Just had a powercut..

[Tealtowel]

I was very unprepared. Ive been reading the prepping posts wondering if I need to prep now looking for advice please

What should I prep for a powercut?
I had candles ( yankee candles ) and a lighter that I lit, thats all I had. My torches batteries were flat.

It didnt last long but now Im thinking maybe there should be a few things I have to hand incase it did go on for longer so do any of you wise preppers have any advice for me please?

I've got a combination nightlight/torch plugged in that automatically comes on in low level light conditions or when the power supply is interrupted. (Constantly recharging and LED bulbs so it's good for a fair length of time.) It can't be lived by but it's enough to light me automatically for finding the other things. Any chance of getting something like that if you're forgetful about charging batteries?

Wind up torch or lantern, bottled water, some way to heat water for warm drinks and hot water bottles.
If you have a fire, keep a nights worth of fuel handy all the time.

Takeaway menus are handy.

I keep my phone power bank charged too

Oh, we have the same as poster above - it's plugged in at the bottom of the stairs and it's plugged in all the time as a nightlight. V v handy

Wind up torch and candles are good Assuming it's just a few hours, not days, you possibly don't need that much else.

However on the off chance the power stayed off longer, you might want to think about how you'd heat up water (cheap camping kettle if you have gas, perhaps something like a Kelly Kettle if not), how you'd stay warm (enough blankets, clothes if the heating didn't work?), and how you'd stay entertained (hard to read by candlelight!)

Perhaps also a spare charged battery which you can charge your phone from?

• Torches and lanterns and head torches (better than candles / fire risk).
• Matches / lighters
• Batteries (lots)
• Large flask (if stormy fill it up in case of a power cut)
• Landline phone (not mobile or wander phone / an old fashioned attached to wall phone that will work in a power cut)
• Tins of food that you can eat cold /or self heating meal packs / or alternative way to cook (I have an LPG hob) If you use camping gear BEWARE carbon monoxide!
• Carbon monoxide detector
• Smoke detectors
• Some large bottles of drinking water (as much as possible)
• Water sterilising tablets
• Fill bath with water quickly
• A cooler for your milk (transfer items you need from fridge to cooler and then keep fridge door SHUT)
• Surge protectors for valuable equipment so your electricity company doesn't fry your lovely new TV. Trust me they do.
• Wood (lots) for a fireplace if you have one.
• Battery powered radio / wind up radio
• Warm blankets
• Anything that will warm extremities eg hand warmers, cosy socks, hats

With surge protectors, would being in a new build have protected us so far? We've had power cuts and thunderstorms but never had a surge yet.

My power cut arrangements:
2 X Calor Gas fires (bottles checked each Sept)
4 head torches
Various camping lanterns
Every bedroom has a small IKEA battery push light on the windowsill
Igniter thing and matches
Very old phone that doesn't require any electricity
Stove top kettle
Wind up torch and radio
Power inverter (can use car battery to run 1 socket, to charge phones etc)
Pack of cards
Foxes biscuit assortment (we never usually have!)
Candles
I have a camper van too so could grill food
Every Sept I restock the 'tinned' box anyway with soups, hot dog sausages, baked beans, sachets.

I live very rurally and since we moved here the cables have got down several times each winter. As soon as it goes, we all congregate in the kitchen where I have a kick-ass 18 bulb reflector lantern on a stand, and boil the little kettle for tea, on goes the Calor gas fire, out with the special biscuits and start dealing the cards!

No a new build won't make any difference. Here is an explanation of what can happen. Surge protectors are quite cheap (relative to an expensive piece of equipment).

www.explainthatstuff.com/surgeprotectors.html

The way Barney is showing his presence down here at the moment, I expect to be opening the power cut cupboard before the night is out!

Thought of two more essentials.

We had some here but luckily growing up in the 70s I am generally prepared for power cuts.

A wind up torch to hand and candles lit without much stress, however I am looking into a wind up lantern.

Does anyone have any preferred brands or models. I'm liking the look of the Vango 36.

I second surge protectors. My folk's village had a massive power surge and damn near everything in the village blew up, except their computer which had a surge protector.

Tbh I'm a v lazy prepper-I have torches etc but when the electricity cut out tonight we just hung out in the dark a while. The water outage in the weekend was more inconvenient- think we should start storing a few bottles of tap water for washing alongside the drinking water reserves

Never short of and at cozietowers, Zetetic. The slightest sign of a Trouble..........

All of the above.

And.....I make sure I'm on top of all the washing and ironing, so a huge backlog doesnt pile up. That would really agitate me! And the dishwasher is nearly always clear.

This made me laugh.

I'd start with two or three small torches for people to carry round the house or to the loo. Then I'd buy a battery-powered lantern for standing on a table.

A landline that doesn't need power is good. Make sure you've got people's numbers (landline numbers too) written down somewhere. A small battery-powered radio is useful. A few paper plates and cups and wipes for cleaning up will make life easier if you've got no hot water.

A multipack of the right size batteries will probably see you through most ordinary power cuts. I love my windup torch and radio but in practice they're not the very first things I go for in a short power cut (but I would if it was a long one).