Surviving without electricity

[WendyJ]

I read an article this week where the DOD talked about how susceptible the US is to a terrrism attack that causes electicity to cease working...causing a major blackout. So, wanting to keep my family everprepared, I'm working out the logistics of comfortable survival without electricity. I know someone posted a while back about an electricity free system for a well. I will go back and find it if needed, but if you posted it (Sonya?? I'm thinking it was you??), can you repost it and add if you have it and like it? Even if you don't believe a terrorist attack of this nature could happen, there are plenty of hurricane victims out there that STILL don't have electricity. Keep in mind that the circuit boards in everything electric could be fried in some types of events. This would mean even our cars and cell phones would not work.

So here is my list thus far:

a wood-buring fireplace (I can live fine without air conditioning, but I HATE to be cold!) It could be used for cooking in a pinch.

Some electricity-free way to use well. This would provide way to flush commodes, as well.

Some sort of food stock supply (not too creative here....my basics include peanut butter, tuna, water, canned goods, as well as onsite chickens for eggs and goats for milk)

A gas or charcoal grill. Plenty of gas and/or charcoal.

Lots of candles....need to look into lanterns.

Matches and lighters

Flashlights and batteries.

a generator, though I think in some types of electrical blackouts that they won't work

solar power-type things would be great...if anyone has them would love to hear feedback Likely wouldn't work in case of pulse wave damage.

battery-operated radio and extra batteries

guns and ammo

I would love input from anyone that wants to have a discussion on this topic!

Wendy

http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/27/dod-official-vulnerability-of-u-s-electrical-grid-is-a-dire-concern/

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/12/us/politics/gingrichs-electromagnetic-pulse-warning-has-skeptics.html?pagewanted=all

 

[Sonya]

Hi Wendy...here are link to two pumps:

this one is for a non deep water pump, not sure how it works and it will depend on how the water level is in your area: http://www.plumbingsupply.com/handpump.html,

here is a deep water pump : http://www.survivalunlimited.com/handwaterpumpdeep.htm We have one similiar to this...and it works, but you have to pump your heart out...lol...but you will get water.

Here is a nice site we have bought from before...http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/index.php/cPath/1086/SurvivalEmergency+Preparedness We have purchased firearms as well as some survival gear through them, my husband really likes the company. They have some good package deals.

I am all for being prepared!

 

[dixie_belle]

Wal Mart has some hand crank lanterns you can purchase on line. They don't have batteries. You turn the hand crank and you get the 12 LED's to light up. So you wouldn't have to worry about stocking up on batteries that may go dead before you need them. They are fairly reasonably priced...I think $14. We ordered two of them. They don't give enough light to read by or to sew but they would be much better than sitting in the dark.

Also, why not look into some freeze dried food? You can get some #10 cans of freeze dried meals reasonably priced and they are good for 25 years if you don't open them. Add you need to do is add water and voila, you've got a good meal. Each can has a bunch of servings, and they are already prepared for you. You wouldn't have to "cook". You can also get the standard freeze dried veggies and stuff. They even have freeze dried peanut butter powder and yogurt! It's amazing what you can find. We have a supply of these for an emergency. Hopefully we'll die of old age and when they auction off the house, they'll be selling all these supplies, as well.

You might think of a sleeping bag, or two, as well. Our heating is 100% electric, so if the power goes out (like due to an ice storm) our house is going to get cold, fast. We ordered two sleeping bags which are good to 20 degrees. (again from Walmart). They were, I believe $34. They arrived last week and boy are they nice. They are slippery on the outside but flannel on the inside. I'm really pleased.

And of course, as I have posted before, we have a bank of 24 solar panels next to our house. Right now our system is grid tied but we have plans to add an off grid system, as well. The grid tie system shuts down the second the grid goes down. This is for the safety of the line workers. They don't want to be out working on the lines and have us feeding power back into the grid. We've ordered more panels that will charge a bank of batteries that we'll have installed hopefully before too long. That way we can run our lights and other stuff off of our batteries (in our emergency shelter, underground).

There are so many options available on line. Do a little research. It's much better to be prepared and not ever have to use the stuff, than to need it and not have it.

 

[WendyJ]

Sonya,

Thanks so much! That will be an absolute must, as access to clean water is something you won't survive long without. I'll probably have a few more questions for you when I get home and start researching these sites tonight. I'll have to go with one like yours, as our well is very deep, also.

Wendy

dixie_belle,

Thanks for your great ideas, as well. What company are you using for your offgrid system? I definately want to look into that.

Have you looked into adding a wood stove for heat in case pulse wave damage? (and I don't think that form is very likely, according to what I've read)

I love the food ideas....this is an area I need to do lots of research in. An undergroud shelter? I am so jealous! My husband keeps on teasing me about wanting one. But, like you, I think the best motto is to prepare for the worst, with the hopes of it being wasted effort.

