rancher in Idaho

[rancher]

We thank you for your posts welcoming us. Glad to see some wine sippers out there. In our emergency food supply we are well stocked up on any varieties of "medicinal" supplements!!! I wished I could find a couple barrels like Jesus made. We settled for bottles. Oh well :).

We were wondering if there was a "thread" or "forum" section here that dealt with what you all have done about some core items like generators/solar, fuel reserves, protecting what you have obtained, how you are protecting your loved ones in and during what could be a very ugly, long and desparate extended blackout during a crisis? We would be interested to know if this group has members that are well balanced in all areas of "survival"? We would like to exchange information on what some have actually done and share possible contacts for sources if either side needs those leads.

Take care, rancher

 

[westbrook]

Most of us are well prepared in all aspects of surviving a disaster of any kind. All the information is scattered about.. if there is something specific, start a new thread. There is also a search function if you just want to read and not post.

 

'Are you Ready' is a good place to start looking.

[Darlene]

rancher, like westie said, those topics have been discussed in various forums around the site...

 

"Protection" topics would mainly be found down in the 2nd Amendment forum. You'll also find some more intense and/or deeper type discussion about that in The Cave and The Edge forums.

 

I did a search here on generators and it pulled up 16 pages of links (25/page), so like westie also said, perhaps you might try that, unless you have a specific question, and then we'd love to share our experiences...the same with solar.

 

Alot of us have spent years living a prep lifestyle, so we sometimes forget about all the details we discovered or dealt with along the way...that's why new people to the site are so valuable to us...it helps to pull some of these prep issues outta the closet of our minds and revisit them again. Prepping isn't just about rice and beans, or guns and ammo, at least to those of us that live this lifestyle. It affects and infects every area of our life and it's 2nd nature at this point.

 

The point of all that is please feel free to ask any kind of specific questions y'all might have, even if there's already a thread about it somewhere. That helps everyone to revisit different facets of prepping.

[HSmom]

Welcome Rancher!

 

[westbrook]

honestly.. post! one of us will find an older thread and link it. this helps others that have the same questions and perhaps are too afraid to ask or are lurking and too afraid to join us.

 

So don't worry about if the questions have already been ask.. ask again! there is always someone with new information to add and I get to learn more!

[rancher]

Hi. Thanks again. I will come back with a couple questions. My lovely wife just woke up below our bedroom loft. I am up there. I now get the pleasure of brewing some fresh starbucks coffee for her and serving it to her in bed. A daily treat I am allowed to do for her. What a cutie!!

[rancher]

OK I am back now. Let the dogs back into the other end of the house. I am asking a few questions to get to know more about your groups thinking and help refine our programs. Hope that is cool with you all?

Questions on generators. When power grid fails... do you have a back up system? What is the wattage output? Is it tied into your entire network or must you plug each unit you wish to run into it? What make is it? Chinese/American? Can you get it repaired easily? What if you need it and it fails? How long do you intend on running it during a 24 hour period day after day, week after week and month after month. How much fuel have you set aside to do that?

Up north here, solar is not developed enough and cheap enough to be considered a good standby by system during much of the year. We have it to a degree but not able to really run much for a real life support systems. We got 12' of snow last winter. Wind is great when it blows...but one must store the power, another big expense and has a real limited output back when calm. So we fall back on generators to run the place. How about you? Now a bit about me. I have seen tons of sights with opinons about this or that. ... Like some others, my time has value, so I don't deal with theory or ideas. I prefer to deal with ideas that have been put into manifistation with known applied results. Almost every system we have ever put in place has been run and testedfor extended periods of time. We know the abilities and what it can not do. So I guess in short I am looking for first hand applied knowledge. If we get any takers, I would be glad to enter in the exchanging of information and results. I hope this is not to blunt for some of you, but blogging for fun is not my thing. The sun is up and it is time to hit the ranch work list. Take care, rancher

