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A humbling Situation(home survival)

CKE2

CKE2

Gold Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2003
Messages
1,567
I have always prided myself on being prepared. My wife and family ALWAYS joke with me on my "bag of tricks" or how many knives I have with me. Where ever I go, long distance or a short jaunt I have my bag with me with all the essentials I would need for an extended "trip"

Last week we had a power outage that lasted 4 hours....DISASTER! I was totally not prepared for this. Mrs CKE said we would be better off outside then inside if the power was out any longer than what it was. On more than one occasion my bag of tricks has come in handy, but that was outdoors in a wilderness environment. This was my own house...I really need to get a plan for this kind of thing in the future. I am embarrassed to say...NONE of my flashlights had any juice left in them but one. My ARC-P that I had just got that day in the mail and happened to be in my pocket was the only working flashlight in the house.:o:o:o

We have lots of candles in the house(my wife has her own small business selling them) but again hard to find the matches in the dark and using a firesteel is a PITA to light a candle:D

So I offer this warning/advice to my fellow W&SS members here....mind the outdoors but don't forget your home!

Everything worked out and by 10:30pm I was sipping my bedtime tea made with my electric kettle:):):)

I am looking for some ideas on home survival kits now and should have one made up soon. Working flashlights are my first priority. It looks like I was not the only one caught with my pants down as most stores here in Thunder Bay sold out of flashlights the next day.

Scary how you take things for granted and don't even realize something like a power outage can really knock you down.

Take Care
Craig
 
Good advice. Makes me think of that Sylvester the Cat cartoon when he was locked in the house with tons of canned cat food and no can opener.
 
i have bought one of these generators, it is 800 watt, enough to run your furnace, turn on a light, or charge a battery, the run about 100 bucks or so. you can find them on sale on amazon, northern tool, harbor freight, rural king
and i have seen them at aldi's and meijers.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=66619

you could also get a couple of deep cycle batteries and a inverter to handle short power outage. or to accept a charge from the generator.

my house has a wood fireplace and wood stove in the basement to give us some heat, i keep a couple of 1lb propane bottles and an propane stove and lantern to handle minor cooking and light details. i have a refill fixture form northern tool that will allow you to fill these small bottles from a 20 lb tank.

if it lasts a long time i have a larger generator to run most of the house.

make sure you do the transfer of power safely, use extension cords or a transfer switch, forget the "suicide cord" . keep your self stocked with food for a month at least.

alex
 
For a short power out adventure you shouldn't need much more than a couple flashlights, maybe a few other items. I have a couple of plug in the wall lights that automatically come on when the power goes out. Very handy gizmo, but I have found, they also need battery maintenence. I keep several flashlights about the house because I live in south florida and the power goes out all the time, and finding them in the dark is essential, so they have a specific place, same for the home defence hardware. I have extra propane tanks for the grill and a couple of turkey friers, so cooking is not a problem in case of an extended power outage. Refrigeration can be a problem, I don't have a big freezer anymore, but when I did I kept it full. I kept several 1 gallon milk jugs of water in there. It did 3 things: kept the freezer full so it used less power, kept it cold if the power went off and it provided an emergency source of ice, or just a handy one for a cooler if I needed it.
Water can also be a problem, I always have a case of water bottles in the garage and I also have a distiller with a 3 gallon tank and its always full. This is drinking water only since I have a pool and live on a canal so flushing water is not a problem.
Stainless Steel camp coffee pot is a MUST have!
I have several oil lamps and candles around all over the place too.
 
