# How long would you live without electricity



## Flight1630 (Jan 4, 2017)

According to this it looks very bleak for most people. That would include my wife and daughter unfortunately.
http://modernsurvivalblog.com/syste...city-most-of-the-population-will-not-survive/


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

Yes, there would be a die off but people can (and would) adapt to their circumstances better than that article would indicate. I would also submit that humanity is not "100% dependent on electricity". Many are, but certainly not everyone. There are farmers, ranchers, homesteaders and survivalists across America that could lose electricity and just be inconvenienced. The cities would be the hardest hit, but that is just natural selection running it's course.

Much of that article's list read as filler. I have conducted no power elevator rescues, you can certainly pump fuel and water by other means, etc. Plus the article claims "emergency generators" so is he talking about an EMP or not? If not then solar panels, wind farms, backup power sources, etc. are all still operational which means some places would have electricity. 

Articles like that that are good at getting people to think, but after that it's all supposition.


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## phideaux (Nov 7, 2015)

We went 3 weeks (ice storm 09) without power...

We were just fine.

Somewhat inconvenient... but looking back, it wasn't that bad.

WE had wood stove, and 5k gen, and solar battery pack, and lots of food and water.

Now, I agree ...I might be an exception to the rule.:dunno:




Jim


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

I would be unable to convince the wife that it would be possible for life to continue without her blow dryer.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

How long has the world had electricity? How long before that did the world NOT have electricity?

The world turned and life went on for centuries without electricity, but going backwards is never easy. The biggest problem that I see would be the nuclear plants. How long would it take for the meltdown of the planet after the nuclear plants go down?

Nuclear Power Plants = the worst decision ever made for the future of our planet.


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## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

*We are off-grid*

We have been off-grid for over 15 years now.
We purposely built the house to be off-grid, earthquake resistant(up to a Richter 10) energy efficient and fire resistant(R-50 Nu-Dura block walls), more on my simple site on this...http://bunkerbob2.tripod.com/
On the outside and inside, it looks like a regular 2200sf home, but no HVAC, but we have two wood stoves, one small evap cooler. Temp changes about 20deg, summer to winter, the one foot thick, bullet resistant concrete steel reinforced walls help with that.
Also have 2 chest freezers, regular kitchen with disposal, dishwasher, and large refer, even a spa jet tub in the master bath. A medium size, very secure "root cellar"(use your imagination) and a 40' 2/3 buried MAG group prep container, all powered by the system. 
Just to touch on just a few things we have done to prepare. All it takes is time, muscle and a goal, and well some money.
We do have a large 4.7kw hybrid power system, designed, built and maintained by my wife and I.
I guess that is a little bragging but we are"*preppers*" first and foremost.


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

i agree that most people will die with in 3 months.the different people who are dependant on others in some way or another.1st.the people that are dependant on life support machines.2nd is the people that are medicine dependant,like diabetics that are dependent on insulin...then there's the people that cant handle the summer heat.much less the winter cold.there's folks like my mom.i believe/fear that she wont last one month with out electric.no AC or meds,or her oxygen concentrator..


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

We could live a long time because we have food, water, and a way to heat our home.

I think most people wouldn't even last 3 weeks. The biggest immediate problem is getting enough clean water in urban areas. There isn't enough wood or other fuel for everyone to be able to boil a gallon of water everyday. And just boiling it doesn't remove other contaminants.

After that the big problem is food. There just isn't enough in populated areas.

If the collapse happens in winter then a lot of people will freeze to death in the north. I would expect that a lot of people will get together with friends and relatives who have fireplaces so at least they have enough heat. So it's hard to know how many people would actually freeze to death in a northern winter.

I'm a type 2 diabetic who isn't on insulin. My health would deteriorate once my medications run out but I could probably live for a year or more until I could start taking them again.


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

As long as there is a power source life would be normal ;wood ,propane ,charcoal 
solar ,generator ;as a child we had no power in the hills ,beautiful way of life, quiet from noisy radios, and TVs ,no frozen foods or fatty ice creams ,everything was fresh and simple, I still can taste the fresh cool river water and our kitchen pump well was just as cold as my fridge today ,nothing ever spoil in our kitchen nothing ever was wasted and our home was always open under the Cuban sun ,no one die or complain nor riot like during Andrew here in Miami over ice or ice cream or bread. So "How long would you live without electricity "depends on how much of an idiot the individual is and we all know a few of those, probably in our own family .


