Grid Down Preps

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Caribou

Caribou

Time traveler
Neighbor
HCL Supporter
Joined
Dec 3, 2017
Messages
10,326
Location
Alaska
We are working on getting our retirement place ready. When hubby retires he gets paid for all his unused sick leave and some of his annual leave. We are going to use that to set up our solar system. Grid tied with battery back up for the house and off grid for the barn/greenhouse so we don't have to run electricity to it.
 
We have a genny and store some fuel for it plus what we could siphon from our two vehicles. Heating and cooking can be off-grid here. We also have a small (400 watt) solar system in our RV that we could use. The RV frig/freezer is a compact 120 volt unit that can run for a long time off the solar system (as long as the sun shines most of the time).
Just using the generator occasionally to run the well pump we could live fairly comfortable for months.
 
I have an 8k generator which is more than enough to run the house and charge my battery bank. I also have a 2k generator that could charge my batteries. I have 1k of solar panels that needs to get setup though I need at least 2k more just to start.

I have a few 20# propane bottles that could be used for cooking should the need arise and 100 to 150 gallons of gasoline depending on where I am in the usage cycle. I have charcoal for the BBQ but not much.

The to do list includes: instal the solar panels that I have with an outlook to get more, get a larger inverter and a charge controller, build a fair sized woodshed. I talked to my contractor a couple of days ago, at his wedding, and I'm assured that he will get my chimney in for the wood stove before the snow flies.

Grid down is a reality in Alaska in normal times. My first power outage in this neighborhood was caused by a backhoe digging up the power lines, oops! In the past cars have taken out power poles and eagles (plural) have shorted the main transmission lines. A 9.2 earthquake took the grid out here in the past, as well as the roads and buildings. I've seen remote villages run out of diesel mid winter for their generators and power units catch fire and leave an entire city without power for months. I take the inherent weakness of the system very seriously.
 
hiwall said:
We have a genny and store some fuel for it plus what we could siphon from our two vehicles. Heating and cooking can be off-grid here. We also have a small (400 watt) solar system in our RV that we could use. The RV frig/freezer is a compact 120 volt unit that can run for a long time off the solar system (as long as the sun shines most of the time).
Just using the generator occasionally to run the well pump we could live fairly comfortable for months.
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I thought for a minute you were talking about a jenny donkey. Which would be a great thing to have and eats little feed compared to other animals.

We have a ' jenny ' too but it is gas powered. one too
 
Meerkat said:
That is a big tank and sounds like a good thing to have.
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We have been thru a couple hurricanes that have left us without power for weeks, sometimes over a month. For those we had the smaller generators that could be plugged in to run some of the house, like lights, a/c for the bedroom so we could sleep comfortably, refrigerators and freezers. Now that we ran water lines out to all the critter pens, well I don't think it would have been enough juice to run the well and hauling water by hand gets old real quick. Those cows drink a lot of water! I've done it in the past. . . Load up 50 gallon drums in the back of the truck, full up, then drive out to pastures and empty with a 3 gallon bucket. 5 gallon gets to heavy to fast for me.
But since we have had the Generac put in, we have yet to have to use it not that I am complaining at all. I really hope we dont :).
 
I have a portable generator that could provide for the entire house (don't tell the wife, see thinks only the basics). If it ran continuously for 24 hours it burns though about 5 gallons of gasoline. Worst case is winter, if I ran it 1 hour in every four hours 5 gallons would last 4 days. I try to keep 15 gallons on hand so that give me 12 days before the generator becomes worthless.

I try to keep 15 gallons of gas on hand. I keep the gas fresh by rotating it by using it in the lawn mower. Too many times I'm down to the last 5 gallons before I refill the other 2 gas cans. I know, bad on my part.

TEOTWAWKI how do I pump gasoline out of a gas station's underground tanks? Who is watching my back as I pump the gas and how do I haul the gas the 10 miles back to my BOL? Or do I resort to breaking into abandoned neighboor's garages looking for gas (good way to have a life ending moment).

Then I had a rare light bulb go off in my brain. LP! It doesn't go stale, lasts forever. 20 pound LP tanks are common in this part of the country under backyard barbecue grills. And there is a bulk LP station 5 miles from BOL. AND I heat our house with LP and it would not take much to tap into my bulk tank. So I converted my generator to LP and buying LP tanks at garage sales for $5 to $10 each. So I figure while too many folks are killing each other siphoning gasoline I'm hunting LP tanks!

Run the generator for the first few days until all the freezer and refrigerator food is used/persevered then shut off the generator. Wait until the hordes kill each other down to hopefully manageable numbers before firing the generator back up as needed.

Hmmm...wonder how hard it would be to convert a Kawasaki mule gasoline engine to LP...with the Mule and a trailer I could haul a lot more LP tanks and quicker...
 
