Misc How are you going to handle a grid down

[nomifyle]

I consider myself pretty well prepped..We were just out of power for over three days. We had generators and also bought a new larger one. It ran non stop for over three days. I though the propane would last longer, but it sucked up a lot. We still have some left but not as much as I had thought we would. I have plenty of food that doesn't need to be cooked. Although DH wouldn't eat much of it. I cooked in the heat on the front porch once and it wiped me out. Didn't have to eat out there, was able to sit in front of a fan to eat. That was the first day and except for one meal in an electric skillet once I didn't cook anymore. We ate out or got food to go.

If things were really bad there would be no place to eat out or get take out. I'm completely worn down after only three or so days. How in the world would I make it long term particularly in the heat. I'm not an out side person at all.

Did I eat anything from my pantry except fruit, no. I guess I didn't get hungry enough. Plus I'd been eating too healthy food so every thing looked disgusting.

I've been so sure I'd be doing all the things, but I'm not too sure right now. I wouldn't let them drag me off to a 15 minute city, I'd rather the send me on my way to be with Jesus.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I consider myself pretty well prepped..We were just out of power for over three days. We had generators and also bought a new larger one. It ran non stop for over three days. I though the propane would last longer, but it sucked up a lot. We still have some left but not as much as I had thought we would. I have plenty of food that doesn't need to be cooked. Although DH wouldn't eat much of it. I cooked in the heat on the front porch once and it wiped me out. Didn't have to eat out there, was able to sit in front of a fan to eat. That was the first day and except for one meal in an electric skillet once I didn't cook anymore. We ate out or got food to go.

If things were really bad there would be no place to eat out or get take out. I'm completely worn down after only three or so days. How in the world would I make it long term particularly in the heat. I'm not an out side person at all.

Did I eat anything from my pantry except fruit, no. I guess I didn't get hungry enough. Plus I'd been eating too healthy food so every thing looked disgusting.

I've been so sure I'd be doing all the things, but I'm not too sure right now. I wouldn't let them drag me off to a 15 minute city, I'd rather the send me on my way to be with Jesus.

The one thing I would do is start over with my pantry and stock only the foods you deem healthy. Why have it if you are disgusted by having to eat it? Our DDIL is the same way. She has a basement full of storage food, but it's not food that she would eat on a daily basis. It's going to sit on those shelves and rot, before she will ever eat it. I think she just enjoys having stocked shelves so she can say she's a prepper. I'm thinking how much money she has wasted.

 

[nomifyle]

The one thing I would do is start over with my pantry and stock only the foods you deem healthy. Why have it if you are disgusted by having to eat it? Our DDIL is the same way. She has a basement full of storage food, but it's not food that she would eat on a daily basis. It's going to sit on those shelves and rot, before she will ever eat it. I think she just enjoys having stocked shelves so she can say she's a prepper. I'm thinking how much money she has wasted.

You can't stock a pantry Long term with fresh or frozen foods. Canned meat is okay but some even home canned veggies are disgusting. I didn't stock foods that I don't like I just didn't want to eat any of them in the last few days. If the weather had been cooler it would have been different. And there isn't much in the way of sandwich stuff you can store long term. I think my brain just got too hot and I got really grumpy. We had many blessings these last few days, but I was miserable. You are a nice lady and you have many good ideas and are wonderfully organized. But when was the last time you went without power for several days in 90+ degree temps?

I could have made more of an effort but I just didn't feel well. The longer the ac is on the better I'm feeling though. But I'm just not too sure about long term in the heat.

Most of the foods in my pantry are fairly well healthy, I just didn't want any of them.

 

[oops]

Grid down?...we get to live like camp...shrug...course...I’ve had people at camp that can’t figger out how we cook what we do with just the woodstove..smoker ...n open pit...shrug..

 

[SouthernBreeze]

dupe

 

[Buick Electra]

How? With what little preps I have and God's grace.

 

[WalknTrot]

So you are planning to run a generator 24/7 just to keep the AC on? Yikes. Because to keep the freezers and fridges cold, you only need to really run them a few times/day.

