Preparedness for when

pineapple

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

If there are electricity outages we'll have to do what the ancestors did and use every minute of daylight available and start our days earlier and stop working when it gets dark in the evening.

I lived like this overseas and it was truly no big deal. Being close to the Equator it got dark very quickly around 7pm - almost like someone switching off the light! I'd have candles lit and the battery radio at the ready. It was actually easier than the unscheduled power cuts we seem to get in this area. At least you knew what to expect and so could work around it.
The issues were slightly different however in that the problem was keeping cool not warm. Keeping food cool was also difficult in that there was a power cut every day - just at different times - and in the warm climate the fridge struggled to cope.
One ate an awful lot of tinned pilchards....:(

[Deleted User]

Just reviewed my stocks.

Cooking.

11x220g butane cannisters (approx 22hrs at full power on one stove).

1x500g Coleman butane/propane cannister (about 3.5 hrs on full power).

2 Litres of Bio-Ethanol (about 80 stove fillings).

Lighting.

500 Tealights (about 3.5 hours burn time each).

32x8" Household Candles (about 7 hours burn time each).

4x28hr Pillar Candles.

8x10hr Votive Candles.

6 litres of Paraffin (approx 240hrs on 1 Hurricane Lamp).

3 Torches (one windup).

4 LED Inspection Lamps.

Entertainment.

DAB radio (mains/battery).

AM/FM radio (battery/windup).

Additional.

32 AA batteries (mainly for the DAB radio)

16 AAA batteries (mainly for the LED inspection lamps).

All this is in addition to the contents of my BOB.

[Deleted User]

RAS wrote: »

Do you know if your gas hob will work without the peizo? Check now.

Piezo ignition works without an electricity supply.

bluebag

Tink_04 wrote: »

I think the energy companys will use it as a scare and maybe let it happen for a bit to prove a point! Think im going to go out and re stock some items and look into getting some essential things in. Im not too worried about the baby as have warm fleece item's for him and DD and have snow suit's etc. Going to get somw more ready made milk and sterilising liquid for bottles. Will have to get candles as dont use them, we have a torch. Will have to think of meals too.

I used to put my candles up high when the kids were little, all that practicing for Birthday candle blowing out meant I had a job keeping them lit otherwise.

bluebag

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

what the problem will be now, there will be a run on candles, batteries etc, because its been on the news etc...so make sure you don't pay over the odds, as I am sure there will be some shops putting their prices up...

I bet there is no shortage or price rises until something happens.

Most people I know don't even have a spare bottle of milk in never mind candles.

Some of us have experienced shortages, 3 day weeks and power cuts, those that haven't are learning as they go and thinking ahead.

Most of the population have been nursemaided through life.

thriftwizard

I found 3 barely-lit pillar candles at the dump today! There may be a run on them in the shops, but lots of people are still throwing them out...

Panicking slightly here; I'd planned to have a woodburner installed & a cheap & cheerful porch over our north-facing back door by this winter. But our cars ran off with the money I'd earmarked for those two jobs, costing us over £3K in repairs between them. We would cope in the case of power cuts, because I have other means of cooking, but it would have been so much easier & cheaper with a woodburner (our garden produces quite a bit of wood, and I can source a lot more for free or very cheap) than with an open fire & a combination of camping equipment! And the draughts from that ill-fitting door are horrible, even with draughtstripping & a big heavy lined curtain...

short_bird

mardatha wrote: »

If power goes off then everything goes off. Traffic lights, cash machines, shop tills, automatic doors, burglar alarms (oh how they go off! ) - and the worst thing for us is that you tend to forget and switch things on before you realise...so that if it comes back on in the middle of the night, radios, tvs, lights, microwaves and toasters all spring into action and you get heart failure!

I don't know if anyone's posted this as I haven't caught up with the thread yet. If there is a random or planned power cut, ideally, you switch everything off apart from one lightbulb; that comes back on and you know you can start switching on essential things. And it means your property doesn't burn down when your hair straighteners come back on.

You should check whether it is a good or bad thing to leave fridges or freezers turned on at the wall; however, they are significantly more robust than your average computer. As long as you leave the freezer alone, it should be OK for a good few hours (the FDA in America say 24 to 48 hours for a freezer; 48 if it's full) as long as you don't keep opening the door to see if it is still frozen. (rolls eyes)

This would be a good time to source blankets to drape over the freezer to help insulate the door seals. Only the door seals.

BTW, I suppose it may be relevant to remind everybody that people had fewer appliances and not that many people had central heating during the 70's. So there weren't that many things to leave plugged in

armyknife

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

Just reviewed my stocks.

Cooking.

11x220g butane cannisters (approx 22hrs at full power on one stove).

1x500g Coleman butane/propane cannister (about 3.5 hrs on full power).

2 Litres of Bio-Ethanol (about 80 stove fillings).

Lighting.

500 Tealights (about 3.5 hours burn time each).

32x8" Household Candles (about 7 hours burn time each).

4x28hr Pillar Candles.

8x10hr Votive Candles.

6 litres of Paraffin (approx 240hrs on 1 Hurricane Lamp).

.......

All this is in addition to the contents of my BOB.

I pity the firemen who would have to attend your place if there was ever a fire there.

Is this stuff stored in a garage or shed, someone not part of the main building?

bluebag

One other tip, keep empty plastic milk bottles filled with water in the freezer if you don't have it full of food, a full freezer takes longer to defrost.

Take one large frozen bottle of water out of the freezer and put it in the fridge at the start of the power cut, this helps to keep the fridge cool.

mardatha

Shortbird, we get powercuts all the time. High winds, rain, snow, or a coo scratching her back end on a post.. it goes off. You tend to forget what was on and what wasn't on, and you always always switch lights and appliances on before you remember not to We do unplug everything now, even the router because that has a hissy fit when the power goes back on..