Propane tanks leak. Propane when held as a liquid turns to a waxy substance in the tank, regulator and vaporizer. That waxy stuff has to be removed with a solvent or scraped out with a spatula. The leaks seem to be constant so a bigger tank will hold pressure longer. I have worked with propane for a lot of years. Testing tanks and installations for leaks. Even when they test perfect they lose pressure. I have cleaned and tested tanks, regulators, vaporizers and carburetors and spent a lot of time cleaning the wax out of them. A five gallon (20 pound) tank can leak at welds, fittings and valves and most often a small leak develops at the outage valve over time. I had three new tanks leak dry over a one year period. Check them often for leaks with soap and water watching for small bubbles that form at the leak. Keep some thread paste
(made for LPG) on hand and mark the tanks that leak and the location of the leak so that when it is empty you can reseal it. Leak and pressure testing is done with nitrogen. NEVER use compressed air to check an LPG tank. There is never supposed to be air in the tank because it can become a bomb with air in it. Tanks are cleaned using solvents like Acetone or Xylene and brushes. You don't want to scratch the inside of the tank. Make sure the threaded holes are clean before installing the fittings and the valve. If you have a liquid withdrawal tank it will have a tube attached to the outage valve that picks up the LPG from the bottom of the tank. Be sure to clean that tube and replace the seals in the valve. Check the relief valve for leakage and reseal or replace it as necessary. The seal on most fill valves can and should be replaced if needed. If you lease a tank none of this will be done. They sell LPG and a slight leak is good for business so check it yourself. Use a wide mouth jar with a cup of water and a tablespoon of liquid dish soap. Apply it with a 1-1/2 inch paint brush to all fittings and the supply hose. If you see bubbles call the company to have it repaired and tested.
 
Short term grid down is a couple of generators. Longer term is a couple of solar panels and a wind turbine. Sure, a couple hundred watts isn't much today, but 120 years ago it was the cat's Meow :) A few LED lights, power for a radio, charge some batteries. Improvise, adapt, overcome.
 
dademoss said:
Short term grid down is a couple of generators. Longer term is a couple of solar panels and a wind turbine. Sure, a couple hundred watts isn't much today, but 120 years ago it was the cat's Meow :) A few LED lights, power for a radio, charge some batteries. Improvise, adapt, overcome.
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Growing up we got use to drawing and hauling water when well pump went out and kerosene lamps when power went out.
I just used one to read by yesterday when our power was knocked out by storms. I have plenty of books to read too and board games hubby and I play.
 
We have two complete opposites that occur in our motorhome, the first one is how bad the generator is on propane and the second one is how efficient the refrigerator/freezer runs on propane. On our six week stay out on the desert in Northern Nevada it was cheaper to start the motorhome engine one time on a cloudy day to charge the solar batteries, the generator would have used all eight gallons of propane to do the job and left nothing for cooking and refrigeration.
 
dademoss said:
I've been told I have a "lamp fetish" :p Oil lamps and lanterns abound, and plenty to light the way when the grid burps :camping:
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I have a bunch and only have a couple on display. I have been asked why I don't get rid of them?

Got lamps, but how much lamp oil or alcohol? I keep adding to my collection, but it seems I will never have enough.
 
Where will you get your wood?
Even our two places don't have reserves of wood for more than a year. Having an underground shelter provides 55F all year. That is not warm but you can live at that temperature as long as you stay dry.
 
SheepDog said:
Where will you get your wood?
Even our two places don't have reserves of wood for more than a year. Having an underground shelter provides 55F all year. That is not warm but you can live at that temperature as long as you stay dry.
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A person has wood available until the chainsaw becomes a boat anchor?
 
It is time to clean up the two man saw and move it into the house, from the garage, so it can be a conversation piece till it gets put to work. I also have a couple single bit axes and a bow saw. The electric chainsaw makes a little noise chewing through wood but nothing like my old gas ones. The entire neighbourhood knew when you were cutting wood.
 
There's a guy out here who got tired of people asking him why he had a 2 man saw hanging on his porch so he had his niece paint a winter scene on it. She did a good job and has made herself a nice little side business. She earned her self a scholarship to an art school.
 
The Lazy L said:
A person has wood available until the chainsaw becomes a boat anchor?
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Well, if you plant hybrid trees that mature in 50 years, like the tree farms do, then you can use 2% of the available trees and not run out of wood.
One tree at that age will provide about 1 chord of wood. With a well built and insulated home you can heat it for a year on about two-three chords of wood if you are miserly. That is two to three trees a year. In fifty years you will go through 100-150 trees. If you plant five or six trees each year you will likely be ok but if a blight or weather kills some trees they are all likely to be affected. If you are at a higher altitude or in a dryer climate the trees will grow more slowly and be at risk of more disease and insects. If you are smart and don't use hybrid trees then you will be waiting 75 to 100 years before they are ready for harvest.
These are softwood trees, fir, pine, and hemlock and you will need more wood to get the same heat. Tamarack is a good choice as a hard conifer but it grows slower and is prone to certain bugs. They grow bigger around but not as tall as the fir, hemlock and pine. You need at least 40 square feet for each mature tree so on an acre of land you can grow up to 1000 trees not withstanding rocks or steep terrain. Only one out of two trees will survive to maturity. If you plant six trees each year and you get lucky and the bugs stay away and no blight hits then you will have an everlasting source of wood - until your neighbor or a wanderer decides they need it more than you.
In the real world, that which cannot be protected is not yours. If it isn't replaced it is gone.
 
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