TEST MY PREP!

[gleninjersey 2,141]

@Mrs. Peel  Link to the generator or one like you that your purchased please.

[Scorpio64 5,155]

59 minutes ago, Mrs. Peel said:

Sheltering in place, if possible, still seems to carry less risk. 

Absolutely, and the better the neighborhood "posse" you can put together, the greater your ABILITY to shelter in place.  If your neighbors suck, you better have a robust plan B.  Which may be to move to a new location to shelter in place with a friend.  Bring guns, water, food and a board game.

[Mrs. Peel 7,157]

49 minutes ago, gleninjersey said:

@Mrs. Peel  Link to the generator or one like you that your purchased please.

This was BY FAR the most expensive part of my prepping, this puppy right here: https://www.duromaxpower.com/collections/digital-inverters/products/xp9000ih  - it retails around 2600.

This was a splurge for the following reasons:

• I opted for an inverter generator to protect my electronics (remember, I do work from home!) -  I have a TV, a laptop, several other electronic items - and all in different parts of the house - so if I got a regular (non-inverter) genny, I would have had to buy several other gadgets to set up in multiple rooms to protect the electronics from surges - when I added that all up, it seemed to make sense just to buy the inverter generator and be done with it. 
• I was really keen on the "dual fuel" aspect - it just seems so sensible - but that does seem to amp up the price of generators also.
• Due mainly to the heavy septic pump and a couple of other things, my electrician said to get at least 5000 running watts.
• To find a dual fuel inverter that also had decent reviews - well, this Beautiful Blue Behemoth (LOL) was the best option I found.
• It has 4 wheels, and can certainly be rolled around. But, because of it's size, I made a decision to buy a cover and store it outside (under my deck) rather than moving it in and out of my walkout basement (as there could be heavy snow, etc.).  Again, just catering to my own unique situations.
• Edit: also, an electronic start was a "MUST HAVE" for me. I can't be out there yanking a pull cord, no way! For some of you, that might not matter.

All in all, when everything is said and done - the equipment (genny, cover, chain/lock, cable, associated electrical work, used propane tank, installation of tank, and now probably a small grill, too!) will be about 4-4.5K (but with 80% of that investment portable to my next house, so I'm cool with that).

I spent another 1-1.5K for non-perishable food, water, water filter, cleaning supplies, medications, paper products, etc. - but again, I was a bare cupboards kind of gal, so I was building from "zero". I also spread this out over the last 1-2 years - doing it through really good sales. I have about 4-6 months of meals in my house. And the ability, as stated, to produce potable water once the bottled stuff runs out.

And, I spent quite a bit on ammo in the last few years (but nearly all of it was when prices were CHEAP). I followed good "buy it cheap, stack it deep" advice!

Now, I know, that all probably sounds like a shit ton of money to some people, lol. But, honestly? That second category (the food/supplies) and the 3rd category (the ammo) are items I would buy/use over time anyway! I simply bought these items in advance - and at sale/bulk prices - so that I would have some in my own storage to draw from. So, I'm not sure I even count those 2 categories as an "extra" expense. I just completely changed my buying patterns, buying in advance and at sale prices rather than when I run out and at full price. It's really the 4+K of equipment that's "extra" - but I feel like I'm squeezing a lot of functionality out of that investment. I dare say, I think it's the best money I've ever spent - it's giving me peace of mind! And you know how when you water your grass, it finally rains?!... Well, now that I've made this investment, I'll bet I don't have a power outage for the rest of the time I'm here! 

[Mrs. Peel 7,157]

41 minutes ago, Scorpio64 said:

Absolutely, and the better the neighborhood "posse" you can put together, the greater your ABILITY to shelter in place.  If your neighbors suck, you better have a robust plan B.  Which may be to move to a new location to shelter in place with a friend.  Bring guns, water, food and a board game.

Well, you've got me thinking now... most of my close friends live east of me - all are much closer to the city - where, frankly, it's more likely to get wild, don't you think? I seriously don't see myself heading towards them for that reason! And (surprisingly enough) I'm now the one with more of a "plan". So, my best bet actually might be to carefully select one or two of my (smarter) friends and appeal to them to head west to ME (and making sure they know to bring plenty of supplies with them, etc.).

