woke up to total darkness last night

[jimLE]

i woke up to total darkness last night.just to learn that we’re having a power outage,in which it lasted 1hr and 15min..combination of mind still some what foggy from waking up,to not use to being in total darkness.i was a lil slow to what’s going on.my pc is off,and no screen saver to light up my room some what..to no light filtering in from the kitchen sink light.to complete cloud cover from rain clouds.then it dawned on me,that we have no electric.no lights.no tv.to no anything.so i searched in the dark for my flashlight that i keep on my night stand.in which i used it to locate my small camping lantern on my night stand.in which i used that light to get dressed.then,and only then i went n took care of the reason to why i woke up to begin with.(restroom)..then i grabed a oil lamp and took it into the restroom and lit it.and lit another in my bedroom.in which both gave off enough light for the duration of the power outage.now im wondering..what if this lasted longer.like 2 or 3 days? maybe 1 week? and what if it lasted 1 month or longer?

this happened in 2013

The attack began just before 1 a.m. on April 16 last year, when someone slipped into an underground vault not far from a busy freeway and cut telephone cables.

“Within half an hour, snipers opened fire on a nearby electrical substation. Shooting for 19 minutes, they surgically knocked out 17 giant transformers that funnel power to Silicon Valley. A minute before a police car arrived, the shooters disappeared into the night.

“To avoid a blackout, electric-grid officials rerouted power around the site and asked power plants in Silicon Valley to produce more electricity. But it took utility workers 27 days to make repairs and bring the substation back to life.”

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way...on-calif-power-station-raises-terrorism-fears

here’s more on it.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metcalf_sniper_attack

now i ask..WHAT IF they did this on a large scale?WHAT IF they did that outside as many power plants as possible? are (YOU) prepared for a power outage? be it short term to long term power outage?it took them 27 days to get the electrical substation up n going again.again i ask,are you prepared for that? i know that im not.but yet,im working on it.

 

[Gazrok]

That was my moment not too long ago.
Major power outage in my area, so neighbors, streetlights, everything went dark.
Was about 5am.

Later that day, I bought a few more oil lamps, some more flashlights, and some electric LED lanterns.
I figure the electric ones are great for more normal outages, whereas we'd use the oil lamps for a longer one or if the batteries went.

I mean, we had some stuff already, I just realized we needed a lot more (and brighter sources, to get dressed, go to work, etc.).

Best move was adding small LED lanterns to each bathroom (as you said, the reason you got up anyhow).

 

[lonewolf]

I'm expecting no power post SHTF and have adapted my plans accordingly.

 

[Gazrok]

Pretty much all you can do. That's my current thinking as well, though would be great to have some propane options. Without power, biggest concerns are: well pump, refrigeration. Everything else is pretty livable otherwise.

 

[jimLE]

yeah.planing for a power outage as a part of any shtf situation is a great idea.that way a person will be prepared for that at the same time..

 

[jimLE]

apparently we're having heavy cloud cover passing through..on acount im having trouble bringing up web pages in other sites as well as here..now im hoping for a outage.on acount im a lil better prepared for them now.

 

[Brent S]

The guy had to reschedule the propane tank delivery, I told him as long as he held the price I was in no hurry. I finally found a conversion kit for my generator. It's a multi fuel carboureator kit, for LP, nat gas, or gasoline. It's a little pricey at just under three hundred bucks, but I like the multi fuel option, and it's still cheaper than getting another genny. I hope to have it set up within a month anyways. I can fix or build just about anything, but really don't have a lot of experience with gas lines or equipment. I have a little reading to do.

 

[Gazrok]

Sounds like a winning idea Brent. Though it also seems that at that price, you could get another generator, or just about....lol.

 

[Brent S]

Sounds like a winning idea Brent. Though it also seems that at that price, you could get another generator, or just about....lol.

I thought about a new one. Ive found 1600kw, which would run the entire property easily, for around three thousand, and allready set for lp. My 10kw is also a miller welder, which is a pluss, and although it is really a little undersized, it will run everything, just not all at once. I guess the biggest pluss is what I have is allready paid for, so it wins by default.

 

[jimLE]

well..power outages here,are getting to be to common here..on account we just had another one.but this one lasted 20 1/2 hours thoe..what we have for lights during a outage did great.but yet.i still need to stock up on some stuff there.like lamp oil,and extra burners for the lamps...but we diffently gotta get a back up generator thoe.on acount we had a small amount of food go bad this time..

 

[Brent S]

well..power outages here,are getting to be to common here..on account we just had another one.but this one lasted 20 1/2 hours thoe..what we have for lights during a outage did great.but yet.i still need to stock up on some stuff there.like lamp oil,and extra burners for the lamps...but we diffently gotta get a back up generator thoe.on acount we had a small amount of food go bad this time..

Nothing like a little practice to help you get better prepared. I'm just glad your home didn't float away.

 

[jimLE]

me too..a tree top came down from 1 tree..another came down.had to remove branches from the driveway,so we can head out n all..

 

[Brent S]

We finally got a good rain! Yeah! It didn't last long, but came down really hard. I love watching storms, at least when I'm comfortably warm and dry and looking thru the windows.

 

[jimLE]

thats the best way and time to watch them.and maybe a lil fire in the fire place..

 

[Brent S]

thats the best way and time to watch them.and maybe a lil fire in the fire place..

I see you can't sleep either Jim! I got a couple hrs and then work up. Read some news and decided to check out what's happening here. Are you still dealing with storms?