Good points CKE. I think the fundamentals still apply: shelter, water, fire, food, first aid. Shelter is taken care of if you are inside, so you are already ahead of the game. We keep a few extras on hand though:

1) Flashlights, 1 on every level of the house -- problems always happen at night
2) Bottled water -- clean water may not be available in a disaster
3) Dried food and canned food -- in basement, where will will take shelter during a tornado warning.
4) We keep a Coleman campstove fueled up in the basement --I love my Jetboil, but the Coleman is supper reliable and can use different fuels.
5) Candles -- heat, light, good cheer
6) Crank powered radio -- to keep abreast of the situation and not feel so isolated
7) First aid kit in basement shelter. We have typical supplies scattered around the house, but I like having a kit pre-positioned in my shelter
8) Wool blankets. Again pre-positioned, if you rush down to your shelter you may forget to take a blanket or sleeping bag. A little comfort can go a long way in keeping up morale.
9) Chocolate and tea -- don't know about you, but life seems OK when I've got a cup of hot tea and a bit of chocolate in hand. :D
 
In addition to similar items on Rottes list we keep several battery powered lanterns so the kids can have light in their rooms. We also keep a small group of games, books and drawing supplies in an easy acces area so we all have entertainment in dim, cool circumstances.
 
Keep a battery drawer where you have all sizes and varieties stored that are new and used. Try to buy flashlights that use the same kinds of batteries. Personally, I don't find having many flashlights all that helpful since they tend to wonder. Best to have one or two flashlights at a central location and leave them there.

I agree that firesteels suck in the indoors. Matches and mini-bic lighters. Actually, in the house I find the best lighters are the long barreled BBQ-lighters. Why - they aren't convenient to stick in your pocket so they STAY WHERE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE. Plus they are perfectly suited to lighting things that flare up like gas stoves etc. My BBQ lighter is what my wife refers to as my man-toy - it is a lighter, led light and bottle opener all in one. What man wouldn't like that?

Bottled water yes. I keep two carboys (my dad owns a wine shop) full of drinking water, 46 L or 13 U.S. gallons. Keeping your outdoor gear on some shelves in the garage is a handy thing. That way you can access your outdoor stoves, lanterns etc. Be aware that burning white gas in the house has its dangers, not only from fire, but from carbon monoxide gas. You should do your cooking with outdoor stoves out on the porch or deck not indoors. BBQ's are great, never hurts to have an extra propane canister around, just in case.

One reason having a great winter sleeping bag, even if you don't winter camp all that often, is that it allows you to stay at home during the winter during power failures. I suffered the big Ice Storm in Ottawa during 1998. What made my life good was being able to stick it out at my home instead of scurrying to the shelters which were horrible. Sure, I missed the hot showers, but having a warm sleeping bag at night and decent outdoor clothing made it all bearable.
 
the canadian government has recommended 72 hour kits on their website somewhere and its pretty much what people have mentioned above, i should really consider making one
 
hey alco or anyone knowledgeable about deep cycle batteries and inverters -

I have wanted to do just that - but am totally electronics ignorant.
I hear and read stuff about the batteries "off-gassing" and they need to be "vented", etc. Can you please give me the skinny on all this? You can PM me if you want. Watts, volts, etc. is beyond me.

Are all "marine batteries" deep cycle?

Any experienced suggestions for brands of batteries and inverters, and specific battery-inverter teams to use for general inside the house power outages would be much appreciated. Thank you very much.
 
Hey Craig,

Good thing that happened because now, I'm assuming, you'll be ready for the next, possibly more serious, time.

If I'm reading the OP correctly it means that you had no spare batteries around the house? Like kgd, I try to buy flashlights that use the same kind of batteries, AA in my case and I keep a supply in the frig. I also have a couple of hand crank flashlights, strictly for home use.

Apparently keeping alkaline batteries in the frig doesn't really prolong shelf life, contrary to popular opinion, but I always know where to find them. If you look around you can usually find a good deal on larger quantities. I usually buy them in lots of 48, typically around $14. I use a flashlight for work, so they eventually all get used.

We recently had our power shut off for 7 hours due to flooding in the neighbourhood, and although I have candles and a propane lantern, I don't really like using them (candles because of the fire hazard and the lantern because of carbon monoxide) so I decided I'm going to buy an LED lantern that runs on AA batteries. Still have to research that - any suggestions welcome.

Another thing I have is an alcohol, single burner stove. It's probably safe to use in the house because it's basically a fondue burner. Not the fastest stove in the world, but more than adequate to prepare a hot drink or some soup.

