Electrical Blackout Preparedness

[toggleswitch2]

What amazes me is that we are all basically dependant on electricity to control (or power directly) our heating systems and in a major blackout due to a storm, very few seem to have a non-electric source of heat (like a fireplace, a woodstove or a gas burner / oil-burner that will actually operate) or perhaps even a generator.

The Gadget just called to to say they have 4 to 6 inches of snow in his area of Central Connecticut and his phone and cable and internet are down.

Being that his place is all-electric (with a heat-pump) he can only cook on his BBQ and will have no light, heat or hot-water in a blackout.

How are each of you prepared for a (long-lasting) blackout? backup heat source? Emergency lighting? etc.

 

[westingman123]

Well, aside from the fireplace I have a wood-burning stove in the basement and a vintage Universal gas range as back up. Lighting, well, the gazillion kerosene lamps I've inherited and can't part with would fit the bill. At the farm, I have to keep water in storage. No electricity=no pump. Have been considering a generator, but they be mighty expensive!

 

[turquoisedude]

Basic 'survival' kit

Even before that horrible ice storm hit Quebec and Ontario back in 1998, I always made sure that I had at least one propane-fired cooking device (a backpacker's stove in the apartment in town, a fancier two-burner unit in Ogden), at least two working flashlights, and bottled water. In Ogden, there is an oil stove that burns continuously so the house won't freeze and, huge bonus, there is a way to draw water from a gravity fed well uphill from the house. In town, heat would be the problem - in an apartment it would impractical to have anything like a camping heater because of the lack of venting, but it would have to be seriously cold for weeks before the whole building froze!

 

[countryguy]

I had a whole house standby generator isntalled 2 years ago. It will power the entire house, including the stove, microwave, water pump, sewage pump, hot water tank and now my newly installed (4 weeks old) hot water heating system (which, BTW, has quit twice in the middle of the night and I have woken up to a cold house). Before this new system I had a wood stove and electric baseboards for heat.

Gary

 

[sudsmaster]

Electrical blackouts are relatively rare in these parts. No snow in winter probably helps.

Gas forced air furnace would quit, but have two fireplaces and plenty of firewood just in case. Water heater is gas, as is main kitchen stove (would have to use a lighter on it when electronic ignition goes out).

So far I haven't opted for an emergency generator. If the outtage is less than 24 hours or so, the chest freezer should be ok, maybe longer. Life without juice would suck but wouldn't be impossible.

 

[gansky1]

We've been in this house for 12 years and have never lost power in the winter, not once.

In October 1997 we had a fluke snowstorm of 14" convected snow - very heavy, wet and fast-falling. With a full canopy of leaves still on the trees, it caused devastating damage all around the city and power was lost in some areas for nearly 10 days. Being mid-October, the temps weren't too low and so other than the obvious loss of power issues for everyone, heating wasn't an emergency-status need for most people.

 

[Unimatic1140]

In my 15 years of living in Minneapolis never, ever have we ever lost power in the winter time. I have lost power but it always happens when the temperature is above 90 degrees in June, July and August.

The only other exception is when the tornado came through the neighborhood last August, we were out of power for 27 hours which is the longest I've ever had to go without power here, but the temperatures were around 78 so life without ac was just fine. But not having the internet nearly killed both of us lol.

 

[xraytech]

We rarley ever loose power here during the winter, but it does happen when we have an ice storm following a big snow, usually lasts 2 days or so.

Since we are in an areawhere the only utilities available are electric and phone service we are all electric, we have a propane fireplace in the main living room which keeps the living room warm(difficult b/c f cathedral ceilings), and in the game room downstairs we have a wood stove which helps keep the remainder of the house warm.
The deep freeze stays frozen for almost 4 days(helps having a 22 cu ft. chest model packed to the brim) For cooking I cook in the gameroom on the wood stove, everyone else prefers the bbq grill. Fort lighting we have a small generator that is enough to power a few lights, so we have 2 8ft flourescent light fixtures modified with a cord and a plug one for kitchen/living room and the other for gameroom and we will plug in the tv, sattelite reciever, and if desired the wireless modem so we can use the laptop, for in the bathrooms and bedrooms we use cemetary candles which are perfect since they can last almost 7 days of constant burning.

Our only problem is water, since we have a well there would be no pump. We keep a few 5 gal buckets of water in the garage to be used to flush toilets with and also a few gallons in the closet for drinking. For bathing we just load in the car and go to grandmas since she has public water and a gas waterheater

 

[duetboy]

When we bought the farm (OK, 10 acres and the old farmhouse on it) we left the propane wall heaters which the former owner used to heat the entire house. As long as we have propane in the tank we'll have heat and hot water. (We're on rural water and thankfully, they have generators). I have a two burner propane "hot plate" that is on the carport where I cook in the heat of the summer as it helps keep the house cooler, cooking won't be a problem either.

We'll be fine, as long as we have propane!

duetboy
aka Jeff

 

[maytagbear]

This is just not something I really want to think about.

My heat is gas forced air (safety, solenoid, blower, thermostat- electric.)

Gas hot water tank.

Electric stove.

NO fireplace, no woodburner, no way to add one.

I just pray (and I do) that the electricity doesn't go out in the winter.

