# A minor real life SHTF event.



## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

*A minor* SHTF event.

Monday we lost power around 4 PM. I didn't realize it until I got home from work after 5 PM. No problem, I'll fire up the generator.

I keep 2 - five gallon cans of gasoline on hand. When one can is empty I rotate and refill the empty. So in theory I always have 5 gallons on hand and 5 gallons will run the generator for 12 hours plus. 12 hours has easily covered the power outages we have had in the past.

10 gallons of gasoline per day to run the generator for 24 x 7 operation.

One gas can was empty and the other had about 1 gallon left in it (oops). Got the generator running, load up the 2 - empty gas cans and drove to the nearest gas station.

Here it is Wednesday and we still don't have power.

1. Turn off most of the breakers at the house electrical box. Circuits to the furnace (gas), water well, sump pump, water heater (gas), refrigerator, deep freeze, kitchen lights and the master bedroom lights and receipts are left on.

2. I start the generator when I get home from work at 5 PM. Top off the generator's gas tank at 9 PM. Wife leaves for work around 8 - 9 AM, leave the generator run dry (until it's out of gas) around 9 AM.

3. Stop at the gas station to refill the empty gas can before I go home for the night.

By not running the generator under a full load, it is running for 16 hours on 6 gallons of gas! This is good.

If this was *a major* SHTF, then 10 gallons of gas, running the generator 1 hour a day (warm up the house, shower, re-cool the refrigerator and deep freeze, refill water bottles, recharge cell phones, and cook) would last us about 26 days.

Rethinking my previous plan based on this week's real life experience, I'm buying another 5 gallon gas can. Revised plan is keeping at least 10 gallons of gas on hand.


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

at least things worked out alright for yall..in which i hope,thats a lesson well learned..

times like that,is one reason why i enjoy the outages we have.i not only learn what i still need to get/buy.but i also learn what mistakes i've made as well..a generator i dont have yet.and yes that's one item i still need to get.as well as gas cans for it..one mistake i've made at least 2 or 3 times.is i failed to make sure that ALL the rechargable batteries are recharged..and that includes 1 rechargable lantern.


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## gundog10 (Dec 5, 2014)

We went with a 2 generator set up. We run the 2000 watt generator during the evening as it will run for around 8 hours on 1 gallon of gas. It runs the freezer for 4 hours and the frig for 4 hours rotating the load. I runs lights, tv and the blower on our wood stove. We switch to our large generator to run our well filling our bladder tank, hot water heater and fill containers. Our large generator like yours is a gas hog so we use it sparingly.


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## Tweto (Nov 26, 2011)

I store about 100 gallons of gasoline for this purpose. My big generator will use about 10 gallons a day in an emergency. I know this because I had a 5 day power outage in the winter.

We lived very well with 10 gallons a day, plenty of hot water, well water, heat, or AC if it was the summer, and all the normal daily needs with very little pain.

Even if I didn't want to store 100 gallons I would at least have the 5 gallon containers available because in a SHTF the 5 gallon containers would be sold off the shelves in short time.

I have a smaller generator for portable emergencies, at least I can carry it around. It would still be good for lights, refrigerator, room AC or heat.

I believe in the military saying, "2 is 1 and 1 is none".


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## fteter (May 23, 2014)

Good lessons learned here...has me rethinking a few things myself. Thanks to TheLazyL for sharing the experience.


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

same here fteter,seeing how i plan on getting a generator.im now thinking,that i need atleast 4 to 6,5 gallon cans.and each one filled with gas,when i know a bad storm is on it's way....


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## biobacon (Aug 20, 2012)

Nothing like real life to tell you where you stand, keep your powder dry.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

gundog10 said:


> We went with a 2 generator set up. We run the 2000 watt generator during the evening as it will run for around 8 hours on 1 gallon of gas. It runs the freezer for 4 hours and the frig for 4 hours rotating the load. I runs lights, tv and the blower on our wood stove. We switch to our large generator to run our well filling our bladder tank, hot water heater and fill containers. Our large generator like yours is a gas hog so we use it sparingly.


Why does your wood stove need a blower??