[Darlene]

rancher, I've had alot of experience using generators as backup power sources from living in hurricane country for many years. I had one that my movers stole when I moved, but am in the process of replacing it. Because of all the experience in power disruptions, I've used many brands of generators, so personally, my hands down favorite are the Honda generators. They are reliable, MUCH more quieter, run more smoothly and the easiest to start. Presently, I have to run power surge protectors to it, then plug in the things I need. When my uncle borrowed my generator after they lost power, because of his electrical knowledge, he safely hooked the generator up to his power panel to his house and figured out what each different electrical piece would pull in power, then chose the ones that would load only up to a certain amount, yet keep the house semi-running. My plan is to have a converter put into my electrical panel so that all I have to do is plug the generator in there and then use a limited amount of electrical appliances (refrigerators, freezers, coffee pot, a few lights, a couple of ceiling fans if needed).

 

Some of the issues that has come up for discussion regarding using generators in a SHTF scenario, is that it will be easy to tell which people have something and which do not by the sound of the generator. Many people feel that makes them more vulnerable if they run a generator, because they feel the need to stay under the radar. Me? I'll just have to use discretion and make those decisions at the time.

 

As far as maintencing a generator, that's where building rapports with other people that have knowledge bases that I don't have, comes into play. I'm one little person, spread very thin and I am way over my head already. While I can institute some common sense on maintence of these types things, I also know the value of building rapports with others who have these knowledge bases already. Even with all those Plan B's, C's and D's, I already have the experience and where with all, to survive quite easily without power. I've done it before, and I can do it again. If it's in the winter, I have a wood stove. If it's in the summer, then I have open windows. I can live without 98% of electrical appliances, but the refrigerator would be the most difficult to live without. For me, I'd just store things that needed to be kept cooler (not frozen cause I don't have that ability in the summer) in root cellar type areas.

 

As far as how long would I keep the generator running, well from past experience, I only need to keep the refrigerator/freezer running for a few hours every day. If I keep my chest freezer wrapped in blankets, and keep the freezer full of stuff, then it'll maintain its frozen state with just a couple of hours power. Opening doors at a minimum, and getting all I need at one time will help conserve the cool contained inside.

 

Right now, I only have about a dozen 5 gallon gas containers, so I'll just deal with that ability for now. Putting away more fuel takes a different type of operation and I'm trying to prioritize the best I can. Like I said earlier, I can live without power, or very little power.

 

Solar applications right now are very expensive. I've heard that they have a new solar system coming down the pike that is more efficient, smaller, and much cheaper that current solar power abilities. I've been waiting for that new system to come out before I try to institute solar into my set up. I live in the south, so at least during 3 seasons out of the year, I have pretty good sun.

 

Like you, I'm not here running my mouth because I don't have a life lol...now that sounds harsh and I don't mean it to be that way. The main reason I'm here is because I believe with all my heart, the prepping lifestyle. Not only do I believe in it, I live it. I've experiences both ends of the spectrum...I lived most of my life in the suburbs and lived a prepping lifestyle there, and now I live rural and live that way here, only with more opportunities and abilities. I spend time online sharing with others that are likeminded for 2 reasons. First of all because I do have experience in my unique areas, and 2nd of all, others have experience in other areas that I need to learn. So, that's the basic foundation of what MrsS is built on. Like you, I'm not interested in theorys as much as I am facts. When I need to learn how to milk a goat, I wanna talk to someone who knows what they're talking about. When I went to butcher my first chicken, I called westbrook who has done it thousands of times and she walked me through the process on the phone while I did it...chicken in one hand, knife in another, and westie on the phone.

 

These days, because I'm in "set up mode" in alot of areas, and because time really is of the essence, I make phone calls to various people here, or discuss it online, wanting specific answers. I called Dee the other night to ask her a question about planting corn. I'm always calling westie about one thing or another. I call Mother about this or that and the most awesome thing is that whether it's by phone, or discussions here online, the knowledge base runs incredibly deep and I have learned more from the people here than from any one I've met in real life. I think with the internet, and sites like this, we tend to have a concentration of extremely knowledgeable people who congregate in similar areas so it definitely cuts down on wasted time.

