Hurricane lamps

[Entropy1]

I have a number of these lanterns. Some are older and some are brand new. Two of them have a small wire rack so you can cook on top of them. The kerosene is brutally expensive out here...around $5.50/gallon. Needless to say, in a serious power problem, the kerosene will become even more expensive or unavailable. So.....I have changed to a solar emergency kit.

$5.50 per gallon, sounds like a deal to me. I pay $10 for 4.9 L, (a wee bit more than a gallon?) and $20 for 19.8 L. There is a bulk tank at a gas station south of me, but it costs almost the same and has to be K2 not K1 as they say it is. It is real yellow, and smokes in lamps.

Entropy

 

[BarredBuff]

Hey Entropy! Welcome to SufficentSelf!

 

[edjanuary39]

I did a bit of research on solar and wind power, want to convert totally, but in time. So we all know how outrageously expensive it is and if your over 50 you may never see a return on your investment. So I found this guy earth4energy.com he has a 'Special offer' for $50 he shows you step for step how to ake your own solar panels, wind mill, solar tanks, and some other stuff, the water heater is $37. According to him, you can build your own for 100, or 150, with stuff you may already have, looks professional. I'm thinking of getting it in the spring and seeing what we can do with it. There is alot of before stuff that needs doing, I found that out from other sites. Ehow also tells you how to do it, but I dont trust too many people to actually know what they are doing. (I've had a fair amount of experience with people who tell you, but have no idea what they are talking about! As we all have!) so maybe something to check out, if you can make it at home, for 100's and not 10,000's it may be worth doing! Sounds too good to be true though, anyone tried it?

 

[Entropy1]

Hey Entropy! Welcome to SufficentSelf!

Thanks!

 

[jhad1066]

Hello all
I've been lurking for a while now and thought I should post regarding the "earth4energy.com" post. I did a little digging as it does sound too good to be true.....guess what it is. nlcpr.com/Deceptions6.php
Instead of spending your cash on the ebook,maybe some cfl's or even a good old hurricane lamp would be a better purchase.

jim

 

[BarredBuff]

Welcome jhad1066! Very nice to have you

 

[Wannabefree]

 

[edjanuary39]

thanks Jim! And welcome! Yeah I kinda think it is, im going to keep digging though, I know people have done it, and I will eventually figure it out. I was originally going to probably do it anyway and then I checked that site, glad I did! Thanks for finding that! Saved my $50. I may not be able to go off grid, but maybe I figure out how to get started and eventually get there! Till then our back up will be the lamps! I keep you all updated, maybe we can share the knowledge for free!

 

[Britesea]

I had given the idea of solar panels a go-by a long time ago, although I like the idea of the emergency set-up for lights that Icu4dz described however- that actually looks doable; combined with some lamps and candles for further redundancy. On the other hand, I found an inexpensive passive solar heater that mounts in your window that I would like to try; the plans were very inexpensive from Mother Earth News. Unfortunately, you need double hung windows that open vertically and all our windows slide open horizontally. I want to see if I can find a couple of double hung windows at Habitat for Humanity's RESTORE so that I can install this in a couple rooms. They claim that it can raise the temperature in a room by 10-20 degrees; not much, but it would reduce the cost of heating by that much. The style of the heater is very similar to the "soda can" style food dehydrators out there.

 

[edjanuary39]

I just signed up for their newsletter! Can you give me and idea what the article was called so I can check it out? I have the right windows for that! I have been freezing! I have to keep thermostat at 72 or 73 so we have propane through the first part of winter- and that's just guessing, since this is my first winter on propane! That would save so much money! My cousin owns a construction company and they get customer's stuff there all the time! They are always happy b/c it so cheap! If you dont find your windows keep going back! He actually bought a $1200 toilet-yes people actually pay 1000's for toilets- for $50! So if you know your stuff you can get even better buys! Or take a smart phone and Google everything while your there! when we start actually buying stuff to remodel im going there! And once I've acquired all we think we need then get started! Good luck finding your windows!