What do you all do to be prepared for long term power loss?

[Yander]

For those who have said "We live in Yada yadaville and haven't lost power more than twice in the last 20 years", these times we're living in aren't out of the last 20 years. Forget those times my friends, these times be a changin. Have you not been watching? What are you talking about, "my power is so reliable". Lol.

I know we have some former lineman on this site who can speak to how easy it would be to take out our grid for a very long time. Especially with the supply chain issues, yeah, you all might want to rethink your security in the good ol power grid.

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^
Yet the most effective way to take out the grid for the long term will also take out most private systems, the only exception being those who have had the foresight to protect their generators.

In worst case scenario I likely would head for high country and get by the best that I can. I'd rather expend ammo on feeding myself than throwing it back at people who are trying to kill me.

 

[etpm]

I need to stock up on more dried and preserved food. I can stuff in a big pressure canner. I buy meat on sale and then can it. But we are way low on stuff. My biggest worry though is water. So I have decided to buy a 2000 gallon water tank. I am going to mount the tank on a platform at least 12 feet high so that I will have enough pressure to keep water flowing, albeit slowly, through the house plumbing. I would like to go 20 feet high but that would take a lot of wood.
Eric

 

[grsthegreat]

I dont know how long stored water stays fresh and safe….

 

[Yander]

But apparently all Texans agree with the policy.

I don't think they were all agreeing back in, I believe it was 2021, when the winter storm smacked their grid right in the mouth. No, frozen wind turbines aren’t the main culprit for Texas’ power outages

 

[fatjay]

In Eastern PA? That’s a crazy long time. I’m in SE PA and our longest was 5 days, but I have a whole house gen set, so we breezed through it.

Would like to chat with you sometime on solar/batteries. I’m pushing my chips in on propane for the typical outages and a very large tank and a barn with solar on the roof with batts.

We're at the end of a line along a long small road with above ground lines and mature tree's next to them for a couple miles. When one falls or drops a branch, 13 people are out and we're at the bottom of the list.

You're in luck, the most expensive part about this whole bit is the batteries, and if you order online, shipping freight is $500+ because they weigh about a ton. But I have a guy locally that if you pay cash and pick up, no tax, no shipping, and shaves 10% off. 15kwh is $1500, with bms and bus bars/bolts included. Still need panels, which i know a guy who has a solar install business, installing commercially. Then he sells off the older panels that are 3-5 years old for pennies on the dollar. Also local pickup, cash only, but super cheap. Then there's inverters, I don't have a guy. But each application has different requirements.

I'm in the middle of a bunch of other projects at the same time with solar, but i will detail the whole system in a post or 6 once i start making serious progress.

 

[Yander]

I don't know how long stored water stays fresh and safe….

If you have a well or a neighbor with one, you can buy a reverse osmosis filtration system and as long as your generator will run your well pump you will have water as long as you can run your generator.

Another option, if you have a natural spring anywhere near you, you can fill up water jugs. We have one about 8 miles from us. People stop in all the time and fill their jugs with spring water for free. I have about 10 one gallon jugs that we used a while back and I saved them. I can fill them from our RO system now and have them in the garage for use in a power outage. Just dump them or use them every month or two to keep the water fresh.

Forget about buying water in a store if SHTF.

 

[ruffdog]

"the only thing we have to fear is fear itself," ....FDR

 

[grsthegreat]

We have a huge fresh water lake a few miles from house.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

a generator is an emergency backup device. Weekly runs keep all parts lubed up, but more importantly makes sure it runs. I like heating mine fire up weekly. I have units with 1000’s of hours on them fire up weekly and no issues. Then again, ive seen units with 20 hrs with a blown engine. Who can say why it blew….but its nice to fix it in calm summer and not during a windy, raining power outage.

Are you using oil from the the late 1800s?

Modern engines and modern oil will work just fine even if dormant for six months or more.

I can understand the thinking here. On the flip side, if there is a problem, such as a battery gone bad, it increases the risk that the problem won't be discovered until the next power outage, and the generator doesn't work.

I can check my generator battery without having to start the generator. If it turns out not to be good, not passing a load test, I'll replace it or jump start the generator if that's what it takes.

In my case, the battery (a Group 31 Optima) is but a minor portion of what i want to keep working. I'll jump it if that's what turns out to be why the generator didn't start.That's painfully easy.