Category: Home Power

Building a DIY Generator From Salvaged Parts, by David N. in Tennessee

I have long wanted my own generator, but a $500 and up price tag kept me from purchasing one new.  After some internet searching and sleepless nights I found a good tutorial online.  What I liked best about the tutorial is that Brian at epicenter has already worked out the kinks and sells the materials.  I have no connection with epicenter, and the only things I have bought from them were for this project, but what dealings I have had with them were fair and honest.              A co-worker gave me an older Craftsman brand lawnmower for this project. It …


Preparing for the Aftermath–Lessons from the 1930s, by J. E.

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It’s one or two years after an EMP attack and you are safely tucked away in your retreat somewhere in the middle of nowhere.  Your storage foods have mostly been used and your high tech electronics is useless.   The really bad stuff is mostly past.  Now it’s try to stay fed and alive and pray that civilization as you know it is coming back.  You’re going to have to work your environment to live.  Ever wonder what life might be like?  What would it really be like to have no running water, electricity, sewer, newspaper or Internet?  No supermarket or …


Letter Re: Low Power D.C. Lighting

Awhile back I put up several strings of same color strings of  LED Christmas tree lights from Inirgee. They have been just wonderful to deal with over the years. The blue strings work great in the outhouse at night because you don’t lose your night vision. Outside around the house, I tried the cool white but the warm white strings worked much better outside under the eaves. They make a very nice non-obtrusive lighting around the house at night and they are extremely conservative on power. They really make it nice on the driveway and walks. Then I found a …


Letter Re: Low Power D.C. Lighting

James Wesley; Vlad wrote at the end of his piece, “Wish I had a better closing line but it is getting late and I need to go dig up a potentiometer for this lamp.”  Unfortunately, that isn’t going to do a lot of good.  Because an LED is a diode (the D in LED) it is pretty much on or off.  Dimmable LEDs are usually dimmed via Pulse-width Modulation — essentially, turning the LED on and off very quickly.  This doesn’t harm the LED, but it needs a particular circuit to do it.  Reducing the voltage will dim it — …


Letter Re: A Firewood Sawing Reality Check

Hello Jim;   In reference to the recent letter on using a muscle-powered crosscut saw:   For about four years now, I’ve been doing much of my wood cutting with a DC to AC inverter (AIMS 5000) that I purchased for $299 back then – they are now listed at $399.  I hook it to a used deep cycle battery that was given to me by someone who works setting up remoted gas wells.  I throw the battery, inverter and either a Husqvarna electric chain saw (for deadfallen trees) or an old Skilsaw (for old pallets) in the van and go foraging for …


Letter Re: Lower Power DC Lighting

James Wesley: I am writing by the light of a post-apocalyptic reading lamp I just constructed. From a string of LED Christmas lights, I removed two sections of just three LEDs each. To each of these I attached in series a single 100 Ohm resistor from the parts bin at Radio Shack. A goose-neck work light provided a good reflector and glare control. I cut the plug off the other end and crimped on the connectors appropriate to my battery. The battery was salvaged from a defunct computer UPS. They are common to alarm systems and are not expensive new. …


A Doctor’s View of TEOTWAWKI, by Michael S., M.D.

Dear Mr. Rawles, I am a physician in Iowa and have read SurvivalBlog and many books related to survival including yours. In general there are many good thoughts and insights in the Blog. History predicts the future and some facts of history seem to have been overlooked by many survivalists. Many predict that in a long term situation, those left would be in an 1880s situation. In Iowa, most counties had a peak population in the 1880 census. Most counties in Iowa have lost population every census since then (1940 was generally flat) this means that the land could support …


Force Multipliers for Retreat Groups

In the past 60 years military organizations of First World countries have often dominated their foes in combat because they’ve taken advantage of Force Multipliers. These are technologies or tactics that dramatically increase (“multiply”) their combat effectiveness. These multipliers are typified by electronic communications, aerial bombardment, intelligence gathering, rapid troop transport, electronic warfare, force concentration, and the use of precision guided “smart” munitions. Similarly, I suspect that in a post-collapse world, Constitutional law and order will best be reestablished by those who stand ready to employ force multipliers of their own. These will likely include: Uninterrupted radio communications to provide …


