How many of you would have been ready for a blackout?

[Mike Irwin]

Me.

Food enough for about a week for both me and the dogs.

2 full bottles of gas for the grill.

A couple of bags of charcoal for the other grill.

Several bottles of propane, normally for the torch, but work on my lantern.

Extra batteries for the flashlight/fluorescent light I have. Used it the other night when the power went out for about an hour during a bad T-storm.

Water is, I believe, tank pressurized in my end of Fairfax County. It would become a problem after a couple of days when the tanks can't be replentished. The water hasn't gone out, though, even during extensive power outages in the area.

If worse comes to worse, I know how to make very effective solar stills.

Ammo & guns. Gee, I wonder if that's a problem?

Usually have more than 1/2 tank of gas in the car.

Hum.

You know, come to think of it, I fail in two serious areas.

I don't have a battery powered radio that doesn't take fewer than about 2 gazillion batteries, and I don't keep much ready cash around the house.

Those are both problems I think I need to rectify.



Dragon, you don't need much of a generator to run the fridge. A small Honda would be just the ticket. Just make certain that you have an extension cord that is both long enough and heavy enough to adequately supply power to it.

 

[Ex-Doc]

DragonRider: Honda EU3000....quite & efficient....you don't want to be the only guy within ear shot running a generator 1-2 days into a situation.

 

[DragonRider]

Well, after reading the boards of RV camping, I think I will try the EU2000 route, instead of the EU3000. Deciding factor is weight, 150 vs 50 pounds, and price, 1000 vs 2000.

Now, after reading all this stuff. There is a way to parallel the 2 EU2000's and get close and if not above the EU3000 output. Also, I can afford to get the EU2000 now and when funds allow the 2nd, I can hook them together.

Running the cord wouldn't be a problem due to my deck and kitchen placement.

Thanks

John

 

[Nathaniel Firethorn]

Got stuff for about 2 weeks, maybe 3 at a stretch.

Plus I've tried hard not to get as addicted to air conditioning as 99% of the contiguous US seems to be.

- pdmoderator

 

[Art Eatman]

$1,000? Lordy! Think "Harbor Freight" or "Great Northern Tool". They're online! Or a Thrifty Nickel; they're also online, fresh every Thursday.

My 5kw is some kind of Chinese thing with a Briggs & Stratton, and it's still going after 20-some years. It was about four years old, I think; $400.

Two years back I bought a like-new unknown brand 2500 for $200. I used it to run an air compressor to power a nail gun when I added on to my hunt camp. And saws and such. Plus intermittent cooling and computer a few months back during a 20-hour outage.

Because Y2K didn't happen, there are still many unused like-new generators out there...

, Art

 

[AZTOY]

Think "Harbor Freight"

I agree

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Around here, power outages are a way of life, especially in winter, but ya never know when a power pole will run out in front of a fun-crazed flatlander...

LMAO

Born and raised Agro-American hillbilly. I'm ready for anything.

 

[4 eyed six shooter]

For those of you who are going to store gas, get "Fuel Saver Plus". It is available from www.nitro-pak.com. It costs $16.00 for 16 oz. and it treats 160 gallons. They state it keeps gas good for three years and you can retreat after 3 years. The longest I have kept gas with the fuel saver in it was two years. Put 20 gallons of two year old treated gas in the truck and it ran just fine. I tend to use the gas after a year most of the time and then buy fresh and treat it. I like the fuel saver much better than the Stay bil. Anyway, it works for me and the price is right.
I am glad to see so many of you prepared and those who aren't are thinking about it.
With the talking heads on TV all stating how easy it would be to disable our power grid, if the terrorists were not planning an attack on the grid, I bet they are now.
I live in an area that gets damn cold in the winter and I am amazed how many people here would go without heat if the grid goes down. I installed a propane stove upstairs that will run without power to back up my furnace and have a wood stove in the basement. 750 gallons of propane and 5 cords of wood are stored. I plan on staying warm if the SHTF. Nitro Pac also sells solar battery chargers that charge AA thru D cells. A couple of these and some ni cads can keep a radio and flashlight going for some time. For good food storage plans check out www.waltonfeed.com

My best to all, John K

 

[swampsniper]

STILL FRESH IN THE BUCKET

I had some Y2K beans and rice for supper. Still good. Burned generator gas up in mower, fresh gas in the generator. Ammo never a problem.
Wild hogs in back yard this morning, smoker ready to go. What, me worry?

 

[DragonRider]

Its all about how loud the thing is. My roommate had a 5kw for her house when the electricty would drop off for the server, she hated how loud the thing was. I'm doing the compare thing later today and if your interested pm me.

 

[swampsniper]

If you don't have to move your generator around a lot you can easily convert the exhaust system to use a larger muffler. You can get it to the point where the mechanical noises are louder than the exhaust. Mine is on the porch, sits in a mount made from an old tire to keep vibration from structure. It is a Coleman and some of the imports are a lot smoother to begin with. Noise doesn't have to be a problem.

 

[BlkHawk73]

These city folks couldn't get by with an electric can opener.

As for myself...it wasn't many yrs ago that we got hit with a big ice storm up here. No electricity - in February - for 9 days! Wasn't that bad. Kinda like camping in the winter.

As far as everyone clamoring and complainging about the heat and not having AC...if you can't take the heat , get out of the kitchen.

 

[telomerase]

>Plus I've tried hard not to get as addicted to air conditioning as 99% of the contiguous US seems to be.

Come down to Dallas and your non-addicted desiccated dust will be blowing away in the wind. This is my biggest problem in a blackout; my solution so far is a big screened-wall tent in my woods. Not a complete solution at 109 degrees; I need to set up come sort of backup power for a fan or two back there.

 

[mtnbkr]

I have an extra tank of gas for the grill, a coleman camp stove with an unopened can of fuel, about 12 gallons of water, canned, dry, and nonperishable foodstuffs stored on a shelf in the basement and in the kitchen pantry, a deepfreezer about half full of frozen foods (Mostly meat) with several blocks of ice to keep it cold during outages, a wideband receiver that runs on 2 AA's, plenty of spare batteries of all sizes we use, flashlights in known places on each floor of the house, etc.

In each car, we have a stash consisting of first aid supplies, flashlights with extra batteries, 2qts water, trioxane fuel bars, large tin cups, freeze dried camp food, coffee and hot chocolate, matches, lighters, dogfood, etc.

Oh yeah, guns, guns, and more guns.

Chris

 

[greyhound]

Yep, got guns and ammo and lots of canned food/PowerBars etc to last a week.

Also have about 30 gallons of water, but honestly I don't know how long that would last for two people, a dog, and a cat. (During the elevated terror alert before GWBRWTETW (that's leftist for "George W. Bush's Racist War To Enslave The World") I got into the habit of buying one case of water every time I went to the store. Seemed like a pretty easy way to stock up without much effort).