Category: Home Power

Letter Re: Solar Power, Wind Power, 4WD Electric Vehicle, Wood Fired Brick Ovens

James, I am new to SurvivalBlog but I thought that I would share my experience and thoughts with everyone. I have a totally off the grid ranch that is powered by wind and solar. We have more electricity than we can use with a 40 kilowatt (KW) battery bank, 2 KW of photovoltaics and 1.4 KW of wind power. First I highly recommend a hybrid system, solar and wind. Usually when the sun isn’t shinning, the wind is blowing, especially when a storm is blowing in. My batteries are usually full by 1100 hours in the summer and 1200 hours …


Two Letters Re: Constructing a High Efficiency (Low Current Draw) Refrigerator

James: Greetings from the rural Northeast, destination of choice for fleeing urban hordes! I enjoyed the article from Australia a while back on converting a small chest freezer into a low-power refrigerator. I had planned to undertake a project like that this summer. I admired the elegance of the circuit design and the use of a latching relay to lower the power consumption as low as possible. When I read the letter about using a brewer’s thermostat instead, though, I had the same epiphany you did. Your BFO award is certainly appropriate, and I commend Kurt for bringing the idea …


SurvivalBlog Reader Poll: What is Your Profession?

I’m amazed at the wide variety of people that read SurvivalBlog. I”m starting a new poll: in seven words or less, tell us you profession, (via e-mail) and I will post an anonymous list. For any of you that are doctors, lawyers, or engineers, and so forth please state your specialty. If you have two (or more) vocations, please state the both with a slash in between. (Such as “neurosurgeon / musician.”) As standard policy, unless specifically given permission I remove people’s names, titles, e-mail addresses, company names, and other identifiers from letters before I post them. Without mentioning any …


Letter Re: Hurricane Preparedness, by MFA

Jim, Well written article especially for a “newbie” to hurricanes in Florida. However, I must take exception to the one item that MFA ignored: a standby generator! Life after a storm in Florida without a generator can best be described in two words: “absolute misery.” Without going into details, a generator will mean the difference between an Absolutely Miserable Time and a manageable Difficult Time. Personally we have a Honda 6500 [6.5 KW] electric start generator to use during the storm to provide power for lights, television Weather News and to keep the refrigerators and freezers running. After the storm, …


Letter Re: Batteries for Long Term Storage

Jim:: A note about future trade items. Large conventional lead-acid batteries. They are necessary for starting most vehicles, tractors, etc. They are necessary for off-grid solar electric systems, et cetera. The problem as I see it is – long term storage. Most batteries come filled – and degrade over time regardless if you use them or not. Some companies are willing to sell batteries dry – for long-term storage – but even that comes with a problem. Most batteries offered for sale as “dry” have actually been filled once, charged, and then drained – thus the common term of “dry …


Letter Re: Constructing a High Efficiency (Low Current Draw) Refrigerator

Hi Jim There was an article on your blog a few weeks ago about converting a chest freezer into a low wattage refrigerator. I decided to make one of these as it is a great idea. I purchased a 7 cu ft freezer at Home Depot for $200 and then bought this device (the Johnson model) and that was all that I needed. I first used it as a freezer and put a Kill A Watt [current monitor] on it. It averaged 1.13 KW per 24 hours. I then used the thermostat and used it as a refrigerator and tested …


Letter Re: Photovoltaic Versus Diesel Power Generation for Retreats

Hi Jim, I was a reader of Patriots before the [Y2K] rollover. Thank you!. Here in the Northern New England, I made the same calculations, and decided to stockpile off road diesel and kerosene. The other major component is used vegetable oil, usually available free from restaurants, who otherwise pay to have it hauled by a recycling outfit. My 20 h.p. Listeroid diesel runs fine on waste vegetable oil (WVO). So does the 13hp Hatz backup generator, along with an ’85 Diesel Suburban and ’82 Diesel Rabbit. Filter the big stuff out using more coarse filters like a pillowcase. Filter …


Letter Re: Photovoltaic Versus Diesel Power Generation for Homes and Retreats

Jim, I am taking the 10 Cent Challenge and have made a contribution. I have been reading SurvivalBlog for about a month and intend to keep making my contribution for the next foreseeable future..This is an awesome site. I have been wanting a solar array to add to my survival plan, According to the calculations I need to have the capacity to produce about 1KW adjusted to .75 KW. In order to adequately provide for my housing needs, minimal water pumping, lighting, small appliances, computer, phones, network, some TV, battery charging , fans for sleeping. We are in Mississippi along …


