SHTF scenarios anybody?

**finallyME** · 03-26-2012, 01:53 PM

Originally Posted by Rick

You can prep for both, you know. I have kerosene lamps but I have my ginny, too. What happens if it's a short Zombie Apocalypse and only like 20 or 30 show up. Maybe they get the date wrong and show up early? I can just fire up the ginny and sit inside in the aid conditioning while they melt away outside. You, on the other hand, will have to run around the charcoal grill trying to flip burgers AND stay out of their reach.

What happens if Bernanke holds a press conference and announces that the U.S. economy tanked then the next day he figures out the negative sign was just an eraser smudge. There you are lighting candles, getting burned on the solar oven and I'm still sitting in the air conditioning with my ginny running.

All I need to do is make my ac not reliant on electricity. A big squirrel cage for the kids to run in should do it.

Maybe get one for the dog to run in as well.

Solar panels and a generator are on my long term list of things to get. But, because of the expense, and the fact they aren't top priority, just means it will be a while. I need to buy a wood stove first. I think that is higher priority, and cheaper.

**hunter63** · 03-26-2012, 02:23 PM

Seems that most people in the northern part of Louisiana have gen sets....as the ice storms, tornadoes and hurricanes can knock power out on a regular basis.
Or at least that's what DD and SIL prepare for.

Unfortunately they live in a all electric house, heat, water heater, stove, pump and septic system, (sprayer system).
Do have a fire place that will provide heat in the family room/kitchen.

Year before last SIL had to replace a gen as it had a part broken inside the control and shorted it out.

In replacing it, he went to a 8000 watt unit, and after adding up usage was still small for what he wanted to do with it....namely the whole house.

A/c, heat and water heater added up to waaaaaay more watts than a 8k gen would handle, and I suspect that's why the old one packed it in.

Just couldn't seem to get him to just do the math and add up uses.
Water heater with 2 elements @8000 watts each were over the 8k rating on gen set.

Last summer they got around the a/c problem by staying in a camper with A/c and a whole lot less wattage used.

So adding up pump/septic, couple of lights, freezer, refrig......outlets for TV/radio (weather reports) did fit under the rating....but was hard to get them to shut down the A/c and water heater for showers (couple a day, each?)

BTW I brought home the old gen-set and replaced the coil/control as it was identical to the unit I have had for a while.

One need to determine your needs vs your wants and plan accordingly......with emphasis on non-grid or fuel powered back ups.

**matt47** · 03-26-2012, 03:04 PM

Originally Posted by finallyME

Anyways, I don't have a generator. I decided that I should prep for no power. Although my preps aren't complete, my plan is to just have everything I need not run on electricity. This means wood stove for warming the house and cooking in cold weather. Outside fire pit and solar oven for cooking in the hot summer (to not heat the house). Oil lamps for light ( and going to bed at dark). There are also these things called blankets. If you put them on, they keep you warm in cold weather, pretty neat actually.

It´s the same at my bush place...we don´t have a generator, though the wife and I have been talking about getting one from time to time but in a way I don´t even really want one. It´s just another expense (diesel) and they are very loud while in use. It would be different if we needed one for water, and I have lived on outstations where the water was pumped from a diesel generator but thankfully that´s not the case out at my place. The only thing I would really use a generator for would be to keep fresh meat longer but since I make biltong all the time it´s not a necessity. And being able to watch movies more often isn´t a good enough excuse to get a generator...not for me anyways...the wife would enjoy it but she doesn´t need it either...We get our water from a solar powered bore and that is really all we need. And the lack of a permanent source of electricity keeps away the in laws from visiting too often I reckon lol...

We cook on the fire, heat with the fire, I make torches from time to time from tallow but we usually have a decent flashlight around...and we have a mattress and blankets...we make a pretty good wind break next to the tin house with a fire to keep us warm in cold and windy weather...most of the year we sleep out in the open under the stars unless it´s raining but it never really gets that cold anyways that you need to sleep indoors in that subtropical desert climate, nothing like a temperate clime where a wood stove would be more useful...the open fire with a elevated bunk works good enough...

**Batch** · 03-26-2012, 10:18 PM

Batch - I figured a SHTF situation for you would be to run out of hot sauce.

\

You no Rick, power grids down and zombies attacking make for compelling conversation. But you go to far sir!!! No hot sauce!

**finallyME** · 03-27-2012, 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by matt47

And the lack of a permanent source of electricity keeps away the in laws from visiting too often I reckon lol...

Well, there ya go. Sign me up.

**Wildthang** · 03-27-2012, 02:12 PM

I have a very small window air conditioner that I install when the weather is hot, and the power goes down. My 10,000 watt generator runs it just fine, and we have a nice cool place to sleep. All other times we run the central air.
I dont mind sleeping in the heat when I'm camping, or just out in the woods for a few days, but when I'm home, I like it cool!

**kyratshooter** · 03-27-2012, 02:24 PM

Watt usage is tricky too!

A full sized refregerator or deep freezer uses only 500 watts while a coffee maker uses 1200 on brew cycle, a microwave up to 2000.

Best to just go into conservation mode with a smaller genset and preserve the food, run a couple of light bulbs and sweat like we did in the 1950s.

