What are your hacks when the electricity goes out

[Hammock Parties]

masturbating in the dark

so pretty much like any other day

[Rain Man]

If you have a nearby fast-moving river, a 20 ft wooden wheel, and some copper wire, you can solve any electric outage problem you have.

[crayzkirk]

wood burning stove w/catalyst at the lake house. Doesn't help in the summer however it's great in the winter. On a well house so we can lose water. Have multiple 5 gallon jugs for drinking and can tote lake water for toilets if necessary.

my city home if there's issues, I just stay with family/friends.

[Holladay]

I am the last on my line, so power goes out ANYWHERE, I go out. I have well water. Propane heat. Old farm house.



When I did a major renovation, I had the electrician put in one of these so I could power the whole house with one pigtail:



An aside: Mine is a 3 way lever switch, big box 3'x 1.5". Up is connected to the grid, middle is neutral, down connected to the generator. When the electrician put it in, he connected a light bulb next to it which is linked to the grid. I use the generator in the down position. When the light turns on, the grid is back up genous!

Then bought this. Duel fuel. Remote start which I can use in the bedroom.



I had been running gas only. Trying to buy gas during the '05 ice storm, proved difficult (3 weeks w/o power). I had 6 5 gal cans and went through them in a week. Also, how long will the gas be good, even with Sta Bil? So with Helene in my mind, why not use the propane (bottled gas stays good for a long time) from my 500 gal propane that runs my house. I was thinking about trenching a hard line into my garage (+200 ft). But a bunch of trees around, not a cheap idea. The propane guy from my area suggested tapping off of the tank to re-fill my small 20 gal BBQ tanks.



I decided to use those and a bought a wheeled 40 gal tank. Not cheap, ~$200.




I decided to place the generator in one location, instead of moving the cars outside (electric garage door) to maneuver the generator outside, close to the garage door next to the short pig tail and vent. I understand that propane burns cleaner (doesn't need as much venting) and quieter. Also, it will burn twice as long. Downside is that it provides 80% of gasoline power.

So I needed 50' (heavy duty 8/4 wire) of this to run across the garage ceiling to drop down the pig tail next to the generator from the breaker box. Not cheap ~$200.



Now, just un- cover the unit, turn on propane, start it, plug in pig tail, once there is electricity, crack the garage door

I have heard about the headaches with Generac's. Also, out $6-8k. Mine comes out <$2k and my time. I don't own a farm/business to warrant the cost difference. I suppose the Generac provide better peace of mind.

edit: I put on a battery maintainer after my trial run this summer and found the battery was dead. It turns out the generator came with a plug in trickle charger!!

[Otter]

Pot belly wood stove
Cord of wood
Remington Tactical loaded with #4 buck
Pantry
Got plenty of water running in the back yard that would just need to boil
Batteries
Couple books & DVDs
Patience & stay busy


Haven't gone down the generator road just yet for some reason.

[Holladay]

I buy 1/4 cow and 1/2 a pig every year and store them in the big freezer. Propane stove, water heater and furnace. Lots of canned items in the pantry.

Everyone else have mentioned good ideas.

As to guns, yes, many. But I don't know how to skin a deer

And the above mentioned generator.

Haven't gone down the generator road just yet for some reason.

Reason NOT to have meaning:

-How often are you without power for a possible extended time? Hurricane/ tornado/ blizzard zones? Heck, even earthquake zones...

-How easy is it to set up electrical to run the whole house? I don't do extension cords all over the floor.

-Cost analysis. Generac's are nice "auto" start but expensive. There is the maintenance cost and time. A decent sized portable generator is much cheaper and easier to maintain, but the hassle to get it going.

-will it run my whole house? Mine is a 12k peak/9k running watts. Not huge and not small. A microwave is 500 watts. I have 2 refrigerators/1 deep freezer/240 amp well pump/not sure cloths dryer. It runs the whole house nicely. If a high load source kicks in, you can hear the generator moan a bit under the start up load then levels out. If all frig/frez/pump/miro/dryer/dishwasher all run...I am toast. So don't

It installed 15 solar panels that runs my house during the day. I am not sure if the power goes out if it will power the house. Thinking it won't because it goes through the meter. Gotta figure that one out...

[DenverChief]

Originally Posted by Holladay

I buy 1/4 cow and 1/2 a pig every year and store them in the big freezer. Propane stove, water heater and furnace. Lots of canned items in the pantry.

Everyone else have mentioned good ideas.

As to guns, yes, many. But I don't know how to skin a deer

And the above mentioned generator.



Reason NOT to have meaning:

-How often are you without power for a possible extended time? Hurricane/ tornado/ blizzard zones? Heck, even earthquake zones...

-How easy is it to set up electrical to run the whole house? I don't do extension cords all over the floor.