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

If that happened to me today, I'd be right in the middle of a gas to diesel storage conversion. I have 30 gallons or so gas in storage, but I just got a diesel truck this week, so now my cans need to be split and to be perfectly honest unless it's EMP the diesel is now the KING of my BOV plans hands down. I still need gas tho for genny... so that was the reasoning behind my previous post on fuel storage. 

I'm going to shift from storing a LOT of gas to storing a LOT of diesel and I'll probably downgrade my gas capacity to feed the genny. Which is still important so I can't get too crazy on not storing gas, I'm just not sure how I'll be using it and cycling it. I have a buddy prepper and maybe I'll just trade him a 5 gal can into his commuter car every other week or so for the $20 it costs me to fill it, those are round numbers, I'll work it out so it's in his favor, but I'll make him drive for us to go grab lunch that day lol!


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

Whoa, bud--we have 10 (5) gallon cans in the shed.
Used them last month to refill @ $2 a gallon.

I have two vehicles that stay 3/4 full 'all' the time; another 24+ gallons.


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## Marcus (May 13, 2012)

Tirediron said:


> Why does your wood stove need a blower??


Before we went with a fireplace insert at the old farmhouse, we had a log rack made out of pipe with a blower attached to it. Upping the air flow to the pipes cut down considerably on how often the heater ran. The insert was even better since it did a much better job of drawing cooler air near the floor due to its design. We'd run a small tabletop fan to move the hot air into other rooms and were able to heat the whole downstairs (~1000 sq ft) most of the time. The heater might come on 2 or 3 times a day during freezing weather. The insert was very heavy (a Fisher) which helped because it would stay hot for a longer time and only used about a cord and a half of wood per winter. It also had a stove top so it could be used for cooking too.


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

_*Bolding* applied to note paragraph subjects for easy/quick reference._

I don't get frequent outages but when we do get one, it's normally for an extended period. _The power company prioritizes restoration based on population. I'm really rural so we're always last. We've had outages longer than a week.

_Some things I've found from those experiences.

* Get the right size generator(s)*. If you have an all-electric house, consider your climate and determine whether heat from the furnace will be needed. If so, you may need something pretty big. I have a 5-ton heat pump and that's going to need something in the 20KW+ range to run. I have a 15KW and an 8KW for demand times. Unless I don't care about balancing the load (e.g. hot water + freezers + water/sewer...), the 8KW is a much better selection. It can get everything done _but maybe not at the exact time_ as the 15KW but uses significantly less fuel and is much quieter.

Besides the larger generators, I have some *small, very quiet gensets*. These are used during the evenings when only nominal power is needed (lighting and such).

Unless you're super organized, consider keeping *extension cords and splitters with the genset.* When you have no power, it's a real PITA looking for the cords and especially splitters. Also make sure you have an adequate amount. E.g. if you're running a 2KW for lights only, make sure you have enough cord(s) to reach where you need lights (e.g. bathroom, hallways, bedroom...).

* Consider a battery/inverter option.* I have wood stove inserts in my fireplaces. Since inserted as opposed to free-standing, you need the blowers to get your heat. I keep a battery/inverter setup nearby so if the power goes out, it's the first thing to be plugged in (when it's running). If the wood stove is running and you don't get the fans turned on, it can overheat causing potential fire issues. Besides the blowers, I keep some of those clamp-on workshop lights with the aluminum dome) with CFL's in them nearby. When dark, plug those into the inverter and point towards the ceiling. _A light pointed towards the ceiling provides more light and dispersion than a ceiling light pointing down._

* If you have septic and you have a sewer pump*, don't forget to include that in your power considerations. I have both well and city water. If I run the city water during a power outage, I need to make sure I have power to the sewer pump to avoid overflow.

* When looking for generators, CraigsList is your friend*. Lots of people buy them, use them once then let them sit in their garage until they're sick of looking at it and then sell on CL. The last genset I bought on CL was a 5KW Yanmar diesel that was brand new. Less than 1 hour on the meter. New, it's almost $4000. I got it for $900.


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## Yeti-695 (Dec 15, 2015)

Always good to get practice out of the way now.