Wendy

 

[Riverrose28]

This is ironic, as I was just talking about this type of situation just the other evening with hubby. Thankfully we already have two woodstoves in the house and one potbelly stored in the garage. I can alot of my own homegrown veggies. We would lose alot of meat in the feezer though. The well is a problem but we do have a small pond, would just need to open it up for horse access. I also have a rain barrel by the barn for flushing. two grills, one charcoal, one propane, and a propane stove in the horsetrailer LQ. I try to keep stocked with stuff, such as bottled water, etc. but sometimes it's hard when money is tight.

Back in the 60's we rented a house that didn't have electric, we were there for three months only, thank goodness. It was terrable, all of the hauling water, cooking on a wood stove, and heating up baby bottles in the dead of night was a horror.

 

[tagalong]

a generator, though I think in some types of electrical blackouts that they won't work

How so? A gas generator is not dependent on electricity. You can also use it to run a well pump for short periods during the day to top off water tanks, buckets and fill more buckets or tubs so you can flush toilets. The generator here can be my best friend.

3 years ago we went without power for 10 days right before Christmas after a brutal windstorm here toppled tress and destroyed the power lines. Friends in an area that was not affected walked gas cans in to us for the generator - the roads were blocked by huge trees for a few days. I had a permanent dent in my forehead from the headlamp I used constantly. It was a nightmare for about 4 days and then I got into the routine and it seemed "normal". Thank goodness it was just above freezing - I simply emptied the fridge onto the counter tops as it was 36 degrees in the kitchen. My barn apartment has electrical heat - no fireplace or stove.The freezer - well, that was a loss. I did have a chiminea outside and when it was not too wet I could have a fire in that...

The power came back on at 3 a.m Christmas Eve morning - best Christmas present ever!

 

[Danielle_E.]

You're of course right Tag about the generator. It is probably or should be the #1 thing to have on your list. They are powered by gas or diesel. After going through over two weeks without heat or lights in the dead of winter in the icestorm of 1998 this was a must have for us living outside the city. We have used it numerous times since when losing power because of major storms.

 

[WendyJ]

I was listening to a radio show and they were talking about terrorism involving electromagnetic pulse damage, which which they said would cause generators to not work, as well. http://en.wikipedia....omagnetic_pulse

I agree, in general, about a generator being the way to go for most electric outages. As long as you have plenty of fuel available for extended use. But one of my biggest concerns is to make sure we have access to clean drinking water even if our generator is out of fuel or emp damage, or, for example, the generator breaks down and there are none around to replace it with. I think Sonya's pump is absolutely the way to go for this.

Wendy

 

[Shari]

Last two farms.... no problem with out Electric... won't of been fun but we could do it.

Last winter in Oregon, we were snowed in for a couple of days, lost the power for 6 days. Then off and on, for another 6 days...

Here.... we would be in trouble.

I am "Looking" into getting a wood stove... in all honesty, we need two in this house the way it is set up.. a main one for this side and a smaller one for the back area. (only problem with generators.... is you have to have to have access to gas/diesel/naturalgas/propane.)

I need a Well bucket and a hoist. We have a very shallow Well, only 40'.

A BBQ with what ever charcoal you like... set up safe some where outside, it can cook meals and make sure you have coffee or tea.

I have a nice BBQ camping set, along with cast Iron pans and pots.

Washboard or this.... plus a clothes line and pins.

Make sure you have a good axe and spilting mall and know how to safely use them. Not as easy as it looks.

Lehmans - has a lot of stuff that works without electric, some you can buy cheaper elsewhere... other items, they have the best price.

While spendy, there are solar collectors you can buy to power some small appliances or gadgets. You can buy hand crank and or solar lanterns or radios, so you can find out what is going on.

Preserve food, either by properly canning or drying your food.

Haven't been able to do keep a years supply of food here(basics like flour and so on), like I did at the other places. I also used to keep a years supply of pet and livestock food and meds. This came in handy more than once.(DH was laid off for 15 months a few years ago now... and doing this, made it a lot easier on both us and the animals...and the animals ate much better than us!)

I wanted an underground shelter here but this place, the water table to too high. We won't be able to afford to put in something, that won't turn into a cistern. They can get some pretty bad tornado and hurricanes here... I have been told by the locals. The Vet down the road has a big underground shelter and told us to come if we get super bad weather.

For clothing... Wool... and if you get "good" wool clothing or blankets, without 2nds and had harsh chemical treatments... it will be soft and not itchy. Wool is the best thing in the world for keeping you at the right temp, wither you are dry or wet.

In the spring and summer... have a good garden, small orchard and so on. This can make sure you have food to eat.

