primitives discuss things to have on hand for power outages

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/115720716

Oh my.

japple (4,059 posts)    Wed Jan 30, 2013, 09:10 PM

Basics to have on hand during power outages.

We had a power outage today when a tornado passed through my county (near Adairsville, GA), and though it wasn't out very long, relatively speaking, it made me think about what I should have on hand in case of a longer interruption. When I lived in the NC mountains years ago, we always had at least 20 gallons of water on hand, candles, flashlights, batteries, a gas BBQ grill, and emergency heat back up. During blizzards, we would sometimes go for 2-3 days without power and water since we were served by a well. Every winter, we always expected to lose power at some point for a period of time and stayed prepared.
 
What kind of foodstuffs do you keep on hand to eat if the electricity goes out for extended periods? I usually just eat fruit, crackers, cheese, granola bars, nuts, cereal, though I was really craving a cup of tea late this afternoon, and am thinking about getting a camp stove.

Stinky The Clown (49,636 posts)    Wed Jan 30, 2013, 09:23 PM

1. Get two of those LED-bulbed headlamp lights for each person in your house

after which an image of something that looks stupid

For food . . . . your list was pretty good. If you lose power, you also lose refrigeration. Not so bad in winter. A wipeout in summer.

japple (4,059 posts)    Thu Jan 31, 2013, 09:31 PM

7. Those things are great! We used them while cleaning dog/cat crates this morning at the spay neuter transport. Since we do this at 6:00 a.m., it's nice to be able to see that big pile o' shit in the crate before sticking your hand in there!

Warpy (66,763 posts)    Wed Jan 30, 2013, 09:24 PM

2. I have city gas, so that's not a huge problem

I think the longest outage here was a day and a half when a forest fire melted transmission lines coming into the state. I ate like I always did, keeping the refrigerator and freezer shut as much as possible. I did use the Chinese steamer rather than the microwave for reheating things, it's nearly as fast and what I used in the bad old days before I got my first microwave in the late 80s. If the electricity and gas both conk out, I have a wood stove for winter and a solar oven for summer.
 
For light, I have head lamps that use LEDs and run on AAA batteries. They put the light where I'm looking and are also great for rummaging in cabinets and closets and fixing computers. For entertainment, I have battery powered CD players, never did get into MP3s. I'm perfectly happy sitting in the dark with my headlamp on, listening to music and spinning, knitting or weaving. Or reading a book now that I can see again.
 
I learned to have alternatives when I lived in New England and the power could be out for a week at a time, although not very often.

^^^she with the face like Hindenberg's, the body like Refrigerator Perry's.

cbayer (116,980 posts)    Wed Jan 30, 2013, 10:30 PM

3. My stove/oven are propane powered and my electricity is primarily solar.

But, since I never know when I might have an extended away from groceries, I keep a lot of rice, cereal, canned soups and root vegetables on hand.
 
We also carry about 150 gallons of water and have a water maker.

But all of this is part of our lifestyle. If people on land have a power outage, it impacts on us not at all.
 
Sorry about your electricity loss. It can be kind of fun (for a while, anyway).

^^^lives on a tiny little boat, but is going overland this summer for vacation.

^^^has son who had to be scared straight of.....something.

Lisa0825 (12,796 posts)    Wed Jan 30, 2013, 10:48 PM

4. When I was a kid, and our power got knocked out by a hurricane, my mom had us eating canned spaghetti and cheese ravioli cold. I was flabbergasted at first! It's supposed to be HOT! She said, "Are you hungry?" LOL! I ate it and liked it!
 
Now, I swear, when a storm is coming, I buy cheese ravioli and canned spaghetti. And I still like it. In a weird way, it's a good childhood memory.

RILib (77 posts)    Thu Jan 31, 2013, 11:34 PM

8. B&M baked beans.

Freddie (1,214 posts)    Wed Jan 30, 2013, 11:43 PM

5. Apples and peanut butter

Breakfast and lunch for 4 days with no power during Hurricane Sandy. Wasn't exactly planned but was the most nutritious and tasty thing here that needed no refrigeration or cooking. Parts of town nearby had power and the only fast food open was Wendy's; after a few days they started running out of food.

