So if the power went off (indefinitely) how long would you last on the basis of what you have in the house?

[atticusclaw]

So the power's gone off. Everything is suddenly dead, shops can't sell you anything since the electronic tills don't work, petrol pumps don't work, lifts don't work, traffic lights don't work, tap water won't last for long since the pumps won't work, mobile phones won't work, gas/electric heating won't work (and most oil and solar systems also need mains electricity to make them work unless they're off grid systems) - MN won't work!!

How long could you last with what you have?

There are no zombies, this isn'"t necessarily a "top yourself now - who would want to live?" scenario since the power could be restored at any time….or it could last months…

[atticusclaw]

At least tin openers are 75p in the pound shop. Fairly easy one to fix. Now a generator is a different matter altogether.

[HellKitty]

Crap. We've got an electric can opener too. Cats will be ok, they have food pouches, unless we wrestle them off the cats

[atticusclaw]

cat food stew, yum

[SecretSquirrels]

We have a stove with a back boiler. At the moment we are stuffed in a power cut because the electric pump doesn't shift the water so it over heats. After 24 hours of that last year my plumber is going to find a way to bypass the pump.
So I could cook in theory.
I keep lots of candles because we do have power cuts.
I have about a month's supply of logs and coal.
A tank full of kerosene.
I have a one ring gas cooker but only 4 bottles of gas.
We have a sparky flint thing from when DS2 was in his Ray Mears phase.
There is a stream across the road.
Neighbour has guns for shooting looters rabbits or pheasants.
Surrounded by fields so we may be well off for wurzles or cabbages.
Massive freezer but no generator.
Dried and fresh food days rather than weeks for four of us.
A good supply of fruit bushes and seeds to grow veg but we'd starve waiting for them to harvest.

[redrubyindigo]

I think anarchy would break out pretty quickly.

I have an open fire and a pretty beefy looking fat cat who is currently slumped over the arm of the sofa. Might get a few meals from him.

Sorry FatCat. I love you but y'know needs must.

[PurpleCrazyHorse]

We have a wood burner but we don't stockpile loads of logs (only just moved in), hob is induction and oven electric We do have a BBQ and a methylated spirit fired camping stove, it will heat with anything liquid that burns.

We don't stockpile food either, so we might last a week. Not sure about water though. We don't even have a bicycle for getting around. Yep, we'd be screwed very quickly

[tawnyowlsrock]

I went food shopping this morning

[BeansInBoots]

Well ds probably wouldn't survive, he needs special formula which is only available on the nhs, so 3 of us... I doubt we would last a week

[DarylDixonsDarlin]

I can see lots of people with health issues would be in trouble pretty quickly yes, even insulin needs to be kept refrigerated doesn't it

Lets hope it never does happen for real

[partialderivative]

Beer would run out within 2 days.
Cheese within 3 days.

I'd probably start looting after that.

[atticusclaw]

We have about 25 bottles of wine so that's good.

[HoraceCope]

i spose you could boil stream water?

in that case, just matches, matches and more matches. plenty of kindling nearby and muddy streams.

[HoraceCope]

my dm had a power cut for 2 weeks and survived on a gas stove and candles.
but there was no problem with water.

are you sure there would be no water OP?
think this is important.

[Kelly1814]

Read this book. Pretty much the exact scenario you describe OP and truly terrifying.

www.amazon.co.uk/The-Things-That-Keep-Here/dp/1409117332?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[Bowlersarm]

Ooh love these scenarios. Easily for two weeks, less easily for a month.

Can we still flush the loo? Sorry if I've missed that anywhere.

[HoraceCope]

i thiink the stink of unflushed loos/unwashed bodies might kill some of us off

[atticusclaw]

There would be no water if there was a nationwide power blackout. The pumps wouldn't work.

There would be rain and streams and lakes (and bottles and bathtubs full for a while).

[atticusclaw]

Loo wouldn't flush. I think an immediate duct taping of the toilet lid to prevent anyone using it would be a good idea.

[mousmous]

loos would flush, but only once ad they can't refill without water pressure. and those water towers are all converted to ponch flats round here.

[Want2bSupermum]

Hurricane Sandy survivor. We had no power for 8 long days. Food was no issue and we cooked up on the bbq. I had filled the car on Sunday so DH had enough fuel for the first few days but after 3 days people were starting to panic. By day 5 everyone was in a panic and DH got up at 4.30am to fill the car.

After hurricane Sandy we will only have gas at home. We were able to use our stove to heat our home. For our new home we purchased on the hospital grid in town which has a back up generator so we don't need to put in our own generator. When we had the cold weather arrive I decamped to a friends house where they had heat. DH stayed at the house with the dog to make sure everything was safe.

Water - I filled the bathtub just in case there was no water. I could smell the sewage in the street and the crews working on making loose cables safe told us to not drink or bathe in the water. I was pregnant and DD was 14 months. Both obn and pediatrician called to say we should boil the water first! I had purchased 30 cases of water so would have been fine for about 2-3 weeks. Washing was an issue. We did a daily sponge bath with a small bucket of boiled water.

[atticusclaw]

In fact some might need the water from the toilet cisterns...

[purplemeggie]

We did 5 days during the floods last winter. We had water (some parts of our village had tap water but no flushing loos as the sewage works was uphill. We have a log fire and I promised myself that I would never be without heating that didn't rely on gas/elec, as we would have been freezing without it.

[Bowlersarm]

Right what you do when the loo doesn't flush. Get rid of any water in the toilet bowl; open up big bin liner and put in it, seat back on top to secure it, do your business - poos not pees there would be too much liquid - then scatter a little cat litter on top to cover, ready for next person. Tra laa!!

You really need to live in the country though and have a big garden so you pee in the garden, and dig big deep pits to bury the bin bags full of poo.

Any more handy tips I can pass on

[atticusclaw]

Keep em coming Bowlersarm!

[atticusclaw]

I want to sort out the cupboards to see how much food we really do have (but have too much to do this evening). I suspect that whilst I think we'd be ok for six weeks or so, albeit eating some pretty strange combinations, I might be wrong.

DH has just nipped out for a loaf of bread and some milk and asked if there's anything else we need. I asked him to pick up four tins of chicken in white sauce and he looked at me as though I was crazy