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## Mase92 (Feb 4, 2013)

I gotta agree with Sentry on this one. Lots are dependent on power, but far from everyone is. Humans have adapted quickly and I don't see being any different. 

I've heard the 90% number many times. That seems awful harsh and pessimistic (or optimistic depending on how you view others)

We know a few things if there is a grid down event for more than a few weeks.

1) The ill, elderly and young will go first. This isn't harsh, it's reality.
2) This will be VERY time of year dependent and location will play a role too.
3) Lack of services, flowing water, infections, illness and poor sanitation will cause many others to die.
4) Huge populations centers will be the hardest hit by the above three.

How many deaths, this is a variable but it will be this cost will be much higher than we'd like to think about.

Now for a few of the potential unexpected outcomes - 
-Do not overlook the American spirit..
-America has plenty of allies and resources in stock.

These articles really give people a way to look at their own views and wonder what if. Good read non-the-less...


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## Pessimistic2 (Jan 26, 2017)

Just my opinion....massive die-off in medium-large urban areas, pretty good survival rates in smaller towns, rural areas would cope and probably very few would die.


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## 101airborne (Jan 29, 2010)

We're currently looking at solar and wind power for at the very least our well and camper. With that pretty much indefinitely. But even with out it I've lived without power for months when I was in a less than favorable financial situation. So I think we could go years with a little work and hardship.


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## Flight1630 (Jan 4, 2017)

Still a scary situation for most people who refuse to prepair, but scaryer for the rest who prpair because we will have to do what we need to do so that the population doesnt get a hold of our stuff


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## tmttactical (Nov 23, 2015)

I think the death rate is a time sensitive equation. A one year event, I think 60 to 70% die off. A 2 year event another 10 to 15% die off. A 3 year plus event and you will be at the 90% die off range.

As stated by many others, first year will get the young, old, and medical issue folks. There will also be tremendous loss to due to starvation and dehydration but I don't see the number as high as many project.

The second year will get the people that have weaken and are now susceptible to diseases and environmental hardships (cold, heat, flooding , drought, etc.).

The third will be the final weeding out period and the start of population re-balancing and the rebuilding process. Small communities forming and groups struggling to re-create civilization.


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## AmishHeart (Jun 10, 2016)

My relatives live without electricity. They do just fine.


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

bunkerbob said:


> We have been off-grid for over 15 years now.


Bob! Long time-No see. :wave:


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## Flight1630 (Jan 4, 2017)

AmishHeart said:


> My relatives live without electricity. They do just fine.


I'm sure they do, but they are prepared and better for it and good for them ( i wish we could live without electricity), its the rest of the world that will have a harder time without electricity is my take on that article.


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

Potable water would certainly be an issue for almost everyone.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

We had a near/almost didn't miss with a tornado in 2005 that left us without electricity for almost 5 weeks. We didn't have any problems BUT once the roads were clear could run to the next town to buy what was needed. We were also close enough to town to have city water (last on the line) and they had power after a few days. Those on wells were having to haul water.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

Disease from poor sanitation and unclean water and lack of medical treatment for injuries will be big killers after the initial die off. I expect early on violence and starvation to play a big roll especially in urban areas. Lack of antibiotics will hurt. A lot of people used to die from simple infections we think nothing of today.


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## Starcreek (Feb 4, 2015)

We lived off-grid 4 different times, always on a shoestring. The longest time, I think, was 2 years. No solar or wind power. We used a wood heater in the winter. In the summer, I got all my work done before 10 a.m. or after 5 p.m. The kids hung out down at the creek on 100-degree days. We used an out house.

It is NOT impossible to live without electricity. Heck, people did it for thousands of years. You just need to make ready for it by getting OFF medications and become as fit as you can. Learn to be HOT in the summer and COLD in the winter. That's kind of natural.

I remember when we finally got the power turned on after the two-year stint, and about 2 weeks later I remember standing in front of the refrigerator, gazing at a box of baking soda and a bottle of water (the only things in the fridge) and saying aloud, "Remind me what I need this for...."

