Dr. Acula and Friends: Emergency Winter Prep Tips!!! (411)

great info....even for those accustomed to sub-degree temps...

Without question a wood stove is key.

the food that is cooked on a wood stove...

lol thats a huge compliment! lol :)

thanks

thank ye... gotcha in there! :)

And here's me complaining it's gonna be in the 30s tonight. :O I sure don't miss the snow!

Also I have a radio/flashlight thing like that too. Thankfully I didn't have to use it yet but it's charged.

Great Thread here's a few tips- we deal with this a lot in Alaska.
If your using kerosene heaters in your house make sure it's not air tight and there is ventilation 100's of people die from asphyxiation/carbon monoxide poisoning every winter also only use K-1 grade kerosene. NEVER...fill or refill a hot or running heater. Here's a good source for safety info [link to nasdonline.org]
Keep your water dripping kitchen sink, bathroom sink,tub it will keep the line from freezing also open up all the cabinets under sinks just that little bit of heat will keep pipes along outside walls from freezing. If your water does freeze make sure all the faucets are off if you leave. Friend came home to 5 inches of water in house last week when water thawed at 22 above. Keep batteries in your pockets and also any medication you have that cannot be frozen or that is in glass containers. Good Luck to you all.

Welcome to Winter in Michigan. Should have came last year we had a mild one.



Gas fire place is a good idea, I rely on my gas stove unless its very cold, then we get the generator up and running.

Thank you for the welcome

love the German food everywhere....I need to cool it on the sausage though! Frankenmuth is a cute little town, I live an hour or so from there.

Last Edited by allisaTX on 12/30/2012 06:38 PM

hmm sounds like your in ky? by the dates of the storms,im in southeast ky,london area ,radio charger is nice thanks for the tip ,i shall find one

Great advice.

I've had the furnace go out one winter and we used the oven to make food to keep the place warm. We were living on frozen pizzas and other frozen foods and baking cakes, breads and muffins for about a week.

We also had the power go out in the summer. If that ever happens, you do NOT want to be lighting candles-they heat the place up FAST.
Use those candles to help warm you up in the winter.

Good tips and do seem in accordance with forecast models
[link to www.meteociel.fr]

Thanks Dr. A!

These are great tips at this time. I've already found myself digging out clothes I didn't touch last winter!

As for that cold front-

During the holidays most $1 stores have battery operated candles that most people use to put in their windows. These are EXCELLENT in emergencies. I just bought a bunch because they are harder to find outside of Christmas.

Also, baby wipes are SUPER cheap and will help you save water in a power outage. You can use them for fast wash-ups and clean-ups and a bunch of other ways. You can buy a huge pack of them for about $3 and change at most Walmarts.

Just my 2 cents.

I'm in the coal fields


one of those counties

Last Edited by Dr. Acula on 12/30/2012 07:02 PM

good tips! :)

I'm adding the baby wipes tidbit to the OP

good advice!

added it to the OP with credit to you

Changed the thread title to

Dr. Acula and Friend's Emergency Winter Prep Tips!!!

cos i aint the only one giving out great tips

thanks for the help everyone!

Last Edited by Dr. Acula on 12/30/2012 06:58 PM

When I was growing up ...at one time we lived in a house with NO heater, NO kind of heat.

My mom bought us three Kerosene heaters and that is how we kept warm.

We had a 55 gallon tank outside and refilled it about three times a winter. The cost for a full tank was $50.

As an adult many decades later (in 2000) I moved to Atlanta and the power went out for three days.......I nearly froze and went out and bought two Kerosene heaters...then the power came back on.

At that time in Georgia kerosene was cheap fuel.

I never needed the kerosene heaters again there.

I then moved to New Mexico and still have my two brand new/never used kerosene heaters.

I know how to use them and care for them but out here

Kerosene is absolutely prohibitive in price running about

$8.00 a gallon.

At that current price a 55 gallon drum of kerosene would cost about $440.........then to go over winter minimun would be a whopping approximate cost of $1,320

Wow we have sure come a long way in cost of kerosene from my younger days.

Anyway......I got a Little Buddy and prepped up 6 tanks of propane.

I wish I could get cheap kerosene out here but not.

All else on your check list is pretty much already in my preps right down to the solar lights.

Now I have another story for you about using clear plastic to cover windows.

I lived in an apartment in ATLANTA...same one where the power went out.

The windows were just terrible with huge drafts.

One bedroom was especially horrible and got the full force of the winter winds.

I went to Big Lots and bought heavy gauge clear plast shower curtains. I put on over that drafty window and duck taped that sucker up to the window real tight.