-Cost analysis. Generac's are nice "auto" start but expensive. There is the maintenance cost and time. A decent sized portable generator is much cheaper and easier to maintain, but the hassle to get it going.

-will it run my whole house? Mine is a 12k peak/9k running watts. Not huge and not small. A microwave is 500 watts. I have 2 refrigerators/1 deep freezer/240 amp well pump/not sure cloths dryer. It runs the whole house nicely. If a high load source kicks in, you can hear the generator moan a bit under the start up load then levels out. If all frig/frez/pump/miro/dryer/dishwasher all run...I am toast. So don't

It installed 15 solar panels that runs my house during the day. I am not sure if the power goes out if it will power the house. Thinking it won't because it goes through the meter. Gotta figure that one out...

Get a backup battery - I catch enough sun to power my house, charge my battery and send back to the grid during the day. I run on battery all night until the sun comes up in the morning during the summer.

[Graystoke]

We don’t lose power much but if we did:
4-6 cord of dry hardwood is usually on hand since I heat with wood.
10-20 gallons of gas.
Generator to run my well pump
Candles/Flashlights
Propane and Propane accessories
Plenty of guns and ammo…although I hardly shoot them on a regular basis.
If shit got bad I’d kill a deer or small game as I live in the woods. The first hunts would be easy.
Zombie apocalypse vehicles on hand like motorcycles/quads
Fishing gear galore.

[DenverChief]

Originally Posted by Graystoke

We don’t lose power much but if we did:
4-6 cord of dry hardwood is usually on hand since I heat with wood.
10-20 gallons of gas.
Generator to run my well pump
Candles/Flashlights
Propane and Propane accessories
Plenty of guns and ammo…although I hardly shoot them on a regular basis.
If shit got bad I’d kill a deer or small game as I live in the woods. The first hunts would be easy.
Zombie apocalypse vehicles on hand like motorcycles/quads
Fishing gear galore.

Make a suggestion? Try using chem lights/glow sticks first and use your "precious" resources (candles/flashlights) last.

[Holladay]

It seems we all prepare to some degree. It depends on your situation.

[Chief Roundup]

I have a generator and 5 gallons of gas that I keep in the garage. I run that through the generator about every 4 months.
The power goes out when we have an ice storm or when some dumbass runs into a pole and such. That can be just a few hours or sometimes when our best linemen are elsewhere repairing damage from a storm the less experienced lineman tries to fix it and blows the transformer and then they have to make a trip across the state to get a transformer. It might be 12 hours or so.

[Holladay]

What does that cost? I looked into it a bit. Battery + install = $6-8k. Then 8 yrs later, battery is dead. Like I said, no clue. I am listening though...

While solar batteries have key benefits, like providing backup power, reducing reliance on the utility, and potentially saving more money on electricity bills, they come with a hefty price tag. You can expect to pay at least $12,000 to potentially upwards of $20,000 to install a single home battery.

Batteries are a good investment for homeowners whose utility company doesn’t buy solar power at the full retail price for electricity, want access to backup power, or want to maximize their renewable energy usage. If your utility has full retail net metering or you don’t need backup power, a battery probably isn’t worth it for you.

Regrettably, my electric company doesn't buy back my excess during the day (NE KS REA). So we manage our usage for large power draws only during the day. Thus our electric monthly payment is ~ $50. BUT, the large panel array cost $30k which we financed at 3% that costs ~$270/month. So it looks like we pay Peter to pay Paul. 3% money is less than ~10% over time in a decent mutual fund.

Thus I am not sold on solar. I think it will increase my property value. Not sure.

[DenverChief]

Originally Posted by Holladay

What does that cost? I looked into it a bit. Battery + install = $6-8k. Then 8 yrs later, battery is dead. Like I said, no clue. I am listening though...



Regrettably, my electric company doesn't buy back my excess during the day (NE KS REA). So we manage our usage for large power draws only during the day. Thus our electric monthly payment is ~ $50. BUT, the large panel array cost $30k which we financed at 3% that costs ~$270/month. So it looks like we pay Peter to pay Paul. 3% money is less than ~10% over time in a decent mutual fund.

Thus I am not sold on solar. I think it will increase my property value. Not sure.

I'm shooting from the hip on the numbers...we bought the largest battery they offered and cost around $10K. Comes with a retention warranty of 10 years. If it falls below certain power retention levels it is replaced. Expected lifespan of the battery is between 15-20 years. I see there are some newer batteries with 15 year warranties.

[DenverChief]

Typical summer day production/use




Green = Battery Charged/Consumed
Blue = Solar generated
Orange = solar/battery power consumed
Grey = Power consumed on/sent back to grid.

[Holladay]

Understand. Because my energy consumption is so low during the night and my bill is so low during the day in NE KS, I can't see dropping $10k on something I don't need a whole lot. If I lose power, I have a pretty nice generator back up.

It might be different if the power company would buy back, but they don't.

I will have to look into that again though.