 

Anyway, like you, I hafta get outside now. I'm already running late, but I went to town earlier to pick up some onion sets for one of the ladies here that can't find them where she lives. I'm going to mail them to her so that she can plant onions in her garden. Now that I have that done, I'm going to get out in my garden and plant several hundred corn, and then I'm going to plant some sunflowers and wild flowers in the flower bed I tilled up last night in front of my house.

 

IF I still have time, I'll mow another acre or so.

 

Talk with y'all soon.

[westbrook]

Honda Generator the smallest one I only have to push a button and it comes on.. 3500W?

 

Only used to power up those things that are important.. refrigerato and each freezer. Only powered up long enough to keep things cold and frozen. In a long term situation.. long enough for me to get the deep freezer foods canned and refrigerator stuff eaten.

 

I am also concerned about the sound. Though I live in a town of 300 and only expect less then half to stay in an extreme situation, still.. why have to fight those that stayed for what I have.

 

As I am also concerned about using my fireplace or wood burning stove/oven.. Smoke is a tattletale!

 

A Propane Catalytic Heater will provide heat, at least enough to keep the chill out. A propane BBQ will allow me to cook in the winter without smoke or generator.

 

I want to use a combination of solar and wind to be able to power up a few things. I also have a Camper (the trailer burned in a fire a few years ago and want to replace it) so I do have a small stove/oven, refrigerator, air conditioning and heater in an emergency.. so as long as the propane holds out I am good.

 

May have to scope out propane tanks from people that left town to use if it goes on for more then a year.

 

Using solar or wind.. deep cycle marine batteries. Use a couple of RV 'DC' powered lights in the house to find your way around.

 

Solar lighting works great.. take it out during the day to recharge and in at night to light your way.

 

 

[rancher]

Thank you for the response. When I refer to a total power grid shut down that includes pressurized public water off line, as they need electricity to run their pumps,land line telephones have a 48 hour battery back up and then they are dead. If you intend on drawing from a well you had better be sure your generator can take the surge and running load. Remember if on a well with no stored water, you will need to run that generator almost everytime you want water. So no water, no power no land lines and one must have power to recharge a cell phone (if they work) as the relay towers also require electricity to work. So you could really be in the dark...so to speak. Parts fro a generator repair (or anything) are not able to be ordered or delivered, no phone..no grid. If you intend on securing others propane tanks, how are you going to move them? Then hook them into your system? By the way 911 will not work as the phones are dead.

Speak about fighting others if they hear your generator, they will. Sound attracts the desperate very quickly. It offers hope, food, shelter or plunder, rape and murder, either way one must take steps now to deal with that then. Do you have those steps layed out?

To hook into a home etc. corretly and legally one must have a transfer switch if I am not mistaken. That takes you off public line to protect a repairman and to protect your generator. A generator exhuast can in most cases have an additional muffler system added to in or it can be piped into an insulated drum. If one does run a generator they should always have lookouts posted to watch for incoming people. Then the question comes up if/when they show up and want?? Do you give??? Will they take and go away or just stay? Or bring back others in great need and greater numbers? Once you open that door it opens countless possibilities. None usually end in a good deal for you. That includes staying alive. I have been with people at my home, who have gone through the generator situations and they stories they shared are scary. People also died. I am not in theory here, just fact. So anyway again a major grid down for a long time brings on a whole wagon of trouble and issues. Usually a 5,500 watt genset is bare minimum and it will not run a well that has a larger pump horse power rating. I think this topic might bare some more discussion. Do you agree? rancher

[Darlene]

Yes, this would be a good topic to further investigate...there are many variables and considerations that would need to be looked at.

[rancher]

I am new here. Should we stay here in intros or open a new site? Please advise, rancher. Off to bed now been a long day here getting work done to prepare. Good nite....

[mommato3boys]

Originally Posted By: rancher

I am new here. Should we stay here in intros or open a new site? Please advise, rancher. Off to bed now been a long day here getting work done to prepare. Good nite....

Hi Rancher why don't you move over to the Cave and then do one thread for Power and another for water etc. We have several people here that are "experts" (because they are already off the grid) and they will be happy to chime in with what they are already doing.

Oh and