The wind poured in that window so so much it actually caused the plastic to "bulge" outward into the apartment.

I looked at that thing and was just amazed at how well the duck tape held the plasttic to the window and that is how I survived that window in realive comfort.

Get the supplies now before you need them or wish to hell you had gotten them.

Also...get lots of weather stripping and lots of duck tape to tape up doors.

I also duck tape under all cabinets that contain pipes...like under the kitchen sink. These places are notorious for drafts. I stuff those wirey/coppery scrubbing pads around the pipes in the hole and then duck tape around and over them...closing up the hole.

This will cut down on drafting from under sinks and in the bathrooms.

Closing up all drafty areas of where you live will help tremendously.

5 , good thread DR.

I bought 5 pair of Rocky heavyweight fleece long underwear. comfortable and warm. I wear it 24/7. I also bought 100 chemical handwarmers.

If your going to turn in your guns learn how to fight....

That sucks about the price of kerosene! I'm not sure what it is here... i still have last years batch. lol it burns. I'll keep it for years i dont care. lol
It was like 4 bucks when i bought the last batch.

its sad how prices have changed! its damn right robbery!

I know many people around here who use Kerosene as their only source of heat.

awesome about the window! it just shows that trick works!

glad ur preps are in order! :)

stay warm, dry and happy this winter! :)

I agree with OP ........get lots and lots more of those

hand warmers, body warmers,,, toe warmers...whatever warmers you can stock up on.

Also if you are using kerosene heaters YOUR HAVE TO HAVE A DRAFT. ........AND THAT FLAME BETTER BURN BLUE CAUSE IF IT BURNS YELLOW YOU ARE JUST PUMPING OUT COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF CARBON DIOXIDE...AND YOU COULD DIE.

Not too sure about kerosene (paraffin) heaters as they give off fumes and alot of moisture. The UK tends to be very damp, with high relative humidity in winter. Ventilation is a must. But on that note, I do have one of those kerosene 'cookers' which can provide both a cooking stove and means of heat. Paraffin has sored in price so Instead, and for not much more money, I've a little of a very refined and safe Lamp oil for both that, and my small oil lamp. It is a vegetable oil that does not fume at all. Both cooker and lamp are unused but bought after Britain became a giant icecube in 2010. That was very very harsh for us here and it really brought home, that the cold can kill.

Brilliant idea about shower curtains. That is advice I shall be taking. Thanks!

STILL haven't properly sunk you teeth into improving your grammar, I see, Dr.Acula.

HELP: It's: "Friends' ", and NOT: "Friend's", as you...bloody-well, mistakenly put it!

Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!!!!!!!!!

Some vampire YOU are!!!

Never watched 'Interview With The Vampire' ???!!!...

I wanna pass along to you a simple yet awesome way to make a candle...

Like bacon? WHO DOESN'T?! (well a vegan might not...)

For this project you will need a jar...

Mason Jar/Canning Jar (no not the Masonic order,just a canning jar)
or reuse a jar you get food in... like a spaghetti jar... etc
(or maybe a smaller jar if you want)


Take about a pound of bacon... fatty works best!!!

Simply fry the bacon, eat the bacon or give it to others who are in need of bacon... Keep the grease that comes off the bacon... Try to remove any little pieces of bacon that are still in the grease... pour the grease into a glass jar...

(FYI don't pour hot grease in a cold jar... otherwise room temp canning jars can take the heat...)

if you dont have enough grease to fill it all the way up.

Its all cool, dont fret just put the candle somewhere out of your way (no refrigeration required!!!) and fill it up the next time you make bacon!

Now lets say you had enough grease... you want around an inch space from top of jar to grease...

so you filled it up and its a liquid... let it cool until it solidifies... now take a chop stick or something similar and make a hole in the center for the wick.

you can make a wick out of many things...

for a quart jar
take a piece of cloth or paper about the size of a dollar bill and roll it long ways very very tight and insert it in the hole you made in the grease.

trim the wick to were about half an inch is exposed above the grease

coat the wick in bacon grease and you got your self a homemade bacon candle!!

It will give off a bacon scent... but thats a good thing right?

It makes great gifts even if for novelty value to fellow bacon lovers!!

and who is a Bacon lover?!

EVERYONE... well almost

Always remember to burn candles safely away from combustible substances and materials! and never fall asleep with a candle burning!!

You can also turn a can of into a 45 day candle... for safety purposes i suggest scooping out the crisco into a jar... the can that the crisco comes in is flammable... a glass jar isnt... crisco + jar + wich = 45 day candle

miss you guys, sorry o got myself banned. stay warm and safe.