You just learn to get by without it.


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## ClemKadiddlehopper (Aug 15, 2014)

I suck at questions like these.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I grew up without electricity or any other amenities and so did the community around me, and to this day, I don't have a feel for what the big deal is. Yes, we lose some conveniences but the solutions were invented a long time ago. I have the same blank spot when it comes to doctors and first-aid kits; we didn't have those either and people didn't die any faster than it seems they do now. The dude that lost his legs in a horse drawn hay mower accident and had to wait 48 hours for a horse relay team to find a doctor and get him back by horse didn't die either and nothing more than a bag of flour and some fast thinking saved his life. It did help that the Dr. brought some penicillin with him though. It is how one goes about the business of living that determines life and death; that and a good lucky feeling.

I wandered all over God's creation as a kid without navigational aids and always made it home; some times it took a few days and no one came looking. Being alone has a whole different meaning to me than for the average Joe.

*That was then, this is now:*

I was listening to a radio interview this morning with a guy who tried to live one year on Canadian made products. He had a hard time of it and I was just slapping my forehead because he never once thought of making something himself and was bemoaning the fact that he couldn't find this or that in the store.

He did learn one valuable thing though. He said he didn't realize that winter really lasted until June. That is when Canadian food starts hitting the shelves. He did not realize that meat and potatoes could have been purchased outside of a grocery store. He didn't want to buy them in a store because there were no labels indicating where the meat came from. He has obviously never heard of buying direct from the source. That man is toast when the power goes down and I don't worry about him heading for the countryside.

Regarding zombie hoards heading for the country side. They will starve to death right along side the majority of farmers. There isn't any food out there. Mostly there is field corn and soy beans and in Canada you can add canola; pretty useless stuff for most people. None of these crops will be good for anything until the proper harvest window arrives, at any rate.

Once the livestock is cleaned out from the relatively few farms that have them, there isn't much for gardens out there. The small market farms are already close to the big cities and the big market farms are specialized for overseas markets. A field full of lettuce or tomatoes for the ketchup factory isn't going to satisfy.

I see very few gardens much bigger than my butt, if any, existing on the farms. Modern farmers shop at the grocery same as everyone else. I do cringe to think about the electricity going off for the big dairies , chicken and hog farms. That is for sure going to raise a big stink.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Not to be off topic but my view of this would be 'go see the tv series called Revolution.'

And Colony.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

I forgot to add Jericho.


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## AmishHeart (Jun 10, 2016)

I loved Jericho.


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

Grimm said:


> I forgot to add Jericho.


I just watched Revolution on Netflix this winter. So much potential then they decided to go Sci Fi with it.

I loved Season 1 of Jericho. Season 2 was just okay. I read somewhere recently that they are trying to bring it back too.


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## Starcreek (Feb 4, 2015)

Anybody ever watch "Frontier House"? It was a reality show where they took several families to the middle of nowhere in the upper plains and set them down to homestead like someone in the 19th century did. It was very enlightening.


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## Flight1630 (Jan 4, 2017)

Starcreek said:


> Anybody ever watch "Frontier House"? It was a reality show where they took several families to the middle of nowhere in the upper plains and set them down to homestead like someone in the 19th century did. It was very enlightening.


No i didnt and had to look it up, i wonder if its on net flicks?
This is what wiki says about it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontier_House


> _*Frontier House*_ is a historical reality television series that originally aired on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States from April 29 to May 3, 2002. The series followed three family groups that agreed to live as homesteaders did in the state of Montana on the American frontier in 1883. Each family was expected to establish a homestead and complete the tasks necessary to prepare for the harsh Montana winter. At the end of the series, each family was judged by a panel of experts and historians on their likelihood of survival for each group.


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## sgtusmc98 (Sep 8, 2013)

I more or less lived without out power for 9 months once when I was building my house. I say more or less because I still went to work, occasionally took a warm shower at my parents house, ate out from time to time and had a generator for construction purposes. However for 3 months I slept in a tent and mostly cooked over a fire and then 6 months were in the house in various stages of completion through winter with a wood burning stove for heat and cooking.

