Category: Home Power

Letter Re: Low-Budget Photovotaically Charged Drill Batteries

Dear Mr Rawles, This letter is in response to the piece on using photovoltaics to charge batteries by C.K.. I feel I should spend some time discussing some potential problems with charging Lithium Ion (“Li-ion”) batteries the way C.K. proposes. However first a few general notes. – I am all for scavenging if you know what you are doing like some of us. But ‘newbies’ are better off not trying to disassemble anything more complicated than a desktop power supply for safety reasons as JWR pointed out. I should add that the process that causes the ‘bounce’ after discharge also …


Low-Budget Photovotaically Charged Drill Batteries, by C.K.

I’d like to discuss some practical aspects of power tools. Some posts in the past have been mentioned about them but I am going to discuss making solar power tools. And not just buying the pieces and making them (which you could do if you wanted) but actually making them from salvaged “junk”.   I’ll be the first to admit that while I love and own all types of traditional (non-electric) hand tools, using them does take considerably longer and more effort than the powered ones. (Not surprisingly).   My background is that of a professional tinkerer, and a trained …


Letter Re: Lessons Learned from the Black Forest, Colorado Fire

Dear JWR; There is nothing like a real emergency to get you checked out in a quick way for your evacuation plan. During the Black Forest Fire, which began on June 11, 2013, at least 511 homeowners completely lost their homes, many more were damaged and are uninhabitable, two people and countless animals perished in the fire. Our family and business were in the direct path of the fire, but a major wind shift the first night, along with hard-working first responders saved us. Sitting at the office ready for our afternoon of work, a friend walked in and sid, …


Home Power Systems: Batteries, by L.K.O.

[Editor’s Note: This article is part of a series of feature articles by our Central Rockies Regional Editor about alternative / sustainable / renewable energy (RE) solutions for self-sufficiency. Previous related articles in SurvivalBlog that complement this one are “Home Inverter Comparison: Off Grid and Grid Tied,” Home Power Systems: Micro Hydro and Energy Efficiency and Conservation. Upcoming article topics in this Home Power Systems series will include: Photovoltaics, Wind generators, Solar Water Distillers, Solar Ovens, and Solar Water Heating.] First Things, First: Home Power Prerequisites One important foundation of a cost-effective, sustainable home energy system is energy efficiency and conservation; …


Letter Re: Survival Tips from the May 20, 2013 Oklahoma Tornado

Hello JWR,  I have a possible solution to TornadoDoc’s generator noise problem! Go to the auto parts store and buy a generic car muffler. The cheapest one you can find. Then purchase a length of flexible muffler pipe and clamps, as well as two couplers. One is for the muffler to pipe, the other for muffler to generator. Depending on how mechanically adept you are, you may be able to do this yourself. Remove the muffler/spark arrestor from your genset. Weld the coupler over the hole, then put it back on. When you use the auto muffler it will make …


Letter Re: Harnessed Animal Power

Dear JWR: There is an estimated 250,000 animal-powered farmers in the U.S. doing all or part of their farming with animals. I’d recommend http://smallfarmersjournal.com/ for some good reading and information and a visit to Horse Progress Days to view the latest in modern equipment. Almost anything can be done with animals that can be done with tractors, even combining with a motorized forecart. Horse Progress Days has some interesting support equipment, including well made coal stoves and manual transplanters. If it’s in reach of you, I suggest attending for an eye-opening experience. The food is good, too. – James L.


Michael Z. Williamson’s Commentary: Peak Oil Meets Yuppie Marketing

Over at the One Scythe Revolution web site, Peak Oil expert Richard Heinberg states that in order to continue to grow the same amount of food in the future, without the use of cheap oil, we will need 40-to-50 million farmers, farming 3-to-50 acres each, cultivated with hand tools. No, not like in the Middle Ages. We are talking about “appropriate technology” here. But let’s face it, “appropriate technology” is wielded by slaves. Masters wield guns. Slaves wield scythes. Here is quote: “One good scythe per farm, could revolutionize small-scale farming.” I kinda feel like this has already been done. …


Surviving the Aftermath, Hurricane Katrina Style, by Frank G.

