Preparedness for when

FairyPrincessk

I agree PTH. Although I'm actually pretty sceptical that there will be a HUGE disaster, I don't see why that doesn't mean I shouldn't be prepared. On that note, there already is a small disaster of inflation that is really troubling my budget. Stockpiling actually helps to mitigate that. My stocks are still small, but I'm trying to slowly build it up for now. Last week I bought two extra blocks of butter at aldi since it was under £1. They're tucked up in the freezer now and I feel smug knowing i won't have to bow to a higher price out of desperation. Same with rice, pasta etc.

nuatha

Gigervamp wrote: »

Mard, you need a UPS (uninteruptable power supply). They're large batteries and they're used to keep servers running in IT dept in the case of power cuts.

They're not cheap though.

Most UPS devices are to provide power during short term power glitches and to ensure graceful shutdowns of the IT infrastructure.
My rig would keep my systems running for approx 45 minutes before the low battery shutdown alert was sent allowing my servers to power down safely (ie ensure everything was saved and a clean restart would be possible).
If a typical freezer was 120W then the same UPS would supply power for approx 2.5 hours.

A cheaper option might be a 12V leisure battery (the "car" batteries used by caravanners and in motorhomes) a trickle charger and a power inverter (which is basically what a UPS is with some added fancy controls). Note cheaper rather than cheap, I'd also advocate not running the power continually, try 6 hours on 6 off to lengthen the battery life, but also to allow the inverter to cool down, they aren't generally designed for continuous running and can get rather hot (you don't want to add a fire risk). You can get battery powered probes that will show you the internal temperature of your freezer fairly cheaply, this sort of thing

An Igloo MaxCold coolbox will keep food frozen for at least three days without preconditioning (normally you chill the coolbox using freezer packs for 24 hours before use and can expect 5+ days of frozen storage in a British summer) and an ordinary supermarket coolbox wrapped in fleece blankets gained me 48 hours of grace when I had a freezer failure in the glorious fortnight we had in March.

I'd also echo MrsLW's advice, a full freezer is far more efficient than a half empty one, frozen water is a cheap method of ensuring your freezer is full and will last longer in a power cut, but doesn't reduce your ability to take advantage of bargains and gluts the way frozen bread may.
HTH

2tonsils

The main protests are because:

we are paying up to 400 euros a month social security stamps if employed, 900 if self employed. The self employed cannot claim benefits and unemployment will not be paid this winter to the others who paid in. Medical costs, docs and meds you have to pay in full at the moment as they refuse to give them since they have not been paid yet for 2011!

Pensioners, some are getting pensions as low as 300 euros a month for the whole family and this is due to be cut again.

Policemen and firement are demonstrating as they are going to be cut another 30 percent and have not been paid for up to 18 months in some cases.

Many Greeks already work a 16 hour shift in the summer. The average wage for a bar tender is around 3 euros an hour. Policemen currently get around 700 a week before stoppages, if they are being paid.

Don't believe what you read in the press and see on tv as most is propoganda. This year I have paid three extra taxes because we own a house here, even though our pension is taxed at source in the UK.

Petrol is currently 1.92 a litre (cheapest) and heating oil will be 1.65 a litre when it hits the garages later this month. we are paying 23 percent vat on most things including drinking water and some food. Everything except basic food is considered a luxury.

If I sell my house (fat chance) the person buying has to pay taxes to buy...I will pay 2 percent to the lawyer, 2percent to the notary, 2 percent to the estate agent and 25 percent capital gains tax as well as anything else they can invent to rob me blind.

The schools are not being given heating oil this winter, there are no books for the children and they have to buy their own. There will also be no school buses, even in remote areas up in the mountains.

The first loan was paid back by Greece and Germany made one and half billion euros in one day! All the loans now are going straight back to the banks and not one single euro is helping the people of Greece. No records are being kept (that I can find) of contributions paid in this country for social benefits , which are not being paid out. Someone is getting very rich on all this while the poor man in Greece suffers. This is going to be a bloody hard winter!

Sunshine4

2tonsils
Very scary situation to be in, please look after yourselves..

Been reading your posts to my OH he said he didnt realise how bad it was.


Take care

prepareathome

Oh 2tonsils I cannot see people putting up with this much longer, I am actually amazed at home the Greek people have put up with it till now.

From a selfish point of view I can see if Greece defaults and leaves the Euro then here banks will shut until they feel there won't be a run on them and many, many places will close their doors for a few weeks at least as I think other countries like Spain will follow Greece's lead and the whole European Union will fall like a wall of dominoes.

This is why I am trying stock up and trying (unsuccessfully) to get my family to do so.

I would not blame the people of Greece as its not their fault, not the ordinary people they paid their taxes and social security in good faith,they don't deserve what they are having to put up with now.

I sometimes wonder was the Euro idea with all the loans etc deliberately set up to cause countries to fail, cheap easy to get loans that tempted countries in need or were greedy blinding them to the future where these had to be paid back - offering jam today but starvation tomorrow.

Anyway that is to political for here doesn't matter what the reason is, if the end result is shortages that is all that counts here and what many of us are preparing for, the whole time of course hoping it doesn't happen.

Right better go and get ready for HA woman who is coming to see how I can offer to teach fellow tenants about storecupboarding and thanks to spacebar sticking I have not written a word as driving me nuts after a minute or so like now

westcoastscot

Hi 2tonsils, really sounding grim. I complain as our petrol is £1.39 (1.75 euros). It must really scary, and has happened relatively swiftly. Not being facetious but where have the school books gone????

2tonsils

The school books were never bought by the government...the children have had to provide their own exercise books and pencils etc and the government used to buy the text books. But last year they got parents to photocopy one book for their children to use and this year they are not providing even one book for each class to photocopy. You couldn't make it up, could you?

2tonsils

Parents of school children have also been providing the money for repairs and decorating the premises for the last few years....many schools are going to be closed this year and teachers sacked to save a little money. There are going to be no school buses either...

prepareathome

So basically unless parents can afford to send their children to private schools the poor children are not going to be properly educated. The world really is going backwards.

xxxx

mardatha

You'd have to home educate and use the internet to buy books and look things up.