Blackout Post-Mortem - What would you do different?

[mcbethr 42]

The power in Cherry Hill finally came back on at 10:10.

 

I promptly turned on the TV so I could watch "Revolution" On Demand - Irony I suppose.

 

I've had a little time to think. I'm not much of a "prepper," although I've kept a bug out bag since 9/11. That bag became useful since It had the only portable radio I had left.

 

My wife is one of those couponers, so we were good on food. I don't have a generator, but I bought about 10 bags of ice and packed my freezer with the ice. The food is still good today. Maybe we could have lasted another 24 hours?

 

The only glaring deficiency is an acute lack of AAA batteries. All of my C and D cell flashlights worked fine and we had plenty of batteries from my wife's obsessive couponing. It was the AAA mini maglights that had no juice, and of course I didn't check them beforehand even though they were the handiest flashlights. Do any of you know how hard it is to wash dishes with a 2 D-Cell mag-light in your mouth? (no comments from the peanut gallery)

 

I think of anything, an LED headlamp would have been useful - I found myself juggling a flashlight between my hands and mouth as I did stuff around the house.

 

I had about 24 chemical glowsticks. I used 4 of them. They were very useful, since you could carry them room to room, leave them in the kids room as a nightlight or keep them in the kitchen and hallway as a passage lightsource for the middle of the night. I'll certainly buy a few more boxes of glowsticks.

 

Candles were not as important - they don't give off enough light and you can't sleep with them on.

 

I didn't really feel the need to prep any kind of weapons. There was no looting around my neighborhood.

 

But other than the AAA batteries, the plan worked.

 

Anybody else have tips on what worked and what didn't?

[NJKen 23]

I got a generator. I have few of them being a contractor and all...LOL!

Seriously though, I have a 2 year old son that would not understand why its cold in the house and his food is different. We keep a couple weeks worth of food and sonme longer term storrage type food as well. When they forcast crazy weather I just go fill the 100 gallon transfer tank in the bed of my truck. The power has never been off long enough to burn that much diesel. Whatever doesnt go into the generator will just go into the truck and other equipment anyway. That 100 gallons of diesel is the only reason I have been able to continue working around here the last 18 hours or so. You cant get diesel or gas anywhere rite now. The one thing Im going to change is that I will get some plywood. That would have been handy to prevent some of the chaos that resulted from a broken window.

Now I just have to worry about all the people that are not going to be happy without power and start acting bad. Its already beginning.

Ken

[O-gre 7]

More gas cans

[NicePants 58]

Nothing really, considering my power didn't go out and we didn't flood at all. Buying a generator wouldn't hurt though.

[Maksim 1,504]

We were pretty lucky but fairly stocked up, only deficiency was D sized battery for maglight, but had CR 123 for the gun lights and the streamlights.

 

Lights were out only 3 hours though.

 

Would get a generator, but we live in a condo, so can't exactly. lol. Although with underground wires, we were better off.

[Caine 147]

We never lost power, and no flooding this year, so, didn't really get to test anything out. I did have some thoughts as the storm was going thru and I was pretty sure we would lose power:

 

1 - I need to try out my "extension cord from the generator into the house" plan BEFORE I actually need to do it and see if it's actually feasible.. I have a feeling it would not have been fun to try snaking cords thru a window at 2am in the pouring rain... but I'm not sure I like the idea of running the cord beforehand. I dunno.. gotta figure that one out.

 

2 - I probably should have bought more gas for the genny. My genny (3500/4000W) is rated at 12 hours of run time at 50% load from the 3.8 gallon tank. The idea was to only run it if the sump pump needed to run, which, based on Irene, I thought might be 12 hours at most... so I only bought 6.5 gallons of gas for the cans. Once I ran thru the first oil change break in period (5 hours), I was down to just over 5 gallons of gas. I probably would've been ok, but it would've been better to have more of a cushion.

 

Overall tho, I was happy with my "preps" for Sandy (most of the stuff was leftover from my Irene preps) altho it's hard to say for sure how well things would've worked since we didnt get to use much of it..

 

Oh, and everyone should have bungee cords on hand. I was using them for all sorts of things these past couple days. One of the most useful "prep" purchases I've made

[spanky 1]

We only had a few small blackouts that lasted less than a minute, but we were ready for the worst. We usually use candles in candelabras instead of chemlights/flashlights in the house, at least this time of year. The candelabras hold 4 each, so light isn't an issue, plus they give off heat. We have taplights and headlights for the bathrooms, dishes, and other hands-on activities.

