Greetings and Salutations!
Well, we made it.
Now as a Quick FYI:
This is primarily to discuss my mistakes or holes in my preps, as opposed to the nuts and bolts of other things… how I laid out my gear, where I laid it out… practical stuff that’ll vary person-to-person. I’m also going to go over some societal observations as well. SO here we go…
The storm itself:
T’was a wee bit hairy when the water at 0130 was allll the way up the driveway. That was one thing Sapper and I debated on, was if we needed to go and get the sandbags the County offered up. We decided against it, and almost paid for it when the surge from the Alafia crested to a record setting high.
Said-aforementioned high water mark is approximately seen via the red line on the neighbor’s yard who had evvac’d and hasn’t started cleanup yet:
LOTS of smol branches and limbs down in our A.O….
Turns out the surge was just that, a major surge that Thanks be to God and anyone Else identifying as the Head MF’r in Charge of the Universe, it receeded rather quickly. I went out and caught THIS on film. It’s almost 4 minutes long, and disjoined as I wasn’t trying for anything other than to get a feel and look-see at qwhat was going on. My fon was in a dive-bag, which proved it’s worth again:
Yeah, the wind was bad
At one point I -almost- got blown off my feet… the news said at that time, we were getting hit with 90mph gusts, and I can well believe it.
Now after?
MY yard? While I did the ‘sleep thing’ Sapper handled the daytime cleanup. The delegation was that I could pull night security as my training on it is far more in depth, and my experience is better than his, and he’d handle puppy patrol and yard cleanup.
The Security Situation was for the most part was nominal.
Call it Yellow or a 4 out of 5, with 5 being Green and 1 being Red/Lock and Load, Safeties off.
Not much on the looting of individual houses that I heard of, except for some who lost their generators to nighttime “Genny-Bandits”. Most of this news came via my lil Grundig Survival Radio that was another ‘fell off the truck/out of the connex’ item from Iraq:
It Purely Shocked the Hell out of me how few of my neighbors had a basic battery powered radio! This one is battery (3xAAs) or has the hand crank which works as well. AM/FM/Shortwave 1/2. The morning after while doing the Oh-Dark-Early Battle Damage Assessment, I mentioned how the Ray’s Stadium got wrecked…
They didn’t have a radio, so no one knew about it…
Seeing that I have only one, I’m going to look into getting a few more. Which leads me into:
Observation #1: NO ONE apparently has ‘OldTech’ like that outside of their car radio. Having the ability to get a news feed like I did was very helpful.
Day 2: Initially, my first meetups with the neighbors were all my fellow Combat Vet Retirees who were doing the same thing I was, which was an armed stroll and recon of the neighborhood, and figuring out that damage(s) if any. The rear-neighbor (across the pond) a Master Sergeant, was pulling some epically large branches off his property, and dragging them to a common area so the HOA would have to deal with them.
Because fuck them, that’s why.
I slung my rifle, busted out my medium work gloves, and assisted with the dragging. And yes, I had my rifle, as well as a sidearm in my lo-ride ‘cowboy’ rig.
“Better to have, than to need”
The uniform for the day (night?) was wearing my Construction Helmet rather than my combat cover… Long Multicam Pants, a “Crusader Logo” T-Shirt, Waterproof (in theory) contractor Merrick low quarters, and my helmet. Plus gloves as to-be-critically-mentioned… truthfully if the wind wasn’t so much and shit flying around, a bathing suit would have been better…
It was Hot, Heavy Work at 0530 when we’re both pushing 60+
We got it done…
We also, are getting too old for this shit…
The MSgt Wholeheartedly Agreed with this sentiment.
Observation #2: Gloves. Have at least 3-4 pairs. And make sure they’re all multi use OR have designated “heavy Use” (i.e. thick leather/reinforced) “medium use” and some thinner skin protectors which you can shoot in. I have a bunch of different ones, with my heaviest being Concertina Wire Handling Metal Reinforced Palm” gloves for, of course, laying Concertina Wire.
Make sure you have a shitpot worth of Glove.
After we got done, he said he hadn’t seen me coming up the street. He only knew I was there when I gave away my position and hollered out to him, asking if I was clear to approach. I told him that I was in my ‘stealth mode’ and pointed to my NVG retracted on my rhino mount. He hadn’t noticed it in the dark-dark, and let me tell you, this was some pitch black dark…
His eyes got real wide.
The MSgt was most impressed with my NVG. And yes, more ‘back of the truck’ equipment, this time from Affy. I swear I have a Hemmit worth of gear that the Army just couldn’t seem to keep track of Aye? It’s only a Gen2+ but at the time THAT was the best-of-the-best, and is still pristine. When the MSgt got out/retired, the PVS-7B was the new kid on the block, and my Gen2+ 14 was like VooDoo Magic to him.
We did some stargazing and saw some satellites and such as it was that fucking dark and the image intensifier was picking up all the cool stuff in the sky. No light pollution…
Let me tell you, lining up the cell phone camera to get that shot was a pain… It does remind me of a NVG-007 James Bond Opening Shot though… kind of cool IMO…
Observation #3: Night Vision, even if it’s crappy Digital Night Vision, is better than no night vision. It made my life a lot simpler to be able to see, without necessarily giving my position away as so many others were doing with plain white-light. There are some things I utterly, no matter how badly broke I am, that I will not give up, as it’s critical emergency gear. I gave up my first PVS-14 when I got hit with Lung Cancer back in the day, and the X told me to get rid of it for the $$$ and I (stupidly) did… let me tell you, replacing it was a pain in the Ass in Affy, but I managed to.