I bring this up because a year or so ago I lost power and I thought to myself "no big deal! I did this for 6 months in the house!" And then I couldn't figure out what to do. The problem was that before I knew I could only cook on the stove and I didn't have freezers so it was all planed for. I had an outhouse (more or less, wasn't much for privacy) so going to the bathroom was easy enough. When the lights just go off it is much harder to switch to no power than just knowing you don't have power to start with.

Of course if you are prepping for long term, excess of months, nearly everything you have for food shouldn't need power. If you have good solar or wind power that maybe something you can count on better than the grid but I personally view generators as a temporary bandaid to keep freezers cold enough long enough for you to eat what's in them.


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## sgtusmc98 (Sep 8, 2013)

Ps, my wife would make it about 4 hours without power.


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## SewingMachine (Mar 26, 2017)

I've lived without electricity.

I would assume I would live my normal lifespan without it.

I just couldn't get online. And it would change the way I eat. And a lot of my summer would be spent preparing for winter.

But I would not just keel over.


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## Starcreek (Feb 4, 2015)

sgtusmc98 said:


> I bring this up because a year or so ago I lost power and I thought to myself "no big deal! I did this for 6 months in the house!"


When we were living long-term without power, I remember one day our neighbor came running down the hill from his house to ask if we were okay.

I said, "Yeah, why? What's wrong?"

He said, "The power is off..... oh." As understanding dawned on him, he realized we were okay, he was the only one experiencing discomfort.

The main problem I see with no power -- for us, since we don't have any medical complications -- is having access to a reliable water source. We have city water, and even though that is gravity feed from the towers on the surrounding hills, they would likely begin to ration it if the power stayed off for a long time. And eventually it would run out.

There is a well on our place, but no pump, and the well bucket I used for a while to water our animals fell into the well last year. I need to do something about the well.


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## tmttactical (Nov 23, 2015)

I think the main points brought out by this thread is--Those that live or have lived off grid, will have little or no problem without electricity. Those that have not lived off grid or without electricity will have a major problem adapting. 

This thread has also encouraged many people to evaluate their current prep situation and discover ways to rectify a few potential problems. 

Very good topic.


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## Country Living (Dec 15, 2009)

Starcreek said:


> There is a well on our place, but no pump, and the well bucket I used for a while to water our animals fell into the well last year. I need to do something about the well.


How deep is your well? We put an in-line Bison hand-pump on our well a few years ago. The electric pump is directly below the Bison pump.


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## Starcreek (Feb 4, 2015)

Country Living said:


> How deep is your well? We put an in-line Bison hand-pump on our well a few years ago. The electric pump is directly below the Bison pump.


We think it's about 150 feet, although in the wet season the water level is within 20 feet of the surface.


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## Dove150 (Jun 5, 2011)

I think sometimes we preppers miss the point. If there are widespread blackouts it will mean war and enemy troops on our land. Just make sure you don't get rounded up, especially not with the ghetto rats.


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## Pessimistic2 (Jan 26, 2017)

Dove150 said:


> I think sometimes we preppers miss the point. If there are widespread blackouts it will mean war and enemy troops on our land. Just make sure you don't get rounded up, especially not with the ghetto rats.


1. All the more reason to be a Lone Wolf/Family, and get waaaaay out of Dodge.
2. If it gets to the point where we actually have "enemy troops on our land," we have seriously f7543d up somewhere, and our Military must have really fallen apart. Any "land invasion" attempt *should/would* be squashed immediately.....I just don't see our Military falling down on THAT JOB!!
3. You hear a lot of talk about "standing armies," but let's not forget there are *at least 63 MILLION "Conservatives," and damn near all of them are armed,* how's *THAT* for a "standing army??" :hatsoff:


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## sgtusmc98 (Sep 8, 2013)

Starcreek said:


> When we were living long-term without power, I remember one day our neighbor came running down the hill from his house to ask if we were okay.
> 
> I said, "Yeah, why? What's wrong?"
> 
> ...


Water is my biggest problem too, I have a well that's electric, as we type I'm saving up for a hand pump and putting it as a priority.