Seriously, I should be saying: when the SHTF, load up your cars, Ladies - bring every spare roll of TP and every canned good you can muster - the Survival Party is at my place.  

[Scorpio64 5,155]

1 minute ago, Mrs. Peel said:

- the Survival Party is at my place. 

Peel, that'd be a lot of inexperienced hens at that party.  Maybe once the posse has assembled, give me a call to come over and help with some, uh, training.  Yanno, motivational speaking.

[JohnnyB 4,325]

7 minutes ago, Mrs. Peel said:

Well, now that I've made this investment, I'll bet I don't have a power outage for the rest of the time I'm here! 

My compliments! First on your attitude and second on your generator choice! years ago, I would lose power at least 5 times a year. I saw a 3.5K generator at my local Home Depot on clearance for $150. For the next 5 or so years I never lost power!  When I finally had a blackout, I fired up my generator and back fed my house using 2 male to male extension cords I made.

With my main breaker off, my entire house was working on my $150 generator.  I notice that all of my LED lighting was flickering and my main PC UPS was beeping and throwing fits.  I did some research and went on to spend $1,300 on a larger Champion Inverter 6.25KKW generator and installed an interlock on my breaker box and a proper 230VAC feed input to the house.  Everything runs great! It's much more quiet and no lights flicker.  That purchase was 3 years ago and of course I have not lost power since. I do feel better though knowing I have it and that if SHTF, I now have a reliable power source. 

[Sniper 6,372]

42 minutes ago, Mrs. Peel said:

This was BY FAR the most expensive part of my prepping, this puppy right here: https://www.duromaxpower.com/collections/digital-inverters/products/xp9000ih  - it retails around 2600.

Looking at the specs for that generator, learning how to cycle run times and save fuel is going to be a important strategy. You said you have a 50 gal. propane tank. The specs recommends a 40 lb tank which will last 9 hours. Or 7 gallons of gas will last 11 hours. If you have an extended power outage, you're going to need a bunch of fuel.

[Mrs. Peel 7,157]

35 minutes ago, Sniper said:

Looking at the specs for that generator, learning how to cycle run times and save fuel is going to be a important strategy. You said you have a 50 gal. propane tank. The specs recommends a 40 lb tank which will last 9 hours. Or 7 gallons of gas will last 11 hours. If you have an extended power outage, you're going to need a bunch of fuel.

I agree! A 50-gallon propane tank is equivalent to 210 pounds of propane. So, my goal would be to stretch that amount out as much as humanly possible. That's also the reason that I want the ability to have a fuel truck come to fill up the tank - even if it was frequent - like a couple times a week. Though there is (conveniently) a large propane tank available for re-filling at a gas station right at the end of my street... once I really thought it all through, I realized how utterly exhausting it would be if I had to (on a daily basis) grab some smaller portable tanks, hoist them up and carry them to my front yard (possibly trudging through snow), put them into my trunk, drive down to the station, lift them out of the trunk, fill them up, put them (now heavier still) back in the trunk, drive home to deadlift them out of the trunk yet again, and then drag them around to the back yard, etc. etc. I think it was important to really be honest with myself and admit what my physical limitations are. That just sounds like much too much!! Honestly, it's exhausting just thinking about it! I just don't have the upper body strength for all of that. So, utilizing the woodstove to create a cozy smaller space within my house and really using the generator MINIMALLY is my plan - just cranking it up to charge my electronics/lanterns/weather radio, heat some water/take a shower, flow warm water through all of the copper pipes - whatever is the least amount of time to achieve all of that, that's what I'll be aiming for.  Again, really cold weather would present the greatest challenge.

[Scorpio64 5,155]

28 minutes ago, Sniper said:

You said you have a 50 gal. propane tank.

The whole point of propane is the ability to store it a very long time.  Minimum, two 100# tanks, with a couple 20 pounders for good measure..

EDIT:  Crap, you said 50 GALLONS, not pounds.  That should keep things humming along for a good while.  But still, a few extras wouldn't hurt.

[Mrs. Peel 7,157]

3 minutes ago, Scorpio64 said:

But still, a few extras wouldn't hurt.