Letter Re: Constructing an Aboveground “Root Cellar” in Florida

Jim: In regards to running a small “window” air conditioning unit off of a solar powered system, I can convey some of my experiences. I have a total of 3,160 watts of solar panel power on the roof; about 1,700 watts feeds my 24 volt DC “house” system (mostly lights, computer, entertainment system, ½ of the kitchen outlets, and the fridge) while the remaining panels are wired for a totally separate 48 volt DC water heater system. Two 2,500/5,000 (peak) watt inverters are used for each system, each “slaved” to the other of the same voltage to synchronize the alternating …


Constructing an Aboveground “Root Cellar” in Florida, By R.R.L.

First , to tell you a little about myself.  I was a prepper in anticipation of Y2K, had the property, cabin, most of the works and of course nothing happened. (my family thought I was nuts) We all went back to our living.  Unfortunately sold our property, because of an illness.   I never thought of continuing on for future problems.  I was awakened by talking with my brother earlier this year when he told me about SurvivalBlog.  So needless to say I am a prepper once again, but this time my whole family is.  I am preparing my parents home …


Letter Re: Advice on Backpacking Solar Panels

CPT Rawles: I realize that you aren’t an advocate of fully-mobile retreating. Yes, I can see the wisdom of having a well-stocked fixed retreat. But since I’m still in college (due to graduate in 2011), my situation is different. Until a get a job, I can’t afford a retreat, and I’m not in any sort of a group. So I’m approaching the whole preparedness thing coming from the viewpoint of “just what I can fit in my car”, with the back-up plan of “just what I can carry on my pack”, or perhaps pushing/pulling a small deer cart, like you’ve …


Letter Re: Priority and Redundancy in Retreat Electric Power

In an attempt both to think through the issue and to stimulate other to do likewise, I present my personal analysis of our family’s current and future electric power usage. First some background: We live in a 2,400 square foot two-story home the suburbs of a southeastern city. Currently there are 3 of us, with one child away at school. Our summer temps are as high as 95F and winters can drop to the 20s. Currently is is between 50 and 80, which is great – windows often left open.   We have grid power, for which we pay $150-300/month. …


Being Prepared – How Hurricane Andrew Saved My Life, by Richard in Miami, Florida

I am by nature a positive person. On the other hand, I fully recognize that we live in a very dangerous world. Ignoring the reality will not make you safe – that would only be an illusion of safety. I sincerely believe that far too many of us live in a fantasy world shaped by what we see on television, and reinforced by our very limited exposure to the world outside our immediate communities. Also, many of us are so caught up in the daily rat race that we don’t stop to think about much else. To me, being prepared …


A Rude Awakening, by Ruth E. in Hawaii

Power outages are quite common here in Hawaii. It seems like a couple of times a month, the lights flicker, get dim, and then go out. Sometimes they stay out for an hour or longer. We recently had a blackout on one whole side of our island, which truly woke me up to the possibilities of an endless blackout (worse-case scenario). Usually I come out of an anxiety session unscathed, but since I currently belong to an emergency preparedness group, I have been reading tons about the many scenarios that could happen to our island home including tsunamis, earthquakes, flooding, …


Letter Re: Getting Started in Self-Reliant Living

Editor’s Note: The following letter, suggested by a SurvivalBlog reader, is reprinted with permission of Backwoods Home magazine–which was one of my favorite print publications, even a decade before they became SurvivalBlog advertiser. Dear Jackie, I have to disagree with your Ask Jackie column answer to Joe Leonetti’s questions about getting started in self-sufficient living in Issue #124 (July/Aug 2010). They missed all the most important points that a “city” person would have to master first. Here are my own suggestions: Joe, forget thinking “self-sufficient” and start thinking “frugal;” if you have the consume-and-spend mindset so prevalent today you’ll need …