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Preppers

How to prepare for blackouts at home? What do I need?

17 replies

Aberforthsgoat · 31/03/2020 11:49

Have been reading that this could potentially happen. I have a baby on formula and both DH and I are working from home...

I've got batteries (need to get more)
two torches
candles (need more)
logs for the woodburner (need more!)

What else do I need?
Luckily we have a gas hob and a little egg bbq which I have alcohol gel and coal for, if we get really stuck.

OP posts:
stella1know · 31/03/2020 14:07

Oh crap! Just struck me that you can’t wfh without electricity and generators probably sold out. Where on earth would you buy one though? Im on mainland Europe and estimate the risk of power cuts as low, but then again wouldn’t have predicted all the other things that happened (only some).

Dyrne · 31/03/2020 14:07

I don’t think long term blackouts are likely, but I do think that perhaps it may take longer to fix “shorter” power cuts, due to less staff being available. (Although, if power companies are anything like the utility I work for, they’ve already put their “back office” staff on notice that they may need to go out and support Operational staff if they’re not self isolating)

In general though:

I would focus more on torches, lanterns and other electric lighting than getting too many candles in - the last thing you want is a fire risk on top of everything else!

Fairy lights might be a fun option if you have children - you can get battery powered ones.

Luckily it stays lighter for longer so it would be a lot less miserable than a powercut during winter where lighting is needed much earlier.

Wind up stuff is a good bet - lanterns, radios (to keep updated).

Spare battery packs to charge phones are good; in addition to making sure laptops/tablets etc are fully charged.

Board games, books, crafts, other non-electronic ways of passing the time. Though the baby isn’t likely to be missing Minecraft quite at this stage! Grin

I’m also making more of an effort to keep on top of Clothes washing, dishwasher loads etc. Admittedly that’s mostly because I’m a lazy cow and would want to avoid manual labour at all costs!!!

Try and get yourself a basic phone that can plug straight into the phone socket without needing extra power. Then you can make sure you can call 105 to get updates (National number, reroutes to your local network supplier with a recorded update message usually)

If you do use camping type stove make sure you do it outside or in a very well ventilated room - opening a window may not cut it.

bellinisurge · 31/03/2020 14:41

Don't see them as likely for this although I have various preps generally.
The best advice I can give is a head torch wrapped around an old four pint milk carton filled with water. But the head torch beam facing inwards. The light diffuses through the plastic and the water and is generally more pleasing and less scary for kids.

bellinisurge · 31/03/2020 14:43

I did not know about 105 - I have a couple of old dialup phones.
Thanks.

Dyrne · 31/03/2020 15:29

Yes 105 is relatively recent, but a brilliant initiative with collaboration from all the Utility Networks.

BanKittenHeels · 31/03/2020 16:06

Where did you read this?

Will your gas hob ignite in a blackout?

HuggedTheRedwoods · 31/03/2020 19:09

Thanks for the 105 tip, I didn't know about that number either - and reading up it looks like its been in use since 2016! Not sure how I missed that but useful to know.

june2007 · 31/03/2020 19:12

A camping lantern would be good as a light. (Gass or battery.) Matches.

Barbararara · 31/03/2020 21:23

Keep on top of laundry and dishes as pp suggested, and also tidying up. I got a nasty injury years ago during a black out. Just spend a few minutes straightening things up before bedtime.

Keep phones and devices charged. Check you have enough matches/lighters.

I’ve posted this elsewhere but, as you don’t open the freezer during a blackout, it’s hard to know afterwards if the food is ok as you don’t necessarily know how high the temperature inside rose. If you don’t have a thermometer that records this, fill a bottle cap with water and put a penny on top. If you find the penny has dropped down, you’ll know it was warm enough to melt the ice.

stella1know · 31/03/2020 22:05

@barbara good tips there

EmAndes · 02/04/2020 16:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Dyrne · 02/04/2020 17:42

My camping lantern is actually too good. I proudly brought it out last time I went camping and it bloody blinded us! Not exactly “atmospheric” Grin

Inmyivorytower · 02/04/2020 17:52

I have numerous small torches scattered throughout the house, so that if there’s a power cut, you know where to find light immediately.
Candles, but make sure they are securely fixed and in a safe location.
Headlamp trick mentioned by Bellini works well, but my main prep is to have a gas fire, gas cooker, electric ring, remorska, electric fan heater, a real fireplace in the front room and a charcoal bbq in the garden.
So that if one source fails, I have a back-up plan.