There are lots of things one can do. All it takes is time and sometimes... a bit of $$$ to get set up.

If I had $$$, I would set this place up with Solar... along with the battery banks and so on. Then I won't have to worry. But a system, properly set up, can cost you over $30,000. for a house this size.

 

[Rhondaalaska]

Hi everyone. This is actually my way of life here in Alaska ,expecialy durring winter after storms. We have solar panels that charge batteries that run our heater and well. Lanterns for light and a wood stove. For many it is just the way we live here all the time. I have friends who have now power all year long. We get by as we need to. Here due to the unpredictability of electricity here , we have to have a way to survive with out it . So we make sure we have other back up systems.

 

[susanne]

Solar ovens are great in most climates (even rainy Oregon); even if you don't really *need* one, it's a great way to stick your toe in the off-grid waters. With a little ingenuity and experimenting, you can make your own:

http://www.chelseagr...ple-solar-oven/

...or purchase one like the Global Sun Oven:

http://www.amazon.co...global sun oven

There are myriad YouTube videos showing how to safely cook entire chickens and casseroles using these. You could probably use any slow cooker recipe with a solar oven.

 

[dixie_belle]

I thought I'd post a few pictures of our underground shelter in progress (or as we affectionately call it, THE HOLE) As you can see, it is directly behind our house. Since we sit right on top of a hill, we just cut into the hill behind the house. We are using ICF's (insulated concrete forms) for the walls and ceilings. The pictures show it to be 6 feet tall but it will really be 7, the pictures were taken before the last layer was added. It is really quite large and quite the job, too.

 

[MountainWoman]

I'm not worried about this at all. We have our own mountain spring water (no well here) so when power is out, we just dip buckets. We heat with wood so all set there and we've built our own solar kiln wood dryer for our wood and we run a generator when the power is out. And no, I'm not worried about the fuel for the generator. And everyone should have food on hand. It's easier to be self sufficient when you live in a rural area though. We were cut off from the world for a while when Hurricane Irene came through and our roads literally disappeared and it wasn't a problem. I count my blessings for that because many, many people did struggle. Can't imagine living in an urban or suburban area.

 

[WendyJ]

dixie_belle

I'm so impressed. I assume a huge concrete slab will go on top, but then will it be covered with dirt, as well? Or is the concrete insulating well enough on it's own?

Sonya,

Darn it. My well is 584 feet deep. Fantastic water pressure, the purest water quality, and COLD.....but apparently too deep for a hand pump. I'm VERY disappointed about this.

I'm debating digging a second well strictly for this use....or have you come along with other ideas in your research? ( I could find a thing on hand pumps that will work on wells that deep)

Thanks all!

Wendy

 

[WendyJ]

Shari,

Thanks for your great ideas, as well. I'm looking into your website suggestions tonight.

Rhondaalaska,

WOW, is all I can say to you being able to survive in Alaska without electricity. With my fear of being cold, or, let's be honest, even a bit chilly, I am very impressed.

Wendy

 

[dixie_belle]

Yes, there is a form that goes over the top. When you pour the concrete, you do the walls and the ceiling at the same time. That way there are no seams. Once it is dry, we'll put dirt on top and grass, also. Personally, I"d like a nice wooden deck with some lawn chairs, but this is hubby's baby, who knows what he has planned.

 

[Carolyn R]

I am on the same page as mountain woman. We have gotten more built up than when I was a kid, but we essentially have what we need, and 40 acres with plenty of firewood. We drag out what we need, cut and split it, but there is plenty, and more than enough down wood in the surrounding areas for the neighbors too. Fresh water artisian springs, Plenty of ammo for hunting game, plenty of arrows for the bows, lots of dry goods always on hand. Two fireplaces that have cook surfaces, an outdoor firepit, we'd get by.

If things ever got bad so bad like some of the shows out there portray, honestly, we have three reactor towers within an hour, as the crow flies, we'd be better off opening the windows and breathing deep.

 

[Rhondaalaska]

We stay warm here. We do wood and coal. We go and haul 10 ton a year and always have 9 cords of wood on hand so I am never cold. I just stay inside and stay warm. It's not bad. I go out to get my wood and coal when ever my boiler stove needs it. And I get unlimited hot water with my heat. As for no lights we work with it. We have a generator and solar if the power goes out. We live so far from town we try to be as self reliant as we can be.

 

[Miniv]

Our primary heat is a wood stove with electric back up...... When we lose power - which happens for a number of days every winter, we rely on the wood stove for both heat and cooking simple meals. We now have a generator which will power sections of the house at a time. Our main concern is water. We have a huge cistern and also irrigation water, so if we know a storm is coming we store as much water as possible. The irrigation water we have used for flushing toilets, otherwise we boil it.