Drink lots of fluids, stay in the shade outside if there's a breeze or inside with a battery fan in your face. Wash up often..it refreshes a person to a huge degree. Cool water on the bod and on the face. Go sit in the car with the AC for a few minutes a few times/day to reset your temp and give yourself a break.

I suspect if your appetites were that bad you both were suffering dehydration and heat exhaustion. Cook stuff that doesn't take long - pasta for pasta salad or stovetop noodles and sauce of some kind, green salads, sandwiches. Cook breakfast and make coffee early, before the day starts to heat up.

 

[nomifyle]

So you are planning to run a generator 24/7 just to keep the AC on? Yikes. Because to keep the freezers and fridges cold, you only need to really run them a few times/day.

Drink lots of fluids, stay in the shade outside if there's a breeze or inside with a battery fan in your face. Wash up often..it refreshes a person to a huge degree. Cool water on the bod and on the face.

I suspect if your appetites were that bad you both were suffering dehydration and heat exhaustion. Cook stuff that doesn't take long - pasta for pasta salad or stovetop noodles and sauce of some kind, green salads, sandwiches. Cook breakfast and make coffee early, before the day starts to heat up.

I would have said these same things last week.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

But when was the last time you went without power for several days in 90+ degree temps?

A few years ago when a tornado went across the road just yards from our house. Took down lots of trees and power lines here and all across the county. It was over 100 degrees, plus 115-120 heat index for that week we were without power. But, we handle heat much better than most people. We still had to eat, so we made do with what we had in storage, but went to the little country store down the road to get sandwich cold cuts and such, too. Thank God we had a generator, so we had ice and cold/frozen foods when we wanted it. Most frozen foods will keep in the freezer for a few years without going bad if packaged properly.

 

[winterfoot]

We are talking about starving to death. Not discriminating what you will and will not eat. There will be crazed mobs who will kill over a crust of bread. Further, THIS WILL NOT GET BETTER, until Christ arrives. So, I say stock up on all the food you can, but macaroni and cheese which I hate. ---winterfoot

 

[John Deere Girl]

We lose power frequently, usually on sunny, windless days with our electric company. We do have a generator, but other than running it briefly a few times a month to keep it running well, we rarely use it.

In a grid down situation, I'd do all cooking outside. Our house is shaded, so we'd open all our windows. We'd sit outside quite a bit too. We do have solar to run our pool pump, so we could use our pool too.

 

[Gitche Gumee Kid]

 

[Cowgirl4christ]

There are a lot of YouTube videos that teach you how to stay cool in a grid down scenario.

 

[WalknTrot]

The older we get, the more we have trouble regulating body temp. Might be wise to line up a few friends/family outside the area that you can stay with when the power goes down.

How did the anxiety thing go this time? Last time, (a few weeks ago?) you said you got restless after dark. Did you find lights that were effective?

 

[mecoastie]

Short answer is nobody will really know until it happens but you adapt or you die. Up here in Maine most new houses are not built for any sort of alternative. Grid down in winter a lot of people are go to freeze or die trying to heat their house. I suspect it is similar in the South for heat. Most houses are designed for using AC. Lot of folks will die of heat/cold with the elderly and sick leading the pack. I use battery powered fans like ryobi and some small USB ones. Get anything done outside in the early morning or in the evening. What are your non electric cooking options? Is there anything you can do to your house to improve air movement? Add shades or awnings to keep the sun out? Ryobi makes a fan that sits on a 5 gal bucket and provides a mist.

Force yourself to drink more water. Get a water bottle and figure out how many you have to drink a day to stay hydrated. Force yourself to drink it. Add a little electrolyte powder for some flavor/electrolytes. Keep some Pedialyte on hand. As for food maybe keep a couple cases of ensure drinks to get some nutrients if you dont feel like cooking.

 

[bracketquant]

I'm in my mid-sixties, in good health, and live in the north. The first few hot days of the year are the worst, as my body is not yet acclimated to the heat.

Once the really warm weather settles in, and I'll know that I'll be working in the garden and the yard, or just generally be outside during much of the day, the first thing that I do in the morning is drink a glass of water or two, hours before starting any work. Even in 100 degree weather, I will work for an hour, take a short indoor break, (no AC, so the house temp will be in the mid/high 70s), check my email, and work for at least another hour or more outside, building up my resilience to the heat. Work will be light to moderately heavy, nothing extremely heavy. I'l be dirty and sweaty, so I'll run the water hose over the top of my head and back of neck, and plunge my arms into a just filled 40 gallon bin of cold water, in order to cool down. And, all day long it's staying hydrated.