Letter Re: Running a Laptop from a Jump Pack in a Short Term Emergency

JWR: Through a minor power disruption event, I made some discoveries that I thought I would share. A laptop computer can be run by an inverter of proper size. A laptop can be powered by a jump pack with a 12 VDC power port. The jump box can be recharged by a hand crank 12 VDC generator. We were able to continue e-mail and business communications, since the wireless towers are generator backup powered. This is good to know in local or short term disasters. – JG JWR Replies: Thanks for mentioning that topic. In my experience, running a laptop …


Letter Re: Advice on Diesel Vehicles–Motorcycles and ATVs?

Dear Mr. Rawles: I already had a diesel Ford tractor, so I took your advice and got a diesel pickup, and I’m shopping for a used [diesel] Mercedes. Those things run forever. And as my budget allows, I’ll also plan to buy a diesel generator to replace my gasoline backup generator. So now I have logistics problem: I have two types of fuel to store, since my motorcycle, Polaris ATV, and my Husqvarna chainsaw all use gasoline. Diesel stores way longer than gas. But I guess that there is no way to avoid having some gas vehicles and tools. JWR …


Letter Re: Potential Range of Nuclear Weapon EMP?

Mr. Rawles: I’m confused. Some things that I’ve read say that the maximum range of [nuclear weapon electromagnetic pulse] EMP is about 60 miles, but others say 200 or 250 miles. Which of them is right? Wouldn’t a terrorist bomb at ground level have shorter range EMP than a nuke touched off at high altitude or low orbit? (With a wider horizon.) Thanks, – Lance in Nebraska JWR Replies: You aren’t the first SurvivalBlog reader to ask about the greatest potential effective range of an EMP-optimized nuclear detonation. I first discussed this in SurvivalBlog back in October of 2005. The …


Letter Re: Advice on Where to Learn Practical, Tactical Skills

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Dear Jim: As my confidence in the dollar depreciates and my desire for skills increases, I’m wanting to convert FRNs into hands-on knowledge. What weeknight or weekend workshops would you recommend? Are there any places where you can learn Army Ranger skills without joining the military? Animal husbandry, and so on? – Spencer JWR Replies: There is a tremendous wealth of free or low-cost classes available–enough to keep you busy every weekend of the year if you are willing to drive a distance. If you have time and just a bit of money, you can get some very well-rounded training …


Letter Re: Three Liabilities Addressed: Refrigeration, Sanitation, and Fuel

Jim, This is in response to “Three Liabilities Addressed: Refrigeration, Sanitation, and Fuel” article [by James D.]: Refrigeration is only a big problem for survival when one makes poor choices and is dependent on obtaining fuel for a generator to power a typically inefficient refrigerator. Refrigeration is relatively easy if one has planned ahead and made the right investments in both refrigeration and power generation before a crisis when one can still get the required system components. Most refrigerators and freezers are inefficient, often using 500 to 1,000+ watts per hour. Choosing the right refrigerator, adding insulation to its exterior, …


Letter Re: Lessons From an Unexpected Grid Down Weekend

Hi Jim, We just had a bout with Mother Nature and lost power which appeared at first to be for some time. I am happy to report that my “list” generated from this un-expected “grid-down” weekend was very very very short. I attribute this success and wonderful feeling to what I have gleaned from your publications, SurvivalBlog, and a few very good friends! We were without power for about 40 hours and really only had two “needs”. I was actually “disappointed” when the power came back on. J Oh, and we did not use the power generation until hour 38 …


Poll Results: Best Occupations for Both Before and After TEOTWAWKI

In no particular order, the following are the first batch of responses to my poll question on the best occupations or home businesses for both before and after TEOTWAWKI: Locksmith/Home security systems installer/repairman — Beekeeping Small scale vegetable gardening. Growing herbs (medicinal) — 1) Electricity: a. Recharge batteries for folks, rebuild the bad batteries, and lots of folks don’t know squat about electricity for lighting, etc. Got several methods: Solar, miscellaneous generators powered by hand, animal, wind and even the old one lung gas engine with that darn heavy flywheel. b. Also use the above for communications when there aren’t …