Mmm... I'm starting to think that myself. I suppose if I get a small propane grill - the1-2 tanks could do double-duty. If the truck was delayed, for instance, on a refill of my bigger tank, at least I'd have the option of filling up a 20-pound tank and using that to tide me over until delivery. I'll have to give that some thought, but that's looking like a good idea.

Ha! I knew you guys would find a way to spend mo' of my money! 

[Mr.Stu 1,922]

3 minutes ago, Mrs. Peel said:

I agree! A 50-gallon propane tank is equivalent to 210 pounds of propane. So, my goal would be to stretch that amount out as much as humanly possible. That's also the reason that I want the ability to have a fuel truck come to fill up the tank - even if it was frequent - like a couple times a week. Though there is (conveniently) a large propane tank available for re-filling at a gas station right at the end of my street... once I really thought it all through, I realized how utterly exhausting I would be if I had to (on a daily basis) grab some smaller portable tanks, hoist them up and carry them to my front yard (possibly trudging through snow), put them into my trunk, drive down to the station, lift them out of the trunk, fill them up, put them (now heavier still) back in the trunk, drive home to deadlift them out of the trunk yet again, and then drag them around to the back yard, etc. etc. I think it was important to really be honest with myself and admit what my physical limitations are. That just sounds like much too much!! Honestly, it's exhausting just thinking about it! I just don't have the upper body strength for all of that. So, utilizing the woodstove to create a cozy smaller space within my house and really using the generator MINIMALLY is my plan - just cranking it up to charge my electronics/lanterns/weather radio, heat some water/take a shower, flow warm water through all of the copper pipes - whatever is the least amount of time to achieve all of that, that's what I'll be aiming for.  Again, really cold weather would present the greatest challenge.

I understand that you have physical limitations and can't just lug propane tanks around. However, it wouldn't take much for the propane tanker to stop running, or get diverted by the government to a "more important' need.

You could easily get a handcart for a 20lb tank which means you don't have to lift it at all. If there is a slope you have to navigate, rig a pulley system to take the load. Relying on powered stuff to get fuel when fuel is availability is very low (remember Sandy) is self defeating.

[Sniper 6,372]

16 minutes ago, Mrs. Peel said:

That's also the reason that I want the ability to have a fuel truck come to fill up the tank - even if it was frequent - like a couple times a week.

So, you're optimistic that during an extended power outage, fuel trucks will be available to just run up to your house a "couple times a week"? 

[Mrs. Peel 7,157]

1 minute ago, Mr.Stu said:

You could easily get a handcart for a 20lb tank

Well, I do have a small collapsible dolly and bungee cords. Best thing I ever bought! I use it all the time to lug shooting equipment, and anything large or heavy. It's useful as hell. However, it is rendered completely useless if there's several inches of snow!  So, I realize I could use my dolly during non-snow times, just wheeling any tanks to and fro (though getting it in and out of the trunk is still something I'd like to avoid - I could try to harness the neighbor kid for that, lol).  I might have to consider some other options when there's snow - maybe even one of those plastic disks kids use for sleighs today. Even sliding that across snow might be easier than anything else - and that would be super-cheap. You've all doing a great job of identifying gaps in my plan and getting me  thinking  more deeply -  which is fabulous! This is exactly what I was hoping for. 

[Mrs. Peel 7,157]

2 minutes ago, Sniper said:

So, you're optimistic that during an extended power outage, fuel trucks will be available to just run up to your house a "couple times a week"? 

I'm optimistic that they'll run... until they stop! In which case, the old-fashioned woodstove and draining the pipes becomes the final fallback position. At least I'll be warm and fed. And I can use Mr. Sun to power my radio and my lanterns. And as I said, if it gets to that point... well, we're all pretty much screwed, aren't we? 

[Scorpio64 5,155]

2 minutes ago, Mrs. Peel said:

the old-fashioned woodstove

About that.  Many stoves can be fitted with a side saddle hot water tank.

[Mrs. Peel 7,157]

Just now, Scorpio64 said:

About that.  Many stoves can be fitted with a side saddle hot water tank.

