SHTF will look like this:

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3NgtACqWJs

1)always keep cash on ya. i know you know that....but i felt it worth repeating.

2) the halfway mark on your gas gauge should be used as your "empty" mark. even if it's not that low, but say at 3/4? fill it on the way home. keep your vehicles "mission ready"

3)water/food in the vehicle. if you can only fit one or the other, water wins.

4)warm and/or waterproof or water resistant clothing. you can die from hypothermia on a 70 degree day if the conditions are right(or wrong as the case may be)

5)some form of comms besides your cell phone. towers can/will become overloaded if they still work.

6)scanner

 

prolly bunches o stuff i'm missing

Those were all things I 'knew'....more or less, but got in a hurry/lazy/complacent.

Believe me, that WON'T happen twice, getting caught unprepared like that again.

 

I tell my wife ALL the time to fill up at the 1/2 tank mark, but failed to follow my own advice

 

 

I got my Ham radio Tech license, and carry a handheld with me or in my ruck. Backup comms.

 

Regarding cell phones, I found during the blackout, text messages got through well enough, but it was next to impossible to make a phone call.

Not too many pay phones left these days either.

 

I have a 'winter' and 'summer' GHB, differences being spare clothing that is in the ruck. I also keep one of those .mil issue wool blankets in the trunk of the car.

Food items in the GHB consist of several protein 'Power Bars' and water (and an extremely lightweight water purification kit).Not exactly ideal, but it's light, portable, and will do for the short run. It is something I'd like to improve on, however.

Fwiw, the water purification kit is a Sawyer. Very small and lightweight. Fits very easily into a Nalgene bottle I carry in the ruck.

 

I also have an IFAK in the ruck (summer and winter). I rotate supplies to keep items fresh.

 

I also carry a small, folding camp shovel in the car, if I ever had to dig a wheel out of snow, for example.

 

Tool kit was always in the car, as I use it for work anyways, but I also added a LED headlamp to the kit (changing a tire at night). A flashlight is great (one on my person, spare in the GHB), but it takes up a hand....

 

My home preps improved significantly too. My wife laughed at me a bit about prepping until Hurricane Sandy. Even though we didn't get hit hardly at all (power outages mainly), we had what we needed if things did get ugly.

 

She doesn't laugh any more.

Those were all things I 'knew'....more or less, but got in a hurry/lazy/complacent.

Believe me, that WON'T happen twice, getting caught unprepared like that again.

 

I tell my wife ALL the time to fill up at the 1/2 tank mark, but failed to follow my own advice

 

 

I got my Ham radio Tech license, and carry a handheld with me or in my ruck. Backup comms.

 

Regarding cell phones, I found during the blackout, text messages got through well enough, but it was next to impossible to make a phone call.

Not too many pay phones left these days either.

 

I have a 'winter' and 'summer' GHB, differences being spare clothing that is in the ruck. I also keep one of those .mil issue wool blankets in the trunk of the car.

Food items in the GHB consist of several protein 'Power Bars' and water (and an extremely lightweight water purification kit).Not exactly ideal, but it's light, portable, and will do for the short run. It is something I'd like to improve on, however.

Fwiw, the water purification kit is a Sawyer. Very small and lightweight. Fits very easily into a Nalgene bottle I carry in the ruck.

 

I also have an IFAK in the ruck (summer and winter). I rotate supplies to keep items fresh.

 

I also carry a small, folding camp shovel in the car, if I ever had to dig a wheel out of snow, for example.

 

Tool kit was always in the car, as I use it for work anyways, but I also added a LED headlamp to the kit (changing a tire at night). A flashlight is great (one on my person, spare in the GHB), but it takes up a hand....

 

My home preps improved significantly too. My wife laughed at me a bit about prepping until Hurricane Sandy. Even though we didn't get hit hardly at all (power outages mainly), we had what we needed if things did get ugly.

 

She doesn't laugh any more.

a note on head lamps.....go to lowes. usually on an endcap, or near the cash registers, there's hats...baseball cap type. with led's built in the brim. i've got 2. one i wear all the time, one spare. cool hats, incredibly useful.

That's a cool idea, 1LT. I'll check it out.

Power Grid Failure. That shuts everything down and the longer it is out..the worse the situation becomes. Sandy was a big wake up call and I still have things I need to do to be prepared. Luckily,I was out of power for 7 days. Things started to get hairy at day 5 and I started packin my 10mm around the house. My neighbor and I drove down the Turnpike to exit 4 where life was normal and we stockpiled 150 gallons of fuel for our generators. Alot can happen, drug addicts and people who need medication who cant get it start doing crazy shit.

