Good deal Duke. Sometimes all it takes is somebody showing them how. Kind of like the teach a man to fish and feed him forever......
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Good deal Duke. Sometimes all it takes is somebody showing them how. Kind of like the teach a man to fish and feed him forever......
As I read this thread it is refreshing that every post does not start with ' I loaded my ....., and then'. It kinds renews my faith in folks.
Well since I started this thread I'll give my two pennies worth, If the electricity went out I'd sleep in cause my alarm clock wouldn't work.
Actually got a small generator in case that happens.
You've got a generator just to power an alarm clock?:D
Yeah! And man is it bright:D
Now that's dedication to getting up on time. Me......not so much. Where's my bacon sandwich?
I was involved in the blackout of 03. thankfully we had enough gas in my wife's car to get us to northern Michigan. We have some acreage up there with a cabin. Wood heat, propane lights, trout stream 100 feet away and lots of game. The only thing I'm concerned about is getting up there. I live in the city and it was total chaos around here. I wanted to get the hell outta dodge.
I could live forever at my place in the north. The one thing I learned is you have to think sustainable. You can't rely on propane or gas generators because one day that will be gone.
thats the scariest thing to me is being in the city and watching anarchy reign. You have to get out in order to have a chance at surviving any type of disaster situation. These people are nuts around here.
Our hunt camps have no electricity, so we just adapt to whatever we have handy including torches and grilling our food. We would just "camp" at home instead.
Reality we have so many power outages here that we are self reliant without power in all our aspects of day to day life.
fitfisherman - There have been several posts on "Bug Out" or "Bug In". You might read through some of them and get a different perspective on how to survive in the city (and why you would want to!).
A month or two ago, our power company had to take the electricity down for a few hours to perform some major maintenance on a transformer. It affected a fairly large area but they scheduled it for 6am to 11am on a Sunday morning, advised everyone by mail and TV ads, and used those warning signs above the roads. All the local businesses were given flyers so pretty much, everyone knew it was coming.
OK, so 5 hours without power on a Sunday morning in summer. No biggie. I brought in my camping stove, just in case, made sure to keep the fridge door closed as much as possible and...that was it really. I usually surf the web first thing in the morning, but I decided that it would make a pleasant change to sit out in the back yard and read my book.
I was up around 5:30, had my coffee made and was already out of doors before the power went off. But I knew when it happened because on the stroke of 6am, the neighborhood was rent with the sound of portable generators firing up.
It would appear I was the only one who was able to go even a few minutes without electricity. We're not even talking a survival situation here, just a Sunday morning without power. Kind of sad really.
Footnote: So rather than listen to the generators, I went out on my bike instead. At the first hill, I had one of those old-fashioned power outages. :D
Now that's funny. That would make an interesting Sunday Morning feature for CBS. Ooops. Forgot. No power.
Wouldn't our grandparents have a good laugh at us?
I was on the road during the rolling blackout in '03, but I was in Central New York when the Labor Day Storm hit in 1998. We were without power for about week. Being summertime heating wasnt a problem. I had access to plenty of ice and coolers so I was able to save most of my freezer contents. I had a Coleman campstove, flashlight, candles and a couple of lanterns. I just read a lot of books and played a few boardgames with family and friends.
I'll read them but I think I would do much better at my place in the great north woods of Michigan.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick
I'm not saying you wouldn't. It's just the act of getting there and all the masses moving in that direction with you. And what happens when you get there and someone is already using it? The threads just offer up some thoughts and ideas about those types of scenarios.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick
You got a valid point there.
Can you point me in the direction of those threads?
A really good post by Vika:
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...surviving+city
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ead.php?t=1538
Remy actually had one of the best responses for staying put but it looks like it has been erased. Perhaps he'll post on it here.
I was on the road, too... just outside of Manhattan during the Blackout of 2003. The traffic was a complete mess, because the traffic lights weren't working. No one could get gas, because the gas pumps wouldn't pump. When I eventually got into Manhattan, the whole island was completely pitch black.Quote:
Originally Posted by laughing beetle
I heard some people got stuck in the subway tunnels inside a train car. No lights and stuck in a subway car with strangers. I can't even begin to imagine what anyone would do in that sort of scenario...