Now that I’m cut off from those resources?
“Cold Dead Fingers” come leaping to mind.
Even Gretchen knows the score on that ‘un.
So after the two of us doing a full circuit of the A.O., we went to our respective houses and I in my case crashed out. Sapper took over, and I got about 9 hours of solid ZZZs. Sapper got a LOT of the yard done, but there’s still some and probably will be in the coming weeks or so.
Now
Observation #4: There is no such thing as having too many batteries. In our case it was C Cells and AAAs. I used to have a goodly amount of AAAs, but over time, they got depleted. Since it was mostly for the Fire Stick remotes and TV remotes, I didn’t prioritize them.
You know what else uses the AAAs?
Like ALL of my Headlamps.
We made it through on what we had, but it was a near-thing. The C Cells were because one of you Awesome Folks donated me a pair of Pelican Flashlights, one of which was perfect for this, in that it is a handheld Dive Light.
HOWEVER
It/they take(s) C Batteries.
ONLY because I tend to think outside of the box did I realize the Redhead has a BUNCH of toys that use C Cells. Those I raided , so I had three ‘sets’ to use in the flashlights. After that I would have been screwed. C Cells tend to be the redheaded stepchild of batteries, so a lot of folks don’t have them immediately on hand. Around here, that’ll be a change, with rechargeables being the way to go.
As we went along, we commiserated with the neighbors, and I kept a watch on the radio, as well as maintained the Genny. The Genny developed another potentially critical failure, and that was dry-rot of the gas tank and/or seals. Not sure as I had it running, and I didn’t want to monkey with it, in that if it went down, we would have been screwed.
The normal shaking caused some cracking…visible cracking and worse, leaks. Not BIG leaks but steady drip-drip-drips that meant we’d have larger issues if I didn’t Obamarig something. I ended up using two emergency measures. One was a hot-glue gun.
I disconnected the power, but had to leave it running to get the glue gun up and running. TBH, I actually at first, shut the Genny ‘off’ and plugged the gun into the outside socket…
CogDis anyone?
Not the first either. For the first 24 hours of the blackout, I kept trying to turn on the light in the bathroom, and then call myself a dumbass when I realized it. I recognized my own stoopid, and restarted the Genny, then proceeded to ‘build up’ the glue. It wouldn’t stick to an ‘active leak’… even when I wiped it down quickly, so I ended up doing a ‘gradual build up’ with the glue, which worked except in the worst part.
The really active leak, I used a JB Weld clay-epoxy putty.
THAT worked like a charm.
It ain’t pretty, but it hasn’t leaked and now it’s a moot point.
Sort of Like Me.
Observation #5: Make sure you have multiple means of patching/securing things. Be it Superglue, Superglue Gel, a Hot Gun Gun with a PILE or reloads, JB Weld, in ALL ‘flavors’ and Duct Tape. Gorilla Glue, both slow and fast setting. ALL the glues. There can never be enough. Thankfully, I have all the Duct Tape Flavors you can think of. Same goes for Zip ties which are extraordinarily handy, in that I was able to secure the door to the Lanai when the latch broke due to the wind. ALL lengths sizes and shapes, to include wire-center unbreakable ones, which are also good for emergency prisoner restraints IF you are so inclined to take prisoners…
Myself? I have a bag of ASP Zip Cuffs.
Not that I’m personally inclined to take prisoners these days.
FA-FO IMO TBH.
THAT needs to be a T-Shirt with Phil from BustedKnuckles flipping off the camera as the pic in all his Fuzzy Bearded Glory…
But yeah, make sure you have a buttload of emergency patch material of various types. The more, the better.
After fixing the Genny (again!) it was dinner time.
I decided to bust out the pizza dough I made right before the storm hit. Before the storm hit, I ran the bread machine, using the new recipe, and then once it had cooled and stopped rising, I had tossed it into the fridge. A couple of y’all had recommended this as ‘tempering’ the dough, and to do it anyways, storm or no storm. And yep. I agree. It made for some killer ‘Apocalypse Pizza’ again:
…and do not give me any crap about the beer.
Beer is Beer under these circumstances.
Slow Golf Clap to y’all who have the ability to maintain your froo-froo tastes in the face of the worst disaster to hit Tampa in like 100+ years… In this case, it was cold, tasty and more importantly available.
Which leads me to
Observation #6: CASH IS KING.
Period F’n dot.
End of story.
I was fortunate enough to find a Bank of America which had ONE operational ATM with cash in it riiiiight before the storm hit. It in truth shocked me outta my socks. The three walk up ATMs, which I tried first, were out. Then I tried the two drive thru ATMs, the first of which was also out of action. ATM #2 (Drive Thru) out of a total of Five, still had cash in it!!!
A Blessing from Jesus methinks.
And no, I’m being serious.
Occasionally I get minor miracle level stuff like that happening, and I’m for-sure not going to knock it, nor mock it… just saying a Lil Thanks to the Big Jumpmaster for having a wee bit of mercy on my unworthy ass…
I pulled $200 out of the mortgage fund to make sure I had something on hand. And sure as things were, EVERYTHING around here went to “Cash Only”… Even if they had power, the ‘net for the credit card machines, outside of some of the BIG Corporate Places like Publix and CVS are still down and inoperative…
Observation #7: Expect EVERYTHING to be “Cash Only”
Having the cash helped in getting a few more AAAs. No Cs to be found anywhere mind you. Whilst oot-and aboot, we also managed to get a boyger today, cash only at a local bar/eatery called Kazbors. The place has been there forever and a day, and almost got taken out by the BIG Oak that –was– in the corner of the parking lot:
If it had fallen at an angle?