 

Backup generators should be plumbed into the natural gas and not have to rely on a liquid fuel source. If the underground NG lines lose gas, we got bigger problems then we think.

 

I have a 55 drum in my shed that is for diesel storage for my Jeep. Yes, my Jeep is a diesel..lol

 

Other then that, its the other basics to stock up on and hold the fort. Dont plan on running. You wont get far . and yes, cash, cash, and cash. Credit and debt cards are useless

a note on head lamps.....go to lowes. usually on an endcap, or near the cash registers, there's hats...baseball cap type. with led's built in the brim. i've got 2. one i wear all the time, one spare. cool hats, incredibly useful.

I have one of those. And I have 3 other headlamps I use. Some Surefire flashlights and a crapload of 123 batteries.

Power Grid Failure. That shuts everything down and the longer it is out..the worse the situation becomes. Sandy was a big wake up call and I still have things I need to do to be prepared. Luckily,I was out of power for 7 days. Things started to get hairy at day 5 and I started packin my 10mm around the house. My neighbor and I drove down the Turnpike to exit 4 where life was normal and we stockpiled 150 gallons of fuel for our generators. Alot can happen, drug addicts and people who need medication who cant get it start doing crazy shit.

 

Backup generators should be plumbed into the natural gas and not have to rely on a liquid fuel source. If the underground NG lines lose gas, we got bigger problems then we think.

 

I have a 55 drum in my shed that is for diesel storage for my Jeep. Yes, my Jeep is a diesel..lol

 

Other then that, its the other basics to stock up on and hold the fort. Dont plan on running. You wont get far . and yes, cash, cash, and cash. Credit and debt cards are useless

What is involved with converting a gen to NG?  Does it require a special type of unit or is there a conversion kit from regular gas?

 

I have a 2" active gas line that was put in for a large heater, but capped off when I switched to electric.  It's in a good spot for keeping out of sight (would fool the deaf looters at least).  Would be nice to have the option of hooking into the line, but also to be able to use regular gas as an alternative, but that might be asking way too much.

Some Dedicated home backup generators I think are setup to run off NG or I know they sell conversion kits for the engines.

 

If you run a NG unit, you will never have a need regular gas except what you have stored for your bugout vehicle. It would take mass destruction to lose the NG and you probably would not be able to stay in that area anyway afterwards.

I have one of those. And I have 3 other headlamps I use. Some Surefire flashlights and a crapload of 123 batteries.

as we all know, light is good to have. i have the hat i mentioned, plus a spare. 2 head lights at home, one int he truck, 2 at the shop. i need to load up more on the 123's though. i only have 2 2packs......

I suggest these. For the money and speed of delivery Amazon wins

 

I suggest these. For the money and speed of delivery Amazon wins

 

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1437067942.484480.jpg

I have the 72 box of those

My wife thought I was a little wacky about prepping, but when the first storm hit and we were without power for 8 days, she really liked the generator. She took care of it when I was pulling double shifts. She never complained about the guns an ammo, even saying let's go to the Christiana Mall.... knowing it was a couple pounds of powder at Cabelas. And the food storage got easier, even a years supply after the 2nd storm took us out for a week

What SHTF will look like?

 

 

Really, I'd say look to the Sandy aftermath, and extend it a little more. You wouldn't have organized lines of cars getting gas, but mass people getting as much as possible then others getting pissed and going after those with it. Basic government and market infrastructure would breakdown to the basic essentials (hospital, fire, police, to an extent public works depending on the situation). Certain areas, looting and/or arson. National Guard being called in, probably every LEO within the state working until it calms.

 

The worst thing I'd predict would be devastation that caused the so called SHTF. I mean, Sandy was bad, but the aftermath wasn't extremely terrible. For stuff to go ape-

What is involved with converting a gen to NG?  Does it require a special type of unit or is there a conversion kit from regular gas?

 

I have a 2" active gas line that was put in for a large heater, but capped off when I switched to electric.  It's in a good spot for keeping out of sight (would fool the deaf looters at least).  Would be nice to have the option of hooking into the line, but also to be able to use regular gas as an alternative, but that might be asking way too much.

Tri fuel:  http://www.uscarburetion.com/

Short term, in the next few years or so, I think a shutdown of our power grid is a likely scenario! The reason I believe to be likely is because it can happen by natural means, a cyber attack or a direct

terrorist attack! Many of those who know how the grid functions fear if it does go down it will take weeks or months to get it back up! This is a real fear!

