Preparedness for when

nuatha

twiglet98 wrote: »

I wondered if one of these would at least run a freezer (or two).

A 'gooogle" search doesn't find particularly good reviews though.

Unfortunately the initial draw of a freezer being switched on defeats these gennys - my freezers are all under 200W running consumption, but can require over 1KW surge on starting.

mac2008

GreyQueen wrote: »

:T Oooh, interesting. So we're nearly on capacity draw at 11.51 am on a Saturday (times on the site are GMT and we're GMT+1 hour atm)?

I wonder what the daily fluctuations in electricity consumption are across the country? Anyone got a good linkie? I guess people are running their washers now, some are online (waves), some may be cooking, hoovering, playing, ironing.........

I've just put my pooter on for the first time today, other than that, the only leccy used has been the mini-freezer and the fridge and the little bit of power required to keep my hot water tank in communication with The Mothership, my pet name for the communal heating and hotwater plant as Shoebox Towers. It has 12 industrial gas boilers, which is surplus capacity to allow for maintenance, 4 typically run in the summer, 8 in the winter, on rotation. If your little electrical thingummagig alongside the tank goes wrong (or you didn't have a leccy supply) the water doesn't get heated.

My household is presently using 2kwH per 24 hours, wonder if I can do better than that.

Check out http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/ for a real time view of our electricity demand and where it is coming from.

Note you will not see any solar on there, as it just shows up as a reduction in demand. We have about 4GW of installed capacity so it should make a good dent in demand on sunny days. There is a lot more un metered wind too that again just reduces demand.

Note that wind and solar tend to act as gas reducers as gas is easier to ramp up and down to cope with fluctuating renewable outputs.

As others have commented, we buy French nuclear electricity as its cheap.

mac2008

I can't remember if I posted this before, but those interested in security of supply might like to read at least bits of this, which talks about spare grid capacity for the next 5 years:


https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/electricity/wholesale-market/electricity-security-supply

GreyQueen

Many thanks for that, I can see me with some new hobby sites. Such a lot of stuff to interest a magpie mind like mine.

Will be hitting up a Wilkos this morning for seeds and poss runner bean frames, if they look strong enough (lottie site is v. windy) and will possick around other departments and check out the land of the poond. Have noticed I'm almost out of ibuprofen, so will get some of those in (from several stores as they're a nuisance about you buying multiples). Don't they know we preppers have rather eccentric shopping habits? I shall be disguised as a respectable middle-aged woman with a shopping trolley, which is my OPSEC. I'm actually a 25 y.o. special forces commando IRL.:rotfl:

HASDA have those Tilda fancy pouched rices reduced to £1 atm, if anyone wants them. They're pretty fast to cook, can heat in a microwave or add a couple tbsp of water and heat in a pan. If water and energy were both in short supply, this could be a way of getting some much needed grub into you fast, although it's a pretty expensive way of buying rice overall.

Speaking of rice, there's an interesting article here: http://apartmentprepper.com/the-dirt-on-riceliterally/ which may be of interest if your diet is rice-heavy right now or your preps include a fair bit of rice.

vivatifosi

What about a small propane fridge?

On the subject of water, we've had no running water at work for several months now so thought I'd make some observations in case they are useful... waiting for a mains repair. We have water but it is not good enough to drink but can be used for washing.

1. Running low on water is stressful, so don't let it happen. It can lead to friction and argument.

2. Water from the tap is always colder than water from a 2l bottle at room temperature. It isn't as satisfying and you may drink more. Key learning... need a cool, dry storage place, even when using.

3. When water is short, you start to worry about things like chucking the water away in the bottom of the kettle and reboiling, so a strainer is not a bad idea in a hardwater area.

4. Obviously we are not rationed, but usage in the day is about 1l per person, purely for drinking. So double that for 24hrs. That's excluding washing and washing up.

5. Don't allow two bottles to be opened at once as unfinished water left out over the weekend tastes different.

6. It's really, really heavy.

7. Get into a water routine and stock up optimistically, not waiting until last minute only to find out stocks are low.

Hope this is useful.

vivatifosi

GreyQueen wrote: »

HASDA have those Tilda fancy pouched rices reduced to £1 atm, if anyone wants them. They're pretty fast to cook, can heat in a microwave or add a couple tbsp of water and heat in a pan. If water and energy were both in short supply, this could be a way of getting some much needed grub into you fast, although it's a pretty expensive way of buying rice overall.