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## sgtusmc98 (Sep 8, 2013)

Dove150 said:


> I think sometimes we preppers miss the point. If there are widespread blackouts it will mean war and enemy troops on our land. Just make sure you don't get rounded up, especially not with the ghetto rats.


I agree this is a concern, even though I have been criticized for saying this, I'm not planning on leaving. I am in one of the more rural areas east of the Mississippi. Me leaving means going towards higher population densities. I'm not too worried about actual troops, they will have their hands full with the cities more than likely.

I also hope to have hedged my bet by being in charge of an emergency service (communications). Have FEMA training and things like that. At my location I can receive 2m range radio from 100 miles in all directions. I hope to be valuable enough to be left alone as far as being pushed out. All of that may go to shirt in the end but it's worth a shot.

I'm more concerned about people bugging out than Feds.


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## marlas1too (Feb 28, 2010)

well I grew up without power we had to cook all our meals on a wood stove,spring house to keep things cool,50 yard dash to the outhouse,candles and oil lamps at night----could go back there in a heartbeat


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## ozarkshermit (Apr 23, 2017)

Is this a simple "Total Grid Down", resulting from sabotage or hacking ? or an EMP??
Total Grid Down - - Two Years For Me" - - - Yes, that is correct

Grid down resulting from an EMP ? I cannot truthfully say - certainly not two years.


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## Pessimistic2 (Jan 26, 2017)

ozarkshermit said:


> Is this a simple "Total Grid Down", resulting from sabotage or hacking ? or an EMP?? Total Grid Down - - Two Years For Me" - - - Yes, that is correct Grid down resulting from an EMP ? I cannot truthfully say - certainly not two years.


Near as I can tell from the original link in this Thread, it's talking "permanent," or at least until the rebuilding of the U.S. comes about.


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## ozarkshermit (Apr 23, 2017)

As far as my limited interpretation of English goes, I thought the topic :

*How long would you live without electricity

* meant just that.

I posted my simple response to "how long I would live without electricity " based on two different situations - total grid down via sabotage or hacking, or via an EMP.


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## Pessimistic2 (Jan 26, 2017)

ozarkshermit said:


> As far as my limited interpretation of English goes, I thought the topic :*How long would you live without electricity * meant just that. I posted my simple response to "how long I would live without electricity " based on two different situations - total grid down via sabotage or hacking, or via an EMP.


Don't feel bad.......my first reaction was "'Bout as long as I'd live *with* electricity!!


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## Pessimistic2 (Jan 26, 2017)

Caribou....."Actually life expectancy jumped when central heat became a common part of our homes. Another jump in life expectancy happened when AC became a common part of life. Without these the old and the infirm will succumb to their bodies not being able to adapt to temperature changes."

Yeah, can't argue with that.....you're right, without the A/C I'd probably be having heat stroke every day.....:help:


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## tmttactical (Nov 23, 2015)

Pessimistic2 said:


> Caribou....."Actually life expectancy jumped when central heat became a common part of our homes. Another jump in life expectancy happened when AC became a common part of life. Without these the old and the infirm will succumb to their bodies not being able to adapt to temperature changes."
> 
> Yeah, can't argue with that.....you're right, without the A/C I'd probably be having heat stroke every day.....:help:


*I can live without AC (115 F no problem -- 50 F big problem) but I will always have very warm clothes and blankets on hand. Cold is not an option.*


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## DrPrepper (Apr 17, 2016)

tmttactical said:


> *I can live without AC (115 F no problem -- 50 F big problem) but I will always have very warm clothes and blankets on hand. Cold is not an option.*


50 F is ALMOST shorts and tee shirt weather! You can keep the 115 days down in the valley. I start getting cranky when the thermometer approaches 80! Cold is GOOD!!!