Thta -was- a (I’m guessing) a 40-50 foot Oak…
IF it had hit?
Bubba-Qs (which is a pretty good local-ish chain of BBQ) as well as Kazbors would have been slammed. Bubbas was still closed, and their sign as you can see is gone. Kazbor’s was open. They had an uber-limited menu, cash only, but since I had no urge to do any cooking, we hit them up as I’m still pretty spent from being the Night-Guy.
I had 2x Cheeboygers, fries and an Ice Cold Beer (as seen) which came out to… call it $20 w/tip. And yep. Supply/Demand. A bit pricey, but this was a poast-storm Splurge. No condiments available outside of Ketchup and Moo-Tard. No onions/lettuce etc.
The fries BTW were perfection. Inedible due to the heat to begin with (that fresh) and sliiiightly overcooked to give them some ‘crunch’ 10-10, would do again. The girl at the bar was a mad flirt too… no idea why, but what the Hell, I’ll take it.
Observation #8: Have a spare Cell Phone or 4. When we got home, I noticed my phone had ‘run down’ battery-wise. Now I’m lucky in that my charger and phone have some super-fast charging tech. This brought to mind the fact that when I thought the Genny was DOA, what I did (also when I found out the chineseum backup phone charging battery pack was also fucking DOA) I grabbed out two of Gretchen and my own older phones, and charged THEM up.
IF we ran into a situation where we couldn’t charge the current phone, we could ostensibly pull the chip out of the primary, and stuff it in the secondary, and wash, rinse repeat until we DID get the ability to recharge. The recharging issue is now going to be remedied, provided the spare $$$ are available.
That on top of a new Genny Fuel tank and a LOT of AAAs and Cs to be added to the stockpile(s). Pretty much everything else was/is a lock so to speak.
Observation #9: Have an “Octopus Charging Cable”
A VERY USEFUL tool.
On home-power, you can charge a LOT of gear simultaneously.
On Genny Power, you have to watch the load, but still, it charges a LOT of gear all at once. There’s USB-C, OLD USB, both new and old Apple chargers… I think it’s a total of 10 cables with 2x USB-C duplicates and USB Micro-B. This are the most common. Get at least 2x for your shit.
Observation #10: One is None, Two is True, Three is Better Than Two. To Repeat for the deaf fuckers in the back:
One is None
Two is True
Three is Better Than Two
I’ll leave it at that.
Pretty straightforward.
Learn it, Live it.
We also got a look-see around the Area of Operations, specifically down at the curve at the lowest point on the Alafia which is where we got the surge from that hit my street:
That red peak of a roof on the left?
That’s where a double “Fuck You Money” niiice set of boats were in elevator cradles… And yepper, the bloats were there riiiight before the storm hit as I drove by and saw ’em both.
Last Stop: Davey Jones’s Locker
All off.
Indeed.
So, I think, for now that wraps me up on this round of Observations. I’m not going to go into my own ‘stuff’ because like I said in the beginning, the majority of “preps” for the individual vary person-to-person. The “How I did this/that” stuff…
In my case it’s that I kept the rifle IMMEDIATELY next to the bed, locked and loaded, safety ON, muzzle down, so IF I needed to grab it, it was a natural thing to snatch it via the pistol grip. I kept a weapon either ON me at all times or within an arms reach AT ALL TIMES as well.
The biggest thing was being able to put up with the -calm-
It’s been a looooong minute since things around here were that quiet. Even the cats and doggos knew shit was funky, and kept insanely chilled. The quiet…
Mind you I’m NOT complaining…
It was just or I should say it’s been sooooo long since I’ve had it that quiet up and around the Casa. I for one did NOT mind it. In fact I started a new book, which for me is hard in that I have very specific tastes and finding one IN PRINT is tough.
This was one of Gretchens picks that she bought a ways back. She doesn’t ‘do’ the Kindle or reading on her phone and the like… so in this case I got to hit her ‘hard’ paper-edition of “CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the SECRET HISTORY of The Sixties”
Four chapters in, and I got no complaints.
So I’ll be getting back to it now.
Comments, Cares and or Concerns? The Tactical Hermit asked me via DM on my text thread if I needed anything, to which I told him:”
“Send me all the Naked Blonde Hookers and Blow you have!”
I hope he takes that as a Challenge.
So More Later
Big Country
I have a couple of 500 watt solar generators to take care of phone charging and rechargeable batteries as well as rechargeable flashlights. Ets. They have 100W solar panels and all in all work extremely well.
+1. This is a good solution. Quiet. I have a larger 2000 watt-hour unit, 6x150w panels, cables, inline fuses, plus a backup system consisting of a couple of 100AH AGM batteries, a separate 40A solar charge controller, a separate 2000w inverter, more suitable cables, fuses and connectors, all tested and tucked away, batteries charged every 3 months. Backed up with a 2000w inverter generator which produces low-distortion power capable of recharging the solar generator unit. I plan to defend the protein in my freezer. I like eating.
Glad to hear you made through intact. Now I don’t have to post this at Phil and Kevin’s place for those missing flammenwerfer goodness in your absence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY3sM0jtwaA&t=42s
How did your new roof hold up?