Speaking of rice, there's an interesting article here: http://apartmentprepper.com/the-dirt-on-riceliterally/ which may be of interest if your diet is rice-heavy right now or your preps include a fair bit of rice.

Aldi does its own version of the Tilda rice pouches. There isn't the same variety but they work out about 60p each.

Tinned beans also feature heavily in my mini-preps. Both baked beans and refried beans. In the case of the latter they are very densely packed and ok as a meat substitute (though I'm a veggie) and rice and beans is a filling staple in Mexico and central America. A bit of ketchup or ketchup with chilli peppers in tastes good and fills you up. When I lost weight with Slimming World I loved rice and beans as it was about the only meal I didn't feel hungry after.

[Deleted User]

As I've just found out very few runner bean plants can give you an extremely large crop from a quite limited piece of ground if you grow them up a bamboo wigwam in your back garden. In fact possibly too much of a crop!!! we picked 3 lbs yesterday and I've got more than that again this morning and the plants are covered in blooms and beans at all stages of development. If TSHTF at this time of year they are prolific and substantial enough to be the main component of quite a lot of meals from the store. I already slice them thinly and use them under a mince based pasta sauce instead of pasta but it would be a good way of filling ourselves up with homegrown and eeking out stores to make them go further. I do realise that there will inevitably come the day when the mere thought of runner beans will make your hackles raise but then you can leave them to dry and make chillis all winter!!!

mardatha

Can you get Calor gas freezers?

GreyQueen

Oooh, I can't wait for my runner beans to be ready. I deliberately delayed them slightly, so they didn't clash with the broad beans, but got my timing a bit wrong and there's a gap *the shame of it*. Mine are about 5 ft up the wigwams and haven't started flowering yet, but when they come, it'll be a rush.

I'm paused with a cuppa as have made the first of what will be two batched of lovely windmill flour w.m bread rolls. I shall be ringing the changes this week as have chucked some dried herbs from the cupboard into the flour on the first batch. I have done this many times before, but with commercially dried herbs. These are home-dried herbs, dill and mint are in this jar. Should be an interesting taste experience. I'm resting before mixing and kneading the second batch as I tire easily.

I've had folks who've never made bread by hand ask how long to knead it. As an ME person, the answer is anything from 2-5 mins, depending on how weary I am. Still comes out OK.

I've heard that breadmaking is a craft and cake-making an art. I'm a dab hand with breads, and recipes which have a lot of 'give' in them, such as soups and one-pot specials. Cake-making, where the proportions are critical? Hmmm, not so good. Have capsized several ducks with the Victoria sponge frisbees over the years. I hear that these are really easy to make, but have never found it so myself.

Interesting re rice and beans, which are the staples of many cuisines. I'm an omnivore who has been at various times a vegetarian and a vegan, so have eaten quite a few things inc stuff I never want to even see again, such as vegan 'chocolate' which is an abomination against all that is right and decent in this world.

Seasonings, of all sorts, would be absolutely critical to liven up a bland diet. I don't know if others have encountered it, but there is the phenomenon where people can get so jaded with bland foods that they lose all appetite, even to the point of not eating enough for survival. So we should regard flavoursome things in the preps as important, not frothy nonsense.

Couple of days ago, I dropped my hands on a slightly sad looking pot of Greek basil at Sainsbugs on a YS sticker for 24p. It's now on the allotment, divvied into 8 and potted on. I've grown basil before and it's a real sunlover, but I hope that with the allotment patio being in full sun, that there will be enough of the remaining summer for the divisions to make good growth, and then I shall aim to catch them before they go over and dry them for the storecupboard.

I'm also buying pkts of YS herbs when I see them, often for 2p, and spreading them out on the mesh screens and drying. A week sees them nicely dry in this warm flat. Then crumbles and put into glass jars in the wall cupboard away from the light.

greenbee

GQ - you can buy ibuprofen and paracetamol in bulk if you go to the pharmacy. I need to stock up, so need to remember on a weekday rather than buying 16 at a time...