Living Car Free - Suddenly the lights went out...

Last night we lost electricity for 10 hours due to a sleet storm. This is not that rare of an event anywhere in the US and I'd figure that everyone should be prepared to lose electricity for lengthy periods of time.

What amazes me is that, despite my fantasy of being an energy conservative, I'm pretty much grid-tied:

* Went to get my Cateye bike light and realized I hadn't charged either of the 2 sets of batteries I use.
* Couldn't get in the garage to get my 20 watt halogen headline and battery because I have an electric door opener :(
* Had to dig around for 15 minutes this morning looking for an AM radio that ran off batteries.

Fortunately, my wife had stashed from candles and flashlights, so it wasn't that unpleasant.

Today, I got up and unhooked the garage door opener. Since the garage is used mainly for bikes, we never use the remote and, without the motor attached, the door slides easily. The device seems like an energy sucker... .

Anyone have ideas for emergencies like this?

Stock up on camping gear and get a gas grill and two bottles.

If (when) the power goes out here, I have light, heat, entertainment (well, AM/FM/shortwave anyway) and the wife has a couple of different options for cooking.

For entertaining the kids and keeping them occupied, I can set up a fee-standing tent in the livingroom.:)

The device seems like an energy sucker...

Depends what you're comparing it to. Garage door motors would seriously affect your electric bill if they were running constantly, but heating one room in February in Iowa, for one minute, probably uses more energy. Assuming normal temperatures

I have always been an outdoorsy camping type person so survival without electricity is nothing more than a minor inconvenience regardless of the time of year.:D Last ice storm that hit I just moved into my travel trailer that I use for work. The battery powered the LP furnace and lights, the stove and fridge are LP too. But the big advantage during the ice storm is to put the cold stuff outside on the porch:p . I do have a small generator that can be used to power up a furnace or charge up batteries. We had power go out last summer due to brush fires and system overload. No big deal, just opened up the windows and spent the evening outside under the shade trees. Back porch light became a kerosene lantern filled with citronella. Ran the generator for a bit to keep the fridge cold.

Aaron:)

Well I'd definitely do something about the garage door. A $20 LED bike light will operate for 30 hours or more on 4 AA batteries. I've seen LED camping lanterns that offer more light for 30 hours on 2 D batteries. The one I saw cost $20. Don't rely on a cordless phone--they won't work in a blackout. Stock canned foods and disposable utensils. I don't know--just the usual stuff. At least most of us carfree people are good at planning ahead and also good at changing plans when we have to.

Oh yeah, be careful when you travel during a blackout. Traffic gets pretty snarly when traffic signals and street lights don't work. I rode home from work in the Great Eastern Blackout a couple years ago. Fun!

Does anybody know about cell phone systems in a long blackout? I know that land line phone companies have battery backup that's supposed to work for week or more.

Does anybody know about cell phone systems in a long blackout?

Likewise the transmission towers have backup generators. Don't know how much fuel they have provisioned though. But in the Great Blackout you mentioned the cellular networks were overwhelmed by the volume of calls. Maybe after a couple of days it would settle down. But how long would the batteries in your phone last?

Heh, whenever I hear about blackouts and power outages, I can't help but think of those Enron scumbags caught on tape (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/01/eveningnews/main620626.shtml) (<--clicky) gleefully rejoicing about California brush fires causing intentional power-outs and massive mark-ups in energy prices. "Burn baby burn! That's a beautiful thing." Ugh.

And agreed to all the camp-inspired suggestions.

Does anybody know about cell phone systems in a long blackout? I know that land line phone companies have battery backup that's supposed to work for week or more.
Roody,
It is going to be hit or miss...I was in Mobile, AL during Katrina and had three different cell phones at my disposal. Power was out for about 4 days. Nextel went down and stayed down for all four days, Sprint stayed up the whole time but circuits were typically overloaded. Verizon was hit or miss the entire time sometimes the towers were up and other times it was "no service"...and I hadn't moved at all. Once power was back up they all worked but the systems were overloaded almost constantly. In some cases I could not receive outside calls on one phone but could on another. In a true emergency I would not count on any phone service but would expect marginally better service out of my landline because of the hardwired infastructure. But even it can cause problems...after Hurricane Fran in 97 tore up the town I was living in I was without phone service for 4 days until a repair truck was able to finally get into the neighborhood. Testing located the problem down line in a switching station and it was corrected shortly after. My parents who lived next door at the time were still having intermittent problems with their phone, another repair call and it was fixed...same switching station:rolleyes:

Aaron:)

Does anybody know about cell phone systems in a long blackout? I know that land line phone companies have battery backup that's supposed to work for week or more.
In a catastrophic blackout (hurricane) I'd probably use my cell to try to check-in with a few folks who are close to me, then turn it off, "to save the battery in case I really needed it."