 

[Silent Earth]

looks like TX is getting a hammering with the rain storms, UK media reporting 14 dead so far

 

[jimLE]

brent.i was able to sleep..just got to bed from watching the news n all..and i simply got caught up on my reading here.and made a couple of post.then off to bed i went..
yeah we are getting hammered with rain here..i've never known us to get this much rain here, this time of year before..

 

[Gazrok]

this one lasted 20 1/2 hours tho

Wow, that's a long time to be down. Even with two fridges and a freezer, I'd lose food if out that long. I'd have to choose what to keep and consolidate into two, to keep cool with bags of ice.

It's also another reason your preps should include some ready cash. Chances are, stores (if open at all), won't be able to take credit cards (even with backup power), but can take cash, to buy some fuel or bags of ice, etc.

 

[jimLE]

yeah.i thought of the jugs of ice idea for the fridge,after it was to late.in which i dont have any.so i gotta work on that one.the freezer has a ice maker.in which i make sure that ice maker arm comes all the way dwon ever time i open the freeze.just so it'll make as much ice as possible.except for the sherbert.the frezer satyed cold enough,seeing how we didnt open it.

 

[Brent S]

yeah.i thought of the jugs of ice idea for the fridge,after it was to late.in which i dont have any.so i gotta work on that one.the freezer has a ice maker.in which i make sure that ice maker arm comes all the way dwon ever time i open the freeze.just so it'll make as much ice as possible.except for the sherbert.the frezer satyed cold enough,seeing how we didnt open it.

I just froze some 2 liter soda bottles filled with water, and put them in the bottom of the freezer. First, they help keep the freezer cold longer, second, I can drink them if the water is out as well. Being aware of how long you open the door can help a lot with not loosing food. Get in and out quickly!

 

[Gazrok]

I keep a couple of bags of ice in the freezer. It's good to have when entertaining, but also for outages.
I also usually keep a few frozen water bottles in there. Mostly, this is because we give one to each rabbit each day, to help them cool off in their cages (they like to lay near it, and stay cool), but also helps with outages.

 

[jimLE]

here's what i have going,for keeping water in the van.when it comes to the 3 bottles in the pic.the one on the far left.i have 3 of them.and their 33.8 ounces each.the pink one in the middle.i have 8 of them,and their 32 ounces each.and on the far right,it's a 2 liter bottle..pluss i also have 2 -1 gallon jugs that anti freeze came in.their still in the van.now back to the ones in the pic.im thinking that i have some where in the area of a total of 3 gallons there,when it comes to all of them..im gonna empty out what water i need to.and then stick them into the freezer..and when the next power outage we have,happens.i'll just transfer all but 2 or 3 of the bottles into the fridge.and i also have 12-1 gallon jugs of store bought water.in which i'll keep at least 2 or 3 of them in the van at all times....

 

[Brent S]

here's what i have going,for keeping water in the van.when it comes to the 3 bottles in the pic.the one on the far left.i have 3 of them.and their 33.8 ounces each.the pink one in the middle.i have 8 of them,and their 32 ounces each.and on the far right,it's a 2 liter bottle..pluss i also have 2 -1 gallon jugs that anti freeze came in.their still in the van.now back to the ones in the pic.im thinking that i have some where in the area of a total of 3 gallons there,when it comes to all of them..im gonna empty out what water i need to.and then stick them into the freezer..and when the next power outage we have,happens.i'll just transfer all but 2 or 3 of the bottles into the fridge.and i also have 12-1 gallon jugs of store bought water.in which i'll keep at least 2 or 3 of them in the van at all times....

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I'm hoping the ex antifreeze jugs are just for the radiator now. That stuff has some nasty chemicals in it.

 

[jimLE]

yeah they are.on account,i never know when i might have to add a lil bit to the radiator and/or over flow jug..

 

[jimLE]

i had to go into town for a couple of things.in which one casher and me talked about their power outage they had yesterday.in which that reminded me of mine.all that got me to thinking..i not only need to update my power outage haves.but my camping haves as well..so im gonna take my nook color out to the garage and list every thing i have for camping.then back into the house,and list everything i have in the house.then start my list of power outage needs.then move each needed item from my need list,over to my have list as i get it..

 

[Brent S]

i had to go into town for a couple of things.in which one casher and me talked about their power outage they had yesterday.in which that reminded me of mine.all that got me to thinking..i not only need to update my power outage haves.but my camping haves as well..so im gonna take my nook color out to the garage and list every thing i have for camping.then back into the house,and list everything i have in the house.then start my list of power outage needs.then move each needed item from my need list,over to my have list as i get it..

I work well off of lists. I guess it's a guy thing. With my kind of ADD, I need something to keep me on track .

 

[jimLE]

me to..for 2 reasons.1st,is i dont forget anything when i go to town,to buy a few items.mainly grocery shopping..the other reason.the list helps me decide what i need next in preps and/or what ever as well..

 

[Brent S]

me to..for 2 reasons.1st,is i dont forget anything when i go to town,to buy a few items.mainly grocery shopping..the other reason.the list helps me decide what i need next in preps and/or what ever as well..

What happens when you forget the list!

 

[jimLE]

i always make sure that i take my nook with me when i go to town...and if im here at home.all i have to do.is head to my pc desk and grab my nook

 

[jimLE]

i suddenly remembered something that i already have...a few things of blue ice..i've been keeping them in a box,and in the garage.i've had them for i don't know how many years.i just got them out,and washed them off..then i'll be putting them into the freezer when their dry enough.they'll not only help keep the freezer cold longer.but they'll be of use during a power outage as well..

we were in town on friday.in which i made a stop at harbor freight,just to have a look around.in which i came across a power converter,that hooks directly to the battrey.it's idea for running the fridge n freezer off of time to time during a outage..i plan on getting that next month