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## ClemKadiddlehopper (Aug 15, 2014)

When the power goes out here, I don't usually notice. If its winter, and cold enough outside, I have already unplugged all of the freezers until spring; they are in an insulated room out in the barn and therefore, I can let the weather help out with running them. I unplug the big double wide commercial fridge if the outage lasts too long and put ice in it from the freezers outback. The personal fridge in the kitchen doesn't take enough juice to worry about and the battery bank will keep it running. We have spent the past 6 years insulating the heck out of the house; interior/exterior walls, floors and ceilings. Worth every penny. Takes care of both summer and winter problems and keeps heating/cooling requirements to a bare minimum.

The furnace is propane and the battery bank will also keep the heat exchanger going. There is enough propane on hand for three years. If the propane runs out, we can always fire up the ancient outside wood boiler and burn up some of the scrap we have cleaned up around here. The boiler then takes over producing hot water.

We would only fire up the whole house generator once a day to water the stock in winter at which time we also shower and do wet chores. We have a smaller portable generator that could also be used. We have two water pumps; one hardwired to the breaker panel, the other with a long plug cord that can go out the basement window to the small generator or into a solar/wind plug. The plumbing is such that we can switch back and forth between the two pumps at will.

Between the winter and summer diesel, we have a two year supply and keep a 2 year supply of premium gas. With a stabilizer, we haven't really had any problems with storage. We keep the tanks tilted to keep any sediment away from the pump pipe and have filters on the pumps.

If its summer, its simple. The sun keeps the batteries charged and the small fridge, freezers and pump running. The critters find their own water, and in the house the windows take care of air-conditioning and the insulation keeps it all civilized. Its just a matter of keeping expectations of what is really needed low and pumping every available penny into things that keep end user needs to a minimum.


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## Tweto (Nov 26, 2011)

ZoomZoom said:


> _*Bolding* applied to note paragraph subjects for easy/quick reference._
> 
> * If you have septic and you have a sewer pump*, don't forget to include that in your power considerations. I have both well and city water. If I run the city water during a power outage, I need to make sure I have power to the sewer pump to avoid overflow.
> 
> If you have a septic tank why do you have a sewer pump? We have a gravity feed septic tank and there is no pump associated with it.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

Septic pumps: many new systems are the infiltrator type, little gable like plastic "roofs" that sit close to the surface, these systems are designed to need a pump and thus have you grid reliant. 
Your (Tweto) question about the septic pump is along the same line as mine about gundog's wood stove and running a blower. As I see it part of being prepared is to endeavour to have systems stand alone.
A well designed wood fired space heater (as opposed to a hot metal box) uses natural flow to enhance it's ability.


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

Tweto said:


> If you have a septic tank why do you have a sewer pump? We have a gravity feed septic tank and there is no pump associated with it.


It's common where I am (in the hills of PA). The leach bed is uphill from from the tanks.


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

we have a septic and feild line.no need for a pump of any kind when it comes to our situation..but yet.i've been thinking of extending the feild line further out,just to give us more distance for what ends up in it..


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## gundog10 (Dec 5, 2014)

My wood stove is a large one with baffles running back and forth across the top inside the fire box. The blower motor is attached to the outside or the stove and as the baffles are heated the blower blows extremely hot air out into the room and as the stove is in the basement the blown hot air travels up the stairway and also heats our upstairs living space. It was two degrees last night and when I got up this morning it was 64 degrees up stairs. Our home heating unit rarely kicks on during the night. The wood stove works fine without the blower it just takes longer for the heat to reach upstairs.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

Our wood heater is also in the basement, we don't use any other heat source, as mentioned earlier we replaced our hot steel box heater with an Osburn shielded heater, it creates it's own air currents and heats the rest of the house much better, the old heater put a lot of heat into the basement floor and walls. 
You might want to try an experiment if you fan is easily removed, the heater might create it's own flow without it. (more freedom)


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## gundog10 (Dec 5, 2014)

Tiresiron, It's just four bolts to remove the blower. I'll give it a try but not until it warms up into the 20s


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## divemaster19631 (Dec 29, 2015)

I have five different gens. One two cycle 2000 watt that runs wifes O2 machine for 6 hours. One 3000 watt onan that runs fridges. One 8000 watt to run heat and air both are gas. One 10000 watt desiel for backup and one 8000 watt that i have hooked to gasifier.
I rotate 25 gal gas ever 4 weeks.( gasahol pull moisture out of air and can kill a egine )
Desiel is the relible back if everything else fails. Gasifier gen is for when i can get out of my penisila that i live on.

John


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