I don't think the land-line I have works if there's no power to the base, but who cares? If the phone don't work, it's that many fewer people who can bother me.

In a catastrophic blackout (hurricane) I'd probably use my cell to try to check-in with a few folks who are close to me, then turn it off, "to save the battery in case I really needed it."

I don't think the land-line I have works if there's no power to the base, but who cares? If the phone don't work, it's that many fewer people who can bother me.
What if the people bothering you were loved ones concerned about your welfare? I tried to call a friend in San Fransisco after the (1990??) earthquake. It took a day to find out she was OK. I think it's worthwhile to have an 8$ corded phone in a closet just in case.

Of course I have only a cell phone now, so I'm not following my own advice.

In a catastrophic blackout (hurricane) I'd probably use my cell to try to check-in with a few folks who are close to me, then turn it off, "to save the battery in case I really needed it."

I don't think the land-line I have works if there's no power to the base, but who cares? If the phone don't work, it's that many fewer people who can bother me.

If you use a non powered phone (ie corded) it should work during a power outage. FWIW we have a cordless phone that you can charge a spare battery pack on the base and in the case of a power outage it will provide power to the base and answering machine...ain't technology great:p :D I do have an old black wall phone on the wall in my shop that will work if the phone companies lines are still powered up.

Aaron:)

What if the people bothering you were loved ones concerned about your welfare?

In a catastrophic blackout (hurricane) I'd probably use my cell to try to check-in with a few folks who are close to me........
If that fails, I'll ignite a truck tire and send smoke signals.:D

Does anybody know about cell phone systems in a long blackout? I know that land line phone companies have battery backup that's supposed to work for week or more.
In this recent blackout, my T-mobile cell service worked a lot longer than my Internet telephone. The Internet went down early in the evening, before the lights went out. One thing I would recommend is to remember that we are nowadays very dependent on the Internet. For example, quite a few people use yellowpages.com instead of a phone book. I had to dig around for my phone book last night. Luckily, I hadn't composted it yet :)

Depends what you're comparing it to. Garage door motors would seriously affect your electric bill if they were running constantly, but heating one room in February in Iowa, for one minute, probably uses more energy. Assuming normal temperatures
I see your point, but my point is why run an electric device that you don't need? I read recently that the electric companies call those little 1-4 watt power supplies "watt suckers". You know the ones... they power all your electronic gadgets and mostly stay warmish when you aren't using the device. They don't use much energy, but... it all adds up.

For entertaining the kids and keeping them occupied, I can set up a fee-standing tent in the livingroom.:)
I was in an extended family situation recently when the power went out. At the time it went out, I'm not making this up, they had two big screen TVs going and computer games in the same room. They were clueless about what to do. I suggested people take turns telling stories with themes. To get everyone interested I suggested to one of the adult women that she describe her worst date. It went on to other topics like animal stories. Of course when the electricity came back on the TVs began....

Within a month though several of the family members mentioned to me what a wonderful time they had sharing stories during the blackout.

In this recent blackout, my T-mobile cell service worked a lot longer than my Internet telephone.

As far as I know, cell phone services have back-up power sources that can keep their service working during a power outage. I was under the impression that the cell phone towers use regular telephone wires to connect calls, though, so if land line telephone service goes out cell phones might be useless too.

I lived off grid for several years. I don't trust standard camping crud. Go here:

http://www.lehmans.com/

The Deitz oil lanterns they sell are fantastic.

I lived off grid for several years. I don't trust standard camping crud. Go here:

http://www.lehmans.com/

The Deitz oil lanterns they sell are fantastic.
+1 My main supplier!