 

Other than that, we stocked up on the usual bug in stuff. The majority of my town was evacuated because of what happened during Irene, so we just made sure to have our bug out stuff by the door.

[vladtepes 1,060]

i have

 

many gallons of clean drinking water.. (many of which I freeze prior to loosing power so I can cycle them into my fridge allowing me to maintain temperature without electric while I consume the perishable food first..)

 

lots of peanut butter..

a decent pile of canned soup..

 

 

propane small camp cook stove...

tarps..

and medical kit...

lights and lots of batteries...

 

 

body armor.. ammo and guns..

 

 

 

my situation might not be comfortable.. but I could sustain life for quite some time without anyone really.. my mindset is not to sustain luxuries (electricity), but instead to be prepared to have the minimal... this mindset works for me because it allows me to not rely on things like a running generator... if you put too much faith in that.. the situation is bad when it breaks down for some reason... the only thing I feel I really need is some type of portable scanner.. so I can hear what is going on... we have cell phones with backup batteries.. but they rely too much on a network I have no control over..

[Maksim 1,504]

Forgot to add, we do need a propane, cooktop.

 

just thinking, solar panels sure would of help.

[Aleshka 0]

Second day without power brings just one item I should've bought but didn't - a generator.

I'm stocked up with everything else, but lack of power is disturbing

[Jaws 1]

I second propane cooktop. The lack of hot water, especially with a newborn, is not good. Use the coffee maker for hot water but that's not a real solution. Haven't seen cops and live in a wooded, very dark area. Was expecting this, glad we're armed.

 

One of best preps was all kinds of craft type stuff to keep my kids entertained.

[Babyface Finster 45]

As long as it's above freezing and the pipes won't break, I'm just fine for weeks without power. Wife disagrees and I'm sure the 4 year old would vote with her. So, I'll be picking up a generator and installing a transfer switch once everything returns to normal.

 

Otherwise, I don't think I would do much differently.

[Rob0115 1,105]

After Irene I decided to buy a generator. Also, I do a lot of tailgating at Giants games so I've been cooking in the alcohol camping stove and old fashioned briquette barbecue. It's ok but that novelty will wear off soon.

[Rob0115 1,105]

.

Now I just have to worry about all the people that are not going to be happy without power and start acting bad. Its already beginning.

Ken

 

What do you mean?

[BlueLineFish 615]

 

What do you mean?

 

I know for a fact there has been looting in Coney Island. Not long before more find that a good idea

[scarecrow 0]

 

 

many gallons of clean drinking water.. (many of which I freeze prior to loosing power so I can cycle them into my fridge allowing me to maintain temperature without electric while I consume the perishable food first..)

 

 

 

Now that's I great idea I never thought of

[bbk 188]

Should have invested in a series of overhead systems that would allow me access to what the heck is going on. Between the continued power outages and telecommunications clusterf-ck, if I do get information, it's on a 3-24 hour delay. It's maddening.

But seriously, what I have is holding up well. A genny would have been nice. Working out in the candlelight isn't all that great.

[Krdshrk 3,877]

Yeah - I wish I had a Genny - at least a little one to run the TV and fridge..

[Malsua 1,422]

My whole house Generator ran about 24 hours and used 3% of my 500 gallon propane tank. Roughly 15 gallons but since the gauge is very imprecise, I'm going to say I used 25 gallons a day. This means that a half tank will get me 10 days without power conservatively.

 

I have a 1/2 hp sump pump that pumps about 65 gallons a minute at the 8 foot head it pumps. It is running about once a minute for 10 seconds. My little backup pump does about 5 gallons a minute. When I ran that pump in the sump...the level just continued to rise. Even when I ran both pumps, the little one running continuously, the big pump cycled only slightly less often.

This means, I need a bigger backup pump.

 

Also, I need to run a battery backup for the backup pump in the event the main generator fails. I do have a 4000 watt genset but I loaned it out to someone for this storm. I had been considering selling it, but I think I'm going to keep it now.

[mcbethr 42]

The only scary thing to me regarding generators is that it makes your house a target. At night in my neighborhood, I heard a few generators running. This may not be bad if you are running it for a day, but if you are running your generator for a week, I could see how the monsters would head toward the sound of the generator. Or maybe they would head toward the houses where there were no generators since you have a better shot at nobody being home?