Great! Moar pics to follow later. You can tell who had a new roof put on in the past 2-3 years as opposed who didn’t/skimped on it.
The ones who didn’t? Their roofs (rooves?) look like a 1970’s Goalie’s toofuses with all the missing shingles
Which apparently ended up in my yard LOL
The other part of quiet is the lack of 60 cycle hum. You don’t notice until it’s gone, or maybe not until it comes back on. You can *feel the EM.
That and limited menu reminds me of a time:
92 blizzard of Asheville NC. Bad weather magnet? There we were. Power out, 18″ of snow overnight Friday and you know they don’t handle snow worth a damn there. The salt truck/plows slipped off the road into the ditches. This was before Asheville got uberblue. Some folks in the area knew how to drive in it as we saw headlights going up and down the road from where we where staying. We were due to head out Sunday.
End of the quiet
Power came on just about noon Sunday on the dot. You could feel it before the lights came back up. Made it out in the Jeep Cherokee though had to dodge around some 18 wheelers trying to make it over the mountains on I40W. I think it was the third exit after getting down on the west side before finding anything open.
Those small Blessings
The one hotel was filled up except for a reserved room. Got touched by an angel, one of the other desk people said he had the wrong room it was another that was reserved so yes there was one room left.
Limited menu
Waffle House next door for dinner and the waitress started going down the list of what they were out of. I stopped her and asked what they did have, and yes that will be fine. Gave her a very good tip as she was heading towards her 3rd shift straight (can’t leave until relieved). Next morning breakfast at the hotel. We asked for a menu (they had a buffet set up), and “sorry but everything we have is on the buffet.” To this day our ops motto is “buffet looks great”.
Don’ts
Check the weather before traveling. Could not believe the 30 mile long parking lot trying to head east and stuck there overnight. There were a few deaths by cold from that. Snowmen in the median. 30 miles because it took that long before THP shut the ramps. People hauling boats. Through a blizzard hit area. Go figure.
Here’s a couple of VERY handy lil’ gadgets: Adapters to substitute C and D cells with AA’s
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OUM1GTI?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OUM17AQ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
I have some of the Enaloop ones for C cells.
They don’t last as long but, they work in a pinch.
Also 18650s with the port built in are gold
Ditto Just so you know it’s not a one off.
I run my LED Mag lights with the C cell adapters using Eneloop AAs.
I have probably 6-8 each C & D cell adapters.
I haven’t bought a disposable AA or AAA in a decade. except for one device that is so on the edge for power that only Eneloop Black (“Pro version”) would run them and I just don’t bother with those except in go bags.
To go with that there is also a gadget out there with a USB port, that uses 4-6 AA bats so you can put an emegency charge on just about anything that can be USB powered/charged.
The dark, without any sky glow, is something to see; and it keeps two-legged critters at bay. They can’t sneak up on home territory, and do so at great risk to their health. The quiet is what really gets to me. Tinnitus goes from a high pitched unnoticed whine to a maddening constant reminder of my ignorance. Jack hammers, shooting, and loud construction equipment do such things without ear protection.
I bought a Bolt a few years ago. It guarantees some extra wattage for things with rechargeable batteries.
Glad you came through Ok.
In a,pinch,when Looks don’t matter, and it seems you’ve experienced that, a ciggy lighter and about anything, tongue depresser, butter knife,, melt the hot glue and apply.
C adapters for AA batteries are available.
Aaa are my most used, so most
$ benefit from rechargeables…
Good rechargeables like eneloop drop off faster once low than alkalines slow fade, but give me greater time of full power led light performance.
Yeah, I like good rechargeable.
Re cashier – being a big Neanderthal during times of trouble is benefit, vs being a man bun soy boy… she thought you’d keep her safe.
Glad that you and Sapper made it through in good shape.
I’m also glad that you choose to share the best parts of your experiences with us.
Now to find out how Gretchen, her folks, Red Headed Nooclear Whirlwind, and (yes, even) DC are doing. (I say DC because it’s always good intel to know where the enemy is)
back in the 1980’s before you could get spare parts for a lot of older cars. gas tanks used to rust out like mad. what I did on a few of them was to sand blast the rust off and then fiberglass them.
use the mesh and give them a good coat, say 1/8-3/16 thick. never had one fail after that.
now a days with tanks made of plastic, some glues and JB weld should work wonders.
always keep a few different types of JB weld on hand. it is great stuff that will save your ass.
question, what rechargeable batteries work best for you so far ?
and is there a charger you like better than other ? if so, why ?
have a lot of “copper top” on hand, but rechargeable batteries might be a better way to go.
also thinking of setting up a solar system to add to the generators I already have (2) one gasoline and the other propane. problem here is trees/shade in summer. although it does keep the house cooler.
hills of pa.
DO NOT TRUST DURACELL.
Coppertop quality went down the tubes around 2011 or -12. They used to be the gold standard and I had stockpiled plenty of them, but all of a sudden they started blowing up in my gear and ruining it, I mean absolutely wrecking milled aluminum gear when they corroded and swelled up, and it could happen overnight. I lost many flashlights and game cams, thankfully I never had them in anything really crucial or expensive. I think the recipe changed, maybe due to some enviro law but for whatever reason they are not what they used to be and are not to be trusted. Energizer lithium cells are where I went next, a bit more expensive but longer shelf life, lighter weight, better performance at high and low temps. Most importantly they haven’t ruined any of my toys yet. YMMV.
