Category: Home Power

Two Letters Re: Observations on a Tour of a Telephone Company Central Office

James: The batteries are why the phone still works when the power goes out. That is if you still have an old style (hard wire) phone and not all cordless phones. The cordless phones need 120 VAC power to run the base station. You should maintain at least one all wire somewhere in your house. I believe the [common design for COs is that the] whole building is built in such a way that it is a big Faraday Cage. It would take a pretty close proximity EMP to take one out. The EMP danger is in the above ground …


Letter Re: Observations on a Tour of a Telephone Company Central Office

Hi Jim, I just came back from a tour of one of our local phone company’s central office (CO) and this is what I learned: Besides finding out how our phone lines work, I found out that the hardware there runs on 48 volt DC power. There is a large battery bank in the basement and the batteries are charged by the grid. It is made up of large clear cylinders and you can see the acid level and the plates inside. In the case of the grid going down it has a generator back up. Many of these offices …


Letter Re: Biodiesel, Retreat Vehicle Fuel Flexibility, and Power Generation

Hello Jim, I am a prepper who is trying to do so on a very tight budget (wife, four kids, and two jobs just to make ends meet-you get the idea). Here are some random ideas that others might find useful. 1) Try drying your own fruits and vegetables for food storage. Whether homegrown or bought. This can be done inexpensively and dried food takes up very little storage space. 2) Consider making your own biodiesel. I am in the early stages of doing this myself. It’s not that hard. Just pay attention to detail and do it right. Besides …


Letter Re: Alternative News Sources When The Grid Goes Down

James In the early 1990s–before Internet was ubiquitous–I remember a well-connected VHF packet remailer network that was nearly on par with the old Fidonet dial up network. Unfortunately while many hams played with packet 15 years ago, the complex mailbox routing networks are now mostly replaced by the Internet. I don’t expect any data network resembling the Internet to evolve if the grid goes down. This is not to say that local networks using sound card data modems on CB or FRS radio or with Wi-Fi gear might not spring up, but it would be a low priority in both …


Letter Re: Surplus Ambulances as BOVs

Dear Mr. Rawles, Perhaps an overlooked, but wonderful option for a BOV is an ambulance. You can often find used ambulances on eBay or at [fleet dispersal] auctions. They often have fairly low miles, have been well maintained and are most often diesel. They come with lots of storage compartments and equipment built in, as well most have propane fuel systems, generators, inverters etc. There is usually at least one “bed” in them as well. The outside storage compartments are often ready to go for the prepper as they are often diamond plate on the interior and have webbing for …


Letter Re: Observations on Chest Freezer Efficiency

Hi Jim, I was reading Monday’s letter regarding “Sizing a Retreat AC Power Generator”, and a thought came to mind when the author mentioned super-insulating a freezer for extended cooling durations. There are basically 2 types of freezer; the upright and the box, (what we call around here, the “coffin” freezer). Given the same basic amount of insulation included with each type, to the point where both manage the loss of cooling at the same rate, the “coffin” appears to be more efficient during access. Cold air sinks. When the door of an upright freezer is opened, the cold air …


Letter Re: Sizing a Retreat AC Power Generator

Hello Jim and SurvivalBlog Readers: I have enjoyed reading the vast knowledge shared on this topic and the awakening you have brought to us about our fragile economy! How can one put a price on a wake up call?,… well, it’s easy, renew your 10 Cent Challenge! Admit it, your year is probably up, but the education is still coming to you! I have not seen any talk on your site about a “miniature” diesel genset. My thought is that while the large Lister type genset’s are proven to last, … their will be a time when running something with …


A Flooded Basement – Friends You Can Count On, and Lessons Learned

Mr. Rawles, Once again, thank you for your research and SurvivalBlog posts. I have been a [10 Cent Challenge] contributor for a couple of years and have gotten more than my money’s worth. Thank you. Last night my group and I met at my home. Here in New Hampshire we received a record amount of snow fall this year. (Over 108 inches!) That is the fourth largest every recorded. Yesterday it was warmer then normal there for a lot of snow melt. Last night it rained. As the group was getting ready to head to the range for night shooting …


