woke up to total darkness last night

[Gazrok]

I keep a couple of bags of ice in the freezer. It's good to have when entertaining, but also for outages.
I also usually keep a few frozen water bottles in there. Mostly, this is because we give one to each rabbit each day, to help them cool off in their cages (they like to lay near it, and stay cool), but also helps with outages.

 

[jimLE]

here's what i have going,for keeping water in the van.when it comes to the 3 bottles in the pic.the one on the far left.i have 3 of them.and their 33.8 ounces each.the pink one in the middle.i have 8 of them,and their 32 ounces each.and on the far right,it's a 2 liter bottle..pluss i also have 2 -1 gallon jugs that anti freeze came in.their still in the van.now back to the ones in the pic.im thinking that i have some where in the area of a total of 3 gallons there,when it comes to all of them..im gonna empty out what water i need to.and then stick them into the freezer..and when the next power outage we have,happens.i'll just transfer all but 2 or 3 of the bottles into the fridge.and i also have 12-1 gallon jugs of store bought water.in which i'll keep at least 2 or 3 of them in the van at all times....

 

[Brent S]

here's what i have going,for keeping water in the van.when it comes to the 3 bottles in the pic.the one on the far left.i have 3 of them.and their 33.8 ounces each.the pink one in the middle.i have 8 of them,and their 32 ounces each.and on the far right,it's a 2 liter bottle..pluss i also have 2 -1 gallon jugs that anti freeze came in.their still in the van.now back to the ones in the pic.im thinking that i have some where in the area of a total of 3 gallons there,when it comes to all of them..im gonna empty out what water i need to.and then stick them into the freezer..and when the next power outage we have,happens.i'll just transfer all but 2 or 3 of the bottles into the fridge.and i also have 12-1 gallon jugs of store bought water.in which i'll keep at least 2 or 3 of them in the van at all times....

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I'm hoping the ex antifreeze jugs are just for the radiator now. That stuff has some nasty chemicals in it.

 

[jimLE]

yeah they are.on account,i never know when i might have to add a lil bit to the radiator and/or over flow jug..

 

[jimLE]

i had to go into town for a couple of things.in which one casher and me talked about their power outage they had yesterday.in which that reminded me of mine.all that got me to thinking..i not only need to update my power outage haves.but my camping haves as well..so im gonna take my nook color out to the garage and list every thing i have for camping.then back into the house,and list everything i have in the house.then start my list of power outage needs.then move each needed item from my need list,over to my have list as i get it..

 

[Brent S]

i had to go into town for a couple of things.in which one casher and me talked about their power outage they had yesterday.in which that reminded me of mine.all that got me to thinking..i not only need to update my power outage haves.but my camping haves as well..so im gonna take my nook color out to the garage and list every thing i have for camping.then back into the house,and list everything i have in the house.then start my list of power outage needs.then move each needed item from my need list,over to my have list as i get it..

I work well off of lists. I guess it's a guy thing. With my kind of ADD, I need something to keep me on track .

 

[jimLE]

me to..for 2 reasons.1st,is i dont forget anything when i go to town,to buy a few items.mainly grocery shopping..the other reason.the list helps me decide what i need next in preps and/or what ever as well..

 

[Brent S]

me to..for 2 reasons.1st,is i dont forget anything when i go to town,to buy a few items.mainly grocery shopping..the other reason.the list helps me decide what i need next in preps and/or what ever as well..

What happens when you forget the list!

