Category: Home Power

Lessons Learned From a Winter Storm – Part 2, by Michael X.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Generators: TWO is NONE In all this time my second biggest concern, after the generator, was our outside hot tub. When the power is out it becomes a liability. 250 fifty gallons of hot (warm but cooling) water, waiting to freeze and wreck the tub…. The hot tub water temp was down to 74 degrees after one night. My choices were to get the generator going, or drain the tub. Part of the equation for this decision was the availability of the hot tub’s water for toilet flushing. I had only hours …


Lessons Learned From a Winter Storm – Part 1, by Michael X.

I have often bugged my wife to let us try a “long weekend without power”. I wanted to test my preps, byt so far she has not taken me up on my offer. However, recently Fate stepped in and gave me what I wanted. I am writing this to document my experience and my analysis of what I need to do to further my readiness. I have been interested in Prepping for many years. My early introduction to prepping was on this website, and by reading the Patriots novel series by James Wesley, Rawles. Many, many books followed that rounded …


Long-Term Storage of Gasoline Fuels – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Fuel Restoration Techniques These suggestions are appropriate as means of ‘last resort’ in an attempt improve a degraded fuel. Another advantage of storing Avgas is that we can blend it with other gasolines to bring up the octane level and to dilute the degraded automotive gas. Dilution is the solution. The combination of non-ethanol unleaded premium and Avgas 101LL can restore the depleted octane level of the automotive gasoline (Mogas) that has lost its octane rating over a one-year or much longer period of time. This blend can bring it back closer …


My Ten-Day Test-My-Preps Adventure – Part 4, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 3. This concludes the article) SOLAR PANELS In this section I’ll cover something I haven’t seen discussed in any of the books and articles I’ve read on solar panels so don’t skip over this next part. I hope by the end of this that some will be convinced they’re a very good idea for now as well as a post-SHTF lifestyle. They’re relatively inexpensive and easy to install with a DIY approach. With solar panels our life can proceed as usual in so many different areas which will make our transition to TEOTWAWKI simpler. Not only will …


My Ten-Day Test-My-Preps Adventure – Part 2, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 1.) I started a to-do list for when the test is over. It started with: Can 12 quarts or more of water. Figure out how much water the plumbing pressure tank holds from 50 psi down to 0 psi Many others, mentioned below. I went to bed that night at 21:30. In the fifteen seconds it took for me to fall asleep, a quick thought passed through my head: How nice it was to have complete darkness, able to see all the stars out of my loft window with no little lights from the television and DVD …


My Ten-Day Test-My-Preps Adventure – Part 1, by St. Funogas

With today’s world events, I’ve moved from “remote possibility” to “high probability” that we’ll soon see some major changes in our country and world that most folks can’t even imagine today. I’m not alone in thinking at some point there is a good possibility today’s events could lead into a major war for the U.S. We’ll be fighting some real armies, not a bunch of boys with old rifles riding ponies, as we did in Afghanistan. How hard would it be for enemy with Special Forces-type teams to take out our national power grid without even dropping any bombs? We …


For the Want of a Horseshoe Nail, by 3AD Scout

There is a very old poem, with many variations about for the want of a nail. Basically, the poem goes like this: “For the want of a nail the shoe was lost For the want of a shoe the horse was lost For the want of the horse the rider was lost For the want of the rider the battle was lost For the want of the battle the kingdom was lost And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.” On occasion, I get to teach disaster logistics and I use this poem to get students to understand the …


A Vehicle to Help Adjust Your Thinking, by R.V.

We bought a travel trailer. Our first trip took us from Georgia to North Dakota and back. The unit is built to handle changing sources of energy and limited sources of energy. It is designed to leave no trace other than tire prints. My primary motivation was to be able to join our family together on outings and make camping easier on my wife. I encourage camping and hiking. God will find you and/or you will find God in the wilderness. Our trailer was built by Grand Design. It is a 30-foot model, without slide-out extensions. (I am disclosing the …


Using Grid-Tied PV Panels as a Starter System – Part 2, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) My Grid-tied System My grid-tied system consists of only two components: the solar panels and an inverter which converts the solar panel DC electricity to the AC electricity which homes use. The system hooks up similarly to an electric water heater. The three wires from the solar panels are connected to the inverter in clearly marked places, then four wires go from the inverter to the electrical panel, attaching to a double breaker the same way a water heater does. It’s that simple and can be hooked up without calling a consultant …


Using Grid-Tied PV Panels as a Starter System – Part 1, by St. Funogas

I enjoyed JWR’s recent article titled A Retreat Locale Selection Criteria Update. The updated information for 2022 is especially relevant. Who could have guessed we’d be at the point we’ve arrived at so quickly in the past two and a half years? The covid scamdemic and the blowback from the Russian sanctions alone are enough to make anyone realize we’re rapidly approaching Niagara Falls in our little inflatable kayak. Hopefully, the article will inspire some of the fence sitters to hop over to the get-out-of-Dodge side and make their wish come true instead of holding on so dearly to the …


WIN: Whip Inflation Nonconformably

In recent months, I’ve had several consulting clients ask me about how they might protect themselves from the ravages of inflation. The official rate of inflation is now at 9.2%, but everyone knows that the real-world rate is somewhere north of 14%. I’m offering some concrete suggestions that I will relate in this essay, but first, let me digress into some history: According to the Wikipedia article about the WIN campaign: “[President Gerald] Ford had taken office in August 1974 amidst one of the worst economic crises in US history, marked by high unemployment and inflation rising to 12.3% that …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at plunging photovoltaic power prices, even in the midst of inflation. The Cost Of Solar Power Has Fallen Quickly First up, at CleanTechica.com: Just The Facts: The Cost Of Solar Has …


Providing Pictorial Gear Manuals for Your Group, by R.H.

Introduction The generator sputtered one more time, the noise only slightly louder than the un-Christian commentary coming from my mouth. The quarterly test-run for my generator checkout was not going well. I have a Robin 11 HP generator that provides electrical backup for critical circuits in my house through a transfer switch and separate Circuit Breaker box. I can place the generator outside my garage, connect the cable from the generator to the junction box in the garage, start the generator, change the source isolation transfer switch in the basement circuit breaker box and start turning on the breakers to …


Generac GP 6500 Portable Generator, by Thomas Christianson

When high winds sweep through our area, it is not unusual for electrical service to be interrupted, sometimes for days at a time. For more than eight years now, a Generac GP 6500 gas-powered portable generator has provided my family with a reliable and effective way of dealing with the challenges of occasional, short-term power outages. The Backstory Nine years ago, my wife and I fled suburbia for a log home in the woods. There we provide most of our own utilities. We provide our own water with a well, our own sewage treatment with a septic tank, and our …


Solar-Battery Home Power – Part 2, by Jeff M.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) POWERING UP & MORE TO LEARN Don’t expect step-by-step instructions. I found all the needed information but chronological steps for start-up or shut-down are not readily available. However, there is plenty of online info where people figured out the best steps. I powered up my inverter with battery power first, then went through the entire menu. Go slow, though it’s pretty easy. A couple of battery voltage settings from the battery manufacturer were the only deviations. Then I turned the solar panel input on and waited for the screen to recognize battery …