Most of my camping "crud" is old made in the USA Coleman stuff that still works fine after 30+ years of use:D

Aaron:)

Last night we lost electricity for 10 hours due to a sleet storm. This is not that rare of an event anywhere in the US and I'd figure that everyone should be prepared to lose electricity for lengthy periods of time.
The electricity was out for 54 hours at my house during this past weekend's ice storm. Though my heat is natural gas, the heater blower runs on electricity. My main concern was that electricity would be out so long as to allow the house to freeze up and burst water pipes. When the power came back on it was still 47° in the house, though below freezing outside. The land line telephone service never went out. And we didn't lose any major branches from the trees in the yard; actually it turned into a good pruning; others weren't so lucky. I am going to have to get a portable kerosene heater for emergency heat.

But how long would the batteries in your phone last?
There are many ways to keep your cell phone charged during a blackout. A windup charger or a solar panel charger if you need to charge it repeatedly. If you just need a couple of charges, there are several battery-based chargers available. But then you need fresh batteries...

--J

The electricity was out for 54 hours at my house during this past weekend's ice storm. Though my heat is natural gas, the heater blower runs on electricity. My main concern was that electricity would be out so long as to allow the house to freeze up and burst water pipes. When the power came back on it was still 47° in the house, though below freezing outside. The land line telephone service never went out. And we didn't lose any major branches from the trees in the yard; actually it turned into a good pruning; others weren't so lucky. I am going to have to get a portable kerosene heater for emergency heat.
It's good to have a backup plan. If the freezing rain had been followed by high winds and temperatures like we saw in early February, the damage would have been much more severe. It makes me think that we shouldn't just take the grid for granted. 54 hours in a house with no electricity with tempatures near 0F would certainly have frozen pipes. On the other hand, your freezer would have been OK.

* Had to dig around for 15 minutes this morning looking for an AM radio that ran off batteries. Anyone have ideas for emergencies like this?

Thanks for the reminder. I have candles and plenty of bike lights to show my way, but that's a good reminder about having a radio. Now that I'm in the tornado belt, having some info when the power is out is a wise idea.

When I was in earthquake country, they recommended having enough food and water for 3 days to a week. Always good to have a couple of gallons of water on board.

Windup flashlight. Windup radio. No need for batteries. The LED lamps. I've got one from Cabela's that is a headlamp. Used it while hunting in British Columbia. Saved a lot of stumbling around in the dark!

Sammilove

Thought on cellphones...even if you don't have a car get the car charger cord. In an emergency you could probably rely on someone's generosity to allow you to charge up your phone for a bit on their car. I know I have done it for people before:p

Aaron:)

Windup flashlight. Windup radio. No need for batteries. The LED lamps. I've got one from Cabela's that is a headlamp. Used it while hunting in British Columbia. Saved a lot of stumbling around in the dark!

Sammilove

I don't have either of these, but they sound like a good idea.... much better than most of the options I've explored. Do you think they would stand up to frequent use? How much winding would you have to do to get a lamp or flashlight to last a few hours?

Here's some wind-up products. wahoonc, I even notice a wind-up cell phone charger.

http://www.coolstuffcheap.com/windup-electrilite-emergency-flashlight---radio---cell-phone-charger.html

Stock up on camping gear and get a gas grill and two bottles.

If (when) the power goes out here, I have light, heat, entertainment (well, AM/FM/shortwave anyway) and the wife has a couple of different options for cooking.

For entertaining the kids and keeping them occupied, I can set up a fee-standing tent in the livingroom.:)

I live in Miami and I'm pretty well prepared for the inevitable power outage.

Kitchen stove is propane, have a couple of kerosene lamps, house was built in 1929, so it stays pretty cool with the windows open. My life doesn't change all that much without power, except no internet or TV, which is probably a good thing.

After three different hurricanes, I've lived without power for a little over 3 weeks, 2 weeks and a week and a half.

Its really not so bad. People just make it a lot worse than what it is. For some reason, everyone is compelled to wait in line for 6 hours to get gasoline the two days before a hurricane, so even if you don't need gas, the streets are almost impassable because of the lines.

Then after the hurricane, everyone gets into 7 hour lines to get ice. I don't get it.

