What are your hacks when the electricity goes out

[Mr. Wizard]

It’s blowin like a sumbitch in western Kansas and our electricity just went out. What are your hacks?
We run as much water as we can in the tub and use a 5 gallon bucket to pour in the top of the toilet for usage.
We have LED lights that are always plugged in and automatically go on when the electricity goes off. They are handy flashlights too.
It’s cold so the garage makes a huge walk in freezer.
Everyone adds layers of clothes.
I am soon buying a big generator and a MM plug-in to plug into my 220 volt plug in. Must turn the main breaker off so no electricity gets backed down the line and kills some poor lineman !

You guys?

[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...

[HemiEd]

This is an excellent thread and so many situations are different depending on where you live and what time of year it is.

I keep 15 gallons of the in house softened water in gallon jugs all the time, since if the power goes out our well will not run.

Bought a Honda generator last year to keep the freezer and fridge cold enough not to have things spoil, just in case.

Fortunately, our power company has not let us be without power very often. Only 16 hours after the July 3 tornado this year. Other than that, never more than half an hour.

[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.

[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.

[DenverChief]

Solar power that generates about 5kw/hr with a backup battery that lasts about 15 hours with "normal" use. Could probably squeeze 18-20 hours with limited use.

Working on putting in a tri-fuel generator and adding some battery capacity for the solar panels as well as a few more panels to squeeze more juice out of the sun. Thinking about buying a Ford F-150 lightning for the reverse powering of the home. Bonus is that the vehicle could be charged by the solar in the event gas/diesel become scarce will still have viable transportation outside of our gas powered vehicles.

Stocked up on 20lb propane tanks as well as tons of 16oz propane camping bottles. Firepit that can double as a cooking surface with lots of quick start/enviro-friendly fire logs.

Lots of MRE's and survival food buckets, survival straws to filter dirty water, cases of bottled water, a plethora of firearms and firearm accessories all located in a hardened 12x12 underground room.

Redundancy is the name of the game.

[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.

[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.

[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.