Posted on 10/21/2016 11:04:13 AM PDT by Lorianne
Longtime correspondent Bart D. (Australia) recently experienced a multi-day regional loss of electricity. His first-person observations help us understand what breakdowns in energy are like on the ground.
Observations of life in an extended power failure by Bart D. (Australia)
South Oz is continuing with its streak of extreme weather. The latest being our encounter with what's being described as a category 2 'hurricane' with the added bonus of a severe front preceding it that produced many low-grade tornados. A score of major power transmission towers were twisted off their footings, 80 000 lightning strikes fried out a lot of 'secondary' electricity infrastructure ... 40% of power that is usually being generated from wind had to be shut down due to extreme winds and base load backup generators failed in many locations (including my region).
Power 'gradually' returning after blackout plunged state into darkness
End result ... entire state without electricity for a day and a half. Some regions, including my home region, (about the size of the state of Tasmania) were without electricity for 3 nights and 2.5 days.
(Excerpt) Read more at charleshughsmith.blogspot.jp ...
My generator runs for three days.
Lost power one time for 3 days, starting Christmas Eve. Problem was, the outside temperature was in the low 20’s. We survived without frozen pipes. Use a propane burner in the house, with a CO detector. Kids, cats and I spent a couple nights in a pup tent in the living room. Left all the faucets near the exterior walls dripping a bit. Managed to keep the house about 35 degrees.
A week outage after a hurricane was a picnic, as it was in mid-September.
I go with Bourbon “neat”.
“MREs”
This topic probably already has multiple threads here at FR, but it would be interesting to know where folks are buying their long-term food stores - who has the best prices, etc...
3 DAYS??
Wimps.
During hurricane Sandy we lost power for 5 days...I learned from that disaster. I now have a generator that is set up for back feed into the house. We lost power for 4 days during an ice storm in 2014-—other than filling the generator every 10 hours our life was normal. Heat, water, cable, lights, stove top, hot showers, etc. When I went online crazy people were in their houses posting temperatures of 38 degrees.
For most, this scenario is not pretty; it is maddening! For me and my household, we are OK as long as there is natural gas. We have a 14K generac that will run the whole house.
Fail to prepare = prepare to fail; have a solution or be a problem. Be a hero or be a zero.
3 DAYS??
Wimps.
Exactly. When Hurricanes Jeanne and Frances landed just North of us we were out of power for just shy of 6 weeks. Miserable, but we got through. Only 3 days would have been a God send.
These guys don’t get out much, do they? Until recently, three or more days without electricity was common in rural New England. We all survived just fine.
Self ping.
Electrical Power Outage, New South Wales, Australial
Camping at Home ?
We lost power for 17 days after Hurricane Ike.....and we were north of Houston.
We had a propane grill, so we could cook. We ran our generator a few hours in the morning and a few hours in the night.....so we were able to save the food. Did not have enough fuel to run it full time.
The only fuel we had was in our suburban.....a full 40 gallon tank. Everything was without power, even the gas stations.
A number of very large trees came down but fortunately we did not have major house damage.
Three days? Pfft.. That’s barely enough time to get in a weenie roast.
Being from the high Plains, we always keep too much food on hand, just in case.
We here were out of electricity for a few days in a massive ice storm about 5 years ago. It was so cold outside he food in the freezer remained frozen, we used the up the food in the refrigerator and kept the other food on the front porch.
Water was still working and we had wells for backup. Gas pressure was still good so fuel and heat was no problem. Had propane bottles and a small cook stove for use if needed.
Lit ALL my kerosene lanterns, lamps, Coleman lanterns.
Survived just fine.
Now I have a back up generator and stored gasoline as the wife is on oxygen.
Panty is full for winter.
My uncle stopped at some place on the high plains of Colorado years ago. The family there had enough food for ONE DAY. He told them they better stock up with at least two weeks food as the blizzard time was approaching.
Only one radio station was working and people were on “DIAL A TRADE” offering to sell half a can of lamp oil and Coleman fuel for high prices. People were so unprepared even though the weathermen were warning of a massive ice storm.
In a couple year stretch, I lost power for about 5 days average each during Tropical Storms Irene & sandy, and an early season snowstorm that took out a whole load of powerlines.
My kids all remarked on how nice it was to have no power (we had plenty of water, including hot water as we didn’t lose gas service) and how much simpler it was with no internet, myspace, facebook, twitter, TV, and especially, SCHOOL.
They still talk of those days with fondness.
The cat starts kicking his turds like footballs
(field goals not extra points) because the electric Ajax turd scooper doesn’t scoop and I won’t be able to take advantage of his good nature
by tossing half Tootsie Rolls in there when he’s
not around
Thanks for the ping!
A week can be easy if your house isn’t destroyed. Beyond that, it starts to get ugly.
Use toilets outdoors for BM’s. Dig a shallow hole, squat &
cover like DUB THE DOG does. - Take sponge baths in the
bathroom sink. Bathe the dirty parts. A weekly shower is
ENOUGH, with bird baths the rest of the time.
In winter, if you have wood stove going; cook on the wood
stove or cook on the grill outside. (Be sure to put your
grill someplace NOT attached to your house - FIRE HAZARD!
Use oil lamps for your light. (Get used to LESS light fast!)
Keep freezer closed; also keep fridge closed as much as is
possible.
Relax. Don’t get up so early if you don’t have to. Early
mornings are great for grumpiness and aching joints.
LOWER YOUR STANDARDS. (Dust shows up worse when you have
to use a flashlight. KEEP A FLASHLIGHT with fairly fresh
batteries installed on your nightstand.)
For bathroom usage. Don’t flush like a fanatic. Let all
pee in the commode; then flush when it gets rough.
IF IT’S YELLOW; LET IT MELLOW! IF IT’S BROWN, FLUSH IT
DOWN!
ROUGH IT!
This is part of the problem with the "open concept" houses.
Pick the smallest room practical.
Everybody in the room, close the door. Body heat will keep you warm.
The best room for this is the kitchen with a burner occationally lit to provide warm food but with an open concept this is pretty much impossible
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.