Category: Home Power

Letter Re: Well, Well–An Amazing Find

Dear Mr. Rawles: I have owned my retreat for some years and as unbelievable as it may sound, I found a water well that I didn’t know I had. When I bought the land in the 1990s, I knew that there had been an old house there at one time, but assumed that they had either used a cistern, or drew water from the stream that runs through the property. However, I found the well. It had an old Gould’s 1HP pump at the end of 120 ft. of 2″ galvanized pipe. The well had been capped for years, or …


Letter Re: Photovoltaic Pathway Lights for Emergency Lighting

Dear Jim: First, thank you for your informative site. I know you`ve helped me, and many others fill in the gaps in knowledge for preparation for times to come. I live just three miles from the San Andreas Fault , so even if the Schumer doesn`t hit the fan, “the big one” could come at any time. Thus I`ve been prepping for many years, but it was a wind storm that helped me think of this trick. The local utility power recently went down and the girls broke out some candles,while I grabbed a couple of battery powered lanterns. Candles …


Letter Re: Covert Home Power for When The Grids Go Down

Hello, I just wanted to pass along a link to a company that sells new made in USA alternators for common vehicles, 190 up to 270 amps, and brackets and belts to run duals. the base model 190 amp puts out a 130 amps at idle ( factory puts out maybe 60 amps, on a full size truck) these things look built to last, and would run an inverter a lot better than stock, never mind worrying about burning out your electrical system. I will be getting one of these soon! As usual just an interested consumer, not affiliated with …


Three Letters Re: Covert Home Power for When The Grids Go Down

Sir: I am not an electrician, and I set as system like this up at my house three years ago. It kept our food cold, and the house tolerably warm for three days when the power was out. But I endorse a couple of important differences. First, letting your car run at idle will run down your battery. The alternator doesn’t reach full output at low RPMs, so you need to kick up the throttle a little bit. How much will depend on your car. I watch the volt-meter built into the inverter, and set the engine at about 1,500 …


Five Letters Re: Covert Home Power for When The Grid Goes Down

JWR – The article written by Tom H. contains some dangerous advice and overlooks some important issues. He wrote: “Next, cut the receptacle end (female) off the 120 VAC extension cord and install the replacement 120 VAC plug (male) to the cord. Make sure it’s wired correctly. (Black to black, white to white and green to green). You will now have a cord with a [male] plug on both ends.” Such a modified power cord [commonly called a “disaster cord” or more aptly a “suicide cord’] is extremely dangerous, and should never be made. If one end is plugged into …


Covert Home Power for When The Grids Go Down, by Tom H.

There is much written about the Power Grids going down (for whatever reason) and how to prepare for that event. Recommendations have been made for the installation of a generator, solar panels, battery banks, inverters, automatic system switches, on and on and on. These systems range from a simple inexpensive plug in inverter for your car 12 VDC socket (which may power a lap top or a cell phone battery charger) to an extremely complicated self-sufficient system that will operate your whole house. The simple fact is that most people will not install such systems for a variety of reasons …


Two Letters Re: Generator Experiences During a Recent Nor’easter

Jim: The letter about Generators today inspired me to write this email. I have owned generators for around 20 years for emergency backup and portable power uses. I use my generator primarily for powering sound equipment in the field. As a result I looked for a quiet generator. The very quiet generators all run at 1,800 RPM, but it is expensive to make a generator that runs slow and quiet, and the affordable portable generators all seem to run at 3,600 RPM. When I purchased my current generator 10 years ago, Coleman had just started using the Briggs and Stratton …


Letter Re: Generator Experiences During a Recent Nor’easter

Greetings Mr. Rawles, I just wanted to pass along a quick reminder to your readers who took the time and expense to buy a backup generator, but haven’t taken the time to periodically test and maintain it. Here in southeastern Virginia, we are still recovering from what was called the “Atlantic Assault” by the hyperventilating reporters on the Weather Channel. To be fair, though, this was indeed a whopper of a Nor’easter that gave us flooding only a foot or so less than Hurricane Isabel in 2003. We lost power the evening of November 12, but luckily got it back …


From David in Israel: Off Grid Alternatives to Utility-Supplied Electricity

James One of the most troubling things I see when speaking to people about going off grid is how badly they want to keep all of their electrical appliances and just spend many thousands of dollars on a battery bank more appropriate for a U-boat and solar cells or generators to keep them topped off. Having had a minor role in a micro-satellite system design proposal one thing you learn when confronted by limited power supply is to either economize or do without. The appliances you own for on grid use are not efficient. They are built to be inexpensive …


Solar Electric Vehicles for TEOTWAWKI, by Pete Montgomery

Having been a “prepper” for more than 25 years, growing up in Florida where you had to be prepared for the inevitable annual hurricane, I have experienced many powerful storms, with the associated loss of power and the joy of waiting in line for gasoline. These experiences have cultivated a growing interest in solar power and how it relates to providing power in an emergency situation. Until recently photovoltaic (PV) power solutions were out of reach and electric transportation was just a pipe dream. I always wished that I could have a motor vehicle that didn’t depend on the “grid” …


Two Letters Re: How to Capitalize on Urine, Car Batteries, Wood Ashes, Bones and Bird Schumer

Jim: Car batteries are designed for one thing and one thing only – delivering a bunch of power for a very short period of time. Said time is measured in seconds, not minutes, hours, or days. I have been living “Off the Grid” for fifteen years, and can assure your readers that vehicle batteries can only handle 3-5 complete discharges before they are useless, i.e., after but a few discharges they cannot be recharged and expected to hold said charge. Ergo, they are the wrong choice for any task where discharge exceeds the constant charging input into the battery. They …


How to Capitalize on Urine, Car Batteries, Wood Ashes, Bones and Bird Schumer, by Jeff M.

Throughout the last few centuries, mankind has been building and building up, combining raw materials and energy to create… stuff. This stuff is scattered all over urban population centers, and many of it can be used for basic life-sustaining purposes. I thought I’d write in and share some information I’ve gathered over the years in my work and in my hobbies, as it relates to sustaining life if you’re trapped in an urban area. I’m enumerating the primitive uses of some very basic components for those interested, this wasn’t meant as a guide for building any of this stuff, further …


Letter Re: Thoughts on Preparedness in a Diverse Community

I just met this past weekend with a group of ” preparedness folk.” They are on a farm about 30 miles from here. I have become interested in the subject after reading One Second After (a New York Times best seller, highly recommended!) and some writings by James Wesley, Rawles. I was surprised at who they were and the mindset I encountered. A few observations: 1) The root idea is that whether or not some disaster hits, we are far too dependent on a very fragile and tenuous energy and distribution grid. Raising your own chickens, goats, vegetables, rabbits, turkeys, …


Letter Re: A Safe Method for Connecting Home Backup Generators

JWR, I’ve mentioned before a gizmo called a Generlink which allows a lot of flexibility when using a generator for backup power. This device is installed behind your power meter and, depending on the capacity of your generator, allows you to power any circuit in your home via the selective use of the circuit breakers. It’s especially useful in that nothing has to be re-wired in the house to safely use your generator. It does require some planning for installation in that your power company will have to agree to it’s use and will probably want to install it, mine …


Letter Re: Survival Notes from the Dominican Republic

Jim, I’ve recently read several of your books and found them both interesting and educational. I would like to offer some personal insights based on my experiences from living in a small rural town one of the larger Caribbean islands. Most of my notes are cheap solutions used by people in developing nations all over the world. There may be better ways, but these work and cost next to nothing. Water: There is something especially disturbing about opening the faucet and hearing a sucking air sound. Not being able to shower, flush, or wash dishes is the worst. One or …