A question? Preppers in the Sandy area. What worked and what didn't?

Or two 500 gallon propane tanks. Living rural has it's advantages.

We had 5 1/2 day outage for Irene, then another 5 1/2 day outage for the snowstorm last Halloween. That was the last straw and we got our generator. But we went thru both those outages without power.

It was OK. Most of the food even survived Irene, of course we were careful opening the fridge and used stuff with attention to what would go bad first, but remember it was summer, and we had to throw out very little food.

Meanwhile the idiots on CNN.com are saying you have to throw out food after 4 hours or something like that. Their advice is worse than useless.

Exactly

Sadly many people will hang on every word CNN says.

But doesn't the fuel consumption vary with the electrical load? If you run enough energy to keep the fridges and freezers cool, why would it matter if you do it in 15 minute spurts or gradually as the appliances demand the power?

And compared to refrigerators, things like computers use very little power. So how much are you saving with all this self denial?

Serious question, I don't know the answer.

What kind of dog is in your avatar pic?

I am 45 miles from the coast. No damage to my home, but I lost power for 24 hours. I have relatives at the shore, so I was very worried. I kept sane and heard everything that was going on by listening to a talk radio station on my Sangean MMR-77 radio. I bought it for my emergency bugout bag, and had it running all that time on 2 AA batteries. It also has a crank when batteries are not available. It's water resistant with an AM/FM band.

I think I bought it online at Amazon. Great buy! I also recommend buying a battery operated lantern or two.

Get an LP (propane) multi fuel generator, stock propane instead of gas.

1) it's cheaper per btu (I pay $2.20 per gal)
2) if the cylinder is intact, it stores for years, no rotation or additives nessicary.
3) when all gasoline was out, I could still get plenty of LP, no lines for that.
4) burns much cleaner
5) you can't cook with gasoline or diesel, thousands of kits to cook, cool, heat and generate using propane. Any rv shop will have what you need.
6) it's possible and safe to get a BIG tank, 100 gallons of gas is a major hazard and could be used to deny a HO insurance claim if it went up, in NY you are limited to 5 gallons of gas for storage
7) if you have large amounts of diesel set back, it will be confiscated for use in military vehicles.
8) it's scaleable, start off with a few gas grill tanks and build up your capacity every month by adding a new tank. Use 20 lb tanks or smaller, they are easy to move with one guy and a car, and can be filled by yourself without a costly delivery service.

With a suburban 100 gal tank you can heat, cook and run a genset for a long time from a cylinder the size of a refrigerator... And you can get a power free propane fridge too.

Hope this helps, I just live in a cabin in the woods, tried hauling gas and different fuels and nothing is nearly as versatile as LP

He is a rough coated karabash (black head) Anatolian Shepherd a flock guardian dog bred to protect their charges from wolves, jackal, bears and anything else that might threaten them. They are a quick Molosser breed and min can jump above my head from a standstill position, which makes them a fantastic watchdog.

Having said that they are not a breed for a novice owner and require much continuous socialization to be a good dog they are often crossed with Great Pyrenees dogs and hence are easier to control.

When we lost our Australian Heeler I came across the below article when I lost the opportunity to adopt a Great Pyrenees/Anatolian Shepherd cross and decided to go for a purebred Anatolian Shepherd.

5 Minutes in the Life of a Geologist
[link to www.anatolianshepherd.cc]

I bet all your guns and ammo did not help you much indeed !!

LOL! Glad you have kept your sense of humour. BTW, that is what would happen to me.

GREAT idea tho.

How about a blizzard then. Try -36 4 days running almost 5 days. I have wood heat and a wood cookstove. Gravity water. Those in the area without gravity water had no water without generators. After the fuel was gone then no water. Pumps all froze because no heat. Days to thaw and fix later. Split pipes and alike. Just a little storm with a little wind but like a freak it took out a substation. Thats how easy shit can happen.

I just got power back this evening. You definitely have an understanding for what you want or need when you need it the most.

Things I would recommend:

-FOOD: Can opener is essential. Canned items are good if you have room for storage, otherwise get those freeze dried meals for camping assuming you have plenty of water. I was lucky to have water from the tap, but I filled pots and pans not knowing if I would lose it at any time. Regardless, I filtered and boiled it to be on the safe side.

-LIGHTING: I had a 100 pack of tea candles that helped for a bit, but it didn't really do the job. I recommend a hand crank flashlight and lantern. Also, someone on the radio recommended using those outdoor LED patio lights for inside after charging outside in the sun all day; I thought that was a good idea.