 

[jimLE]

i always make sure that i take my nook with me when i go to town...and if im here at home.all i have to do.is head to my pc desk and grab my nook

 

[jimLE]

i suddenly remembered something that i already have...a few things of blue ice..i've been keeping them in a box,and in the garage.i've had them for i don't know how many years.i just got them out,and washed them off..then i'll be putting them into the freezer when their dry enough.they'll not only help keep the freezer cold longer.but they'll be of use during a power outage as well..

we were in town on friday.in which i made a stop at harbor freight,just to have a look around.in which i came across a power converter,that hooks directly to the battrey.it's idea for running the fridge n freezer off of time to time during a outage..i plan on getting that next month

 

[Brent S]

i suddenly remembered something that i already have...a few things of blue ice..i've been keeping them in a box,and in the garage.i've had them for i don't know how many years.i just got them out,and washed them off..then i'll be putting them into the freezer when their dry enough.they'll not only help keep the freezer cold longer.but they'll be of use during a power outage as well..

we were in town on friday.in which i made a stop at harbor freight,just to have a look around.in which i came across a power converter,that hooks directly to the battrey.it's idea for running the fridge n freezer off of time to time during a outage..i plan on getting that next month

Inverters are great, but 1 12v battery won't last long running a fridge. You can google the formula for exactly how much use you will get. The fridge will have a label on it for how many amps it uses, if you tell me that I'll figure out how long it will run it for you.

 

[jimLE]

good point.i'll go ahead and get the converter when the time comes.cause who knows,it might come in handy in some other way.if needed..then i'll check it out about the info..

 

[Gazrok]

I wouldn't guess a standard car battery would last more than a couple of hours, powering a fridge. You'd do better with a deep cycle battery, but even then, a generator would be a much better bet. Of course, assuming the vehicle had gas and you were using this battery, and you ran that, the fridge would run for about another two hours after the gas ran out.

 

[jimLE]

yeah,so true on all that.but in my case.i need to go with least expensive route,when it comes to what i buy...at least for now.and i just thought.maybe run the vehicle for at least 5 minutes while running the fridge n freezer.then shut the van down.and keep my jump starter charged up at the same time,just in case i have to go with a jump start..


some serious storm has moved in.we don't have to worry about flooding,when it comes to our location..but some areas are already flooded.i don't want a power outage.but yet i do,on account.that'll let me know how much better prepared i am..here's a link to what i can look forward to...
http://www.ktre.com/category/292344/live-streaming-radar

 

[Gazrok]

For a shorter term outage, you'd be better off keeping the food in the fridge and freezer, and rarely opening them while out. Take a short trip to a convenience or grocery store, and get a couple bags of ice. When the power goes out, take a bag of ice or two out of the freezer, and put it in the fridge (leave one in the freezer, if you can). This will help keep things cool for quite some time. A few hours at least. (and, you could always drive to a store that is in a lit area, to get more ice). Economically, a pretty cheap solution.

Granted, not a SHTF solution, but until then, why not use what society has to offer?

 

[jimLE]

society has offered plastic bottles with lids and blue ice for now..in which im happy with,for now..

 

[Danil54grl]

Had 8 - inches of water standing in my yard last night and we are considered 'high' lands. Even with my trenches dug for the garden rows, some of them were underwater and all my corn which was around 3 1/2 ft high now has been knocked over due to the wind gust we had. Once it stopped raining, it did drain off pretty quick and I don't think anything 'drowned'. For our area to have already been saturated in water, we didn't need to see tropical storm Bill.

 

[jimLE]

thats why im glad that im not close to the gulf coast..but yet.there is water standing in diff places in the yard....and as of last friday.the water in the creek,just down the road from me.is at least twice it's normal leavel..and i've seen it 2 or 3 times that much more..the first pic.is the drain pipe under the road.and the water leavel is normally a few inchs from the bottom of it

 

[Gazrok]

Luckily, our ranch is on pretty high ground, and drains pretty quickly. However, those who have septic, know that really heavy rains suck, as it means the toilets don't quite flush as well (drainfields get saturated, so can't work as well). My solution is simply to use the emergency septic stuff to reintroduce more bacteria, and help the process. I always have a few bottles of this onhand for it.

 

[jimLE]

well.we have another storm that has moved in.and it looks like a sever one.so that means we'll find out,if im better prepared or not,if the electric should go out..i allready have ice in the freezer.took ice out of fridge and put it back into the freezer,to freeze it solid again.except for 6 AA batteries,all my rechargeable batteries for flashlights are up to date.oil lamps and camping lanterns are charged up..