A Little Self-Reliance Prep

[Americanlady]

It dawned on me the other day that, if there were a power cut here in my area, I would have no way of keeping warm or of cooking. True, I have lots of candles and a couple of oil lanterns, but that's it. Since I live alone, maybe I should do something about this.

I don't want to spend a lot of money, but I think if I purchase a few things, I can continue to be self-reliant. My home is heated with natural gas, but without power the fan would not be operable, so I'm going to look into purchasing a smallish gas-powered generator to power the fan, and even hook up to lights in the house. In order to cook my food, I want a propane fueled camp stove with one or two burners. I know they can be had for $30 or so.

Any other things I should be considering? All advice is so welcome.

[mrs boodles]

Hi americanlady, are you just looking at being prepared if you have a major power cut or preparing for a disaster type thing, should it happen.

[Mo]

Are you in the path of this storm that's on the way?

[HensAloud]

We were once without electric for about 5 days and vowed never to be in that situation again, so when we moved the first thing we put in was a Rayburn cooker, and we have a generator to power the pump,I always have a huge stock of candles. Do you know what we've never had a long power cut, but I will be laughing come the revolution and all supplies are cut !

[lancashire lass]

A few years ago I found the gear I had got for camping came in very handy when I came home from work to a 3 hour power cut in my area - a battery operated lamp as well as lots of tea lights (the wind up lamp was okay but needed too much attention having to wind up every now and again) and a small gas cooker and a little gas heater (only useful for short term)

Having said that, the first thing I did was panic when I got home as I was desperate for a hot drink and looked at the electric kettle in dismay - that's when I had the light bulb idea of getting the camping gear out and retrieving the kettle and stove. I went into the kitchen with my prizes and was wondering where to put the stove and saw the gas hob. Ha - followed by oh. I didn't need to bring the stove down after all that LOL.

The power cut did make me realise that I relied on electricity a lot - I sat in the living room twiddling my thumbs and clock watching ... no tv, no radio, no broad band, no computer, and all the burglar alarms going off outside.

[Spreckly]

We have finished cooking our meal on the camping gaz when the power has suddenly switched off. We have gas cooking facilities in our caravan which is fairly near the back door. We have torches handy, candles, and an open fire in our living room, so we can manage. We also have paraffin lamps which we can use.

I do hope American Lady that you will soon get sorted and self reliant in the cooking and heating area.

[Americanlady]

Thanks for the interest. No we aren't expecting big storms or anything. I was just thinking that I had no way to stay warm. Power outtages do happen here now and then, but so far have only been during decently warm weather so I hadn't until now thought about taking care of myself under somewhat extreme circumstances. I do like to be independent, as all of you do, and I do have to have my "cuppa". I also got a camp coffee pot to use on my camp stove. The stove is a nice one for $30. Not a Coleman but looks like a good deal.

I told my youngest son (age 42) about my latest project and, I'm pleased to say, he was properly impressed. Both my sons are hunters and outdoorsmen, so they already have all the equipment. I just need to run down an inexpensive small generator to operate my furnace fan and I'm in business. Got lots of candles, etc. Hope all of you are also covered in case of bad weather and power outtages.