Duracells- they were all i would buy at one time. i found the Harbor Freight batts are just as good or better at a fraction of the cost.. 24 AAAs for around $5 jewbux
They are now made in China
Absolutely this. Duracell sucks now. I buy Energizer AA/AAA/D in bulk when I find a good deal. Have had maybe a couple of those leak, but not like the Duracells have. They ruined two 6 cell MagLites, a nice universal remote, and a laser pointer, then then I shitcanned Duracell from my house permanently.
Biggest problem up north here is there ain’t no non-eth gas anywhere. But that sure isn’t much of a big deal considering what the rest of the coast looks like.
No idea of your location, but check pure-gas.org for closest available.
Most auto parts stores sell eth remover. I think they have to call it octane boost cuz of TLA regs
I can’t remember if it was a comment you made directly, or relayed through someone else, regarding drinking water – or lack there of.
While we have a few cases of distlled water on hand, I also have a Big Berkey water filtration unit. I also have two changes of filters.
https://www.bigberkeywaterfilters.com/big-berkey-water-filter.html?berkey_system_filters_included=56
They do have blemished units for slightly cheaper.
Otherwise, you could buy the filter units and use a couple of food safe 5 gallon pails to make your own.
https://www.instructables.com/DIY-Berkey-Water-Purifiier/
My kids all have water purifying straws in their hunting packs, and I have another pump style water purifier in one of my bags.
Just something to keep in mind.
Glad you guys pulled through fine, Bill.
Leigh
Whitehall, NY
Berkey is out of stock on everything. EPA decided Berkey water filters were a pesticide and shut them down for lack of pesticide manufacturing licenses. Berkey filed suit; but long road ahead.
Glad ya rode it out okay. It may be stupid cold up here and the ground shakes a lot, but it’s a safe bet the house’ll be where I left it. That genny is a fire waitin’ to happen…make that a priority. There’s a product called Poly-Grip you can find at auto body & paint supply shops. It’s designed for repairing kydex & plastic trim pieces. We use it to repair the kydex airplane interior panels our freight apes break. Marine shops sell epoxy putty that’ll set underwater; I keep a pack in the boat & a spare in the truck kit. If the county is offering sandbags, take em. If ya don’t use ‘em, a few stacked inside a decorative wooden planterbox under the window adds that bit o’ charm to the place, know what I mean?
BC, very pleased to hear you and Sapper pulled through with minimal shittiness. You are a wise man to take stock of the deficiencies in your preps now, and find ways to better them from the next big show (which hopefully is some ways off yet).
I’ve not really been challenged by any major event here in the Midwest, so lack the benefit of a “live run” to test out my various planning and provisioning. Problem is, simulation has a way of making the system under test look better than it really is, so a “faked trial run” doesn’t really get one the same insight as the real thing.
That generator gas tank looks nasty, but at least it got you through. I hate those two piece steel tanks with the crimp seam. Things eventually rust out, so you may want to look at a new genny when funds permit, or see if a replacement tank can be found that fits it (since it still runs), which would be a cheaper alternative, if available.
I have to run ethanol gas here, no non-ethanol of any grade for sale in about a 100 mile radius of home base (and I’ve looked). I keep a big jug of PRI-G on hand, and treat all gas cans immediately on refilling. I just don’t let gas sit in anything with a small engine but the lawn mower, gas line trimmer and blower (the latter two are Stihl with required mix), and all 3 get run often enough that gas doesn’t sit in them long anyway). Gensets, trash pump, snow blower and less frequently or seasonal equipment get drained or run down after each use. Kind of an pain in the ass, but I make it work.
Another thing I’ve done is upgrade the alternators on three of my vehicles as they needed replacement. I won’t buy remans at a auto parts store, they’re shit and never last. I installed 200A new built upgrade units, made by Power Bastards (see their website) in my truck, and two of my cars. Keep two big (2500W peak) inverters, one of which is a true sine wave output, plus some smaller ones (500-700W) on hand, and can run many things from that with the car running at idle, if needed.
Since I keep extra gas, and at least one extra car battery (3 of my vehicles take the same group 34/78 battery type) on a float charger at all times, I can put together a pretty nice backup power setup even without a generator running. Obviously, this has implications for securing the vehicle if left running, and probably isn’t a workable idea during a hurricane.
For the big inverters, a proper extra heavy gauge cabling set that bolts up to the battery posts is required. Those have pulled my ass out of a bad spot a few times, as far as providing emergency power. Can run lots of LED lighting, fans, phone chargers and even some small appliances off of those.
As to other matters, I cannot agree more on having cash on hand. Various radios are important (FRS/GMRS, programmble multi band transceiver, portable AM/FM/SW, as you posted. A well stocked first aid kit is also a must have. Mine goes beyond well beyond basics, with Betadine, specialty bandages, suture kits, and things like amoxicillin and zithro in veterinary form (still in capsule form, just as humans would normally take). Some of this stuff I seal with a vacuum packer made for food storage, as it keeps it dry and clean, even if it were to be submerged, or exposed to smoke damage.
A camping stove with small propane tanks is a good idea IMHO, to avoid heavily using electrically operated appliances, and thereby stretch the generator fuel supply. I also keep some keresene heaters and plenty of K1 on hand, winters here without heat can be very bad news. I have r
various scavenged and recycled squirrel cage blower motor assemblies to move air at high velocity, often these are 12VDC, though some are 120VAC. This can help somewhat at maintaining comfort, and sometimes are more effective than regular box, floor or table fans on a CFM to power consumption ratio.