As far as the rest, like kgd, I have sleeping bags, and various other camping gear so that's not a problem. I also agree with having a couple of battery/hand crank powered AM/FM radios on hand, both for news and music (morale booster). Oh, and I also keep strike-anywhere matches in the frig.

Anyway, good luck on your new preparations.

Doc
 
We live and learn all our lives. At least this wasn't a "costly" learning experience...just annoying enough to learn from. I have had that lesson many years ago. Among otherthings..such as candle lanterns and such...I own two Coleman stoves...I never take them when I go camping.
 
The 2003 blackout taught me the value of flashlights.
Canned food too.
It would have sucked without that big old Maglite and spare batteries.
 
Good advice! A few years back, a big storm blew in and knocked out power for a couple of days in our neighborhood and others across the city. Since home is our first safehaven in a disaster of any kind, I had plenty of oil and lamps and lots of wood for the fireplace. Plenty of water and food that didn't require a fridge. Plenty of batts for those things that required them, like flashlights, which we have plenty of. What I found we were lacking in, was a small generator for the fridge.
 
DOC-CANADA said:
I don't really like using them (candles because of the fire hazard and the lantern because of carbon monoxide)


Doc
Click to expand...

Oh the irony of it all - ye master of fire :D :D



Edit - I know its because you 4000 books crammed into a tiny location!
 
We have frequent outages. Our weather is alot more forgiving and mild. With experience in Nigeria as well there are a few basics ,.,.,. Light on your cell phone, that is always a winner.

An emergency rechargeble lantern that automatically turns on if the power goes off. Candles, lots of candles and proper holders. I have tried cheap lights for the kids but they get trashed, minimum least standard is the energiser waterproof. Mini mags in each bed room. A deep cycle with inverter and led bulbs is pretty effective, beats a generator but a generator needs to be 2.5kva if you need to power a fridge kettle TV etc keeping the lights on. I have been cooking on a gas stove for 20 years so that is not an issue and it can boil a kettle.

I prefer maglites in D and AA and AAA cells because kids do have the propensity to drain torches at inopportune times. So I have a tupperware box of batteries and can raid toys for others in times of long blackouts (days). I do also have AAA and AA in rechargeble that I cycle through my regular use torches so that they are charged at least once a week. LED lamps and headlamps make life much easier.
 
I keep a good stock of batteries and maglite flashlights. They are not flashy (pun intended) like the surefires and such but they are cheap, they work, water resistant, and difficult to accidentally turn on. Batteries are cheap to buy in bulk at Costco or BJ's.
 
Water is an issue. Rain tanks and a water filter (gravity not electrical power). A few 5l bottles of water in the pantry is also a good idea.

3l or 7pints per person per day is a comfortable minimum drinking.

Easy to cook food is a good provision as is extra supply of your normal medicine.

I have looked on the web for home kits and they are very poor quality for the most part. You also need to maintain a level of comfort, avoid clustering around one kiddies torch!!!

72 hours is vague but for some reason fairly valid. We had a riot going on in Lagos and I had to stay put for a few days at a client's offices. I had my own bottled water, water filter and food bars I had brought from South Africa. Mini mag and LED torch. Generator was low on diesel and was supposed to be refilled the day of the riot. So it was sleep on desk, sweat it out with no airconditioning with only entertainment was to watch the Christians vs Muslim locals have a go at each other in a tie match.
 
One thing I do with a lot of my flashlights (especially the ones in my cars) is to use lithium cells, they are readily available in AA, AAA, and 123 cell sizes, and while they are a lot more expensive, they last longer than alkaline, don't leak like alkaline cells, are much more resistant to problems from extreme temperatures, and best of all, the lithium batteries usually have a 10 year shelf life, so even if a lithium powered flashlight has been sitting in a drawer without having been used for 5 years, it will still power up just fine. I've lost numerous Maglites to alkaline batteries leaking, haven't had the problem since I switched most of my AA Minimags to Energizer Lithium cells.
 
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