 

Long term, I truly believe that AI will be out ultimate downfall! Many scientists involved also believe this fact! Once machines are smarter than we are and able to self defend and self replicate, we are done!

This is most likely many years from now but we must must stop it before it starts! This won't be like the Terminator movie where we have a time machine to go back and prevent it. The time to prevent it is now!

Been giving some thought on how to manage the 28,000 gallons of clean water in my pool in a SHTF situation. I also have a well, but I need 208v to run the pump.

 

Food, water, shelter, self defense are my first concerns.

 

Fuel... Including wood is my next concern. Also gave some thought to storing stabilized gasoline that I would rotate out as SOP. Problem is even a few hundred gallons isn't all that much for a month long event. Another option is a 1500 gallon propane tank. Underground of course. 3 gensets. Port gas. Stationary LP. Stationary NG.

 

Wish list starting to get expensive.

 

It's starts to get more complicated if this is a winter event. Tail end of Sandy came with some chilly weather.

 

One thing you probably don't want to do, unless you are very very careful and really understand what you're doing, is back feed your house with a gen set via your AC compressor disconnect switch. Some people smoked their 8 ga wire. Heard second hand stories of fires. And it also gets interesting when power comes on and your main breaker isn't off.

I have a well also and have been looking into a manual pump for it just incase.. I need to do more research and find out how deep our well is.

Sandy aftermath was cold! And I had a Newborn in the house. I was very lucky to get me power back in 7 days. Other sections of town were 14+. Raritan substation was wiped out and never rebuilt. JCPL switched that grid over to the Old Bridge substation which was overloaded and probably still is. Our power goes out in a storm much easier and more often since that.

 

I made 2 custom extensions with males on both ends and plugged them into 2 outlets in the house to feed my panel from generator. MUST shut the main and isolate house off grid before doing so. I was able to keep enough heat in the house to keep the baby warm, fridges cold, charge devices, etc. The bare minimum.

 

I still need to buy my own generator and am thinking about a diesel powered unit. Diesels run 1800 rpm ,not 3600 like the gassers. NG home backups are like 10 grand.

 

The grid failure is the single thing that will stop your life in its tracks and put you in survival mode. However it happens. You wont be going to work, you wont be doing anything except taking care of your family and home.

Sandy aftermath was cold! And I had a Newborn in the house. I was very lucky to get me power back in 7 days. Other sections of town were 14+. Raritan substation was wiped out and never rebuilt. JCPL switched that grid over to the Old Bridge substation which was overloaded and probably still is. Our power goes out in a storm much easier and more often since that.

 

I made 2 custom extensions with males on both ends and plugged them into 2 outlets in the house to feed my panel from generator. MUST shut the main and isolate house off grid before doing so. I was able to keep enough heat in the house to keep the baby warm, fridges cold, charge devices, etc. The bare minimum.

 

I still need to buy my own generator and am thinking about a diesel powered unit. Diesels run 1800 rpm ,not 3600 like the gassers. NG home backups are like 10 grand.

 

The grid failure is the single thing that will stop your life in its tracks and put you in survival mode. However it happens. You wont be going to work, you wont be doing anything except taking care of your family and home.

the bolded part is the key. i believe that the power companies have been taking their profits(nothing wrong with that at all!) and doing nothing more than the bare minimum to maintain their systems(THIS is a SERIOUS problem!). they have been doing no major improvements that i can see. shit....i don't remember losing power this often back in the 70's.

 

 

Sandy aftermath was cold! And I had a Newborn in the house. I was very lucky to get me power back in 7 days. Other sections of town were 14+. Raritan substation was wiped out and never rebuilt. JCPL switched that grid over to the Old Bridge substation which was overloaded and probably still is. Our power goes out in a storm much easier and more often since that.

 

I made 2 custom extensions with males on both ends and plugged them into 2 outlets in the house to feed my panel from generator. MUST shut the main and isolate house off grid before doing so. I was able to keep enough heat in the house to keep the baby warm, fridges cold, charge devices, etc. The bare minimum.

 

I still need to buy my own generator and am thinking about a diesel powered unit. Diesels run 1800 rpm ,not 3600 like the gassers. NG home backups are like 10 grand.

 

The grid failure is the single thing that will stop your life in its tracks and put you in survival mode. However it happens. You wont be going to work, you wont be doing anything except taking care of your family and home.