 

One thing I noticed was that two people asked me for ammunition. One was a neighbor who has a Sig P226, but has small kids and doesn't want any ammo in the house with the gun. The other was a friend who bought his Colt Python when he was in Connecticut, doesn't keep ammo in the house either, and never got his FID because he never goes shooting. I was able to help them both out.

[vladtepes 1,060]

One thing I noticed was that two people asked me for ammunition. One was a neighbor who has a Sig P226, but has small kids and doesn't want any ammo in the house with the gun. The other was a friend who bought his Colt Python when he was in Connecticut, doesn't keep ammo in the house either, and never got his FID because he never goes shooting. I was able to help them both out.

 

this is why I do not advertise..

[DirtyDigz 1,812]

Something I became acutely aware of while lugging work PC's down 4 flights of stairs in total darkness:

 

Flashlight good. Headlamp much, much better.

[scarecrow 0]

I run my generator only during the day, turn it off and lock it away come nightfall. Cell phones, lap tops, tablets all charged and good till bed time and fridge will stay plenty cold till morning.

[Rob0115 1,105]

I'll think about the post-mortem when I get power back.

[TanJovi 5]

Stuff I need to improve/buy:

• More light sticks - they were super handy, cheap and safe
  
• waterBob - I filled my tub but the plug didn't seal well - I ended up using a mason jar lid that worked much better but not perfect
  
• Some sort of water filtration system - I think I might go with a 2 bucket ceramic - and get some pool shock.
  
• OTA HD antenna - at one point I had power but no cable (comcast) - this annoyed me
  
• Another La Cross battery charger - took me a while to get all my rechargables done with the one charger
  
• My truck - while the 6L V8 (TBSS) is fun it's just not practical if I had to get through any real crap
  
• More 'comfort' food. This didn't really cross my mind in preparing. I ended up eating lots of halloween candy.
  
• I will buy myself a Biolite campstove for christmas. I like dual use prepping + camping stuff.
  

Things I found helpful:

• stovetop stuff - Coffee Percolator - Popcorn Popper
  
• manual coffee grinder and can opener
  
• Ziploc baggies to make iceblocks
  
• Smartphone apps - AC Electric - 5-0 Police Scanner - Weather App
  
• Phone battery backup - I can get 3+ charges on my iPhone out of Newtrent
  
• Power inverter
  
• Primarily using only AA and AAA devices (very few exceptions)
  

Overall I think I was very prepared but I didn't have a prolonged outage like some people are having. If I didn't live in a condo I would definately have a generator.

[Cemeterys Gun Blob 165]

More cash on hand.

 

Camping lanternS!!

 

Solar powered charger.

[mcbethr 42]

this is why I do not advertise..

 

Well, these were neighbors I've known for years. Hard not to advertise when I'm packing up my car with gun cases and range bags every Tuesday night. And I like to increase awareness of my sport.

 

I've taken them both shooting - one of them just didn't like the idea of ammo in the house with kids. The other has money and bought a Python years ago more for show than fun - when he brought it to the range with me it was the second time he had ever been shooting with it and he still had the 1985 vintage .38 Special box of ammo to prove it.

 

I think some people think a gun is like a lucky charm - a rabbit's foot that keeps bad guys away. Of course an empty gun will rapidly become the bad guy's gun... but what can I say. Handing them a box of ammo is better than an "I told you so."

[mcbethr 42]

More cash on hand.

Camping lanternS!!

 

I didn't think of the camping lanterns, but it's a good idea. I keep about $200 in $10's in my Bug Out Bag, but like I said before. The Bugout bag was constructed after 9/11 and was more for escaping to my sister-in-laws house than anything else.

[TheWombat 67]

Overall our preparations worked out ok. Cash, batteries, glow sticks, food and water all prepared and car was fueled up on Sunday.

 

I found the iPhone 5 (LTE) worked fine when we lost cable however the iPad (3G) was pretty slow - presumably due to everyone else in the locale also using 3G for data etc.

 

I've just ordered one of the crank-handle radios so we can also listen to what is going on for news updates and also some more 'white' glow sticks.

 

TheWombat

[BlueLineFish 615]

Need a lot of re-evaluation. Doing good but improvements can always be made