Surviving Winter Ice Stoms

**Phaedrus** · 11-12-2014, 04:52 AM

Here in SD we get some pretty bad ice storms and blizzards. I don't have a genny, my preps involve having stored water, plenty of batteries for various lights and devices, a bunch of different types of fuel for various kinds of stoves (mostly LP gas, big bottles for gas grill and little green Coleman ones for the stoves, and a couple cases of butane cannisters that work with my Iwatani torch and single burner stove) and some canned and freeze dried foods that can be eaten cold or with minimal cooking. There isn't much practical way to heat my house without electricity- there's no wood stove, sadly. So I have a crapload of blankets, at least six Wiggy's sleeping bags, a lot of quilts and warm clothes.

Another big prep item in the winter is common sense! I try to never let the gas tank in my truck get much below 1/2. This is key in case I get stuck or have to deal with prolonged bad weather.

**Rick** · 11-12-2014, 07:07 AM

You don't have to be cold just because you have no wood stove. Look into kerosene and/or LP heaters. There are some excellent, no exhaust LP heaters on the market. They may not heat a whole house to 68F but they might keep you and your plumbing from freezing.

**hayshaker** · 11-12-2014, 09:49 AM

one needs multiple heat sources here in MN ,if you have elec heat which i do a ice storm
can take the power lines out ,no elec=no heat . i have a large wood cook stove to supplement
our elec heat . covering the windows with 3m,plastic helps quite a bit it really does.
freezing to death is no joke. I also have many comforters and thermal clothing which helps as well.
worst comes to worst cost rica baby where,s my mojito and beach towel.

**randyt** · 11-12-2014, 09:46 PM

It'll be a cold day in hades if I freeze to death.

**hunter63** · 11-12-2014, 10:25 PM

Originally Posted by randyt

It'll be a cold day in hades if I freeze to death.

The only chance of that is if the MN, Vikings win the Super Bowl

**randyt** · 11-12-2014, 10:29 PM

Anything is possible LOL.

**rebel** · 11-13-2014, 12:05 AM

Originally Posted by hunter63

The only chance of that is if the MN, Vikings win the Super Bowl

Vi-queens.

A cold weather bag for the car is good to have. It could be a while before the tow truck arrives.

**LowKey** · 11-13-2014, 08:37 PM

After that storm, I got an instant on generator with an auto transfer switch. That was another really good investment. Ran for 3 days after an October storm that took out all my trees.

Running generators on work sites intermittently is one thing but can they take the abuse of constant use over several days? My little Honda that I ran for a solid 2 weeks totally seized up when it finally got shut down when the power came on. I'm just lucky it didn't seize when I needed it. I got it fixed (rings and heads) and it's my backup, but I wouldn't ever trust it to have to run again for days at a time.

**Phaedrus** · 11-14-2014, 05:43 AM

Originally Posted by Rick

You don't have to be cold just because you have no wood stove. Look into kerosene and/or LP heaters. There are some excellent, no exhaust LP heaters on the market. They may not heat a whole house to 68F but they might keep you and your plumbing from freezing.

Good point, I should look into that.

**TXyakr** · 11-20-2014, 07:06 PM

When an ice storm left my family without power for several days the biggest issue was not being able to charge our phones. We had plenty of water, fuel to heat the living room (central heat with natural gas does not work without electricity to blow it around), but fine in FP and space heaters. So we hiked to a McDonalds less than a mile away with an extension cord/power strip where there were dozens of other devices charging. So rather than go thru that again we got some high capacity external USB batteries. Something like a "Power Pot" with a USB charge port is also a good alternative to a solar panel when there is no sun, but this requires that you keep it full of water, and a camp stove. The big advantage of these over a gasoline generator is that they are very portable and you can take them in your car or even backpack or carry on luggage while traveling by air.

**randyt** · 11-20-2014, 08:05 PM

Someone makes a hand cranked charger for a cell phone.