<<<knows whose mole ^^^ this is.

Lugnut (8,482 posts)    Thu Jan 31, 2013, 02:35 AM

6. We have a generator so outages aren't a big problem here.

I always have fruit, milk, bread, cold cuts, peanut butter, etc. that we could eat if need be. The BBQ grill is on the patio too. We got the generator because we have a well, a coal stoker for heat and hot water and a stocked freezer and two refrigerators.

RILib (77 posts)    Thu Jan 31, 2013, 11:36 PM

9. the big problem is lack of heat

I worry about the pipes freezing. Awhile back I looked on youtube for how to drain the house pipes, thinking it would be simple to learn, but people were dumping antifreeze in traps and doing magic things to boilers so I gave up watching,

<<<as long as has plenty of cat food and cat litter for when snowed in, is good.

[JohnnyReb]

I keep 2 electric heaters in the closet, several McDonald gift cards and an old book of foodstamps for extreme natural disasters.....DUmmie disaster prep

[catsmtrods]

****in idiots! I look forward to the day of the big blackout when these assholes will die or I can help them along when they come looking to take what I have!

[Delmar]

Lugnut (8,482 posts)    Thu Jan 31, 2013, 02:35 AM

6. We have a generator so outages aren't a big problem here.

I always have fruit, milk, bread, cold cuts, peanut butter, etc. that we could eat if need be. The BBQ grill is on the patio too. We got the generator because we have a well, a coal stoker for heat and hot water and a stocked freezer and two refrigerators.

Just any old milk or triage milk?

[BlueStateSaint]

Just any old milk or triage milk?

Radioactive milk.

[andhe78]

It is funny how dealing with power outages seems to be a common topic at the dump.  No big deal here, power went down just last week, walked out to the garage, pushed the start button on the generator, and carried an armful of wood back to the house for the woodstoves-no muss, no fuss.

One thing I will say, having spent time as a utility forester, if these liberal treehuggers let the power companies trim the trees along the lines, power outages greatly decrease.  I've seen this first hand, when I started at RG&E, they hadn't seriously trimmed in decades and decided to change their procedures.  At the start of the cycle, we would have power outages in thirty mph winds (which is pretty much most of the winter.)  After three years of heavy trimming, outages were down to nothing except in extreme situations.  

[JohnnyReb]

It is funny how dealing with power outages seems to be a common topic at the dump.  No big deal here, power went down just last week, walked out to the garage, pushed the start button on the generator, and carried an armful of wood back to the house for the woodstoves-no muss, no fuss.

One thing I will say, having spent time as a utility forester, if these liberal treehuggers let the power companies trim the trees along the lines, power outages greatly decrease.  I've seen this first hand, when I started at RG&E, they hadn't seriously trimmed in decades and decided to change their procedures.  At the start of the cycle, we would have power outages in thirty mph winds (which is pretty much most of the winter.)  After three years of heavy trimming, outages were down to nothing except in extreme situations.  

Yep, they raise hell if the power company wants to trim their tree/trees and then raise hell when it causes their power to go out.....DUmmies would rather raise hell than have electricity.

[BattleHymn]

It is funny how dealing with power outages seems to be a common topic at the dump.  No big deal here, power went down just last week, walked out to the garage, pushed the start button on the generator, and carried an armful of wood back to the house for the woodstoves-no muss, no fuss.

One thing I will say, having spent time as a utility forester, if these liberal treehuggers let the power companies trim the trees along the lines, power outages greatly decrease.  I've seen this first hand, when I started at RG&E, they hadn't seriously trimmed in decades and decided to change their procedures.  At the start of the cycle, we would have power outages in thirty mph winds (which is pretty much most of the winter.)  After three years of heavy trimming, outages were down to nothing except in extreme situations.  

The same thing happened here-- we hadn't had a good tree trimming in town for years.  After the ice storm we had a few years back, the tree trimming began, and now we don't hardly see the power go out at all. 

[GOBUCKS]

Just any old milk or triage milk?

Yeah, I'm surprised the crazy bald dwarf hasn't chimed in.

Giving the ignorant DUmpmonkeys sage advice on survival is one of her favorites.