal system, including his lap top, TV, small frig... The only time he fires up a small generator is to fill his water holding tank. After filling, the water system works on gravity flow.

Woodstove for heat and most cooking, propane range is seldom used.
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