**TXyakr** · 11-20-2014, 11:21 PM

Originally Posted by randyt

Someone makes a hand cranked charger for a cell phone.

About 10 years ago someone gave me an LED lantern with radio and phone charge port with hand crank. It is poor quality not very useful for phone charging but OK as a light and radio. Some other brands may be much better. Power pots are very problematic as well, they must be continually feed with snow or water and heated with fuel from below for 1-2 hours of phone charging time. Solar needs time in bright light and a lot of surface area or it can take many hours even days to charge a phone. As a kid we had a stationary bicycle charger, not very space efficient but functional, only way for us to communicate with civilization via SW radio while in the "bush" for months.

But for many people in the USA an UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) with deep cycle marine battery replacing the tiny one that comes with it and a power strip with USB charge ports is a workable solution. Just replace the battery about every 2 years. I write the date replaced on the battery so I have an idea when it needs to be replaced. This will not fit in my backpack but fits under a desk at home. I also had a large UPS catch on fire at work one time so these are always a concern to me, don't stack paper or "fuel" items around them. Lighting struck house still blew out bunch of stuff, even some ran thru PC and out bottom of my wife's heal, it was plugged into a UPS with surge suppression. Now she follows my advice and "floats" all devices during a thunderstorm on battery power only.

**Rick** · 11-21-2014, 06:46 AM

Anker batteries. They are the bees knees. They last for weeks on a single charge. You can buy them with a 2A USB that will cut your charge time almost in half. I carry one with me everywhere.

http://www.ianker.com/External-Batteries/category-c1-s1

$40 will get you one with 15000 mAh, which is the one I have.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B00D5T3QK4

**sjj** · 11-21-2014, 07:23 AM

Rick - that is a lot of ZEROs

**LowKey** · 11-21-2014, 07:54 AM

You can start your car and plug in the phone charger.
Just don't do it in the garage.
Car has a radio and heat too.

**Rick** · 11-21-2014, 08:49 AM

Oops. Nice catch. That one I use to jump start a 747. I fixed it.

No more current than a cell phone pulls you wouldn't even need to start the car.

**MrFixIt** · 11-21-2014, 09:00 AM

We tend to have more ice than snow here in my area.
Canned food, bottled water, and a propane camp stove with extra canisters of fuel.
Charcoal for the grill.
Batteries for the flash lights and radio.
Meds stocked (for the wifey)
Dog food (don't want my pups to go hungry!)
I fill the tub up with water to flush the toilet with.
Make sure the LP tank is filled.
Candles and battery operated lanterns.
Games, books, or hobby related items.
I tend to hunker down as well. My family and I look at it as an indoor camping adventure!

**TXyakr** · 11-21-2014, 12:38 PM

Rick that Anker 15 Amp hour USB battery is a very useful device. My wife's parents purchased a similar 12 amp hour one (different brand) after our ice storm a few years ago. I mostly used it, for camping and airline travel etc. Finally the micro USB connector got pushed in and broke off of the PCB inside. I can probably open it up and re-solder it back on, but have not gotten around to it yet. These batteries typically only last 2-5 years anyway, but are well worth it. Some other brands for about $100 are more resistant to shock, water and freeze but the tiny electric connectors may be the weakest point.

When Ultra Light Backpacking I take 2 extra Batteries for a Samsung phone and remove the battery from the phone, but this is not an option for an iPhone. Extra batteries allow me to go for 2 weeks no problem, even with power hungry S4 or S5.

I am probably just paranoid but technically and legally it is possible for 3rd parties to remotely turn on the GPS "radios" of your phone without your phone's screen or LEDs going on, receive its location, store it in a server. Thus allowing some unmentionable GOV agency to then get a warrant to request your movements at a later date or in real time. I am personally not concerned about anyone tracking my location, this would only enhance my safety in the wilderness, but it does drain my phone's battery with no benefit to me. A little irritating.