Huh! Interesting. Is that something that is permanent (and fugly year-round)? Or, an item that can be added as needed? Just curious. Because it's also easy enough to just sit a large pot on the stove if I need hot water. 

[Sniper 6,372]

12 minutes ago, Mrs. Peel said:

And as I said, if it gets to that point...well, we're all pretty much screwed, aren't we? 

Yep 

[Scorpio64 5,155]

1 hour ago, Mrs. Peel said:

Is that something that is permanent (and fugly year-round)? Or, an item that can be added as needed?

The extent of my knowledge ends at my awareness of their existence.  I saw it mentioned exactly once on a DIY cable show.  For more info, you have to get your stove model number and hit the interwebs.

[10X 3,296]

12 hours ago, Scorpio64 said:

A full refrigerator-freezer requires less energy to maintain temperature.  If you don't keep a lot of perishables in the fridge, you can always throw in dry goods like uncooked rice, oatmeal canisters, coffee, etc.  Not that those things will benefit from refrigeration, it won't hurt them either.  Same goes for the freezer.  The more you have in it, the longer it stays cold.

To keep the frozen food frozen longer, fill the empty spaces with water...plastic bottles, bags of ice.  It has a lot of thermal mass, so it will help the freezer stay cold longer, and it also provides yet another source of stored water.  Liquids taking up space in the fridge serve the same purpose, higher thermal mass, holds the cold better than dry ingredients.  Here you can substitute beer for water.   

Bagged ice should be double or triple bagged and stored near the bottom of the freezer in case it does melt--but that also provides an indicator should the temp in the freezer get to high (kinda like the old trick of putting two ice cubes in a ziplock in a seldom-used freezer, to show if the contents had thawed during a power outage, then re-froze).  Of course, whatever filler you use has to be in there before the power goes out, otherwise the energy used to bring it down to temp is kinda counterproductive.

If it wasn't already mentioned, start your generator (then attach a load) once a month or so, just to make sure it stays in working order.  Some people use gas stabilizer, I store mine with the tank empty and put in a pint or two of fuel to test...I keep 20 gallons of generator gas that I rotate through the cars every 4 to 6 months to keep it fresh.

[Scorpio64 5,155]

3 minutes ago, 10X said:

Some people use gas stabilizer

Ethanol has caused me a lot of grief because I wasn't using a stabilizer.  The tank on my first genny rusted out because water was gathering in the fuel tank sump.  Ethanol gacked up the carb on another genny.  It caused an open float and the genny caught fire because gasoline was gushing out from the carb into the air filter.   That was exciting.

Now, I keep stabilized fuel in my current genny ( ha, incidental pun), but I run it every two months with a 1000W load for 20 minutes, and drain the tank every six months to change out the fuel.

 

 

[CMJeepster 2,778]

Glock 19.

[Sniper 6,372]

17 hours ago, Mrs. Peel said:

My plan would be to run the generator, and send and receive email and charge up all my chargeable items - laptop, lanterns, radio - much as you described.

Keep in mind, your generator might not keep you connected to the Internet. Depending on who your provider is Comcast, Cablevision, FIOS), in a area wide outage cable TV and Internet goes down, as many of the local switches and amplifiers lose power. You could power up your modem/router in your house from the genny, but no signal might be getting to your house. So you should plan on losing cable TV and Internet from your normal source. If your TV comes from a system like Dish, you can power up the cable box with the genny, and should get channels, but I doubt you'd want to run the 9kW genny for hours just to watch a movie.

So, your other choice for Internet/email would be to hotspot from your cellphone. Depending on the cell signal you receive at your house, and tower locations, will depend on how strong of a connection you might have. In many cases, the cell phone companies can keep the service up for days, based on their generator/battery bank capabilities for each tower location.

Also keep in mind, if you need to use your phone's hotspot, you'll be burning through data, as your WiFi connection to your router will not exist. So, for instance, if you hotspot a Smart TV to your phone to watch a Netflix movie, expect your data usage to really spike. I hope you have a great data plan.

[Sniper 6,372]

2 hours ago, 10X said:

Some people use gas stabilizer, I store mine with the tank empty and put in a pint or two of fuel to test...I keep 20 gallons of generator gas that I rotate through the cars every 4 to 6 months to keep it fresh.