If someone has health issues, speaking to their doctor first, would be best.

But in a listing of preps, prepping one's body (and mind) should be the first thing on the list. If needed, write down what you can do, what you cannot do, and what you may eventually be able to do, by getting your mind and body in better shape.

And, I realize that I can't do the things that I did in my thirties.

 

[summerthyme]

I'm thinking I need to find enough mosquito netting to let us all sleep outdoors in the summer heat... which, thankfully here, rarely is longer than a few dozen nights. Cold is our main issue, and since we have a wood stove and solar panels to run the fan (the stove us in the shop, below the apartment, so radiant heat isn't sufficient)

But for sure, as we get older, we handle weather extremes less and less. And I think for many, our tolerance for the inconveniences has gotten worse. After the first few hours, even if everything is working well (maybe especially if it is), any sense of adventure wanes and its just drudgery and aggravation.

Not much to be done except try to have SOME things on hand which are small morale boosters, force yourself to eat if necessary (low blood sugar aggravates every physical and mental symptom) and keep a list of vital chores, and "I'd like to dos" so you aren't stuck wandering aimlessly thinking of everything you can't do because there's not enough power.

Summerthyme

 

[nomifyle]

The older we get, the more we have trouble regulating body temp. Might be wise to line up a few friends/family outside the area that you can stay with when the power goes down.

How did the anxiety thing go this time? Last time, (a few weeks ago?) you said you got restless after dark. Did you find lights that were effective?

Thanks for asking, no this time I did have that same feeling of anxiety. The power went out in the wee hours and I just went back to sleep.

 

[connie]

This is a great thread. I live in high desert. Hot - this week 104 -107 but low humidity. It does cool off at night.
Bearable outside under shade of trees. I think I would have to do most things early am or dusk. I can definitely see how it would affect our appetites.

 

[nomifyle]

I'm thinking I need to find enough mosquito netting to let us all sleep outdoors in the summer heat... which, thankfully here, rarely is longer than a few dozen nights. Cold is our main issue, and since we have a wood stove and solar panels to run the fan (the stove us in the shop, below the apartment, so radiant heat isn't sufficient)

But for sure, as we get older, we handle weather extremes less and less. And I think for many, our tolerance for the inconveniences has gotten worse. After the first few hours, even if everything is working well (maybe especially if it is), any sense of adventure wanes and its just drudgery and aggravation.

Not much to be done except try to have SOME things on hand which are small morale boosters, force yourself to eat if necessary (low blood sugar aggravates every physical and mental symptom) and keep a list of vital chores, and "I'd like to dos" so you aren't stuck wandering aimlessly thinking of everything you can't do because there's not enough power.

Summerthyme

Thank you ST. I think its the age thing that has made me less tolerant. Thank God I don't have chronic illnesses though, that would have made it worse.

I've got to do better on the food issue. Since I've been only eating food that has no chemicals in it that may have made it harder. The food I have stored would have been fine to eat before I changed my eating habits, I was careful about what I have stored. I always tried things before I stored just about any amount. Our freezers are full of good meat and many frozen vegetables, so I could have cooked what I've been eating, it was just too hot.

So if someone is not in my shoes they can't know how it was for me. I was crabby but at least I wasn't a screaming maniac like my mother was after a hurricane, she was older but she was a screamer normally.

Things are back to normal, our normal. And I'm ever so greatful for that. We were going to pick up commodities yesterday but postponed it until today. I even considered skipping it completely this month because I was having a hard time coping.

Thanks everyone for your input.

 

[alpha]

How are you going to handle a grid down?​

An interesting question which begs another… ‘for how long?’

Any fuel based generator will eventually need fuel.

Even the largest pantry will eventually empty.

Of the three essentials of life (food, water & shelter) how many have the resources, tools and know how to sustain all three? I know that many here garden and might even put up enough fruits and vegetables to last until the next years’ harvest, but then there’s the seeds issue… Even putting up meat will require a continuous source and let’s not forget the need for canning lids, salt, vinegar etc.