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

I can do cold but I hate hot. Since I live in Texas & divorce is the only way I'm getting out (I wouldn't leave even then), I have made provisions. We have an inground pool, concrete floors, & a waterbed mattress. I can get cool. :2thumb:


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## Pessimistic2 (Jan 26, 2017)

tmttactical said:


> *I can live without AC (115 F no problem -- 50 F big problem) but I will always have very warm clothes and blankets on hand. Cold is not an option.*


Yeah, but you don't have 342% humidity, either!!! When I lived in Colorado (Denver), then for a while in N. Mexico (Lordsburg) and Arizona (Tucson), it was hot, but practically *no* humidity.....it's the darn *humidity* that's the real problem. Cold is not real good, either, in high humidity areas.
Colorado, 20 degrees, run around in a long sleeve shirt......Southern Alabama, Florida, 40 degrees and yer azz is *freezing!!!*


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

Sorry Dr D. I'm going to have to agree with the lizard on this one. The only way hubby is getting me up the mountain is with a wood stove and a endless supply of fire wood, and that's for the barn. The house is going to have a small wood stove and a cook stove or I ain't goin.


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## Starcreek (Feb 4, 2015)

Caribou said:


> Actually life expectancy jumped when central heat became a common part of our homes.


Part of this was probably because electric heat is safer than wood heat. Laura Ingalls Wilder lost a little boy to a house fire, and many families lost home and family to wood fires.


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## Flight1630 (Jan 4, 2017)

DrDianaAnderson said:


> 50 F is ALMOST shorts and tee shirt weather! You can keep the 115 days down in the valley. I start getting cranky when the thermometer approaches 80! Cold is GOOD!!!


I'm with you Dr D. The colder the better. You can always add more cloths on but you can only take so much off and that's when the police come knocking on your door.


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## tmttactical (Nov 23, 2015)

Flight1630 said:


> I'm with you Dr D. The colder the better. You can always add more cloths on but you can only take so much off and that's when the police come knocking on your door.


You got the one way glass in backwards.  Pillsbury Doughboy mobility problems come to mind. :rofl:

Air movement and a few drops of water and anybody can cool down. Your problem is going to require decimation of the forests.


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## jnrdesertrats (Jul 3, 2010)

8 months and counting.


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## Flight1630 (Jan 4, 2017)

tmttactical said:


> You got the one way glass in backwards.  Pillsbury Doughboy mobility problems come to mind. :rofl:
> 
> Air movement and a few drops of water and anybody can cool down. Your problem is going to require decimation of the forests.


Electron forest? Well if that's what you mean then all the active members are doimy it also so  lol


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

tmttactical said:


> You got the one way glass in backwards.  Pillsbury Doughboy mobility problems come to mind. :rofl:
> 
> Air movement and a few drops of water and anybody can cool down. Your problem is going to require decimation of the forests.


Yep, during power outages an open window with a breeze and a wet sheet = air conditioning. Unless it's humid or sandy.


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## marlas1too (Feb 28, 2010)

in florida where I grew ui we lived in a cinder block house with a shingle roof and it was cool in the summer and warm in the winter and if you don't think it gets cold on the panhandle of folrida think again'with all the hurracines our house was never damaged 'getting off the track'never knew what ac was till I was around 19. you never miss something you never had. 7 of us lived in that house.guess we were the exception we lived very good for the times out by the swamps--sorry if i strayed from the subject


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## musketjim (Dec 7, 2011)

As I noticed earlier it would depend on whether it was an EMP type situation where all elec. is out or just a grid down where you still have access to solar, back up generators etc. Unfortunately the wife is on blood pressure stuff that you're not supposed to stop taking. Otherwise we're not dependent on dialysis or anything like that. We are off grid at BOL but still run some solar. It would be difficult but not impossible to go back to propane and oil lights. Light is life up here in the winter. Heat is indefinite due to our new super efficient woodstove and unlimited firewood. But it's a lot of work there and if fuel prices jumped way up or became scarce because of pumping difficulty, cutting all the wood by handwould be a full time job. I like to think I'm pretty tough but with absolutely no electricity, I just don't know.:dunno:


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## tmttactical (Nov 23, 2015)

Okay, how long could I last without electricity? If the "Tin Hat House" project was completed, forever. If it happen tomorrow, then my days will be limited. 

Staying warm, no problem, mild climate and tons of blankets, etc. Cooling, not a problem, love the heat. The problems will develop when trying to find / grow food and maintain a water supply. 

Wife will go first due to health / medical issues. I will last a bit longer but will not survive due to physical conditions. Survival mode will require too much physical activity just to exist. My estimate is one to a maximum of 2 years.