 

6 minutes ago, Scorpio64 said:

Ethanol gacked up the carb on another genny.  It caused an open float and the genny caught fire because gasoline was gushing out from the carb into the air filter.   That was exciting.

Ya know.... a propane generator eliminates all that gas, stabilization, ethanol, storage, rotation, gunking, draining issues...

Jus sayin...

[Sniper 6,372]

11 hours ago, Mrs. Peel said:

Mmm... I'm starting to think that myself. I suppose if I get a small propane grill - the1-2 tanks could do double-duty. If the truck was delayed, for instance, on a refill of my bigger tank, at least I'd have the option of filling up a 20-pound tank and using that to tide me over until delivery.

Another use for those backup 20lb tanks is as a heat source. You can get a tank mounted heater, which you can use to heat other areas of your house that the wood stove doesn't reach. And since the tank is portable, you can use it to heat different rooms or basement, to help keep pipes from freezing or just take the chill off. Here's a example of that heater:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Mr-Heater-15-000-BTU-Single-Tank-Top-Radiant-Heater-MH15T/304906557

[Scorpio64 5,155]

2 minutes ago, Sniper said:

a propane generator eliminates all that gas, stabilization, ethanol, storage, rotation, gunking, draining issues...

Is your real name Hank Hill by any chance?

There have not been any issues since I started using stabilizer.  With 32.5K more BTUs , gasoline is about 25% more efficient than propane.  It's cheaper to run on gasoline.   I wish I could afford a diesel generator, diesel is everywhere and packs 15K more BTUs than gasoline. 

I do have a propane kit for my genny.  It will get installed if the need arises.

[Sniper 6,372]

3 minutes ago, Scorpio64 said:

Is your real name Hank Hill by any chance?

3 minutes ago, Scorpio64 said:

There have not been any issues since I started using stabilizer.  With 32.5K more BTUs , gasoline is about 25% more efficient than propane.  It's cheaper to run on gasoline.  I wish I could afford a diesel generator, diesel is everywhere and packs 15K more BTUs than gasoline. 

So, during Hurricane Sandy, getting additional gas/diesel was really easy and plentiful, right?

Oh wait, the gas stations had no power and couldn't pump....  oops...

4 minutes ago, Scorpio64 said:

I do have a propane kit for my genny.  It will get installed if the need arises.

I bet it works really well for you sitting in the box, right?

[Scorpio64 5,155]

1 minute ago, Sniper said:

Oh wait, the gas stations had no power and couldn't pump....  oops...

Gas station about two miles from me was operational inside two days.  They trailerd in a massive Kohler genset.  Since then, several gas stations around here have backup power.

[siderman 1,138]

2 hours ago, Sniper said:

 

Ya know.... a propane generator eliminates all that gas, stabilization, ethanol, storage, rotation, gunking, draining issues...

Jus sayin...

Better yet, and depending on ones own logistics is natural gas. That was my primary fuel source and I  don't ever recall that power supply shutting down.  Now it's propane, much easier to deal with over gasoline, which I  hope I'll  never need as I  don't even store it. Actually haven't used it since the  initial genny break in. Cleaned up the carb after that, cycle a bit of stabilizer  but no mo gas.

[Mrs. Peel 7,157]

4 hours ago, CMJeepster said:

Glock 19.

1911.

[Mrs. Peel 7,157]

4 hours ago, Sniper said:

Keep in mind, your generator might not keep you connected to the Internet. Depending on who your provider is Comcast, Cablevision, FIOS), in a area wide outage cable TV and Internet goes down, as many of the local switches and amplifiers lose power.

Hmmm, when would that happen? I figure, chances are, when the back-ups at utility companies are starting to fail, you've just shifted into "survival mode" anyway. Literally, my clients would probably be in a similar boat. So, my attitude would be "screw work - I have some savings" - and my focus would turn 100% to keeping the stove cranking & pipes flowing (if it was cold), keeping a close eye on the property, collaborating with neighbors, etc.).  Anything else - including work - just sort of fades in importance if things are getting that catastrophic, right?