I've installed a lot of generators over the last ten years or so. I don't recommend the automatic NG standby generators. Besides the cost, it can sometimes be impossible to get someone to come out and service them. Also, what happens if the gas line is disrupted? You're basically stuck with a boat anchor then.

 

A decent portable generator can power most standard homes without issue as long as you don't use an electric range. A Weather Proof 30 or 50 Amp inlet along with a manual transfer switch is all you need.

 

 

I've installed a lot of generators over the last ten years or so. I don't recommend the automatic NG standby generators. Besides the cost, it can sometimes be impossible to get someone to come out and service them. Also, what happens if the gas line is disrupted? You're basically stuck with a boat anchor then.

 

A decent portable generator can power most standard homes without issue as long as you don't use an electric range. A Weather Proof 30 or 50 Amp inlet along with a manual transfer switch is all you need.

Yes but a reg generator requires a fuel supply. And you will need quite a bit. If you cant get it,your screwed. If the NG gas supply is distrupted, your talking major destruction and like I said earlier. If thats the case, you would probably have to evac anyway. Think of the coastline in Sandy.... The only thing different between a reg gas generator and a NG unit is the carburator so service should not be an issue.. I think they are pretty common these days...

http://www.uscarburetion.com for tri-fuel conversion kits. (Gasoline, propane & NG)

 

For short-term, I'd be OK using gasoline in my portable generator. Long-term, things would get bad enough that after gas is gone, we're all back to the 1800s anyway.

http://www.uscarburetion.com for tri-fuel conversion kits. (Gasoline, propane & NG)

 

For short-term, I'd be OK using gasoline in my portable generator. Long-term, things would get bad enough that after gas is gone, we're all back to the 1800s anyway.

Well what is short term? Gas generators burn more fuel then you think so not quite sure what your thinking. A week or two is doable if you have the fuel stored. I forget what I was burning during Sandy but it was an eye opener.

Short-term to me means a week to ten days. I know how much fuel my generator consumes, thanks. (1/2 gallon per hour.) I had enough gasoline to go a week without having to tap into any of the vehicles' tanks. After that, I could have gone an additional week without re-supplying. Fortunately, we had power back in 3 days and I had plenty of fuel leftover. The only real things that I use the genny for are the sump pumps, the well and the fridge. I can heat and light the house pretty decently with old methods, but eventually I'd need to get out into the woods for more wood. If things get that bad and stay that bad, we're bugging out.

Short-term to me means a week to ten days. I know how much fuel my generator consumes, thanks. (1/2 gallon per hour.) I had enough gasoline to go a week without having to tap into any of the vehicles' tanks. After that, I could have gone an additional week without re-supplying. Fortunately, we had power back in 3 days and I had plenty of fuel leftover. The only real things that I use the genny for are the sump pumps, the well and the fridge. I can heat and light the house pretty decently with old methods, but eventually I'd need to get out into the woods for more wood. If things get that bad and stay that bad, we're bugging out.

Yea, i didnt mean towards you or as an insult. People dont realize fuel goes mighty fast at 1/2 gal. Per hour. Even only burning 2-3 gallons a day.

 

Im sure people think they got a 5 gal. Can and think they are good..lol

No offense taken. Having been through one event with it already, I'm familiar with it enough to know how it works and what it takes to keep it going. I'm also pretty good with the outdoors and living there. Irene was a wakeup for me and I've been working toward making this house and its occupants better prepared for the next disaster and the next one after that. Step one is sheltering in-place. After that, I've got options.

 Raritan substation was wiped out and never rebuilt. JCPL switched that grid over to the Old Bridge substation which was overloaded and probably still is. Our power goes out in a storm much easier and more often since that.

 

Which substation is this exactly?

Which substation is this exactly?

I wont go into details on a public forum but you can PM me.

I'm fairly certain you are incorrect as I live pretty close to it and additionally there is this:

 

http://patch.com/new-jersey/eastbrunswick/jcpl-upgrading-middlesex-county-system-at-raritan-river-substation

Yes but a reg generator requires a fuel supply. And you will need quite a bit. If you cant get it,your screwed. If the NG gas supply is distrupted, your talking major destruction and like I said earlier. If thats the case, you would probably have to evac anyway. Think of the coastline in Sandy.... The only thing different between a reg gas generator and a NG unit is the carburator so service should not be an issue.. I think they are pretty common these days...

or it could be that they shut it off for "safety"