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What do you do? (Power Outage)

gunnut505gunnut505 Member Posts: 10,290
edited December 2006 in General Discussion
Just curious as to what some of you would do if the power went out for a day or three?
My power is still out since Thursday, and my little solar arrangement has paid for itself a hundred times already! It only creates enough juice to run a laptop or a small fridge until the bank of batteries dies, but then it recharges itself the next sunrise.
My only concern is that the pipes may freeze and burst, leaving a soggy mess; thank God for woodstoves!
In today's mass-marketed, multi-user social communities, power is almost never taken away for more than just a few minutes; wonder how the other half lives?

Comments

  • tobefreetobefree Member Posts: 7,401
    edited November -1
    Sit in the soft glow of Mr Heater I guess.
  • crims40crims40 Member Posts: 1,107 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Totally dependent on The Man to supply me with electricity in my old age to keep warm. I have natural gas to cook and blankets and upteen flashlites, but that's all.....never thought I would end up this way...[:(!][:(!]
    crims40
  • tomh.tomh. Member Posts: 3,817 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Camp out in the living room in front of the fireplace. Kitchen range is propane, so we can cook or boil water. Oil lamps for light.
    Had to do it for six days last winter during an ice storm. Kinda primitive, I know. But the power doesn't usually go off for more than a couple hours. So I can't justify a generator!
  • 2-barrel2-barrel Member Posts: 1,253 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I don't have to rely on electric to survive. I have a gas stove back up with 2 tanks of gas, a fireplace and a wood stove wich heats the house anyway. Plenty of canned foods and water jugs. I also have a generator if it gets real tuff.
  • spanielsellsspanielsells Member Posts: 12,498
    edited November -1
    Hopefully the wife would be "in the mood" a lot... [:D]
  • kimberkidkimberkid Member Posts: 8,857 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    We're all electric ... natural gas isn't even available. When we bought this house I got a 2500 watt generator to run appliances and we would have to stoke up the fireplaces for heat if we lost power in the winter.
    If you really desire something, you'll find a way ?
    ? otherwise, you'll find an excuse.
  • claysclays Member Posts: 1,913 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The Kohler 45KW comes on within 15seconds of a power loss. Life without power, don't know it.
  • allen griggsallen griggs Member Posts: 35,183 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have a wood stove which will heat the house. My main heat is a propane heater which does not use electricity. Also have a propane stove. I have 300 gallons of propane in the tank right now.
    I have oil lamps and plenty of oil. Have a battery powered radio, and a hand cranked radio, crank for 30 seconds, radio plays for 30 minutes.
    I used to have a generator, but I sold it to buy a deer rifle. Anyway, it was a gasoline powered model, what a hassle to store up all that gasoline. Dangerous, too. I need a propane generator.
  • spasmcreekspasmcreek Member Posts: 37,724 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    go to main breaker on pole & trip double throw switch then roll 10k portable miller weld&power over to plug for shop welder, link up double male cord & light up my life (hook up before start, avoid stupid)
  • spryorspryor Member Posts: 9,155
    edited November -1
    We live very ruraly and lengthy power outages are not unusual. I
    wired a 7,500watt generator into the breaker box about 15yrs. ago, and
    fire it up when the power goes off.
    We can run the whole house on it, and it got a three day workout
    during the ice storm a few weeks back.
  • idsman75idsman75 Member Posts: 13,398 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    It usually happens at night. My landlord wakes up at 4am everyday. He's in bed by 8:30pm. The generator is always fired up by the time I wake up if that happens. Then I hit the road and drive about 30 miles south to either go to work or to breakfast if I don't have to work.
  • gunnut505gunnut505 Member Posts: 10,290
    edited November -1
    So I guess a lot of you don't care/know about Carbon Monoxide poisoning, what with all the oil lamps and candles and such.
    I wanted to get a generator last year when it got dicey with electricity, but I settled on a coupla solar panels and 3 Optima batteries for emergencies. Can't play my PS2 though....
  • buschmasterbuschmaster Member Posts: 14,229 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    it did go out this summer for about 3 days. most of the time I sat in the tub, and drank beer and listened to the shortwave. (FM was boring)
  • nyforesternyforester Member Posts: 2,575 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I start drinking all the beer in the fridge. You don't want it getting warm.
    Abort Cuomo
  • fishkiller41fishkiller41 Member Posts: 50,608
    edited November -1
    I live in "HURRICANE COUNTRY". So a Generator is pretty-much a must..
    6,500W Gen. that i back-feed the panel with.Everything works just like "normal"Didn't need it at all last summer...Hope it stays thata way!!