-COMMUNICATION: It was a challenge keeping my cell phone charged. I used my car charger but it wasn't that practical and it broke after a while. I remember my laptop had a full battery so I was able to charge it off of that for a while. Trying to find local stores or friends that had outlets to plug your charger into was challenging if you want to keep in touch with family. (at least let them know you're safe) Radio stations were keeping people informed of where gas and help was available, so make sure you have a radio.

I should also note that a map would have been helpful. Going to find gas and not knowing the back roads that well if my phone GPS wasn't working would have been a nightmare in itself, but it's good to have for the sake of being rerouted because of detours.

... and have a battery clock or watch. I realized that you can quickly lose track of time when your only clocks are the microwave, stove, and cell phone.

The first lesson you should learn is you need your preps before the storm hits and the power goes out. Do it now and get yourself ready today, not the day before the storm. It blows my mind how flashlights and batteries are always sold out the day before something happens. How can you not have these items already.

I have a generator but only run it two hours a day. The two hours is just to heat up hot water for the shower and freeze the fridge down. I use a simple power inverter and deep cell battery to run a light and charge the phones for the rest of the day. Its a silent, cheap, and small alternative to an expensive generator setup.

Sure will.

Despite the fact that I am sure to piss off the generator crowd, (which is great for a short lengths of time) I'm going to say bite the bullet and let the fridge go off for anything that might go on longer. Prepacked ice as suggested will keep it cold for awhile anyway. You can get a smaller 12 volt camping cooler that runs on a solar panel and a battery or your car at idle in a pinch for long term.

The reasons are many that I prefer the cooler unit. One it's portable. two, it uses less electricity than your household fridge, three, it's perfectly safe, four less costly, five, you don't have to store gas/diesel, six, you don't have to fight the mob at the gas station when you run out of gas, seven, it's quiet. Eight, once you've paid for it, it's free to run. (on solar) Nine, if you do have generator you can save it for other things.

On a budget a generator will eat any cash you have prepping for emergencies. Better to go with non perishable goods than trying to upkeep your comfortable lifestyle with all the goodies like a fridge.

For cold weather survival, drain your pipes to keep them from bursting. For heating, instead of trying to heat a large area focus on a smaller room. As someone said, a candle provides heat. This is true. At fourteen years old I once spent the night in -30 C in a quincy (kinda like an igloo, maybe that's funny to some, but the Inuit/Eskimo people would out survive us all) perfectly warm because of a sleeping bag, body heat and a candle.(ventilation is required, low height to keep in the heat which rises.) This is possible because you are heating such a small area. Building one takes the skills though. Real prepping isn't buying things, it's skills and knowledge. I'll be happy to take some "preppers" unused gun from his cold dead frozen hands. Sorry if that's rude, but a gun is not prepping.

Someone also suggested diversity is key, it was bang on. To stay or go??? That is the question. I have a camper fully loaded with food, camping gear, a solar panel, and 12 volt appliances (fridge/oven/flashlights/radio) that I could jump in and flee. (If you can leave before a disaster, by all means, GO.) It also has a trailer hitch, yep, I'd bring my 12 ft boat with me. It also has a bike rack. If I needed to ditch the van I could take the boat in a flood, or, ride a bike if gas is unavailable. Diversity.

Mind you, this stuff isn't even prepping gear really, it's mainly just my camping stuff that is maintained in a go ready position. I've thought about it, planned, this is also vital.

Again, stopping for length.

Your point in a hurricane situation as it seems you have severe tunnel vision.

I've just gotta say ... there's something I'm missing here.

Ok if your house was damaged, you were injured, or if it's sub-freezing weather and you have no heat ... I'm not talking to you!

But for the rest of you, those who are saying "3 days without power was rough." Seriously? Doesn't anyone go camping any more? You know, camping:

Sleep on the hard ground. Freeze your butt off. Wake up wet.
Eat half-cooked stew out of a pot with soot and ash in it. Find that it tastes delicious.
Tell stories. Sing songs.
Look up at the stars. Wonder at your smallness.
Poop in a bucket. Dump it in the woods.
Go to bed when it gets dark. Get up when it gets light.

Three days? Ok I must be missing something here. Right? Someone please tell me I'm missing something here.

You seem to have done that doom in style, nice.

Good point about the telescope, I'm a bit interested in astronomy but haven't had one since I was a kid as I'm in a BRIGHT area and would probably have to go 50 miles to properly use one.