When my grandmother on my mother's side moved into their new home in 1955, was asked the same question, she just said "Harvey and I will go to bed and turn on the electric blanket."
Jeannette was a fine comedienne in the Gracie Allen vein.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[volvoguy87]

Water and more.

If you live in a house with a basement or more than 1 floor, you should drain the plumbing when it gets really cold without heat. Frozen pipes are NOT a laughing matter and the damage from freeze-cracks can be extreme. Turn off the main water valve, open the highest faucets, and then the lower ones so air can be sucked into the high faucets and the water can drain down.

The basement can be a good place to go. The basement is usually cooler than we would like, but the ground helps keep the basement at a constant temperature. In the winter, you might shiver in your basement, but with a few blankets, you won't freeze.

We have a 1953 Magic Chef gas range which will work so long as there is gas. Our water heater is gas with a pilot light so we will have hot water (those nifty electric-ignition water heaters are efficient, but they are dead without juice). If we loose power in the winter, we can just pack the contents of our 1950 Frigidaire into a box or two and put the boxes on the back porch or in the back staircase hall.

We have forced air gas heat which will not work without both electricity and gas. If we get too cold, we can always fire up the oven and bake something. That usually puts out a fair bit of heat. Our house has 4 fireplaces (1892 Queen Anne) and they are set up to burn coal (it was standard in 1892). You should NEVER attempt to burn wood in a coal fireplace, it's a BAD IDEA and will make a huge mess with little heat. We will not, however, attempt to burn any coal until we have the chimneys inspected. Smoke can be pretty acidic and if it has eaten away the mortar, gasses can leak into the house and that would be a whole new world of bad.

Blankets!
Dave

 

[toggleswitch2]

~In Ogden, there is an oil stove that burns continuously so the house won't freeze and,

Not familiar with this. Is there a link available to demonstrate what this is?

 

[dj-gabriele]

The only time I lost power was during the summer national black out of 2003, that lasted around 10 hours and it was quite a pain, even flushing the toilet isn't possible in my home without electricity as pumps provide the required pressure to fill the tank, although we can cook on the stove as we have gas burners.
The worst part in all was the lack of air conditioning with a temperature of 40°C in the shades!
Here in Bologna I could still use my landline phone and ADSL, cook and bathe as hot water comes from the waterduct along the cold one. I could still cook as the hobs are gas... but I couldn't get out the main gate as it is electrically operated and I'm waiting to have a spare (metal) key as I lost mine!

 

[tolivac]

Ice storms are the main threat my way-but the utility is pretty good about fixing the power and water when things get bad.I do have a propane grill with the side hot plate-so I could cook with that in case of power out-and I have several rechargeable lights-but will have to bundle up the heat pump of course won't work in a power failure-the fireplace hasn't been used in years-don't know the chimneys condition-that is why I don't want to use it.

 

[westingman123]

Hey toggles-

Isn't an Aga an oil burner that runs continuously? I'm not sure if that's what Paul is talking about, but I considered an Aga for a while. They weigh a TON, but are very popular across the pond.

 

[favorit]

Thank to the Alps we rarely have ice storms here, the rare events are local ones only, then blackouts are fastly recovered by the netsystem. I understand this is a bigger issue in central States where cold air from Great Lakes meets hot one from the Gulf ... it's the winter counterpart of tornadoes.
Many years ago in a TV broadcast a odd man suggested to tear down the mountains behind Genoa to get rid of the winter nasty fog we' ve in northern Italy .... maybe he'd suggest you to bend the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachians *LOL*

Anyway dear old woodfire stoves/ranges are still common in our monuntain villages, they coexist with hot water radiators (or warm water floor coils lately)
Furnaces run mostly with gas (or LPG where there isn't gas network) cause it was cheaper than oil.

Last year we had tax decrease for building eco-upgrades, so many people switched to "tankless", sealed burner HE condensation furnaces. The tank is separated and often has further 2 or 3 heat exchangers to fit with other heat sources as solar panels / heat pumps / wood pellets stoves (tax decreased too). This way the gas furnace engages only when other systems aren't enough. Sanitary hot water is made with a similar separate tank driven by the same devices.

Some heat pump systems exchange heat by a deep well in the ground. They are getting common even in private buildings

Flats usually have indipendent true tankless HE condensers. Usually they are seamed (meaning they have a coaxial vent to blow burning air and to exaust fumes). They heat both radiator water and sanitary water

As Toggles wrote the odd side is these eco-friendly devices do rely on electric network to run their boards .... maybe the old firewood stove is not so efficient, but it doesn't need anything else than some wood and a lighter

 

[toggleswitch2]

AGA COOKERS (not to be confused with the American Gas Association and its 5-pointed blue star!)

OMG. Yes, I had not thought of that! Can't look now, (I'm at my office) but I presume the oil-fired ones are totally non-electric?

Aga Ranges USA | Cooking With AGA

Loved by celebrity chefs and home cooks alike, the AGA at 100 deserves to be celebrated, and we will be celebrating this throughout the years to come.

www.aga-ranges.com

 

[turquoisedude]

Isn't an Aga an oil burner that runs continuously?

Keith, the stove we have is from Belgium but I can't remember the brand name. Now I'm curious I will have to look at it when I get back down there tonight!!

 

[launderess]

AGAs Burn

Petrol (gas), coal,wood and IIRC even peat from bogs. Never heard of them burning oil though. Hope not bunker fuel #4! *LOL*

L.