I've resurrected this thread because I saw a piece on the TV news the other day that said there isn't enough power left in the national grid if we have a cold winter this year, they said there will only be about a 1.2% back up supply in the system, and that's not going to be enough as we all know. power cuts must be expected and prepared for.
That,s why i have generators , oil lamps, and fuel to run them, candles,torches, wind ups, and a alternator set up.....small solar chargers.
it dosent bother me MB, we are used to power cuts in the countryside, a tree falls down and takes the line with it, this was a general warning for folks who might not have seen it on the news and it gives them the summer to get their supplies up to date. I shant bother in future if that's the kind of stupid answer I get from our American cousins, I thought this site was supposed to have a "UK Bias"?
now where did I put those headache tablets?(bangs head against a brick wall!!)
Okay ....hands up...... who has a generator? i have four.
(17 July 2015, 19:51)Straight Shooter Wrote: [ -> ]Okay ....hands up...... who has a generator? i have four.
I have one now - gave my noisy, smelly two-stroke away and kept the Honda four-stroke. It's quiet, but I'd like it to be quieter so might have to fabricate an additional silencer for it.
For those who don't have a generator, don't forget that your car has a powerful alternator build in - it can charge a battery very quickly - you can run LED lights and a radio for a long time on a car battery.
Your car also has built in 12v outlets and many modern vehicles have inverters built in for powering lap tops and mobile devices.
If your phone has built in WIFI you might be able to up link to internet service and still have world wide communication capabilities from your car.
Even if cell service seems to be down try texting. In several of our regional emergencies we have found that even when no bars are showing and calls will not go through texts will still transmit and receive.
You might even have a better radio in the vehicle than that cheap little battery set in the house too, perhaps even satellite radio.
Yes, a car on the drive is a big asset when it comes to emergency power. Probably quieter to have the car engine idling rather than a generator. One reason for keeping the car fuel tank topped up at all times.
The electrical supply for our cabin in the woodland is powered by my car. I looked at all sorts of options, from a small wind generator to PV, but the simplest solution was to have a flying lead coiled up with a 13 Amp plug on it, and just run this out to the inverter in the car when we're down there and need power (really just for lights). Also have a genny for when we need high power, but it's expensive to run.
We don't have satellite radio in the UK, but the principle is sound.
When I was building one of my houses I was off grid for the first two years before they ran electrical service into my area.
I built a dual system into the house. It was wired for both AC current and had 12V running down the center wall.
I replaced the single battery in my pickup truck with a dual battery and had a deep cycle marine battery as the reserve. 180 amp hours.
There was a light pole in the parking lot at the school that had a plug, so each day I parked t the pole, plugged in and recharged the deep cycle battery.
Each evening I pulled up to the house, plugged the cabin into the truck and had lights.
Usually the charge would hold for most of a weekend if I did not run the TV much. It was always irritating to run out of battery in the middle of an auto race.
I used the system on 12v without an inverter. One is tempted to drain too much power when using standard appliances on the inverter. I even had 12v florescent lights.
I still keep the battery charged up in the shop and still have a couple of the 12v lights handy. I am not sure what became of my 12v microwave and kettle.