Anyway, just sharing some stuff I’ve done. Probably nothing novel or new to those who regularly read here.
Agreed. Squirrel cage fans are much more efficient at directing a stream of air which, due to the design of the fan, is compressed. That’s why the air feels so much cooler than a box fan.
“FA-FO
THAT needs to be a T-Shirt with Phil from BustedKnuckles flipping off the camera as the pic in all his Fuzzy Bearded Glory… ”
If you REALLY get hard up for a pic, I have a FAFO shirt I wear frequently up here just north of Pensacola and have a LONG white goatee probably longer than Phils. Escambia county knows my middle fingers very well.
Hell, we look similar and have damn near the same taste in music, so there may be some common blood there…
You can run a gas generator INSIDE your garage during the blows. That way the fucktards don’t get tempted to become a live target. It also lowers the noise signature in the AO. We’re out in the bush east of Lehigh Acres, and we did not lose power this time, but I have run the generator inside during and after a blow. Specifically Ian was much worse and we got 113 mph here which toasted the grid for a while.
What you do is figure out where you want the generator to semi permanently live. I have mine in the corner of a double garage next to the sensor for the garage opener stuff and roller rails. That puts the generator close to the Onan 6 circuit generator transfer box that is hard wired to the load center. Backup off grid solar battery DC/AC inverter stuff goes in the transfer box for short term power, then when you want to fire up the generator you feed the generator output in via the transfer box plug and disconnect the solar.
I punched a hole through the CBS and installed a chunk of 1 1/2 steel exhaust pipe in the block to make a port. You can find a PVC pipe plumbing adaptor that will slip fit over the pipe outside to protect things from beasties getting in. Next, you get some flexible exhaust pipe that fits the outlet of your generator muffler and rig it so it clamps down on the generator muffler and then feeds through the wall to the outside. Next, you open the garage door to leave about a 2 inch gap on the bottom seal to the floor and then put notches in the roller side rail so that you can lock the door down with the door locks. That allows some air to come in during the rain and blow. You PROBABLY WILL get slimey beasties or 4 footed beasties trying to seek cover and get into the garage but you can figure out how to deal with that. It will get warm in the garage unless you exhaust some of the air in there to the outside with a small fan (when the wind dies down). It turns out that my attic access is in the garage and I stick a box fan in the opening and blow air up in the attic. During a blow that wind pressure will keep the air circulating in the garage. You also put a CO detector in there just in case something happens to the exhaust system. I have one in there anyway, regardless of the generator.
^ Russel is right on this, but you absolutely have to do it 10o% right to keep it safe. And it still probably poses an increased risk of fire if the generator malfunctions. One’s homeowner’s insurance carrier would undoubtedly frown on the practice. A detached garage or a shed might be a bit better for this.
I setup such an external exhaust port in the garage at Mom’s so we can run a genny there with it secured, and cut down the noise to the neighbors. Have a gable mounted exhaust fan on the end that vents the garage out, and helps move air inside the garage with the door cracked. Have seldom used it, but it’s there if needed or wanted.
I also highly recommend a manual transfer switch with a sub panel for critical loads, and a proper watertight twist lock inlet (and proper cord set to use it) on the exterior of the house nearest where the genset gets situated when in use. Much better than stringing extension cords all over the damned place. Of course it will cost some money to install that, so can understand those who choose not to go that route.
Good preparation for the cataclysm the CPUSA (D) and globalists have coming.
I have a spelunker [caving] light that recharges USB with bright/medium/strobe white light with two small IR blinkers.
It is crazy bright and usually only use the blinkers while on PT flank patrol.
Still have the ol’ Marlboro send in radio flashlight with geek alert siren, extra long azz antenna, quit smoking the cowboy killers when they were $1.25 a pack, now almost $10 for a pack.
It get busted out first when lights go down but it is D powered battery, about 8 of them.
Duffel bags of work gloves, cold weather, tactical, BMX/Motorcycle style, multiple flashlights mostly AAA powered and found a cool one called Coast while out on PT walk the flank patrol, very durable.
A prep hoarder for fun and to be ready for the CPUSA (D) kill shot of the republic.
If you need good LMFAO look up that made by Jimmy Kimmel staffer poseur actors (phags) I’m a manly man who votes for Kamal Toe, serious mockery and laughs have ensued.
Even Spicoli came back from the bong 1982 featuring the surf interview with the bikini babes because those guys are phags.
“It’s my ‘brothers’ who are the problem: white voters,”
https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=64691
fucking jews…
Every Single Time Brother…
HO GAWUD
Radios – Got plenty, 2X of the Grundigs, 2X Brand X “crankables”, 3X Greadio AM/FM/SW (uses either 120V AC or 4X D cells). Before TV went digital radios with the TV band were available, I have no Foxtroting idea why no one has made radios that can capture the digital audio signal. Needed, though, because before 2009 TV info was different from AM and/or FM radio storm info.
Have homemade 120V distribution boxes – 2X 4X4 boxes each with 2X duplex receptacles so 8 outlets per unit, 4 in each are GFCI, 4 regular. Both use 20 ft of 10/3, one has L5-30P to connect to the 25 amp gennie port, the other has L5-15 plug to connect to anything (also have 50 ft and 100 ft 10-3 extension cords with L5-30P and L5-30R, and 5ft 10-3 “adapter” cable with L5-30P on one end L5-15R on the other). Run 50ft 10-3 to the center of the living room, plug in 25 ft and 50 ft 16-3 cords to the fridge, freezer, floor lamp, couple fans.
