Power Outages... How Do You Prepare?

[dragonlaurel]

I loved my solar lights back in Fla but moved away and didn't bring them. Charging them might still be a challenge with this apartment. I'll definitely get them again when I have a yard.

 

[FarmerDenise]

How about building one of those solar collector heater thingies? I don't know exactly what they are or how they work, but it's like a frame filled with pop can and covered with glass or black plastic. Maybe not much for supplemental heat, but every little bit helps and it should be very cheap to build. And it is flat and OUTSIDE so it wouldn't take space in a tiny home.

I'm thinking about looking into one for the rabbit shed. Would be nice to get it in the 20 - 30 degree range in winter.

It was on You Tube. It was a pretty cool device. I tried to get SO to take an interest ...

 

[FarmerDenise]

I have solar "christmas" lights and other solar lights. We have loads of flashlights and always buy batteries, when we see them on sale. We also have lots of candles and reflectors. After my Ex left, I had to let my power be shut off, because I could not afford it. DD and I functioned quite well without the power for more than a month.
We used battery operated clocks and radio and used our fireplace for heat and light as well. We used candles placed in jars to reduce the fire hazard. I put all sorts of reflectors around the candles and had lots of shiney things in all the rooms. We also used camping lights. I cooked on the barbeque or in the fireplace. I also have a campstove that I used. The water and water heater still worked, so showers were not a problem.

When I was grosing up, we had lots of power outages. We melted snow on the woodstove and used the woodstove for heat and cooking. We happened to have a cooking woodstove. Mom even baked bread in it. The rest of the house was cold enough to freeze anything, so keeping food cold was not a problem.
We didn't worry much about showers or clean laundry when in that situation. Our neighbors would be in the same situation and we all laughed about not being able to do laundry and wearing your underwear inside out.

 

[Icu4dzs]

I loved my solar lights back in Fla but moved away and didn't bring them. Charging them might still be a challenge with this apartment. I'll definitely get them again when I have a yard.

Charging them should be relatively easy if you take them off the stem and put them in the window...preferably the south window but any window will do. An east window in the morning will charge them up just fine. Frankly, the stem and the plastic bell shaped difuser really isn't worth much although the stem will sit down in a wine bottle just right and hold the light in place sort of like a candle in an Italian restaurant!

If you mount the lights on a plexiglass panel (depending on the size you use, you can put the entire thing in the window with the solar cell pointed toward the light and then move the panel back to it's "night location" later. I found a circular mounting pattern seems to work rather well.

 

[dacjohns]

I like the idea of solar lights but all the solar lights I have used outside seem to die after a couple years. Changing batteries doesn't fix the problem. It seems to be in the charging and sensor circuitry.

 

[Emerald]

I like the idea of solar lights but all the solar lights I have used outside seem to die after a couple years. Changing batteries doesn't fix the problem. It seems to be in the charging and sensor circuitry.

Check the contacts where the battery goes in- they will build up a bit of corrosion after being outside for years and if you take a bit of fine sandpaper and sand them and then try them- it will make a big difference-- I also take all the batteries from them once a year and charge them in the big charger in the house and then put them back in the units- helps keep the life of the battery going longer. I have had to replace a few batteries here and there but have 10 solar path lights that are over 8 years old and they still work fine, but a couple of the little $1.50 ones that were gifts this year are not working well now that it is getting cold.
In times of power outages that are longer than just a few hours I have used my really good rechargeable batteries in them and let them charge during the day and then used them in the flash lights(all these odd ones I have are AA sized and a couple are AAA) and the radio. I do have a nice stock of the crank flash lights and a radio and lantern that all are the crank powered ones I just use the battery ones for back up or if I have a houseful during a power outage.

 

[Joel_BC]

I'll add two things to this thread...

I just posted a link to a video on this post/thread:
http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=12158

It takes you through the simple steps of building a non-electric food cooler from simple components and materials. Worth watching.

Also - concerning another power-outage aspect - I ordered one of these lanterns, and it arrived a few days ago:
http://www.amazon.com/Rayovac-SE3DL...4XIS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331388923&sr=8-1

Long-lasting battery-powered LED unit. Our livingroom has cedar-board panelling and ceiling. And in an environment lacking a really reflective light-colored surface (like painted drywall), it's quite impressive that this little lantern provides lots of room light.

Two main settings for constant light: one simply bright (and the alkaline batteries are said to last 150 hours on this setting); one very bright (and the batteries are said to last 72 hours on this setting). There's also a pulsed signal-type setting, sort of strobe-like. There's a light diffuser that you leave in-place on the lantern normally, but you can remove it if you want a very intense point-source light.

The unit has a rubber non-skid covering at the bottom. There's a handle on top, a hanging hook underneath. It closes up really tight, and is certainly water-resistant. I think you could drop it in a bath tub or lake and find it's practically water-proof!

Comes w/o batteries, so you have to provide three D-cells.

 

[Tatter]

I actually love power outages and wish the U.S. would go dark so people learned how to truly live again while not depending on the power utility so much. My preps are common, lamps throughout the house that use olive oil instead of kerosene which I use most of the time in place of the power I get from the grid. Eventually I'll be off the grid and computer free too. Since I don't have a family, I don't have to worry about kids needing to do something. I sit down with a book and read till I grow tired and go to sleep. Once I get my animals, the barn will be lighted through oil lamps as well. As to water, I have a solar water pump thus have an unlimited water supply (well) and my cooking is done on a wood stove or I can grill outside. I sit in the country, inside a woods and so we get outages here every year, sometimes lasting for days. A person from the city, like my nephew has driven himself stir crazy as his gadgets don't work too well out here and since there is no phone here, well one who needs a means to communicate is pretty much out of luck at my home