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AC_Hacker · 11-11-14, 07:47 PM

Sorry, I just couldn't think of a better title. I thought of "Preparedness" and I thought of "Surviving... etc.", but they all sounded so 'Guns and Dogs, and Bags of Beans', and I've been down that road, and that's just not where I want to go anymore.

But I think that preparing for temporary lapses of the infrastructure seems very much more civilized and realistic and likely to happen, and easier to prepare for. I can live with that one.

Case in point:

A month or so ago, the power went out, when it was night. I was lucky to remember the general area where I had last left my flashlight, and I "brailled" my way around in total darkness for 5 minutes or so (seemed like five hours) until I found one tiny LED single AA cell flashlight.

That helped me find other stuff. So I used the inconvenient moments to take stock...

Here's what I didn't have:

No house lights
No electric cooking (resistance, induction, microwave)
No Internet
No telephone (I have no cell, I use IP-phone)
No mini-split heat (it wasn't very cold then, so no problem)
No TV
Dead refrigerator
Dead freezer

Here's what I did have:

Natural gas cook stove
Heat from the stove's oven
Hot water (NG demand DW heater ignited by D-cells)
Water (hot & cold)
Portable battery-powered radio
A refrigerator full of food
A freezer full of food.

Honestly, the first thing I did was to take a nice long hot shower because my gas demand water heater is always ready, and because I could. It made things much better.

But it was quite startling to be in the midst of an outage (could have been a crisis, but it wasn't) and not have any communications. I couldn't even communicate my plight to anybody... that is a problem.

Especially vexing because I know that the phone line (my dsl) is working... (at least, The Telco has it act together).

But my connection to the Internet is out because some low voltage devices:

my Internet modem 12V
my IP phone adapter (Ooma) 12V
my cordless phones 9V

...are not functioning because of no 120 VAC power.

Then I realized that I have all the parts scattered about because I had started collecting the parts to build a "Lapse-Proof" battery backup to keep my fundamental stuff going.

So I started thrashing about through my house with my tiny LED light looking for the pieces in the dark:

12V Lead-Acid Battery
Inverter
12V power cable to attach the two together.
misc. cords & cables & plug strip

Turned out that the 12V power cables were the hardest to find, and one of the cables required some modification. So down I go into the gloomy dark basement, while holding the little flashlight in my teeth, I cut and modified the cable to fit the purpose.

As I was bringing the modified 12V cable upstairs, the power came back on and the TV started yammering and all the rest of the house came alive... crisis over.

So, at least, I have all the parts together in the same place, even if they are not assembled.

LESSONS:

Searching for tiny flashlights in the dark really sucks. (not finding them would be much worse)
D-cell ignited NG demand hot water heater is very good
Gas stove is good to have (I also love my induction & microwave)
Having a kit to provide essential communications power (in the absence of a cell phone) is a worthy goal

-AC

11-11-14, 07:47 PM	#1
AC_Hacker Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 4,004 Thanks: 303 Thanked 723 Times in 534 Posts	Preparing for Infrastructure Lapses... Sorry, I just couldn't think of a better title. I thought of "Preparedness" and I thought of "Surviving... etc.", but they all sounded so 'Guns and Dogs, and Bags of Beans', and I've been down that road, and that's just not where I want to go anymore. But I think that preparing for temporary lapses of the infrastructure seems very much more civilized and realistic and likely to happen, and easier to prepare for. I can live with that one. Case in point: A month or so ago, the power went out, when it was night. I was lucky to remember the general area where I had last left my flashlight, and I "brailled" my way around in total darkness for 5 minutes or so (seemed like five hours) until I found one tiny LED single AA cell flashlight. That helped me find other stuff. So I used the inconvenient moments to take stock... Here's what I didn't have: No house lights No electric cooking (resistance, induction, microwave) No Internet No telephone (I have no cell, I use IP-phone) No mini-split heat (it wasn't very cold then, so no problem) No TV Dead refrigerator Dead freezer Here's what I did have: Natural gas cook stove Heat from the stove's oven Hot water (NG demand DW heater ignited by D-cells) Water (hot & cold) Portable battery-powered radio A refrigerator full of food A freezer full of food. Honestly, the first thing I did was to take a nice long hot shower because my gas demand water heater is always ready, and because I could. It made things much better. But it was quite startling to be in the midst of an outage (could have been a crisis, but it wasn't) and not have any communications. I couldn't even communicate my plight to anybody... that is a problem. Especially vexing because I know that the phone line (my dsl) is working... (at least, The Telco has it act together). But my connection to the Internet is out because some low voltage devices: my Internet modem 12V my IP phone adapter (Ooma) 12V my cordless phones 9V ...are not functioning because of no 120 VAC power. Then I realized that I have all the parts scattered about because I had started collecting the parts to build a "Lapse-Proof" battery backup to keep my fundamental stuff going. So I started thrashing about through my house with my tiny LED light looking for the pieces in the dark: 12V Lead-Acid Battery Inverter 12V power cable to attach the two together. misc. cords & cables & plug strip Turned out that the 12V power cables were the hardest to find, and one of the cables required some modification. So down I go into the gloomy dark basement, while holding the little flashlight in my teeth, I cut and modified the cable to fit the purpose. As I was bringing the modified 12V cable upstairs, the power came back on and the TV started yammering and all the rest of the house came alive... crisis over. So, at least, I have all the parts together in the same place, even if they are not assembled. LESSONS: Searching for tiny flashlights in the dark really sucks. (not finding them would be much worse) D-cell ignited NG demand hot water heater is very good Gas stove is good to have (I also love my induction & microwave) Having a kit to provide essential communications power (in the absence of a cell phone) is a worthy goal -AC __________________ I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker... Last edited by AC_Hacker; 11-11-14 at 08:09 PM..