Suggestion with generators:
Run it only periodically to get your fridge cooled down and furnace running. Turn it off again. Use deep cycle batteries with solar and/or charger for less power intensive things.
Car chargers and LED lights are cheap.

If you've got even a small solar panel you can keep phones and lights going. Good if your generator dies or gas becomes unavailable. If a little clever you can hook an exercise bike to a DC generator to charge your batteries. A few cloudy days in a row, no gas to be had, you can charge up your batteries with muscle power.

Very nice looking dog. Speaking of Heelers, we had one of those two. One smart cookie and quite a handful. But loyal and brave, would give her life for us. And great on the farm.

You know you guys. One day its going off and not coming back on. The power. I hate to say it but its a real possiblity. Those smart meters for one can all be turned off remotely. Mother nature can make it permanent. Wood heat is your only resource if it ever happens. Wood to cook with or solar ovens. Even if your not allowed by law to install one. Get one. After the fact whom gives a shit. A couple cords of wood and you could hold out for a long time.

The loss of life if it ever happens will be biblical. You'd have to get away from all the dead. Disease would get you if you didn't. I can't even imagine.

I live where I would make it and have been set up for years for this. Always knew sooner or later shit would happen, will happen.

Even being prepared for life off the grid has its challenges. Life gets harder and the work load heavier. Not for the meek. Alot of people simply will not make it. I'd say 90% are gone.

You need to be living this way before it happens. Harder to start from scratch when it happens. So much to do and get set up. It never really ends ever.

When it does and if it does. You have what you have and thats it. You have to manufacture the rest yourself. You need to teach yourself alot of different things and get handy in a hurry.

Even a simple garden has its challenges. You need to know what your doing in every respect. Its life or death if you don't.

Why, thank you.

four days without electrical services or heat. Word of Warning! I live in an over 55 community. When the power went out about 9 the night of the storm, we were abandoned by the personnel who normally run the place. People were in need of oxygen and were placed in hallways where generator power kept light in the halls and the elevators running. 2 days later, the personnel did a scant check on things and made calls for service. We did not get any for another 2 days.
What worked: An old Pepsi-Cola ice chest. Stocked with ice, it saved ALL of my food. Others in the building were told to pool their food into a communal soup and other meals, but the people working it wanted donations. By the 3rd day, they had run out with over 100 people in the building. The rich people up on the hill who have individual cottages came down after they heard there was food and wanted to be served by what the others had cooked. They were thrown out! Used "canned heat" with a burner holder to make breakfast each day of Turkey bacon and an egg. An Old drip coffee maker for coffee worked! A few Candles, etc. for some hours at night, I highly recommend "COAST" lanterns, it lasted on 4 "C" batteries the entire period and is still good. I had an Emerson radio that ran on 4 Double "A" batteries that lasted also.
A lot of people left the building to go with relatives because it was too cold inside. GAMES came in handy to pass time. Phones were dead, cable TV according to some in the building was still out even after restoration. I don't have cable. Drove a car out to see how bad it was. Many homes smashed, trees down, Power polls pulled out the concrete sidewalks and thrown into the street with all power lines attached. People just hanging outside of homes, garages open, no food, no heat, no help. 4 days! Area: Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

What you say is true. I have a 4000 watt surge, 2000 watt run inverter hooked up to 2 of the largest deep cells I could find, and the batteries have a trickle charger to keep them fully charged for when the time comes. During power outages the generator can run for a couple hours to run the big stuff and cool the fridge and freezer while it also charges the deep cells. The inverter is set up on 2 circuts in the house and powers some lights, computers and tv when the genny is off. I'm looking into getting the same set up hooked up in my shop but with a small wind generator to keep the batteries charged.

I'm a sucker for generators and inverters and have multiples of each in different sizes, and could easily pull the batteries out of my vehicles and have a couple of other inverter power sources at hand.

I second the wood heat. We have enough here for about 2 years and I broke down and bought a splitter last year just for a SHTF scenario. Used to rent splitters, but not an option during TEOTWAWKI. We have a simple wood stove, but it gets the job done.

Wood equals smoke and I think I would only use it as a dire last resort... Lowes is the only hardware store here and they don't have propane generators, I didn't even know about them, going to order one now though.

Agreed. But I think/hope people are discussing long term survival due to something more serious than a 3 day glitch.

What they want to know is how the "electro" tools worked.

Did they started emmiting weird screeching sounds, rythmic sounds, almost ressembling a codified language?

Put your fingers around your ears. Anything unnormal?