MsMeNz · 02/04/2020 18:03

Stop reading the Daily Fail would be my number one tip. As they are the ones scare mongering. However always be prepared regardless is my motto so do what above posters have said.

BiddyPop · 07/04/2020 11:21

If the power goes out, you need to think in terms of what will be missing.

Lighting.
Heating.
Cooking.
Other stuff.

Lighting
torches are best rather than naked flames, although if you can have candles in proper holders and stay in the room with them, or proper oil lamps, they are also useful for rooms you are using for a long time (the kitchen or sitting room for the evening - not so much for bedrooms). Bellini's idea of a large plastic bottle of water with a headtorch turned into it is a great one to give a gentler light for a larger room, a great camping trick!! Remember to have some spare batteries for whatever torches you have. Torches that are powered by dynamos (wind up), often sold for DCs, don't need batteries. Solar powered lamps are also useful.

Heating.
Do you have alternative sources of heat? Gas or oil powered central heating? A wood burning stove (and wood for it)? An open fire with coal/wood/turf to burn?
Extra blankets are useful, and wearing plenty of layers to keep yourself warm. Hot water bottles can make a difference.
If you are really stuck, google terracotta pot heaters, as with 2 terracotta pots and about 4 tealights, you can get surprisingly warm in 1 room.

Cooking.
Do you have just electric cooking? Or do you have gas cooker?
Do you have access to any camping gear, like a single gas ring burner? Do you have a BBQ in the garden, whether gas or charcoal, and fuel for it? If you have a wood burning stove, does it stick out so you can put a kettle or pot on top of it?

Keeping cold:
This is mostly keeping food cold.

Keep the freezer door closed as much as possible, and the fridge also. It could be useful, if you have a cooler bag or box (and especially if you have some ice cubes, or ice blocks for camping already frozen to add into it), to put the most frequently used things into that for regular use to keep door openings to a minimum - milk, butter, juice, things for today's planned meals etc. In fact, if you are taking things from the freezer for today or tomorrow's meals, it would be a good idea to do those early and allow them to defrost in the cooler (or the fridge if you don't have a cooler) - to help keep other stuff cool while the frozen stuff defrosts safely. Also, improving the insulation (to keep the COLD in in this instance, rather than heat in), can be done by covering the cooler with a well tucked in blanket/large towel, or even a few layers of newspaper.
If you lose all cold, as things warm up over a few days, use a large bucket/basin of cold water to stand things like milk and butter (well protected against the wet - perhaps in a plastic tub) to keep them colder. Again, another camping trip.

Entertainment -
Do you have any powerbanks to be able to recharge phones etc? Particularly any that can be recharged by solar power?
A battery powered radio is a good idea to be able to keep in touch with the world. And spare batteries. Or a wind up radio.

Perhaps try to restrict use of ipads/phones etc in the meantime, so that any charge can be kept to allow some fun intermittently.

Have some things that need no power to entertain - board games, cards, books, jigsaws, craft materials etc.

However, other than thinking about a few things to plan in general along the lines above, don't worry about it too much. We are more likely to lose power for things like bad weather, when snow or high winds bring down trees over power lines etc. Utility companies are part of the essential workers, so there is far less likelihood of a powercut, or at least a serious powercut lasting more than a couple of hours, due to the current virus issues. And also, as the spring is now definitely coming, the evenings are brighter for longer and the weather is warmer also so if a powercut did happen, there would be less to worry about than if it was the depths of winter.

MrsLindor · 31/05/2020 13:38

Unfortunately without electricity our boiler won't work so being "off grid" for our gas supply doesn't help.

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