Gennie is a 20+ year old Honda EU3000 (used it during Charlie in 2004). Runs real quiet, doesn’t attract attention on the back porch.
Have several Aladdin kerosene lamps, one wall mounted, All much many good. Keep lots of spare mantles, though, once lit they’re fragile. Lots of candles – 4 ounce glass jars (box of 40 from Zon is ~$28), center wick (Zon again, 100=$7) with with a spring clothespin sitting on top of jar, melt wax (20 lb from Hobby Lobby on sale = $24) , fill jar. Wax will shrink when it cools, re-fill to bring it up to top. Let it cool overnight, trim wick to 3/4″ above wax, fold over, put lid on jar, set aside. Have 4X in truck box, 2-3 X in each room in house. Don’t forget something to light the candles with.
+1 on lots of different duct tape. Life saving tool. Thanks for tip on JB Weld SteelStik, will get some.
Have “H” format floodlight stand made from 1″” black steel pipe, 4 ft lengths off the center vertical Tee with horizontal 1″ Tees at the ends, the Tees accept 5 ft lengths of 1/2″ black steel pipe, held in place with Tractor Supply hitch pins. 3/4″ and 1/2″ EMT goes into the 24″ 3/4″ vertical; at the center of the H to hold a 60W LED floodlight 15 ft up (4200 lumen). Regular electrical “beam clamp” from Lowes bolts to the light and clamps perfectly to 1/2″ EMT. Have 2nd 60W LED flood with a piece of 3/4′ black steel pipe for a handle to make a “man portable” light, the 3/4″ pipe will slide over 1/2″ EMT or 5/8″ steel rod pounded into ground. Both LEDs have 2 ft 14-3 round cord with L5-15Ps on the end to plug into regular 14-3 extension cord.
Great status report. Glad you made it with minimal hurt. Just ordered those octopus cables you mentioned along with the D cell adapters as my inventory has more AA and AAA in it than D cells. Good to have choices.
Always interesting to learn about what works and what doesn’t in real life. All the hype associated with all products makes it confusing to say the least.
Always look for real, first hand information before spending hard earned dollars on items that may have no value to you in time of need and God knows the time of need is at hand.
Thank you for the info. Stay safe.
Highly recommend looking into a new Champion generator. They can’t be beat. I just upgraded to a dual fuel. And they make tri fuels now. Outrageously reliable, quiet running, and a selection of outlets for power out. Can’t say enough about them.
outlaw,
Eugene Oregon.
Here at the farm, we experimented with a 10k Champion (‘open-frame’ contractor-style).
.
In the bed of the Dodge 2500 and inside the canopy with the back-door closed, you could probably hear it a couple-three miles away.
It went back to Tractor Supply.
BCE glad to hear to SITREP and mostly all good on your end. The small things in being prepared can really add up in conveniences. Keep safe brother.
-Western NC Mountains
Baking soda and super glue will help with patching or making small repairs.
Many people have battery powered power tools. I have Dewalt. You can get lights that use those same batteries. I used one from about midnight to 6am and it only used one bar on the battery. The cheap versions from Amazon are around $20. I suggest having a couple of them. The giant ones eat the batteries really quickly, but the mid sized ones last for a very long time on one charge. Here is one from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D1TLGSN7?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
These lights last much longer than standard battery powered ones.
Also, if you want rechargeable batteries, I have had great luck with Eneloops for AA and AAA and EBL for C & D. I have Eneloops that are still going strong after 10 years of use. I also have little solar panels that can recharge them.
You should consider writing a book; your ability to tell a story is that good.
You could start with a collection of blog postings.
Yeah, I’ve told him that too. At the time BCE responded something about military antiquities.
But, IMHO he’s got some untapped creativity…
Nice AAR BCE.
I will say though I was surprised that your power generation wasn’t more robust. Not being critical, (at least not trying to be), but back up elect generation is a top priority for me and Im nowhere near hurricane zone. Gens are fairly cheap these days. A new 5000KW dual fuel Predator inverter gen can be had for 900.00 on sale. Elect/remote start, super quiet and reliable.
BTW I used to have that same Grundig radio. loved that thing. I used to pick up Alex Jones on the shortwave before internet was a big thing. Loved it so much I just ordered one off fleabay after seeing yours ! I’m LDS so prepping is kind of in my blood/upbringing, so AARs on things like this interest me greatly. I’ve got a few friends hit by Helene and their reports to me are incredibly eye opening.
Preps are a great thing but if they’re all in one place at your home and it gets washed away, well, not much help, but my friends made out ok in that regard and seam to be fairing pretty well. Food and water are no issue for them as they were prepped good for that. The lack of communication was the biggest worry for them it seams. Times have changed. Used to be not hearing from someone for a few days or a week was no biggy, now if no answer by the 3rd call and we are all bolluxed up.
Anyhow, glad you faired well and thanks for the info. We can all eval our own situation now.
Regards
JT
Damn, VERY glad to see you made through without any major issues. I been wondering how you fared.
Have to agree that Ye Olde basic radios are something most folks don’t have anymore, I have 2 that have crank handles and 1 even has a small solar panel too.
Very handy.
Something you might want to put on a Wish List is one of those battery powered little chain saws they have now.
I think I’ll be getting one after seeing all of this to match the Harbor Freight power tools I have gathered up over the last couple of years.
Keep your head and your ass down and your eyes open old man and tell Sapper I said thanks for being there.
Stand Up Dood.