A generator (http://www.aztlanbicycle.com/images/products/lowrider-accessories/series-00123-lights.jpg) or generator hub would be a great backup plan if your taillight needed charged

As for your cell phone, you could use a Solio (http://www.solio.com/v2/)

Do you think they would stand up to frequent use? How much winding would you have to do to get a lamp or flashlight to last a few hours?

[...]

http://www.coolstuffcheap.com/windup-electrilite-emergency-flashlight---radio---cell-phone-charger.html

I have a similar product but not this exact make/model. I bought it for its radio/backup cell charger capabilities, so I don't have much experience on the flashlight part. Other notes:

- It has a flimsy plastic crankarm. I doubt it's durability in frequent use, especially the crankarm pivots. The model you posted may be better in this regard.
- Crankarm is too short in my unit, making winding unnecessarily tedious. This could be solved with some DIY tinkering I guess, but due to the device's other shortcomings it's not worth the trouble.
- The radio in my device has automatic scan and no frequency indicator, I suspect this is the same with the model you posted. Getting it to find a specific broadcast at a fixed time (weather reports, news, etc) is mind-blowingly frustrating, especially if reception is anything less than optimal.
- The windup generates lots of noise. LOTS. I would not use it in the woods unless I really had no other options.

Because of all this I now have a small radio (2xAAA batteries) with a manual dial. To keep the batteries charged, most likely candidate for me is the Silva (http://www.silva.se/templates/Products____95.aspx?epslanguage=EN&productId={A5BF6140-CFAE-49A0-83AE-3C156B2E8F33**) solar panel, though the Solio seems worth looking into as well. For light I'll probably buy a shake-light at some point.

--J

I have a small Grundig (http://www.etoncorp.com/grundig)World radio (apparently they no longer make the model I have) that I carry with me most places that I go. it runs on AA batteries and will run quite a while on a set of batteries. Grundig also makes a do it all (http://www.etoncorp.com/stage/product_card/?p_ProductDbId=15556) radio. I haven't seen one of these up close and personal, so I have no clue as to the durability of it. I have several of the LED windup flashlights. 1-2 minutes of winding will provide a couple of hours of light. I have seen the windup radios but haven't felt the need for one yet. We maintain emergency kits at home year round. They are based on the earthquake/hurricane lists. I also carry a smaller version in my work truck. You will NOT see me standing in a line waiting on a government hand out of ice or water. Another item I would recommend for an emergency kit would be a small water purification system. My choice is the MSR MiniWorks (http://www.msrcorp.com/filters/miniworks_ex.asp) We do keep bottled water available but these will help if something happens to your planned water supply. Another interesting item that we have a few of are the Heater Meals (http://www.heatermeals.com/) these are complete meals that you add water to and you have a hot meal. We use them as a supplement to our usual stash of canned goods. They aren't too bad and have a decent shelf life.

Aaron:)

I don't have either of these, but they sound like a good idea.... much better than most of the options I've explored. Do you think they would stand up to frequent use? How much winding would you have to do to get a lamp or flashlight to last a few hours?

Here's some wind-up products. wahoonc, I even notice a wind-up cell phone charger.

http://www.coolstuffcheap.com/windup-electrilite-emergency-flashlight---radio---cell-phone-charger.html

I don't know about frequent use, but Sammilove (my husband) got me one of the windup flashlights for work (I have to go outside in the dark to make certain that the postal vehicles are where they are supposed to be) about two years ago, and it's still working just fine. It takes just 30 seconds to get enough power to last me for the few minutes I'm out there, so I don't know how long it would take to get the thing to last for more than a few hours. It's not a problem winding it up when the light starts to dim though.

They are certainly mighty handy to have in an emergency. I have the windup flashlight at work because otherwise the batteries go dead and it's no one's job to ensure that the batteries are any good!

East Hill

- The windup generates lots of noise. LOTS. I would not use it in the woods unless I really had no other options.

Absolutely. The LED headlamps are much better for this purpose, plus they are lightweight, and follow one's movement handsfree. The light is more focused, too. I use one in the car if I'm fiddling with paying bills, etc., (I'm the passenger) when my husband and I are commuting to work so that he does not have to turn on the dome light. The batteries for the LED lamps last a long time, too.

East Hill