_____
The Survival Hiking Blog
http://www.survivalhiking.com/
in that circumstance ray i would recomend being conservatively friendly. wait a min; that's my usual subway protocol.
That's why I always carry a micro light in my pocket. I've used that thing soooooo many times.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick
good info. Thanks Rick, but I'm still of the opinion to bug out. After seeing the choas and lawlessness during the blackout I think it would be far safer getting to the woods. Case in point Hurricane Katrina, you had all those people looting, shooting, and waiting for the government to come save them. The police were going door to door taking guns away from everyone.
The other thing I noticed is many of these solutions are temporary. In the event of a major disaster we need to think sustainable. Your canned foods and the neighbors canned foods will eventually run out. If I even lived on the fringes of the city I could be convinced into staying depending on the situation. But I live right in the heart of the friggin zoo. LOL
I agree that everyone and their brother will be heading to the hills but if you know many routes to get out of town one would be in good shape.
Well, I had the opportunity to test this out this week. We lost power overnight Sunday and Monday morning we awoke to a dark house. Egads! I thought, the coffee maker didn't start. No problem. I'll just get me trusty backpacking stove out and make a cup of Joe. Then I'll check the forum and....oh, yea. No power. Bummer.
It doesn't happen very often and I have no idea what the outage was all about. The power came on about 10:30 but it was little more than an inconvenience. Not even that really. Now if the water had been off that would have been a different story. Hopeaks place is a long way to trek just to use the outhouse.....:p
Having just gone through Ike I can say from experience that I did a lot of milling around the house and listening to my priceless Grundig Mini 300 AM/FM/SW Pocket Radio (excellent battery life BTW).
Power is still out in places in southern Indiana and Kentucky from the Sunday Winstorm (now dubbed the Hoosier Hurricane)we had as evidenced by the number of people being admitted to the hospital with carbon monoxide poisoning around here,because they either can't or won't read warning labels on generators.
A lady in Louisville died Wednesday night/Thursday morning when her landlord generously loaned her and her family a generator to get them through until their power was restored,and you guessed it,they set it up and ran it inside the house,her husband and 2 year old son are in the hospital,and she is in the morgue.
I have come to the conclusion that not only generators,but also any portable fuel burning space heater should not be sold to JQP,until they have been properly trained and explained the seriousness of their actions if they do not follow the safety warnings on the equipment.
End of rant
sit in silence
....until......Quote:
Originally Posted by Fletcher
.....the beans kicked in.
if electricity went out I would simply light up a fire in my fire pit in my back yard just to sit around for warmth (assuming its cold). Then I would use my little MSR whisperlite stove to cook.
In terms of keeping the fridge cold, I would simply go to the store and buy a bag of ice (assuming that its just a normal power outage, not a natural disaster). I would probably eat a lot of canned food and energy bars because I dont have to open the fridge to get to them.
For lighting I would just use flashlights and candles.
for entertainment, i would simply play my guitar or ride my bike, like I always do.
oh, and i would make LOTS of hot chocolate if it was the winter, i would just sit by the fire all day relaxing, drinking some good ol' hot chocolate.
I have always invisioned myself useing a car generator hooked up to a bicycle so that I could peddle the bike and charge car batteries. If I was to stay put and didnt have to travel, thats what I would attempt to do.
I don't think you can peddle the bike fast enough. I've seen a alternator with a 3 1/2 hp and a fan belt setup that worked. But would only recharge batteries. Maybe multiple alternators run off one small 3-5 hp motor would give you plenty powerQuote:
Originally Posted by erunkiswldrnssurvival
or one LARGE alt. might work. What are you planning on running?
You are an exstremely interesting fellow! And talented keep the great posts comeing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!
Just the basic stuff like a lamp, and stuff like that.
My daughter in laws father hooked up a Geo Metro to his house to power it while the electric was off after the windstorm,not sure how he done it,but he didn't loose anything in his fridge or freezer,had hot water and cooked while everyone around him was in the dark.
