Are you prepared for a blackout which can happen everywhere at any time?

[angels4u]

12 hours ago, other one said:

The Ice Storm and super cold we had last winter made us loose power for over a week. 8 kw generator made life bearable.  Someone stole  that generator while chained up and hard wired into my breaker box...   Thanks to a generous insurance company I replaced it with a 13kw and put it into the detached garage so it will be very difficult to take.  Just have to take drastic CO precautions.    It will run the whole house.  Kind of loads up when the A/C starts up but I'm working on that..

We’re living in Canada and the weather can be very unpredictable…

[other one]

7 hours ago, Bawb said:

You can make a solar generator. I made one last year. 12volt marine/car battery (or more than 1), 100 watt solar panel/solar controller, 2000 Watt inverter. You can find how-to's on YouTube or even this website: https://www.instructables.com/Solar-Power-System/

Other than running lights, inverters run batteries down really quick. 

 

I could convert the whole house to solar power for about $35,000.  We'd be ready for blackouts unless it's an ice storm covers your panels with an inch or so of ice.  That happens here.

[Starise]

 I use propane with a heat pump. If things went really bad in the winter I could heat stand alone ( no electric needed) with the propane. If it was long term and I couldn't get propane I would remove the gas fire logs and burn wood. I have a coal pellet stove in the basement and a small wood stove. I would probably use the wood stove and scrounge wood where ever I could get it. One way or another I think I could get heat.

In the summer- no A/C. I open my windows and live on the porch. Water- Go to the creek with a bucket lol. No light? Candles and battery lights. How long do I need to stay awake after dark anyhow? 

[Henry_iain]

Welcome to my world 

My country has been experiencing what we call load shedding since 2007. Just look up South African energy crisis for a decent summary. Corruption,  incompetence and politics play major parts.

Our economy has suffered greatly. We should technically have schedules telling us when this happens but eskom regularly changes it without sufficient warning. Usually it happens around 2 hours at a time. We switch of everything that could be damaged and we invest in little better powered lamps and candles.  Fortunately our weather patterns are always relatively mild. Even at the coldest times a warm jacket should be sufficient.

Many businesses have adapted by now and many have generators.

It's a very complex problem here. It is said it will still affect us at least 5 more years.  

Edited November 29, 2021 by Henry_iain

[Bawb]

1 hour ago, other one said:

Other than running lights, inverters run batteries down really quick. 

 

I could convert the whole house to solar power for about $35,000.  We'd be ready for blackouts unless it's an ice storm covers your panels with an inch or so of ice.  That happens here.

You can run a microwave off of it to heat food. You can also run a portable electric heater long enough to heat a small area to a survivable temperature for extended periods by shutting it off and on (monitoring your battery voltage and charging). Yeah, the ice thing kinda mucks up the works, but you can cover the panels at night with a tarp, unless you have the panels on your roof. Then it's kind of a pain, I guess.

[other one]

3 minutes ago, Bawb said:

You can run a microwave off of it to heat food. You can also run a portable electric heater long enough to heat a small area to a survivable temperature for extended periods by shutting it off and on (monitoring your battery voltage and charging). Yeah, the ice thing kinda mucks up the works, but you can cover the panels at night with a tarp, unless you have the panels on your roof. Then it's kind of a pain, I guess.

I have been looking at getting some panels for our old Winnebago...   It has two large capacity deep cycle batteries.  I could keep enough propane to last a couple of weeks;  2 hundred watt panels should be enough.   All depends on the problem with the blackouts and the time of year.   Most of ours is in the winter.  We had temps way below 0º F last winter and it would have been devastating to our house plumbing had we not had the generator to keep the natural gas central heat going..   RV is winterized.  

[existential mabel]

22 hours ago, angels4u said:

It looks we’re already in a invisible war but we know who holds the future:)

yes the principalities and the physical soon to be WW3.

[angels4u]

31 minutes ago, existential mabel said:

yes the principalities and the physical soon to be WW3.

Our help comes from the Lord,He will never leave us..

I Will Never Leave You Nor Forsake You 

"Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you." Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." - Deuteronomy 31:6-8

[Bawb]

4 hours ago, other one said:

I have been looking at getting some panels for our old Winnebago...   It has two large capacity deep cycle batteries.  I could keep enough propane to last a couple of weeks;  2 hundred watt panels should be enough.   All depends on the problem with the blackouts and the time of year.   Most of ours is in the winter.  We had temps way below 0º F last winter and it would have been devastating to our house plumbing had we not had the generator to keep the natural gas central heat going..   RV is winterized.  

Usually, if you keep you water running, it helps to prevent the pipes from freezing. The heat tape works well on pipes too, unless you have plastic pipe (which most houses do today).

Another good thing to keep on hand, especially when using deep cell batteries/solar panels and inverters would be 12 volt electric blankets. Again, monitoring your batteries is key. There are some folks who aren't really educated on how to survive when the brimstone hits the fan. If you type this into the YouTube: "Learn the Trick this Survivalist uses to stay warm! Winter Survival, Survival Hacks, Survival Tips" you will also find another way to keep warm in absence of electricity...

[Bawb]

2 hours ago, angels4u said:

Our help comes from the Lord,He will never leave us..

I Will Never Leave You Nor Forsake You 

"Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you." Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." - Deuteronomy 31:6-8

Yes! One has to realize that you can prepare just as Joseph did (meaning have enough to help others also and not just yourself). But in the grand scheme of things, it only by YeHovah's Protection and Grace that we persevere. You can hoard all the guns, ammo and canned food you want, but it could be all gone in an instant. Whereas His Grace endures! HalleluYah!