Many have access to fire wood to provide for heat and cooking but that will require much physical labor to cut and split (without power tools). Injuries requiring care will require specific knowledge as well as holistic medications, heck even proper sanitation will require you to make soap. Some folks raise livestock and know how to process the animal which will support the sourcing needs for meat and rendered fats to not only cook but use with your homemade lye for soap… but that now requires raising and storing Winter feeds such as hay.

My point here isn’t to say we’ll all die, since TB2K is after all a prep oriented survival forum – It is to remind us that knowledge and skill sets are more important than one or more generators. YMMV

 

[hd5574]

I am also 76...but one thing I have figured out about coping with heat is the thinner you are the easier it is to handle the heat.....I had gained weight as I aged ...and would really struggle with heat......I have lost a good bit of it and now prefer that DH parks as far from the door as possible in a large parking lot....when I was heavy it was a huge struggle to get across a black asphalt parking lot to the store....but as the years have gone by and the weight has come off.... I find I can now truck on along the parking lot....I am speaking about upper 90 degree days and high humidity..much hotter than 90 in that parking lot......DH is thin and 70 and he still works full time as an equipment mechanic..no ac...he has a fan in the shop...but nothing to cool him in the field...and he is in the sun in somebody's field a lot...right where the equipment broke...
After he works all day in the heat he hand carries water to the garden in watering cans....if it needs it...we are finding that even in old age the more active we are and the more we push ourselves the stronger and healthier we become...and the less the heat bothers us...
This is an old 1800s farm house that had been modernized 40 or 50 years ago.... they had put in dual zone ac/heat pumps...there was a tiny woodstove... replaced the woodstove with a new buck stove and have 3 window ac units up stairs..just the little cheap 5/6 units...it is rare that we run all three...and one window downstairs in the kitchen...often we will just run the upstairs ones for a short time in the late afternoon or evening....
We don't eat much junk food... mostly simple meals....and take supplements but no RX.....
We search for natural remedies to health issues...not big pharma

 

[SouthernBreeze]

My mom has chronic health issues and is almost 83 yrs. old. She works outside, loves to work in her flower gardens and regular garden, and is still very active. She has one window ac unit, but she hardly ever uses it. She prefers a floor fan, instead. She cooks year around and does a lot of summertime canning from her garden. She isn't overweight, either. When her power goes out for any length of time, she makes it quite well. Not being overweight, staying active, and in good physical shape goes a long way in how one tolerates things such as heat or cold. Plus, it benefits you in other areas as well.

 

[alpha]

hd5574,
That old farmhouse must be fantastic! We started out in a 250 year old farmhouse too... 14 rooms to heat and clean but it had all the necessary features to survive without modern appliances. One holer off the Summer kitchen, hand pump well in the barn, DeLaval hand crank cream separator and a dutch oven in the kitchen. Oh, and the thing that would help you and your DH stay cool during those oppressive hot, humid nights... a large walk in root cellar!

 

[hd5574]

hd5574,
That old farmhouse must be fantastic! We started out in a 250 year old farmhouse too... 14 rooms to heat and clean but it had all the necessary features to survive without modern appliances. One holer off the Summer kitchen, hand pump well in the barn, DeLaval hand crank cream separator and a dutch oven in the kitchen. Oh, and the thing that would help you and your DH stay cool during those oppressive hot, humid nights... a large walk in root cellar!

We do have 2 massive oak trees that shade the house..at least 3 other huge oak trees have been lost..over the years..it was the local doctor's house...he was a distant cousin of mine.....our families link up back in the late 1700's...my grandmother was born near here on her dad's farm back in 1870. We have two wells the oldest is now in block well house...it is hand dug 36" bricked one that is not active but could be...and 30" shallow bored well......I even have a double cedar butter churn..in useable condition... we are on enough ag land to be self sufficient if need be.... we live in Berry heaven...this part of the state is great for growing berries we have established a huge stand of thornless blackberries, and now have red raspberries and blueberries established...we are working on a raised tiered planter for strawberries....berries are so very cool in the hot weather...and very healthy...if you can get them in the basket instead of your mouth..lol