The Wal Mart led lanterns work awesome, I also have a Stark Power 600 lithium ion jump box. This thing is great. It holds a charge for up to 2.5 years, will charge your phones, run a computer, and also jump start a car. It only weighs 1 lb.
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What did we learn from Irma?
- Thread starter Leveraction44
- Start date
Good info on Stark Power 600. Going to order one to use as backup 'til I get generator set and running during outage. I usually wait about two hours as I've had lots of short time events. Might go with the 1000 model, only $20 more.
2 things:
1. Stop global warming to end this hurricane nonsense.
2. Candles n lanterns make you want to hump.
1. Stop global warming to end this hurricane nonsense.
2. Candles n lanterns make you want to hump.
You need.
I learned to figure out how to make sure my tub won't leak out after I fill it. Using store bought water to wash dishes and flush toilets is dumb. The other thing I learned I have already taken care of. 15100 BTU 115 volt window AC works way better than fans. Got it put in yesterday. I'll be ready next time. My Power Horse 4000 electric start generator was more than enough to handle all the electric needs in my home during the outage. I can't recommend this company more. Get them from Northern Tool.
I usually fill up 3-4 buckets with water before the storms to flush toilets, just in case.
I was in Miami Wednesday and Thursday just before the hurricane hit to help some folks I work with down there. I did find a few things useful, but some other things of my own. In no particular order:
water- someone mentioned the WaterBob thing that fits in your bath tub. Having 65-100 gallons of fresh water that''s not been sitting in your tub (as clean as it might be) can literally be a life saver. TruPrep had them on sale for $20 over labor day so I picked one up. I'll get another one soon. Maybe a couple for friends. also get 2 5 gallon buckets and a sawyer filter and some tubing. instant water filter setup. Look for a shop that sells home beer making supplies and get one bucket that has a spigot on the bottom. that'll make it a 5 minute affair to set up a self filter operation- pour water into top bucket, tubing from top bucket spigot to filter and tubing into lower bucket. Set top bucket on table, you are set. Will filter hundreds of gallons of water for ~$40.
sand bags- the guys I was working with in Miami has these cool "sand bags". Basically a plastic "bag" that was filled with a water absorbent gel. Drop the empty "bag" into a 5 gallon bucket of water, wait about 20 minutes, put 1'x2' sand bag wherever needed. stack them up, run across doors, etc. After the storm passes, put out to dry (takes a very long time he said) or just toss them, they are biodegradable. Quick Dam was the brand he had. Home Depot, Amazon, etc. About $30 for a package of 6 and takes up almost no space till you need them. Great for minor flooding or water diversion.
Solar Lantern- picked up one of these a few months ago to just play with when camping. Inflatable solar lantern with a ring of LED's and clear inflatable section. hang it up, press button to turn on, low/high/strobe settings. leave in sun for a few hours to recharge. worked great. I"ll get a couple more and try to remember to keep them charged. REI and other outfitters sell them (Walmart I think has them as well). About $15-20 each. packs down to a small disk about 4" round and less than an 1" thick. I'd like to have one with a "meter" to tell me battery life (has built in rechargeable battery).
other than that the standard stuff- generator, extension cords (or direct feed), fans, heaters (if it's cold), etc.
I think next time I'll prestage some basic foods in a cooler (milk, eggs, cheese, etc) that I might want to get in and out of without having to worry about opening the fridge if I don't have a generator going all the time.
water- someone mentioned the WaterBob thing that fits in your bath tub. Having 65-100 gallons of fresh water that''s not been sitting in your tub (as clean as it might be) can literally be a life saver. TruPrep had them on sale for $20 over labor day so I picked one up. I'll get another one soon. Maybe a couple for friends. also get 2 5 gallon buckets and a sawyer filter and some tubing. instant water filter setup. Look for a shop that sells home beer making supplies and get one bucket that has a spigot on the bottom. that'll make it a 5 minute affair to set up a self filter operation- pour water into top bucket, tubing from top bucket spigot to filter and tubing into lower bucket. Set top bucket on table, you are set. Will filter hundreds of gallons of water for ~$40.
sand bags- the guys I was working with in Miami has these cool "sand bags". Basically a plastic "bag" that was filled with a water absorbent gel. Drop the empty "bag" into a 5 gallon bucket of water, wait about 20 minutes, put 1'x2' sand bag wherever needed. stack them up, run across doors, etc. After the storm passes, put out to dry (takes a very long time he said) or just toss them, they are biodegradable. Quick Dam was the brand he had. Home Depot, Amazon, etc. About $30 for a package of 6 and takes up almost no space till you need them. Great for minor flooding or water diversion.
Solar Lantern- picked up one of these a few months ago to just play with when camping. Inflatable solar lantern with a ring of LED's and clear inflatable section. hang it up, press button to turn on, low/high/strobe settings. leave in sun for a few hours to recharge. worked great. I"ll get a couple more and try to remember to keep them charged. REI and other outfitters sell them (Walmart I think has them as well). About $15-20 each. packs down to a small disk about 4" round and less than an 1" thick. I'd like to have one with a "meter" to tell me battery life (has built in rechargeable battery).
other than that the standard stuff- generator, extension cords (or direct feed), fans, heaters (if it's cold), etc.
I think next time I'll prestage some basic foods in a cooler (milk, eggs, cheese, etc) that I might want to get in and out of without having to worry about opening the fridge if I don't have a generator going all the time.
Found out I needed a converter for my 100 lb propane tank for the generator. I had 7 20 lb tanks, so I was good. The 100 lb tank has a different fitting. This week I am plumbing in a line for the 1000 gal tank to feed the generator.
It's funny how people like to roll their eyes at us "prepper types" until something happens and then they are begging for help.
And this was just a small thing. Imagine if something big ever happens.
I am not what you would consider a prepper, but I do have some, what seems more and more uncommon, common sense. I have a generator, multiple gas cans, spare propane tanks full of propane, plenty of bottled water, and enough non-perishable food to last a while, etc.. - of course guns and ammo with out saying. It is just that I have been through enough storms and power outages that lasted for days, that I have some idea what is needed to help me through those times. I have what looks to be a future brother inlaw who thinks he is the expert on everything. The reality is that he is far, far removed from that position. Hang on while I catch myself from going down this path. Anyway, he and my sister live in FL. When Irma was heading there, still a cat 5 and big as H3LL, I was trying to get my sister to get on the road to get the heck out of FL. He was not wanting to leave. He said there was no where to get gas. This was when gas was still pretty plentiful and most stations had gas. I told them to get some gas cans, fill them up even if they need to siphon from their other cars. Get this, he said that gas cans were too dangers to use. Maybe someone should inform UL and FM that they have their listing and approval on unsafe containers. So they didn't get on the road. The next day, I told my sis if that dumb @$$ wanted to stay there, I would come get her. The next morning they were on the road headed north with no gas cans. They had just about waited too long. By that time, I75 was like a parking lot, and some gas lines were 2 hour waits. It took them many many hour to make it even to south GA. All hotel/motel rooms were sold out. They were very tired and very miserable - all self inflicted. They eventually, the next day, made it to my house and stayed for a few days. I guess he must have had a change of perspective because when he left, he took three of my full 5-gallon gas cans with him.
