tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2848841213670110129.post7276785934687187677..comments2024-03-12T18:37:16.548-04:00Comments on The Easiest Person to Fool: Responding to Collapse, Part 11: coping with power outages, the basicsIrv Millshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08030800457536589003noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2848841213670110129.post-65680390076102653582019-08-28T21:08:37.784-04:002019-08-28T21:08:37.784-04:00@ Joe Clarkson
You're right Joe, I'll was ...@ Joe Clarkson<br />You're right Joe, I'll was thinking of a different time scale than you. I have a post planned where I'll be talking about systems like yours, using durable equipment (and generous supplies of spare parts) from BAU. Which can keep you going for quite a few years, if not decades.<br /><br />That post will be followed by one about what can be done on a much longer time scale. And I think there will be some areas where we maybe able to generate small amounts of electricity on an on-going, sustainable basis. Early in my career as a power maintenance electrician I worked in some water powered generating stations that dated from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Pretty simple stuff, no solid state controls or plastic insulation required.<br /><br />I'd appreciate talking to you more about this sort of thing.Irv Millshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08030800457536589003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2848841213670110129.post-6851264736603344322019-08-28T21:00:07.693-04:002019-08-28T21:00:07.693-04:00@ Bev
Nice to have a different viewpoint on this s...@ Bev<br />Nice to have a different viewpoint on this subject. I tend to talk about the things I actually know something about. Given the alternative, I guess that is a good thing. And here in Ontario catching rainwater and storing water is just not something that people do. This may change as climate change progresses, but for now we have abundant ground water, and lots of surface water in the form of rivers and lakes.<br /><br />In my next post I'll be looking at generators and naphtha fueled appliances. And thanks to you, I think I'll add something about gas fueled appliances as well. I presume you are talking about propane gas for your stove. That is fairly common around here. The only rub is that propane appliances often need electricity for their controls and ignition. That's OK if you've got a generator though, since the amount of power required is quite small.<br /><br />I'll be covering various sorts of wood stoves in a post down the road a way, including things like rocket stoves which people can build for themselves. And yes, some links to how to articles would be a good idea.Irv Millshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08030800457536589003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2848841213670110129.post-29287789373070537022019-08-28T20:50:21.072-04:002019-08-28T20:50:21.072-04:00@ Don Hayward
I'm glad you enjoyed this post. ...@ Don Hayward<br />I'm glad you enjoyed this post. What I covered was of course only the most rudimentary stuff. Next time I'll be devoting quite a bit of space to generators and to naphtha fueled appliances. Again, still dependent on BAU for fuel, but the kind of stuff that will see you through an outage that last a few days, or even a week or two.<br />In the post after that I'll be looking at how some of the durable goods produced by BAU can be used to give us independence on a time scale of years. And after that I'll look at what a community might do to set itself up with sustainable energy, a small amount of it in the form of electric generation.Irv Millshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08030800457536589003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2848841213670110129.post-10371642102003099232019-08-27T00:56:07.931-04:002019-08-27T00:56:07.931-04:00Nice post. Good advice for those who don't hav...Nice post. Good advice for those who don't have an off-grid system, but I do disagree that with an off-grid electrical supply "you won't have really gained any long term degree of independence from BAU". It just depends on what you mean by "long term". <br /><br />Since all the components of off-grid electricity are product of industrial civilization, once that civilization gets into real trouble there won't be any way to buy any more repair parts or components (not to mention batteries). But a solid PV system with long-lived batteries and plenty of spare parts could be made to operate for a few decades. I consider that amount of time "long term". <br /><br />We will all eventually live without electricity, but until that time my old muscles need all the help they can get. I have carried all our water to the house in buckets when I lived without electricity in the Peace Corps. It can be done, but running a DC pump from a catchment tank is a lot easier. I have one pump in service and two more on the shelf just in case. I would rather have a water pump than a refrigerator.<br /><br />By the way, I signed up to "Follow", but got no notice of this post.<br /> Joe Clarksonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2848841213670110129.post-23688534754745718432019-08-26T04:50:12.832-04:002019-08-26T04:50:12.832-04:00Good advice as usual, Irv, with a reminder that I ...Good advice as usual, Irv, with a reminder that I must get a couple of small torches. I have a large flashlight, with a rechargeable battery, which I bought for spotting wildlife outdoors, but it's not exactly pocket sized! I have a varied collection of large candles as well. I'm lucky with water, in that I have 3 water tanks collecting roof water, and holding 18,000 litres when full. Also lucky with cooking, since as well as electricity, I have 2 48 litre gas bottles connected to the stove, so can still cook food and boil water. A single bottle lasts about a year, and as well as the stove top, feeds an instant gas hot water system. Only drawback here is that the gas ignition is electric and in a power outage I can't use the unit for hot water.<br /><br />I also have a composting toilet. I bought Jenkins book years ago, but thanks for the link to his site which I hadn't seen before. Regarding cooking, how about providing links to how to build a simple small rocket stove? I've been meaning to have a go at one for some time now. I note you're going to do another post about surviving without power for longer periods, so maybe it could go in that post. Freezers and refrigerators are the problem in an extended grid failure, so I'll be interested in what you recommend for those. <br /><br />Amazing how much we've come to depend on electricity without even thinking about it. Even when the power's out, I still find myself picking up the electric jug to make a cuppa!Bevhttp://www.foodnstuff.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2848841213670110129.post-46837525041347694032019-08-25T20:11:14.791-04:002019-08-25T20:11:14.791-04:00Good read, good reminders. A small affordable gene...Good read, good reminders. A small affordable generator is nice for short outages. I use mine to power half of my bus, although your advice Irv I can try the whole thing next time.<br />The humanure system is the way everyone will need to go post-collapse. Latrines and throwing it the street won't be good ideas. :) <br />I lik that you ahve pointed out that post-collapse we will certainly have to adopt a much less energy rich lifestyle. We will end up being more in tune with natural cycles and working with nature in many ways.<br />ThanksDon Haywardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10229684724312837788noreply@blogger.com