If you do not try to run the whole house you can easily get by with a $150, 1000 watt unit for the fridge and a couple of lights. Make a bit of ice and keep the food cold. 5 hours on a pint of gas and do not open the fridge door unless the gen is running.

**Wildthang** · 03-27-2012, 02:42 PM

Well we run pretty much the whole house on 10,000 watts, except for central air, and the electric range. I run the kitchen fridge all the time, and plug in the freezer for 5 hours a day to keep everything frozen. I either unplug or kill the breakers on anything that I dont want to run so if the girls forget and turn on the range oven, it doesn't lock up my generator. It will run the well pump, frigde, window unit AC or central heat, several lights, TV, and the garage door opener no problem. My water heater, and central heat is gas so I dont have to worry about that!

**dreamer53** · 03-27-2012, 02:45 PM

After watching discovery channel show on super volcanos I got a little nervous. They said the one under yellowstone has gone off like every 600,000 years, and that its WAY past due.If it were to blow within weeks the sun would be blocked across most of the U.S. temps. would drop an average of 20degrees. Life would change quickly not only for us but for people all over the planet.
Being in Florida I've seen first hand how fast things can go down hill when ever we have a hurricane.The stores empty even before it hits then theres no power, no garbage pickup, no gas so you can't get anywhere. Thank God it usually only last for a week or so. Just think if it lasted months or even years

**Wildthang** · 03-27-2012, 03:01 PM

I wonder how far the volcanic ash would reach after the initial blast of the Yellowstone cauldera? Seems like I saw a map of that somewhere, and the thick ash fallout would almost get to Illinois if my memory serves me correctly. Those are the people that would really be up the creek. Anybody out of that zone would at least have some time to prepare for global cooling I would think!

**Rick** · 03-27-2012, 04:29 PM

Here are the fallout zones for the last 3 eruptions according to USGS.

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http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2005/3024/

**Allen Currie Author** · 03-27-2012, 11:32 PM

Personally I am prepping based only on what the pioneers had available. Yes, I don't hesitate to use technology to reach a certain point. For instance I don't hesitate to use a dozer to break the land, but I am totally prepared to work the land later manually. Breaking the land and uprooting willows and roots are a one time thing and it would be foolish to do something the hard way when there is an easy way readily available. In the long run I want to be totally self sufficient. In the same vein I am using the best insulation I can afford and plastic sheet in my construction because it is very long term. If the world does go to hell in a handbasket I will have time to come up with alternate solutions.

And yes, I did a whole lot of research on things like historical weather patterns before I picked my location.

**Rick** · 03-28-2012, 06:44 AM

I would think where you are that things like radios would be less a luxury and more a necessity. Not only does it keep you abreast of what's going on but can be used in an emergency to summon help. That, of couse, would mean power generation in some form. If things go bad, as you fear, how will you know what's going on? Knowledge is power.

**Wildthang** · 03-28-2012, 08:36 AM

Originally Posted by Rick

Here are the fallout zones for the last 3 eruptions according to USGS.

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http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2005/3024/

Thanks Rick, I thought that the eastern line stopped right at Illinios, so that means We are probably safe here in Ohio at least from the thick ash cloud.
Like I said before, the folks in the ash cloud will immediately be in SHTF!

**natertot** · 03-28-2012, 10:31 AM

Wild, we maybe safe from the ash cloud, but there will still be debris and matter that will reach us that would effect our crops, water, and wildlife. Also, alot of people will be running our direction using up alot of resources. All of CONUS will be in a hurt!

**Wildthang** · 03-28-2012, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by natertot

Wild, we maybe safe from the ash cloud, but there will still be debris and matter that will reach us that would effect our crops, water, and wildlife. Also, alot of people will be running our direction using up alot of resources. All of CONUS will be in a hurt!

Yeah Nator I know, I was only talking about the initial ash drop that covers everything almost immediately. But yeah it will be a mass migration to the east, and of course the global cooling will set in sometime after that. I see the Yellowstone cauldera as probably one of the top 10 most likely SHTF events the US right now.
At least we will have time to prepare, and won't be covered in ash here, so we have a definate advantage with that!

**kyratshooter** · 03-28-2012, 01:39 PM

"Top 10 most likely"???

Right under zombie apocolipse and astroid stike?

If Yellowstone does go it will not just cover the western states with ash. It will end civilization, probably the entire human race. Probably trigger another ice age, adjust ocean currents and render studies of "historic weather patterns" useless as the mile high ice wall approches the Ohio River and covers northern Europe.

That is not a senerio, you can not prepare for that, you can not equip for it, you can not train for it and there is not one thing you can do about it.

Wasted time fighting nightmares.

Pick your battles and prep for something you can do something about.

**dreamer53** · 03-28-2012, 03:42 PM

Talking about prepping, I watched a little of that show thats on now and it showed a woman who has been prepping for years. She had an impressive amount of stuff stockpiled. But she brought some friends from work over and let them see her stuff. She was trying to get them into it. Point is,This seems like a big mistake to me. You show a couple people and they tell a couple friends. Then if something does happen you've got all these people that aren't prepared but know what you've got and where it is. I just think its better to keep to yourself