On the morning of August 29th, 2005 we came face to face with TEOTWAWKI in the form of Hurricane Katrina.  An estimated 92% of our community in Pascagoula, Mississippi was inundated with a storm surge of 20-30 feet and 30-55 feet sea waves.  The surge waters traveled well inland, between 6-12 miles and combined with freshwater flooding from our numerous creeks, rivers, and the runoff from the Mobile, Alabama reservoir that opened its flood gates to relieve stress on the dam.  This basically cut Jackson County in half.  Fortunately the worst of the storm hit in the morning just as …


Letter Re: Selecting a Prepper’s Firearms

JWR, In response to the letter about swapping out devices that use button batteries, I would point out that some EOTech holographic sights use standard AA batteries, that are easily recharged. The EOTech 512 is an example. These sights are robust, easy to use and stay calibrated through heavy use.  Combined with the Sanyo Eneloop AA batteries the EOTech sight would be useful for many years to anyone with a solar battery charger. The Eneloop batteries can be recharged over 1,500 times and unlike other rechargeables, they maintain 75% of their charge after three years of storage. While the EOTech …


Letter Re: Post-TEOTWAWKI Welding

Dear Jim, I have been a welder, machinist, engineer, and someone interested in self-reliance for many years. I read the recent discussion on SurvivalBlog of post-SHTF welding with interest. I do not disagree that thermite could be made from scrap yard materials (done it, with aluminum filings and black sand (magnetite) from the river), but it would require a custom-made refractory mold for each joint.  IMHO two other forms of welding would be much more practical. Forge welding was the only available process up into the 1800s, and requires only anvil, hammer, fire of coke or charcoal and forced air.  …


Lessons Learned From Hurricane Sandy, by The Angry Prepper

Hurricane Sandy tore through the northern eastern seaboard.  The hurricane combined with two other weather systems to create a Super storm (Some say).  The Hurricane or Super Storm created a destructive path that hasn’t been seen this far up north, ever.  Homes were damaged, properties were destroyed, and lives were lost.  This Hurricane had a lot to teach us.  A lot of us (Preppers) were prepared for this storm and tested our emergency plan for the first time, in real time.  We got to learn a lot about our emergency plan and some of us will patch the holes in …


Home Power Systems: Energy Efficiency and Conservation, by L.K.O.

(Note: This article is part of a series of feature articles about alternative / sustainable / renewable energy solutions for self-sufficiency. Previous related articles in SurvivalBlog that complement this one are “Home Inverter Comparison: Off Grid and Grid Tied” and Home Power Systems: Micro Hydro. Upcoming article topics in this Home Power Systems series will include: Photovoltaics, Batteries, Wind generators, Solar Water Distillers, Solar Ovens, and Solar Water Heating.) Overview of Energy Efficiency and Conservation : The First Step in a viable Home Power System The most recent article in this series, Home Power Systems: Micro Hydro, in a way …


Islands in the Darkness: Some Local Power Utilities Have Prepared to Go It Alone

Many readers will recall that my 2011 novel “Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse” was partly set in and near Farmington, New Mexico. I chose that region because it has a particularly resilient power grid. In the novel I described how Farmington Electric Utility System (FEUS) has made contingency plans to immediately reconstitute a local power grid, in the event of a western power grid collapse. This was not just literary license on my part. It was based on a face-to-face interview with a FEUS manager that I conducted in 2009, as I was researching locales for the novel. …


Home Power Systems: Micro Hydro, by L.K.O.

Note: This article is part of a series of feature articles about alternative / sustainable / renewable energy solutions for self-sufficiency. A prior related article in SurvivalBlog that complements this one is Home Inverter Comparison: Off Grid and Grid Tied. Upcoming articles in this Home Power Systems series include: Photovoltaics, Batteries, Wind generators, Solar Water Distillers, Solar Ovens, Solar Water Heating and Energy Efficiency/Conservation.) Overview of Micro Hydro: One Component of a Home Power System One primary source of locally generated electricity – in the right location – is hydroelectric power generated by a small system of integrated components harnessing …


Two Letters Re: Hurricane Sandy After Action Reports

Sir: I am an 18 year old guy in a family of 8 in a suburban home 10 miles from the nearest city in central New Jersey.   We knew it was coming a week in advance. So did just about everyone in the tri-state area. There was no hiding the fact. Even with a looming election, Hurricane Sandy got “saturation media coverage”. Terms like “superstorm” , “catastrophic”, and “unprecedented” were being used in almost every Hurricane Sandy story. This storm was supposed to bring catastrophic damage to New Jersey and New York, with moderate rain, high winds, and an …