The alt. or gen. from a car can power a lot of stuff if you have batteries thats even better.
Nell, we live in southern Indiana. Our electric went off on the Sunday of the storm and didn't come back until mid day on Friday and then it only came on for half the house.... we found out where we were prepared and in good shape and we discovered our problem areas.
It was a good thing since it allowed us to have a practice run as far as what we had arranged in the event of no electric, water, and changing our way of cooking. We had some setbacks over the week with no services but I was proud of how we managed.
I even canned two different days, putting up pears and other food.
Life does go on - we ate well, visited more with each other, and got plenty of sleep since we burned kerosene laterns for a bit after dark and then went to bed.
Buttercup,I was one of the luckier ones,as the power here came back on much sooner than most of the neighbors,since this house seems to be at the end of the line for one road (two roads intersect in front of the house),and the neighbors to the left of me are on another line,they were without power for several days . Made for some very grumpy neighbors,the second day two of them got into an argument and around midnite one of them got drunk,jumped on his 4 wheeler and ran up and down the road screaming and cussing,trying to get the other one to come out,was very easy to hear with out the a/c on and the windows open,the sheriffs deputy came by and told him to behave and left,half an hour later he was back at it,they still didn't take him in!
Im not shure exactly how this thread is so hot right now, but I would assume most of you guys have propane stoves of some sort. Can't refrigerate food (My spazed out political mother would soon harshly learn the truth), and eventually canned food supplies would run out. Supermarkets would most likely be shut down, and street traffic at a halt because of no street lights and stop lights ( I would assume). I highly doubt an electrical outing would last more than a week (unless it was an EMP attack), but in long-term cases, I have my fresh water creek deep in the forests by my new house ( which I question it's purity, even though I boil it, it runs through a city park miles up, potential contamination) to obtain water. I have thousands of yellow wood sorrel and Cattail near my house, and some wood grouse near the edge of the forests. Cottontail Rabbits are next to my house. I doubt anyone in my area has the ability to capture game without firing a loud gun, and local police called in. To many doubters and fancy people here. I would assume survival in my area quite easy if electricity were out. I would probably flee to the forests to avoid thousands of panic filled people, but I wouldn't abandoned my family.
Some here are going on a week and a half without power Jericho,And they are not liking it much either,me?? Other than missing out on the forum once my battery for my laptop died,it would not have bothered me too much if I had to wait this long for it to be restored.
I feel sorry for the crews that have came in from out of state to help these people,just to get cussed and screamed at because they didn't get their electric on sooner,there is only so much the poor souls can do and they ran out of wire and transformers and had to wait for those to be shipped in before finishing their job.
Nell, like you say, we didn't miss much except the internet. Hate to admit I am getting addicted to this silly thing but whatever . . . we cooked over propane and went to bed early. Life went on. Life is possible without electricty although some people don't realize it. It was easier for us that we had a generator to run the fridg and our two fully stocked freezers. I would have been very unhappy to lose all the hard work that was represented in the freezers - made a decision to can lots more in the future, including meat, so I wasn't so dependent on man made power to preserve my food supply.
Great thread! I've invested quite a bit in books and have a decent amount of camping gear to use in time of an emergency. I'm looking at some small solar stuff (portable) to charge aa or c batteries along with small radios, etc. At the house I have a propane BBQ with a (hopefully) pretty full tank so I could cook with that for a while. Also have a small Coleman single burner stove... if it were a full on emergency I would fashion some sort of wood stove from stuff in the garage and burn what was needed. Would definitely read a lot during the day light and get a ton of sleep.
What would I do without electricity?? Oh wait, I do without it already. I do charge up my rechargeables when I come to town. Flashlight, razor, laptop. wow, I just realized that's all the electrical things that I own. One thing I do miss is an electric bill.
I am going to go around the house and turn of everything incase the power comes back on real sudden like.
then I would fal back on whatever I have for backup going real rustic in most things . Solar and wind would be good if I could afford it. Generators need fuel which to my thinking will need to be in place in a large quanity .