At my age, been there, done that and seen it all, if I can't live life, why would I want to just exist? I would fight to the last second to protect wife and family but for just me, smoke em, if you got em! Let the good time roll, I am going out with a smile and a few bad guy scalps. artydance:


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## Pessimistic2 (Jan 26, 2017)

Tmttactical....."At my age, been there, done that and seen it all, if I can't live life, why would I want to just exist? I would fight to the last second to protect wife and family but for just me, smoke em, if you got em! Let the good time roll, I am going out with a smile and a few bad guy scalps."

That pretty well covers it. Be nice if I could take A FEW OF THOSE SCALPS WITH ME!! Get to the Pearly Gates (or where ever) with a big smile on my ugly mug!!


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## Flight1630 (Jan 4, 2017)

Pessimistic2 said:


> with a big smile on my ugly mug!!


Shortened

You do wear your glasses nicely 
http://blackdropcoffeehouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/urania.jpg


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## Pessimistic2 (Jan 26, 2017)

Flight1630 said:


> Shortened
> You do wear your glasses nicely


More like........BTW, I am a MALE, dammit!!!!





BTW......When was your last rolling DOT check???? Or am I thinking of Terri???


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## Flight1630 (Jan 4, 2017)

Oh sorry I guess I should have put on my reading glasses on when I seen that, thought it didn't look right:banghead:


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

How long would you live without electricity ? well why not try an experiment ,just pull the switch and shut everything down ,especially in the winter where water will have to be heated over an open fire or in the summer where cloth and linen will have to be boil to kill all the bugs ,as a kid that was my job.


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## ClemKadiddlehopper (Aug 15, 2014)

readytogo said:


> How long would you live without electricity ? well why not try an experiment ,just pull the switch and shut everything down ,especially in the winter where water will have to be heated over an open fire or *in the summer where cloth and linen will have to be boil to kill all the bugs ,as a kid that was my job.*


I don't get this part. We don't boil the clothes when we have electricity and not having electricity doesn't change anything. Having or not having electricity has no bearing on who gets cooties.


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## Pessimistic2 (Jan 26, 2017)

ClemKadiddlehopper said:


> I don't get this part. We don't boil the clothes when we have electricity and not having electricity doesn't change anything. Having or not having electricity has no bearing on who gets cooties.


Can't throw 'em in the washer/dryer without electricity. Guess they had no bug spray?? :dunno:


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## ClemKadiddlehopper (Aug 15, 2014)

Depending upon the type of cooties, dryers do not kill them. Bacteria and viruses might or might not be killed or they might grow depending on "machine hygiene" and local weather conditions.

A clothes line is much better for cootie control than a dryer. I guess humidity would also change my mind about a few things, but not the cooties.

I have not boiled any clothes in my lifetime including the 20 years without electricity and I don't know of any one who got cooties, good, bad or otherwise from not doing so. I don't boil my shite covered chore clothes or the ones that can stand up and walk by themselves and I don't use a dryer to this day. I am sure we can all figure out situations where it my be a good idea to boil, but it is not needed in general.

Boil the heck out of your clothes if there isn't already enough to do when the juice goes away, no harm no foul, but nothing bad will happen if boiling doesn't take place. People in urban settings all over the world wash their clothes in cold water and hang the clothes in enclosed or open balconies, windows and across alleys and streets; again, no cooties. 

Obviously, I am a bit shiftless in the laundry department; I don't do irons and I won't miss the vacuum either.

The real danger IMO of a grid down situation is the almost paralyzing fear it engenders for those without experience; the reality is not so bad with a little get up and go and a good attitude.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

I think he's probably talking about lice and scabies. Bugs that pop up when people don't/cant keep themselves and their environment clean.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

> BTW......When was your last rolling DOT check???? Or am I thinking of Terri???


Hey now! I don't drive under short bridges!


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## zimmy (Aug 17, 2012)




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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

Way back when I was A child we heated with wood, butches animal with out power.
We farmed without power, well used a tractor, but I do not need one now.
We had no AC, did have lights & tv, but you can use candles & who need TV to live.
Water is the biggest problem & we have a near by creek.
I am going to install a solar pump to far go carrying water.


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