Oh yeah, thanks for the shout out too.
LOL!
Phil,
We use Craftsman 20v battery-operated chain-saws.
We like them because the batteries fit our other Craftsman 20v tools:
* weed-whacker
* impact driver
* saws such as jig, circular, and recip.
Our chain-saws are little 10″ babes, easy for small and short team members to haul and swing.
.
The batteries can charge on 750-Watt inverters in each vehicle.
The radio is a no brainier. They are stupid cheap. I think the issue there is that most don’t listen to terrestrial radio. That’s a shame because the local am station is about the only place to can get local news.
I’m with the others on this thread. Duracell has fucked me over repeatedly. I’ve probably lost $100 in maglights alone. I got Amazon basics rechargeables. Cheap and they work.
I did notice my supplies of others are low. I’ll hit harbor freight this week
BCE – I have been learning and leaching from your site for some time now. With all you have going on I’d like to send you some $. I don’t have alot but consider it a subscription payment. Do you have a link for that? Send me an email – I entered it below on the system.
Hm! I see an opportunity for doing some more good Samaritan work here.
Been collecting radios (AM/FM/Shortwave) for over 40 years. I think there may be a few spare groty but working battery units units here about. Sad part is these are found at every garage sale, no one wants them here in the Midwest and rarely think of it unless the tornado sirens go off.
If BC sees fit, he might be able to send a few to his neighbors with the following ABSOLUTE instructions:
Unless you use it every day, you keep the radio empty of batteries until needed for an emergency. Then and only then you put them in (per diagram inside) and thus have a link to the world.
As to batteries – never can have enough of em around, I have a couple of dozen of every common type on hand and re-stock whenever the number drops to one dozen. And yes, they have become stupid expensive thanks to the EPA and all the rest of the idijits and .gov agencies (I repeat myself). Bought two 2450 lithium cells last week, price was 7 bucks from the Zon, but the frigging box was 5 x 5 x 4 and plastered with danger symbols. The box, shipping and labels probably cost more than the damned contents that had about 1/2 OZ weight.
Well thank goodness.
I’d hate to see you blown out of the recreational flame thrower and hobby arsonist industry before you even got started! 😂👍
Thanks for letting us know Tiny! 👍
After the 1997 GFND flood, I can’t remember how many times I turned the bathroom light switch on and cursed during a week without power (or water [flushing with a bucket of not potable water). Years later, I ran across a simple light source. Those cheap solar sidewalk lights come fully charged and last all night. Not enough to read by, but enough to avoid furniture. And it saves the batteries in the real flashlights.
re : gensets
.
Pretty much everybody has one sitting in the garage or driveway.
They have brand-names such as KIA and Chevrolet.
.
With a couple-three cheap automotive inverters, an idling vehicle can charge batteries, shavers, flashlights etcetera.
.
Run the vehicle engine for charging, then shut it ‘OFF’.
With a stand-alone genset, the temptation is letting it run 24/7 just in case the grandkids need to use the bathroom.
.
Full-time live-aboard in our ExpeditionVehicle since 2003, we reduce and eliminate our electricity needs.
On RV forums, the straights attempt to duplicate a stand-still house in a vehicle such as a motorhome or travel-trailer…
… requiring enormous tanks, enormously complicated components cobbled into enormously complicated systems.
.
2003, engineering our rig, we chose ‘primitive’, easily repaired and easily replaced.
Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) is our friend.
I lurk so much here….always a good read: Thank You!
I felt a need to comment on small batteries. I found out long ago that many battery packs for drills, laptops, etc. are just 18650s wired together and when a battery ‘goes bad’ it’s usually just one of the cells that died and the rest are fine. Un-case them, separate them, clean the ends and solder a blob on the + end and you have a good battery. I have several hundred in the Future Box. With so many available I usually try to get flashlights, head lamps and other electronics for that battery size as a first choice.
https://gab.com/KrissyD/posts/113285271657631669
I’ll just leave this here. FAF.
Chris (CIII)
You can print an AA to C adapter. I wouldn’t leave it in a hot car but it’s a good backup. Give me an address and qty and I’ll make you some.
Great stuff for getting the noggin juices flowing!
Glad to hear you made it through. Couple of questions. What the heck is “Affy”? And what is the model # of that Grundig?
Never mind on the Grundig…blew the picture up and my old eyeballs could see the model #.
HA! Figured out “Affy” as well but I’d always heard it referred to as “Trashcanistan” or “Ashcanistan”…I was thinking “Affy” was a nickname for some Sporting Goods chain I’d never heard of before.
It’s all good… Welcome!!! Welcome!!! to the shitshow that is my Blog!!! Where the story never ends, where the noticing is ongoing, a spade is called a spade, and we’re all truly equal, judged NOT by our skin-color, but by our intellect (as the majority of retards and morons show themselves and their asses early and pretty brutally…) where we engage each other via immature non-sequiturs, insults and bad humor.
As it sez in the header “An Old Soldier’s Rant. You don’t like it? Go Away. Life is Too Short and Your Opinion Matters Not.”
You don’t like it, kindly fuck off Aye?
Otherwise, as I said, Welcome!!! Welcome!!!
If you have any questions on the terminology, please feel free to reach out… no one can bash you for being ignorant… (nor do I allow it) as stated, “Affy” is Afghanistan, where I had the distinct displeasure of working for a year +/- back in the day…
Abu G is the same… Abu Ghraib prison…. BT-FDT
So yep… enjoy and please participate as you feel inclined