    Jeff
  • iwannausernameiwannausername Member Posts: 7,131
    edited November -1
    My practiced drill for no power is to either wait a few hours and then its either the altima running a couple of 400w inverters, takes about 8 gallons for a 16 hour run, or my generator. Either runs the fridge, the extra freezer, and everything but the AC in our living room (fan, sat, tv, dvd, fish tank, laptop, lamp), although I could add a window shaker ac unit when I have the generator running. During hurricane season I have 20 gallons of gas at all times, and get an extra 50 when there's actually one coming (not too often). I do loose power randomly for up to 5 hours at a time during even nice weather as well.
  • rongrong Member Posts: 8,459
    edited November -1
    Woodstove,fireplace,
    tons of candles,toilet tissue
    plenty of water
    (beaver pond out back)
    don't mind warm tonic
    and gives me a reason
    to stop eating cardboard
    and start eating spam and beans
  • sig232sig232 Member Posts: 8,018
    edited November -1
    I have a large Kerosine Heater that will heat most of my place. I know to vent the place to avoid Carbon M. problems. Also have a gas fireplace, gas hot water heat, gas stove, etc.

    Lots of camping gear if I need it for backup; a coleman stove, lights, etc. Plus an outside dual burner propane heater.

    Large four burner stainless steel outside barbie!

    As long as we did not run out of water we would be OK for a long time.
  • 11b6r11b6r Member Posts: 16,588 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Live in the country- last 5 years, power failure from 1 to 8 days. We use a wood burning furnace. We have oil lamps, and a Coleman table LAMP. Pair of 2500 watt inverters for fridge, deepfreeze, etc. Use the deep cycle batteries for my trolling motor. Propane camping stove for grub. Be sure to have a coffee pot and a real canopener stashed somewhere. Read, play cards, play w/ baby's Mom. etc. BTW, anyone looking for non-electric stuff- www.lehmans.com Folks in Kidron Ohio that supply the Amish.
  • buschmasterbuschmaster Member Posts: 14,229 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    my great grandpa got a farm in 1910. the city grew around it, he sold off his farmland but kept the farmhouse (more like a 3-room shack), and eventually the farmhouse was in the middle of town. he didn't get electricity until he had to, which was about 1957.

    I don't think any power outage would have bothered him.
  • jbw1776jbw1776 Member Posts: 3,056
    edited November -1
    Where I live, out in the country, it seems if it sprinkles we loose electricity. Bought this little over a year ago, 15Kw standby. Absolutely love it. No more scrounging up gass, generators and extension cords. I have every curcuit in the house and shop hooked to it, including central heat/air. Only thing not on it is my stove and clothes dryer, which are both electric.

    13kW.jpg

    Ben
  • 11BravoCrunchie11BravoCrunchie Member Posts: 33,423 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I'd sit in the dark and cry until the power came back on. Or I'd starve, whatever happened first.
  • FrancFFrancF Member Posts: 35,278 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I am used to it when I lived in the hills, treated it just like camping.
    Cooked on the franklin stove or used the reflector oven in front of the fire place, Aladdin oil lamps for lite, and battery powered radios.
  • Fatboy livesFatboy lives Member Posts: 708 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Wow how to answer such a question, I'm 35 years old, we didn't even have electric untill I was 6 years old, so I well rember doing with out it. I heat with a wood stove, and can cook on it as well. If baking is needed, I've got a dutch oven. So guess I'll get by.
  • sotheresothere Member Posts: 1,414 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I go here,The old steel tractor seat on top of the porch's right hand corner post is my deer stand[:D]
    gunstractorsbunkhouse027.jpg
  • allen griggsallen griggs Member Posts: 35,183 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by jbw1776
    Where I live, out in the country, it seems if it sprinkles we loose electricity. Bought this little over a year ago, 15Kw standby. Absolutely love it. No more scrounging up gass, generators and extension cords. I have every curcuit in the house and shop hooked to it, including central heat/air. Only thing not on it is my stove and clothes dryer, which are both electric.

    13kW.jpg

    Ben


    The Guardian is a beautiful sight.
    I need 7.5 kw to start my well pump, so 15 kw would be the cat's meow. Maybe next year.
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