Letter Re: Sizing a Retreat AC Power Generator

Jim – Great blog! I wanted to point out an important calculation everyone missed – internal combustion engines produce less power at higher elevation. Generators are (of course) rated at sea level. It’s important to de-rate generator capacity by 3.5% per 1,000 feet of elevation or your generator will be undersized. (A 5,000 “label watt” generator is [effectively] only a 4,000 watt generator where I live at 6,000 feet.) Density altitude on a warm summer day can easily be 2,000 feet higher than that. My rule of thumb: after sizing for load, size generously for elevation or you’ll be buying …


Four Letters Re: Sizing a Retreat AC Power Generator

Mr. Rawles: I saw that you recently posted my question to the blog, so I thought I’d update you. I ran the tests again and got what I believe to be a more accurate assessments. My second test showed the refrigerator consuming right at 2.7 KWH (2,700 watts) over a 24 hour period for an average of 112.5 watts-per-hour. Now mind you, that includes all the hours we were asleep and so no one was opening the door, using up ice, etc.. During hours of heavy usage it was using about 150 watts-per-hour. Test #2 for the chest freezer yielded …


Letter Re: The “Invention Nation” Documentary Television Series

Jim, I don’t know if this has been posted here or not. I have finished watching a series on the Science Channel called “Invention Nation“. The show primarily feature inventors who are inventing ways to “go green”. Many of these inventions and ideas fit in perfectly with being self-sufficient. Some of the topics are; used cooking oil for diesel engines, solar power technology, passive solar for heating homes and water, bicycle generators, etc… The series will rerun starting in March and may be worth a look for the preparedness minded. See the Invention Nation web site. Thanks to you and …


Letter Re: Sizing a Retreat AC Power Generator

Mr. Rawles: In attempting to size an emergency generator for my home, I have run across some interesting questions that I hope you and/or your other readers will be able to help me with. I lived through the blizzards of the 1990s here in the southern West Virginia coal camps, and I will never forget us and all of our neighbors being without power and unable to get out of our own driveways for 23+ days in 1993. It marked the very beginnings of my awakening to the necessity of being properly prepared. With that in mind, I am attempting …


The “Come as You Are” Collapse–Have the Right Tools and Skills

In the Second World War, the United States had nearly two full years to ramp up military training and production before decisively confronting the Axis powers. In the late 1970s, looking at the recent experience of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, the Pentagon’s strategic planners came to the realization that the next major war that the US military would wage would not be like the Second World War. There would not be the luxury of time to train and equip. They realized that we would have to fight with only what we had available on Day One. They dubbed this the …


Letter Re: AA Cells and Mobile Power

There was a discussion about batteries a few days back on SurvivalBlog. The writer advocated using AA NiMH cells almost exclusively, with adapters for devices requiring C and D cells. While I do agree that this is a good approach for some devices, there is certainly some merit to having full size 10 Amp Hour (10,000 MAH) batteries in high [current] draw or long term use devices. Not only is capacity significantly higher on larger cells, but the maximum safe current draw is higher too. Good NiMH C cells have 2-to-3 times the capacity of AA cells, and NiMH D …


Letter Re: Keeping a Low Profile is Crucial for Preparedness

Jim, My missus and I have been into “prepping” for about 15 years. Our house has a basement and it is practically wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling with shelves–with just narrow aisles in between. The shelves are chockablock with storage food (all labeled and organized “FIFO“-style), medical supplies, assorted “field” type gear, tools, barter/charity stuff, ammo cans, propane cylinders (that fit our camp stove and camping lantern), reels of field phone wire, paper products, and so forth. Following the example of Mr. Whiskey (from your “Profiles“) we have recently built up 27 sets of designated “charity duffles”, each packed in a cheap …