What I learn by living Superstorm Sandy

reply to post by syrinx high priest


You would need a serious system to run most of the things you listed. Anything that uses electricity to generate heat also uses a lot of it. Example a regular space heater would be in the range of 1500 watts, more for a hot water heater. Refrigerator might be doable with a lower priced system. As for the hot water heater get one that runs off natural gas as it will work when the power goes out and you could even run a hot shower close the door and heat up 1 room in the house if need be. Your wood stove is a valuable asset use it to cook on, get some cast iron cookware and a camping perculater to make coffee or tea in on it. But in a nutshell a 3 or 4 hundred dollar solar system could power most of your needs including a fridge and be portable at the same time, most are mounted on a dolly with the batteries on board etc... Oh yea and a good bike cable lock to secure it when it's unattended outside.

Originally posted by jaynkeel
reply to post by syrinx high priest

 

You would need a serious system to run most of the things you listed. Anything that uses electricity to generate heat also uses a lot of it. Example a regular space heater would be in the range of 1500 watts, more for a hot water heater. Refrigerator might be doable with a lower priced system. As for the hot water heater get one that runs off natural gas as it will work when the power goes out and you could even run a hot shower close the door and heat up 1 room in the house if need be. Your wood stove is a valuable asset use it to cook on, get some cast iron cookware and a camping perculater to make coffee or tea in on it. But in a nutshell a 3 or 4 hundred dollar solar system could power most of your needs including a fridge and be portable at the same time, most are mounted on a dolly with the batteries on board etc... Oh yea and a good bike cable lock to secure it when it's unattended outside.

'

thank you for taking the time to reply. I just checked my hot water heater, fridge and space heaters and I'll need 8 kw to run them all at once. yikes.

looks like a portable noise maker with chains for me

oh well

not perfect but in the north east it's a must have now

I survived the two storms also.

Yes, it was a great learning experience. Sort of a "test-run" on how well we are prepared.

Here are some pointers that were eye-openers for me and my family.

Cell phones - leave them off unless they are going to be used at that moment. If the power fails, so will cell towers. Granted they have battery back-ups, but they will not last long. Keeping the phone on will cause it to roam around trying to find a cell signal. That burns up the battery quickly resulting in a soon to be dead phone.

Interestingly I have found that malls had power and cell service. I found myself driving to my local mall to make calls and get food from the food court. When done with calls, turn off phone and keep the car charger plugged in so phone is recharged and ready for next round of calls.

Cash - Having cash on hand is mandatory. There were some gas stations and grocery stores who had power, but no internet or phone lines - credit cards were not accepted there. Cash was the only method of payment. As such, I recommend about $1,000 in $20 dollar bills. Nothing higher than $20's though. I only had $100 in cash and that did not last me long.

Water - Yes in NYC there will be pressure due to gravity, but note that should the emergency be earthquake or explosion related, the water pipes will likely crack and leak. If you are using a well for water and it is breached by sea water or other contaminates, you are out of luck. Take the garbage pail out, use a new clean garbage bag and start collecting rain water. (Sandy wasn't much of a rain storm though.)

Apartment buildings - definitely a no-zone. No water, no lights, no HVAC, no elevators, and no heat. Anyone in the hallways or staircases is a possible victim or target. Do not stay in apartment buildings. Much too dangerous.

I have heard personal accounts from survivors of people going into their basements to start pumping out water just to be electrocuted because the circuit panel was still live. (Look at electric meter to see if it is clocking KWH. If it is moving, you still have juice. Stay away from the water and wear sneakers for insulation.)

I heard a story about one person who was in the basement (power was off) and a wave of water came in and filled the basement with seawater to the ceiling. The guy was caught and had to swim to the staircase to get out. Basements are dangerous too.

Having gas for hot water is good as the water heater will likely stay on (provided it is above water), but heat requires a water circulation pump to be functional. I am not sure if they are 12 VDC pumps or 110 VAC pumps. If 12 volt, then a car/boat battery can be used. I also don't know how many amps they require.

Having no heat or hot water - my kids had a good thought - which worked. They pulled a camping tent from the garage and set it up in the living room. They slept in side overnight in sleeping bags. The tent retained so much of their body heat to the point they had to unzip the sleeping bags and the tent as they were getting too hot inside. They used the rainfly to help retain heat. I froze my butt off sleeping on the sofa with as many blankets on as I could find.

Use pets (dog and/or cat) to help keep you warm at night.

My 2 cents

-E2

Syrinx, you need about 3000-5000 continuous watts to do that. "Affordable" batteries are limited in that power range.