Power Outages... How Do You Prepare?

[lalaland]

SKR8PN,
can you explain a little more about the 55 gallon barrel and a handpump? I am envisioning a giant soap dispenser! what sort of handpump do you attach to it?

I like this idea because it seems so much simpler than a zillion jugs of water

 

[hwillm1977]

I have one of those wonder washers... my grandmother gave it to me... it doesn't hold many clothes, but it takes literally 20-30 seconds to wash a load. It's more of a pain, but if the power was out for a long period and I needed clean clothes, I would use it.

For toilet flushing water here, we just melt snow in 5 gallon buckets near the woodstove. For drinking water, our neighbour has a hand pump on the top of his well so we can go over and get buckets of water from him... we don't store more than 2 5-gallon water jugs at a time for drinking.

We use candles and oil lamps for light... we have tin reflectors for the candles that hang on the walls and they work fantastically for lighting up a whole room.

We cook/reheat food on the woodstove, or we have a covered (but not walled in) porch with a propane BBQ on it. We use that for grilling up meat and veggies so we don't get too sick of soups etc... and I love BBQ pizzas

 

[k0xxx]

In reference to wrapping a freezer with blankets, this would be for a standalone freezer. If you are going to transfer your refrigerated food into another container, you could still do this with regular top over bottom fridge.

Also another possibility for cold storage. There is a lot of info on the web about making mini-root cellars using plastic drums and old freezers/refrigerators.

You can buy relatively inexpensive hand pumps, that are designed to work with a barrel, from Harbor Freight, Northern Tools, and others. They screw into one of the bung holes at the end of the drum.

 

[tortoise]

How about building one of those solar collector heater thingies? I don't know exactly what they are or how they work, but it's like a frame filled with pop can and covered with glass or black plastic. Maybe not much for supplemental heat, but every little bit helps and it should be very cheap to build. And it is flat and OUTSIDE so it wouldn't take space in a tiny home.

I'm thinking about looking into one for the rabbit shed. Would be nice to get it in the 20 - 30 degree range in winter.

 

[Mackay]

I recommend getting a hand pump that can fit into the well casing for your electric well pump.

 

[SKR8PN]

SKR8PN,
can you explain a little more about the 55 gallon barrel and a handpump? I am envisioning a giant soap dispenser! what sort of handpump do you attach to it?

I like this idea because it seems so much simpler than a zillion jugs of water

I just got a once used, food grade, plastic 55 gallon barrel(used for a non-flavored sweetener) and one of these hand pumps. It is really just a siphon type pump.
This is the style of barrel...
https://www.usaemergencysupply.com/emergency_supplies/water_barrel_55_gallons.htm

and this is the pump.
https://www.usaemergencysupply.com/emergency_supplies/water_barrel_siphon_pump.htm



I triple washed and rinsed out the barrel, even though the fellow I got it from had already cleaned it out. Be very careful of where the barrel came from and what it was used for. All of my drums and barrels came from Smuckers or from another flavoring company that used to be near here. The drums from the flavoring company still smell like whatever was in it, so I just use them for watering the garden or for diesel fuel. Pretty neat to have watermelon scented water for the garden!

 

[dipence71]

We had an ice storm a couple yrs ago and were without power for 2 weeks... I obviously was NOT prepared but it got me motivated to prepare.
We have a generator that we tried to keep the freezer and fridge going and off and on plug in the microwave ect but a huge pain in the keester lol
and after so long ran out og gas and ended up loosing food.
I had a couple oil lamps but they were low on oil and glass and oil was in short supply and could NOT find lamps anywhere. Our wood furnace kept us warm enough but cooking was a challenge.

I now have 4 oil lamps and oil on hand as well as new wicks. ** note to self NEED more oil and a couple more lamps!! Alo Have a candle type lamp that uses the emergency type cadles and a stock of candles.
I have 2 glass ones and 2 that are like metal and can be safely carried around(in camping area section) reminds me of Little House On The Prairie LOL also hubby has a couple Coleman glass propane lamps somewhere lol
I bought a camping stove that has two burners that uses those green small canisters, and some canisters and stashed them in a cabinet.

I have been doing allot of canning this year and plan more as I go.
Dehydrator and dehydrate food.

I have 2 tanks of propane for my outdoor grill or turkey fryer or smoker to cook. **Note to self check gas levels!!

I still have a long way to go but I am working on it a little at a time.

 

[TanksHill]

Welcome baymule!! Nothing speaks like experience. Wine and brownies, I need to put that on my list.

VickiLynn, didn't you used to live in Ca.?

Bee, I would love ya no matter what you hair looked like.

skr8pn, I think I should get one of those pumps. Not sure what I have downstairs.

All great ides thanks for sharing!!!

g

 

[i_am2bz]

All this being said, I think I am slightly qualified to make a list of things to do in power outages. All the above posters have very good ideas, I like wrapping the freezer in blankets.

You can also store water in plastic trash cans with lids.
Oil lamps are great, keep extra wicks and 5 gallons of kerosene.
Learn how to make flour tortillas, they make a quick wrap around scrambled eggs and meat.
A battery operated weather radio is a must.
Generators are good, but drink fuel.
Get a campfire type coffee pot.
Gas stoves are better than electric in the country.
Read a book.
A bar-b-que pit helps with the cooking.
Play board games or cards.
Have a car charger for your cell phone. In power outages, you can call or text your family and friends.
You can use 2 pie pans to bake biscuits over an open fire, use 1 as a top and flip over about 1/2 way through.

In another thread, a couple of us commented that we need a separate thread called "what we learned during the power outage" (or something), where people can post things they learned, what they did right/wrong, etc. so others can learn from their real-world experiences. What you wrote would definitely go in that thread, & it's going into my "tips" folder!

Me, my last power-outage experience (of more than just a couple of hours) was about 10 years ago, & only lasted 3 days, but what I missed most was being able to take a shower. Still trying to figure that one out. :/

 

[VickiLynn]

Welcome baymule!! Nothing speaks like experience. Wine and brownies, I need to put that on my list.

VickiLynn, didn't you used to live in Ca.?

Bee, I would love ya no matter what you hair looked like.

skr8pn, I think I should get one of those pumps. Not sure what I have downstairs.

All great ides thanks for sharing!!!

g

I never lived in CA, but visited a couple of times! You must be thinking of another Vicki.

As for taking showers, we have that problem. DH works in a barn and NEEDS a shower when he gets home. I found a solar camping shower, and have it in the basement with an old shower curtain, so we can set it up with hooks from the basement ceiling if needed. We can warm some water on the gas stove.